Author: Diane Griffin

Diane is a writer of Fantasy, an intermittent blogger, and a generator of nonsense.

Novel Progress Report 1/15/25

Just, you know, how it’s going..

So, here it is, January ’25. The world is about to enter a long, dark corridor. Really, we’re pretty much in that corridor already, but we’re about to turn a corner and whatever dim light there was behind us is going to be cut off.

We’re entering an age where human life will be much less valuable. The people are on the ropes. What are we going to do? What can we do? Time will tell. I hope what’s coming is at least a good story.

Into this dark January I continue to work on my novel-in-progress provisionally entitled A Curse of Romans. I’m giving it about 3 hours a week right now, but it is a consistent 3 hours a week, and has been since 2022. I’m a little over 3/4ths of the way through a 4th draft. I keep thinking I should devote more time to it, but whether I do or not, I intend to get it to a final draft, probably 3 or 4 passes away.

This current draft is about getting my facts straight. I’m consistentizing my worldbuilding (which was improvised in the first draft), I’m trying to make the characters a little bit more interior-logical, line-editing some because some things I did on the fly were obviously bad and it’s embarrassing, plus I’m rewriting two big sections, one of which I did earlier and one of which is upcoming – i. e., the ending. The current ending must be scrapped and replaced.

Next draft will be a scene-by-scene out-loud retelling in the narrator’s voice. Draft five is shaping up to be crucial. That will be the one where not only will I be reading each scene aloud, I’ll be applying the Stanislavsky stuff that my MFA seminar was about. If I don’t get intentions right, the whole thing will fall apart. Also wondering if I should acquire a kilij, which my narrator character uses.

So yeah, it’s difficult, I’m going slow, but the work is going well. I like what it’s about, I like my characters, and I think this is a good story. Of course, anyone who ever eventually reads the thing will decide.

Current listening: The Mob Rules by Black Sabbath.

Barrett by Syd Barrett

A reminder of what might have been

Syd Barrett was the original leading light of Pink Floyd, but succumbed to debilitating psychological issues that began around the time of the release of the band’s first album. He left the band under a cloud after a short struggle to continue contributing, and after two erratic solo albums, left the music business entirely. Barrett, his second solo album, was the end of the road for Syd as a recording artist.

It’s sssssooooo wwwwweeeeiiiirrrrrddddddddd, but it’s also surprisingly good considering the problems involved in making it, and different from anything else you might care to name in rock music.

The first thing I think of with Syd’s solo stuff is wild tempo shifts and a casual attitude towards pitch, but there’s less out-of-control-ness than you might think on Barrett. I mean, it’s loose, at times almost chaotic, but I think Syd was a lot more on top of things for this record than his rep might suggest.

“Gigolo Aunt,” for instance is prime late-sixties pop rock, as is “Baby Lemonade.” The shuffling beats, the psychedelic brightness, the unique phrasing and viewpoint — all are trademark, and testament to Barrett’s distinctive creativity.

The band is Syd on vocals and guitar, Richard Wright on keys, Jeff Shirley from Humble Pie on drums, and David Gilmour on bass and backing vocals. Gilmour and Wright are the producers. At Gilmour’s insistance, Syd plays all the guitars.

Ultimately, it’s both its own thing – loose and immediate, quirky and streamlined – and a reminder of what might have been.

ZEITGEIST 11/12/24

The Death Cult Wins

The Trump/Jesus Death Cult has grown to such a size that they’ve won a national election in a landslide. As of this writing, this information has been hanging in the air for a week. My assessment is that some are greiving, some are beginning to bargain, some are in acceptance.

I’m angry: at the Republicans, yes – I have family members in the Cult, and a few that aren’t. I think I’m more angry at the Democrats for not having a primary. They’ve behaved like absolute fools this election, playing the palooka to a “T” again.

In 2019, Kamala went from being the top-rated Dem in the primary to having to drop out before Iowa to save herself from embarrassment. Why does nobody remember this? Soon as it became clear that she was the candidate, I knew she would lose.

10/28/24

I’m listening to Hand. Cannot. Erase. by Steven Wilson and it’s a remarkable experience.

My copy of Hand. Cannot. Erase. by Steven Wilson

It came out in 2015. Wikipedia tells me it’s his fourth solo album, since deactivating Porcupine Tree after the less-than-successful The Incident (an album I liked, though they’ve made better.)

This album is proggy af. Synths, time signature shenanigans, lots of notes, two 10+ minutes-long tracks… and yet it feels contemporary. If Classic Rock™ were still a thing as of 10 years ago, this album would definitely qualify. I hear the influences, and the originality. This is a Contender, an album that should be in the pantheon.

I’m listening now and it soothes me. The election THE GODDAMN ELECTION is 8 days away and I have little hope that things are going to be OK. There is a charismatic cult leader openly running for president, describing the fascist policies he intends to implement publicly, and the supposed “normie” (but also authoritarian and a genocide) alternative is barely hanging on to a lead in the current polling. The only person in the race whom I think might have a chance of setting this country on the right path has absolutely no chance of winning. It’s a scary time.

But this album is good, thoughtful, and human. The playing here reminds me that there is virtue in people, and that that virtue… great musicianship, great music production, a clear eye expressed in the lyrics of these songs, originality… can still happen.

Steven Wilson gives me hope.