I have a close friend who lives an ordered life. I don’t think she’ll mind me describing her life in that way. She always goes to bed at about 10:30-11:00, but never without first tidying the kitchen. She wouldn’t dream of leaving clothes in the washing machine, and whenever she has a basket of dry clothes, she spends an hour or so with the iron and ironing-board. She keeps a clean, tidy, orderly house. There are a number of TV programmes that she watches each week; most of these she records and watches at her leisure. And she reads A LOT. When I say a lot, I mean she has 2-3 books on the go all the time. She buys a lot of books and she makes extensive use of the library.
The picture shows just some of the books she has read in the past 3 months.
Over the past week, my friend’s life has changed. She now goes to bed later and later each night – like 1:15 am this morning. The kitchen’s a mess. The clothes grow mouldy and unironed in the washing machine; the TV stays off all day and night. She barely finds time for meals, and when she does eat, it’s with a fork in one hand and a book in the other. When I speak to her she responds as if her mind is elsewhere.
And the reason for this dramatic change? She is reading George R. R. Martin’s books.
I want to write fiction like that.