I've been happily working away on the new book, 'Bringing home the stars and the stars came home'. It strikes me that now the short story of 'Bringing home the stars' has been extended into this work, it makes the anthology that I was planning rather a flimsy affair. I don't think that it would now be right to use a story that is now part of another book in it; it would feel rather too much like I was padding it all out. Dropping it leaves me with an anthology that is a little too short.
I've therefore been wondering about this, and as some of the short stories still left have been published elsewhere, and other stuff is cut material from published books, it really only leaves 'The long summer of war' as out on its own as not having been published anywhere else (apart from the first little bit on the portfolio section). So I'm sitting here thinking during a break from writing that it might be an idea to serialise it on the portfolio section over a number of months so that I can at least do something with it. I might even put here the cut scenes from 'Syndicate Dawn' and The Atlantic connection'. It's just a thought.
I'm pretty busy until the New Year now. I'm going to try to write what I can, and there is some good progress coming along, but I doubt I'll get to anything more than 30,000 words done by the beginning of January. I'm still planning on finishing it - all going well - by the end of January, but then January is always a quiet month for other work.
Finally, the bathroom light broke last night. Zoë has not had much luck in the last week with electrickery stuff. She set fire to the microwave by putting a potato in for far too long, then made the coffee machine blast milk all over the kitchen. Then finally I got a text from her last night when I was at work to announce that she had pulled the cord off the ceiling leaving the light stuck on. We fixed it by removing the bulb, but sometimes I do wonder what she will have a mishap with next? ;)
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Of music and neighbourly mayhem.
Writing is a funny oldf game really. Sometimes the words come, and sometimes they don't. You cannot really anticipate when and how. However what I have learnt over the years is that when inspiration strikes you do not ignore it or put it off for later, because Lady Inspiration is not generous at all.
When a writer talks about writers' block, it is often about inspiration, motivation and just finding the words to get out onto the page. With my new project, I've had a few of these problems over the last month or so. Partly, I suppose, it is the long hours I work on other commitments. But also it is about being in the right mood.
I use music to set the mood when I write. I think I have mentioned this before. I know one author who is completely opposite and demands silance to be able to work. I personally prefer music for a couple of reasons. Firstly, a well-picked piece of music can help set the mood for what you are writing and actually help the words flow. Also it screens out background noises that can in themselves be quite distracting. There is nothing worse than being half way through a tender love scene (just given as an example) and having your train of thought derailed by the ignorant woman who lives nextdoor in the terrace swearing at her young children. I find I lose what I was doing and start sitting wondering about is it really acceptable for a Mother to use the f-word as every other word to her eight year old child?
The last two days though have been very productive. 'Bringing home the stars and the stars came home' has now passed the milestone of 20,000 words. I tend to measure progress mentally in multiples of ten thousand; I'm not sure why. I may decide to put a preview of the new material on the portfolio section of the website, but no promises.
Next week however might see progress slow down a little as another mammoth 70+ hour week at the day job beckons. *sigh* However, I'm starting to get a good grasp on where the story and plot are going and am getting motivation to write. That means that if it is like the period that I wrote 'The Atlantic Connection' and 'Orb of Arawaan' then I shall be able to manage a few thousand words each day regardless of whether I am also working twelve hour shifts. Here's hoping.
Incidentally, a few people have asked me about the title for this one. Well, originally the idea started as a successful short story called 'Bringing home the stars' that has now been recorded and broadcast as a radio drama as well as appearing in print in a magazine. I had to keep it relatively short, because of the word limit constraints of the magazine I was writing for, but it was clear that the story had far more mileage and that's one of the reasons why I decided to shelve the anthology in favour of getting this book done first.
The second inspiration for the title comes from Alfred Bester's 'The stars my destination' which I think is a great title. I love slightly abstract sci-fi titles like that. The world of sci-fi is filled with them, so I thought I would get in on the action. Simple.
When a writer talks about writers' block, it is often about inspiration, motivation and just finding the words to get out onto the page. With my new project, I've had a few of these problems over the last month or so. Partly, I suppose, it is the long hours I work on other commitments. But also it is about being in the right mood.
I use music to set the mood when I write. I think I have mentioned this before. I know one author who is completely opposite and demands silance to be able to work. I personally prefer music for a couple of reasons. Firstly, a well-picked piece of music can help set the mood for what you are writing and actually help the words flow. Also it screens out background noises that can in themselves be quite distracting. There is nothing worse than being half way through a tender love scene (just given as an example) and having your train of thought derailed by the ignorant woman who lives nextdoor in the terrace swearing at her young children. I find I lose what I was doing and start sitting wondering about is it really acceptable for a Mother to use the f-word as every other word to her eight year old child?
The last two days though have been very productive. 'Bringing home the stars and the stars came home' has now passed the milestone of 20,000 words. I tend to measure progress mentally in multiples of ten thousand; I'm not sure why. I may decide to put a preview of the new material on the portfolio section of the website, but no promises.
Next week however might see progress slow down a little as another mammoth 70+ hour week at the day job beckons. *sigh* However, I'm starting to get a good grasp on where the story and plot are going and am getting motivation to write. That means that if it is like the period that I wrote 'The Atlantic Connection' and 'Orb of Arawaan' then I shall be able to manage a few thousand words each day regardless of whether I am also working twelve hour shifts. Here's hoping.
Incidentally, a few people have asked me about the title for this one. Well, originally the idea started as a successful short story called 'Bringing home the stars' that has now been recorded and broadcast as a radio drama as well as appearing in print in a magazine. I had to keep it relatively short, because of the word limit constraints of the magazine I was writing for, but it was clear that the story had far more mileage and that's one of the reasons why I decided to shelve the anthology in favour of getting this book done first.
The second inspiration for the title comes from Alfred Bester's 'The stars my destination' which I think is a great title. I love slightly abstract sci-fi titles like that. The world of sci-fi is filled with them, so I thought I would get in on the action. Simple.
Saturday, 13 December 2008
Thought for the day.
I've been reading today news stories about the big three US car companies being potentially days from bankrupcy after the US government refused to sanction a bail out. It is interesting to note that like the banks, the huge profits gleefully announced in previous years have conveniently disappeared. I mean, where did all that profit money go? Lining the pockets of the rich few perhaps? And now they want the hard pressed and often low income taxpayer to bail out their extravegant lifestyles? Give me a break.
It really sums it up that the cheif people from these firms arrived in Washington on large company jets to beg for cash handouts. If they had come economy on a scheduled flight I might have had more time for them (as I suspect politicians might have too). But they did the equivelent of pulling up at the Salvation Army soup kitchen in a 58-plate Rolls Royce asking for free meals because they were strapped for cash.
It is said that so many jobs rely on the car giants that if they go bust so millions will be put out of work. However to me the sums do not add up. This assumes that the World stops buying cars because GM (Vauxhall in the UK and Opel in Europe), Chryslar (Who knows who they are in Europe) and Ford go bust. I can really see the world walking instead. Not. Market forces will ensure that some-one will still make cars. After all, the western world is determined to sit in traffic chaos rather than catch the train.
I think there is a lot of scaremongering going on. I also suspect that politicians are going to call the car companies' bluff and say: "Well go bust then". I don't think they actually can shut down and disappear at all. Administrators would carve up the business, and better management teams and owners would move in and new cars will continue to be made because there will always be a demand for them. It will just be a case of being 'under new management'. Well, about time. If only the incompitant and greedy elite who have shafted the world economy could be shut out so easily.
It really sums it up that the cheif people from these firms arrived in Washington on large company jets to beg for cash handouts. If they had come economy on a scheduled flight I might have had more time for them (as I suspect politicians might have too). But they did the equivelent of pulling up at the Salvation Army soup kitchen in a 58-plate Rolls Royce asking for free meals because they were strapped for cash.
It is said that so many jobs rely on the car giants that if they go bust so millions will be put out of work. However to me the sums do not add up. This assumes that the World stops buying cars because GM (Vauxhall in the UK and Opel in Europe), Chryslar (Who knows who they are in Europe) and Ford go bust. I can really see the world walking instead. Not. Market forces will ensure that some-one will still make cars. After all, the western world is determined to sit in traffic chaos rather than catch the train.
I think there is a lot of scaremongering going on. I also suspect that politicians are going to call the car companies' bluff and say: "Well go bust then". I don't think they actually can shut down and disappear at all. Administrators would carve up the business, and better management teams and owners would move in and new cars will continue to be made because there will always be a demand for them. It will just be a case of being 'under new management'. Well, about time. If only the incompitant and greedy elite who have shafted the world economy could be shut out so easily.
Monday, 8 December 2008
It's been a busy week; too busy.
Doesn't time go by quickly? Well, of course it does when your 'day' job commanded 75 hours of your time last week, not including commuting. Add to that a day and a night spent in South Wales to attend a funeral, and you have a recipe for Jenny not having written an awful lot indeed! Last night was my first night 'off' for over seven days, and forgive me if I flaked out and slept for around ten hours instead. In the run up to Christmas I suspect there will be more weeks like this I am afraid.
The anthology is on hold now, and what little work I've been doing has been on the new sci-fi/horror book. It's going all right, and even if I don't have much time to do the tappety-tappety keyboard thing, I am getting all the plot sorted out in my head, so that's all right.
We've been talking a lot of late about house buying of late at Jenny towers. With house prices crashing we want to pick our time to buy well. We have the advantage of being able to pay a lot in cash from savings (house prices have been greedily overpriced for too long, so we saved instead) and if we buy at a repossession auction we'll only need a small mortgage. Of course, as neither of us is salaried, but instead works freelance, that makes getting a mortgage quite hard. Still, we aren't likely to be doing anything until the Summer as prices continue to crash and burn, so there's time yet.
Today is mostly going to be spent catching up on houshold stuff that has been neglected whilst I've been working mammoth hours. Zoë may keep up with all the washing up (which is much appreciated) but I have never seen her weild the vacuum cleaner yet in over three years. She also uses a 'first available surface' system of filing which means there is also a lot of tidying up that she seems blind to! Oh, but I love her anyway!
The anthology is on hold now, and what little work I've been doing has been on the new sci-fi/horror book. It's going all right, and even if I don't have much time to do the tappety-tappety keyboard thing, I am getting all the plot sorted out in my head, so that's all right.
We've been talking a lot of late about house buying of late at Jenny towers. With house prices crashing we want to pick our time to buy well. We have the advantage of being able to pay a lot in cash from savings (house prices have been greedily overpriced for too long, so we saved instead) and if we buy at a repossession auction we'll only need a small mortgage. Of course, as neither of us is salaried, but instead works freelance, that makes getting a mortgage quite hard. Still, we aren't likely to be doing anything until the Summer as prices continue to crash and burn, so there's time yet.
Today is mostly going to be spent catching up on houshold stuff that has been neglected whilst I've been working mammoth hours. Zoë may keep up with all the washing up (which is much appreciated) but I have never seen her weild the vacuum cleaner yet in over three years. She also uses a 'first available surface' system of filing which means there is also a lot of tidying up that she seems blind to! Oh, but I love her anyway!
Monday, 1 December 2008
A change of direction for the moment.
I've decided to temporarily push back the date of release of the anthology. The reason for this is the new piece I'm working on that I've mentioned in recent posts. The anthology was diverting some of my time, of which I don't seem to have an awful lot.
The plan is to get a finished manuscript together by February time next year at the latest so as to be able to go back to the agent I approached and show him new work that is slicker, better, more grabbing and takes on board points that he raised. It is doable. The hardest part is making sure I write every day and keep writing.
So a big sorry to those people who may have been waiting for some of the previously unpublished stories that were going to be in the anthology. It should appear later on next year, but I really want to give over all my time at the moment to this new project.
The plan is to get a finished manuscript together by February time next year at the latest so as to be able to go back to the agent I approached and show him new work that is slicker, better, more grabbing and takes on board points that he raised. It is doable. The hardest part is making sure I write every day and keep writing.
So a big sorry to those people who may have been waiting for some of the previously unpublished stories that were going to be in the anthology. It should appear later on next year, but I really want to give over all my time at the moment to this new project.
Sunday, 30 November 2008
Radio drama part 2
I'm sat here listening to the hot-off-the-press proofing copy of the radio drama recording of 'Bringing home the stars'. It sounds okay to me, though it is never the best thing listening to the sound of your own voice echoing in headphones. Hopefully it will go down well. Fingers crossed.
I've restarted work on 'The stars came home' which is a continuation of the story with the intention of expanding it into a full book. I had done a little a while a go, not long after I wrote the original, but it lacked the energy of the original. Well, after taking on board the comments of the agent yesterday, I've decided that this story is the goldmine one. It has a beginning that gets straight into the action, and was written in a far slicker style than usual for me. You know when inspiration just strikes? Well, that's kind of like how it felt at the time I wrote it.
Last night I discussed the continuation of the plot with Zoë. I did this originally, and talking it all the way through over an hour certainly helped the short story and the writing process a lot. This has helped a lot with the new story, and I'm now all fired up to write it. We'll see just how well it goes, but I need to motivate myself to churn out a reasonable writing output every day.
On an unrelated note, this has to be the coldest day of the year so far. It is freezing here, and whilst it was all day, the temperature is dropping fast tonight. Even with a big jumper on and lots of extra underwear, I'm still freezing!
I've restarted work on 'The stars came home' which is a continuation of the story with the intention of expanding it into a full book. I had done a little a while a go, not long after I wrote the original, but it lacked the energy of the original. Well, after taking on board the comments of the agent yesterday, I've decided that this story is the goldmine one. It has a beginning that gets straight into the action, and was written in a far slicker style than usual for me. You know when inspiration just strikes? Well, that's kind of like how it felt at the time I wrote it.
Last night I discussed the continuation of the plot with Zoë. I did this originally, and talking it all the way through over an hour certainly helped the short story and the writing process a lot. This has helped a lot with the new story, and I'm now all fired up to write it. We'll see just how well it goes, but I need to motivate myself to churn out a reasonable writing output every day.
On an unrelated note, this has to be the coldest day of the year so far. It is freezing here, and whilst it was all day, the temperature is dropping fast tonight. Even with a big jumper on and lots of extra underwear, I'm still freezing!
Saturday, 29 November 2008
Radio drama
'Bringing home the stars' has been recorded today at stdios outside of Preston into a radio drama. Right now, even as I type, in a small room that smells suspiciously of cabbage, some-one is hard at work doing post production. Actually, I just saw the time, so maybe they've clocked off now, but they'll definately finish it over the next few days.
I've heard the playback, and it sounds far better than the version that was done for Second Life. I've been badgering the website maintainer about adding a media section to the website where developments in this area such as news, pictures and videos will go (yes, Zoë took some videos of me in a radio studio and is threatening to add them to Youtube).
Watch this space for news.
I've heard the playback, and it sounds far better than the version that was done for Second Life. I've been badgering the website maintainer about adding a media section to the website where developments in this area such as news, pictures and videos will go (yes, Zoë took some videos of me in a radio studio and is threatening to add them to Youtube).
Watch this space for news.
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