(April 20 – 26)
I finally started the chapter that I’ve probably been most excited about in the novel: the ‘horror’ chapter. This is, obviously, a genre I feel very comfortable about playing around in. However, I do feel a certain amount of trepidation—after all, if there’s any chapter in the book that absolutely *needs* to work, it’s surely this one. I suspect this will end up being a harder write than the others.
One good thing
This week, for horror Fridate, we watched The Stone Tape. I saw this for the first time some years back, and have been keen for a rewatch ever since. I have to say I was a little dismayed that I didn’t find it anywhere near as creepy as I did the first time around, but that doesn’t mean the rewatch was in any way a disappointment.
What I took away from it was a reminder that genre (and themes) can be merged to great effect. Nigel Kneale, after all, effectively made a career out of exploring horror in science fiction terms. Rather than merely telling a scary science-fiction story, Kneale’s relatively simple technique is to place science-fiction characters in a horror setting which instantly delivers a classic science vs supernatural theme. Obviously, these are two genres that already sit very comfortably together, but some day I’d like to explore whether there are any other genres which can be used to interrogate each other in a similar way.
One bad thing
I continue to be surprised by how relatively ‘empty’ my afternoons are. I’m working part-time for now, which takes up my mornings, but the kindergestalt have gotten in the habit of spending their afternoons constructing elaborate Minecraft worlds, which leaves them requiring minimal supervision from me. I feel like I should be making more use of this time, but it turns out I’m not very practised any more in the use of free time.