Year End Lists

Hope everyone had a nice time over Christmas.  We did.  Had my family over, got some ace presents (Guitar Hero ftw) and ate lots of good food.  Haven’t done any writing recently.  Too busy watching DVDs and playing the XBox.  So serious business then.  The new year will soon be here though and hopefully I can use that to propel myself into my writing again.

I think looking back over the year, the first half was certainly more productive than the second.  I completed the first draft, which was a pretty big thing I think.  In 2009 I want to get the thing finished and start submitting it to agents.  That’s my target.

Now for some top 3s of 2008.

The top 3 books I read this year*:

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
2. The Outcast by Sadie Jones.
3. Then we came to the end by Joshua Ferris.

* not necessarily books first published this year.

Top 3 films of 2008 that I can actually remember:

1. The Dark Knight.
2. Wall-E.
3. In Bruges.

Top 3 songs of 2008:

1. Paper Planes – M.I.A.
2. A & E – Goldfrapp.
3. Lights Out – Santogold.

Top 3 Albums:

1. Santogold – Santogold.
2. I Know You’re Married, But I’ve Got Feelings Too – Martha Wainwright.
3. The Hollow of Morning – Gemma Hayes.

Top TV Shows:

1. Dead Set.
2. Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles.
3. Heroes.

Top Stand Up Acts:

1. Daniel Kitson (The Impotent Fury of The Privileged & 66a Church Road – A Lament Made of Memories and Kept in Suitcases).
2. Stewart Lee  (Scrambled Egg)
3. Richard Herring (The Headmaster’s Son)

So there you go.  Have a good new year.  See you in 2009.

So this is (almost) Christmas

And what have I done?  Not much this week.  All but one present is wrapped and under the tree.  Just waiting for something to be delivered to my work.  I received an email saying that it had been dispatched last week but it looks like it’s going to come down to the wire.  I’m just glad it’s not a big present or I’d be a bit more worried.

I’m pretty excited now.  Only four sleeps to go.  We watched some Christmas films yesterday to get us in the mood, specifically Miracle on 34th Street (1994 remake), Home Alone and Elf.  We both agreed that at some point in our lives we would have to make the trip to New York at Christmas time.  Watching Home Alone is a bit depressing though when you release that it came out eighteen years ago.  Almost nineteen.

Saw Changeling on Friday with Angelina Jolie.  I mean she was in the film itself, not that I went to watch it with her.  I did ask her but she had already seen it.  It was quite good.  Clint Eastwood seems to like making really depressing films though.  Million Dollar Baby was really good, but if like us, you go in watching it thinking this is just Rocky with a girl then you’re not going to be prepared for the ending.

I’ve asked for Guitar Hero for Christmas, so if I get that I’ll be more than happy.  And if I don’t I’ll just buy it myself in the sales.  Sweet.  Have a good Christmas everyone.

Weeeeeeeeell tonight thank god it’s them, insteaaad of you

I was all geared up to do my Christmas wrapping this weekend.  I get the presents together, get the wrapping paper and the tags.  Only the cellotape left to find.  I can’t find it.  I look everywhere but it’s not there.  So I have to wait till my fiance gets home to find where the cellotape is at.  “Yeah, we don’t have any.  I told you that the other night.”  Brilliant.  I nip to the shops today to get some, but they don’t have any.  Brilliant.  I contemplate taking the train into Edinburgh just to get some, but decide not to because I can’t be bothered and besides I’ll be there tomorrow anyway.

And as opening paragraphs go, that’s a pretty dull one.  I could just delete it I suppose, but again, can’t be arsed.  I’m looking forward to Christmas.  I usually find the buildup the best thing, with the day itself always being a little dissapointing.  But that never stops me from getting excited all over again next year.  I had been a little worried up till this point though as I had somehow yet to hear Band Aid’s Do they know it’s Christmas? (1984, not the crappy remakes).  How is that possible?  Anyway, I heard it this morning and all is right with the world again.  I need my annual fix of the bit that Bono sings (undoubtedly the greatest thing he has ever done or will do).

In other news I bought the Santogold album (off amazonmp3).  It’s brilliant, probably my favourite album of this year (Martha Wainwright, Goldfrapp and Gemma Hayes all had good ones though).  You might not necessarily know the name but you will have heard Say Aha, Creator and probably L.E.S. Artistes from adverts.  I love it because every track on the album I can fit to a scene in my novel.  If it ever made it to a screenplay I would almost have to insist on the inclusion of certain tracks if not every one.  If I can be bothered.

Who put that wall there?

I pimped Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe last week, and for good reason because it’s brilliant.  This week’s show was a complete departure from the normal format of dissecting (read: taking the piss out of) television shows.  This week, Brooker interviewed a number of successful television writers, discussing a range of topics related to the writing of television shows.  As you can imagine, the appeal of this week’s show was limited to those interested in such things.  Luckily I am, so I enjoyed it.  And if you are, take a look on iplayer.

One of the interesting things discussed that seemed to be common for a number of writers was the feeling that, despite their successes, they always felt like at any moment they would be found out for not being that good at all.  This is something that I’m always feeling, be it working in IT or writing.  That sooner of later I’m going to be rumbled and politely asked to stop, for the good of everyone.  It’s reassuring to know that even established writers feel that way.  Although of course, just because they feel that way too, doesn’t mean it’s not actually going to happen to me…

Still pushing on with the writing, though I hit a pretty massive block last night.  I realised a pretty important part of the plot doesn’t actually make sense when you think about it.  It’s such a big logic hole that I don’t know how I managed to miss it.  So now I have to rethink it.  The problem is that changing one part of it has knock on effects elsewhere in the story, as in if this doesn’t happen this way, characters who need to meet, won’t.  I think I have a solution but I’m still thinking it over.  I don’t want to risk it coming off as contrived in trying to connect strands together.  If this were Prison Break, I would just leave it as it is and hope no one notices.  But sadly it’s not Prison Break.