The Crazy Idea

I just had this crazy idea.

When I say "just" I mean in the past few days. What if I were to try writing comic books? That might be cool.

So there are several ways this could go. I've got a history of mad ideas that have never come to anything much. Started projects that I perpetually feel vaguely guilty about. This could go the same way as all of those, initial enthusiasm in a burst like a semi-controlled supernova, ending in a sidelined whimper.

Or not.

Another way it could go, it could be like the few mad ideas that I have which come to fruition.

Case 1: buying and keeping tropical fish. To be fair after the initial splash of interest (see what I did there?) it's relatively low-maintenance. Plus they're nice to look at.

Case 2: writing and recording music. Check, done that, still doing that, Four albums of instrumental rock released into the wild, an album of cover songs, following on from two tapes of my own songs several years ago, and two or three tapes made with friends. Another album is in progress,

Case 3: starting a ceilidh band. This was a similar "I've just had a crazy idea" moment, back in the mid-90s. I'm currently in my second ceilidh band with quite a considerable number of events done and no signs of stopping yet.

The thing is, you never know. You don't know how far you will take something unless you try. I'm now old enough and cynical enough to not be scared of failure, at least in this sort of context. I also know that losing interest is fine - having said earlier I feel guilty over incomplete dreams - to be honest I don't really, not very much.

So it could be worth a punt.

So between myself and me, in order to stay relatively sane, I am prepared to do myself a deal. If I submit a hundred scripts and have nothing accepted, then it's time to give up. Unless I have a good reason not to give up, which probably would be because I'm having too much fun being rejected. It seems unlikely.

I can give up any time I like before that. I probably will. I think the chances are about one in two that I will even start writing my first script, then one in three that I will dare to submit, and about one in a hundred that I will have the first thing I do accepted. I don't need to do this for the money (although the idea of quitting the day job and becoming a professional writer is attractive, a bit) and it is a hobby, so I will set out principle number 2: If I stop enjoying it, then it's time to give up.

I guess the final question is - why blog? I guess three reasons:

1. A writer writes. I know this instinctively, and because I have read published writers saying so. All writing is practice.
2. The process could be interesting, at least if I carry on with it. It's rare to have a blow-by-blow account of something like this right from the start. I have taken on enough challenges to know that this will be a journey, and although right now I am blogging to a readership of one (me) there may be interest in it one day - or it might just join the millions, probably billions of blogs out there where people are pouring their hearts out to the void. Hello void.
3. It will give me a great tool for prevaricating - why write actual scripts when I can blog about it?

That's probably enough for a first post. Maybe next time I'll talk about my scant background as a writer. And another time I can talk about how I could approach this. See, that's three ideas for blog posts already, if that isn't an indication that I can be a writer then nothing is.