Writing the ODDs

Earlier in my blog (I think in the first post) I said I would do some pieces on writing, not just the stuff I write (of which there are two pieces here: 'Bedtime Little Fly' and 'Romeo Promotes the ODDs'), but on the process of writing. I don't feel fully qualified to do this, it's not like I'm published by anyone other than myself in partnership with Amazon but still, why not tell you about the origins of my writing-need.

May, 2002, Loutraki, Greece (somewhere near Corinth).

Me and my family had been visiting my aunt and uncle in Greece, my cousin, their son, was getting married in Athens. The wedding ceremony was over, meaning it was the second week of our holiday.
After all the excitement of the previous Saturday we were having a relaxing day, with no plans to visit anything anywhere.

I had brought with me some Star Wars figures. There was Obi-Wan Kenobi with a magnetic hand that attached to that scouting droid he breaks through Senator Amidala's window to catch the bounty hunter, there was Anakin with two lightsabers and an arm that magnetically attached so you could chop it off, as seen in the fight with Count Dooku near the end of the movie and there was a Padme with a pillar and a chain from where she and Anakin go to Geonosis to rescue Obi Wan but get captured themselves. This is right before all available Jedi burst in and end up getting killed before Yoda comes with the clone troopers.

I had bought these figures prior to the release of Star Wars episode 2 as that was released the 16th of May* and I left for Greece on the 5th,* the figures were bought in Ireland.

Anyway, there are only so many games you can play with three good guy figures (in Loutraki toy store I had found a little Jedi Anakin from episode 1 as well, so four good guys) before you get bored of it.

I decided it was time to go to town, so mum, I and Jamie went down and I bought a refill pad, a pencil and a sharpener. The sharpener I still have and if I hand write anything, or draw anything for the ODDs using a pencil I still sharpen them with that same sharpener. There is nothing special about it, it is a normal, plain, blue, cracked, ten cent sharpener. It doesn't even have a place for the pairings. But it is the ODDs sharpener and I have always used it and will continue to do so. :)

I bought that refill pad to sketch on, but have never been one for sketching. I have a scanner now so I might upload some ODDs concept art and such to a site that allows for that kind of thing. I quickly gave up on the sketching and instead started writing a story about my holiday, but with a twist. In the story I was the hero, well Jamie wasn't powerless he helped lots, and we had to protect our families and others from monsters. This is the foundation stone of the ODDs.

The entire first book, which I have plans to upload here (the present available version of the ODDs Beginnings on amazon.com is the sixth version of the first book. The first version, that I wrote as the events happened, is missing. I do, however, have the second version of the first ODDs in Limerick.) So I plan to upload a chapter or two to here with the actual Amazon version so you can see the difference :). I think that would be fun.

The ODDs then has characters that are real people in my real life. The fifth and sixth versions of the ODDs Beginnings started to move away from them being those people and towards them being characters in and of themselves. The first book, because it is very grass roots-y has a lot of the same elements of my life in it, though I don't think of David Murphy as being me. As the story goes on he becomes less and less like me. He is braver than I, stronger than I, smarter than I, more commanding than I, stricter than I and a few other things. I identify a lot more with the little guy in the ODDs; in book one that is David but he becomes in charge and powerful and the boss and people faff about him and so I, in the second book, relate more to other characters, especially the Possibles.

That's why in the second book the Possibles take a much more prominent role in the story than they did in the first book. In the first book they are merely cannon fodder. In the second they do research, help on missions and Romeo does his own mission, will have his own book and has his own stroyline. My point is David Cowpar is not David Murphy.

*I remember the dates because the ODDs is written as if it was a diary. So all the dates are accurate to the actual events of my life at the time.