Saturday, July 21, 2007

Question

Why is it, that when you've got going and you're doing ok, the dogs keep mithering for attention? Then they go and bother the housemate who then mithers that they're bothering her!

phhhhbt!

At least the cat has left me alone so far!

Progress 2

I haven't done as much as I would like but I have worked on the outline and I'm writing more on the main piece now.
I'm trying to do a bare bones outline on each chapter and so far I'm not that far ahead of the actual writing. I've found that trying to plan significantly ahead didn't work. I had to write something to begin with to discover where I was going to outline. Which doesn't make much sense to me, but if it works who am I to complain?
I'll be switching over to long-hand shortly as this is not the most ergonomic of layouts and my arm's hurting now so I shall print what I've got and run with that.

Plans for this evening: write more; read Plan B by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller; have a bath with candles, incense and relaxing music - possible Ludovico Einaudi and chill. (And maybe come back online to visit some of my WG's)

On iTunes: Church of Glass from Oscar & Lucinda

Mood: Shiny

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Progress

Okay! 6% - not bad (not as good as some others - Lauren Dane I bow down before your productivity!) but not bad. I did an out-of-sequence scene earlier and have finally started at the beginning! I will work on this some more tonight and see how much more I can do.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Sven says...sweat more!

Didn't get off to a good start - only 1,000 words but, I was away at the weekend and there wasn't much opportunity to write.

This week it's just the EDJ and I'm not going anywhere this weekend apart from taking the dogs out!

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Signed up!

Okay, I've just signed up and have had a quick estimate of how long 'x' number of pages should take me (worked out using Donna Caubarreaux's Writing Goal's Workbook available via her web page)

Initial piece is 30K novella.

12pt Courier (at 250 words per page)
4 pages per day = 30 days to complete = 1000 words per day
5 pages per day = 24 days to complete = 1250 words per day
6 pages per day = 20 days to complete = 1500 words per day

12pt Times New Roman (at 285 words per page)
4 pages per day = 26.25 days to complete = 1140 words per day
5 pages per day = 21 days to complete = 1425 words per day
6 pages per day = 17.5 days to complete = 1710 words per day

When you look at the numbers, they don't actually seem that great/ challenging. When you're sitting in front of a computer or have notebook in hand getting those words (and good ones at that) can be extremely frustrating!

On NaNo: Blush Response from Bladerunner
Temp in office: 22˚ C
Mood: Oh my God, what have I let myself in for?

Some helpful images for the coming 70-odd days!




Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Seventy Days of Sweat...

...with Alison Kent.

Sign up now (closing date is Friday the 13th July) for Alison Kent's Seventy Days of Sweat - a multi-author commitment to write between 4 and 6 pages a day (depending on the length of your book/ novellas) reporting back on Alison's blog at regular intervals to let all the participants know how you're getting on.



The challenge started on Sunday the 8th of July and runs until Thursday September the 20th - 75 days, but that's so that those who are attending RWA don't have to write then.



So far, 213 people have signed up - who's next?



I'm still thinking about it - I'm usually a coward about putting my commitment out there, but I am thinking seriously about it. If only because - with so many other people looking on, commenting and participating - lack of commitment would become blindingly obvious

Edited to add: What the hell - I'm going to do it. I want to get this novella done.

**In other news, I have paggered my back (again - this time it's the prolapsed disc) which has resulted in shoulder/arm pain on one side and an investment in paracetamol and super-strength anti-inflammatories. The worst part is being unable to sleep well at night because there is no comfortable position - only one less painful than any of the others. Hours to get to sleep and then I keep waking up so by the time I have to get up for work it's autopilot. I wouldn't mind if I could put the 'not able to get to sleep' period to good use, but I'm so knackered that I can't even think straight. (Okay, whinging over - time to think shiny, happy thoughts!)

On Nano: Snow White Queen by Evanescence
Temp in office: 24.3˚C

Mood: Tired, and not feeling shiny right now.


Monday, July 02, 2007

I'm baaaack!

Yes indeed - the holidays are over. No more leave for me until the 1st of September, but I may not be able to actually take any leave until the end of October/beginning of November. The perils of working in an academic environment!

The holiday was great - absolutely gorgeous farmhouse (I slept in a four-poster bed!). BB loved the garden, which was huge and fully enclosed (although he barked at the cows in the next field) and I had some great walks along the coast.

I didn't write anything (not even a postcard) and on the one hand I feel bad about it, but on the other hand I read 20 books in 9 days and slept a lot. All in all I feel much better, even though I've spent the better part of today catching up on all of the e-mails that arrived in my absence and planning what I'm going to be attacking in the next couple of weeks at work. (Publications, publications, publications. And moving libraries. Yay!)

Still going through all of the feeds on my Bloglines index, so there may be something of more interest to post than "what I did on my holiday" (but knowing me, I wouldn't count on it and you've probably already come across it yourselves anyway by now!)

Side note 1: Many thanks to the wonderful Anya Bast - I won a copy of Witch Fire by participating in the comments on The Bradford Bunch blog that she contributes to. I can't wait to read it!

Side note 2: The latest issue of Mytholog is now out. Free reads, so check it out!