Nicely nicely....

is how my "Nice" project is coming along. After the initial problem that was discovered after 7,000 words I am now back on track. The current word count is 15,020 (to be exact) and I am quite happy with that as I have managed to write at least a couple of hundred words almost every day and for me that is good going. I find that I really enjoy the days (like today) when I can sit down and have a good crack at it but I'm even enjoying the times when I can only fit in half an hour. Considering that this project is a complete change of tack for me I am quite happy.
On a different note, that Christmas thing is creeping up awful quick isn't it.

Not such a Nice project

Bit of a setback I'm afraid in getting 50,000 words written for my Nice Project before Christmas because 7,000 words in I have decided that I don't like the way that the story is going. I like the characters and the setting just not the direction so it will be going in a totally different one on Monday. The only consolation is that its better for it to happen after 7,000 than 17,000.

Nice new project and other stuff

My "Nice" project started 12 days ago and has to be 50,000 words long by Christmas. Well obviously it doesn't have be, I mean they aren't going to come and cart me away to prison if its not but I would like it to be.
As of this morning it is 5,400 words long thanks to a 1,200 word spurt this morning, ably assisted by 2 cups of tea and a Wagon Wheel. Don't know what possessed me to buy the Wagon Wheels - don't even like them - but it has to take at least some credit for this mornings efforts.
On a different note, I woke up the other day to an email saying that I have had an article accepted. It's only short so the pay isn't great but it's something else for the resume and it's the first thing in a few months. Still not heard back from anyone regarding the fiction that I sent out a few weeks ago but a few weeks is a short time in this game.
Other than that there's not a lot happening in either the writing or the real world.
That Christmas thing will be upon us shortly. How come, when we were little Christmas never came around this quick? Does time travel faster the older you get?
Oh one of my old boss's (should that be "es"?) caused a stir the other week by ringing my new place of work and when he was told that I wasn't in left his name as Mr Such and Such and said that I would know who he was and why he had rung. Yeah, course I know who he is and he rang to see if there was any gossip. I was actually very touched because he was my boss about 5 years ago and we kept in touch but when I changed jobs we sort of lost it. I'd tried emailing/ringing him a couple of times but when I got no response thought we were just drifting apart as people do. But no, he tracked me down though God knows how thinking about it because I work in a very obscure location. Turns out his phone was nicked and of course he had no back up of his contacts and he had to change emails for some reason that I didn't quite understand. Anyway I was touched that he'd made the effort. He was always more like a little brother than a boss. When I was asked at work who he was I just said that he was an old boss and let them wonder about the rest. Gotta have a bit of mystique. Me and mystique there's a laugh.
Anyway, I can tell that I am starting to waffle - must be giddy from the success of 1,200 words down today so on that note I'm off to make Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup (gotta do something with it) and bake biscuits.
Ta ta

Just curious

Just wondered if anyone was signed up to NaNoWriMo this year? Or have you done it before? Or generally what your thoughts are about it?

In the water

So that's it, my toes are back in the water and I have sumitted my first piece of short non fiction since (I checked my records) 15th October 2010. It feels kind of new and exciting and a little bit strange. The piece that I submitted was something that I wrote before my "sabbatical" but I hope to start something new later today.

Guilty as charged

I believe that I am guilty of not following one of my own rules of engagement, namely the one about not messing about because it gets you no-where. Indeed I think that I have spent a lot of the last year "messing about" and not being terribly serious about what I was writing. I was, I think, pretending that I was trying to be a writer, going through the motions as it were. They say that confession is good for the soul - so there you go. I confess I am guilty as charged - it's a fair cop. but the good thing about realising what I have been doing means that I get a chance to do something about it. I know that I said a couple of weeks ago that I was thinking of writing short fiction again but as yet I have done nothing about it. But that changes this afternoon. I start getting serious again this afternoon. It is in fact already afternoon. It's not like I'm putting it off for a couple of hours.
On a different yet similar note. I had a conversation with the dog this morning about BTL. I explained to him about how I loved it and I thought that other people would too - if only they got the chance to read it. I also told him that in this current economic climate publishing houses were taking on fewer and fewer new writers because it involved quite a big risk with their somewhat limited financial resources. He was of course absolutely riveted by this conversation and was hanging onto my every word. So then I asked him for his opinion on self publishing which is something that I said that I would never do. I mean, people are supposed to pay you to publish your work. Anyway, he didn't really have an opinion and chose that moment to fall asleep. So I wondered what you all thought. Is it something that you have considered or even tried and what were your experiences? Is it something that I should consider?
Anyway, serious head going back on now.

Thinking of paddling again

I'm seriously thinking of dipping my toe back into the short fiction water and I wondered if anyone knew if Best were still taking submissions. I think that I read somewhere that they were only doing fiction again for the summer. I'd appreciate any info anyone has because I have a story that I think might interest them.
I've been away from short fiction for about a year now and haven't really kept up with much gossip. Is there anything that anyone thinks that I should know?

Apologies

... for the whinging earlier on. It has just been one of those days. I think the basic problem was that I was feeling a bit down about who knows what and decided that I woul dbe happy if BTL was read by millions but to get to that stage I need it to be read by one.
Feeling a lot better now and remembering that happiness is not being a success at what you do but rather about being a success at who you are. Think I'm ready for a holiday.

Just can't say goodbye

I am working on NMBK and I am excited by it especially as I'm getting to the part where I actually feel that I have got to know it again so I can start new writing. However I keep thinking about BTL. I know that there is a market for it but I just need to find someone who is willing to look at it all. When I have sent it to agents I get really good coments about the writing though some of them do want me to get rid of one of the main characters but others say they like him so I guess its just a matter of opinion. I know that if I could get someone to read the whole book they would see how vital he is to it.
But agents only want to see the first three chapters which I have polished to death so I guess I should just get over myself and get back to NMBK. However I do feel better for getting it off my chest so thank you for that.
If anyone is wondering why I didn't just delete his its because I view this blog as a conversation and, as I have learned too often, once you've sais something you can't take it back.

Flying time

How can it be a month since I was last here? What have I done? Not a lot that I can remember.
Work has been a bit stupid because of sickness so that has taken up a lot of my time and energy, plus I have been feeling a bit under the weather so maybe time has flown by without me realising it. Well clearly it has.
I did have a conversation with an editor re the comma which apparently I don't use correctly sometimes. She/he (not sure which because they went by their initials) wanted me to put them where I didn't feel comfortable putting them but hey ho, c'est la vie and all that. In the end I put it down tio the fact that it is an American publication and they might use commas differently.
So that's what I've been getting up to and now I'm off to check what the rest of you have been doing. I've got a tenner that says its been more inetersting than what I've been doing.

Productive morning

Today is an unusual day off from the day job as in one where I don't have to do grocery shopping or go anywhere so I could sit myself in my chair with my feet up and laptop on lap (where else would it be?) relatively early and I am happy to report that it has been productive.I
1. Wrote 500+ words on NMBK which I know is not a lot but I am still feeling my way back into the project and although the word count wasn't high, if they were the right words - that's fine.
2. Wrote a short article which after polishing will hopefully be submitted this week.
3. The dreaded self assessment. Yuck! Hate doing it and for what its worth to the tax man it is a lot of effort but knowing my luck if I didn't do it I'd be the one that the courts made an example of. But its done now and that is the main thing.
All in all a good mornings work and now that noon approaches I might do a bit of ironing or who knows - I might even bake. Decisions decisions.

Number 3 update

Well, as decided upon by the majority, I am now working on the number 3 option which was NMBK which is currently just shy of 26,000 words down on the page. Where I left it was probably about half way through the book but there is a lot of developing to do so 26,000 words does not constitute 1/2 a book.
I gave the first chapter to my best girlfriend (its a girl rather than a bloke book) and asked her what she thought. She said that she liked it and wanted to know how the characters developed but as the first chapter is only about 2 1/2 pages long she didn't have a lot to go one.
So far so good.
Good choice everyone.
One more thing. What should I do with BTL? That's the book that had agents interested but not interested enough. I'm thinking stick it in a metaphorical drawer and forget about it but would that be the right thing to do?

The question to the answer

Please don't be annoyed by how uninteresting the question was but the question was:- What (if any) major project should I concentrate on. Should it be
1. DC
2. BTL
3. NMBK
4. NRIMH
or
5. GU
All of them are a WIP in some form or other and I didn't know which direction to take.
DC is complete in its current form but only 45,000words long and several years ago an author who has been really helpful to me suggested that as it stood it wouldn't easily fit into a genre. I totally agreed with her and decided to give it up to concentrate on BTL. I have however recently thought of returning to it and developing it.
BTL is complete at 67,000 words and although several agents have been interested one of the very interested no-one has taken it up. So I have to ask myself that despite the fact that I love it do I give up on it and try something else. That will of course depend on which number got the most votes.
NMBK is about 20,000 words or so but not finished. I left it alone while I tried to get agents interested in BTL.
NRIMH is also about 20,000 words and not finished. There is however a lot of scope for development with this one.
GU was simply "give up." That is to say give up the idea that I will ever write a book that will interest anyone enough to want to publish it.
When I asked the question I was perfectly prepared to go with the majority decision even if it was number 5.
So I asked some other people including my best friend what number to pick and I can now say that the option that got the most votes was number 3 so NMBK is the winner (lucky thing)
Thanks for all your input
x

Answers please

Without knowing the question I would appreciate a few answers. Is it
1, 2, 3, 4 or 5?
Thank you very much in advance for any answers provided.

Work, flu and the Tour de France

Sorry to have not popped over for a few weeks but life has a way messing up what you'd really want to be doing sometimes. I was on holiday from the day job last week but "proper poorly" though thankfully I am on the mend now. I know for a fact that I have only ever had colds before because this week I had flu. I thought I was dying on Tuesday. Then the two weeks before that I was working flat out (at the day job) without a day off which probably explains why I was so low that I caught flu.
Anyway, not to worry, like I said I'm on the mend now and have another week off from the day job to look forward to.
I haven't done as much writing as I would have liked since last we spoke but hopefully that will be remedied when the batteries are fully recharged after another week's R & R. I have one article that needs to be with the editor by tomorrow night and that will be it until the end of next week as we are taking off for a few days. I'll have the obligatory notebook in my bag so there might be a few ideas jotted down but that'll be about it next week and after that it'll be full steam ahead. I had to buy a new hoover on Friday so I need to get a few bits accepted somewhere to pay for it.
After watching the Tour de France from a prostrate position on the sofa this week I have added the Loire Valley to the list of places that I want to visit before I die. I've never really watched the tour before but I have become quite a fan though what possesses grown men to race up a mountain on a bike is beyond me. and then there's the even sillier racing down a mountain. Madness!
Well thats about all I have to report. Nothing very exciting I'm afraid.

Whats wrong?

With Blogger that is. At first I thought it was just me that was having a problem commenting on certain blogs (even my own) but then I have read that others are having similar problems. Did I miss something when I was away from Blogland?

Working out where to start

So, I have read everything that I have for NMBK and I must say that i was a little surprised where I had left it but there you go - thats life. Like I think I mentioned before, it does very much read like a first draft but that's probably because that's what it is so I'm not too worried about that. My problem - not that it is one really is how to start again. How do I write the next sentence? How do I get the ball rolling again? But hang on a minute, didn't I just say that it is a first draft so whatever I write next will not be written in stone and can be changed so what does it matter what I write next as long as I get things moving again. I think I will start with "Michelle gave up the effort of trying to sleep." That'll work I think and if it doesn't that's what the delete button is for.
Thanks for listening.

First drafts and short memories.

After enjoying 2 days off its back to the salt mines this morning (ya boo hiss and all that) but before I go up the mountain I thought I'd read more of NMBK as part of the getting to know you again stage. As a first draft it is okay but there is a lot of polishing to do before it ever sees the light of day. Having said that the premise is good (I believe) and the emotion is there but the writing just needs to be tighter. Its full steam ahead though with the reading. I'm changing nothing and I'm going to get the whole of the first draft down before I go back and start tweaking.
Talking of work, some of you will remember that I was made redundant in March but was lucky enough to find another job in the same field but with a different charity. It surprises me to realise that sometimes its hard to remember that I ever worked for another charity or on another location. I am so pleased with the way my brain has just adjusted to my new situation. Maybe this was how I got over being dumped by whatever that very tall lad was called that I used to go out with when I was a teenager (sorry can't remember your name if you're reading this which is possible if HIGHLY unlikely). Sometimes having a short memory span comes in very handy.
Mountain here I come.

Aaarrgghhh

I'm off to the hairdressers shortly for a couple of hours pampering but I thought that I read a bit more of NMBK before I went. While I was reading chapter 3 I had a ? moment followed by an aaarrrgghhh one when i realised that T's dad has a different name from the one he has later on. I thought that I'd changed all of them when I decided change his name (after about 10k words) but clearly not. Of well, changed now so all's right with the world again.
So shopping and hairdressers here I come. This is the first of two days together that I've managed to wrangle off from the day job in the world of charity retail and I aim to enjoy them.
TTFN

Full steam ahead

Well not quite full steam but certainly steamier than it was. No, not in that sense. I just mean that it is moving again.
What is? I hear you cry.
NMBK - that's what. You remember - novel number 2.
Its been on the back burner for a few months while I anguished over what to do with BTL (so far unpublished first novel but will be one day) but now that that's sorted in my head at least I can go back to NMBK which is currently around 25k words. Also as some of you know I struggle sometimes with fitting everything in but I have at last come up with a way of
a)working on the non fiction which while not my day job does help to pay the bills and makes me work to deadlines
and
b) having time to work on my novel on a regular basis.
So everyone is happy - well me at least.
Fiction is my first love, though I still don't have my mojo for writing short stories back yet. I do however love working on my novel - you know on this world that lives in my head.
There is a lot of conflict in the world in my head though so I am currently reading through what I have already written to get back into the heads of the people that live there and remember how they were feeling when I left off. As I recall, T was angry, M was scared and R was just the arrogant so and so he's always been.