Derry, Northern Ireland

Derry, Northern Ireland
A book I'm working on is set in this town.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

I'm a big bad wuss

Got a jolt, this afternoon, when someone I'm exchanging e-mails with commented that it's highly doubtful I'll be able to pull off writing POS to the satisfaction of someone who lived it.  Of course, those who don't know much about the conflict or who didn't live in NI probably wouldn't know better, so I might get away with it a little.  Which fed into my lack of confidence about writing the piece...but which THEN (after a few hours of the usual, "What the fuck am I thinking?" crap) shifted into me getting stubborn.  Meaning I'm now of the mind that I'll work even harder on the story and just double-dog-dare people to tell I'm not from the area.

The thing is, I'm already aware of one trap -- too much minute detail.  I know I'm immersing myself in as much of the day-to-day and history and sociology of the times, but something I caught onto a long time ago (why or where this notion came from, I have no idea) is that people who lived the times didn't talk about what they had for breakfast except in the most abstract sense.  Or how they dressed.  Or exactly how far it was from this store to that.  These are the kinds of things they just didn't think about and wouldn't even think to comment on.

What I WILL have to focus on is attitude and speech.  One thing I have going in my favor is, Brendan spends almost 9 years in Houston so I can get away with him sounding a bit American.  It's his Irish mates, family and antagonists I'll have problems with.

But what's surprising me is how quickly I shifted into "I'm just gonna do it" mode.  In the past, I'd have spent days fighting with myself over whether or not I'm the right guy for this story.  God knows I've already done that on far too many occasions.  But now?  I dunno...maybe I'm getting to where I trust Brendan will show me the right way to do things.

Guess we won't know till it's done and I get a review from a Derry man, will we?

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