Did I Just Join the 5:00 am Club?
In which I ponder the wise words of Bob Dylan, find a plot idea, read about airships, and watch people ride motorcycles around in circles.
The 5:00 am Club. It’s a phrase I’ve seen used on various writers’ social groups and forums over the years. A term bandied about by those brave souls who get up at 5:00 am every morning to work on their latest masterpiece for a few hours before starting their day.
In some ways, it sounds like a smart idea, unless you’re not a morning person, or it’s just not the time of day that works best for you creatively. We all develop different writing muscles and rhythms after all.
For most of my life, I haven’t been a morning person, I like to take a slow gradual start to the day and do most of my productive work later. The evenings, after dinner, have traditionally been my focused writing time.
But as Mr. Robert Zimmerman once proclaimed, ‘The Times They Are A-Changing.’
Over the last few years, I’ve started waking earlier and enjoyed walking around the neighborhood before starting my working day. When I travel I like to be up early and exploring while watching a new city come to life, or if on a road trip its all about heading out as soon as possible to make the most of the day.
And then there’s the Brabazon book. While most of the initial draft was written in the evenings, the current round of revisions has a different idea and for some reason has decided that I will get my best ideas that have to be addressed RIGHT NOW at unspeakable hours of the morning - like 2:00 am on some occasions.
So this morning I find myself in my hotel room opening my laptop at 5:00 am to work on Chapter 12 before heading out to spend the day with one of my consulting clients.
I have the feeling that I may be drifting towards a membership in that club after all.
Alan
Other Stuff
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Word Slinging
For over a decade now I’ve been working in fits and starts on an idea for a novel about Shakespeare, but it just hasn’t come together. I never found a central plot device I felt would work.
Until this week while reading a book on my Kindle I came across a reference to something that I think would work as the central plot. I took some quick notes and the more I think about it, the more I think it will fit.
Now I just want to dive back in and figure it out….
… which is all a bit awkward as I have the Brabazon book and a completely different novel to finish first.
Ah, the joys of writing.
Pages and Screens
Books Read in 2024 - Books Read in 2024 #46 - “ His Majesty’s Airship” by S. C. Gwynne
I’ve been aware of the basics of the R101’s tragic story for a long time, a large experimental British airship that crashed in France under mysterious circumstances, but I hadn’t read anything that filled in the details.
This book does an excellent job of that; telling the parallel story of the ship’s fateful final trip alongside the events that led up to it.
Gwynne also balances the history of airships in general, the technicalities of how they operated, and the human stories well, intertwining them in a compelling narrative that pulls you along even when you already know the outcome.
He also looks at the causes of the crash from a human standpoint, the combination of an over-ambitious politician, a go-for-it test pilot with a drinking problem, and a construction manager who only shared the good news and hid the bad placing the ship in a position it should never have been in.
The technical aspects of why the R101 nose-dived into the French countryside are also covered from the original inquiry up to modern computer and forensic analysis that seems to have solved the mystery of ‘what broke?’
I highly recommend it if you are interested in aviation history, or the social and cultural aspects of British nationalism in the inter-war years.
Or just want a good narrative non-fiction read.
For any fellow Dr. Who types I can also recommend this excellent 8th Doctor audio drama from Big Finish set on the R101. - I’ve had it on CD for many years and it’s a regular listen. - Now I need to give it another go around after reading this book.
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Bond Briefings
In the latest edition of our James Bond Lexicon newsletter, we discuss recent encounters with the numbers, 0, 0 and 7.
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Before They Were Beatles Updates
The latest issue of the Before They Were Beatles newsletter in which we take a sidebar and look at the history of the Liverpool suburbs that John, Paul, & George called home.
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Weekly Web Round-Up
Batman On The Cover - The journey through Batman’s comics publishing history continues this week with the foreign editions from March 1969 published in Denmark, France, Germany, and Italy. - All are straight reprints of earlier US covers this time around, so nothing special to share.
Belle Vue Speedway - I don’t mention it very often, but I also have a blog on Tumblr that celebrates my favorite sports team - Manchester’s Belle Vue Aces motorcycle speedway team. My family has supported them since the 1950s and I continue to follow their exploits from the other side of the ocean.
My little blog is a mix of historical stuff and occasional photos and videos from the current season in progress. This week they secured a close win at their home track, and I thought this great photo really captured the action.
Where on the Web is Alan?
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See you next time
Alan J. Porter
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