wurdburd

You know, I did a lot of character building for my Nano novel, how my characters - my family as I began to refer to them, went about their daily lives, what happened to them etc. Today I have seen a real snapshot of how people have lived in the past and it seems almost alien to me and my life today.

We took the kids to a farm , fed animals, played in the park, went in the maze, went inside the old bakery and followed a trail to see how they ground the flour in a water mill. But while we had a good time and the kids really enjoyed it , the best part for me was going into the farmhouse which has been maintained as a 1940’s home, the kitchen, living room and pantry. Letters up on the wall, behind glass, from children evacuated to the farm. Recounts from other children about what the procedure was when the air raid warnings sounded - must have been terrifying. I cannot begin to imagine either what it would be like to receive either a telegram or visit to say a loved one was missing in action or had been killed. The perspective you get at school is always from the British point of view, but speaking to my grandmother one day, she pointed out it was not just British families going though this heartache but thousands of families all over the place. After all it was a World War.

Anyway looking around this house I thought how wonderful it was that this slice of life, like a jar of home made jam, had been preserved, for us to see. I don’t say this to be preachy but simply because I wondered what a typical room from our time would look like in 60 years time. How old fashioned our flat screen televisions that are HD ready, the Wii console, gaming chair - the rectangle on the wall that displays a fish tank, but at the flick of a switch could be a roaring fire in the hearth. What are we leaving for another generation to find? What should we be recording - on paper, with real pens,- for generations to understand how life is for us these days? A credit card bill, a receipt for a weeks food shopping - maybe a mortgage offer?

Forget all this namby pamby ‘I wrote a novel in November’ malarkey

Its been ‘put to one side ‘ for December, I swear I have not looked at it - may have given more than a passing thought and talked about it just a teensy weensy bit - okay quite a lot.

But, like a good Christmas pud, it has had time to mature, and will in time become vintage. Unlike Stilton cheese, however, this is something I would want to find on a bedside table, and I hope will not leave you with an odd taste in the mouth or peculiar dreams for nights on end.

So now it is January, the hard graft begins to get into the editing part. Already I am thinking it was easier to write the thing in the first place.

How will it feel to take it apart, assess the content and maybe rewrite, extend or delete text - I think I would rather go through childbirth. I have a 100% success rate for that……

If you stood by and watched the vacuous space on this blog become full of nonsensical meanderings, please stay with me as I travel this path of landmines without so much of a sat nav to help me find the way…..

Happy New Year by the way.. see you tomorrow