What Can I Write About?

As mentioned in my previous post, one problem I have that I'd like to resolve as such is how to write a book. Beyond needing a rough genre, solid characters, an outline for the plot with a story that will captivate the imagination of the reader, and then writing a draft, a second draft, editing and rewriting. Those are the obvious, tangible elements. The process of sitting down and writing doesn't daunt me, I know I could sit and write and write. But it's having the x factor, some indescribable quality either of a character or the story, and then finding the words and the style to express it so it's readable, relatable (or not) and magnetises the reader.

I've got a few ideas for stories, mostly based more or less on my own experiences. I travelled around Peru and Central America in 2010 (wow it was that long ago already?!) and wrote a diary which I started to develop on a different blog. There's plenty of material there.

Similarly I moved from London to Poland where I lived for 2 and a half years, and there's more than enough to write about, be it a fictional story or a A Year In Provence-style autobiographical tale. Student life, travels in Europe and America, living in France, the list of potential stories goes on. Maybe I will use this blog to develop a few of those, dedicating a few posts to a specific subject and see how I like it, how things shape up.

The other issue, which is probably more mental than anything else, is the feeling I have of not being capable of writing a book because I feel severely underprepared. I haven't read "all the classics" (who has?) but I feel like I just haven't read enough. I set myself the goal of reading 52 books this year. 1 per week seemed like a challenge but still doable. Well we are well over halfway into this year and I've read about 20 books, so I'm trailing quite badly. I adore reading, being transported into another world, thinking, contemplating and all the other clichéd but correct things we say reading does for us.

However, it's when reading that I realise just how incapable of replicating the authors' skills and producing a novel I am. Short stories are a good idea for a start, but before I even get that far I'm going to be honing my craft here.

Exercise. I must start to exercise more regularly, both for my body's sake and my mind's too. Reading, writing, exercising, on top of work and the other duties, chores, activities that life entails. That's why it would be no loss to my life to delete social media apps and fill my time more productively and enjoyably doing things I actually want to do more of the time.

Two blogs about wanting to write, the reasons why, the challenges and so on seems like enough. Now it's time to write about something different.