Well, we've managed to now lose our front room to dad's enormous new hospital bed. He can no longer make it upstairs, and so we have an in-house wheelchair, an out-'n'-about wheelchair which takes up the entire space in the car boot and a whopping great electric bed dominating the living room.

It was a bit of a shock, finding all this new stuff suddenly crammed into the house when I got home yesterday. Left a house, returned to a hospital ward! lol

I've not done any writing lately, at all. Very bad. I've just not had any urge. I've been reading a lot, that's why. Still, ironing just now, and (hopefully) had a major breakthrough for the novel. It's such a lovely, exhilarating feeling when the old cogs start to tick round again. I'm surprised they're not caked in dust up there, my brain's hardly been taxed these last few days.

I'm also very pleased because I have a job. I don't start until the first of August, but I'm really looking forward to it. I am now a Library Services Assistant. Whoop!

Lots of mooching around bookshelves. It's perfect! And, bonus, it pays well. Life is good.

So, what's the rest of y'all up to?

xxx

Hey there! I've worked on the same storyline in various forms since I was in Jr High School if not before. I'm now 28 years old and rewriting the one story that "fits" the concept I've been trying to express.

It's been alot of work, and I've gone through so many re-writes of passages that I'm sure my friends who have read one version would only recognize the characters; not the story. Which is fine. I actually look forward to doing this rewrite as well as dreading it.

I worry that I'll go and change something that will make everything else in the story wrong. And that is so easy to do all by itself. So my goal (and this just a self-promise not a challenge) is to type out the manuscript again without changing anything. And then do the editing.

By the way---if anyone out there wants to play editor after I'm done...let me know. 'cause I'm not the best person to find misspellings or bad grammar. *wry grin*

I've noticed an interesting trend these past few weeks. I only ever want to write right after I've gone to bed, or when I'm hard at work at work. During those times I angst a lot about how I never do any writing. But when time rolls around when I can write, I never write. It's starting to get annoying. -.-

Wow, could that title be any more boring??? Seriously.

Anywho. Well, the reading challenge seems to be going well, I have some brilliant ideas for my fantasy saga from the Feist book - I know the kind of things people like to read about now, whereas before it was liking shooting in the dark. Although, that does sound like fun... I kid.

The writing's going quite well at the moment, not exactly steaming along but it's moving, and that's the main thing. I found a new format on my computer which I'm now using to write up all of the chapters, it has lines like a notebook, which makes it a helluva lot easier to proof-read as I go.

Had my hair cut yesterday. I like it, it's nice and short now so it's easily manageable and cool for summer, but it does look very gay again... oops. That was NOT the intention.

Ah well. Hehe. It'll grow out. That's one of the good things I really like about my hair. It does grow at an alarming rate.

Okay, I'm off to write some more now. Just got to a really good bit of the chapter.

I'm writing my book again, a lot, it's fantastic, such a sense of achievement! AND the writing is good, and I still have the motivation for dozens of ideas...

SO I hear you ask, why is this bad luck? Where is the disastrous turn of fate to which you refer!?

The bad luck is... I get this sudden burst of inspiration the exact same week I have 2 essays due...

You see my predicament?

I have the choice, make the most of this once yearly burst of inspiration... OR write some sucky essays so I can pass my course...
EVIL CHOICES!

In no particular order:

1. Edward. Need to move forward with what happens after the ritual. Either that or rewrite the ritual from Charles' point of view.

2. The Emerald Sword story from last September. I'm five chapters into it. It's on the backburner at the moment, with some inspiration going into it from the (currently defunct) Dragon Cave game.

3. Vengeance. I started chapter 3, where Craig is standing in Hernando's main audience chamber, meeting the MOC for the first time. I sort of faltered to a stop when I realized that I don't understand Hernando's motives clearly enough - namely, why don't they just kill Craig off and be done with it? (And perhaps more important, do I actually need to have a motive worked out in advance or not?)

4. Tragedy of the Hand. This is the one I haven't started yet, just have lots of notes drawn up. It's inspired by the Within Temptation song. If my current level of procrastination keeps up, maybe I'll just do it for Labor Day novel next September...

5. Stranger on a Bus. My 2005 Labor Day novel. Ten chapters done, two or three left to do. I've been stalled a bit because I have to come up with some kind of coherent wrap-up ending, instead of just continuing to make stuff up off the top of my head ad infinitum.

6. At this point I haven't the foggiest idea what my 2008 Nanowrimo is going to be about. I might take another stab at Birthright. I tried that last November but then got very focused on Edward, and never really got into Birthright at all.

Yeah, it's been a while. But I have a good excuse this time.




...read more

Today...

I gave a very detailed poetry critique.
Pity I can't write anything poetic myself these days, but ripping other people to shreds is good, it keeps me thinking within the right frame.
Nice ego boost, the person who asked for a critique was 56. I don't give my age on that website.
What would they think if they knew they were begging for advice from a 19 year old?
*Cackles evilly*

Also bought a sweater for my university, finally. DEMONTFORT UNIVERSITY stamped across the front.
Lovely and warm.
Ever so comfortable.
And oversized...
Life is good.

Been writing a few shorter pieces recently.
Which is a start I guess, I haven't done anything in a while.
TWO essays in within 2 days of one another next week though.
That's a scary thought.
I haven't even started the first yet.

Gonna start looking for a new job.
Hate my current one.
Makes me want to kill myself rather than going.
And I'm not being dramatic, it actually upsets me that much.
I'll get glowing references though, so it shouldn't take long.


And that's my thoughts for the day.
Adios amigos.



EDIT:

I just found 2 grey hairs! TWO WHOLE GREY HAIRS! I'm not even 20 yet! This is ridiculous!

Against the best advice of Stephen Colbert, I attended my local community college today and enrolled myself in a creative writing certificate course.

I'm not really sure what I'm hoping to get out of it, other than a bill for tuition. I guess maybe I feel like having that certificate in hand, I'll be able to wave it in the face of certain people and say..."see, I am a writer!" Peer validation notwithstanding, it can't hurt to go through the motions and open my mind to the possibility of learning something new.

Maybe I'll even be able to use this collegiate experience in my search for a new job...who knows really.

I found a good one too, sent in my resume and with all the crushing and negative anticipation I can muster, I await a response that in all likelyhood will never come.

At the very least, now I have something to fill the hours between sunrise and sunset. I know, I know, I could be using that time to write; and I do, but the pressure and worry about paying the bills is a distraction that I can't seem to get past.

Maybe I'll be discovered by someone through my coursework writings and strike it rich overnight...what do you think?

Yeah, probably not...but hey, dilusions come in all forms don't they.

I've added some to my WIP about the shark, it's a story about a great white shark coming of age. I've turned the shark into a ritualistic, honour driven, cultural member of a greater oceanic community. It is largely symbolic and metaphorical, and anthropomorphises sea life to a large degree.

It's interesting to explore the emotional motivations of a creature so often though to be malevolent and even malicious.

I've only gotten 1500 words down so far, but the character of the shark is shaping up nicely; even though he is the only character so far. He is a warrior, but he follows a path, one of faith and ritual, he falls victim to the same baser instincts and desires as the rest of us, and this takes him on a journey, an adventure to find a mate.


I don't know, maybe it's all silly and uninteresting; it will likely be a short story but who really knows at this point.