| Another weekend of two halves |
[Nov. 16th, 2009|07:56 pm] |
Rob and I had an idea to meet up in Oxford on Saturday, but we decided it was all too uncertain because of all the stormy weather forecast. As it happened, my area wasn't too badly hit (Mum and Dad were in Pembrokeshire which had some flooding). There was an incredibly short thunderstorm (ie, one flash of lightning) on Saturday morning, then it cleared up and I decided to go and help at the environment centre where I was a semi-regular volunteer during my unemployment. Apart from anything else, I was keen to donate some unwanted magazines and felt tip pens. However, I hadn't been there long when it started tipping down and we decided that no visitors would turn up, so we rearranged an exhibition for a while.
Yesterday was pleasant and sunny, so it would have been a good day to go to Oxford, but the buses are inconvenient on Sundays. Instead I walked to the nature reserve up the road to find no flowers at all, just grass and the hazel tree covered in golden leaves and tightly closed baby catkins. As I stood there looking at the place, a jay flew overhead with the light catching the blue patches on its wings. Other than that, I splurged on animation sites and did other me-time things.
Today my boss gave me a special scanning task and told me I was methodical. Dad says that means 'slow', but I still take it as a compliment. |
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| NaNo Day 15. |
[Nov. 16th, 2009|12:31 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | nano | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Going to bed | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  Writing just to get the words | ] |
Day 15, and I get the Muppet music. But only just.
Today wasn't hugely impressive in terms of writing. Our neighbours had something of a row, a proportion of which I could hear through the connecting wall. At one point it had someone hammering on the (unused and semi-sealed) connecting door between our place and theirs. I don't know whether they were trying to get our attention or whether they were just seizing the nearest thing to bang on, but it was mildly startling. The row concluded with someone storming out, followed by shouted imprecations and me double-checking the locks on our front door.
Anyhoo, this threw me off writing for most of the afternoon and I wasn't helped by being stuck in the quagmire that is my current scene. The pace was slow enough to be painful and for most of the day, I was focussed simply on getting to the 25,000 words that mean I am ahead of target. At one stage, I was updating my word tally every two words or so, focussing on getting through the next ten words, the next twenty, the next word. I did just scrape over 1,667 words on the stroke of midnight, but it feels a bit of a hollow victory given that this was a day off.
Ho hum. A win's a win; I have improved my buffer by five whole words and I already know how this scene is going to end in terms of plot development, so tomorrow should be mildly easier. I get the feeling that a lot of what I've done today and yesterday will eventually end up on the cutting room floor though.
The most important thing is that I've reached the halfway point and topped my 25,000 words. Quite apart from a celebration of a milestone, this now means that my words written are greater than my words left. It's all downhill from here and for once I don't mean that in a negative way.
Distraction of the day: The cacophony described above. Not to mention the fact that my internet has gone kaflooey and I'm currently using the mobile broadband dongle.
Music of the day: Howie Day - Collide. A little known gem of a track.
Inspiration of the day: Dr Google still had all the answers today. God knows how anyone found anything out without the internet. Did you know that there are websites where some kind soul has worked out the frequency of different types of employment in a mediaeval town as according to a census of Paris in the 1292. Granted, it's designed to be a reference for D&D GMs, but it was fantastically useful to me. Despite the fact that I'll probably never use any of the info I learned. I was surprised to find out that being a shoemaker was the most common profession. I know, I know, you all say cobblers, but really, it's true.
Success of the day: Scraping over 1,667. The last paragraph was bullshit and will need to be rewritten, but it's staying in there because it took me over target.
Success for tomorrow: 1,667 again. If I can get back into my stride, then any kind of improvement on the buffer will be nice.
Quote of the day: “To be singular is to be safe. Nobody breaks what they know they cannot replace.”
Total [new] word count: 25,319
Average word count: 1,688
PJW
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| NaNo Day 14. |
[Nov. 15th, 2009|12:35 am] |
Day 14 and there will be no muppets singing Beethoven for me tonight.
In fairness, I originally had this day marked down as one where I might not get any writing done at all. My parents have come to visit; it's the last time I will see them before Christmas (my favourite family occasion which is, once again, like last year, being abused by my choice of workplace) and I've heard it's considered rude to take up one's laptop and tap away when someone had travelled 200 miles to come and see you.
So, taken in that context, 642 words for today constitutes a bit of a win. I'm still ahead of target by a good three hundred words and I have a day off tomorrow to try and build up my buffer again. Still, I had a good few hours for writing in the morning, which were very unproductive through oversleeping and snuggling to ignore the 7am, 8am and 9am alarms, followed by a huge chunk of inertia. Day off tomorrow, so hopefully will improve on this.
Askla's dive for centre-stage yesterday meant that I could put off the horrors of taking them outside the castle. Today, however, I had no choice and had to face the perils of... description! <gasp>
I'm not a fan of scene setting at all. It's my bete noire when it comes to writing; it's the bit where all of the fluency and drive that I have, from things like dialogue and characterisation, goes dribbling down the drain. I never know how much detail is too much, what bits people actually care about and, most importantly, how not to phrase everything like I'm describing a technical drawing to someone wearing a blindfold. I always end up with about five sentences that begin with the same words and follow the same pattern and this then leads to twenty minutes of shuffling them around and rearranging words and then rearranging them back because it's led to a really strange abuse of the passive voice. 540 words over the day on description and 100 in five minutes when the characters start talking again. Go figure.
Add into this the fact that I was trying to describe the exterior of a castle without having a clear picture of it in my head. I actually ended up drawing the damned thing on my tablet in an attempt to work out exactly what details would first hit the eye of an observer. Incidentally, I hear Apple are giving consideration to making a MacBook with a touchscreen. At some point in the future. When they feel like it might be their new zeitgeist. Pity that the choice available to PC users has allowed me to have one for nearly a year now; I might really have gone for that. </tongueincheek>
Distraction of the day: Parents, then playing rugby, then watching England play rugby. I wouldn't mind having the two hours the last one cost me back actually...
Music of the day: None. It's been a very quiet day, musically.
Inspiration of the day: Wikipedia is my friend. God bless the interwebs and the ability to just find information about castles whenever it takes your fancy.
Success of the day: Avoiding my worst day so far with a late flurry of words.
Success for tomorrow: 1,667 has to be the minimum. Can't afford to drop below again. The good target would be 2,000 words, to bring me back a decent-sized buffer. The stretch target is 2,691, because that would bring me back to the same amount of buffer that I had before today.
Quote of the day: “The sky outside was a clear, pale blue and the rush of wind from the movement of the gates was cold and crisp. It felt like an early spring's morning in England, with a dazzling sun doing nothing to warm the air.”
Total [new] word count: 23,648
Average word count: 1,689
PJW
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| Nano Friday 13th! |
[Nov. 14th, 2009|12:27 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  Writing | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Lou Bega - Mambo no.5 | ] |
Day 13 and I'm very nearly at the end of the famed NaNo second week o'death with a positive word count.
Not only that, but I managed to write 1,886 words today, which topped my stretch target. That's the first time that's happened so far this NaNo and it's made me happy, in my pants.
Once again, the day was made by the evening session of writing. It's becoming something of a habit. Tomorrow will be a challenge, as I will only have the morning session in which to write; my parents are coming down to visit. My morning and lunchtime efforts today yielded only 684 words, which put a little bit more pressure on the 8.30pm till midnight shift than I'd ideally like. Thankfully, I was saved by the character of Askla, who stood up and completely hijacked a scene that was meant to be nothing more than a transition from one place to another. I'll swear I had no idea that she was going to say all that she did; it just came straight from the magic place where the real Askla is shouting at me that I've got her all wrong and this is what she ought to say. I knew all about her backstory before today, but I didn't have a good handle on her character.
Distraction of the day: Actually, NaNo was the distraction. I should've cleaned the house and baked a pie tonight. Details, details...
Music of the day: Foo Fighters - Learn To Fly. This used to be my happy song, until I overlistened to it. Tonight, the volume is going back up!
Inspiration of the day: Erfworld. It's an online comic about a man who's sucked into a fantasy world to be general of an army that's facing a huge battle... I'm not derivative! I'm not!
Actually, I am; I'm stealing inspiration left, right and centre from a nascent idea that I half-wrote a few years back, waaay before Erfworld. But that's not the point.
The inspiration for today were the characters of the Archons, whose loyalty is sold by their leader. Completely different take on the situation, but it got me thinking.
Success of the day: 1,886 words! Hell yes!
Success for tomorrow: 1,667 is my minimum success, as it's going to be a very curtailed day. I wouldn't hate hitting 1,771, as that would keep the average WordsPerDay rising. I definitely wouldn't hate hitting 1,994. That would mean having an entire day's buffer. <grins>
Quote of the day: “Why should I spend something of my own to assist someone who has not the goods to pay for it? Why should I diminish what I have when I will see no return, especially as I may need all of my resources for the surprises of tomorrow?”
Total [new] word count: 23,006
Average word count: 1,770
PJW
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 13th, 2009|08:04 pm] |
For someone who never feels particularly lucky on any other day of the year, fortune has been kinder than usual to me this Friday the 13th. A photo I had taken of me (because I had no choice) and that was uploaded to the company intranet (by someone else) has won me a (company branded) frisbee. Which is all rather random, and probably the most my face has ever got me!
Thanks to all of you who said nice things about the small sample of writing I posted. Sadly, no more will be forthcoming for the time being as writing didn't really happen this week. Not for a lack of motivation, but due to a lack of time. The longer commute is not as draining as I feared it would be, but it leaves me little time to do much after work. However, tomorrow I'm off to Madre's for a much-needed week-long break from work, so this should give me the opportunity to increase my word count. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 13th, 2009|05:56 pm] |
Update your knowledge of military drones, comrades: USAF planning to have 50 on active service by 2011, new "Gorgon Stare" technology to allow 12-camera surveillance of 1.5sq mile area, specialized 5-pound drone missiles, possible large-scale deployment in Afghanistan to replace regular armed forces. We could be looking at the first theatre in which one side fields only robots.
Be very, very afraid. |
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| NaNo Day 12. |
[Nov. 13th, 2009|12:48 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  Writing sisters | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Ode to Joy... as sung by Beaker from the Muppets | ] |
Day Twelve and I'm back on my game.
Boy, I've missed having the day off from work to get my NaNo done in. It allowed me time to play badminton in the morning, score an epic-level screw up with Caroline's lift into work (or lack of it) and still recover in time to hit 2,000 words.
Today's writing was mostly sponsored by my sisters. This was the first scene since the very beginning of the book to show Phee and Jamie relating with each other without any external pressures present and I really enjoyed writing them. Phee is very heavily based from my own older sisters when it comes to her protectiveness of Jamie and it's very helpful to be able to just think 'WWToCD' (What Would Tor or Charl Do?). In addition to this, I got to drop more references to their background. I do know why they were on their own, what they were running from and what happened to get their lives quite so screwed up. I just have no idea if the information is ever going to work its way to the forefront of this story.
Distraction of the day: The morning's EpicFail. Boy, that was fun.
Music of the day: Jo McAfferty - Lady Day
Inspiration of the day: Tor and Charl.
Success of the day: Recovering from a morning and afternoon in which I'd written 658 words, to power through to a massive 2,237 for the day.
Success for tomorrow: Tomorrow, I would like to just get my 1,667, as it's a new chapter and I don't know how hard it's going to be. Of course, 1,748 words would take me up above my highest ever buffer...
Quote of the day: Jamie made a sillier face in return and danced away with a giggle when she made a grab for him, putting the table between her and him. “Too slow!” he sang, following their time-honoured tradition of quoting old television shows. “Too slow, chicken marengo. Too slow for this kitty-cat.”
Total [new] word count: 21,120
Average word count: 1,760. On the dot, as well
PJW
PS. This is my celebration music that I get when I've hit the day's target:
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| Metal And Larp And thing Of That Nature |
[Nov. 12th, 2009|10:14 pm] |
You see, when I first heard about this, I wasn’t that bothered by the prospect. Always preferred Jason and the Argonaugts anyway. But, you see, the music here has synchronised its beats to the sound of giant scorpions lashing out at puny humans.
Those words again:
GIANT SCORPIONS!
So, yeah, they now have my attention.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcBNHZEiX0g&NR=1
Be Seeing You. |
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| A thinky thought |
[Nov. 12th, 2009|04:31 pm] |
It occurs to me that, when mental health activists talk about mental health difficulty, it's not so different from when women (and feminists in particular) talk about PMS, in terms of how we want to be treated.
I've just got to the stage of recognising the symptoms of PMS in myself - I get wobbly, anxious and irritable, and I feel generally under the weather. PMS is something that happens to a lot of women - with varying degrees of severity. For the lucky majority of us it's a niggly inconvenience, and for some people it can be very severe and very painful. I know a few people who suffer dreadfully every month.
What women who have PMS need is to be taken seriously - not to have our difficulties ignored, but DEFINITELY not to be told that we're incompetent, that we can't work or reason or think properly because of PMS symptoms.
Like people with mental health difficulties, women do not want to be patronised with 'is it your time of the month'? jibes. Like mental health difficulty, PMS is not a sign of weakness - it's an extra hurdle that a lot of people have to struggle with to stay functional.
The right way to react to minor-to-moderately severe mental health difficulty is not dissimilar to the way in which women who know discuss PMS, at work or between friends. 'I'm having a nasty PMT day' - 'Oh dear! Poor love. Lots of rest, chocolate and DVDs for you. Take it easy, hope you feel better soon'. No judgement; no patronising slurs on the person's higher reasoning.
The analogy doesn't hold entirely, particularly because most people who get PMS are lucky enough not to have it disrupt their lives to the extent that they're unable to work. But it's an interesting way of thinking about it. |
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| NaNo Day 11. |
[Nov. 12th, 2009|12:13 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  Writing | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Ode to Joy... as sung by Beaker from the Muppets | ] |
Day Eleven and I have just screeched over the line as the clock struck midnight.
I wrote down two extra words and updated the NaNoWriMo website at the very last second of 11.59pm with my new total word count of 18,883, which made it a nice round 1,667 for the day. Considering both my morning and lunchtime writing sessions failed to yield more than 600 words, I'm quite pleased with that as a result.
That's now two days in a row of writing on a work day and still hitting my word target. I'm absolutely thrilled with myself and it's given me a real fillup to know that it is possible to do. I may not be as prolific as Emma, but by god, I'm on target and I plan to stay that way.
Today's writing was mostly spent trying to set up the next section of the story. I wanted to have Phee and Jamie at least part-way settled in their new situation and, more importantly, for them to actually talk to each other about what had happened. They've just been through a hugely traumatic and disorienting experience and I don't want them to keep just breezing along, bounced along the story by the unstoppable forces of PLOT. They need to talk to one another, as much to work out their own motivations as to explain it to the reader.
Distraction of the day: The knowledge that I've got a day off tomorrow and could quite easily make up any words that I slack off today... No! Bad Peter!
Music of the day: Here Without You - 3 Doors Down
Inspiration of the day: The knowledge that some of what I was writing today will have entertaining payoffs further down the line...
Success of the day: Just getting myself 0.33 words over par for today.
Success for tomorrow: The minimum target has to be 2,000 words. I'd very much like to hit 2,371, because that would mean that I would have 31,875 words as my grand total, or three times what I came into NaNo with. That would also bring the average words needed below 1597. The stretch target is 3,000. Why, yes, I am obsessed with statistics. How did you guess?
Quote of the day: “Outside, in the main room, Jamie smiled with satisfaction at the shriek of outrage that signalled that Phee had made the same mistake that he had and poked the coloured stone without making sure she was out of the way first.”
Total [new] word count: 18,883
Average word count: 1,717
PJW
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| NaNo Day 10. |
[Nov. 11th, 2009|12:40 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  Writing | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Beethoven - Ode To Joy | ] |
Day Ten and today there is more talking.
It's been good going today. I managed to hit 2,002 words for the day, despite losing a proportion of it to Shadowrun, and it's really put the wind back in my sails. I have had a day of work where I hit my word target, increased my buffer and got that damned average needed down. It's very comforting to know that such a thing is actually possible. I managed to write 600 words on my lunch break, which is unheard of for me. If I can do another 2,000 tomorrow and have a big day on Thursday, then it'll put me in a very good position going in towards the end of the second week.
I put the sudden surge of inspiration down to a thought I had while drifting off to sleep last night - What is this part of my story about? What am I heading towards? The first section was getting Jamie and Phee to Moritania. The second section was getting them to understand the situation. The third section (the last couple of days)... was blithering and exposition. The scenes I wrote made sense and were competent, but I didn't know what their purpose was. I didn't know what part of the story I was trying to tell.
In short, I knew the setup and where the story was going and was floundering somewhere in the pointless middle with just a few wishy-washy characterisation goals in mind.
I've solved this by introducing a character whose appearance I've had planned for a while. He's tied in with the places and events that I want this story to lead to and, while that's not going to be revealed yet (and in fact, this may be his only scene for a while), this appearance makes me feel like everything is linking together. The dialogue between he and Phee will almost certainly need some major, major work, but it is doing a solid job at the moment.
Shadowrun people may recognise the character. Their knowledge of him may add some humour to some of the sections. Speaking of which, full marks to anyone who manages to spot the two 'cultural' references and one NaNo challenge in today's text. They made me snicker at least.
Distraction of the day: Shadowrun. A pastime based solely around storytelling and characterisation? Wow, what a wonderful change of pace this month!
Music of the day: Very little today. I've mostly been writing to the hum of computer fans. Paparazzi is now starting to grate a little,
Inspiration of the day: Shogun, again. My favourite book of all time and one which constantly inspires me to do better.
Success of the day: Increasing the buffer to 549. I got mighty close to going under par for a while there.
Success for tomorrow: Hitting 2,000 words. A big score will put me back on top of the word count again.
Quote of the day: “Take what you can when it is offered, for you do not know when you will next have the opportunity.”
Total [new] word count: 17,216
Average word count: 1,722
PJW
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| Icon request |
[Nov. 10th, 2009|01:09 pm] |
This is a special plea for people who make icons: I would really, really like an animated pic of Boris Johnson saying 'I'd like to be king of all Londinium and wear a shiny hat'.
Also if anyone can point me to more good feminist/political icon sites, that'd be awesome :) |
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| NaNo Day 9 |
[Nov. 10th, 2009|01:11 am] |
Day Nine and the idiocy of the great NaNo plan starts to unveil itself.
I'm currently stuck in a scene. I've done everything that needs to be done in it, but the bloody thing will not end. I can't even go on and write something else, as I have to write in a straight line. My plot wiggles about far too much for me to even attempt to write more than a couple of sentences ahead. I've got a good 300 words sitting in my spare parts document, all of which were written for a conversation that was supposed to happen two scenes ago. It got left behind and now I'm looking for a place to reinsert it. That'll be a good day when I work that out.
Still staggering just above par on the word count. 1,383 today, which isn't bad, but is very definitely not 1,667. I'm going to need to have a belter on my day off on Thursday, three to four k, just to keep my head above water. I'm immensely proud of what I've done so far, but even with getting up early, working at lunch and working when I get home, I'm not writing enough. I'm really hoping that this is just a bad patch and things will start to flow again soon. At the moment, it feels like I have a second job.
This is made worse by the fact that today's scene actually has a swordfight (I know! First punching, then fireballs, then swords! This NaNo's turning into an action film!) and I wanted to make a Buffy reference. The problem with that? The character in question would've been three years old when the last episode of Buffy aired.
Now I feel old.
Still, I want to be able to get to the end of the month, point at 50k and say, "Look, I succeeded." I may have failed at uni, but I'm going to do this. Off to bed to save energy for 7am alarm tomorrow.
Distraction of the day: Landlord's threatened attendance tomorrow. One day, I would like to have a landlord who asks to come around, rather than informs. Although this one is a step up in the informing stakes.
Music of the day: The entirety of The Long Road.
Inspiration of the day: Gottawritegottawritegottawritegottawritegottawrite.
Success of the day: Getting through it.
Success for tomorrow: Hitting 1,000 words. Shadowrun is a blessed release in the evening, but it will kill any chance of new words.
Quote of the day: Every event, war, movement and change in the history of the Domain of the Kraii can be traced to one thing – every leader must surpass his predecessor's deeds.
Total [new] word count: 15,214
Average word count: 1,690
PJW
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