My new novel finds me yet again switching and mixing genres, and sets me new challenges. The image above was central to the original plot, and is the wonderful Palm House in Sefton Park in Liverpool, now restored to its former glory. But at the beginning of the 1990s it was derelict, with broken glass and a rather spooky deserted atmosphere, and it gave me an idea.
Inspired by the view, I wrote a filmscript, a psychological thriller about a man obsessed with the ghost of his dead girlfriend, and as I don’t do things by half, I started to film and direct it with actor friends helping out. I still have the rushes and I completed half a dozen scenes before time, money, and one of my stars buggering off meant it all fell apart, but I’ve never forgotten the story. So I decided to resurrect it as a novel, with the benefit of several decades improvement in writing skills. A few months ago I was watching back some of the footage, and I realised that the (admittedly thin and visual/ music influenced) plot had a lot more scope for expansion, and for the inclusion of some supernatural elements. A couple of locations immediately came to mind and before I knew what I was doing I’d added an extra strand which may (or may not) explain the disturbing events of the lead character.
I know I’m teasing here, but wanted to post about the whole process of creation, so don’t want to give too many details of the plot away yet. So where am I at currently?
Unlike my previous novels where the character creation underpinned the writing, this time the plot is paramount, so I’m sat at a table of an evening with a big batch of post-it notes, scribbling ideas and moving them around to form the coherent plot. And its quite nasty in places, with some fantastic dark twists in place already, and two possible ending, depending on how transparent I want to be. One of the drivers for this is the fact that the reader won’t know whether the events and voices are in the head of the clearly disturbed main character, or whether there are literal supernatural forces at play. I’m not sure yet whether to resolve that question, as I’m very tempted to have it as a dual narrative, which could be completely explained either way. I know some people dislike unresolved mysteries but… well, we’ll see how it goes.
But the first stage, one of my favourites, is getting myself in the mood to create, and that means a playlist for when I’m writing (I always tend to have noise when I’m writing, be it radio, cd or vinyl), and from its inception, this story was created with a soundtrack. The challenge of getting that across will be something to look forward to.
At the conclusion of the original screenplay, “Head Like A Hole” by Nine Inch Nails, faded up to full volume as the main character lost himself in madness, seeing ghosts and tormenting spirits, and losing his grip on reality. So that’s track one on the playlist, naturally. Second, the action is set around a fictional Liverpool band, and I strangely chose an American band to provide the music I’d use for their single, so track two is “You Just May Be The One” by The Monkees. Third, for the spooky supernatural scenes set in the woods around Betwys-Y-Coed, even though it is very English, is Jack Frost and The Hooded Crow by Jethro Tull. I know what you may be thinking; that’s a very eclectic playlist and how does it help you get in a consistent mood for writing? Glad you asked. This was just the starting point, and I now already have sixty odd songs split into different playlists, so I have music for the band scenes, music for the psychological torment sections, tunes for the happy memories, each designed to put me in the right mindset for writing those sections. I may post the playlists later on in the process, but that’s where I am right now. Multiple playlists and post-its. And quite excited about the process to come.
More soon.
Stay safe,
Kit