A = April's Arrived!

 “Oh, to be in England, now that April’s here.” 

(Home Thoughts, from Abroad – Robert Browning). 

Maybe this should be re-written as ‘Oh, to be in Blogland, now that April’s here' because today I (and over 800 other bloggers) embark on the April 2011 Blogging Challenge.

What does this involve?  Blogging every day in April (except Sundays), each blog starting with a consecutive letter of the alphabet, right through from A to Z so that, by the end of April, I will have completed 26 blogs.

Why am I doing it?  When I signed up, it sounded like fun – and a way to get my creative juices flowing.  During the last few days of March, my blasé attitude has gradually turned to something bordering on panic – which leads me to the next question:

What on earth am I going to write about each day?  When I first decided to take the challenge, I had every intention of being ‘very organised’ about it.  Maybe I’d even write the blogs in advance.  I made an A-Z list, jotted down a few possible titles, wondered whether or not I should have a theme, and then - And then what?  Nothing. 

When I was working full-time, I used to be extremely organised.  Made lists and ticked things off well in advance of when tasks had to be completed.  Once I retired, my innate skill of procrastination came to the fore and ‘never do today what you can put off until tomorrow’ sadly became my motto.

So now it’s April 1st and the short answer to the question of what I’m going to write about is – I haven’t a clue!  I shall have to do what I do when I’m writing my novels – and pantser my way through April.  For those readers unaware of writers’ jargon, that means ‘writing by the seat of one’s pants.’

I admire those writers who plot their stories in great detail.  They make notes about what is going to happen in every chapter, they write detailed character profiles, they know exactly where their story is going.

But while the left (organised) side of my brain tells me it’s very sensible to plot your book in this way, the right (creative) side still screams ‘Planning it all out beforehand destroys the spontaneity.’  So I start with two people and a basic idea.  Sometimes an idea about a conflict starts me off, sometimes just an idle musing (see my previous blog for an example of this).  I then work things out as I go along.  Different ideas occur to me. I incorporate some, I discard others.  The characters talk and take me along with them.  Sometimes they surprise me.  It’s a journey of discovery.

I have a feeling that April is going to be a similar journey.  Hope you’ll join me for the ride!   And if you want to challenge me with any particular topics, please do!