Whether it's Two Weeks or Twenty Years, it pays to take a step back
Encouraging news this week. As you know, my manuscript is tucked safely away in a draw as the advice for anyone completing a first draft of their novel is to “forget it” for at least two weeks. I’ve not even peaked at the manuscript but obviously over the course of those two weeks I’ve had a little time to reflect on what’s there. I suspected that the first few chapters were a mess and that it needed more drama. Less Little Women, more Lord of the Flies. Happily my suspicions were confirmed:
‘I think you’re right’ my friend Richard told me when we met on Thursday evening.
‘About what?’
‘Your novel’ - I’d forgotten that in an early burst of confidence, I’d begun to post chapters on Substack. He’d read them.
‘What about it?’
‘You’re right about it needing more drama. It was a bit, well, it was boring.’
I was far too nice to my characters; they were too nice to each other. I need to build in some meanness, create a clique or two, add more flaws, throw in some competition, even have a full-blown argument. Make it more real life, essentially. It might not even have a happy ending. Well, not for everyone. We’ll see but it’s definitely going to be fun to edit.
What a Difference Twenty Years Makes
None, essentially. We all looked a bit different and we’re now mostly dealing with kids in their late teens, early twenties, but the people at this reunion I helped organise last week were just the same. Almost 180 of us gathered, appropriately, at 180 Strand to reminisce on our time working for Andersen Business Consulting. It was amazing.
“Why are you all still so close?” Zoe, the events manager at Soho House asked myself and Rachel, a few days before the event.
I started blathering on about how we had a really rigorous recruitment process which meant that everyone was screened for the same qualities. I don’t think I even convinced myself.
“They just treated people really well” Rachel said, “everyone loved it.”
That made a lot more sense.
No-one Left the Sinking Ship
That’s not entirely true. As soon as the scale of the problems at Andersen became clear, towards the end of 2001, a few people looked after themselves, finding jobs elsewhere. Most stayed, hoping that things would work out, trusting the leadership to do their best to secure as many jobs as possible. Because, you see, we all loved* working with each other, we loved the firm, we trusted the leadership to do their best.
(*Side note, this was literally true in several instances, as evidenced by the plethora of married couples attending the reunion event on Thursday. But what do you expect if you recruit a bunch of twenty-somethings and send them off to some remote part of the UK to work on a project together for the best part of a year).
It all sounds a bit rose coloured spectacles now but I can tell you it was quite scary at the time. I was seven months pregnant, my husband and I were both partners, we thought we could lose everything if the US creditors of the firm tried to pursue us for their ££. I remember some partners being advised to get divorced and put their assets in their husband or wife’s name though I don’t think anyone did.
Back to the story. In the end, it was clear Andersen could not survive and would have to be sold to one of two other firms. There were two offers on the table. The partners voted for the option that would preserve the most jobs. Which was Deloitte. So off we went, or at least most of us did, where, funnily enough we were reunited with some of the people who’d jumped earlier on their own personal life rafts. Ho hum.
Advice for a young person starting out in their career.
Find somewhere that treats people well
Work with people you like
Beware being shipped off to remote parts of the world with your colleagues for long stretches of time.
Out of My Comfort Zone
Went for dinner to a little place called Oren last night. It’s in Dalston, which, despite being just another part of East London, is annoyingly difficult to get to. It’s tiny but very good. One of those places where they had you a menu in 8 size font and say “do you understand the concept of our restaurant, we’re all about sharing plates, you’ll need about five per person so although it looks cheap on the face of it, don’t worry, you’ll still be getting the usual hefty bill at the end”. It’s lovely though.
We decided to go for a drink first so took the tube to Whitechapel and then the overground to Dalston Junction, where we’d agreed to meet in a pub called the Black Eel. Great pub, strange name. (This meant walking down Kingsland Road which is quite an experience. No gentrification going on there let me tell you.)
The reason for the name is that the premises used to be home to a pie and mash shop (they famously also sell jellied eels but for some reason were never called pie, mash and eel shops). Cue a strange conversation between my son and husband:
‘Did you know there are only ten pie and mash shops left in London?’ son offered.
‘Yes. G. Kelly on the Roman Road is still going. It’s great’ husband said.
‘Have you ever been?’
‘No.’
‘I have.’
‘What did you eat?’
‘Pie and mash.’
The quality of the dialogue! Might make it into my book.
As we left the restaurant after dinner - didn’t have dessert, rarely have dessert - we saw a child exiting the alley next door with the most delicious looking tub of ice-cream. This is nine-thirty at night. Who is selling ice-cream at nine-thirty at night down a back alley in the outer reaches of Dalston.
This guy! You have to go down the alley and through a little industrial-looking building to reach what apparently is an ice-cream speakeasy offering “Authentic, Argentine Gelato, crafted in Hackney.” It’s called Tano and you can get it on Deliveroo and Uber.
Bloomin’ delicious.
Fashion, Politics & AOB
Fashion - pointless. It’s cold. Get your winter clothes back out.
Politics. I can’t even go there.
AOB. Anything. Anything but politics right now.
The Cultural Slot
This is more fun.
Went to the Theatre: With my old friend Beth, to see Rosamund Pike in Inter Alia. Superb. Little bit predictable but she’s so good in it, would definitely recommend.
Reading: Currently reading Go Gentle but I wanted to give a shout out to these other books in case you missed them.
London Falling - you’d have to be living under a proverbial stone to have missed this, it’s everywhere and it’s worth the hype. Patrick Radden Keefe’s telling of the story of what led to a nineteen year old boy leaping out of an apartment block into the Thames.
Stone Yard Devotional - completely the opposite. Quiet book, which is small but which takes time to read properly. You have to concentrate. Masterful writing. I’m in awe.
Heart the Lover - simple tale on the face of it but again, so well told.
I’m watching: Legends on Netflix Guardian gave it three stars, I’d give it five. Written by the same guy - Neil Forsyth - who wrote The Gold. Based on a true story about customs officers going undercover to tackle drug smugglers in the nineties.
I’m listening to: Just discovered Opening Lines on BBC Radio 4. The host unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories dramatised in the Sunday Drama series. Each episode is fifteen minutes. Fascinating.
Also found a great podcast called Writers on Writing where I listened to Charlotte Wood talking about writing Stone Yard Devotional.