Word count: 88366. Lawks a mussy, could be better. Can I use sudden attack of the sinuses as an excuse? Nah, didn't think so. :->
We are number 2!! in the regional wordwar... hurrah! Number 12 worldwide... still being beaten by London (bastards!).
And in other news... 'tis my birthday, I'm old.
Also, received many many books! (They know what I like!)
That will be all...
27 November 2008
23 November 2008
Nano day 23
So here we are with one more week to go of the fabled Nanowrimo and my total is up to... (drumroll please...) 81,038. Cool! Was hoping I'd be well past 100k by now though... must be something a bit psychological going on as I slowed down considerably after hitting 50k. Och well. 100k by the end of the month of there will be foul punishments and torture. Oh yes indeedy.
The sci fi thingy is stalling a bit. I've got very holey B and C plots that may need to be axed completely. On the plus side, I've worked out a way to do a cross over with my space pirates that were going to appear in one of the other potential Nano projects. So, yay!
Problem being, need way more research on that and the other potential projects to be able to launch as manically into them as I did on Taurus. So I've done a few thousand words on a couple of other things to add to the multi nano mash up wordcount, including a sequel to Taurus. Which is one of the things that's going to need the research. This time all things Ancient British - so running from Celts to Romans to Vikings with anything else I can get away with.
So December is apt to be read until you go blind month. Always a good thing!
Nano stats: England Elsewhere have dipped to number 12 in the world region wordage - beaten on these shores by those bastards in London....
In the UK regional wordwar, we're at number 3! Woot! Thanks mainly to one brilliant person who's at 160k already. Not jealous. Oh no.
Authonomy
I really wasn't going to do much on Authonomy this month, cos of the Nano thing, but it's so easy to get distracted. (This possibly explains why my wordage is stalling a bit!) Also, they added some new features and someone tempted me to read their book.
Which I did. And which I totally recommend. So check out Sim by Jak Brienhead - it's a fab YA scifi/fantasy thing wherein our hero discovers the ability to move between worlds and fight off the terrrrrrible destiny he keeps getting flashes off. It's well written, totally compelling, plenty of action and generally excellent. And totally free to read. (and if you happen to want to sign up and vote for it, I'm sure Mr Brienhead would be quite chuffed!)
In other news... snow! Wheeee!
The sci fi thingy is stalling a bit. I've got very holey B and C plots that may need to be axed completely. On the plus side, I've worked out a way to do a cross over with my space pirates that were going to appear in one of the other potential Nano projects. So, yay!
Problem being, need way more research on that and the other potential projects to be able to launch as manically into them as I did on Taurus. So I've done a few thousand words on a couple of other things to add to the multi nano mash up wordcount, including a sequel to Taurus. Which is one of the things that's going to need the research. This time all things Ancient British - so running from Celts to Romans to Vikings with anything else I can get away with.
So December is apt to be read until you go blind month. Always a good thing!
Nano stats: England Elsewhere have dipped to number 12 in the world region wordage - beaten on these shores by those bastards in London....
In the UK regional wordwar, we're at number 3! Woot! Thanks mainly to one brilliant person who's at 160k already. Not jealous. Oh no.
Authonomy
I really wasn't going to do much on Authonomy this month, cos of the Nano thing, but it's so easy to get distracted. (This possibly explains why my wordage is stalling a bit!) Also, they added some new features and someone tempted me to read their book.
Which I did. And which I totally recommend. So check out Sim by Jak Brienhead - it's a fab YA scifi/fantasy thing wherein our hero discovers the ability to move between worlds and fight off the terrrrrrible destiny he keeps getting flashes off. It's well written, totally compelling, plenty of action and generally excellent. And totally free to read. (and if you happen to want to sign up and vote for it, I'm sure Mr Brienhead would be quite chuffed!)
In other news... snow! Wheeee!
16 November 2008
WF Saturday fun
So yesterday was the long anticipated Write Fantastic in Wokingham Library thing. Totally rocked!
I'm sure I've said it before, but Chaz Brenchley and Juliet McKenna are absolutely ace when they do things together and I could totally have listened to them talk on for longer. (Alas, the library time keeper hovered at the door, dead on 1pm so we had to be kicked out.)
So, it was mainly a creative writing seminar thingy. With slides! And handouts! Cool! And a reading list! Of which there are many books I haven't read so I can hit up the local libraries and try and grab them. Will probably have to hit Wokingham rather than my little local one though, as I've already burned through the interesting books that Lower Earley has!
Then there was the workshop portion, which showed how awake (not!) we all were. Basically, picking out the main elements for a new story. Some of the ideas were definitely a bit strange. (magical talking donkey!) But it did highlight how scarily intelligent both Chaz and Juliet are as they were picking out deep and meaningful themes behind lots of the ideas. (Oooch, did my head hurt!)
So, a little head hurty (I'm a simple soul!) but definitely fun. I'd totally go to a WF full day event if they did one.
I'm sure I've said it before, but Chaz Brenchley and Juliet McKenna are absolutely ace when they do things together and I could totally have listened to them talk on for longer. (Alas, the library time keeper hovered at the door, dead on 1pm so we had to be kicked out.)
So, it was mainly a creative writing seminar thingy. With slides! And handouts! Cool! And a reading list! Of which there are many books I haven't read so I can hit up the local libraries and try and grab them. Will probably have to hit Wokingham rather than my little local one though, as I've already burned through the interesting books that Lower Earley has!
Then there was the workshop portion, which showed how awake (not!) we all were. Basically, picking out the main elements for a new story. Some of the ideas were definitely a bit strange. (magical talking donkey!) But it did highlight how scarily intelligent both Chaz and Juliet are as they were picking out deep and meaningful themes behind lots of the ideas. (Oooch, did my head hurt!)
So, a little head hurty (I'm a simple soul!) but definitely fun. I'd totally go to a WF full day event if they did one.
10 November 2008
Nano day 10
Wordcount: 54,164!!! Do I hear a woot! :-) And also a woohoo! Virtual drinks all round.
Coincidentally, have reached the end of the Taurus plot. (Apart from those three chapters in the middle I've been avoiding. They're all basilicas, mithraeums and the University of Newcastle. Which means more than your basic flyby wiki research.)
So while I'm procrastinating over that, am straight on to Nano book number two. Title as yet not a clue, but it's a scifi thing with control freak A.I.s, survival horror hijinx on distant space stations and a motley crew of miscreants on a stolen ship who are constantly trying to find ways to stab each other in the back before the ship A.I. gets them all killed.
As yet, only twelve people have died so far. Well, unless you add the 4000 odd that carked it in one of the flashbacks. Still, the night is young.
Other nano stats - as far as general wordage goes, E:E is at number 10 worldwide. Top English region on that one.
However, we're not doing so well in the regional wordwars. Yesterday saw us at number 5, so I'm hoping we can claw our way upwards tomorrow...
In other news, procrastination being everybody's friend... saw Doomsday the other day. Goodness that was a lot of fun. Totally mad. Possibly improved by never having seen Escape to New York if the odd bit of online chatter is any judge. Except that there seemed to be a couple of scenes missing here and there which jumped the plot a bit. Use of music was cracking!
Also saw Wanted, which was better than the chatter allowed. A couple of naff bits, but some funky action sequences. Very weird listening to James McAvoy do the American accent. It's like listening to Daniel Craig in Tomb Raider 1 or Rosalind Pike and Karl Urban in Doom. There's just something totally wrong about the voice doing the accent. And is there something about changing accent that makes them all do it in deeper voices? Maybe that's where it gets disconcerting. Och well...
Coincidentally, have reached the end of the Taurus plot. (Apart from those three chapters in the middle I've been avoiding. They're all basilicas, mithraeums and the University of Newcastle. Which means more than your basic flyby wiki research.)
So while I'm procrastinating over that, am straight on to Nano book number two. Title as yet not a clue, but it's a scifi thing with control freak A.I.s, survival horror hijinx on distant space stations and a motley crew of miscreants on a stolen ship who are constantly trying to find ways to stab each other in the back before the ship A.I. gets them all killed.
As yet, only twelve people have died so far. Well, unless you add the 4000 odd that carked it in one of the flashbacks. Still, the night is young.
Other nano stats - as far as general wordage goes, E:E is at number 10 worldwide. Top English region on that one.
However, we're not doing so well in the regional wordwars. Yesterday saw us at number 5, so I'm hoping we can claw our way upwards tomorrow...
In other news, procrastination being everybody's friend... saw Doomsday the other day. Goodness that was a lot of fun. Totally mad. Possibly improved by never having seen Escape to New York if the odd bit of online chatter is any judge. Except that there seemed to be a couple of scenes missing here and there which jumped the plot a bit. Use of music was cracking!
Also saw Wanted, which was better than the chatter allowed. A couple of naff bits, but some funky action sequences. Very weird listening to James McAvoy do the American accent. It's like listening to Daniel Craig in Tomb Raider 1 or Rosalind Pike and Karl Urban in Doom. There's just something totally wrong about the voice doing the accent. And is there something about changing accent that makes them all do it in deeper voices? Maybe that's where it gets disconcerting. Och well...
05 November 2008
Nano day 5
Current word count - 32,193! Woot!
And even better, England: Elsewhere is number 2 in the UK regional word war!
Also, E:E is also number 8 worldwide as far as wordage goes, which can't be bad either... :->
Book number one, currently going by the name of Taurus is turning into quite a surprising beastie. The body count is up to 61 - 8 archaeologists, 13 named mercenaries, 22 unnamed mercs & associated support staff (do support staff count as mercs?) and 18 hedonistic party goers who picked the wrong island to park their boat at. Gosh, all this carnage is exhausting.
Still gutted about one of the surprise deaths. (Shut up. I know. It's only fiction.) He was such a nice boy too. He was going to end up married to his agent and everything.
But there was a last minute reprieve for the other one. It was very close though.
And also, one of the mercs who was definitely supposed to have died managed to crawl out alive too.
Cool! :->
Questions that have arisen:
Is a minotaur in a leopard print bikini a bit OTT?
And do you still call female minotaurs minotaurs?
And can they swim?
And how big a pack of minotaurs can you get away with before it starts getting ridiculous?
And also, could any of said pack hit the broadside of a barn with a decent gun or would the weird shaped heads screw up their aim?
And just how many explosions can one underground temple take before it makes an island cave in completely?
Enquiring minds need to know... :->
Over on Authonomy some brave peeps have uploaded the first 10,000 words of their Nano efforts. Rest assured, I won't be inflicting that on anyone with mine! Not until it's gone through at least three edits. Which is not going to be happening until next month at the very least.
Meantime, I've some more plot to find, and a mad panic to do the chapter outlines for the next potential one as I'm almost at the end of #1 and, dammit, there's a wordwar on!
And even better, England: Elsewhere is number 2 in the UK regional word war!
Also, E:E is also number 8 worldwide as far as wordage goes, which can't be bad either... :->
Book number one, currently going by the name of Taurus is turning into quite a surprising beastie. The body count is up to 61 - 8 archaeologists, 13 named mercenaries, 22 unnamed mercs & associated support staff (do support staff count as mercs?) and 18 hedonistic party goers who picked the wrong island to park their boat at. Gosh, all this carnage is exhausting.
Still gutted about one of the surprise deaths. (Shut up. I know. It's only fiction.) He was such a nice boy too. He was going to end up married to his agent and everything.
But there was a last minute reprieve for the other one. It was very close though.
And also, one of the mercs who was definitely supposed to have died managed to crawl out alive too.
Cool! :->
Questions that have arisen:
Is a minotaur in a leopard print bikini a bit OTT?
And do you still call female minotaurs minotaurs?
And can they swim?
And how big a pack of minotaurs can you get away with before it starts getting ridiculous?
And also, could any of said pack hit the broadside of a barn with a decent gun or would the weird shaped heads screw up their aim?
And just how many explosions can one underground temple take before it makes an island cave in completely?
Enquiring minds need to know... :->
Over on Authonomy some brave peeps have uploaded the first 10,000 words of their Nano efforts. Rest assured, I won't be inflicting that on anyone with mine! Not until it's gone through at least three edits. Which is not going to be happening until next month at the very least.
Meantime, I've some more plot to find, and a mad panic to do the chapter outlines for the next potential one as I'm almost at the end of #1 and, dammit, there's a wordwar on!
03 November 2008
Nano day 3
It's all about the Nanowrimo this month. Or at least it would be if I could only get on the bastard site to update word counts and play in the forum. Good grief, how am I going to know how manic to get if I can't see how everyone elses word counts are going?! (Mine's around 10,500 as of last night, in case you were wondering!)
So, because my first drafts tend to be very short, I ended up with a total of seven possible novels to hit the ground running with. (What? Shut up.) And right up until last week, the first attempt of the month was going to be a funky space piratey thing. Because it has to be done... :-> Except for some reason I'm starting out with a tomb raider-y thing. Which was meant to be a fun adventure type thing, except I got to the third chapter and started killing people. Then killed some more. And some more. And it's all gone disturbingly horror-ish. And one of the main characters that was supposed to survive to go on to other adventures is now dead. Oops. And so is another of the prospective survivors. Double oops.
Well, I had this pack of raging minotaurs, you see, so people were going to die anyway. I knew this. It was only supposed to be the redshirts that bit it, though. And technically, as far as the RMs go, that worked. However, one of the main protags, the one that was supposed to be a core part of this particular story, got himself gored in a tomb trap. The other one gets it somewhere near the end, in a more unceremonious bullet to the brain from a bad guy. Bugger. That'll teach me for skipping ahead to write bits of the end chapters.
Authonomy
In other news, apparently I'm currently the number three talent spotter on Authonomy! Grief, how did that happen? This apparently means that when I vote to bookshelf something it gets more points than someone who's a lesser spotted talent spotter :-> Now how can I capitalise on my evil new power? :->
So, because my first drafts tend to be very short, I ended up with a total of seven possible novels to hit the ground running with. (What? Shut up.) And right up until last week, the first attempt of the month was going to be a funky space piratey thing. Because it has to be done... :-> Except for some reason I'm starting out with a tomb raider-y thing. Which was meant to be a fun adventure type thing, except I got to the third chapter and started killing people. Then killed some more. And some more. And it's all gone disturbingly horror-ish. And one of the main characters that was supposed to survive to go on to other adventures is now dead. Oops. And so is another of the prospective survivors. Double oops.
Well, I had this pack of raging minotaurs, you see, so people were going to die anyway. I knew this. It was only supposed to be the redshirts that bit it, though. And technically, as far as the RMs go, that worked. However, one of the main protags, the one that was supposed to be a core part of this particular story, got himself gored in a tomb trap. The other one gets it somewhere near the end, in a more unceremonious bullet to the brain from a bad guy. Bugger. That'll teach me for skipping ahead to write bits of the end chapters.
Authonomy
In other news, apparently I'm currently the number three talent spotter on Authonomy! Grief, how did that happen? This apparently means that when I vote to bookshelf something it gets more points than someone who's a lesser spotted talent spotter :-> Now how can I capitalise on my evil new power? :->
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