"How about if you could make a living doing the things you love?"
A Portfolio Life
  • Home
  • Working
  • Writing
  • Gambling

Got it for a Song

13/2/2013

0 Comments

 
Karin and I met up in Bristol the other weekend to work on our book. “Wish You Were” (link to excerpt on the sidebar). When we've finished this one, thinking of writing a detective series together. We were walking around, fleshing out the back-stories of our potential leading characters and wondering how on earth they would be able to afford anywhere nice to live in Clifton. But then we remembered my new character had been an eighties pop star, and we said, near simultaneously, “He picked it up for a song.”

This morning I was thinking it would make a good title. Not as it is. Amended. I was thinking “Got it for a Song”. It gives us the joke, the character set-up and a nice play on words in the direction we're heading.

It's also guaranteed to make any old English teachers from my Grammar school froth at the mouth. For “got” is not a real word. It's common, or something. Their mission was to beat the word out of us. And imagination generally. 

When I was 14, one of them actually gave me 0 for a short story. I'm not sure out of how many – but let's say 100. Nought, zero, nada. And he made the rest of the class read it, pour encourager les autres. I'd be surprised if that wasn't illegal these days.

The story was about a boy sitting on an old park bench and thinking of all the other people who may have sat on it in the past. Imagining their doings, channelling them. OK, Max Beerbohm it wasn't. But it was quite imaginative, for kids taught in straight lines. And it didn't stop The Beautiful South from pinching the words for one of their lyrics, “Just like that murder in '73/Just like that robbery in '62.” 

So now I'm imagining a retired English teacher in Reigate, sat on my bench in the park, catching the title on the cover of a book, and spontaneously combusting with rage. Got to love that. 

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Writing

     LuluCurrent state of play:


    1. Indifferent Voices
    Out now in paperback.

    Buy Here Amazon
    Or Here Lulu

    Picture

    2. One Dog and His Man. Out now in paperback.
    Buy here ​
    Picture
    3. Farewell Trip.
    Published by Carina UK.
    Buy here:
    Picture
    4.  Silly Verse for  Grown Ups
    Buy here:
    Picture
    Click here to buy it on Amazon

    Archives

    July 2020
    May 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    Belly Pork
    Cancer
    Cats And Dogs
    England
    Farewell Trip
    Film And Tv
    Getting Published
    Indifferent Voices
    Julian Barnes
    Karin
    Kemberton
    London
    Lyrics
    Music
    Nimbyism
    One Dog And His Man
    Poetry
    Politics
    Red Wine
    Rejection
    Running
    Salad
    Shifnal
    Shropshire
    Silly Stuff
    Slugs
    Sport
    Vegetables
    Works In Progress
    Writing Novels
    Writing Novels

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly