I suppose that I could give this blog post any number of numbers, Only one really matters and that number is... ...some. It is the amount that I have written this year, It really isn't enough but I have had a hectic year in which many many many things have changed. Far too many to mention in a blog post. The upside of this is that I now have a dedicated writing space in my house. Now all I need to do is write in it.
Other numbers of note.
One - The number of times that I have blogged this year, the very entry that you are reading.
Four - The number of colossal life altering changes that happened to me during three weeks in February.
Fifteen thousand - The approximate number of clementines that I have eaten over this Christmas period.
Fifteen thousand - The exact number of glasses of whisky that I have drunk over the same Christmas period.
Four - Number of chapters that i have left to write in one particular story line, exactly the same as this time last year.
Sometimes trying to be a writer sucks.
DR
Tuesday 30 December 2014
Wednesday 24 July 2013
Headlong
Anyone who is a regular reader of this blog will no that I spend a considerable amount of my time trying to create the perfect conditions in which to write. It is absolutely mandatory that I have a pen (that is to say, the right pen), some paper, access to my notes in case of panic, a pleasing ambient temperature - let's say between seventeen and twenty-three degrees, the right surface on which to lean, a surface which can maintain itself at the right height from my pen nib without requiring my regular intervention, music pertinent to the mental state of the character and so on, ad finitum.
Yes, I know ad finitum is not really a word but I don't know what the opposite of ad infinitum would be. What I mean by this is that as much as it seems that I need many things to be in my writing headspace, it is not an infinite number of things and I find myself rushing towards a glorious opportunity.
Mostly I write on trains. I move around a lot for my job and I gather together these snippets of writing time to piece together as many glorious hours as may be found in the week. Of the available snippets, a large number of them may be found outside my writing zone and may be discarded. Sometimes these snippets may last several months. I will soon have a good amount of comfortable air-conditioned trains on which to write. I will have my leather bag, not my slippy nylon one, good pens and everything else I could possibly want. I am anxious with anticipation at the mere thought of it. Equally, like so many men, I find myself under pressure to perform.
I guess that I write in a Sir David Brailsford kind of way. Marginal gains. Everything I have been preparing has been leading me inexorably towards the ninth of August and this glorious opportunity to stake my claim.
I have been given every chance, I have neither stopped nor stinted in my preparation. This is my moment of destiny.
England Expects.
DR
P.S. This is only until something else falls of the wagon and breaks the whole damn system. Yet again.
Yes, I know ad finitum is not really a word but I don't know what the opposite of ad infinitum would be. What I mean by this is that as much as it seems that I need many things to be in my writing headspace, it is not an infinite number of things and I find myself rushing towards a glorious opportunity.
Mostly I write on trains. I move around a lot for my job and I gather together these snippets of writing time to piece together as many glorious hours as may be found in the week. Of the available snippets, a large number of them may be found outside my writing zone and may be discarded. Sometimes these snippets may last several months. I will soon have a good amount of comfortable air-conditioned trains on which to write. I will have my leather bag, not my slippy nylon one, good pens and everything else I could possibly want. I am anxious with anticipation at the mere thought of it. Equally, like so many men, I find myself under pressure to perform.
I guess that I write in a Sir David Brailsford kind of way. Marginal gains. Everything I have been preparing has been leading me inexorably towards the ninth of August and this glorious opportunity to stake my claim.
I have been given every chance, I have neither stopped nor stinted in my preparation. This is my moment of destiny.
England Expects.
DR
P.S. This is only until something else falls of the wagon and breaks the whole damn system. Yet again.
Monday 15 July 2013
They Say Good Things Come in Threes...
...and that the postman always rings twice.
They say that everyone is unique.
I have no idea where I'm going with this actually. Well, that's not quite true.
I realise that my last blog post was called Hot Hot Heat. Subsequent to its publication online, I realised that on the first of July 2009, I wrote a blogpost called, surprise surprise, Hot Hot Heat. Now, I am tempted to write a third one, the last blogpost in the trilogy perhaps, but I don't want to talk about that. (Saying that, then I could write prequels.) I have found the blue skies above Paris relentless. I am an introspective extrovert, hunting for a place and I vastly prefer the thoughtfulness of the grey sky and the bouncing hum of rain. Always have. Probably always will do. I find that the flat blueness grinds me down. It removes all texture from the sky. The grey clouds present possibility. A possibility that on the other side of the clouds lives an invisible man. In those clouds we find the minarets raised to house the souls of those killed in combat. If you listen carefully to the sound of the rain and you learn its language it gives you the power to speak to birds. The blue sky gives you Rayleigh Scattering and sunburn.
The blue sky can fuck off.
So I haven't been writing. This evening has clouded over, there is a chance of storms. Lo! I am writing again. I hope that when I go away on holiday I will have fluffy white clouds that drift over from time to time each one following Chief Whitecloud, leading his warriors to battle storm giants in the mountains in the south.
To that aim, I will be going on holiday to the UK for one week to say farewell to my brother and his girlfriend as they emigrate. I may well write on the train there and back. I will take my leather bag to make sure. The lure of non-slip will be to much to resist.
After that I have two weeks in the south of France without a very good internet connection. I will set up a link via my mobile so that I can work on Google docs. I will try to tweet and blog etc. Mostly though I will sit on the beach and wonder whether those clouds on the horizon contain the invisible man. Until they blow over the land I will know he hasn't finished his fishing trip and that I remain under the blue millstone.
DR
P.S. For those who have stumbled onto my blog and want to know more, this is a good place to learn about Rayleigh Scattering
They say that everyone is unique.
I have no idea where I'm going with this actually. Well, that's not quite true.
I realise that my last blog post was called Hot Hot Heat. Subsequent to its publication online, I realised that on the first of July 2009, I wrote a blogpost called, surprise surprise, Hot Hot Heat. Now, I am tempted to write a third one, the last blogpost in the trilogy perhaps, but I don't want to talk about that. (Saying that, then I could write prequels.) I have found the blue skies above Paris relentless. I am an introspective extrovert, hunting for a place and I vastly prefer the thoughtfulness of the grey sky and the bouncing hum of rain. Always have. Probably always will do. I find that the flat blueness grinds me down. It removes all texture from the sky. The grey clouds present possibility. A possibility that on the other side of the clouds lives an invisible man. In those clouds we find the minarets raised to house the souls of those killed in combat. If you listen carefully to the sound of the rain and you learn its language it gives you the power to speak to birds. The blue sky gives you Rayleigh Scattering and sunburn.
The blue sky can fuck off.
So I haven't been writing. This evening has clouded over, there is a chance of storms. Lo! I am writing again. I hope that when I go away on holiday I will have fluffy white clouds that drift over from time to time each one following Chief Whitecloud, leading his warriors to battle storm giants in the mountains in the south.
To that aim, I will be going on holiday to the UK for one week to say farewell to my brother and his girlfriend as they emigrate. I may well write on the train there and back. I will take my leather bag to make sure. The lure of non-slip will be to much to resist.
After that I have two weeks in the south of France without a very good internet connection. I will set up a link via my mobile so that I can work on Google docs. I will try to tweet and blog etc. Mostly though I will sit on the beach and wonder whether those clouds on the horizon contain the invisible man. Until they blow over the land I will know he hasn't finished his fishing trip and that I remain under the blue millstone.
DR
P.S. For those who have stumbled onto my blog and want to know more, this is a good place to learn about Rayleigh Scattering
Monday 8 July 2013
Hot Hot Heat
This is not a post to extol the virtues of the Miami Heat. Despite LeBron James' return to championship winning form this is not about him. Nor is it about Dwayne Wade. Don't get me wrong, I like basketball and can still name the great Chicago Bulls starting line-up from the multiple title wining era. (Man that era was great. Jordan, Magic, Gary Payton, Stockton and Malone. *sniff, getting misty-eyed here*)
Even though I like basketball, this is still not about the Miami Heat, (the Spurs were damned close though).
This is not about Death Valley and wildfires in California. It could be but it isn't about Mr Heat Mechanical Inc. in the Toronto Area. (Go here for more information and reviews)
No no no no no.
This is about summer and its final and dramatic arrival in Paris, neatly coinciding with the Tour de France.
On a side note, I love the Tour de France. and is the reason that I haven't been writing. I have been obsessed, consumed and delirious with Tour de France fever. I am every year. I love it. I go almost every year to the Champs Elysees to watch the champagne stage. They go faster than italics. They really do go quite incredibly quickly. Naturally, they slow down for corners but they can hold an average speed of 55kmh through a TT stage. That means more than 60kmh on the flat. On the TTT, Team Sky were shown going at about 65kmh. If you are not obsessed by le Tour like I am, you should be. On the 14th July, the remaining riders will climb the Mont Ventoux. It will be Bastille Day, (the French just call it Fête Nationale) all the French riders will be going bonkers to win as there is nothing more glorious than winning atop a mountain, nothing more worthy than doing in the Tour de France and worth dying for to do that on the 14th July. The fact that the Mont Ventoux is iconic just adds to the insanity. Well, actually what adds most to the sanity is that on a cold, windy, bald headed mountain in the middle of nowhere, 500,000 spectators will line the road to cheer the cyclists on. If you only watch one day of the tour, watch that one. (If any/all of that went over your head, try this)
I digress.
I have been writing and I have finished another couple of chapters but once again I have ground to a halt. It's the heat. I don't deal well with heat, even on the best of occasions. The fact that I write on crowded trains, each one spending the day pushing its metal and glass form through the hatred of the sun, means that I write in a furnace. The sweat drips off my brow and onto my page and I can't bear it. So I have stopped writing again. I will try again tomorrow morning. Perhaps the train will not have heated up too much as it will be early in the morning. I doubt it. Nevertheless, I shall try. There are so many things that rip me from my writing bubble. I wish I could write gently and fluidly. I can't, it's like kicking myself in the armpit every other step. Monty Python would be proud.
Yours, sweatily
DR
P.S. I haven't changed my bag. This is not the best of circumstances I know but the bag is required for my day job. I don't know what to do about it. Answers on a postcard.
Wednesday 26 June 2013
Work Surfaces
'You are where you work', said nobody, ever.
Today I had a moment of clarity about the standard of my work. The great problem I have is being in the zone and unless I am in the zone, I find it virtually impossible to write. I need to be in a comfortable space, free of distractions. I need to have a reasonable book for writing in and a good pen. I need to be sitting at the right angle and I need to make sure that people aren't going to distract me. It's a long list of things that can go wrong. Even simple things. For example...
I might not have enough battery on my phone to listen to music.
My pen might have run out/got lost/been stolen.
My wife, (Yes, I got married last summer, I don't think I blogged about it) may want to talk about Grey's Anatomy/Glee/X-Factor.
Any body else might want my attention.
My book may have run out of pages.
Anything else, like the temperature or a fly or the fact that the rosé I'm drinking on this warm summer's night is too sweet for my palette. (wine is almost as important as writing)
Actually, while we're on the subject, I never drink and write. I write much better when I've been drinking, though slower, I'm frightened of the idea of the alcoholism slippery slope. If I ever feel that I need a drink to create, I'll stop writing forever. George Orwell said that writing must come first and I'm inclined to agree. I would sacrifice a lot of things to follow my dream but a line has to be drawn somewhere. I'm writing the best book I possibly can. If it is not good enough, so be it. In the end, it's only a book, even if it's my life's work.
All that, however, is an aside.
I wanted to talk about my bag. I put my bag on my lap and use it as a writing desk. I always have. Maybe eighteen months ago, I swapped a beautiful soft leather briefcase for a nylon computer bag. I wanted to work more on computer for the day job and I didn't want to destroy the leather case my wife had bought for me. Today, I use this nylon case as my writing desk and today I understood why I have been writing less. The nylon fabric slips. This may not seem very much but It throws me out of my zone. I am no longer at the right angle, comfortable and undisturbed and I think this may be why I have written so much less. Simply because I am not comfortable writing. I don't know what to do about it. I suppose that I am going to have to change bags. We will have to wait and see. I am trying to reclaim my mojo and this may be one of the steps that needs to be taken.
All that said, I have actually been doing some writing over the last few days. I made a start on the next chapter today and got through about half of it.
Just imagine what I could do with a bag that has a higher friction co-efficient...
DR
Sunday 23 June 2013
Chromebook Updated
Well, how are you? You've changed. Something new? A haircut. No wait, you're wearing a different lipstick. You've had your dodgy knee replaced with a titanium one and now you're gambolling along like a race-pig.
Oh! You've changed OS. That's... ....interesting.
Well it is actually. It probably shouldn't be but it is. Here I am listening to The Orb and blogging while zootling (*real word*) along (*why doesn't blogger recognise the word 'blogging'? Or 'blogger' for that matter*) at 300kmh on a TGV while all the time existing in a state of 'writing'.
Don't get me wrong. Windows is a better product than many people give it credit for. Like many people, I have been irked for a long time by the lack of alternatives. I believe that competition not only stimulates innovation but that it drives that innovation through a race to the bottom. That innovation becomes the everyday standard which in turn leads to new innovation. It is one of the great problems with patents in a fast moving industry. I guess Apple was always an alternative but somehow I have never got on with Apple. I have been an iPhone user in the past and, surprise!, I really like Apple hardware. I don't like the cost but think people will find that Apple are getting along just fine with all that profit. No, Apple was never for me because of its closed ecosystem. Everything has to be Apple and I think that somehow, Apple's ideology got lost in the race to be cool.
This is what happens. The rising competition caused Apple to innovate. The came up with the iPod and their innovation was to be cool. That caused a race to the bottom and suddenly all their competitors became cool too. Next innovation please Apple. Well I think that the next innovation will probably come from a competitor. That competitor may well be Google. They have so many different projects and things going on that one of them is bound to catch on. Nobody expected Android to work but it has. When Google arrived people used lycos or yahoo to search. Google did it better. Now everyone follows Google. Facebook mail and Apple mail and Windows Outlook is being overhauled. Following Gmail. They do things really well which is what I like about them. Even if it seems too late. Too late to release a browser/operating system/email/social network/cloud computing system? Nope. We'll do it anyway and while other people rest on their laurels, we'll do it better and cheaper.
So Apple released a netbook? We'll release Chromebook. There are not too many Chromebooks on the market. I took a bottom of the range one. The Samsung Chromebook. It is small and not very powerful and has no Hard Drive Space. Normally, they cost 299€ but I bought one that had been returned. It was 279€. Samsung are offering 50€ off if you fill in a thing and send it off and I had 50€ in gift vouchers. 179€ for a new laptop and a complete change of OS.
OK, it's a first world problem thing, I know, but 179€ for a trial seemed OK so I have given it a go. It is innovative, I'll give it that. It is very light and very very fast. A lack of offline apps is a pain but I guess that Google is an online company so that is to be expected. I have offline Docs and offline Gmail and I suppose that's all that I need. I had some problems making sure that I am connected to Drive where I store all my documents but I have set up my nexus 4 as a WiFi hotspot. I open blogger and close my connection. When it is ready to publish, I will switch the hotspot back on and bingo.
The Apps are getting better and better and they are all written in HTML5, which means that theoretically they should soon work anywhere. Only having to write one app for all the different OSs that we have out there should reduce overheads and stimulate the next round of innovation. Native apps require a lot more tlc. I'm very tempted to learn how to write HTML5. It seems the way forward. That way, whenever I don't have the app that I require, I can write it myself.
The only app related problems that I have had are with twitter and an image editor.
I don't really like tweetdeck. I used to use it a long time ago but never really got on with it. I understand the point of it, in that it gives heavy social network users a greater amount of control, but I am a 'less is more' kind of guy. I like to keep things simple and would have used a twitter built app if they had one. They don't and so I am going to use tweetdeck. It's not the end of the world.
The biggest problem I have had is with an image editing app. I have a good number of bitmaps that I created in MS Paint. It was the tool that I had to hand when I started making these images and today the majority of my world maps are saved as .bmp files on Google Drive. Great. How do I edit them without MS. Paint? After a lot of trial and error and a considerable amount of advice from the Chromebook Help team in Google Groups I have started using Pixlr and it seems to work like a charm. I am still a novice in Pixlr, for example I haven't tried to copy and paste yet, yet I retain high hopes for it. Set your brush size to one and your brush hardness to one hundred and you can edit on a pixel by pixel basis.
So that's it. No more windows for me. I have moved over to Google completely and I hope that it works out. It has certainly inspired me to blog and tweet more. It has also got my pen elbow moving again. I finished another chapter just before I started writing this blog. If it doesn't work out, I can simply export it all back to windows again.
179€ is a first world experiment to see just how good a Chromebook is.
Google, it's in your hands.
D.
P.S. It's 23:11 local time and I was drinking steadily from midday to nine o'clock this evening. Both chapter and blog may be a little loose and rambling. Sorry.
Oh! You've changed OS. That's... ....interesting.
Well it is actually. It probably shouldn't be but it is. Here I am listening to The Orb and blogging while zootling (*real word*) along (*why doesn't blogger recognise the word 'blogging'? Or 'blogger' for that matter*) at 300kmh on a TGV while all the time existing in a state of 'writing'.
Don't get me wrong. Windows is a better product than many people give it credit for. Like many people, I have been irked for a long time by the lack of alternatives. I believe that competition not only stimulates innovation but that it drives that innovation through a race to the bottom. That innovation becomes the everyday standard which in turn leads to new innovation. It is one of the great problems with patents in a fast moving industry. I guess Apple was always an alternative but somehow I have never got on with Apple. I have been an iPhone user in the past and, surprise!, I really like Apple hardware. I don't like the cost but think people will find that Apple are getting along just fine with all that profit. No, Apple was never for me because of its closed ecosystem. Everything has to be Apple and I think that somehow, Apple's ideology got lost in the race to be cool.
This is what happens. The rising competition caused Apple to innovate. The came up with the iPod and their innovation was to be cool. That caused a race to the bottom and suddenly all their competitors became cool too. Next innovation please Apple. Well I think that the next innovation will probably come from a competitor. That competitor may well be Google. They have so many different projects and things going on that one of them is bound to catch on. Nobody expected Android to work but it has. When Google arrived people used lycos or yahoo to search. Google did it better. Now everyone follows Google. Facebook mail and Apple mail and Windows Outlook is being overhauled. Following Gmail. They do things really well which is what I like about them. Even if it seems too late. Too late to release a browser/operating system/email/social network/cloud computing system? Nope. We'll do it anyway and while other people rest on their laurels, we'll do it better and cheaper.
So Apple released a netbook? We'll release Chromebook. There are not too many Chromebooks on the market. I took a bottom of the range one. The Samsung Chromebook. It is small and not very powerful and has no Hard Drive Space. Normally, they cost 299€ but I bought one that had been returned. It was 279€. Samsung are offering 50€ off if you fill in a thing and send it off and I had 50€ in gift vouchers. 179€ for a new laptop and a complete change of OS.
OK, it's a first world problem thing, I know, but 179€ for a trial seemed OK so I have given it a go. It is innovative, I'll give it that. It is very light and very very fast. A lack of offline apps is a pain but I guess that Google is an online company so that is to be expected. I have offline Docs and offline Gmail and I suppose that's all that I need. I had some problems making sure that I am connected to Drive where I store all my documents but I have set up my nexus 4 as a WiFi hotspot. I open blogger and close my connection. When it is ready to publish, I will switch the hotspot back on and bingo.
The Apps are getting better and better and they are all written in HTML5, which means that theoretically they should soon work anywhere. Only having to write one app for all the different OSs that we have out there should reduce overheads and stimulate the next round of innovation. Native apps require a lot more tlc. I'm very tempted to learn how to write HTML5. It seems the way forward. That way, whenever I don't have the app that I require, I can write it myself.
The only app related problems that I have had are with twitter and an image editor.
I don't really like tweetdeck. I used to use it a long time ago but never really got on with it. I understand the point of it, in that it gives heavy social network users a greater amount of control, but I am a 'less is more' kind of guy. I like to keep things simple and would have used a twitter built app if they had one. They don't and so I am going to use tweetdeck. It's not the end of the world.
The biggest problem I have had is with an image editing app. I have a good number of bitmaps that I created in MS Paint. It was the tool that I had to hand when I started making these images and today the majority of my world maps are saved as .bmp files on Google Drive. Great. How do I edit them without MS. Paint? After a lot of trial and error and a considerable amount of advice from the Chromebook Help team in Google Groups I have started using Pixlr and it seems to work like a charm. I am still a novice in Pixlr, for example I haven't tried to copy and paste yet, yet I retain high hopes for it. Set your brush size to one and your brush hardness to one hundred and you can edit on a pixel by pixel basis.
So that's it. No more windows for me. I have moved over to Google completely and I hope that it works out. It has certainly inspired me to blog and tweet more. It has also got my pen elbow moving again. I finished another chapter just before I started writing this blog. If it doesn't work out, I can simply export it all back to windows again.
179€ is a first world experiment to see just how good a Chromebook is.
Google, it's in your hands.
D.
P.S. It's 23:11 local time and I was drinking steadily from midday to nine o'clock this evening. Both chapter and blog may be a little loose and rambling. Sorry.
Tuesday 18 June 2013
Trees, or, how to keep track of a plethora of Characters
As you may have noticed, this is another blog post.
I know, I know. They are like London buses. You have nothing for ages and now suddenly two crop up. Well the truth of the matter is, as I mentioned, that I bought a Chromebook. I'm enjoying it and trying to be more organized in my ways of working. It's why I bought the Chromebook in the first place. It seems to be working. I am on an organizing drive. Images, documents, mp3s and anything else that I can lay my hands on. I have done a reasonable amount of internal organization too. I have turned ephemeral ideas into things that are a little more concrete. I have started compiling my notes into something useful. I believe that it is Terry Pratchett, someone whose work I greatly admire, who has a directory on his computer called 'The Pit'. I have ended up with something very similar. A great morass of junk, duplicated documents and irrelevant information. I have been trying to render it less morass-y and more reclaimed-farmland-y. It has been going well.
George RR Martin, another writer I hold in esteem, has huge long lists at the back of his books in order to keep track of all the different characters. I think that I am going to need something similar. I'm not really stealing his idea, I certainly wouldn't want to include them as appendices, more that he has had a good idea that I could perhaps share relative to organizing my characters.
I know he can be spiky about people reusing his ideas so I hope that he is OK with my reproducing a little of his organization. I don't have houses per se in my book so I think that I will need to organise them in a tree structure relative to their geographical location. Different characters have different interactions in different places at different times which means that my geographical structure may not work. But a tree structure is almost certainly the way forward. I think I may colour code them. Principle Characters, Major Actors, Medium Actors, Minor Actors, Foreshadows and Mentioned.
For example, I have a character called 'Tom'. He is a barman and has been repeatedly been mentioned through the chapters as some of the action takes place in his bar in the town of Outpost. Other then pleasantries, I don't think he has much to say. He would be a Minor Actor but his two daughters, also mentioned by name and who have virtually nothing to say in the book would be Mentioned.
Why is this necessary? You do like to ask questions don't you.
The answer is because I am on an organizing drive and getting that organized and keeping it up do date will help me write. I haven't been writing of late and so I have tried to drive that inactivity to place myself into a situation where when I go back to writing, everything is where I need it. Plus, I can never remember names when it comes to mentioning them again and I don't always have the Notebook to hand.
I hope it works. If it doesn't, it will be George RR Martin's fault.*
DR
*Seriously George, it won't be your fault it will be mine.**
**What will be your fault is not getting the Winds of Winter out soon enough.
I know, I know. They are like London buses. You have nothing for ages and now suddenly two crop up. Well the truth of the matter is, as I mentioned, that I bought a Chromebook. I'm enjoying it and trying to be more organized in my ways of working. It's why I bought the Chromebook in the first place. It seems to be working. I am on an organizing drive. Images, documents, mp3s and anything else that I can lay my hands on. I have done a reasonable amount of internal organization too. I have turned ephemeral ideas into things that are a little more concrete. I have started compiling my notes into something useful. I believe that it is Terry Pratchett, someone whose work I greatly admire, who has a directory on his computer called 'The Pit'. I have ended up with something very similar. A great morass of junk, duplicated documents and irrelevant information. I have been trying to render it less morass-y and more reclaimed-farmland-y. It has been going well.
George RR Martin, another writer I hold in esteem, has huge long lists at the back of his books in order to keep track of all the different characters. I think that I am going to need something similar. I'm not really stealing his idea, I certainly wouldn't want to include them as appendices, more that he has had a good idea that I could perhaps share relative to organizing my characters.
I know he can be spiky about people reusing his ideas so I hope that he is OK with my reproducing a little of his organization. I don't have houses per se in my book so I think that I will need to organise them in a tree structure relative to their geographical location. Different characters have different interactions in different places at different times which means that my geographical structure may not work. But a tree structure is almost certainly the way forward. I think I may colour code them. Principle Characters, Major Actors, Medium Actors, Minor Actors, Foreshadows and Mentioned.
For example, I have a character called 'Tom'. He is a barman and has been repeatedly been mentioned through the chapters as some of the action takes place in his bar in the town of Outpost. Other then pleasantries, I don't think he has much to say. He would be a Minor Actor but his two daughters, also mentioned by name and who have virtually nothing to say in the book would be Mentioned.
Why is this necessary? You do like to ask questions don't you.
The answer is because I am on an organizing drive and getting that organized and keeping it up do date will help me write. I haven't been writing of late and so I have tried to drive that inactivity to place myself into a situation where when I go back to writing, everything is where I need it. Plus, I can never remember names when it comes to mentioning them again and I don't always have the Notebook to hand.
I hope it works. If it doesn't, it will be George RR Martin's fault.*
DR
*Seriously George, it won't be your fault it will be mine.**
**What will be your fault is not getting the Winds of Winter out soon enough.
Wednesday 12 June 2013
Return of the Red
If there are any fans of the Mentalist on here; No, I am not Red John.
I have recently tried to compartmentalise my internet lives and in doing so have invested in a chromebook. I like it. It's much better than having multiple users in Google Chrome. Somehow all the information got mixed up.
Now It isn't and I have moved things to where they ought to be. This means that it is much easier to be me as an author online and I'm hoping that it motivates me to go and find new fans and new interests. This in turn should, theoretically at any rate entice me back into writing.
I'm rusty. I haven't written for a while now simply through a lack of facilities. Sometimes being on the train makes it harder to write and when I am at home I find it impossible to write. I need a dedicated writing space and a dedicated writing headspace. I am working back up to those. I hope to be more active everywhere. If you are reading this, I hope to speak to you again soon.
DR
I have recently tried to compartmentalise my internet lives and in doing so have invested in a chromebook. I like it. It's much better than having multiple users in Google Chrome. Somehow all the information got mixed up.
Now It isn't and I have moved things to where they ought to be. This means that it is much easier to be me as an author online and I'm hoping that it motivates me to go and find new fans and new interests. This in turn should, theoretically at any rate entice me back into writing.
I'm rusty. I haven't written for a while now simply through a lack of facilities. Sometimes being on the train makes it harder to write and when I am at home I find it impossible to write. I need a dedicated writing space and a dedicated writing headspace. I am working back up to those. I hope to be more active everywhere. If you are reading this, I hope to speak to you again soon.
DR
Monday 2 January 2012
Mojo
It has happened.
I have got my mojo back.
Even though the words were flowing last year, I've never really felt that my writing was good. It has always been a case of write and then hopefully redraft into something worth reading. I realise now, with about half an hour's hindsight that I have been kidding myself to an extent.
I'll give you an analogy; It's been like walking around whilst kicking yourself every other step. You know that you're doing something wrong but you're not sure how to stop it. Even though it is excruciating, you keep going because you know that just ahead is the destination. Yes, it hurts but you'll get there in the end. Suddenly, on my way home, I realised that it's be a lot less painful if I stopped kicking myself. I started walking properly and lo! I wrote and it was good.
I am writing this blog post in a fevered state of excitement. It's like nothing that I can describe. A real sense of dreaming whilst lucid. I really don't have the words to describe this sensation without having the time to craft my words but my God, it feels so so good.
Today is a good day.
DR
PS. I make no apologies for anything wrong or incoherent in this post. I'm on an editorial high...
I have got my mojo back.
Even though the words were flowing last year, I've never really felt that my writing was good. It has always been a case of write and then hopefully redraft into something worth reading. I realise now, with about half an hour's hindsight that I have been kidding myself to an extent.
I'll give you an analogy; It's been like walking around whilst kicking yourself every other step. You know that you're doing something wrong but you're not sure how to stop it. Even though it is excruciating, you keep going because you know that just ahead is the destination. Yes, it hurts but you'll get there in the end. Suddenly, on my way home, I realised that it's be a lot less painful if I stopped kicking myself. I started walking properly and lo! I wrote and it was good.
I am writing this blog post in a fevered state of excitement. It's like nothing that I can describe. A real sense of dreaming whilst lucid. I really don't have the words to describe this sensation without having the time to craft my words but my God, it feels so so good.
Today is a good day.
DR
PS. I make no apologies for anything wrong or incoherent in this post. I'm on an editorial high...
Friday 25 November 2011
How Now Brown Cow
Wow. It's been a while since I blogged. I'm writing this on my mobile so I'm not going to check how long, but long.
I haven't written since the end of September and now here we are at the end of November. That should be shameful; rest assured that I think it is too. There has, however, been a very good reason as to my lack of writing be it blog, prose or tweet. Smartphone.
I had and once again have, though not for much longer, an HTC Desire HD. I love it. It's beautiful, powerful and has enough weight to feel important. It is also disfunctional, awkward and uses charge faster than an over zealous traffic warden. I have sent it to be repaired four times and it is still not working properly. In its place I have been given a sequence of temporary replacements, the highlight of which was a nokia's game of snake.
I write on public transport sometimes peacefully. In this endeavour my phone is only marginally less useful than a pen. I block out the world around me with my music, I check my notes with Evernote, I tweet, I blog and use the thesaurus. Not having my phone has been karmic punishment for something or other. I don't know what it was but it must have been bad. Two months without writing...
I have lost weight. I have trouble sleeping and I have become grumpy. I lie awake with a bubbling head, all the thoughts that go through my pen being forced to bounce and rebound through my noggin.
I intend to restart on Monday morning. I am ready to go, slowly at first but soon gathering up speed until Christmas whereupon I shall stop again.
Writing's a bitch sometimes.
DR
Monday 25 July 2011
Well what happened there then?
I believe that my previous post should have been a lot longer. I do not understand why it is not except that perhaps when I posted it off my android phone, it seemed to have a little difficulty.
This is a shame as I was relying on this blog as a reminder of my plans.
I had plans to divide my day up into one hour segments in order to get everything I wanted to do done. I had worked out a specific schedule and everything and now it's all gone. *sniff*
Still, it hasn't really worked out anyway as my brother and his girlfriend have come to visit. My plans started at nine o'clock in the morning and now it's eleven and they are still here.
I'll try again after lunch.
DR
P.S. If anyone does find the remainder of my missing post, I'd be grateful to have it back.
This is a shame as I was relying on this blog as a reminder of my plans.
I had plans to divide my day up into one hour segments in order to get everything I wanted to do done. I had worked out a specific schedule and everything and now it's all gone. *sniff*
Still, it hasn't really worked out anyway as my brother and his girlfriend have come to visit. My plans started at nine o'clock in the morning and now it's eleven and they are still here.
I'll try again after lunch.
DR
P.S. If anyone does find the remainder of my missing post, I'd be grateful to have it back.
Friday 24 June 2011
Sometimes it's hard to be a woman...
...especially when you have the genetalia of a man.
That's how the song goes anyway. It's hard to be a writer too. Life gets in the way. I'm totally envious of real life writers who have the opportunity to write for three or four hours at a stretch. If I could do that, I'd be a very happy man.
But I may not. I have bills to pay, work to do and a girlfriend to love.
Sunday 22 May 2011
The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.
I decided that I wanted to be a writer at an early age. I don't really remember at what age that the desire gripped me, it's something that I've always wanted to do. I have never craved being published, the knowledge that I have completed a book is quite enough. The enormous sensation of success when I do it is what drives me to continue. At least the sensation that I hope I have.
However, I do remember quite clearly the realisation that being a writer actually required me to write. I was fourteen, (I think), years old and it dawned on me that I would probably need some practice before I started to be a bad writer. I'm a firm believer that the default position for starting to learn a new skill is 'scrote'.
So write I did and it was probably very bad. Bad enough for me to realise that it was bad whilst still in the scrote position. I think that that doesn't class it as probably very bad but as very bad.
Nevertheless, it was the first step and I realised that I wanted to be a writer simply because I enjoyed the puzzle of finding the right words to match the picture in my head and not have it be bad writing. I really like the actual process of writing so I decided to write a really long book.
That book is the book I am writing now despite it's many iterations and my occasional desires to burn the damn thing. It is the seemingly endless grind of word by word, chapter by chapter that seems interminable. Yet it is with the first step that I took all those years ago that I started and all the thousands of intervening steps that have been taken and that are yet to be taken, that the journey will be completed.
And so now I wonder, is it the desire of my destination that forces me on, or is it the journey itself.
After all, it's a really, really big book.
DR
Wednesday 4 May 2011
The Hydra Story
Well, the truth of the matter is that I'm meant to be writing. I am, I'm writing this blog, I know. What I mean is that I should be writing a chapter. I wish I were but sometimes the hydra rears its many heads and prevents me from doing so. In a previous chapter I mentioned a number of street gangs and they are the hydra of my day. I want to refer to them again in a little more detail but I can't, I can't remember their names. I don't want to have a lot of blank spaces in my text is the first thing. The second thing is that I have a visual memory. If I can't see a thing, it's difficult to write about it. In order to see such a thing in my mind's eye, it needs to have a name do that it can be recalled. They do have a name and thus, when I discover what I named them, will be able to write about them.
They are a hydra because the problems of internal consistency are such that whenever you think you've solved a problem you actually find that you've created two more. The only way to resolve them is to take the problem and burn it all the way back to the mechanics of your universe. Sometimes this creates enormous problems that involve scrubbing out large portions of prose, plot points or indeed entire characters. It must be done.
I first tried to write this book at the age of fourteen. I still, somewhere, retain the first few pages that I wrote. I weep with disdain at my feeble efforts. Nevertheless, it contains a few seeds of the book now. I discovered fairly quickly that my universe was entirely inadequate and that everything I had written was suitable only for lighting fires. The second attempt went the same way. As did all other attempts three through forty-seven.
Yet each one has led me, inexorably, to the hydra that I have today. A many headed beast that needs constant fighting, each of the heads burning all the way down to the body of the underlying universe.
Ultimately, this is a battle I'm now winning. Many, many words have been written and it all stays strong. I will find those gangs, burn them down and keep going.
I'm rambling.
DR
Friday 15 April 2011
Books, Pens & Other Instuments of Pleasure
I know that one of these days, I will get to the very end of the last chapter. On that day I do not know what I will do. The easy answer is, of course, to start writing another book straight away. That is the problem. I enjoy the physical aspects of writing; the creation, the tender flow of ink on paper. It's soothing.
And into this heaven strides the devil himself; Redrafting.
And that is what I'll have to do. I will feel obliged to take what I have written and to put it into a coherent format ready to be mailed, published etc. I really don't want to. But the more that I write the closer that mountain comes. The more I write, the higher the pile of paper that needs to be typed until at last!
No more writing but a wealth of notebooks looking snidely as I procrastinate endlessly over the hateful job of typing up.
One of the big problems of typing up is the joy of writing, it's pleasure heightened by an increasing sucession of Pilot G-Tec-C4 pens. They write extra-fine with a 0.4 gel ink nib. I have also bought today, for my guilty pleasure, a new notebook, having finished the previous this afternoon. Chapter, Pen and Book my own private intellectual tennis victory. It's narrow ruled, firm backed with a little pocket at the back for my notes. Oh! woe is me, it really is too much to suggest that I resist the succulent tempatations. So I shall continue to write.
At least until someone comes up with a computer smart enough to read my handwriting...
DR
And into this heaven strides the devil himself; Redrafting.
And that is what I'll have to do. I will feel obliged to take what I have written and to put it into a coherent format ready to be mailed, published etc. I really don't want to. But the more that I write the closer that mountain comes. The more I write, the higher the pile of paper that needs to be typed until at last!
No more writing but a wealth of notebooks looking snidely as I procrastinate endlessly over the hateful job of typing up.
One of the big problems of typing up is the joy of writing, it's pleasure heightened by an increasing sucession of Pilot G-Tec-C4 pens. They write extra-fine with a 0.4 gel ink nib. I have also bought today, for my guilty pleasure, a new notebook, having finished the previous this afternoon. Chapter, Pen and Book my own private intellectual tennis victory. It's narrow ruled, firm backed with a little pocket at the back for my notes. Oh! woe is me, it really is too much to suggest that I resist the succulent tempatations. So I shall continue to write.
At least until someone comes up with a computer smart enough to read my handwriting...
DR
Thursday 10 March 2011
The Unexplained Explained
Hello everybody,
I know, I know. I haven't been blogging, nor tweeting. In fact I haven't even been writing. Cardinal sin I feel.
Well, I intend to start again. Today in fact. I suppose that I should write 'intended' as i have left my book at home. So I'm taking this opportunity to write this blog and to expose my mystery silence.
When I write, like many writers, I require an uninterrupted moment of peace. It is why I put on my headphones and listen to music when I write. I can block it all out.
About ten days ago, I went on a weekend break. Despite having to change trains I hoped to have an uninterrupted three hour space in which to write. I had not counted on my indomitable girlfriend who continually signalled to me that I should remove my headphones and give her my opinion on anything from a pair of shoes to Lady Gaga. It was not appreciated but it continued and destroyed all my concentration.
During that weekend, we were busy in foreign parts so I didn't tweet. Upon my return I had to overcome a break in routine, the restart of my normal life and a change of books. As people might remember, It's not that I particularly suffer from white page syndrome but not having a weight of pages for me to go through and feel the flow of the story slows me right down. At the minute I'm actually having to carry around two writing books; one for writing and one for continuity.
Equally troublesome has been my evolving work routine. I have not had the long journeys, wrapped up in my own mind with nothing to do but put pen to paper.
So i said, 'bugger it, I'm going to have a little break.'
I know that there will come a moment where my stomach will say to my brain, 'get a bloody move on, we've got things to write so why aren't you doing it'.
That moment is coming.
So my silence is due to a lack of writing environment. I shall get in contact with greenpeace directly. I believe that the environment falls into their remit.
I know, I know. I'll do better next time.
DR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I know, I know. I haven't been blogging, nor tweeting. In fact I haven't even been writing. Cardinal sin I feel.
Well, I intend to start again. Today in fact. I suppose that I should write 'intended' as i have left my book at home. So I'm taking this opportunity to write this blog and to expose my mystery silence.
When I write, like many writers, I require an uninterrupted moment of peace. It is why I put on my headphones and listen to music when I write. I can block it all out.
About ten days ago, I went on a weekend break. Despite having to change trains I hoped to have an uninterrupted three hour space in which to write. I had not counted on my indomitable girlfriend who continually signalled to me that I should remove my headphones and give her my opinion on anything from a pair of shoes to Lady Gaga. It was not appreciated but it continued and destroyed all my concentration.
During that weekend, we were busy in foreign parts so I didn't tweet. Upon my return I had to overcome a break in routine, the restart of my normal life and a change of books. As people might remember, It's not that I particularly suffer from white page syndrome but not having a weight of pages for me to go through and feel the flow of the story slows me right down. At the minute I'm actually having to carry around two writing books; one for writing and one for continuity.
Equally troublesome has been my evolving work routine. I have not had the long journeys, wrapped up in my own mind with nothing to do but put pen to paper.
So i said, 'bugger it, I'm going to have a little break.'
I know that there will come a moment where my stomach will say to my brain, 'get a bloody move on, we've got things to write so why aren't you doing it'.
That moment is coming.
So my silence is due to a lack of writing environment. I shall get in contact with greenpeace directly. I believe that the environment falls into their remit.
I know, I know. I'll do better next time.
DR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday 2 February 2011
The Trouble with Mechanics
As anybody who follows my Twitterfeed will tell you, I haven't been writing over the last 10 days or so due to something that I call Mechanics. More correctly I should say that I have been having problems with a specific Mechanic.
A Mechanic is a system, either in the writers head or codified on paper, that retains the internal consistency of the universe in which the writer is writing. Sometimes the Mechanic is no different from the premise or the setting. The book 'Fatherland' is a good example. The Mechanic is also the setting in that Heydrich survived and the Nazis won the war. The internal consistency must be continued. If the Nazis won the war then alluding to Italian liberal arts could detract from the suspension of disbelief. Something that is very important not to do.
In my book, the characters are capable of creating wonderous effects that in our society would be classed as magic. Having a character who one moment creates flights of birds but at the next moment claims not to have the power to bake a cake requires explanation. This explanation must be level headed and logical in 'real-world' terms as the explanation is not for the characters but for the readers.
Tolkien remarked that he wished that he had explained how magic worked. In his head, I'm confident he had a Mechanic. I have also had a Mechanic and it has worked very well. Until now of course.
Suffice to say that I will have to go through my work to implement my Mechanic but other than that, I should be restarting my writing tomorrow.
Hopefully I won't break the universe this time.
DR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
A Mechanic is a system, either in the writers head or codified on paper, that retains the internal consistency of the universe in which the writer is writing. Sometimes the Mechanic is no different from the premise or the setting. The book 'Fatherland' is a good example. The Mechanic is also the setting in that Heydrich survived and the Nazis won the war. The internal consistency must be continued. If the Nazis won the war then alluding to Italian liberal arts could detract from the suspension of disbelief. Something that is very important not to do.
In my book, the characters are capable of creating wonderous effects that in our society would be classed as magic. Having a character who one moment creates flights of birds but at the next moment claims not to have the power to bake a cake requires explanation. This explanation must be level headed and logical in 'real-world' terms as the explanation is not for the characters but for the readers.
Tolkien remarked that he wished that he had explained how magic worked. In his head, I'm confident he had a Mechanic. I have also had a Mechanic and it has worked very well. Until now of course.
Suffice to say that I will have to go through my work to implement my Mechanic but other than that, I should be restarting my writing tomorrow.
Hopefully I won't break the universe this time.
DR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday 12 January 2011
Back, Again.
Once again I haven't been blogging but my (late) new years resolution is to try and to spend a little more time on my Online existence.
I have had a few ideas on how to make myself more available to the online world and I am going to try doing that.
This means, more tweeting, more blogging, more flickring, more tumblring. (OK, the last two aren't real but you know what I mean. More facebooking too I suppose.
What's new? Well I haven't been writing since Christmas. Instead I have been reading. I have been reading a wide variety of things just as fast as I can devour them but that seems to be now finished. I shall start writing again tomorrow whilst I travel to work.
Currently I am winding through the tangled threads of three particular characters. Normally I take each character to a point where they interact with another character and then I take the other character and also take them to that point. Then I write their interactions and carry on. However, these three principle characters are currently working in unison and so I have taken to writing chronologically. I find that I don't write as nicely when this is the case but in the end it doesn't make any difference. This first draft is a simple hewing into shape. Beyond that the sanding down and buffing up takes place at a later date.
This maybe as I don't really know how I write; don't know who my inner voice is. When I have found it, I will, redraft to my heart's content.
It is on my 'to-do' list.
DR
I have had a few ideas on how to make myself more available to the online world and I am going to try doing that.
This means, more tweeting, more blogging, more flickring, more tumblring. (OK, the last two aren't real but you know what I mean. More facebooking too I suppose.
What's new? Well I haven't been writing since Christmas. Instead I have been reading. I have been reading a wide variety of things just as fast as I can devour them but that seems to be now finished. I shall start writing again tomorrow whilst I travel to work.
Currently I am winding through the tangled threads of three particular characters. Normally I take each character to a point where they interact with another character and then I take the other character and also take them to that point. Then I write their interactions and carry on. However, these three principle characters are currently working in unison and so I have taken to writing chronologically. I find that I don't write as nicely when this is the case but in the end it doesn't make any difference. This first draft is a simple hewing into shape. Beyond that the sanding down and buffing up takes place at a later date.
This maybe as I don't really know how I write; don't know who my inner voice is. When I have found it, I will, redraft to my heart's content.
It is on my 'to-do' list.
DR
Tuesday 19 October 2010
Hello Everyone.
I know that I haven't been blogging and that it is unacceptable.
I'm sorry.
But now I'm back and for those of you who follow my twitter feed you'll kno that it isn't because I have been lazy. I have written a huge amount and am that I am simultaneously writing three characters. This is because the three interact alot and I need to get them all to a point where I can add a fourth character to their interactions. It's how I write. I write a character and only that character. where the character then starts to interact with another character, I write the two characters together. The reason I write like this is because the book is a multitude of small chapters that overall create a mosaic of the overall story. Each chapter is written from the relevant character's point of view. As I find it difficult to change character rapidly, I tend to stick with one character as long as I can.
I have taken almost all of the characters to a point where they are now interacting with each other one way or another. Some I have taken a lot further. One character has had virtually nothing written about him because he is a little special.
I have no idea how many words I have written since I last blogged back in February but I would hasard a guess at more than a hundred thousand. It is rough in places and the whole thing needs redrafting. One step at a time.
Looking forward to winter.
DR
I'm sorry.
But now I'm back and for those of you who follow my twitter feed you'll kno that it isn't because I have been lazy. I have written a huge amount and am that I am simultaneously writing three characters. This is because the three interact alot and I need to get them all to a point where I can add a fourth character to their interactions. It's how I write. I write a character and only that character. where the character then starts to interact with another character, I write the two characters together. The reason I write like this is because the book is a multitude of small chapters that overall create a mosaic of the overall story. Each chapter is written from the relevant character's point of view. As I find it difficult to change character rapidly, I tend to stick with one character as long as I can.
I have taken almost all of the characters to a point where they are now interacting with each other one way or another. Some I have taken a lot further. One character has had virtually nothing written about him because he is a little special.
I have no idea how many words I have written since I last blogged back in February but I would hasard a guess at more than a hundred thousand. It is rough in places and the whole thing needs redrafting. One step at a time.
Looking forward to winter.
DR
Has things to blog about.
This is actually going to be a test blog before I blog for real.
It's to test stuff.
DR
It's to test stuff.
DR
Thursday 18 February 2010
Update on the worlds.
Good Morning, afternoon, evening, night. Wherever you may be.
I should be writing as I am on the metro but I have nowhere to sit. Yes, I can write standing up, but I'm not going to. Instead, as you can see, I'm blogging. I have good news and news, neither good nor bad.
First the good news. I bought some new books. They are by paperblanks. Hardback, A5, but sadly not narrow ruled. They are being a spur to my current hardback, A4, 5mm squared book. A4 is too big. I wish I had taken my time or spent a little more on getting a book that I really like. I have those now. The best thing about these books that I have bought is that they are plural. Two identical books and both in sale with 75% off. Marvellous.
That was the good news. Other news involves the character Dravis. He was too nice and I liked him too much as a character so he has done something terrible. Something that shows him in a true light.
I hope you hate it.
DR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I should be writing as I am on the metro but I have nowhere to sit. Yes, I can write standing up, but I'm not going to. Instead, as you can see, I'm blogging. I have good news and news, neither good nor bad.
First the good news. I bought some new books. They are by paperblanks. Hardback, A5, but sadly not narrow ruled. They are being a spur to my current hardback, A4, 5mm squared book. A4 is too big. I wish I had taken my time or spent a little more on getting a book that I really like. I have those now. The best thing about these books that I have bought is that they are plural. Two identical books and both in sale with 75% off. Marvellous.
That was the good news. Other news involves the character Dravis. He was too nice and I liked him too much as a character so he has done something terrible. Something that shows him in a true light.
I hope you hate it.
DR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Friday 5 February 2010
Has the Miracle Happened.
I have spent a large amount of time over the last few weeks trying to get a proper integrated system between this blog, Twitter and Facebook.
I think that I have finally managed to do it.
On the book front, I am coming to the end of Dravis and Malakan and I think that I will probably be returning to Nulfaga. You know how it is, sometimes you just want to visit old friends. I should have written more than I did over the last few days. I overdid it on Wednesday night at rugby training. I think that I may have to tone it down, I can barely walk and my shin splints have flared up again. Still, every word I write is one less still to be done.
Things are moving in the murky waters.
DR
I think that I have finally managed to do it.
On the book front, I am coming to the end of Dravis and Malakan and I think that I will probably be returning to Nulfaga. You know how it is, sometimes you just want to visit old friends. I should have written more than I did over the last few days. I overdid it on Wednesday night at rugby training. I think that I may have to tone it down, I can barely walk and my shin splints have flared up again. Still, every word I write is one less still to be done.
Things are moving in the murky waters.
DR
Tuesday 12 January 2010
Shuffling off someone else's mortal coil
Well I have been writing whilst at the same time not writing. The character that I am currently working on has to face his own mortality. That's easy enough, except it isn't. It's turning out to be very difficult. His impressions of his own mortality are extremely different to mine and I have great difficulty expressing that on paper when it looks so papery thin to me as an author. If I was standing next to my character, I would ask him some severely pertinent questions.
I am not standing next to him. Instead I am hovering above him directing his internal monologue. It is a monologue that must stand up the blows and I must make sure of that.
Suggestions?
DR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I am not standing next to him. Instead I am hovering above him directing his internal monologue. It is a monologue that must stand up the blows and I must make sure of that.
Suggestions?
DR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday 30 December 2009
Notebooks
First of all, let me wish you all a happy Christmas if you celebrate it and a happy new year if you are celebrating that. If not, I simply wish you happiness. I have had some wonderful opportunities to do some writing of late and you will be please to know that I have not squandered them. However if anyone sees my pen, I'd be grateful. Currently I'm being forced to write with an ordinary bic and quite frankly I loathe them. I do have some extremely wonderful pens but I only write with them on holiday. The risk of losing them on public transport is too great. Anyhow, I suppose I should go and buy myself a new pen. No great task, I know. The reason I haven't is because I have been organising various notes into a more organised system. It is my great weakness. I have great ideas, write them down and then forget to integrate them. Anyone wishing to be a personal assistant and willing to work for free, please get in touch.
So note organising has been the order of the day. Again, no great task you would think. Well here below I give you a sample of some of the things that I have in my notes.
Run Moz - Run Moz is one of five systems in the Dumru controlled Num conglomeration in the Foraku Sector. It has five planets, the fourth of which has three inhabited moons. The planets are: Mozdin, No'uxdar, Aheldin, Farduhak and Nom'far. The moons of Farduhak are: Lukud, Or'ork and Han'amark.
Mozdin translates as 'fire hook', probably due to it's close proximity to it's star. A small outpost beneath the surface is the only civilization to be found. TH Class
No'uxdar tanslates as 'black earth', it has a particularly carbon rich atmosphere with almost zero visibility on the surface. OS Class
Aheldin translates as 'warm world', it is highly populated and is the principle planet in Run Moz. MK Class
Farduhak translates as 'big mental give', the origins of this name are lost but the story of the three moons are not. Farduhak is a gas giant and has no habitation. CO Class
Lukud is not a translation but is the name of one of three brother who apparently discovered the Run Moz system. The three moons of Farduhak are named after them
Or'ork is not a translation but is the name of one of three brother who apparently discovered the Run Moz system. The three moons of Farduhak are named after them
Han'amark is not a translation but is the name of one of three brother who apparently discovered the Run Moz system. The three moons of Farduhak are named after them
All three moons have scientific outposts used to observe Farduhak but otherwise are largely uninhabited. They are rocky with no atmosphere. ZL Class
Nom'far translates as 'grow', like Farduhak the reasons behind this names can be speculated on but not given conclusively. It is planet with a large amount of ice covering a rocky core. BS Class
I think I'll go and buy a pen.
Happiness one and all.
DR
So note organising has been the order of the day. Again, no great task you would think. Well here below I give you a sample of some of the things that I have in my notes.
Run Moz - Run Moz is one of five systems in the Dumru controlled Num conglomeration in the Foraku Sector. It has five planets, the fourth of which has three inhabited moons. The planets are: Mozdin, No'uxdar, Aheldin, Farduhak and Nom'far. The moons of Farduhak are: Lukud, Or'ork and Han'amark.
Mozdin translates as 'fire hook', probably due to it's close proximity to it's star. A small outpost beneath the surface is the only civilization to be found. TH Class
No'uxdar tanslates as 'black earth', it has a particularly carbon rich atmosphere with almost zero visibility on the surface. OS Class
Aheldin translates as 'warm world', it is highly populated and is the principle planet in Run Moz. MK Class
Farduhak translates as 'big mental give', the origins of this name are lost but the story of the three moons are not. Farduhak is a gas giant and has no habitation. CO Class
Lukud is not a translation but is the name of one of three brother who apparently discovered the Run Moz system. The three moons of Farduhak are named after them
Or'ork is not a translation but is the name of one of three brother who apparently discovered the Run Moz system. The three moons of Farduhak are named after them
Han'amark is not a translation but is the name of one of three brother who apparently discovered the Run Moz system. The three moons of Farduhak are named after them
All three moons have scientific outposts used to observe Farduhak but otherwise are largely uninhabited. They are rocky with no atmosphere. ZL Class
Nom'far translates as 'grow', like Farduhak the reasons behind this names can be speculated on but not given conclusively. It is planet with a large amount of ice covering a rocky core. BS Class
I think I'll go and buy a pen.
Happiness one and all.
DR
Sunday 29 November 2009
BlogPress
I have been so remiss in blogging as I have had so much to do. So I have installed BlogPress on my iPhone to see if that lets me blog more effectively.
I have been writing sporadically due to a lack of travelling time. I am still writing Dravis and Malakan's story. It will involve Nulfaga and Yan Yee but for the time being it is the two of them, contacted occasionally by a very interesting character by the name of Kiro'iana. Exciting.
I have written about one fifth of the book. It might not sound like a huge amount but it is. I have done all the notes and preparation for the rest.
Now I just have to write it.
DR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I have been writing sporadically due to a lack of travelling time. I am still writing Dravis and Malakan's story. It will involve Nulfaga and Yan Yee but for the time being it is the two of them, contacted occasionally by a very interesting character by the name of Kiro'iana. Exciting.
I have written about one fifth of the book. It might not sound like a huge amount but it is. I have done all the notes and preparation for the rest.
Now I just have to write it.
DR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday 3 November 2009
Three Fingers.
Well hello everybody.
I haven't been updating my blog as you may have noticed but that is because I have been unable to type for the last four weeks. At least not able to type enough for a blog. For those who are interested, I dislocated my knuckles on the middle and ring finger of my left hand. I also dislocated the first joint and the knuckle of my forefinger on my left hand. They are now free again to wiggle in all their glory.
However this only explains my delays in updating you with what is going on. This is not to say I haven't been writing. I have, of course. I have been flittering between two characters, namely Dravis and Malakan, and I have finished enough chapters for me to have to start to refer to my notes again.
I find that in the process of writing the characters take on a life of their own. For example Malakan started out as a well meaning character, a little cold perhaps but a good chap. Certainly a man you'd let your daughter date. Dravis was not his antithesis but a man for whom his morals were clear cut. Dravis makes ruthless decisions based on his own particular way of thinking. Nice enough to talk to in a bar but never someone you would call a friend.
However cold Malakan was at the start, he's definitely colder now. Bordering on frigid. Dravis on the other hand is starting to look like more rounded, a generous type with a taste for good cooking. Of the two characters, Dravis seems the much friendlier at the moment.
I wonder if subconsciously I have written it like this as a juxtaposition to their actions. To place the genial character of Dravis against his actions will maybe make them all the more chilling.
I hope so but as the soft spot continues to grow, somehow, I hope not too.
DR
I haven't been updating my blog as you may have noticed but that is because I have been unable to type for the last four weeks. At least not able to type enough for a blog. For those who are interested, I dislocated my knuckles on the middle and ring finger of my left hand. I also dislocated the first joint and the knuckle of my forefinger on my left hand. They are now free again to wiggle in all their glory.
However this only explains my delays in updating you with what is going on. This is not to say I haven't been writing. I have, of course. I have been flittering between two characters, namely Dravis and Malakan, and I have finished enough chapters for me to have to start to refer to my notes again.
I find that in the process of writing the characters take on a life of their own. For example Malakan started out as a well meaning character, a little cold perhaps but a good chap. Certainly a man you'd let your daughter date. Dravis was not his antithesis but a man for whom his morals were clear cut. Dravis makes ruthless decisions based on his own particular way of thinking. Nice enough to talk to in a bar but never someone you would call a friend.
However cold Malakan was at the start, he's definitely colder now. Bordering on frigid. Dravis on the other hand is starting to look like more rounded, a generous type with a taste for good cooking. Of the two characters, Dravis seems the much friendlier at the moment.
I wonder if subconsciously I have written it like this as a juxtaposition to their actions. To place the genial character of Dravis against his actions will maybe make them all the more chilling.
I hope so but as the soft spot continues to grow, somehow, I hope not too.
DR
Tuesday 20 October 2009
Broken
Hello,
I have been writing but not editing nor blogging as I have damaged my hand and typing is difficult.
I will reblog in a couple of weeks with a genuine update.
DR
I have been writing but not editing nor blogging as I have damaged my hand and typing is difficult.
I will reblog in a couple of weeks with a genuine update.
DR
Tuesday 15 September 2009
A chapter and a bit
Well I promised you a blog so here it is.
I have restarted writing and I think that the break has done me a power of good. Sadly, I don't have many long train journeys this week so in fact I will not write as much as I like. I don't write whilst at home, I find it too distracting. Last Friday, I wrote an entire chapter and started the next. It is getting to the point where the back story of the characters is very important.
I remember thinking that I had a lot to blog about but it seems I don't. Well, if anything happens, I'll be sure to let you know.
DR
I have restarted writing and I think that the break has done me a power of good. Sadly, I don't have many long train journeys this week so in fact I will not write as much as I like. I don't write whilst at home, I find it too distracting. Last Friday, I wrote an entire chapter and started the next. It is getting to the point where the back story of the characters is very important.
I remember thinking that I had a lot to blog about but it seems I don't. Well, if anything happens, I'll be sure to let you know.
DR
Wednesday 9 September 2009
Guess who's back?
Well hello everyone.
I'm back.
I have been away on holiday and the temperature has been hotter I have not been writing but September has come round again and I am back writing.
I paused whilst working on the character of Dravis and he will be once again the subject mater of my writing. I have not, however, been idle. I have been working a large amount on his back story and motivations and why he is doing what he is doing. It involves a character I may have mentioned before, Kiro'iana. I have also been putting a large number of my notes in a semblance of order, something that is an enormous task and that requires much checking and cross referencing. This is to ensure that the internal mechanics of the book remain consistent and to try and iron out fundamental errors before they creep into the book. It is the problem of every author, (or wannabe author in my case), that inconsistency in the book can ruin all the things that you have tried to construct. Simple things need not be explained thoroughly but they still have to work. If a character needs to go from A to B he has to do it and most importantly, there must be a reason for the character to do it. It is often a consistency lacking in many books.
So for now the plan is to continue thinking and working on Dravis' back story with a view to starting writing on Friday. Hopefully I will blog at some point over the weekend to let you all know how I got on.
DR
I'm back.
I have been away on holiday and the temperature has been hotter I have not been writing but September has come round again and I am back writing.
I paused whilst working on the character of Dravis and he will be once again the subject mater of my writing. I have not, however, been idle. I have been working a large amount on his back story and motivations and why he is doing what he is doing. It involves a character I may have mentioned before, Kiro'iana. I have also been putting a large number of my notes in a semblance of order, something that is an enormous task and that requires much checking and cross referencing. This is to ensure that the internal mechanics of the book remain consistent and to try and iron out fundamental errors before they creep into the book. It is the problem of every author, (or wannabe author in my case), that inconsistency in the book can ruin all the things that you have tried to construct. Simple things need not be explained thoroughly but they still have to work. If a character needs to go from A to B he has to do it and most importantly, there must be a reason for the character to do it. It is often a consistency lacking in many books.
So for now the plan is to continue thinking and working on Dravis' back story with a view to starting writing on Friday. Hopefully I will blog at some point over the weekend to let you all know how I got on.
DR
Tuesday 21 July 2009
No blogging, no writing.
I am taking a break from writing and from blogging. What with holidays, guests and whatnot, I have not been able to write. When I start writing regularly again, I will start blogging again.
I will try and add notifications onto my Twitter feed.
Any questions will still be replied to either here or on Twitter.
I'm not dead, I'm just waiting.
DR
I will try and add notifications onto my Twitter feed.
Any questions will still be replied to either here or on Twitter.
I'm not dead, I'm just waiting.
DR
Wednesday 1 July 2009
Hot hot heat.
The truth is, I haven't been writing.
I am a writer who finds many things a grand distraction. Overly hot, especially on the metro is one of those things. I had hoped that it would cool down but it has not. Nor is it likely to do so for several days. I did actually managed to get a few words down this morning but nothing like the number I should have done.
It doesn't help that I am on a little bit of a comedown. The last chapter I completed was one of the most important chapters in my book, Malakan makes some big decisions. Refinding the pace of the book is proving elusive.
These things combined leads me down the road of empty pages.
Let's hope it rains soon.
DR
I am a writer who finds many things a grand distraction. Overly hot, especially on the metro is one of those things. I had hoped that it would cool down but it has not. Nor is it likely to do so for several days. I did actually managed to get a few words down this morning but nothing like the number I should have done.
It doesn't help that I am on a little bit of a comedown. The last chapter I completed was one of the most important chapters in my book, Malakan makes some big decisions. Refinding the pace of the book is proving elusive.
These things combined leads me down the road of empty pages.
Let's hope it rains soon.
DR
Thursday 25 June 2009
What I have written.
I have a new notebook.
If you have been following my twitter feed you will have seen exclusive photos of my new book complete with some of the writing I have been doing in it.
One of the few discernible words on the text is 'Malakan' who is one of the principle characters. Some of his chapters, most notably the first three, were written some time ago but will need heavy editing. My style of writing is not what it was. What I have written now starts off badly and gets progressively better before plummeting again. In the chapter that I have finished Malakan is talking to another character, Dravis. (I will tell you more about Dravis when I write his part of the story) When I was writing it, I had in my mind the scene from the film 'Heat' by Michael Mann, in which the two principal characters sit and share a coffee. I doubt I will convey that sort of power in my text but I hope that my readers will enjoy that scene and recognize it's importance.
DR
If you have been following my twitter feed you will have seen exclusive photos of my new book complete with some of the writing I have been doing in it.
One of the few discernible words on the text is 'Malakan' who is one of the principle characters. Some of his chapters, most notably the first three, were written some time ago but will need heavy editing. My style of writing is not what it was. What I have written now starts off badly and gets progressively better before plummeting again. In the chapter that I have finished Malakan is talking to another character, Dravis. (I will tell you more about Dravis when I write his part of the story) When I was writing it, I had in my mind the scene from the film 'Heat' by Michael Mann, in which the two principal characters sit and share a coffee. I doubt I will convey that sort of power in my text but I hope that my readers will enjoy that scene and recognize it's importance.
DR
Thursday 18 June 2009
Haramakion's House
This is a low quality map highlighting some of the more important features of the country of Prathin on the planet Humanisan.
Haramakion is the king of Prathin.
DR
*edit (12.06.13) For some reason the image in this blog post failed so I have put it back in again.
Tuesday 16 June 2009
The story so far.
My book is made up of many interacting characters. Each chapter is about one character in particular but we are now getting to the point where these characters are beginning to interact.
It creates new problems for me as a writer. When I write, I write about one character and try to maintain a certain amount of flow and continuity between disparate chapters. Here I have to make sure that I write in order for things to maintain their rhythm, I have to make sure that things go in the right order. If not I will get continuity errors.
Here is my problem. I have three principle characters whose webs we now discover to be tangled together, these are Ronin, Haramakion and Malakan. I have got to a point where Ronin and Haramakion are interacting but now I need to get Malakan to the same point. This should pose no difficulties until they begin to interact.
At that point I have to maintain overall plot continuity and also individual character continuity. I imagine that I will get to this point in about six weeks. Watch this space.
Also I have finished my notebook. I started it on Friday March the 13th and finished it today. That means I have written in excess of forty-five thousand words in ninety-five days. That is less than 95 working days and even less if I take into account the fact that I have been on holiday and their are many days when for whatever reason, it is not possible to write.
I will try and update this blog more often.
Sorry.
DR
It creates new problems for me as a writer. When I write, I write about one character and try to maintain a certain amount of flow and continuity between disparate chapters. Here I have to make sure that I write in order for things to maintain their rhythm, I have to make sure that things go in the right order. If not I will get continuity errors.
Here is my problem. I have three principle characters whose webs we now discover to be tangled together, these are Ronin, Haramakion and Malakan. I have got to a point where Ronin and Haramakion are interacting but now I need to get Malakan to the same point. This should pose no difficulties until they begin to interact.
At that point I have to maintain overall plot continuity and also individual character continuity. I imagine that I will get to this point in about six weeks. Watch this space.
Also I have finished my notebook. I started it on Friday March the 13th and finished it today. That means I have written in excess of forty-five thousand words in ninety-five days. That is less than 95 working days and even less if I take into account the fact that I have been on holiday and their are many days when for whatever reason, it is not possible to write.
I will try and update this blog more often.
Sorry.
DR
Wednesday 10 June 2009
Secrets
From a comment by 'Sylvain'.
Do you keep "secrets" that we will discover reading your book ?
Yes, definitely and vice versa. Their are things that are on this blog that are not in the book. Some of the information on Prathin in my previous post for example. There are many many things in the book that will not be posted on the blog.
This blog is to give you a taster and to let you know how the book is being constructed as well as to provide some of the re-imagined physics and philosophy that underpin it.
Pictures, ideas, edits, character information can be found here.
For the plot, see my publisher. *lol*
DR
Do you keep "secrets" that we will discover reading your book ?
Yes, definitely and vice versa. Their are things that are on this blog that are not in the book. Some of the information on Prathin in my previous post for example. There are many many things in the book that will not be posted on the blog.
This blog is to give you a taster and to let you know how the book is being constructed as well as to provide some of the re-imagined physics and philosophy that underpin it.
Pictures, ideas, edits, character information can be found here.
For the plot, see my publisher. *lol*
DR
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
