Good morning. I have Julius Thompson in the author chair today and over a cup of tea and a rather nice carrot cake, he will be talking about his frustrations when it comes to writing.
Frustration!
Frustration! That is how I feel as I try to carve out time to write my novels. After teaching high school English classes all day and then doing essential things around the house it is almost 11:00 PM. My creativity is ignited sixty minutes before the midnight hour. That is good and bad, because for me I'm at my most creative late at night. When I start to write, time really speeds up and when I realize it is past midnight. I have to be up at 5:45 AM to start the work day cycle all over again. What's a writer to do? When at midnight you feel as if a pint of adrenalin has been shot into your veins. Without a doubt late night feels like 9 a.m. I’m a child of the sixties and when I put on my earphones with the Delfonics, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Mary Wells, Wilson Pickett, the Drifters and the music of the Sound of Philadelphia, the ideas start to flow. My minds eye is filled with the visuals. When writing parts of A Brownstone in Brooklyn, I was so deep into the fictive dream that I would look at the clock and it would be 4:00 am. I had written over 2,000 words. My alarm clock was set for 5:45 am. No way was I going to get up and attempt a full days’ work on less than two hours of sleep. I just called in and took the day off. I slept for a while and then edited all day. And at the same time on the next night, 11:00 p.m., I was ready for a great night of writing but I would come up with only one sentence. That’s why it’s an art, not an exact science. When the writing muse hits you, you’d better take advantage. It’s just another peril of the frustrations of the nightlife of writing. 
About Ghost of Atlanta: In The Ghost of Atlanta, Andy Michael Pilgrim faces demons from his youth that haunted his life. These are the ghosts in the crawl spaces of his life; some are real and some supernatural. After landing a job with The Atlanta Defender, Andy returns home and visits the place where he finally faces remembrances of his deceased abusive father. While walking around the grounds, he meets his mysterious cousin, Joe Boy, and finds out that the property is going to be sold by unscrupulous cousins. While Andy fights this battle, he must confront the personal demon of a possible drug addiction, breaking the color barrier at the south’s largest newspaper, The Atlanta Defender, meeting his old girl friend and fighting the lingering effects of segregation in small-town Georgia life. As the story unwinds, all these forces push Andy toward the breaking point, where he almost quits on life. Malevolent mortal deeds are committed and Andy could be next in line. "The Ghost of Atlanta" is, overall, a superbly written book. 5 stars!~Readers Favorite
Julius's books can be found here
Posts
And having all day in which to write doesn't guarantee that you'll get that much more done, if your muse doesn't choose to cooperate! I think that sometimes the pressure of having less time in which to write sometimes jump starts creativity more than having a lot of leisure time.
ReplyDeleteInteresting interview, Julius, and your book sounds interesting. I wish you well with it and future novels.
Nice to have you here Julius. I procrastinate more than get frustrated. Then I get cross for not achieving my goals lol a vicious circle.
ReplyDeleteI can't write, that frustrates me. So i am resigned to being a reader lol Good Luck with your books Julius.
ReplyDeleteAlthough not a writer, I know what you mean about well into the night with time passing. I go to bed to read and can still be reading at 4a.m, and need matchsticks to keep my eyes open the next day. Good luck with your book.
ReplyDeleteThere are ghosts everywhere,Julius. I get frustrated with them lol Good luck with your book. I will take a quick peek at your website to see what I can afford.
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel! I'd love to meet an author who can sleep more than two hours straight, without ghosts, memories, subplots...or rowdy muses getting in the way. Great post!
ReplyDelete