The Daily Blues

Now, that I have showed you my new study, I feel obliged to tell you a little about my next writing project.

I'm counting on writing a book.

According to Wikepedia a book is "a set of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of ink, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side". I just thought I need to explain this, because there might be people out here, on the internet, who wouldn't know what a proper book is.

Of course, the book in itself is only the final product of this voyage I am embarking on. It is the tangible outcome. Constructing the narrative and forming a relatively plausible story, the plot, the characterization, the language, is the actual labor. Some would call this a mental task. I disagree. It is in fact a very physical task. Because if a writer wants his story to be credible, he has to do a considerable amount of fieldwork.

I am, of course, talking about research.

The story I have in mind at the moment - the idea spawned about four years ago - has to be thoroughly researched. I want it to be as realistic as possible. It involves international politics, and it's contemporary, which demands that most facts have to be actual facts to avoid implausibility. Crime ficition, thriller style, inspired by authors like Tom Clancy and Robert Lundlum (just to name two), but written in Danish and with Denmark as 'starting point'.

I'm planning a series of books. The protagonist is a retired colonel, veteran of the Danish armed forces. He is 71 years old when the story starts, and this is the twist I give an otherwise traditional bestseller-setup. Even though the main character is a very old man, there will be lots of action, because The Colonel is an extremely healthy gentleman, if you know what I mean. The first book revolves around the developing of new technologies and industrial espionage which also means lots of research.

There's also a very big East-African diamond somewhere in the game...

So, I am in the research phase right now. I'm reading a little about this, here and there on internet sites, and a little bit about that, here and there in old newspapers. I have a ring binder half full with newspaper clippings and prints about the subjects, covering areas such as charitable foundations, East African civil wars, the development of scientific machinery for warfare and The United Nations Social Policy and Development Division, among others.

And diamonds.

Next step is to find a good librarian.

Librarians are a source of gold to any writer. I know that from my time as a journalist. There are no limits as to what a good librarian can dig up for you. This is their job, you know. To find the precise books you need to gain knowledge on that specific thing you urge to know about. It's what they do. Very few people appreciate this in our modern World. They rely on the internet and their own judgement instead. Big mistake. No ordinary internet user can make a proper assessment of any online info.

That is why we have librarians.

When I have found out as much as I can find out via conventional research, I will handpick some real life people and arrange interviews with them.

Of course, I have to write in between the research.

Not because I am on a contract or anything, but because I simply just GOTTA. This is the only way for me to form the characters. I have to meet them and get to know them, like if I had met them in real life. I do this by simply writing about them. Not passages that I will use in the novel, but independent pieces of fiction. It can be an afternoon in Person X' childhood, a night in the pub for Person Y, the last day and night of Person Z, and so on. Just to get to know them.

This far, I have only written about the main character, and I am beginning to like The Colonel. He's in charge, if you know what I mean. However, I can not tell you more about him. You see, he is sort of old fashioned in the area of privacy. This social networking internet community weblog thing is not something he considers appropriate... though it has it's advantages... if you need to know secrets about people...



More about this later.

I have to get back to The Colonel now. This charity foundation, he recently became ambassador for, just equipped him with one of those new fancy "smartphones". It seems all Foundation collaborators get a unit for free. Sponsored by some big multinational conglomerate company somewhere in Asia. Much to his surprise it already has the personal data of most of his contacts in its memory, including old contacts that have nothing to do with his current arrangements: old schoolmates, brothers in arms, even old lovers he haven't talked to for decades. He wonders how the hell The Foundation knows about those...

I can't leave him sitting there, can I? Have to help him out.



PS: I will not bring excerpts of the actual story. I will be writing in Danish, and proper translating demands training which I haven't. You will have to wait till the book gets translated, which I'm sure it will, because it will, of course, be the bestseller to end all bestsellers. Obviously...

I will be posting about the process, though, and you will get to know things about the plot, the characters, the locations and all that.

So, please don't give me a song and dance about how much you'd like to read some of it, okay?

10 years ago
we had Steve Jobs, Bob Hope
and Johnny Cash.

Now we have no jobs,
no cash and
no hope.

Fortunately
we still have Kevin Bacon.

Prior post


I have been working today. Yeah, I know it is Sunday, and I am not supposed to be working, but it is not real work, like building something or digging holes. It was just a little writing. Not worth mentioning, really.

Only seven pages, 3197 words, based on three interviews. First one was 45 minutes, next one was 35 minutes, both via telephone. The last one was personal, face to face, on location, 2 hours and 56 minutes. A total of 256 minutes. Plus the hours I spent writing today, from around 8.00 this morning to 5.00 in the afternoon, minus 90 minutes lunch break (smoke breaks not included).

So, job's done, and I sent the whole thing to the chief editor just half an hour ago. I promised him that he would have it 'on desk' Monday morning. He is supposed to read it, erase half of it and tell me to rewrite the rest. I am prepared for that. We have five weeks to adjust and complete before they start the press.

I am quite satisfied. Not the best piece I have done ever, but acceptable, given the fact that I have not written actual journalism for almost seven years. I have been writing and also publishing but not in the area of journalism.

It feels good. I actually expected my inner drama queen to jump up today, after having finished, but that did not happen. I am talking about the feeling of not having done your best, being the worst ever, a useless and stupid person and complaining and whining and making life miserable for everyone around. I have been there before.

Not this time, though.

The actual Danish title doesn't really translate, but it goes something like 'The Engine That Couldn't'. It's a quote from the interview with Lars, and it sums up what most stress patients experience. I might change it to 'Divorcing Your Job' to emphasize that it is about burning out on the job, in a world where you are supposed to be in love with working and have a perverted sort of addictive relationsship with your job.

It'll make you sick, you know. Seriously.

Not this engine, though. Not this time anyway.

Prior post



So, Summer Vacation is almost over, and deadline for my journalistic adventure is approaching. Funny enough, it is actually like getting on the bike again. If you haven't been bicycling for a while and get on again, you will experience problems with keeping balance and also get a bit sore in the thighs, but once you've gone your first mile, it all comes back.

Research period is over. I've interviewed the experts of choice and had a brief pow-wow with my editor. All signals are go. Next week I will be interviewing a couple of stress patients. The first one is a retired social educator who used to be employed at a public institution. He had to leave business altogether, because of work related stress.

Statistics show, that most stress patients come from public workplaces. There is no one reason for this, and there seems to be a difference of opinions when it comes to establishing why there is a higher risk of getting sick from stress when you are employed in the public/state sector as opposed to the private sector.

I suspect it has something to do with the wages. Employees in the privat sector with the same credentials and the same areas of expertice and responsibility make much more money than their colleages in the publiuc sector. And people cope with difficulties much better if they know there's a substancial amount of cash waiting at the end of the month. I might not be right, though.

The guy I am about to interview is a regular chatterbox. He talks a lot. This is a challenge. I might have to bring a tape recorder. It is against my principles, but I do know how to use it. I just have to get use to the thought of riding a bike with gears and handle bar breaks.

I am also looking forward to seeing the illustration to the story. It is the first time, as far as I remember, I have had a proper sketch artist illustrating an article of mine.

I regard it as a token of honor, if you know what I mean.

In Auschwitz I bought a postcard
I unpacked it by the lake behind the crematorium
It was black and white

In Hiroshima I bought a postcard
I unpacked it on the bench at the Fountain of Eternal Prayer
It was in colour