Saturday, May 01, 2010

Audiobook of 100 Stories for Haiti, and I have a revelation

Wonderful news! The fabulous fundraising 100 Stories for Haiti is now available as an audiobook, with 20 selected stories, including Mugs. Another way to support the Red Cross' work in Haiti - and be highly entertained at the same time. Get it on Audible.co.uk, Audible.com or iTunes. I can't wait to listen to it.

In other news, I had a revelation last night. I was having a quiet night by myself, contemplating my writer-in-residence position, which I am very much enjoying, but which right now lacks any sort of structure or set project. And suddenly something presented itself as a solution... so now I think I can say I am working on a new book! I am not going to go into details right now, because I am a little nervous that if I talk about it in public it may dissolve or sound ridiculous. But I am pretty excited because it's not just more short stories, it is something that is a new intellectual challenge for me, and something I think  - I hope - is fairly innovative. Anyway, I might reveal more in due course, but I feel relieved to have found myself a framework within which to carry out this residency and some kind of end product to work towards.Phew!

Let's hope I don't wake up tomorrow thinking it's all a terrible mistake.This is all new to me, this first flush of excitement - I've never experienced this before, I had no idea when I was writing the stories in The White Road that they might be a collection. I've never consciously worked on anything book-length from the start.

It seems to be similar to something I read over on Nik Perring's blog the other day. He interviews the wonderful Nicola Morgan, author of 90 - yes, ninety! - books, whose latest Wasted, is published on Monday. This is how she describes it when an idea comes to her:
First comes the idea for a new novel. Fabulous! (Literally, one might say). It hits me on the tongue like sherbet. If I’m in a supermarket, I will stop mid-aisle. Walking the dog, I’m likely to ignore the worst canine behaviour. At this point, I’m thinking, “Yesss! Why didn’t I think of this before?” Next, I fluctuate between excitement and a more prosaic, “Hmm, but such-and-such might be a problem later.” But over the following days, as the characters grow in my head, excitement mounts and doubts fade. I am about to start to write.
A lovely way to describe it, excitement mixed with doubt. Nicola then says it's
"damned terrifying because it’s the start of a long and unknown journey. When I sat down to write the first page of Sleepwalking, my third novel, I actually said aloud, “Oh God, here we go,” taking a huge breath to summon the strength. Many blank pages stretch ahead, and they won’t fill themselves." 
Yes. Exactly. Not, I want to stress, that I am working on a novel. No, definitely not. But I can imagine it being book-length, and possibly rather undefinable. Almost definitely completely uncommercial! But that actually makes it easier to contemplate. The thought that no-one will ever publish it, that I am doing it for me, makes it far easier to jump off this cliff. I hope!

12 comments:

Nik Perring said...

Ooh - this sounds exciting!! Can't wait to hear more, in due course of course :)

Tania Hershman said...

Thanks, Nik - and thanks for interviewing Nicola and giving me indirect support for my new project! I look forward to finding out more too. I think I'll keep it out of the public domain for a bit, but will probably drop some hints at some point!

Megan said...

Good luck leaping!!

Tania Hershman said...

Thanks so much, Megan, and congrats on finishing your draft! You've done the leap!

Marisa Birns said...

So very happy for you. This is all so terribly exciting! Congratulations on this new project.

I'm sure that you'll enjoy all of it--the leaping, the writing, and the end result.

You inspire me more than you could ever know. :)

Vanessa Gebbie said...

how marvellous! I am so pleased and excited for you - its just lovely to feel like that - and I hope it lasts for a long while. Must have been something in the air - I had a minor revelation - cracking (I think) a conundrum to do with the novel thats been bugging me for ages... whatever it was in the air, can we have more of it please!

Merc said...

Wishing you all the best with the cliff jump, Tania. I love indefinable. Looking forward to hearing more.

nora said...

sounds very exciting! go for it Tania!

Sarah Hilary said...

Your excitement is infectious! I'm so glad you're feeling this way about something new. Long may the feeling last!

Nik Perring said...

Always a pleasure!

Lauri said...

Sounds very interesting. Book length, not a novel... hmmm. Congrats! I love the wonderful potential of new projects.

Tania Hershman said...

Marisa, thank you, what a lovely thing to say!

V - let's bottle that air! I am already feeling a little unsure and nervous, aaargh...

Merc, fingers crossed.

Nora, thanks!

Sarah, it's waning a little, I need to get going with it before it fades.

Lauri, newness is always thrilling. I just need to get on with it. Enjoy Egypt!