Skip to main content

Days 9-108: Writing a Novel—The Deep Blue Hold

November 25th, 2016 to March 5, 2017
Note: Unedited writings from my notebook for this novel. Square bracket items represent added comments.

At 15:53 Office
... And so began a three month odyssey away from writing this novel, The Deep Blue Hold....
W
herein I try to explain why I stopped working on this novel.
The shortest answer is I gave up.
The short explanation is I struggle with mental health issues (MDD, GAD, PTSD) that paralyse me at times. When it happens, I’m not able to do much of anything. Don’t want to do anything and that includes things one might expect to enjoy.
For a while I spent time trying to create some thirty-second videos that would play a word puzzle like a crossword. Here’s the clue. Here’s the blank spaces. And after an interval, one of the letters would appear until all the letters appear. A bit of a crossword puzzle in that sometimes you come to a word where crossover words give you certain letters and you have to fill in the rest. A bit like that TV game show. A bit like hangman.
The problem with this idea is that the time intervals are arbitrary and people’s ability to solve a puzzle varies. It would work if the reader could click to determine when the next letter appears or click to show the entire solution. Once I realized that’s the way it should work, I stopped. Without looking, I’m sure there are websites, apps etc. that already do this.
Then I spent a number of weeks coding programs and using GiHub. I was writing in C, C++ and C#. Programming languages have a syntax similar to human language. Both are artificial, that is, made up. Both evolve. Most programming languages have authoritative bodies to govern the syntax and set rules, while the English language has no such authoritative body. The French try with their l’Académie française, but I don’t think it works. There is, however, one major difference, when writing a program you know if you get the syntax correct, there is certainty, but with English, you can only approach certainty.
And so began a three month odyssey away from writing this novel, The Deep Blue Hold.

James Piper
Kitchener, Ontario
Post comments on facebook page.
Post comments on facebook page.
Follow me on twitter.
Posted 2017/04/12 at 16h59ET in The Deep Blue Hold | Writing A Novel
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If Only We Could Agree

Monday, June 11, 2012 ... have you been accused of misspelling a word you know is correct ... S usanne O’Leary wrote an interesting article on her experience with the variations of the English language in different countries. You know the obvious ones like colour with or without a “u” but less obvious ones like travelled versus traveled. Growing up in Sweden she learnt English in school—the UK variation. In publishing her books, she read reviews where she was criticized for improper spelling. False accusations as it turns out. While I write tire and cozy, it’s not incorrect to write tyre or cosy. Same language. Both accepted. Just different. You can read her write-up here along with the numerous comments posted by readers. I found it interesting, but that’s me. As a Canadian I deal with this issue everyday. I feel her pain when she’s criticized for something based on ignorance. No fun. I was told by a boss that “data are” isn’t correct. It should be “data is.” Read...
2 comments
Read more

Things I’ve Never Done

Friday, November 11, 2011 ... you would think, assume, I had did these things ... I I’ve done a few things most people never get a chance to do. Lived in Africa for one. Have written a few novels and screenplays. Wrote some songs you wouldn’t want me to perform. But for the most part, my life isn’t terribly distinguished. Life like most people except there’s a few things I’ve never experienced. Never been married. Close? Not really. I’ve never even been on a date or had a date on Valentines Day. I think most people, where the day is recognized, have done that. I often wonder what it would be like. Never had a birthday party with cake and friends. I remember the odd the birthday card from this aunt or that uncle. It doesn’t help when your birthday is the same day as a holiday. I don’t know who my father is. That one-half of my genes, my DNA that is me. Don’t know and probably never will. I think most people know who there father is even if the relationship isn’t what ...
1 comment
Read more

A Piece of the Action (1977)

Saturday, March 7, 2009 A Piece of the Action. Feature film. (1977, 135 mins) IMDB ... Who would you have over for dinner? Sidney Poitier or Bill Cosby. ... A PIECE OF THE ACTION is the third film starring Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier. Poitier also directed the films. (And yes, I would be fascinating to have both them sitting around a table for dinner.) We're in Chicago and I love the setup for this film. It's clever, fun and interesting. It starts during the dark of night. Crosby is a cat burglar robbing a vault in a bank. He's by himself, all the tools he needs, and doesn't speak a word of dialogue for at least the first twenty minutes of the film. It must have been killing him. His robbery goes off successfully. (It includes a jump from a six or seven story window. There was a similar scene in their earlier films.) When the cops arrive during the daylight, they haven't a clue and we catch a glimpse of James Earl Jones as a detect...
Post a Comment
Read more