Know your Enemies

Ever since I realised that I need to rewrite Damaskopolis I’ve been paralysed. How the hell was I even going to approach rewriting this hot steaming mess that I’ve been building up like a fat-berg in a London sewer over several years? It took a while, but I think I’m slowly clawing my way to the starting line. The good news is that all is not lost. In fact, the characters that I’ve used are still in there somewhere, but I’m chopping and trimming away, and there’s something else that is shaping up. It’s weird, because there’s stuff I cut out years ago that I’m now looking to re-use, but in a totally different light. It’s like the story is in there somewhere and I just need to chisel it out. More to come on this, but damn it feels good to have some kind of roadmap again. I’ve been lost for far too long.

Yossi is staying as the protagonist, but he’s becoming a much darker and troubled figure. He’s going to have a very rough ride figuring out whose been chopping people up in the city, and he’ll make some very powerful enemies along the way. What he finds is going to be an enormous surprise.

The real progress today was in getting to know what his antagonist wants. I won’t say who it is, but it was a revelation to slowly piece together their background, wants and needs. There’s something pathetic and almost tragic about them too, but it’s going to fit in wonderfully with where this story might eventually end up. When it comes to writing I guess it’s true what they say - know your enemies!

Later…

Appreciation

My wife and I were talking about how difficult it is for some people during this Covid-19 pandemic. We’ve been incredibly fortunate and I count my blessings every day. I know what it’s like to be out on your ass without two coins to rub together, walking around aimlessly with no idea what you’re going to do. It’s hard out there. It’s always been hard, and sometimes you just get lucky and life throws you a line. And sometimes you’re not. We don’t have control over these things, but we do have control over whether or not we want to be assholes about it. And that’s what I want my son to appreciate - that kindness is a courageous and powerful choice even if the universe sometimes tells us otherwise.

And there’s another thing he will need to remember when he appreciates the things that life has put his way. That almost everything he touches, eats, wears, or drinks has been picked, sorted, reared, assembled, or created through the labour of another. Apples don’t just magically appear in the supermarket or in our kitchen. Clothes aren’t just found in shops and warehouses. Our lives and our labour connect us all together, and the natural world that we live in. We’re part of an enormous, wonderful, and, at times, frightening fabric. We’re not islands. And even when life can be difficult, we are not alone.