On the Origins of the Blog

I am starting this blog ostensibly to get me writing, and keep me writing. Now that I have all this time on my hands, it would be a shame to waste it in front of the TV or computer. I figure that having a device such as this in place will stimulate me to write, and hopefully to write every day. It is my aim to update this site every day or two with whatever I have managed to write in the interceding time, regardless of its quality or context. Hopefully it’s habit-forming.

Sometimes this may relate to the novel I have been trying to write over the past 3 and a half years, short works that will probably never be seen anywhere else (EXCLUSIVE!!), parts of collaborative projects, or even simple blog-posts dealing with day to day life- what irks and inspires. With any luck such a habit will translate into getting shit done. If nothing else it’ll give me a sense of accomplishment at getting something/anything out into the public sphere. Some of what I post probably won’t make any sense to anybody but me, coming as they no doubt will as snippets and edits from what I have already written. They will lack the context of the greater body, but who knows, some bits may actually make sense.

“So what is this ‘novel’ about then,” I hear you ask. I guess at its essence the overarching premise of the story is of the disconnect between man and nature. The basic structure is of two narrative threads that intertwine towards the end and hopefully result in an elegiac, poetic dénouement. These threads are interspersed with short tangential flights. I have it all mapped out in my mind, but getting it down and ordered is proving another thing altogether.

In some ways it is semi-autobiographical, borrowing from the adage ‘write what you know’. Some of the characters are based on real people, or amalgams of real people, however as more is written this is airbrushed somewhat and shade and nuance is given to the characters. Hopefully by the end aspects of real people will still be identifiable in characters, but no character will be a mere caricature of a real person. It would be a massive betrayal of trust, not to mention just plain rude, to do otherwise.

So that’s it. This blog will be a reservoir for my writing. The quality and quantity will be mixed. I make no promises regarding coherence. But please keep coming back. I can only get better from here.

Happy long weekend y’all.

Lloyd