The A, B, C of a prospective author

I've had a fancy for many years at writing, hence not actually doing it but coming close by doing the odd blog. Although more frequently I hope for 2009. One thing I've thought about in helping me do this is to purchase a personal Dictaphone. Then just talk into it like a diary. Noting events and situations which come to mind, or just ideas. I have no idea how they would all be strung together into something cohesive, it just seems a good notion, as I'm not actually getting round to writing anything. Other than this.

Where do you start on such things? I've considered a storyline should be first, then possibly chapters broken down and then the actual writing of each chapter. This method however seems non spontaneous and artificial, but it does sound thought out, and you can always tell a good thought out storyline. It just adds up. Alternatively there's the possibility of just sitting down and writing with no story in mind, no direction and seeing what happens. Yet doing this means becoming committed to the story no matter what it is from the start,and the first few pages will dictate it. The whole thing could end up being a complete mess with no direction as against the story line first method. The subject matter is another item to consider. The best stories are written by authors who know what they are writing about. Harper Lee for instance. Her father was an actual lawyer. Ken Kelsey, he did work in a mental institution or George Orwell who really was a tramp wondering around Paris working where he could. The greats, come from an elaboration of first hand knowledge. Their books flow and are captivating.

Another thing is reading books stops you from writing your own. I wonder on a quote I once heard along the lines of "reading is the Devil to writing" not just because of the time it takes but also the possibility of cryptamnesia. Where you read something and then regurgitate what you've read some time later thinking it is your own but was actually a memory of something read. Further writing your own book as got to be a single minded determination, which is a test of self will power and how to manage time. After all there is only so much time each individual has on this planet. A book something where an author has sold their time to the reader, and effectively sold part of their self. It has to be personal, otherwise it's not real. I heard somewhere Dotstoyovsky found buildings or places which were going to be represented in his novels. He'd further get into character and go to these places acting out what he was going to write. I wonder if Kafka did, now he'd surely have been crazy if this were the case. Then again talking of crazy, the spooky crazy in the mind of King would probably have him committed to a mental institution. So perhaps writing can be a destabilising thing to do. Unless you have a rudder and a star chart to go by.

I don't know if this is just a fanciful dream. I do know many people have the same hope, to one day put pen to paper or rather fingers to keyboard and see what happens. Perhaps it is something not everyone can do. There's one rumour if you were to put enough monkeys in a room with enough typewriters they would be able to write all of Shakespeare's plays. Then I suppose you would have to be a bit nuts to believe that, where is my banana?