Help! What shall I write on the blog this week?!

‘Help!’ I said to my son, about three minutes ago. ‘I have to do a blog post for tomorrow, for the Novel Points of View blog. Give me a topic to write about, quick!’ 

 ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘What do you writers write about? Covid? Brexit?’ I suppressed a shiver of dread that ran through me as he said those two words. There has been far too much of each in the news lately. I have to confess, I quite enjoyed all the shenanigans in the US during the transfer of power from Trump to Biden. Took my British mind off our own problems for a while. 

 ‘No,’ I told him. ‘Neither of those topics. Definitely not.’ And now I feel you readers heaving a sigh of relief. ‘What else?’ 

‘Write about your favourite sandwich,’ he said, in an effort to get rid of me. He was busy watching an old episode of Star Trek. During these C**** times (I am not typing that word again in this blog, it is not the topic of this post) he has set himself the ‘challenge’ of watching all Star Trek episodes ever made, and there are a lot of them. He’s working his way through the originals from the 60s and 70s right now.

Spock and Kirk, from the original Star Trek

Actually that’s not all he’s been up to. He is 23 and his generation have been badly affected by C****. He has been living with us for almost a year, jobless. He’s taught himself to play the piano, and has also learned to crochet. A friend of his taking a degree in Fine Art is doing something arty for her final year project with donated crochet pieces. She’s filling a room as a comment on how crocheting (and other crafts) have helped her and many others through the lockdowns. Oh no, why does everything I write lead me back to that topic? Anyway, his contribution started as a square and is rapidly turning into a blanket, double-bed sized. (Back when I took my final exams, a crocheted dissertation was not an option. Mine had to be typed.) 

 Thinking about Star Trek. How did they come up with so many episodes? How do any long running series keep going? Last night I watched the latest episode of Death in Paradise. This show, if you have not seen it, is effectively ‘closed room’ murders, taking place on an idyllic Caribbean island. Someone dies in suspicious circumstances; there are only ever three or four suspects, all of whom have a possible motive, but none of whom apparently had the opportunity to do the deed. The police inspector has his own, idiosyncratic ways of solving murders but always there is some little detail that niggles at him and eventually helps him solve the mystery in a flash of inspiration. The show’s been running long enough for them to have had about four different inspectors so far. It’s very formulaic but every episode is definitely different. Kudos to the writers for coming up with so many plots. Wahey, I managed to mention writing at last in a writing blog!

 

Catherine's bar - One of the settings used for Death in Paradise

I’ve never written so much as a sequel, let alone a series. My novels are all standalone. Which means I have to come up with entirely different plots and characters and settings every time. While in some ways that’s harder than sticking to the same setting and main characters, it does mean I am more free to let the book go in any direction I want. Rather like this blog post.

Cheese and pickle, in case you were wondering. My favourite sandwich, that is.