Anthology Builder

THIS could be good. Although the submission guidelines 'request' that material be previously published I'm thinking I might try my luck and enter a few of my whimsical little stories and see how they go.

Excellent!

Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series is going to turn into a tv series! BRILL!

Dont Blog It

This 'rant' is soooo true it makes me cringe.

Oh the irony of this blog post.

I must stop.

I must write.

When will I return?

When weakness grips me again.

Google Docs

Just been playing around with Google Docs. I'd never heard of it before and thought it might be a good tool for writing when I'm not at home. Previously I'd just write in a Word document then email it to myself when I was done for the day, but that added up to sometimes multiple word docs all over the place, and was generally a pain in the arse. Especially if I was using Jerry as well which has to be uploaded into a word document.

I can also publish to my blog from Google Docs. How cool is that?! It would be handy if in my next job I am unable to access blogs... but I dont post very often anyway so I think I'm just stalling on the writing front by testing out groovy new tech stuff.

Procrastination is my middle name!

Testing

I Should Be A What...?

You Should Be a Science Fiction Writer

Your ideas are very strange, and people often wonder what planet you're from. And while you may have some problems being "normal," you'll have no problems writing sci-fi. Whether it's epic films, important novels, or vivid comics... Your own little universe could leave an important mark on the world!

What Type of Writer Should You Be?

Countryside

So, I've chosen the boots I want, and the jacket I want (not the ones I was previously thinking about. I decided on one of the mens jackets)... now all I have to do is convince Mum that she wants to buy them for me.

I've succeeded with the boots - mainly because they dont sell the ones I want in the UK, only in the US, and also because they're actually quite cheap... but the jacket is a lot more pricey and may need more some kind of bribe in order to succeed in persuading her. Though, Mum is a lover of quality and these are damn fine quality jackets.

Fingers crossed. Hehehhee.

Still aint done a scrap of writing. I'm so lazy.

New Jacket

I've been viewing the Barbour website almost daily for a week now, trying to decide which jacket to buy.

I've narrowed it down to the Flyweight Wax Utility or Amelia jacket, I think. But I just dont know. I've tried on a few at lunchtimes (there is a Barbour shop just around the corner from where I work - so handy!), but they dont have the entire range.

I'm going to have to go to Harrods tomorrow.

Yay. I haven't been to Harrods since I was 9! Yikes, thats 1987... 21 years ago, when me and my family were living in the UK for a year (and when I first fell in love with England and started feeling like it was home).

And, yes, from above you can deduce that I am hitting the big 3-0 this year. In five weeks. OMG. Five weeks.

Actually, its less than that. 4.5 weeks. April 11th. 30. Years. Old.

Its freaking me out, man. Totally.

So, anyway... back to the new jacket - must keep myself occupied. Going shopping tomorrow. Should be fun. Should be. (and expensive!)

Be Adventurous!

I really like this post from over at Bookends. I think that the three points that Angie rose are excellent, and are what can make or break a book.

I dont think I could put it much better than she did, so I wont try, but I know that after a couple of glasses of JD & Coke I find that my fear (ie the side of me that makes me say "oh my god, did I just write that?!") diminishes and I start being more adventurous and seeing the potential of where my story could go.

I also think its quite important not to stick with the first few ideas you come up with and actually push yourself to the limit of your creativity. I mean, really, if the best ideas could be had so quickly and easily then why is it that most (all?) authors say writing a good book is actually quite difficult?! I've read some of the crap I've come up with at the drop of a hat, and to be honest it was utter crap. I may have had the seeds of some good ideas planted in there, but they definitely didn't flourish.

Putting in surprises is a good point, though I think it could backfire. In one book I read by Robin Hobb, right near the end she put in a surprise - it was a new race of people called the Peksies (or something like that) that she used to create conflict to keep Fitz from getting back to Buckkeep in time to see the Fool before he leaves possibly forever, and not only did it annoy me that she left the book on a cliff hanger like that, but it annoyed me that before then I'd never heard of the Peksies.

Perhaps thats not the right example for putting a 'surprise' in your story. Perhaps its just the smaller 'surprises' that Angie was meaning, ie like the dog talking back to the protag. But anyway, good or bad they will definitely make the writing more adventurous.

And I love a good adventure!

Exiting Dystopia

Went for a two hour walk with the hubs last night, through the paths in the forests and fields around where he grew up.

It was absolutely lovely.

And its the best way to cure a migraine!

We're going to make it a regular thing (which will be good for my ever-expanding waist), so I've been spending all my time looking for maps of paths and walks throughout the Kent countryside.

We've got friends who have got a landrover, so we've been out with them a few times down some pretty obscure and muddy lanes, which has been fun, but sometimes you just need to walk.

Its free, too. And we sooo dont need to be spending money!

The prize at the end of each walk is a quick stop for a quiet drink in one of the many marvelous country pubs in the region. We went to the Crown in Knockholt last night. A very quiet pub, but I love the decor.

I'm hoping that these nighttime wanderings will get my brain plotting some more coz I'm seriously lagging on the writing front. Not only that, it hasn't even been occupying my thoughts as much as it usually does. I normally cant stop thinking about the stories I want to write. They're all dormant at the moment, though.

Out for lunch now.. looking for a new jacket!

No Sleep

Migraine. Again.

Moaning. Again.

At least its Tuesday. (pub night)