What I remember most about this chapter, now having read it again, is the strange idea that I could, secretly, write the soundtrack. I think being a musician for most of my life has anyway influenced my writing in so much as I would recognize kitschy lines or lines already used in a song. Song writing is a modern form of expression and maybe that is why new songs are always being written. Old songs are good/great but new songs talk to the new generation. In literature, sometimes, I get the feeling we worship old gods. But enough of that, as it’s a debate that is endless and causes a lot more friction than this small chapter for chapter analysis has earned.
I remember feeling pleased with the image of my book being transformed into a film, and yes, at this one particular stage the song ‘Keep on running’ played softly in the background.
I guess my love for music will never die, no matter what form I choose to express myself in. Funny enough, my best mark in my English BA was when I translated my own song into a short story.
Carrying on – the next section involves Jessie. I believe I was fortunate enough to have a daughter around the same age as writing this section, and I was also giving extra English lessons to teenagers, who, to be honest were as ‘wired’ as Jessie. The way she jumps from one idea to the next without any obvious link might be difficult to follow for real. I wanted to make sure that Jessie – the character – was believable as well as clever. I think this desire gave birth to the idea of Wallson. I know at the same time I am questioning the gender idea of AI, (and humans – an English Language problem – I know that the French and German languages are gender based, making it impossible to change, which personally I appreciate – not for the sexual differences but simply because language is part of our culture – again a theme that does not belong here in my blog)
All I can say is, I thoroughly enjoyed writing Jessie’s discussion with ‘Wallson’. It gave me hope for the future.
The final part of the chapter – well, although it is important that I establish George’s dilemma and realization of his betrayal – which naturally took a lot of time to write – not because I didn’t know what I wanted to say but simply because, in my mind everything is important and it takes time for me to put all these thoughts down in a neat, understandable fashion. For example, this morning, I spoke with one of my students and they’re reading ‘Game of Thrones’. The author is prolific. Millions of words fall like Niagara. I could never be like that. My words, they drip, and even then, not in the right order. But I have drifted. What I remember most about this final scene is really trying to make George’s emotional turmoil real. I wanted to present him in a way true to his nature – a coward with morals – he was leaving the game because he knew he had done something wrong, while at the same time he could forget the whole complicated emotional scene of himself and Evylin. He even uses social differences as an excuse.
