Thursday, March 23, 2006

Writer's Pigeon

I've hit a bit of a block with my writing. I got a new job. I got sick. I see friends.

It's more than that though. I have wonderful ideas. Fantastic visions of a story I know I want to write. When I sit down though, it doesn't come out at all like I want it. Even this post feels stuttering in comparison to the flow of words I want it to be.

One of the many things I've been doing lately besides writing is watching TV. Tech Support has ... acquired ... some BBC Comedies. Amungst them is a show called "Dark Place", about a horror writer who for a time in the 80's had his own TV show. Of course since it is a comedy the show and his writing are just terrible.

Every episode opens with our horror writer reading a bit of his novel, pretentiously, out loud. For some reason the opening to the third episode particularly hit home:

"The moonlight shone down on the place, unhindered. The gnarled parapets jagged upwards like a bony hand with icy indifference. In the background there was a pigeon. Who knew how long the place had stood there? 40 years? 50 years? Tempus immemoria, i.e. always? But it was a bad place, that much was certain, a very bad place indeed."

For some reason the line "In the background there was a pigeon" hit me particularly hard. It's hysterical to be sure. And it's a perfect example of how my writing has felt lately. How it feels even now.

Sara is struggling to make complete, interesting sentences. In the background there was a pigeon.

1 comment:

Catherine said...

Hahahaha, well, at least you and your pigeon made me laugh.