The Chapbook: Planning

 

The Smoking Diaries (2008) By Simon Gray

• What is your final idea?  Please explain in two sentences the theme and the form your writing will take.

I will create the diaries of Professor Zimmerman, a character from The Story of Honey. The diaries will work on characterisation, a narrative that brings pace and there will be remarks related to 'Honey' to bring this piece together with my two previous works.

• Considering the form, how do you intend to layout your book pages?

This will be in the form of a diary with a short introduction. I may do this over months or it could be snapshots from different years..

• How many pages do you expect there will be?

30-40 pages

• Are you going to use images?  Are these your own images (illustrations/photographs) or copyright free images that you will source? 

I want to use images like in Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald where they relate to the event or a memory

• What is the plan of your time and how much you will need to spend on this?

Remember writing is something that you will need time and concentration without disturbance - you must make sure that you plan time to do this.

I will spend 8-10 hours, writing, drafting, rewriting and proofing this book and with additional hours spent on image sourcing, front cover and completing publication

• What do you imagine the final book will look like?  

I am hoping it will look a little like The Smoking Diaries or Austerlitz.  Beautiful wring ad images that excite the senses and the memory and create connections for the reader. 

• Have you considered the cover page/contents page/back cover with blurb?

I will create this on Blurb and I will source a suitable cover image or I will take it myself - at the moment I am nort sure what that will be.

• Drafting and redrafting will need to be done?  Who would you get to proofread your work?

I will ask my partner to proofread this work

Write down any other thoughts or comments related to your plan on your blog post.

I will be working on researching other diary forms to consider how I will structure my own to make sure that this will make sense to the reader and will really get the elements I discussed earlier through to the reader.