Luxembourg

I am writing/editing most days. Some days I ignore the book and play guitar. Other times I am drawn to adding details. I have a 15,000 word goal in my mind - the three chapter completion bit. That is when I may send what I have written to the odd publisher - test the water of rejection. I am finding it difficult delving into my past. One pretty unsavoury episode I am currently dredging back up involves a violent incident in a pub in Luxembourg. Well, it remains violent in my mind because it came out of nowhere and involved a nice Irish chap pinning my throat against the wall with a silver candlestick. It was over in a few minutes and acted as a warning to me to avoid this particular character but I have managed to weave the experience into my writing. It has also helped me to analyse why someone would act in such a way. The characters I am introducing - are overlapping with each other - and now seem very real - I can picture them being part of my past - or many pasts if you like. And that was what living abroad enabled so many ex-pats to do - re-invent themselves, leave behind a shabby past and re-glaze it. Polish it with lies. If I carried anything away from the many years I lived abroad it was that most people were running from something - consciously or not. Luxembourg to me was a magical place and that is why I chose it as a location for my writing - it stirred my imagination at a very young age and lots of changing incidents occurred during those strange years. I think I am going to unearth many emotions as I venture to complete this book and the skill will be channelling them into attractive ideas. Here's hoping it is not an utter waste of time.