Today in the post I received a lovely copy of NOW 17 on double LP. It's in mint condition, and I hasten to add that the reason it came here is because I collect records and am currently collecting a complete set of all the NOW albums that existed on LP (1-35, for those who are interested).
One thing I have noticed about the NOW albums is that a lot of them are packed with what we ought to politely refer to as 'better suited to being spread thinly on a field of vegetables to aid their growing' than music. NOW 17 does not disappoint in this respect. Actually, I would go as far as to say that the needle on my turntable now feels dirty for having dragged itself through that filth. I count only three, maybe four tracks that are remotely worthwhile. In honest truth a fair few of these records don't even register in the section of my memory entitled 'crap music I remember and hate from my formative years'. That means that they must have been total here-today-gone-tomorrow one hit wonders. Well, if you can call them that.
Depeche mode's 1990 hit "Enjoy the silence" is certainly the best track on there. However, I understand why there are now so few surviving copies of NOW17 - it is utter rubbish. Manufactured sacharin pish and false psuedo dance mucis that leaves the impression of a record exec who was about as far away from 'it' as it is possible to be saying "Hey, I know what the kids want, because I'm with it!". Sorry matey, but they changed what 'it' was sometime in the late 1950s and forgot to send you the memo. It is little wonder that there was such an explosion at the time in popularity of underground groups and styles that led to the first great revolution and death of the charts. I remember now why acid house and rave became so big so fast when the 'official' record company offerings comprised of garishly dressed teenagers in sideways baseball caps and not a trace of stubble on their clean cut and (urggggghhhh!) wholesome faces.
The NOW series went through a really bad time. I can recomend wholeheartedly copies of NOW 6, 8 and 10 (available for no more than £1 from any decent secondhand record shop) but after 10, they certainly slipped bigtime. It wasn't until NOW 20 that they started to find their way again, and there was certainly another big blip to come. But that was after LP copies stopped being pressed (the end came at NOW 35 - a very rare copy to find on LP) so is luckily outside the scope of my LP collection. I shall breath a sigh of relief.
Wednesday 21 July 2010
Monday 19 July 2010
Lie back and think of something.
Starting a new book is the hardest thing. I've written about this before, and I make no apology for mentioning it again. Not least because it's that time of the year again. My usual methods in writing a book involve a planning stage that usually sees me doing a lot of listening to music whilst thinking (stop whinging, because you can't do the same where you work and charge the time as valid business expense). With basic plot summary in my head I have a rough idea of sort of what I'm going to write. I discuss ideas a lot with people at this stage too, as bouncing ideas off some-one does help develop things, iron out wrinkles that you yourself missed and gets it well stuck in mind so that key details dreamt up to the soundtrack of Space Brothers and Delerium don't get instantly forgotten again.
Commiting to the page comes when the guilt of having no tangible output that I can hold up and say "Here, I have been working - honest. Look what I did, Mummy - stick it to the door of the fridge" gets too much. I find opening that plain, empty document template is really hard. Staring at white empty space in a word processing programme really does get you down. Current word count: 0. Target word count: 90,000. Ouch. So at this stage I try to think of an opening that flows quickly to the page, just to get something down. Sometimes this really works well, and I keep what I write. Other times (more often) it quietly gets deleted or substantially rewritten once I've got a few more words written and I think I won't miss those first few thousand hastily written daubs. In the writing section of my website I recently posted an example of the original opening to one book I wrote. Nothing of it is in the finished book, but it got the ball rolling so it did its bit.
I've written maybe 500 words, and I'm already blogging as a means of writing-avoidance. Before you know it I'll be vacuuming the carpets and dusting shelves - the joys of being a writer. Still, I've already written two books this year, with a third prepped for going to print, so it's not like I've had seven months of staring at the ceiling doing nothing but listen to music, honest.
Commiting to the page comes when the guilt of having no tangible output that I can hold up and say "Here, I have been working - honest. Look what I did, Mummy - stick it to the door of the fridge" gets too much. I find opening that plain, empty document template is really hard. Staring at white empty space in a word processing programme really does get you down. Current word count: 0. Target word count: 90,000. Ouch. So at this stage I try to think of an opening that flows quickly to the page, just to get something down. Sometimes this really works well, and I keep what I write. Other times (more often) it quietly gets deleted or substantially rewritten once I've got a few more words written and I think I won't miss those first few thousand hastily written daubs. In the writing section of my website I recently posted an example of the original opening to one book I wrote. Nothing of it is in the finished book, but it got the ball rolling so it did its bit.
I've written maybe 500 words, and I'm already blogging as a means of writing-avoidance. Before you know it I'll be vacuuming the carpets and dusting shelves - the joys of being a writer. Still, I've already written two books this year, with a third prepped for going to print, so it's not like I've had seven months of staring at the ceiling doing nothing but listen to music, honest.
Thursday 15 July 2010
Twinkle little star.
I've just finished doing the editing on the sequel to 'Bringing home the stars'. I've also finalised the name which will be 'Twinkle little star' - sounds somewhat James Patterson in style, but hey - I like it and it fits with the plot. It's only the second draft, and it didn't take anywhere near as long as the first draft did to write (thank goodness). It now goes to Zoë who will read through and suggest corrections and then I'll do a third draft of it (who ever said that writing a book was write it and print it? Oh no!). In the mean time I have another book to start work on.
Thursday 8 July 2010
New short story/other stuff.
Jennyemilyeffect has had two more short pieces uploaded to it. The first is a short piece of flash fiction - View from the window and back into the room. the second is cut material from the first draft of The Atlantic Connection.
Wednesday 7 July 2010
Website upgrade.
Just a quick note to say that the website has had a thorough spruce up. One big change is that the short stories and other bits page is far more accessible. From a purely practical point of view it means that I am able to update it myself now instead of being reliant on some techno-nerd in another office.
The new website - go take a look!
The new website - go take a look!
Vuvuselas are irritating.
I never really liked editing. Actually, I think I described it here more than once as my nemesis. I suppose that is the case when I actually have to do an awful lot. Right now I'm working on the sequel to 'Bringing home the stars'. It must be weird for most people to read about me polishing up a sequel to a book that isn't on general release yet, but bear with me....
I wrote an entire book in between finishing the first draft of BHTS2 (There is a name for it, but as I've always refered to the sequel as this, it is easier to keep track). It's the best way to go as putting a book to one side after finishing a draft means that you can have a few weeks doing something else that distances you from the creative processes of the writing. In this way, when you do come back to it, you have a clear head and can see things that would otherwise have been missed. When I last edited a book, I hated it. I suppose that was because so much was needing tweaking. BHTS2 seems surprisingly different. Almost to the point that I'm wondering if there is something that I'm missing. I've edited some 40,000 words of it in three days, and it hasn't really needed much other than the odd typo correcting, a few word repititions ironing out and a few commas and semi-colons swapped around. There was a chapter I had forgotton to finish, but that was easily solved (I must have got distracted, written the next bit intending to come back, then forgot). It isn't a bad read so far, so I'm hoping it doesn't disappear downhill towards the end. I shall also try not to blow my own Vuvusela, as I understand quite how annoying they are.
This year has been a somewhat prolific year for writing. Long may it continue. For future reference to myself, when I'm suffering the next bout of writer's block I would like to point out that having too many ideas flooding through my head and not enough time to write them down is almost as annoying as sitting at a computer staring at a blank screen struggling to let get the words flowing. I have another book idea to start work on after I'm done with this edit. I'll let you all know what it is when I start commiting words to the page.
I wrote an entire book in between finishing the first draft of BHTS2 (There is a name for it, but as I've always refered to the sequel as this, it is easier to keep track). It's the best way to go as putting a book to one side after finishing a draft means that you can have a few weeks doing something else that distances you from the creative processes of the writing. In this way, when you do come back to it, you have a clear head and can see things that would otherwise have been missed. When I last edited a book, I hated it. I suppose that was because so much was needing tweaking. BHTS2 seems surprisingly different. Almost to the point that I'm wondering if there is something that I'm missing. I've edited some 40,000 words of it in three days, and it hasn't really needed much other than the odd typo correcting, a few word repititions ironing out and a few commas and semi-colons swapped around. There was a chapter I had forgotton to finish, but that was easily solved (I must have got distracted, written the next bit intending to come back, then forgot). It isn't a bad read so far, so I'm hoping it doesn't disappear downhill towards the end. I shall also try not to blow my own Vuvusela, as I understand quite how annoying they are.
This year has been a somewhat prolific year for writing. Long may it continue. For future reference to myself, when I'm suffering the next bout of writer's block I would like to point out that having too many ideas flooding through my head and not enough time to write them down is almost as annoying as sitting at a computer staring at a blank screen struggling to let get the words flowing. I have another book idea to start work on after I'm done with this edit. I'll let you all know what it is when I start commiting words to the page.
Sunday 4 July 2010
Another book finished.
I've just finished draft one of The Long summer of war. 72,000 words of pure literary fiction goodness. Show me a happy-ever-after story and I'll show you a fist to face; I'm going back to writing sci-fi.
Saturday 3 July 2010
I really fancy a takeaway; know what I mean?
The boat didn't sink yesterday evening. Actually, it floated perfectly and remained bone dry (except for the water from my wet trainers which doesn't count) all the time it was on the water. The only problem was lining it back up with the trailer to haul it out, which resulted in a nasty scrape down the keel and the fibreglass to one side. All got sanded and touched up this morning, so no problems there.
On Monday I'm off out to buy a few important-yet-necessary items. Namesly: a trailer lighting board; spare wheel; mudguards and fittings and; some kind of security device to stop some scrote from pinching the trailer. Hopefully they won't be rip-off priced.
As it's the weekend I've only written 500 words. I feel guilty for taking days off (even if they are the two days a week that everyone else gets and takes for granted). 500 words is a compromise. Hopefully by Monday 'Long summer of war' will be done and I can get on with something else, in the form of BHTS2 editing. After that I've already got another book idea ready to write (straight sci-fi this time) so I guess I'll be keeping myself busy through until Christmas.
On Monday I'm off out to buy a few important-yet-necessary items. Namesly: a trailer lighting board; spare wheel; mudguards and fittings and; some kind of security device to stop some scrote from pinching the trailer. Hopefully they won't be rip-off priced.
As it's the weekend I've only written 500 words. I feel guilty for taking days off (even if they are the two days a week that everyone else gets and takes for granted). 500 words is a compromise. Hopefully by Monday 'Long summer of war' will be done and I can get on with something else, in the form of BHTS2 editing. After that I've already got another book idea ready to write (straight sci-fi this time) so I guess I'll be keeping myself busy through until Christmas.
Thursday 1 July 2010
Captain's log, additional
When I say 'tonight' as in the last post, I'd like to point out that I'm not in the same time zone as the server. That means that when it says it is Thursday, I'm already in Friday. Hello from the future, and all that.
Insert post title here.
A lot of today has been spent writing 'Long summer of war'. I want it done by the end of the coming weekend; I'm not too far off. Then it's back to BHTS2 and doing a second draft.
When I wrote BHTS2, everything quickly went up in the air. I found out that I had agent troubles, and what had seemed like a sure sale on 'Bringing home the stars' had faded away as charlatons of the publishing world had meddled and messed. Fast forward on a few months and things are a different story. 'Bringing home the stars' has been printed and awaits the official release date to go on general sale. Deals are being done behind the scenes to ensure that it appears in high street bookstores and more besides. Once all that is sorted, then it is on to the promotion itinery. A part of me doesn't know quite what to expect, whilst another part is secretly quite excited.
It makes it all the more important to have BHTS2 done. A first draft is a major milestone, but it is only a part of the way towards getting a book bublished. I need a proper title for a start ('Twinkle little star' is the James Pattersonesc title I have in mind). Then there is the 'heavy edit' as I call it which is the first pass through the book, seperated by a little time from the creative process of writing it. Usually I have to work at translating some of the hastily typed paragraphs into understandable English. At times it is almost amusing as to what the hell was I trying to say? But a second draft is a good refinement, and it gets closer to publishing quality. I usually give Zoë the second draft to read, and she makes notes then I go to a third draft to refine yet further. Usually, this is the first draft that publishers and agents get to see. I think that's important, as rushing stuff out to these people kind of deadons the impact when you need the impact. I'd rather they saw a polished product than one that, like my old school reports, could be described with the phrase "Nice work, but must try harder" (do Teachers the country over have a book of stock phrases to use on reports?).
I'm also finding that I need to get out of the house more. I think when you spend so much time locked to a keyboard in an office typing away, it's easy to get cabin fever. This last week I've only made it as far outside in the main as the back garden to repair my new boat. But it's a start. I get to take it and put it on water tonight for the first time. Let's hope it floats. Given the recent hot weather, let's hope that there is water at the reservoir to float it in.
When I wrote BHTS2, everything quickly went up in the air. I found out that I had agent troubles, and what had seemed like a sure sale on 'Bringing home the stars' had faded away as charlatons of the publishing world had meddled and messed. Fast forward on a few months and things are a different story. 'Bringing home the stars' has been printed and awaits the official release date to go on general sale. Deals are being done behind the scenes to ensure that it appears in high street bookstores and more besides. Once all that is sorted, then it is on to the promotion itinery. A part of me doesn't know quite what to expect, whilst another part is secretly quite excited.
It makes it all the more important to have BHTS2 done. A first draft is a major milestone, but it is only a part of the way towards getting a book bublished. I need a proper title for a start ('Twinkle little star' is the James Pattersonesc title I have in mind). Then there is the 'heavy edit' as I call it which is the first pass through the book, seperated by a little time from the creative process of writing it. Usually I have to work at translating some of the hastily typed paragraphs into understandable English. At times it is almost amusing as to what the hell was I trying to say? But a second draft is a good refinement, and it gets closer to publishing quality. I usually give Zoë the second draft to read, and she makes notes then I go to a third draft to refine yet further. Usually, this is the first draft that publishers and agents get to see. I think that's important, as rushing stuff out to these people kind of deadons the impact when you need the impact. I'd rather they saw a polished product than one that, like my old school reports, could be described with the phrase "Nice work, but must try harder" (do Teachers the country over have a book of stock phrases to use on reports?).
I'm also finding that I need to get out of the house more. I think when you spend so much time locked to a keyboard in an office typing away, it's easy to get cabin fever. This last week I've only made it as far outside in the main as the back garden to repair my new boat. But it's a start. I get to take it and put it on water tonight for the first time. Let's hope it floats. Given the recent hot weather, let's hope that there is water at the reservoir to float it in.
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