Having completed my revisions to A Greater World and sent it back to my agent  (a reworking of the way the protagonists meet) after a somewhat hesitant start, I’ve now begun a radical rewrite of Kurinji Flowers. Today my characters went to the movies at the Odeon in Harrogate. This classic art deco cinema opened in September 1936. Here’s the cinema –  featured on a commemorative stamp. I’d no idea that the chap who owned the Odeon chain, Oscar Deutsch used to say in publicity that Odeon (a Greek word for a building housing poetry and music performances) stood for Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation. The wonders of Wikipedia!

I’m changing all sorts – plot elements, characters, adding whole new scenes and chopping others. I’m writing in the first person and in the first draft my protagonist was a bit of a king-sized pain in the butt. Well we don’t want perfection – but if the voice in your ears is driving you up the wall that’s no good at all. I think she was also coming across as a bit too flip and glib and sarcastic – and not gently irreverent as I had intended. I tried experimenting with switching to third person narrative (more usual for me) but in this case it felt all wrong. It may end up still all wrong – and maybe on the scrap heap – but I’m having a damn good try at sorting it out. The consequence is that some elements will be darker than before – but as my brother’s working title for the book was “Rumpy Pumpy in the Raj” maybe that’s no bad thing!

After a shaky start I am now back in the flow – 2200 words a day on average.  Tomorrow I hope to skive off in the morning to go to the Wellcome Trust exhibition on death – it’s supposed to be brilliant – and who knows? I make get some inspiration.