Black Petals

"It wasn’t until he was on a train, speeding away from Kirkcaldy, the rattle of the tracks beneath him, that he came back to reality, staring at Anouska with wide eyes and panic. She looked back at him, her eyes intent, afraid as much as he was. In her hand she clutched the black petal and felt the softness of it. The sensation covered her being, as if the petal was a great smothering blanket, enveloping her in its dark folds.

           

Where it had come from, there was no sunlight."

Remaining Word Count: 38,410

My first post for December comes after a bit of a struggle with the book. I had written a few thousand words prior to this post, but the story had gone off on a tangent and I'd decided that it wasn't going in the right direction, so I pulled on the reins and started again.

I'm feeling now that the story is continuing as it should, with more layers of mystery coming in. It's interesting, but in some of the words I'd written I felt I'd revealed too much of the story line, so chose a new path to keep the intrigue going. Well, I'm only on chapter five, after all, and I think the new way is much better, keeping things closer to my chest (and hopefully the reader) so as to reveal things more slowly, more subtlely.

You'll see from the snippet too that I've based the story in Scotland, starting in Kirkcaldy, Fife. It seemed logical to me to do that, as well as providing some local interest, it kind of ties the book to the charity event I'm writing for, which is based in Fife. However, I've since moved the book out of Fife (on a train journey) heading up towards Perthshire, to a town called Pitlochry. This is where the next 'act' of the book comes into play, with a convention of pagans attending the community hall there. Of course, this is no ordinary convention, as you will discover if you read the book!

As for the black petals, well, of course they're from the black tree of the title...but does the tree exist in our own reality?

Until next time.  Thanks to EVERYONE for contributing to my Just Giving page and spurring me on to keep going with this task! I've got to get my skates on if I'm going to finish this in time...but that's approximately 50 pages or so written so far.

Please donate if you've not already done so - the link is opposite! Many, many thanks.

Blurred realities

"The town had become a reality of blurred visions, a monochrome void; the few people that were outside hurried along, hunched and hooded forms escaping from the cold. Shops and buildings blended in with the pavements until it was difficult to ascertain where one started and the other ended, the white of the snow contrasted with the dark of oncoming night. The only colour he could perceive was Anouska’s blue denim jacket, a beacon of hope to his weary eyes."

Remaining Word Count: 42,008

Another good session on The Black Tree. Matt and Anouska are now entwined in their own destiny, and have narrowly missed an encounter with the faeries, which are not faeries from childhood fantasy tales, but something a lot more sinister...

...in fact, a string of incidents have forced Matt to leave his town, taking a journey with Anouska into the unknown, into a world where the real becomes imaginary, and the imaginary real. Everything becomes blurred, and Anouska explains to him the reason for her finding him, and the reason behind his dreams, and her own.

Building up pace now, the next few chapters are gearing up to be quite exciting!

Thanks for reading :-)

Dreams become real...

"Matt woke, his body trembling from the nightmare. Gasping, his eyes were blurred, out of focus, his mind filling his soul and his senses with the remnants of the dream. It took several moments for him to come to, and see Anouska sat before him, cross-legged, her eyes huge with concern."

Remaining Word Count: 44,653

Not posted on here for a while; been doing other things but it's good to be back. I managed to write another 2,313 words in my current session, although I've been going over the first few chapters as well, tweaking bits here and there and making them even better. I intend to do better this month, and have worked out that if I can do roughly 10,000 words a month I should reach my target by the end of March 2013. So, still got plenty to do, but it's achievable!

I'm pleased with the story. I got a few more ideas to weave into it from reading back my first few chapters. It's amazing how that can happen; my unconscious works better than my conscious quite often, and it looks like when I plan things it's all well and good, but embellishments come later from reading stuff back. I wonder if all authors work this way?  Adding 'meat to the bones' so to speak.

Things are certainly getting more sinister with each chapter, and building momentum. I'm trying to build tension in the book, so it becomes a bit of a roller-coaster ride, but we'll see how it all pans out. It's exciting to be writing a horror book, and I'm enjoying every moment I make on this project. Dreams are now taking centre stage in the book, with many dreams becoming real...but to what purpose? Our main character, Matt, has no real clue as to what is going on, but Anouska is guiding him on, nurturing him, telling him of her own story and how she came to be seeking him out. They are both about to embark on a journey into the unknown, to find The Black Tree...but what is its significance?

Thanks for reading, expect more from me in November on this blog!

Snow in the autumn

"Anouska could not hide her incalculable delight at seeing snow, especially this early in the year. It should have been autumn, not winter. However, thick flakes descended from the sky, and Matt looked out of the window of the house to watch in amazement. He noted also the wind had picked up, as snowflakes were blown this way and that and sloshed against the glass."

Remaining Word Count: 46,966

Hi all. Well, I managed a good session on The Black Tree, writing 2,962 words, reducing my total ever further.

The book is beginning to take shape. It's wonderful to have just a basic synopsis, and then flesh a storyline around it. I'm feeling it's a very organic book, it's being written just with thoughts at the time of writing, rather than a concrete 'set in stone' list of doing things. I'm sure every writer has their own mechanisms, but this serves me well, and gives me surprises while I write it!

One of these organic ideas I've come up with is that of snow coming earlier in the year than normal, and this plays its part in the book. I won't go into detail with this idea here (in fact, it probably needs more work to make it fit properly in the book - that'll come later).

It is great fun to write like this, I'm having a ball with this book. Unlike my other work in progress ('The Dark Shores') which has clear goals and structure to it, this one I'm just having fun and going with the flow of my mind (or my unconscious mind), and this in some way reflects the true me. The genre of horror is also a different beast for me, much used as I am to writing fantasy, but in some ways I'm finding it easier to visualise.

Still a lot of work left ahead of me! More, as always, when I've written it.

Anouska

"Her voice was melodious to his ears, enchanting and alluring. He found himself staring at her again, before finally blinking away, wondering what on earth had come over him. There was definitely something likeable, no, that wasn’t it, something mesmerising about this girl."

Remaining Word Count: 49,928

Hi again. A brief update - I've written some more, as you can see by the word count. It's going down! Still a long way to go, and I'm just setting up the opening to the book really.

The main character is Matt Drake, who is homeless, as I said in earlier posts. He's just met up with Anouska, another homeless person, only she's a quirky, persuasive young lady. At the start of the book she seems to be very attentive to Matt, knowing his haunts, where he goes, what he does, almost in an odd stalker like fashion.  Of course, there's more to Anouska than meets the eye, but that would be telling.

The next phase of the book will be a deepening relationship with Anouska, and what this means for Matt, as well as some mysteries and clues that point to the mysterious Black Tree that Matt's dreams are constantly filled with...

...and we haven't even got to the faeries yet...;-)

And so it begins...!

Remaining Word Count: 51,031

"He had seen the tree before, countless times, and each time the feeling of terror engulfed his form. He shivered, and trembled before it. Its presence was felt deep within, as if it could suck out his very life force as well as the light around it. The ground before it was decayed, with cracks in the earth. Nothing lived near its branches or roots. There was stillness, an irreverent silence that seemed out of place with a living forest."

I've finally started 'The Black Tree' and will post snippets of my work on this blog as it progresses. I was on holiday for the first week of September so this has contributed largely to the delay, but I'm pleased with my initial bit of writing. Ok, it's only been 1,569 words so far - but I've also been busy writing a brief synopsis and fleshing out a couple of the characters.  And the weekend is young, I may well come back tomorrow and write some more...

...I can see already how much of a challenge this is going to be, not just to write the words, but to write something meaningful and worthy. My basic plot stems around a character called Matt Drake, a homeless man down on his luck. He keeps having dreams (or, I should rather say, nightmares) about The Black Tree, and drowns out the visions and reality around him with alcohol.  However, he's soon to meet Anouska, a quirky female with spiky, blonde hair - and his real journey will begin...

...not giving much away, here, and I don't plan on giving out the whole plot in this blog. It's just here to whet your appetite, and show you my progress.  More blogs soon, as I say, I hope to add more to this weekly! Or whenever I write...

Ideas taking shape

"The Black Tree is where the white faeries live..."

Well, I've worked out a basic idea and written a little synopsis of my book in readiness to begin writing.  So yes, at the moment, the target remains the same, but then the launch of this event was only Monday...

...I aim to begin writing in earnest soon, so the word count will decrease over the next couple of posts.

I've also been asked by a friend of mine, Hazel, for a cameo role in the book, and I will happily oblige as she wants a horrible death for her character...well, I aim to please!  Still not quite sure how her demise will occur, but working on it Haze!

Appreciate all those who are taking the time to read this blog as it develops, and also thanks for donations and support already received! That's fantastic thank you. I promise not to let you down and get this book underway very soon.

It was wonderful to attend the launch party on Monday, met some new people and like minded souls also taken part in the challenge.  It will be interesting to see what other people come up with as their project.

Will post more on here as soon as the book begins to take shape - but the idea is forming, and that's where all books have to come from!  More news soon on the characters in the book and the basic plot.

Welcome

Remaining Word Count: 52,600

Hi all, and welcome to 'Writing The Black Tree', a blog which will follow my efforts weekly.

I'm writing a book in 6 months, hopefully, with at least a word count of 52,600 words, as part of the Safe Space Write-a-thon - a charity based in Fife, Scotland.

I have set up a Just Giving page as I'm donating for this worthy charity, so if you want to help me reach my target, please follow the link and donate.  Many thanks!

I thought it would be fun for you all to read how I get on, on a weekly basis, with all the highs and lows of attempting to write a book in 6 months.

Next week (Sep 3rd) is the launch event for the charity, and it is from this day onward when I can start writing my book and my words...so expect my weekly blogs to follow thereafter.

Thanks for your support; I hope you find this journey as fun as I will!!