Soul Music by northie

[northie]

Better late than never might be the motto hanging over the entrance ...  Oh well ... As the story continues to progress, maybe there'll be things you'd like to chat about, complain, moan. Whatever. 

 

First though, I've an announcement about Tony and Geoff, and the next few months. As a serial which is written as it's being posted, T&G needs discipline as well as enjoyment on my part. Over the past couple of episodes, that discipline has felt more like a constraint, something that holds me back from writing other things. So the next chapter, 17, about the meal, will be the last for a short while. It will finish Part 1 of Soul Music. I love the characters and I have plenty left to do with them, but I need a break. Both to do other things, and to recharge that part of my creative battery. I expect Geoff to be having that conversation with his mother sometime in July, probably as the opening chapter of Part 2. Sorry to keep you hanging on that one, but the meal seemed the only point at which I could call a temporary halt. @Parker Owens as my editor, and the person with the most invested in the story after me, has agreed with my decision. 

 

So, there it is. It will allow me to write more for GA - about Eric, amongst others, and another longish entry for the next anthology. In the meantime, there is one more chapter to write (and it may well turn out to be long one  ). I hope you've enjoyed it so far and that you'll rejoin me when I announce the start of Part 2 in this thread.   

Edited August 16, 2018 by northie

[Carlos Hazday]

This will allow us to binge. I have a 2p hour train ride coming g up and I plan on catching up on all my bookmarked stories

 

[northie]

26 minutes ago, Carlos Hazday said:

This will allow us to binge. I have a 2p hour train ride coming g up and I plan on catching up on all my bookmarked stories

 

I'm honoured to be on your catch-up list.    I'll be interested to read what you think. I hope you'll find it rather more than just a romance ....   

[Carlos Hazday]

LOL, I just saw my post. Don't know why I even bother typing on the phone, my fingers are too fat!

 

It was supposed to be I have 2 20+ hour train rides next month!

[northie]

5 minutes ago, Carlos Hazday said:

LOL, I just saw my post. Don't know why I even bother typing on the phone, my fingers are too fat!

 

It was supposed to be I have 2 20+ hour train rides next month!

Ah ... that explains it.  I did think about commenting that either your list was pretty short, or you're a speed reader ...  

[northie]

Spending a lot of time in a character's house means you have to be sure of the layout - where the windows are, and the doors, and which rooms are connected. If you're rolling your eyes, my excuse is that it's the first time I've had to do that. So, for the chapter just gone, and the next one, here is a floorplan of an unmodernised Edwardian terrace house as lived in by Geoff. The scullery is their kitchen, the kitchen, their dining / music room. The front parlour is the lounge. I'm imagining nothing's been knocked through or otherwise redeveloped structurally.

 

Edited March 11, 2018 by northie

[Timothy M.]

Oh my, how organized. But I know what you mean, since I've had to imagine Patrick's house too. No drawings, though.

[northie]

19 minutes ago, Timothy M. said:

Oh my, how organized. But I know what you mean, since I've had to imagine Patrick's house too. No drawings, though.

No, not organised. Just fed-up of getting myself into knots while writing the last couple of chapters. Writing while posting is a very good way of introducing inconsistencies, so I went looking for a floorplan. Not essential viewing for the story ...   

[Headstall]

1 hour ago, northie said:

No, not organised. Just fed-up of getting myself into knots while writing the last couple of chapters. Writing while posting is a very good way of introducing inconsistencies, so I went looking for a floorplan. Not essential viewing for the story ...   

Can't read any more than these last couple of posts because I'm so behind, but yeah, I need to know the exact layout of a character's place, even if it is not necessary for the reader to know. I understand the need to be thorough in your own mind.  

[northie]

40 minutes ago, Headstall said:

Can't read any more than these last couple of posts because I'm so behind, but yeah, I need to know the exact layout of a character's place, even if it is not necessary for the reader to know. I understand the need to be thorough in your own mind.  

Yeah, I was wasting so much time trying to visualise a house I didn't know. So Mr Google in the form of Pinterest came to the rescue. 

[northie]

Just loaded the last, bumper chapter to be published on Friday. It will be odd not having to write the next chapter of T&G (Tony and Geoff) as part of a regular fortnightly cycle. Not that I'm going to sitting around, letting my pencil gather dust ...   And they'll be back, soon enough. 

[northie]

So we leave our two heroes at a good point, but there are two potential clouds on the horizon ... Geoff's mum, and Tony's ex. I have no fixed ideas about either, yet.  Doubtless I will have by July. Hopefully. 

[Former Member]

When looking at the floor plan, I was struck by a couple things. The first was the ‘outside loo’ in the corner of the house outside the kitchen! There doesn’t seem to be space to even squeeze a toilet in there! The second was the sheer size of the bathroom – and the fact it also has a fireplace in it! Maybe it’s because I’ve only lived in fairly modern homes (all post WWII, I think) and apartments (built in the ‘20s or ‘30s, I think) and in mild climates (Bay Area, San Diego, and Hawaii).

 

And while double-checking as I typed, I noticed a severe lack of storage space in the kitchen! I think my studio apartment kitchen lacks storage and counter space, but Geoff’s house looks even worse! I know British kitchens don’t usually have US-sized refrigerators – Jean & Lionel’s (As Time Goes By) refrigerator is closer to the size of a US college dorm room refrigerator! But where would Geoff’s refrigerator even be? (My refrigerator is in the somewhat open half of the kitchen – I’m guessing the space was used for a small kitchen table because there are no cabinets or shelves on that side of the kitchen. The space is out of proportion with the rest of the apartment.)

[northie]

@droughtquake Don't be too literal. The interior of the rooms I expect to be modernised, although period features like the fireplaces have been retained. The plan's there for my purposes really - I posted it in case anyone else was curious.  I don't know what the dimensions are, but I imagine the rooms aren't particularly small. It's a terrace house, but they extend quite a long way back. 

[northie]

Slight change of plan for restarting Soul Music. My editor ( @Parker Owens) has commitments over the summer which will make it difficult for him to keep to a strict fortnightly schedule. And I still have a head full of Eric Whitehouse and his doings which need writing out before I switch stories. So ... at the moment the plan is to start posting on Friday 31.8. It might end up being a fortnight later, but certainly one of those two dates.  And I'm thinking it'll be Geoff and his mum ...    😃 

[northie]

Been re-reading the second half of the story so far to get me back in the headspace. Thinking about what's going to happen, new characters (and old ...), and generally getting a sense of where the story is going next. Yes, there is a plan. There's always a plan, even if it's a rough and ready one.

 

Should start writing next month, with posting resuming the following month. 

 

[northie]

Well into writing the first chapter of Part 2. Geoff's conversation with his mother ... How does it go? You'll have to wait and see.    I hope to have 3 chapters in hand before I start posting. Still aiming for early September. 

[northie]

Now's the time to see if you've set your story notifications to your satisfaction ...     I'm going to be tinkering with the completed Part 1 in preparation for loading Part 2. So, apologies, but it does mean Tony and Geoff will be back in the foreseeable future.

[northie]

Cue drum roll ...  The next volume of Tony and Geoff's life with resume on Friday 7th September. Geoff is off to visit his mum and give her the (old) news that he's gay ...  If you haven't met our two heroes previously, there's plenty of time to read the first volume before i start posting the second. 

[Former Member]

4 minutes ago, northie said:

Cue drum roll ...  The next volume of Tony and Geoff's life with resume on Friday 7th September. Geoff is off to visit his mum and give her the (old) news that he's gay ...  If you haven't met our two heroes previously, there's plenty of time to read the first volume before i start posting the second. 

I’m greedy, I want Geoff & Tony and Eric!  ;–)

[northie]

41 minutes ago, droughtquake said:

I’m greedy, I want Geoff & Tony and Eric!  ;–)

Hmm...  .  Sudden overwhelming surge of déjà vu.  🙄

[northie]

A reminder: Tony and Geoff return tomorrow in the second volume of Soul Music. Expect it about 5 pm. 

 

[Former Member]

5pm Sydney time? 5 pm Honolulu time? I suppose you must mean 5pm British Daylight Time.  ;–)

[northie]

36 minutes ago, droughtquake said:

5pm Sydney time? 5 pm Honolulu time? I suppose you must mean 5pm British Daylight Time.  ;–)

 My time is the only proper time.  

[Former Member]

The Queen of the North has spoken!  ;–)