Write Off

Geminus

2009-11-08T17:30:00.002+01:00

Yup. That's the title.
When I named it I had in mind the word 'Gemini', or 'twins', but I wanted a single one, a 'twin'. So I called it Geminus, thinking that sounded plausible as the singular form.
Then I Wikipedia'd the word 'geminus' and came up with some Greek astronomer from waaay back, and thought: "Hmmmm. That can't be good."
Then I tried Wikipedia'ing the word 'twins' and got a lot of poop about identical twins, non-identical twins, even half twins (which I would have thought an impossibility. Apparently not), which is all very interesting in a purely biological sense, but doesn't really help me any.
Anyway, long story short: by hopping through a few disambiguation links I eventually found this definition of the word Geminus on Wiktionary.
So I'd gotten it right all along. Which is a relief since I don't have a single idea what else to call this book.

Word count: 18K and rising *yay*
Synopsis: later, guys

Off!

2009-11-01T18:18:00.002+01:00

So, it's now officially the first of November.

As I've done for the past couple of years as well I sat up until past midnight in order to get started as soon as possible. Paid off, too. Just under 2300 words by 2.30 local time (and not exactly busting a vein doing it either), then followed up with another 1200 earlier today. So count is already over 3500, and it's only Day 1. Got a good feeling about this one.

What it's all about: Well, last year I wrote 'Counterworld' (and shamefully have to admit that I didn't even see fit to write about writing on this blog), and this year's 'Geminus' is a sequel to that. According to my plan (barring any sudden and unexpected developments such as life happening) it's supposed to become a trilogy, which means I've got next year's NaNo project already lined up too. Heh.

More later, including an answer to the question even now spreading across the interwebberversosphere like a swine flu panic in the media: "Why 'Geminus'? What does that even mean?" Well, stay tuned to this blog (or something) and I'll try to explain. Whether or not the explanation makes sense is entirely at the reader's discretion.

Déja Vu All Over Again

2009-10-30T14:47:00.002+01:00

Haven't we been here before? Isn't it awfully familiar?

Why, yes.

It's that time of year again when I start getting email reminders from some guy called Chris who wants me to sacrifice my time, beauty sleep, and possibly sanity and go for another 50K word count. Which means it's also that time of year again when I sign up for another brain-busting NaNoWriMo.

What can I say? I'm easy.

ScrenzyWin!

2009-04-16T23:10:00.001+02:00

Okay, just a quick one, but I'll say it loud and I'll say it proud:

I'VE DONE IT!

As of ten minutes ago, my Screnzy script=101 pages!

(sorry about caps, I just had to let off a little steam there)

The Science of Imba

2009-04-13T20:30:00.002+02:00

Well, this Easter has been a picnic...

Progress is being made on Counterworld; the only real problem is that I'm not sure how it ends. On the upside turning an at times rambling story into a more streamlined script is good exercise. Current page count: 75/100 pages.

On an entirely different note: I started playing World of Warcraft again a little over six months ago, and a few weeks ago my main character hit Level 80 (max level). And now the game has changed. Suddenly it's not about grinding experience points anymore; now I have to be... um... 'imba'!

And boy, is that a whole new science.

So a lot of the time I haven't spent scriptwriting I've spent trying to figure out what this thing 'imba' really means. And the one thing I'm sure of is that I'm not it. Oh, no. I'm hopelessly behind in the imba stakes. My gear is obsolete, my enchants are wrong for my class... Heh. It's no wonder I get killed on a regular basis.

So apart from having a screenplay to write, a couple of novels to finish, and, oh, half-a-dozen other little projects going on, I now have this whole new imba thing. It's a good thing I joined an in-game guild. It's an even better thing that the guild I joined is made up of funny, laid-back, helpful, mature people who don't despair at the sight of my Bat Fur Mitts, or the Egg-Warming Boots with their Borean Armor Kit enhancement (yeah, I know it sounds incomprehensible - just trust me, it's gear unworthy of a bad-ass level 80), but will instead offer helpful hints.

It's funny; it took me until level 72 to even join a guild, and when I did it was only because a good friend is also a member and I figured that meant they couldn't be as bad as all that. Now I have a whole bunch of new in-game buddies, always ready to make bad jokes or join in a spot of tomb raiding. It makes it a little less lonely (not that I generally mind lonely) to just sit at the computer.

Just thought I'd share.

I'm Baaaaaack!

2009-04-09T11:44:00.004+02:00

Shady's back. So am I.

O-kay, it's been a very slow year, blogging-wise. That's not to say I haven't been otherwise engaged, 'cos I have. So here's a brief summary of what I've been up to:

June/July: Got interested in manga and anime. There went my picture blog.

August: Got 'new' computer courtesy of a friend who understands the importance of good hardware. So started playing World of Warcraft after nearly eighteen months' hiatus.

November: Need you ask? NaNoWriMo, of course. Script title: 'Counterworld'. Not the first time I've worked that idea, but I decided to reanimate it, gave it a full reworking etc. So in my little head it counts as original.
I completed the 50K words, by the way (though the story is far from finished - heard that tune before?)

Throughout: Had a lot of personal stuff to work through which I'm not going to detail here. Suffice to say a lot of it has been resolved, mainly for the better.

And now it's April... and that of course means ScriptFrenzy!
So I'm busy turning 'Counterworld' into a screenplay. Got nearly 50 pages so far, out of the 100, so I'm definitely on track.

And for those of you wondering: No, 'Crash' still isn't finished. What with manga, anime, World of Warcraft (now with guild participation on my part), personal issues, and general writer's block/writer's laziness, I still haven't reached the final denouement. I am still working on it, and if I finish Screnzy ahead of time (which I'm pretty damn sure I will unless I suddenly break all ten fingers) the plan is to use the rest of this month's writing time working on 'Crash'. I still have people pestering me about it, after all, and it's either deliver the goods or kill them :-P

Anyway, there it is. Hi, and bye for now.

Out on a Limb

2008-05-09T18:15:00.003+02:00

Okay, I've had a hard time getting back to work on 'Crash'.

So, in an attempt to motivate myself, I have hooked up with Number One Guy Friend, who as far back as January promised to read the finished work and give me his honest opinion.

The novel isn't finished yet. But I've sent him the first part (it now falls in three parts - it's the third I can't seem to finish), and am awaiting some constructive criticism.

Just doing it - actually showing something I've written to someone I know in real life - is a major step for me.

And because there's no such thing as a free lunch I have promised to read his Greatest Novel Of Our Time (still under construction - like mine) in return. He sent me the first chapter last night. I laughed my backside off several times. It's good. It's funny. It does the job of getting me curious about what will happen next. It makes me wonder if my own work is any good, really.

Aw hell, I don't want to think like that.

Instead I'll just keep writing. I'm doing it for the fun and challenge of it, after all. If anyone actually likes reading it that's an added bonus.

I'm doing it for me, when all is said and done.

Certified

2008-04-25T06:45:00.002+02:00

Well, it's even more official now.

I got the winner's icon and certificate.

And the final script stands at 163 pages.

I have now converted all the novel script I had (remember this was an incomplete script I was working from). Job well done, it feels like.

So it's back to 'Crash'. After taking maybe a day or two out.

Official

2008-04-22T00:30:00.002+02:00

It's official.

I just ran the Counterworld script through the ScriptFrenzy page count validator.

122 pages.

Yay!

I'm a winner, baby!

Now I'll just have to wait for them to give me a fancy winner's certificate and a neat little icon to stick on this blog...

Fallout

2008-04-18T11:38:00.002+02:00

Well, I've done it. 101 pages.
So I'm taking it as confirmation that I was right to change scripts. This has been accomplished in little more than a week.

Fallout, here I come ;-)

Script's not finished, of course. I should probably try and finish it, or at least as much of it as I can, given that I'm working from an incomplete novel script.

Aw, I don't know.

We'll see.

Motivation

2008-04-18T01:23:00.003+02:00

Things have been a little dead on the scriptwriting front.

This is because a few days ago I made the fatal mistake of installing Fallout 2. You just can't beat the classics for procrastinative potential.

So now I've made the following deal with myself:
No more gaming until I cross the 100-page line!

Ah, but once I do...

Changing Horses

2008-04-12T17:52:00.003+02:00

'Space Race' is dead. Completely dodo.

It felt like a great idea when I started it: very English Englishman gets abducted by flying saucer which subsequently crashes; he's given an emergency cloning but the doctors mess it up so the body he receives is a female version of his original self; he must now find a way to finance the cloning of a proper copy of his male original, not to mention a ride home.
Very H2G2. Yes. The main character was in fact intended to be a mix of Arthur Dent, The Metatron (Dogma), and Alexander Dane (Galaxy Quest). And as for my dream cast, the part would of course be played by the peerless Alan Rickman.
Sadly, I'm on a road to nowhere with this one.
It was meant to be intelligent. Humourous, but also intelligent. But even I can't love this baby. What it is - after 31 pages - is a string of platitudes, double-entendres, so-called 'comic' misunderstandings. Nothing more. Worst of all, I didn't even have an end in my sights.

So I'm consigning this one to the Movie Scripts' Graveyard.
(perhaps one day I'll come back with my virtual spade and engage in a little resurrectionism...)

Instead I've dug out an old NaNoWriMo script that - in all honesty - I'm considering for a major rewrite/revamp/reworking for this year's NaNo. A lot needs changing though. So I'm turning the old version into my ScriptFrenzy- project. Two days' work has yielded 26 pages already, and my keyboard feels as if it's melting. Then perhaps I can write a new version come November. It probably won't have much in common with the old one. Or maybe I'll write Book Two instead - I'm considering padding the idea out to a trilogy. That would be cool.

Anywho: RIP 'Space Race'. I hardly knew ya.

And let's hear it for (drum roll, please...) 'Counterworld' - an epic tale of love, magic, war, and parallel universes. Sound familiar? Well, I never promised it'd be the next LoTR...

Split Personality?

2008-04-07T19:26:00.003+02:00

The Screnzy is in full swing, and to my surprise - given that one week ago my head was so overflowing with 'Crash' I hadn't given 'Space Race' much thought at all - things are going well. Thirty-one pages written so far.

But.

While I have managed to distract myself from 'Crash', I can't say 'Space Race' has my undivided attention.

I made the mistake a few days ago of going over the notes from an old fantasy idea that I'm considering reworking for this year's NaNoWriMo (yes, I know, seven months away...) and now I keep getting interference from that. And there's a lot of interference; I'm considering expanding the original idea into a trilogy. I'd love to do a trilogy.
Trouble is, I shouldn't even be thinking about November yet! Especially given that 'Crash' still isn't finished, and finishing it is one of my Big, Fun, Scary goals (and one I really believe I can accomplish).

And on top of that I've got this angsty telepathy-psychodrama-thing brainworming me. Can't use it in 'Space Race' since that's a comedy, so I've started yet another file for that.

Trouble prioritising, much?

No Mo EdMo

2008-03-31T18:45:00.004+02:00

No, really. I've had it, and my Red Pen is all but ink'd out.

I did it, though. As of ten minutes ago I had logged 50,15 hours of editing. And the word count now stands at 132901.

And tomorrow the Screnzy starts...

I must be mad. MAD, I say!

Futurama

2008-03-30T14:26:00.013+02:00

Inspired by this comment on my post a few days back, well... this post isn't going to be about my own writing, but the writings of others.

I've been a sci-fi fan since childhood; it wasn't what you'd call standard fare in my home, but watching Star Trek (dubbed into German, so I knew it as Raumschiff Enterprise) and the anime series of Captain Future gave me a keen appetite for rayguns and fancy spaceships. At the time, however, I didn't actually read science fiction. That came later.

The first sci-fi novel I bought was the book adaptation of Star Trek III: The Search For Spock; we were visiting London that summer of '84, the film was opening in theatres, and I begged my mother to let's go see it. She refused (she has always considered Star Trek childish). I then resolutely bought a copy of the book. Never mind that my mother thought I was wasting my money, and that the book would, in terms of language, be too advanced for me to comprehend (it was, at first, but I persevered and gleaned a bit more understanding with each reading). I might add that now, twenty-four years on, I still have that copy of the book. So, waste of money? I think not.

I think that became my introduction to 'adult' science fiction. The author was Vonda McIntyre, and it turned out the local library actually had a Danish translation of one of her other books, Dreamsnake. I read it. And was none too impressed, to tell the truth. After all, that story doesn't have a lot of rayguns or spaceships in it.

But having discovered that there was such a thing as adult science fiction, I began exploring it. Our local small-town school library did actually stock a good number of classics (in Danish, of course, but back then I wasn't a very proficient English reader) by such chaps as Asimov, Clarke, Sturgeon, Dick... At roughly the same time a couple of publishers were aiming to translate and publish a number of more recent sci-fi novels by authors like Julian May, Larry Niven, Douglas Adams (yes, that was my first encounter with Hitchhiker), and Brian Aldiss' Helliconia cycle, and of course a few years later a certain William Gibson coined the term cyberpunk for the entire world to read about.

I've not been true and ever faithful to the genre. I've strayed into horror (mainly Stephen King), I've explored some of Clive Barker's dark-fantastic worlds (Imajica is absolutely fabulous, by the way) and China Miéville's wonderful steampunk-fantasy New Crobuzon novels, as well as Neil Gaiman's rather more humourous takes on the world-right-next-to-this-one; I've read Terry Pratchett's Discworld series ragged, as well as Harry Potter, and having grown up in a home where the bookshelves contained a good number of Agatha Christies I've also kept in touch with the crime genre (although Christie has long since lost her allure - these days if I want classic British crime fiction I'll go for Dorothy L. Sayers or, for the more modern touch, Reginald Hill or Val McDermid). But I keep returning to science fiction like an old, old friend. It's a love affair I doubt I'll ever outgrow.

Eleven days ago Arthur C. Clarke, one of the greats of science fiction, passed away. And while it's true that most of the old ones are gone now - I was actually surprised, a few months ago, when I came across a recent Brian Aldiss (Super State from 2002) and realised that he might still be alive (he is, but given that he's past eighty, for how long?). Embarrassingly for me, I'd assumed, insofar as I thought about it, that he was long gone - I don't believe that this means the science fiction genre is dying too. It may have changed - in a day and age which brings almost-daily leaps forward in science and technology, when the world is constantly changing and the fantastic seems to be at our fingertips, it becomes hard to imagine the impact a technological advance would have on a more static society - but there are still fantasts out there, still thinkers pushing hard at the boundaries of the imagination. And some of them create marvellous visions.

SF, as Peter F Hamilton once put it (though he may have been quoting somebody else) is not about prediction. This, I think, is true. It's about speculation. And yes, the S in SF does stand for science. But who says it has to be science as in technology? There are such things as social science and political science, and I personally find that speculating on human evolution in those terms can be as fascinating as - and possibly even more frightening than - wondering whether we'll ever get out of the solar system or learn to travel in time. After all we live in a day and age when there are people with the wherewithal to wipe out more or less all life on the planet who, under normal circumstances, you wouldn't trust with so much as a rubber knife. And if this is where we're at now, what will the world look like in a hundred years' time? In fifty? In ten?

Okay, what I really wanted to do with this post was list my favourite contemporary science fiction writers. I've not exactly done that yet. So here goes:

My current (that is to say roughly since I found out he existed a year and a half ago) Science Fiction Overlord is Charlie Stross. Although to call him a mere science fiction writer is a bit like calling Leonardo da Vinci 'a guy who painted a bit'. He's more of a science fiction-dimension shifting fantasy-Lovecraftian horror-British spy thriller-h4x0r lore-Singularity-infowar technology writer. With a wicked sense of humour.

The second in my personal top-three has to be Peter F Hamilton. It was the chance picking-up of The Reality Dysfunction six years ago that convinced me science fiction was very much alive and kicking. And the Night's Dawn trilogy (of which the aforementioned is Book One) remains my favourite of his works, at least pending the conclusion of his ongoing Void trilogy (you reading this, Peter? Then quit surfing the blogosphere and get back to work! ;-)).

Last - but that's not to say least - comes Richard K Morgan. His Takeshi Kovacs-stories are fairly straightforward noir-esque space opera, and the gun-for-hire-with-a-conscience character could be easily transplanted into many other genres, true, but I still say there are more layers to the stories. And if you're not convinced, read his Market Forces instead. And then take a good look at the business world of today and tell me that's not a future we could very well be headed for.

That's not to say there aren't others out there. If those three don't really float your boat, you could do worse than try Neal Asher (whose Cowl is a marvellous re-introduction of the time-travel concept), Alastair Reynolds (although he's a bit long-winded for my taste), or Kevin J Anderson (I really need to catch up on the Saga of Seven Suns, even if I do find it a bit repetitive). And those are just the ones off the top of my head.

There are countless possible futures out there.

Monster

2008-03-29T15:12:00.004+01:00

Well. I have ink again. And am editing.

I am also writing new material, filling those plotholes as well as working on the ending.

I wasn't going to set myself a word count goal for this month, given that I've got the EdMo on.

But at the start of the month I was just over the 100000 line. And now I've passed 125000.

This thing is growing beyond my control.

I have birthed a monster.

Bad Friday

2008-03-21T15:06:00.006+01:00

Pulled myself together.

Started on another major rewrite, namely the rearranging of sequence of events and tightening of the timeline in chapters 3 and 4.

Got most of chapter 4 done - still a plothole in there - but otherwise I was satisfied.

Decided to print a copy, as the old pages are so covered in red it's impossible to just read them.

And found my #$*&@ printer has run out of ink.

On Good Friday.

Which means I won't see a fresh cartridge until Wednesday at the absolute earliest.

And this is NaNoEdMo.

I'm on a deadline here, folks.

MWAAAAH!

RIP Arthur C. Clarke

2008-03-18T19:07:00.002+01:00

I just found out that Arthur C. Clarke has died at the age of 90.

Having been a sci-fi geek since an early age, I - like innumerable others - have over the years found great pleasure not only in Mr Clarke's fictional works - 2001 and Rendezvous with Rama remain among my favourites in 'classic' science fiction - but also in the fact that several of his fictional concepts have been proved workable in the 'real' world, proving that speculation may sometimes be idle, but never is it completely in vain.

A star has fallen from the heavens.

Strike!

2008-03-13T21:35:00.005+01:00

Still editing. Or trying to.

I am reaching a point of saturation: it is becoming virtually impossible for me to view any section of 'Crash' with a reader's eye. My head is dancing with phrases, scenes I've considered, scenes I've written, lines/comments/facts/possible continuity errors, I muddle up what I've already corrected and what I haven't, and am generally unable to keep track of where I'm at. I have to keep reminding myself: No, you haven't written that part yet. Yes, you were going to write it, but you haven't. No, you scratched that scene/character/part of the plot. No, the reader cannot read your mind and know what it is you actually mean.

It's highly confusing.

So for a couple of days I've simply gone on editing strike.

Instead I'm very hard at work on nailing the remainder of the plotline.

So. As of today the MMC is being interviewed by the police because the Sleazy Politician's daughter was found dead in his home; the LLD, after coming to some sort of truce with the SMC, has disappeared mysteriously (though the Reader knows how); and the SMC is threatening a journalistic ex-boyfriend with exposing his secret love life to his wife if he doesn't help him dig up the dirt on the SP and thus get the MMC off the hook for the SP's daughter's death and hopefully get the Conspiracy to return the LLD...

Confused? Good. My evil plan is working...

Setbacks

2008-03-07T13:04:00.003+01:00

Hmmm.

I tried to sit down with the first two chapters last night. Realised after reading a couple of pages that Chapters 1 and 3 will have to be radically rewritten around Chapter 2 if it's going to hang together.

D*mn.

Why haven't I noticed before?

The Progress of March

2008-03-06T23:30:00.009+01:00

Still going strong.

Have edited for just under ten hours out of the fifty. It does actually take longer than I'd have thought.
And I am literally doing it with a real, no-fake Red Pen. I find it easier that way to get an overview. The downside of this method is, of course, the amount of paper and printer ink it uses up. Ah well. The trees will have to suffer (though I do print on both sides of the paper).

I'm also writing new stuff. Have introduced a not-quite-fearless reporter to assist SMC in uncovering the perfidy of the Sleazy Politician. I spy an ending in sight. Word count creeping up.

In short, I'm rather enjoying myself.

GOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!

2008-02-29T16:45:00.003+01:00

Okay.

As of now my word count is at **101121** words.

So I've completed the February goal.

YAY ME! *pats self on back*

Okay, that's enough self-congratulation for now.

More importantly, I've filled a few holes along the way, plus I've not only advanced the plot, I've also managed to map out most of the remainder of the plot (I tend to start at point A with a point B in mind but little concrete idea how I'm going to get there - most of my stuff is seat-of-the-pants flying without a parachute) and have a good idea regarding the rest.

Now, originally I was going to write in March as well. However, being that I have now decided to join NaNoEdMo I shall be devoting March to some serious editing. That's not saying I won't be writing as well; I sure would love to finally nail the plotline into place. But 50 hours of editing will be my main goal.
For that same reason I wouldn't dare set a word count goal, since I know full well there's some stuff that will most likely be drastically cut if not axed altogether.

So.

Fifty hours' worth of editing, plus whatever writing I might squeeze in: that's the agenda for March.

April is, of course, ScriptFrenzy month.

So come May, it will be interesting (that's putting it mildly!) to see where I'm at.

It's The Count!

2008-02-26T02:36:00.003+01:00

Fast update: As of my last save I'm at **93618** words. Still seven thousand to go to reach the goal. But I'm daring to believe it can be done.
If only I don't get this flu I feel like I'm coming down with... On the other hand, could write some interesting stuff...

Yawn. Signing off.

Bad Accent

2008-02-25T14:11:00.004+01:00

Thing is, I came across this entry on Kel's blog, and it got me thinking.

I actually tried to do a couple of lines of Cockney in my NaNo novel for one of the lesser characters.
Kel's plaintive request that no aitches be dropped, however, has made me remember the first time I read a Dorothy L. Sayers novel in the original English. I was actually thankful that I'd read it in Danish before; this meant that I knew beforehand what the dialogue was about and could concentrate on understanding the language.
So now I'm just going to make sure the reader knows my character is London born and raised the first time he opens his mouth.

The experience has taught me that accents can be incredibly hard to write - which makes me slightly more sympathetic towards those writers who can't pull it off properly - but only slightly - couldn't those people just realise the limits of their abilities rather than inflict them upon us all?

Little rant there. Feels good.

Kel: thanks for the inspiration.

H2G2 mk. II

2008-02-23T19:47:00.003+01:00

... or, in other words: PANIC.

Why?

Well.

My full script needs to be at least 100552 words long by the end of the month for me to have written 15000 words in February, as per my Big, Fun and Scary goal.
So far it stands at 88690 words.

And 100552-88690=11862 words to go.

In six days.

Also if I'm going to do NaNoEdMo in March I need to finish the plotline.

It can be done. Sure.

But why do I have to be the one that has to do it?

The imp of perversion is laughing at me.

January Word Goal

2008-01-27T11:56:00.000+01:00

Okay: I've reached my January word count goal: At the end of December I was at 70338 words; currently the count stands at **85552** words. So that's 15224 words gross in January.

Guess I'll have time to start editing after all.

To Edit Or...?

2008-01-25T11:12:00.000+01:00

Well.

On the one hand I'm doing all right with my self-imposed monthly word count: I've written approximately 12200 words this month (not counting the 1400 still being considered), so I should reach my target with no excessive perspiration.

On the other hand there's a fairly big chunk at the beginning that I now realise needs some serious rewriting.

But the thing is, the 15000 per month is gross. Which means it has to be relative to the overall word count. So if I start to rewrite the beginning the stuff I write will be cancelled out by the stuff I erase. In other words, it won't make much of a dent on the word count. It might, in fact, decrease it! (oh horror! oh woe!)

Okay, I know it should be about quality, not quantity. But for the purpose of getting the story written in the first place quantity is the better yardstick for me.

So I guess the thing to do is wait until I've fulfilled this month's quota, then start the rewrite in a separate document so I can just copy-paste it once my word count is high enough to let me get away with it.

Sneaky.

Big, Fun, Scary Update (with Crash elements)

2008-01-20T14:15:00.000+01:00

Okay, here goes:

1) on my goal of writing 15000 words per month: Not there yet. But I have written 8200, and there's another 1400 currently under consideration (a scene that I might/might not decide to use).

1a) on my non-stated goal of completing the first draft by April: I've managed to outline most of the remainder of the plot, and am making headway actually writing it. So definitely on track.

2) on my goal to have somebody actually read the d*mn thing: I have a buddy who likes to write as well (I've tried getting him to NaNo, but so far he's only done one year - however we have Great Plans for this year's Screnzy), and he's not only agreed to read the story, he's actually pestering me for it! So I'm guessing that'll help keep me on track.

3) finances: shambolic :-(

4) creativity: well, I'm maintaining my 365blog. That counts.

5) website: nothing yet.

6) friendcare: Absolutely. Have plans for get-together with Numero Uno Chick Friend for her birthday, and as stated will probably be doing Screnzy with Numero Uno Guy Friend.

Crash Update

2008-01-07T23:48:00.000+01:00

Have set myself a firm goal for my novel: Will write a minimum of 15000 words per month, including this one, for Crash.
A less firm goal: Will (hopefully) have finished full first draft of Crash by April 1.

There. No weaselling out now, missy.

New Blog

2008-01-07T21:57:00.000+01:00

Not abandoning this one, more than usual anyway:

But I've added a picture blog. It's an added goal on my Big, Fun, Scary list (see previous post).

Just telling y'all.

Big, Fun & Scary

2007-12-29T12:21:00.000+01:00

So.
I'm still writing. Not in anywhere near as copious amounts as I did in November, but still going at it.

More importantly: It's time for the 2008 Big, Fun, Scary Adventure Challenge!

Essentially it's about deciding what you're going to accomplish in 2008. Kind of like New Year's resolutions... Whether it is to quit smoking, lose that ten pounds, or something along the lines of repaint the entire house, learn Spanish or line dancing, or visiting your beloved ol' grandma more often.

Here's my personal list:

1: Finish my 2007 novel - usually I write so much that I hit 50K only about two-thirds through the storyline, and then I never get it done.

2: Allow at least one person to read the finished novel - truly a big scary for me - usually nobody else ever sees what I write - but will face fear of criticism head-on in 2008. Furthermore, this will be someone I actually know and whose honest opinion I value, not a relative stranger.

3: Make a real and honest effort to get my financial situation straightened out - lower my outgoings, pay off debts, avoid creating new debts etc. It's well overdue.

4: Get more creative! Do the ScriptFrenzy again, do the NaNoWriMo again, maybe try my hand at sculpture or something - get my crazy ideas out into the real world instead of letting them gather dust and cobwebs in the attic. Even if the results suck badly.

5: Create my own website. I hope.

And finally 6: Take good care of my friends. I only have few true friends, and I don't want to lose them. So make more of an effort to stay in touch.

And of course I will become rich and famous and everyone will absolutely worship me ;-D

As posted on the NaNoWriMo site; so there's no weaselling out of it, I guess.

So; I guess that's it for now. Except to add that my word count is at **70338**, so that's some eight thousand words. Not much for a whole month's work, true. But like I already stated, it's a lot for me to be still working at all. So there.

And... Happy New Year to one and all. Even if you don't deserve it, what with never commenting... ;-)

Happy Hangover!

2007-12-01T13:33:00.000+01:00

Tired, hung over... but happy.
I spent last night celebrating (by myself - I know, what a geek) the end of this year's NaNoWriMo, if not the end of 'Crash'. Wine, pizza and a drunken viewing of Dogma.
Now sobriety has returned, and with it the realisation that Christmas is sneaking up on me, and I haven't bought a single prezzie yet. D*mn.

'Crash' isn't dead. My NaNoWriMo word count is now frozen; at last update I was up to 62077 words. Never have I written this much, and this is my seventh year of doing it; usually I ended up spending the last three days of the month padding what I'd already written instead of advancing the plot (not counting the year I couldn't write at all). And I'm still nowhere nearly done.

I'll keep writing.
Maybe one day I'll have a copy printed at Lulu.com or a similar place. Just one, just for me.
Or maybe one day I'll have the guts to submit the script to an actual publisher. I'm not holding my breath for that one, though. Besides, for me writing was never about publishing; it was about writing. I do it because I like it, not because I think I can make money off it.
And I guess that's the reason I'll keep doing it.

Well, this is me then, signing off. At least for now.
I may check in from time to time. Just to update.
And if I sign up for next year's ScriptFrenzy (which I probably will) I'll most likely try blogging through that one too.
Otherwise I'll be back next November.

See ya.

The Saga Continuums

2007-11-29T15:57:00.000+01:00

CWC: **57326** words. It's as if they're breeding.

I keep returning, it's as simple as that. After a near-month of writing this story, prefaced by a couple of months' worth of planning, plot outlining, character constructing et cetera (anything not actually considered writing the story), I can't simply consign it to a shallow grave on the hard drive.
Oops, I think I used that expression before. D*mn. Oh well. Never mind

So the story goes:
LLD has learned of MMC's affair with SMC. I'm not sure what her exact reaction is, so far that remains a plothole. It's certain, however, that she's mad as hell.
As a consequence MMC has more or less broken up with SMC. SMC then decided to get out of his skull in the spirit of the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, but is rescued by a True Friend before his brain is turned to mush. TF talks some sense into him, leading him to realise that MMC is the love of his life and he needs to patch things up before it's too late.
This leads to the first face-to-face between SMC and LLD, over the dead body of one of LLD's schoolmates...

Ah, drama.

Coverage

2007-11-27T13:07:00.000+01:00

Inspired by one of the more creative procrastination tips to be found on the NaNo forums, I've decided to create the following cover for my future publication:
Cool, huh?
PS: Not my real name, a made up one.
PPS: Still writing, word count now at **52863**

Milestone!

2007-11-26T01:48:00.000+01:00

Okay, I've now done it: the Word Count now stands at (drum roll, please):

***50434***

Oh my.

Status Report

2007-11-25T23:43:00.000+01:00

CWC: now rocking my personal casbah at **47234**

I'm beginning to write slightly disjointed chapters; will join them up soonest. Or maybe it's just me coming apart at the seams...

Need. Coffee. Now.

Word Count

2007-11-25T15:50:00.000+01:00

God I hate those Welsh!
(the ones in my own head, that is - I don't know any real-life Welshpeople, so if any should happen to read this blog please don't take offense - it's only imaginary Welsh I have a down on :-))
I still can't get them integrated into the story. I'm guessing a major reason for this is that at this point I haven't really moved the story to the point where they might be needed. For purely procrastinative purposes I'm still working on the love story aspect though I strongly suspect I shall have to switch focus shortly.

I am actually feeling optimistic enough to think I can reach the 50000 word marker within the next twenty-four hours. Things have been getting more complex than I thought; let's just hope that I'm not taking thirty pages to describe something that could have been done in three paragraphs. Sometimes I think I do; but at the same time I can't seem to see where I might trim the script for a more streamlined story.

I am going to have to keep writing. My word count seems to be skyrocketing, but I'm nowhere near having told the entire story. Once November is over motivation will be hard to come by, I know, but on the other hand I've invested so much effort into this year's novel that I can't just consign it to the shallow grave of my hard drive without at least trying to finish it. Even though the final word count will be a good deal higher than the 50000 that is the goal line of NaNoWriMo.

CWC: **45543**

Wish me luck.

Good Karma, Bad Karma

2007-11-22T22:01:00.000+01:00

Current word count: **40230**

Five thousand or so words in twenty-eight hours.
How the h*ll did that happen?

All I can say is that for some reason I've been inspired today. I still haven't got the Welsh separatists going, but I've overcome one obstacle (minor, but isn't that always the way?): I've given them a name. They are now, officially, the Rhyddid Cymraeg, pronounced something like 'Rithid Kimreg' (that's supposed to be Welsh Freedom or Welsh Liberty). No guarantees that it's grammatically correct, but I'm pretty sure it's close, thanks to a couple of other NaNoWriMo'ers.

So, I've been writing like crazy, linking up a few chapters and paragraphs that were dangling, and moving the story forward quite a bit. And feeling immensely proud of myself.

And then - oh horror! oh woe! - my %&/$# office suite decided to crash on me...

I was lucky. I had saved my work very shortly before; all I lost was about fifteen lines of text, and since it was all freshly written I could pretty much recreate it the way it had been. But, let me tell you, I did experience some very nasty moments there...
Lesson: Never underestimate the importance of frequent saves. Or of backup copies (I think I have five or six, all carefully backed up on line just in case my computer decided to take early retirement).

It only goes to show, you can never be too careful.
Oh well.

Advancing the Plot

2007-11-21T17:50:00.000+01:00

Right now, those Welsh separatists are giving me grief.

They're supposed to be pursuing a deal with an English right-wing populist party (the Free England Party, or FEP) which is rather in favour of allowing Wales to secede, provided this means all the English immigrants will be run out of their picturesque holiday homes in Wales and forced to repatriate in England, bringing their lovely tax pounds with them. The Welsh, for their part, want that second wave of colonists gone so that they might have a shot at reestablishing their own language and culture.

So far so froody.

Trouble is, I'm having difficulty relating that to the surveillance dystopia I'm trying to create, which is supposed to be a main feature of the GNOOT.

The LLD is also being rather difficult, though this is not an unusual trait in a fifteen-year-old. And she's pivotal to the story so I can't simply ditch her - the plan is that one of her schoolmates is the daughter of a sleazy politician who is a member of the aforementioned FEP, and the schoolmate is to be found dead under mysterious circs in the living room of LLD's house. LLD has an alibi of course, but her father, the MMC, does not. And has seemingly done a runner.

The plot is either thickening or falling apart, I can't quite decide which...

On the plus side: My CWC is at **35032** words now, so still on track :-)

Ungotten Goat

2007-11-18T21:58:00.001+01:00

Still writing...

Word count update: **30938**
Like I said, my goat will not be got.

So, nearly 1000 new words added. Achieved mainly by filling a few holes left earlier. Still, a word is a word...

Moving the story forward is the next challenge. I have a Welsh separatist movement waiting in the wings.

Funny thing: Shortly after writing my previous post, I checked my email and found the NaNoWriMo Week Three pep talk - this time by Neil Gaiman. I have greatly enjoyed several of his novels and actually have two-and-a-half of them on my shelves ('American Gods', 'Neverwhere' and 'Good Omens', which he co-authored with Terry Pratchett - hence the half), and another one or two on my personal wish list. And funnily enough, it would seem that he - a man whose work I greatly admire and whose imaginative powers make me absolutely green with envy - experiences much the same when he's working on a novel - after a flying start and before the final downhill roll towards the coveted words 'The End', he too hits that dreary, rocky, wading-through-molasses stage that I find myself at right now.

Given that misery loves company, I must say that cheered me up a great deal.

Potholes or Plotholes?

2007-11-18T14:27:00.000+01:00

So I haven't been updating.

In fact, I've been having trouble writing at all.

That's the main problem with writing a story, I find; inside my head it all hangs together and I know exactly how I want my characters to speak, think, act; but getting it down on the screen so that it still hangs together can be pure agony.

It's the sort of thing that makes me wish for Bobbi Anderson's mind-reading typewriter in Stephen King's The Tommyknockers; and I'm probably not the only one to engage in wishful thinking along those lines. Especially during the month of November; there are, literally, thousands of people worldwide going crazy over novel ideas (in either sense) these days.

But the important thing is: I am still writing. Moreover, I'm keeping up with the average daily output; I am right now just over 200 words shy of the 30000-word milestone I need to reach today in order to remain on track. And I'll get them too. This book isn't going to get my goat!

CWC: **29797** to be exact.

Title consideration: The working title of my Greatest Novel Of Our Time (2007 edition) has so far been 'Cross' - for no particular reason. I'm now going to rename it, though; henceforth, the GNOOT shall be forever (or until I change my mind again) known as:

CRASH

Because I say so.

So What's It All About, Anyway?

2007-11-10T01:43:00.000+01:00

Belatedly I've realised that I should perhaps state my preliminary plan for this novel:

It's a near-future tale (mid-21st century) which, hopefully, will involve: civil liberties (or lack thereof), a generation gap, a sleazy politician, a virtual-reality operating system, and a gay love story.
Oh, and party drugs. And paint.
(I'm also considering a journalist, but I don't really know what to do with her yet.)
And it's pretty much all over the place, and I haven't really figured out the full plot yet...
So it should be fun to write, even if no bugger ever reads it ;-)

Crash

2007-11-10T01:00:00.000+01:00

For the past few days I've been working on a chapter titled 'Crash'. The problem, it now seems, is that it's turned out far longer than any of the other chapters so far. It is the sixth chapter on my list; but it accounts for over a third of my current word count. Of course some of the other chapters remain unfinished (I tend to hop back and forth along the storyline).

Brief synopsis: While the MFC (main female character) (she who is also known as the LLD, or long-lost daughter) and her friends are crashing a party, my SMC crashes his bicycle, which leads to the MMC crashing at his place for the night (to observe him for any signs of concussion, natch), which leads to... well, let's just say it ain't PG13. And leave it at that.

Something tells me I'll never be able to show this to my mother!

CWC (current word count): **20920**

OK, OK. Time to go easy on the TLAs.

BTW: Will be off line until Sunday, so don't expect updates, all you folks who await the latest instalment with bated breath! (oh come on, there must be somebody...)

Grindin' time

2007-11-07T21:42:00.000+01:00

So, yesterday I gave myself a mental health day from the
(drum roll please...)
***Greatest Novel Of Our Time***
... hence no blog entry, either.

Of course, really that simply means that instead of playing [insert deity of your choice] with my characters, I instead played the procrastination game. Which, let me tell you, has been brought along immensely by the advent of the Personal Computer. It doesn't matter how seriously you take your work, a quick game of Minesweeper can easily last three hours and counting. Good job I decided to suspend my WoW account...

But today it was back to the ol' grindstone. My MMC is now on the verge of being introduced to the daughter he never suspected he had - at the same time my SMC is beginning to make it obvious that his interest in MMC is more than just casual. Sadly MMC is really thick sometimes, so I think SMC will have to drop hints, anvils and sixteen-ton weights at great length to get his attention... but not too great a length, I'd like the end result to be a little shorter at least than Lord of the Rings (it probably won't sell as many copies, either :-P)

For the record: Now cruising at **13080** words. w00t!

Landmark

2007-11-05T20:14:00.000+01:00

Fast update: Word count is now at, read it and weep, **10137** words!

Trouble is I don't feel as if I've told a fifth of the story... :-P

Who's Your Daddy?

2007-11-05T15:34:00.000+01:00

Okay.
Enter the long-lost daughter.

The idea is that in the future, DNA profiles gathered in any legal connection are kept in a national register, regardless of whether the person whose DNA it is has done anything illegal. Ever. Something for the civil libertarians.
At any rate, the mother of the girl never revealed the father's identity, and since she was able to raise her daughter on her own nobody could force her. Now Mummy is dead, so the courts have ordered a full register search-and-match to find the father. Ain't no escapin'...

Word count: **8122**
I love seeing the word count status bar on my NaNoWriMo profile gradually fill up with blue...

The Best Laid Plans...

2007-11-04T14:52:00.000+01:00

Okay.
So the daily posting I was so adamant about has failed to occur.
And in truth, I can't even blame anyone but myself. So there.

This does not mean I'm not writing. Hard at work, that's me, and on a daily basis too. In proof, I give you my current word count: **5595**
(Okay, you'll have to take my word for it.)

Another thing: As so often before I've underestimated my own ability to spin a scene. Thus, I'm just barely finishing the first chapter still, and the long-lost daughter has yet to make an appearance. She's on her way, though. My MMC (main male character) is about to arrive home after work to find a letter from Social Services informing him that a nearly-forgotten affair in his student days has left a more permanent memory with the young lady involved than it did with him. Now, however, the wench is dead and the time has come for him to assume responsibility...

The Off

2007-11-01T16:53:00.000+01:00

So.
1761 words in session one.
I'm off to a good start, even if I do say so myself.

To summarize:
A Monday morning. A personnel meeting. Hell on Earth.

Chapter 1: Introduce the main characters. In my case, a 38-year-old programmer/developer with a software house based in England, circa 2045. A 33-year-old graphic artist/designer working for the same company. More about them later.

Planned for next session: Introduce the long-lost daughter. You gotta have a long-lost relative, right?

Blogging through November...

2007-10-31T16:35:00.000+01:00

... I hope.

Okay, this is how it is.

I'm participating in the annual National Novel Writing Month - for the seventh year running. Only this time I've decided to try to write a daily blog entry throughout. Just in case my carpal tunnel syndrome doesn't kick in otherwise.

Time is now just seven hours twenty minutes till my personal local-time kick-off, and I can hardly wait. It almost makes me wish I lived in Australia, then I'd already be going at it.

So to all other NaNo'ers out there, as well as anyone else who might someday feel inspired: Go for it!
And to the folks at the Office of Letters and Light, without whom I probably wouldn't even have written word one all those years ago: Thank you. Thank you for inventing such a crazy, wonderful event.

Seven hours sixteen minutes... AND COUNTING :-D