Deja Vu all over again

Nano is looming large on the horizon and so is a feeling of deja vu.

I'm set to move house again... in November, just like last year. Seems the landlady isn't above raising an already high rent even higher. It's a game I'm not willing to play. The place was empty for about nine months when I moved in, it can be empty again for equally as long for all I care.

Of course, the annoyance is finding new digs and then shifting the parent again. I really, really don't need the stress but life has a way of throwing curve balls when you least expect it.

What's interesting is the fear that this year, I'll not be able to complete Nano. I am time poor. The new job doesn't allow for any goofing off, the internet at work is restricted - no private email and no forums - and no personal computers allowed. With the current... budget constraints, there is a staffing freeze on, so my colleague who left last month isn't going to be replaced. That leaves two of us to do the work of three at a professional level and me to still deal with the admin work. The learning curve is steep, regardless of how much I enjoy the work.

As a challenge, 2012 Nano is right up there. I have no ideas, not even hints, bubbling away. There is nothing - which is new for me - in the ideas cache. Zip. Nada. Zero. It's as if the Universe is saying 'not this time, you have other business'. Or it's presenting a challenge, testing my resolve to be a writer.

I recall way back when I first did Nano that I had nothing right up until the 1st of November. What came out in December was the first draft of the Huntress series, on which I'm still working - or trying. For all my good intentions on getting writing/editing stuff done, nothing has been accomplished since May.

As I said previously, work and parental care take up nearly all my time.

But I'm not giving up writing. Regardless of what's going on in real life now, writing is what I love doing. Having people read what I write is gravy: rich, thick, flavoursome gravy.

So. Nano. I have my eye on you. Meet me halfway or I'll you down.

Still around

It's hard to believe it's been months since I wrote a blog; five months of online silence.

Not because I decided to ignore the blog, but because I've simply been that busy. Real life suddenly blotted out everything else. I am ten months into a new, full-time job in addition to caring for the parent, so I'm time poor.

Something had to give and in the end, it was writing.

Yes, I managed the Forward Motion Story-a-day Marathon, but the work left a lot to be desired and I finished very much disappointed in myself.

From Friday, I'm on leave. Yay! For two, glorious weeks. Bigger YAY! And it's going to be busy... ish.

First up is Conflux, the local sci-fi/fantasy/speculative fiction festival. Paranormal romance writer, Keri Arthur is the guest of honour.

On Monday, I'm heading down the coast. Walks along the beach, basking in sunshine after a long Canberra winter, the making of the yearly Hypocras batch for Christmas. Just... relaxing... with the parent.

Still, I'll be editing. I'll be considering what to write for Nano, maybe read a book or three.

I miss the words. I miss creating stories and worlds and characters and conflicts. I miss reading stories, nutting out the who-dunnits, cheering the good guys, imagining the landscapes, feeling justified at the villain's comeuppance. I miss it all.

Trying to find a work/life balance is nigh impossible at the moment and writing has taken a back seat. Eventually, I'll find that balance and return to the words. As a writer, the words will come out anyway. With Nano, at least I can manage the 'when' if not the 'what'.

So. I may not have time to post daily, or weekly, but I'm going to use the lure of Nano to provide impetus to practice, to think and to post when I can.

Lest We Forget

 They were sons, husbands, fathers, uncles.

They went for glory, for adventure, for duty, to escape.

They found stinking death, swarms of flies, thick, cloying mud, greasy filth, rampant disease, lakes of blood and a four year nightmare of horror.

Through scorching heat, frigid cold and torrential rain, they fought against the Turks, the Germans and British incompetence.

And when it was done, they came home, forever changed and chose not to speak of it - heroes, every one of them.

On this day, we commemorate the 97th Anniversary of the Landing at Gallipoli and the eight-month long campaign. We also commemorate the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in all wars.

On this day, I think of my paternal grandfather fighting at Passchendaele, of my great uncle, severely wounded rowing British soldiers ashore at Gallipoli, of my maternal grandfather, not yet twenty, losing his leg - and of his brothers, none of whom came home uninjured. But return they did, scarred in body if not in mind.

And then, the next generation found themselves called to arms to once again fight against the tyranny and arrogance of Germany.

Korea soon followed the end of the Second World War, and then Malaya and Vietnam. Iraq, too.

Now, we're involved in Afghanistan, but soon to come home.

For more than a century, our armed services have bravely done their duty, no matter the odds or orders. Australia's fighting forces have earned the respect of all other armies by doing, not just sayin'.

Today I thank all those for their sacrifice, I thank them for the courage to do what I cannot. And I raise a glass to them.

I will not forget.

Rue Britannica

After 244 years, the 32 volume Encyclopedia Britannica is ending - at least, in print form.

Content is now shifting to the online environment. Not everyone can afford 32 volumes ($1490 per set) of hardbacks!


"I understand that for some the end of the Britannica print set may be perceived as an unwelcomed goodbye to a dear, reliable, and trustworthy friend that brought them the joy of discovery in the quest for knowledge." Jorge Cauz, the president of Encyclopaedia Britannica, said.

"In fact, today our digital database is much larger than what we can fit in the print set. And it is up to date because we can revise it within minutes anytime we need to, and we do it many times each day."

"In spite of our long history with print, I would like to point out that no single medium, neither books nor bits, is at the core of our mission," he wrote.

"That mission is to be a reliable, up-to-date, and scholarly source of knowledge and learning for the general public, and I believe that 200 years from now, this mission will continue to be vital and relevant and that the people of the future who are committed to it will use the best available technology to fulfil it."

It is indicative of the times we live in that such a revered volume has shifted its focus to keep up with fast technological changes and demand for instant accessibility to information. The modern generation has no time to open a book and search for required information, it poses a question and expects an answer.

I'm a little saddened, but understand the need for Britannica to keep current and the need for information accessibility.

I can still look up Britannica Online for information, and find myself happily digressing into tangential topics.

So, for Britannica, it is not the end, merely the beginning of a new and exciting future. One that will become an even larger repository of information than the print version.

Release... the snuggie

Here it is, the last day of Summer and I'm breaking out the Snuggie. It's a leopard print and I'm not ashamed to use it - in the privacy of my own home, of course.

It's raining and there's more coming, including flood warnings. Nothing I can do about that except watch the wet stuff come down. Queensland is still trying to dry out and the Outback is getting a soaking - that's La Nina for you: wet one day, damp the next.

Still no writing done... yes, okay, I have a new cable channel to watch which has The Walking Dead, Hell on Wheels and Justified; then there's Fringe, Alphas, Sanctuary and Warehouse 13 - so much stuff. And the TBR pile isn't shrinking at all.

I need to prioritise, get organised, carve out some time (somewhere) to curl up in my favourite chair, put some mellow music on, grab some chocolate and a glass o' vino and just... read.

And since it's going to rain this weekend, me and the snuggie are going to get comfortable. All I need do, is pick an author.

A Year of Reading

This week saw the launch of the National Year of Reading. 

According to the website, "Nearly half the population struggles without the literacy skills to meet the most basic demands of everyday life and work. There are 46% of Australians who can't read newspapers; follow a recipe; make sense of timetables, or understand the instructions on a medicine bottle." On the face of it, 46 per cent is a staggering number for a sophisticated Western Democracy, until you consider the migrant population.

Government, libraries, media, bookstores, schools and community groups are banding together for events to encourage children to read, and to share their passion for the written word.

Australian author, P.D. Martin blogs about it over on Murderati

The Australian Women Writers website has a twelve month reading and reviewing  challenge

Elizabeth Lhuede steps into controversy on gender bias in the decision-making process of Love2Read's (host of the NYR) "Our Story"shortlist.

Mrs Mac's Library  has a list of events and ideas.

And then there's this: The Joy of Books, an animated sequence on You Tube - a lot of work and a lovely ending.

Not so Patriotic

Sigh. I was so hoping the New England Patriots would stop fooling around and win the Super Bowl. Apparently not.

I feel for Wes Welker missing that catch, but... the Patriots had plenty of opportunities. One missed play by one player does not a loss make. It's a team sport. And I will admit - grudgingly - that the Giants worked hard for the win. (Scuffs foot.)

Okay. I really don't like the New York Giants; they keep knocking my Cowboys around.

In the end, it was the last football game for a while and I'm going to miss it. September is a long way off.

Still, I have the cricket and the rugby union isn't far off; but cricket will soon end.

Guess I'll be off to write for the Winter; and I'm all for that.

Dazed and confused and out of sorts

And here it is, February already.

A month has passed since my last post but it doesn't seem that long. I suspect it has something to do with working (long hours in a secured location on secure things, so I have no real internet access) and trying to get the house and parent in order. I've succeeded with the latter, but not necessarily the former.

It's been a long time since I've worked in a scheduled environment - meaning, every duty is required and has a short deadline, as in by the end of the day; no slacking off here.

Writing fiction - for me - is a butt in the chair and write, or research, or edit; that's it. I don't need benchmarking, or report status, or a number of other things I can't talk about. (Which is weird, since I'm working in a public affairs area.)

I'm looking at this time of turmoil - and it is when you're yanked out of a nice, safe, comfortable environment - as a break from all things writing and reading. I doubt I'll be back at it until March.

It could be sooner, given the story ideas floating around, rather than the lists of things to do. Some days, it feels like a day off to do something... that doesn't involve others and their needs, seems like a long way off. Obligations come first.

It's not all bad: I heard a small child today, in the book section of a department store. He sighed heavily, and then said: "Mum, I so need a book!"

Made me smile and my world settled down a little bit more.

Bran Nu Yeer

I think I've finally got everything sorted in the new abode, and the internet connection seems to have settled down to a more than irregular service - although I'm guessing that is subject to change with whatever conditions causes the wi-fi to drop out! And I can say it's pretty annoying when trying to post something or check the e-mail.

The new job is going well, too, but it can be tiring focusing on Defence matters all day, even if some of it is historical research. Not that I can say anymore than that (shhh, it's a secret!) And because it's a restricted area, I can no longer access all the websites I like to visit. That all has to wait until I'm home.

Already, I miss the cool sea breezes that blew in the afternoons. I'd forgotten that Canberra can be nastily hot and dry, with no breeze to speak of until well after sunset. Of course, Canberra also becomes bitterly cold in Winter, so we get to see the changes of the seasons in a more dynamic way.

We now have air-conditioning, but for a while there... I suspect the place doesn't have insulation, which is going to make winter interesting.

We're also waiting patiently for the cable service to be connected. The free-to-air viewing... sucks. It's awful, which gives me plenty of time to rummage around in the files for stuff to edit, yes, and there are books to read.

Last year was... difficult, with the parent's illness and everything surrounding her care. I didn't read or write nearly as much as I would have liked. Still, change happens and you can either accept it or accept it. There's no point in ignoring it or railing against it.

I think this year will be a much different adventure; I will have to find a new balance between paid work and writing. I know what I want, but achieving it will take determination so it's a good thing I love what I do.

All tuckered out

It feels like all I've been doing lately is working, hunting up furniture and putting the aforementioned furniture together... and doing Christmas shopping.

The new house is still full of unpacked boxes. I've yet to find a single day to actually get to unpacking anything but the essentials.

And now, I'm back down the coast for Christmas with those boxes still unpacked. I think I've driven nearly three thousand kilometres since the beginning of December; the car has been a real trooper with all the boxes and things weighing her down. Still, the muffler seems to be growling a little louder with every trip. She definitely needs some extra tlc over the next few days.

I've also been carrying around Lynn Viehl's lastest book, without managing to look at the first page. It always seemed I've have some downtime to read, but no. There's always been something getting in the way.

Tomorrow, I still have things to do to get ready for Christmas day and for visitors. But I'm carving out time, damn it! I've brought books with me and I'm going to read them - my visitors can look after themselves for a few hours. We are, after all, at the beach and lo, it is Summer!

Update

It's been a tough couple of weeks, with a new job and problems with the townhouse we've yet to move into. Between commuting, working and racing down to the coast to pick up more stuff, I haven't had a lot of time to be online - no blogging from work, it's a secured location.

We've got a moving day... in the middle of the week, so I have to take a day off already.

I'm hoping that finally, finally, we'll be in the new place on the weekend. There's still so much to do before Christmas. I guess I'll be out hunting down the last of the prezzos this weekend.

On the move

Okay, so I haven't had time to read, or do anything else.

Thursday afternoon - a quarter to five (end of the business day) - I recieved word that I'd found somewhere to live in Canberra; it's a rather nice townhouse. But I had 24 hours to sign the lease.

The nation's Capital, it should be noted, is a three hour drive away. With the aged parent, who isn't a morning person and packing up some essentials, we made the appointment at precisely 4 o'clock. I won't go into the all the nastie little details, but it took nearly an hour to complete the paperwork.

Of course, the Post Office needs three working days to sort the mail redirection and I won't be submitting the paperwork for that until I have the keys in my hot and sweaty little hand. Worse, my email account picked up a f*&$ing virus and I've had to write down and then delete all addresses. A group hug to all those who need to know will have to wait until I'm sure the virus is a gonna.

Getting an uplift of all the heavy furniture is the next project. I start the new job on Monday, so that's going to be epic. All I can say is that the Body Corporate had better suck it up and keep out of the way of the moving van.

So. Back to packing; I head back to Canberra tomorrow.

Over for another year

And so Nano is ending around the world for another year. Writers are squeeing over their 50,000 words and wallowing in the knowledge that they did the job. Some have done an outstanding job; others, not so much.

But now what? Oh, right: send it out to an agent/editor/publisher.

Three words of advice: Don't. Do. It!

While it's an achievement to finish the 50k, agents/editors/publishers around the world are also busy - buying up crates of their alcoholic beverage of choice in preparation for the influx of 'Nano novels'.

If you're not a fan of the Fake Editor Twitter, here are a few gems recently posted:

I have no fewer than 15 obvious #NaNoWriMo books in my Inbox. All are just over 50k in length, all clearly unedited. #thisiswhyIdrink

 If your query starts “Here’s the novel I finished writing last night,” it doesn’t matter what you say next. I've stopped reading. #FE2

 "Dear editor, please consider my fiction novel of 50,006 words that I swear isn't a NaNo book" doesn't inspire much confidence.

 “Look at me, I wrote a novel in a month!” No, honey. You typed 50,000 words in a month. Not the same thing. #FE2

The truth is in the last comment. Yes, you've written 50,000 words and that's great, but that's all you've done. 50,000 words do not make a book. It's three-quarters of a first draft.


The National Novel Writing Competition level of 50k was set as an achievable goal, a method to teach consistency in writing, a test bed to see if you've got what it takes to sit down everyday and write a minimum of 1,667 words. Using the word 'novel' is a bit of a misnomer, unless you're writing for young adults, and even then, writers like J.K. Rowling and Suzanne Collins produce books with more words.


I'm not criticising, Nano is a wonderful tool and I use it with ferocity. But I also know 50k doesn't make a book, it makes a damned good start on one. I write a minimum of two books at least 80k and if I have time, a third. I let them sit and then EDIT and RE-WRITE along with the bitching and moaning about why I thought that scene, that character, those conversations were a good idea.


People who finished the 50k deserve to celebrate - writing that much in a month is no easy task when there are so many other distractions and chores. Thousands of people have created new worlds, new characters, new stories to beguile the reader. If only we could harness such creative energy for other things...


December is a time for rest after the frantic race to the deadline, but it should also be a time for those who just made the 50k to examine whether the story is complete, whether the plots have been resolved and when the promise of the first chapter has been fulfilled by the last. And then finish it if not.


Me, I'm off to read a few books, like Anne McCaffrey and Lynn Viehl - oh, and do the housework that has been sadly neglected; and pack for the move.

Congrats to all who finished Nano, may it be the start of a long and productive career.

Counting down to the end

Here we go. It's the last day of Nano and I'm up early hammering the keyboard.

It feels like deja vu all over again. If I remember correctly - and I think I do - I was doing this yesterday, and the day before...

I'm onto the third book (Oracle 4), which I don't have a hope of finishing today because the first and second took longer than expected. I did write in Canberra, this book is flowing much easier than the other two and my fingers only cramped up a few times. The shoulders, well, I'll treat them to some down time tomorrow - I promise.

I'm not a fan of leaving a book half written, but other obligations, like shifting stuff, finding a place to live and starting the new job is going to put a stop to any concentration or writing for a while. Which is why I'm abusing the poor keyboard. The further into the book, the easier it will be to pick up the threads when I do return to it.

So, enough stuffing around on the 'net, it's time to pound those words out until the keyboard ignites from friction!

It's the potential

We're in the last week of Nano, and most of us struggling to reach the goal.

It's not necessarily the 50K goal,  but the goal we set for ourselves. We're tired, we have other things to do, a month is too long, we are so over it!!

But should you feel that your entire manuscript - be it 10, 20, 30, 40 or 100k words long - is a load of over-dramatic, derivative twaddle, you need something to keep you going, something to encourage you to reach the end.

Well, there is one word to hold on to - no matter that you think all you've written is absolute crap; no matter that the family is pissed at you for spending all your time in another world, another land or another time, with other people, who are probably having sex or a fight to boost the word count; no matter that your work colleagues have given you the gimlet eye because you're verbalising Olde English/Magical/Alien dialogue under your breath - the word you need to remember at this stage of Nano is... potential.

Every first draft has the potential to become so much more.

But you need to write it first. It may be crap. It may be a little confused. It may need a serious rewrite. But the potential is there. What you've written so far is the first impression of an idea, and once out of your head and on the computer/notebook, it has potential. It needs more than the first rush of temper to write it down, it needs flesh on those bones, it needs emotion, soul. That can wait until December, for now the bones are the most important aspect.

November is about the bones, the structure, the basic frame of the work.

So, if you're thinking of throwing in the towel and calling it quits, think of the potential of your manuscript-in-progress; think of the ending you're nearing, and dream of what might be...

Moving on

I'm off to Canberra today, so I was up early to write before packing. A few hours later, I had nearly three and a half thousand words More than I expected.

The second book is going well, so well, I might sneak in a few extras once I get to the Capital.

I'd like to think I can find somewhere to live over the weekend, but the reality is, I don't think there's enough time before I start work in ten days. After that, it's all down to time management - at which I suck.

sigh.

Anne McCaffrey

Anne McCaffrey was the first fantasy author I read. I fell in love with the Dragons of Pern and had to have the entire series no matter what.

The Crystal Singer was also one of my fav reads. I've read her work repeatedly over the years, and I found inspiration within those pages.

Anne, along with the late Andre Norton, sparked my imganiation to write on my own stories. I've never written of dragons, nor of telepaths or sentient ships. I chose my own worlds to build, but it is thanks to Anne that I first felt the urge.

Ms McCaffrey was a great exponent of paying it forward, guiding careers and co-authoring with Elizabeth Moon, Mercedes Lackey and Jody Lynn Nye to name three.

I always thought she should have been made a Grand Master of the genre years ago rather than in 2005 - but that's just me.

Today, an astonishing talent has passed and leaves the world poorer. But her body of work will live on.

As my Nano reward, I'm going to re-read her collection and appreciate her art all over again.

Nano done, but not over yet.

A mixed day today, of the good, the bad and ugly.

First, the bad and the ugly: I have a... let's cal it an aversion, to particular eight-legged beasties. I have no idea why I decided that spiders would be a part of this book, let alone giant ones. I think it was a subconscious thing, since they are, not complex, but a simpler organism to clone. (Long story.)

And so it came to pass that I had to do some in depth research on the little beasties. [Insert shudder and a quick glance around the room - just in case.] I doubt I'll ever be comfortable with them, and confrontation therapy is so not happening. But I did the research and that led to...

...the good news. Which is the first book is done. It's come in at 123,000 words, but I know there is some absolute tripe that needs removing and/or rewriting.

The important fact about finishing Nano, or any brilliant idea you might have for a story, is to sit down and write it.

I suspect too many people are concerned about numbers rather than the story. If you're involved in the story, the numbers will create themselves. Write. That's all you need worry about.

Now, I shall wander away from the keyboard with vague thoughts on the book I'll start tomorrow.

100k and more to go

Finally, finally, a 10+k day. Which tells me just how difficult this book has been to write.

When you're struggling, you are struggling all over a book. It has taken fourteen days of toil and struggle and frustration and monumental cursing to reach a day were everything flowed nicely. I don't expect it to last.

Even those who plot will find sections of writing leads to the grinding of the teeth, the look around the house and think it needs cleaning, or the dog needs walking, or something, anything! to take you away from the torture.

It's about here I would suggest a fight, some sexual activity, taking or giving something from/to a character, or even wax lyrical about if you want to succeed at Nano, you need to get your butt into the chair and fingers onto the keyboard, but I'm just too shagged.

I guess the good news is that I've popped over the 100k mark for the book and the bad news is that it isn't finished and the end is nowhere in sight. The worst news is that real life is about to intrude and I doubt I'll get much more writing done. I'm pretty sure that packing up and moving an entire household will take most of my time.

I've done enough for one day and there's another one - day, that is - tomorrow.

No one died today

So I promised my sister I wouldn't kill anyone today.

A difficult task when writing about Marines in combat, complicated by a vast array of ravenous, self-aware little horrors on an alien planet.

However, in not indulging in the high word count of battle, it forced me to think more carefully about the direction of the book rather than writing about wholesale slaughter.

I have found that there is more to this book than I thought. Ideas like 'why' and 'when' and the more intriguing 'consequences', the 'what next' of events.

I shall most definitely get to kill lots of things tomorrow, and that will take me over the 50k mark. And from there, it will be a twisting, writhing journey to the ending I have planned.

Time to end the day, it's been a long one.