From the mind of ED

Monday, March 19, 2012

My Writing Process. Getting Story Ideas When Falling Asleep Doesn't Work Because You're Trying To Fall Asleep At The Time.

I've got four stories that I'm working on at the moment;

The Standing Stone.
He Needed A Body.
The Tale of Brickbrarnack.
The Lady in the Room.

Two of these stories I have been working on for ages. 'The Tale of Brickbrarnack' was an idea that I wrote a first draft for about two years ago but did no more than one draft of. 'The Lady in the Room' is a tale of something that happened in real life when I was young but is written as if it happened hundreds of years ago.
'The Standing Stone' and 'He Needed a Body' are about none of your business...yet (he winks). I both wrote the plan for these stories in those moments when you're not doing much and suddenly you give birth to a story and you think, ''My God Brain, you're a genius.''

I was half asleep, just waking up in my bed this morning and I remember thinking,
"Brakeback Bridge. Breakback Bridge.That would be great inspiration for a story."

I got up out of my bed, wrote 'Brakeback bridge onto a scrap of paper, went back to bed and fell asleep again. After I had actually got up and was fully with it I picked up the paper and wondered why my former sleep brain thought these words would inspire me.

Many people say that it is good to keep a pen and paper on your bedside just in case an idea pops up. I have been doing this for about a week and have not written much down.

Here is my line of thinking as I'm falling asleep and I get an idea...

"That's an amazing idea...

I'm going to write that down. I bet I wouldn't have thought that up if I was in a fully consciousness state...

Hmm I'm probably going to have to lean over and grab the pen and paper and then hurt my eyes when I have to turn the light on...

I could just lie here...

I can feel myself falling asleep anyway... Blow this, I'll just stay where I am, I'll remember it in the morning anyway."

... and I never remember it when I wake up.
I get most of my inspired stuff when I am awake anyway. Most of what I have tried to write down while I'm falling asleep is absolute nonsense... Breakback bridge... I'll remember it anyway just on the off chance that it will come to some sort of use in the future.

Over and Out.
ED.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

My Personality Type and General Reading About Spectral Manifestations.

"Your stories, gentlemen, are all out of the ordinary, of course, but it seems to me that each one lacks an essential ingredient- I mean authenticity; for I am pretty sure that none of you has seen with his own eyes the fantastic incidents that he has just narrated... As for me, gentlemen, I know only one story of this kind, but it is at once so strange, so horrible, and so authentic that it will suffice to strike even the most jaded of imaginations to terror. Having... been both a witness to these strange events... I will tell the tale..."

In a daze of self reflection I decided to go on the computer and walk through the electronic ether. I wished to find out my personality type, the whole scientific questioning thing that people have. After answering all of the questions as much as I could I was given the results.

I am an INFP personality (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving.) My personality type never lose their sense of wonder and... and then to have imaginary friends when they are children. I was quite contented with what I got... or indeed was given.
This is my personality type...
http://typelogic.com/infp.html

Also in a previous blog (look at the previous blog I suppose) I promised that I would show you Sid. I haven't got a camera but I promise the day will come that you will see him, probably next blog. I don't know why I wish to show Sid but I've promised that I would and so I shall goddammit.

For entertainment over the past few days I've been Casting the Runes... you know what I mean... I've been looking at the stalls of Barchester Cathedral... I've been a Resident at Whitminster. In other words I've been reading M.R James.

I don't find ghost stories scary any more, not since I was a child, to be honest I'm slightly sceptical about the whole thing... yet it is interesting to me nonetheless and ghost stories are good entertainment. When I was young I thought I saw a ghost though. I was scared to go in my old room for ages. Back in the day my brother and I used to share a room. Opposite my brothers bed and parallel to mine was a cupboard. Anyway, one night I was lying in bed and I couldn't get to sleep so for some reason I opened my eyes and happened to look at the cupboard. What I thought I saw was a young woman. She was standing there looking forward but her eyes were closed and her right hand was held up as if she was trying to feel something. No one believed me but I always felt weird in that room when I was alone in that room months afterwards. Now I just think it was a trick of the mind.

I have also began to contemplate the idea that living dolls are scary. The old story of dolls coming to life and trying to go about their devilish way. Why are living dolls scary? If I happened to have a doll that came to life I would capture it, calls all types of media people from tv and newspapers and let everyone know that I have a living doll. Scientists would be fascinated that such a thing could be possible. Perhaps it could be some sort of missing link between the knowable and human to the unknown, the apparant unknowable forces of the universe. Living dolls don't exist in any form anyway... but if they did...

Over and Out.
ED.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

ALL THE DAYS OF FLOG... a contents page if you will.

(FLOG DAY 29.)The Leap Year Thing. The Last Day of Flog

I am really starting to enjoy sitting down every day and making time in order to spend time with my blog. Before I started the whole February blogging thing I never really thought about how nice it is simply to write about nothing in particular, just writing about whatever I want to talk about on a specific day.

Today is the leap year what- is- name- thingy- ma- bob. I only realised at the moment of my typing this post that today is the 'proper' end of my FLOG experience. I would just like to say that I have loved doing this. It was brilliant. There was only one day that I didn't write in but made it up the day after (look at the previous posts to find out which post I am talking about).
I have been looking through all of the stuff that I have written, not a Dickens really but this beloved blog of mine was never meant to be that. This blog is not a prize winning novel... it's more along the lines of a dog eared scrap book that has been used a lot and is stored affectionately in a desk draw with a stash of pens and sketches.

I would like to say that I appreciate not only this blog but you, the person reading this for reading my blog... thanks and all that for taking the time to read the shenanigans. Much appreciated. If you happened to read all of the postings then thank you loads.

Blog ole pal o' mine...

Thank you when I am stuck with writing and I turn to you to get my writing brain cogs working and you get them spinning.

Thank you for helping me to record my life like a diary. I have never properly had a diary. I have tried once or twice but I have never kept it up. This is the longest diary I've had and I hope to carry it on for a very long time in one form or another.

Thank you for introducing me to other blogs that I appreciate. It is as if I am connecting with peoples diaries or brains.

The last day of Flog eh... I hope it has been enjoyable for others as it has been for me. I hope people can take something from the nonsense I have written.

... and if you are interested I would like to do this monthly thing once again this year.

I shall post a picture of Sid tomorrow... a person you may know if you look at previous posts this month.

Thank you Flog 2012. Thanks people for reading whenever they could.

Over and Out.
ED.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

(FLOG DAY 28.) If Polygamy Was Introduced To The UK Was The Main Thought..

I am not being serious about any of the stuff that I say here... just lines of thought really.

I had to go out and do a few errands or one today... and these are the things I thought while doing various jobs today.

What would happen if polygamy was introduced to the UK? I have been thinking about all of the countries that allow polygamy and wondered about what it would be like if it became legal in Britain. The main thing that I think would be noticeable about our brand of polygamy is that it would be more modern. For example in some countries you usually hear of one man and loads of other women he is with. In Britain I think it would be different. Firstly instead of just one man and many women Britain would allow one women and many men in cahoots with each... or if you're gay it could mean one man and loads of other men or one woman and loads of other women... or then again if you happen to be bisexual it could mean being polygamous with one man/ woman and loads of women and men.

... confusing.

Here is another question. What would happen if there was a machine in which you could resurrect any dead person from history? Would you even want that to happen? You could get back Einstein and he can carry on with his work. You could resurrect Hitler and actually put him on trial. You could bring back all of your favourite authors and have the ultimate dinner party. I wouldn't mind seeing a Cro Magnon man as well. There is genetic evidence that most people are descended from just one woman that lived thousands of years ago... I would like to meet that woman. You could also resurrect Jimi Hendrix and tell him to write more music. The possibilities are endless. You could rewrite whole history books. It wouldn't be a good idea to have this machine but oh well.

What would happen to you if you took every molecule, every substance, every little bit of matter that has ever existed in the universe and put it into a cup and ate it. What would happen if you ate every single thing that makes up the physical universe... would you blow up or something?... naahhhhhh!

What would happen if creationism was actually real? Existence would be incredibly... tepid.

What would happen if Santa actually existed? People would have searched and found where he lived, captured him, taken him into custody and tried to take all his magic and question him about how he has been living for ages with elves... or they would be asking Santa for a lot more stuff. Also Santa wouldn't wrap up presents in the same wrapping paper that your parents use.

What would happen if the ceiling collapsed and a panther jumped on you? This is a genuine question that I asked my dad when I was about ten.

Last few days of FLOG!!!

Over and Out.
ED.

Monday, February 27, 2012

(FLOG DAY 27.) My Earliest Childhood Memories.

I heard today that Charlotte Church got paid £600 000 for having her phone hacked on the news today... I wouldn't mind if my phone was hacked for that money.

I thought that today I shall talk about child memories. There are three main memories that come to mind from my childhood memory. I remember when I was very young I was sat around the main kitchen table. There was a cake on the table that was covered in cling film and I thought that this was interesting for some reason so I began to poke it. As I poked the cling film I realised that I had poked the cake also and that felt weird. Someone must have taken the cake away but I can't remember much else.

Another childhood memory that I have is that I knew that there were a box of small Mars Bars in one of the cupboards in the kitchen, the type of small Mars Bar things that you find in a box of Celebrations. I decided to climb up and sneak a few then go behind the sofa and eat them. I think I did this over a few days but I was found out because I left all the wrappers behind the sofa.

The last childhood memory is that there were some scissors in the sitting room... there was also a mirror in the room as well which only meant one thing... I would grab the scissors and cut my hair. I think I cut my hair very short and not very well... but at least my parents didn't need to take to the hairdressers.

In other news I have sat on Sid (look at previous post below). He was on the bed and I sat on him so now he is completely deflated... but I will put a picture of him on this blog whenever I can and you will see that he exists... there are a box full of the things downstairs that are going to be sold to raise money for charity (if you have £1 I get you one.

I also went for a good walk today so one more tick on the goal thing I outlined in one of the previous blogs of FLOG.

Over and Out.
ED.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

(FLOG 26.) Stories That Exist All Over The Place.

There is a new addition to the family called Sid. He is a rubber little green chick and if you hit him then he flashes with many and varied colours, all the colours that your brain can process.
Has anyone ever seen or felt those rubber balls filled with goo or water and if you squeeze it then there is this big bubble that forms... well it is one of those things except it is shaped like a little chick. I called him Sid because it is a green chick... which makes me think that he has dyed his feathers, making him a (male) punk chick... hence I call him Sid. I'll probably take pictures tomorrow... I just haven't got any cameras around the place at the moment. He's a green, rubber, punk, male chick... and that list makes complete sense.

There are loads of stories out in the immaterial world of my mind and I don't know which one I want to start writing. I think it is an interesting question to ask all writers about all of the stories that they have in their head. Are all stories kind of in their head to begin with or do you develop stories as they write them?

Over the years I have been inventing my own mythology just in my mind and continued to develop it; a mythology that could be use for more than one short story or even a few novels. I will perhaps write a story properly with that mythology.

Stories gush from people endlessly.

Every single person that has ever existed has had stories running through them, humans thrive on stories, not only fictional ones but real ones that have happened throughout their lives. It would be great if a library existed of books that contained the life stories of everyone that has ever walked on the earth... that would be a complete treasure trove.

Over and Out.
ED.