Geminus

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!

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

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!

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

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!

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

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.