Calling Victor Meldrew

I am become . . . Victor Meldrew

There’s got to be a reason for it, but I just don’t understand. Would someone please tell me just how I can collect a head-full of ideas over a six-week hiatus and then have them all fly out of my skull, the moment I open Scrivener?

There I was, yesterday afternoon. I had completed posting to this blog, brewed a cup of tea, (Earl Grey, if you please) and was ready to rumble. Scrivener came up and then, suddenly, poof! Everything was gone. It was if I’d never thought of these things in the first place. To quote the legendary Victor Meldrew[1], “I don’t believe it!”

Putting Peter on the spot

The day was not a total loss. I spent time reviewing my notes for this story and occasionally wandering off into scenes from future books; not the first time that’s happened. Once, I strayed into book number four, Suburban Mermaid, and did not return for days on end.

Most of Syrena takes place on Colony Island – or the Greater Royston Metro Area – with only a relative few taking place elsewhere. With all this time on the Island, one would think I’d have plenty of opportunities to make Peter MacPherson uncomfortable. In Urban Mermaid, Peter had to deal with the quirks of Island culture on a regular basis. The chapter covering his first night under his in-law’s roof is a prime example[2].

This time around, these moments are limited to just a couple of instances. Indeed, one of them is there just so Peter can become even more annoyed with Billy King, his old college roommate. Of course, there is a bit of hugger-mugger[3] in the build up to all this, but you’ll just have to wait and find out what it is.

And in conclusion . . .

Goodreads.com has a great feature which emails you a weekly collection of blog entries by the authors you’re following. This blog roundup gives me a chance to learn what my fellow writers are up to and maybe even the opportunity to steal an idea or two. Needless to say, it’s something I look forward to reading.

This morning, I opened the email from Goodreads to find just one one blog entry. It was from my own blog. To quote Victor Meldrew once again, “Unbe-lieeeve-able!”

[1] Victor Meldrew is the central character of the long-running British sit-com, One Foot in the Grave. (1990 – 2000). Victor is the archetypical ‘grumpy old man’. Of course, he would disagree, claiming he was simply a “normal man in a world full of idiots.”

[2] If you have no idea what happened in this chapter, the go buy a copy of Urban Mermaid to find out for yourself. There are handy links in the sidebar which will allow you to do just that.

[3] noun – secrecy, reticence. adjective – secret or clandestine. verb – to keep secret or concealed; hush up.