Opportunities

I finished my script for the Scotland Writes competition.  I’m quite pleased with it.  The First prize is £1500, second is £500 and there are up to 20 places on a 1 day seminar type thingy.  Obviously the money would be nice but I’d be delighted to get one of those places.  And plus I would just spend the money on sweets.

I’m also formulating a script for the stage at the moment.  I love writing dialogue, and think/hope I’m alright at it.  There are quite a few opportunites for Scottish based writers at the moment (check out the BBC’s Writers Room for details) I also discovered that the Traverse Theatre have an open submissions policy for scripts and run a number of writing initiatives.

Writing – it keeps me off the streets.

Let’s do this

It’s been a while.  I’m not sure why.

I’ve been busy, but that’s not it.  I got married a few months ago.

Actual photo of my wife and I

That was pretty good.  Everything went well except for a almost near disaster with the kilt which I won’t go into detail about in case I happen to talk myself into a lawsuit.  We had a great time and the honeymoon was amazing.  We went on a cruise around the mediterranean and then spent a few days in Rome.  Rome is incredible, although ridiculously expensive.  A little known fact about Rome is that it’s quite a religious place.  Lots of catholics.  Keep it a secret though, I don’t think they want it getting out.

What else?  I passed my driving test.  Pretty chuffed with that.  I still hate driving, but at least now I don’t have to go out every week with an instructor who I dislike and who I’m pretty sure doesn’t like me.  Nothing quite like the small pleasures in life.

Writing wise.  Well, I’ve pretty much given up on the first book.  I learned a lot writing it, I think.  I think I was able to write a pretty cohesive plot.  The problem was I don’t think it was that interesting and I was never completely comfortable with writing about an area I knew little about.  Prostitution.  I could have headed into Leith and done the appropriate research but for some reason my wife doesn’t want me to.  I have explained to her that it would be an academic excercise only but she refuses to budge on the matter.  I think she is pretty selfish.  My writing career clearly means nothing to her.  Oh well.  I will just have to write a novel where I won’t have to sleep with women for money.  Is there even such a thing?

I am writing fairly regularly though.  I have started a new novel and am also writing a tv script and some sketches.  They are all at fairly early stages at the moment.

I aim to start writing more in this thing.  More than one update in five months at least.  They won’t all be about writing.  But they will all be written by someone who thinks himself more interesting than he actually is.  And isn’t that what the internet is all about?

Yes.

Twitter

I am now on Twitter. It is mostly research for the book. Mostly. If you’re on twitter, tweet me if you like. I think that’s the lingo anyway. God knows. I am still getting the hang of it. It is strangely compelling. It is making me write compact sentences. Like this. And this. But not this one because it’s quite a long sentence and Twitter doesn’t let you put in sentences past 140 characters as it’s all about keeping your writing short and to the point, not long and slightly meandering like this one could potentially be accused of being.

Follow me, I will not lead you astray.

Nothing to say

I’ve been a bit sparse on updates this month, mainly because there isn’t a hell of a lot new to say.  I hope to make a real push on the novel the next two weeks but you know the story on that.

I’m in the process of studying to finally sit my theory test for my driving so that’s taking up a bit of time at the moment.  I’m 26 by the way, so yeah, people tend to look at me funny when I tell them I can’t drive.  I don’t really understand why.  I’ve always used public transport and never really had a problem with it.  But most people consider learning to drive to be up there with having sex or moving out of home – ie it’s a little weird if you haven’t done it at 26.  But anyway, I’m learning now.  It’d be cool to have my license before I get married I suppose (3 months now).

If you didn’t watch Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle on Monday (BBC2 10pm) then go and watch it right this minute on BBC Iplayer.  Nice to have some clever comedy on television again.  Now just watch for this to get axed after this series while Horne and Corden get 4,000 series and all-day Christmas specials.  Gah.

Hippos are cool

Well I’m another year older.  Not sure whether I’m wiser.  Got some books and dvds that should keep me going for a while.  Enjoying being off work.  Definitely think I needed a couple of weeks off.  It’s been great getting up at midday and being able to spend the remainder reading or watching a dvd or whatever.

Off to Ireland this week to see my nephew which should be cool.  I hope he likes me.  I bought him a hippo to try and win him over.  I just hope he’s into hippos.  It’s hard to tell at that age (2 weeks).

The new novel is coming together a bit more in my head and I have an idea that I want to put into practice at some point (possibly tomorrow but if not will have to wait till next week).  Won’t say too much more about it (unless it works) but I’m hoping it will make me a bit more productive.  I’m sure I’ve read of at least one writer using this approach so it’s got to be worth a try.  If I don’t write about it ever again you can presume it didn’t work.

Go on, Click the links

The writing is going slower than I had hoped for the *new novel*. It’s time to face up to reality: I am in a writing rut. I think I’m one of those people who functions better when there is a real deadline in place. If I had a book contract I’m convinced I would be able to write a book no problem because, well, I’d have to wouldn’t I? If only it were as easy as going to a publisher and telling them that you will write a book as long as they tell you to do it. If only.

The problem with the *new novel* (I’m calling it that because at time of writing it’s still pretty hard to think that it isn’t just me dodging finishing the first novel) is that I don’t know enough about where it’s heading yet. I was able to write the first novel with a pretty clear idea of where everything was heading, which made it easy to connect the dots along the way. This time though I don’t really know where it’s going to end up other than having a couple of ideas in mind for things that might happen. It’s like the idea is still a while away from being ripe. But there are the beginnings of several interesting characters so maybe in time the whole thing will come together.

In other news I am off work for the next two weeks. I realised that since I started working at my job over two years ago, I haven’t ever taken two consecutive weeks off. That’s just sad. So I’ve fixed that. It’s my birthday on Wednesday and we’re going to Ireland next week to see my newly born nephew. Should be fun.

In more other news, if you’re a geek like I am then you might like the following links:

The Guild
Pure Pwnage
Awesome Video Games

150 Things To Do Before You Turn Thirty

It’s my 26th Birthday next week so what better time to post a pointless internet meme. The following is a list of 150 things that for some reason you should have done before you turn thirty. The things I have done are in bold:

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone Well, almost.. there were no candles
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theatre
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married – almost
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced (see #72)
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on a television news program as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage – do school plays count?
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship – Will do later this year
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favourite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking with the windows open
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart – Not that I know of…
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for 30 hours in a 48 hour period
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Looks like I have a lot of work to do…

The New Novel

Well the good news is that I’ve been novel writing again this week.  Quite a lot in fact.  There’s just one small caveat:  It’s a different novel.

I know, I know, but I couldn’t resist.  I just got an idea in my head at the start of the week and I couldn’t help but start playing around with it.  I mean, it’s hardly like I’m taking up time I would have spent writing the previous novel, because I probably wouldn’t have done any writing this week.  I don’t know how far I’m going to get with it, but I am a little excited about it.  Writers talk about finding their voices and I don’t know if I have yet, but I’m starting to think this idea might help me do that.  It’s a comedy, a geeky comedy, perhaps even a satire.  I haven’t got the whole thing planned out in my head yet but it’s coming together.  I’ve written the first chapter and I really like it.  I’ve made myself laugh a lot writing it.  There are a couple of lines in there that I’m quite proud of myself for coming up with actually.

Am I simply moving my focus onto something new in an attempt to justify not finishing the rewrite of the first novel.  Maybe.  Probably.  But what the hell eh?

One year old

No writing done. Pathetic. I just can’t motivate myself to write. And my XBox 360 is reeeeally addictive. It’s not a good combination.

I’m reading Bad Science by Ben Goldacre. It’s fascinating and also extremely frightening. It’s about how science is so often misrepresented by those in the media. I’d definitely recommend it but honestly it’s terrifying how easily people can get away with convincing the world of complete and utter rubbish.
I’m reading quite a lot these days, far more than usual it feels like. If only I could write as much as I could read. Starting to feel the pinch in my pocket. It’s my birthday next month so I think I’m just going to ask for books. It means I get to make a big list of books I want to read. Time to logon to amazon.
Speaking of birthdays I’ve just realised that I’ve been doing this blog for a year now. That went quick. Seriously. If you’re still reading this… well done. I wonder if it’ll have a second.

Wrestling and Mice

Had a totally lazy week this week, even by my own standards. Spent much of my time watching tv, films, online or playing the XBox. No writing. Haven’t even thought up a decent excuse why not, it’s been that bad. Although, saying that, I was busier than normal at work this week so that might offer some justification. Nah, it doesn’t.

Saw The Wrestler at the cinema. Excellent film. Even if you don’t like wrestling this is worth going out of your way to see as the themes involved are pretty universal. In fact, you may actually get more out of it by not being a wrestling fan as a lot of what the film talks about are things wrestling fans are unfortunately far too familiar with, like guys killing themselves in part to make a living, but more often than not for gratification from a public who really don’t care about them. I used to be a wrestling fan, a big one as it went, but the more you learn about the business, the more tragic you realise it is. Guys dying before forty through drugs and everyone turning a blind eye to it – the wrestlers, the promoters, the public. It’s a sleazy business and the wrestler portrays that, but it also portrays wrestlers as real people, which unfortunately often seems to be forgotten. Go see it.

In other news, I think there’s a mouse in my house. I don’t want to kill him but how do you peacefully negotiate with a mouse? I don’t see any other way.