It occurred to me today that my triathlon is in just over four weeks' time - the same length of time as NaNoWriMo, no less. Given that I've decided to enter into a preparatory period of abstinence and will most likely be climbing the walls with boredom by the end of week 1, I am thinking this could, in fact, be the ideal time to start writing something new. But what?
The main problem I have with writing (besides my innate laziness/fear of failure) is that good ideas don't seem to come along all that often. Actually, scrap that, good ideas come along all the time, it's the characters that are the problem. Devising a storyline and coming up with characters to fit is like the quest for the Holy Grail; long, frustrating, and with a limited chance of success. But on those rare occasions that you do get the ingredients just right, you feel like Nigella Lawson as she dips her finger in the cake mix and sumptuously licks it off; blissful.
So, in the absence of any obvious plot or characters for my next writing project, I've decided to take fate into my own hands and pluck something obscure from the internet to use as a catalyst. As it's already been mentioned in this post, how about I type 'Holy Grail' into Wikipedia and see what comes up......ah....perfect:
Holy Grail
The Grail plays a different role everywhere it appears, but in most versions of the legend the hero must prove himself worthy to be in its presence. In the early tales, Percival's immaturity prevents him from fulfilling his destiny when he first encounters the Grail, and he must grow spiritually and mentally before he can locate it again.
Right. What does this give me? A protagonist, for one! Someone who must prove his worth to be in the presence of something great - or someone great? Let's say our MC is a young male who has lived a comfortable but sheltered life, and the 'Grail' of the piece is a girl he meets at University who he loses through his own stupidity and later, after a voyage of self-discovery (travels abroad? Tragedy?), he tries to win back?
Ooh, I'm liking this already! What do you think?
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