Quick Update with added Geekiness

I know, its been a looong time since I updated this (I'm sorry and yes I have been punished by the torture-bots for this).

And here I am with a woefully inadequate post (ah, a heady return straight back to the old days, eh?)

Quick Update: Contrary to what search engines or my kids might tell you, I have not been abducted by aliens or monsters, but I have been busy editing the YA fantasy story, The Fate of Blades. I've also been on holiday (a lovely trip to Tokyo, Hong Kong and Bali, but don't worry, I won't bore you with the slideshow, unless you're really naughty).

So enough about the weak excuses for my tardiness, what is it that's prompted me to dust off this blog?

Only a cool little Google easter egg feature called Zerg Rush.

Go to Google and type Zerg Rush into the search bar and get ready to defend your search results page from invading 0s.


Have fun and don't blame me for the loss in productivity.

Perspective

Okay, I've got to be honest - this isn't really a writing post, but more a case of me finding something on a message board that I just had to share.

Check this out.

The Scale of the Universe
Seriously, how incredible is that?

It's fascinating, humbling and awe-inspiring all at once. I particularly like the ability to click on every object to find out more about them. Viewing things like this really helps put things into perspective.

I love this stuff, too:

Anyway, hope you like the link - have a good week!

The Post Where I Bore You With My Writing Antics and Current Mood

Writing status update: 

I wrote a short story yesterday using one of the characters in THE FATE OF BLADES (the current title of my latest project). It felt so good just playing with one of the lesser flames of the story, and I was surprised when I rattled off the several thousand words that made up the story in an hour. I’m letting that one cool for a bit before I take a look, but it was fun just to sit back and let old Banesk the Seeker tell his story. I might be tempted to do a few more in future.

As for the next project, I’m looking to choose between about a dozen new ideas to develop. I think I might flesh out half of them and write the opening chapters of a few to see which I like best before taking them any further. More on that later.

Mood check: 

Calm

After the initial stress over sending THE FATE OF BLADES off, I’ve reached the acceptance stage. Whatever happens is out of my hands and now I get to work on the next story while I wait for a response.

I’ve only been trying to write for two years now. Now I know that’s a spit in the ocean compared to a lot of writers, but like most of us who decide to be writers, I’m working hard to improve. And the further I wade out, the deeper the publishing water gets. But that’s okay, I’m in no rush. I’ve got the rest of my life to do this.

Aaand Relax

Nearly 1am here and I've got work first thing tomorrow, but I just had to put up a post tonight. Y'see, I just finished FoB, my latest writing project. I've been pushing myself especially hard on this one for the last month or two and really crunching the editing process.

From start to finish its been a long road. I came up with the original idea for NaNoWriMo 2009 and wrote 50k of it then. Then the idea was quietly shelved while I worked on edits for THE HOUSE OF MIRRORS. Once I picked it up again last year, I've re-wrote the story again and again, (with the ending changing at least three times).

So before I ship it off to Agent John for his comments and thoughts, I do have this brief feeling of euphoric satisfaction at finishing my 80k Epic Fantasy YA story and the world in which I've set it.

I think I'm going to celebrate this one with sleep and then send it in tomorrow after work.

So for everyone who reads this and is still beavering away on their wip (work in progress), keep at it. The feeling you get when you apply that last edit and save (to multiple backups, of course), is immense and totally worth all those weekends and late nights you put in.

The Small Victories

So...this weekend I finished writing my current project, FoB!

But wait! (suddenly a wild plot complication appears) I still have to give it yet one more read-through edit and I want to add little excerpts showing the larger world setting before each of the chapters.

So yeah, admittedly  it’s not quite done and dusted, but I learned when I wrote my first book that you have to celebrate these small victories whenever they crop up.

When I first started writing FOB - the stakes kept rising, nations and even gods began to stick their oar in. The story seemed far too big to tell as the plot began to sprawl and I didn't know where to start the story never mind where to finish it. I realised that the tale of these two characters and this world was too big for one book.

That revelation was pretty scary. Taking on a series wasn't what I'd planned. AT ALL. But there it was and once I'd adjusted and  figured out what were the most important parts of the story that I wanted to tell (plus a timely comment from agent John - cheers, man), it all started to come together. And crucially, for the first time since I started the project and the various drafts and outlines, I began to really love the plot and the way it built to a titanic climax.

Now, with the experience of writing for an older age group, a longer story and using different tense to my last project and the dual POVs, I feel that I’ve learned a lot from the experience of writing this story.

I'll blab on some more about FOB in future posts (be warned!), but right now the red pen of doom awaits...

So, as I crack on with the read-through line edits, join me in raising your glass of chocolate milk to toast all the small victories.

*Apologies to Faith No More for stealing the title to this post. 

Full of crazy?

Hey, this is an unplanned blog post.

Project update: The crunch on FoB continues and I’m rapidly approaching the finale (promise, John!). 

Anyhoo—the reason I couldn’t help posting today was this quote from Philip Roth that I saw on Google. I just had to share. Enjoy:

“I don’t ask writers about their work habits. I really don’t care. Joyce Carol Oates says somewhere that when writers ask each other what time they start working and when they finish and how much time they take for lunch, they’re really trying to find out, “Is he as crazy as I am?” I don’t need that question answered.”

Ha. It’s true, isn’t it? We all want to know how long other writers work, how much do they outline and how many edits they do. I guess Roth is right—we’re all crazy for wanting to do this, but definitely a good kind of crazy.

2011 Reading List

Remember when I said I was keeping a list of the books I was reading in 2011? No, well I did, and I kept to it. With only a little further ado I’ve put the list below. I haven’t included much of the non-fiction books I’ve read, because I can’t say I read them cover to cover, more a case of dipping in here and there and picking up little facts. I’ve also omitted the tons of graphic novels I’ve ploughed through, keeping the list mainly to fiction. 

JANUARY (5)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Mr Gum and the Secret Hideout by Andy Stanton

The Thin Executioner by Darren Shan

Nerd Do Well by Simon Pegg

FEBRUARY (5)

Sabriel by Garth Nix

Mistborn bk1: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

1984 by George Orwell

MARCH (4)

Tripwire by Lee Child

The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

The Artful Edit by Susan Bell

Well of Ascension Mistborn bk2 by Brandon Sanderson

APRIL (8)

Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

Space Captain Smith by Toby Frost

Beast Quest – Arcta by Adam Blade

Beast Quest – Carnivora by Adam Blade

Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson

Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

Room by Emma Donoghue

MAY (5)

Horowitz Horror by Anthony Horowitz

Mistborn Book 3 by Brandon Sanderson

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

Writing for Comics with Peter David

Maximum Ride: School’s Out Forever by James Patterson

JUNE (4)

The Gift by James Patterson

The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman

Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick

The Reapers by John Connelly

All the Scott Pilgrim books by Bryan Lee O'Malley

JULY (5)

Darth Bane – by Drew Karpyshyn

The Painted Man by Peter Brett

Desert Spear by Peter Brett

Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn

Whip It by Shauna Cross

AUGUST (5)

Nation by Terry Pratchett

John Dies @ The End by David Wong

Cherub by Robert Muchamore

The Rule of Two by Drew Karpyshyn

Leviathan by Scott Westerfield

SEPTEMBER (7)

The Last Four Things by Paul Hoffman

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

Moon over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

Maximum Ride: the Angel Experiment by James Patterson

Just William by Richmal Crompton

Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child

Cherub: Class A by Robert Muchamore

OCTOBER(7)

I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

More Strangeness from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

Perdido Street Station by China Mieville

Bleach 1-5 by Tite Kubo

Skullduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer by Derek Landy

NOVEMBER(5)

The Passage by Justin Cronin

Snuff by Terry Pratchett

Beast Quest Ferno by Adam Blade

Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

DECEMBER(2)

The Enemy by Charlie Higson

Child of God by Cormac McCarthy

Looks like I kind of wimpered out at the end of the year, doesn't it? My excuse was, that I spent a lot of my time delving through non-fiction titles on the crusades, ancient battles and archery. All in all though, 62 books for the year isn’t all that bad. Then again, I know a library colleague of mine who has gone through significant;y more than that.

Still, it's a lot more than I thought. I enjoyed looking back at the list and intend to do the same for this year. How about you? Did anything in that list catch your fancy? Any recommendations for 2012? I'm all ears.

PS- You might be wondering which was my favourite out of that lot? It was Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. Deathbringer by Derek Landy came real, real close, but I really didn't want the adventures of Kvothe to end, and now can't wait for the next one)