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?

139 Days

Only 139 days until I get married.  We were at the hotel this week sorting out the bits and bobs – menu, timing etc.  We’re quite well organised I think, we only really have the priest to meet up with.  Though admittedly that is quite a big one.  As an atheist, the pressure is on me not to say something I shouldn’t, like perhaps suggesting that the sheer logistics behind the creation of an ark big enough to contain two of every animal in the world, not to mention the acquisition of two of every animal in the world, would make it an impossible endeavour for one man to undertake.  I should stay away from this line of conversation.  Though obviously, it would be quite funny.

Went to see Valkyrie and Seven Pounds.  Valkyrie I liked, though it wasn’t brilliant and Tom Cruise as a Nazi talking in an American accent just didn’t work for me.  I can’t think of a film where Cruise ever does an accent.  He must be quite bad at them.  Seven Pounds was a bit rubbish.  It’s hard to talk about it without giving the entire thing away, but realistically you ought to be able to figure it out within the first two minutes.

Finally finished the chapter I’ve been on for what seems like months now (because it probably is).  Granted it was a long chapter, possibly the longest in the book, but it shouldn’t have taken this long.  I’m reasonaly happy with it though.  I think it’s a lot better than the first draft, mainly because it’s written from the viewpoint of another character.  This approach so far seems to be working with the novel.  It’s much easier to flesh out the central character when seen through the eyes of the people she’s affecting.  There are still a few chapters where I’m not quite certain how they will work yet and I also go back and forward on how many other characters viewpoints I can get away with telling the story from but overall things seem to be coming together.  Though slowly, obviously.