tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10167265096421689402024-02-20T08:40:29.350-08:00Making it to the page.A first time author's journey through publication.-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-52537696029983655382012-04-03T10:05:00.004-07:002012-04-03T10:08:15.162-07:00Ladies and Gentlemen...This blog has been transferred to my new website, <a href="http://hennessywrites.com/home/">http://www.hennessywrites.com</a>. Please go there for updates and information about myself and <span style="font-style: italic;">Queen of the World</span>.<br /><br />Thanks for reading!<br /><br />-Ben--Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-45459846281908609362012-03-26T03:10:00.005-07:002012-03-29T14:29:17.303-07:00I can't find the memory card, Jim...<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> 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mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">Tomorrow I head back to Essex for good. Back in my <a href="http://vuerydesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Hello-Kitty-Pink-Bedroom-Interior-Design-Ideas1.gif">old bedroom</a> until I find a job. Back in my old home town until... Well, until something else happens. I originally left four years ago, moving to Cork in Ireland. Feels a bit like I’ve come full circle.<br /><br />I’ve travelled a lot in my life. Now that’s relative, of course. Compared to plenty of other <a href="http://offtrackbackpacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/backpacker.jpg?w=227">backpackers</a> I don’t think I’ve done <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">that</i> much, but in comparison to the average guy or gal I think I’ve seen a fair bit. I use my memories as the base for describing scenery in my work. If I need a coastline or harbour, I think of <a href="http://www.fjordtours.com/sitefiles/site1/shop/arendal.jpg">Porsgrunn and Arendal in Norway</a>. If I need mountains, valleys and other such grand scale, then my time in <a href="http://nzbybike.com/assets/Destination/around-the-mountain-trail/_resampled/croppedimage760350-Lake-Wakatipu.jpg">Queenstown, New Zealand</a> works well. Similarly <a href="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4073/4857400077_b4b3d3d509_z.jpg">Vietnam for vast areas of countryside</a> covered in both trees and farmland, while Hanoi specifically provides a platform for <a href="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/victor/hereandthere/Images/Vietnam08%20Hanoi-2.jpg">writing about dense population</a>. Ireland and England, being quite similar, is where I think of when I need <a href="http://www.grough.co.uk/lib/img/editorial/dufton02.jpg">rolling acres of grassland and hills</a>. <a href="http://saharagate.com/www.soleilmaroc.com/image/ouarzazate/ouarzazate-03.jpg">Morocco for deserts</a>. Spain for the heat of a <a href="http://www.puredest.com/spain-summer-holidays/pics/main_spain.jpg">summer in the city streets</a>.<br /><br />I’m blessed with quite a good memory. A lot of people I know will argue against that, but I tend to remember the important stuff. I can be quite bad with names, dates and shopping lists, but in general when I witness things <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">happen</i> I can recall it with a fair amount of clarity. So, for example, when I see pictures of myself in Malaga when Spain progressed to the semi finals of the World Cup in 2010, I also recall the sounds of the celebrations (fireworks, chanting, drums, people banging on the sides of busses and cars as they drove by), the smells (firework smoke, exhaust fumes, sweat and beer) <a href="http://maxcdn.fooyoh.com/files/attach/images/3004/092/105/005/spain_world_cup.jpg">and the atmosphere</a> (jubilation at the victory, mischievousness at the chaos the crowd were causing in the traffic, tension when the police turned up in riot gear to chase everyone away). This helps me when I’m writing since I can usually draw on a memory like that to help remind myself of more than just the visual.<br /><br />In my last post I touched on how much of your own personal experience should be put into a story. I think with dialogue, emotions and people you know it should certainly be held in check. But with description it’s definitely a case of the more you know, the better. I think that applies to plenty of stuff you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">don’t</i> know, also. So if you’re writing <a href="http://cdnimg.visualizeus.com/thumbs/51/d0/funny,science,fiction,star,wars-51d0e0a869e7c15754f781a980679df0_m.jpg">Science Fiction</a> and have never been to space (surprisingly!), you can probably get a sense of scale if you were to, say, <a href="http://www.addictedtotravel.com/Resources/Images/Cache/2007/7/9361237c-3372-4991-9e9c-093012c8c689-350-1000_350-466.jpg">go scuba diving</a>. Now I’m not saying you can compare being in the ocean to being in the great expanse of nothingness outside of our atmosphere, but it should help get a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">taste</i> of it. Like, say you want to write about a person being thrown out of a plane BUT you’re too scared to actually go skydiving. How about a bungee jump? It still <a href="http://images.mylot.com/userImages/images/postphotos/2521705.jpg">involves a freefall</a>. Can’t drive but want a car chase scene? <a href="http://www.visitriccione.com/riccione/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/go_kart_riccione.jpg">Go-karting</a>. It’s not like you’re applying for a job here. You won’t get laughed at for twisting the truth of your experiences slightly. Besides, all that stuff is just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">fun</i>. Fun times are always worth a crack, regardless of why you do them.<br /><br />Anyway, saying to someone ‘I just got my nose pierced, booked a flight to Peru and spent all my money on motorbike with a dodgy gearbox clutch because I’m researching a novel about a <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUC0vlh76Ri575zc96dtrZ-RaRklMLwDCsxb_n8Jf6w7N5Sm64VPH5djv-ATXEXJo4ieiVy0bjbeM_Yh90-PxtcOjAXCnI22fcHQTEHoQM3Xa6efru8rBi44Vcosd0FDKaWCOL9a_6u0/s1600/roadwarrior9.jpg">post-apocalyptic gangland war</a>’ sounds <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">so</i> bad-ass that it could be worth it even if you never write the thing.<br /><br />As for me, I’m going back to Essex. Picking up where I left off four years ago. It’s like rebooting your<br />PC; all the same shit will be there if you need it, but you just have to load it all up again.<br /><br />Peru does sound nice, though.<br /><br />Oh, and my final publisher edits came back yesterday. So it’s time for the final draft of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Queen of the World. </i>Plenty of work to be getting on with this week, which I’m looking forward to. Also I’ll meet a new marketing intern from Inspired Quill this week who’ll be helping me get the novel out to the hungry masses, which should be bags of fun. They and I will probably know roughly the same amount about launching a book – as in, not very much at all – so it has that ‘school project’ feel to it. Can’t wait. /glee</p>-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-7201350281374649842012-03-19T03:34:00.002-07:002012-03-19T03:50:25.370-07:00I'm gonna have me some fun.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> 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mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">This has been an odd, sad but enlightening week, so this post will be a little more personal than usual. But there is a saving grace to keep us all on topic with the following question: How much of your own emotional experiences should you put into a fictional story?<br /><br />Since plenty of people who read this blog know me personally, I’ll keep things short and sweet: This week my fiancée and I broke up. It isn’t fun, but we remain close friends.<br /><br />One thing that made me laugh, though, was remembering which scene I have to write next in the follow-up to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Queen of the World</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Ethanei, an <a href="http://iweredrunk.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/chair-drunk.jpg">incredibly drunk</a> vagrant, has recently found his estranged wife in bed with another man. The start of the chapter cuts to him lying sprawled over a table spilling his emotional guts between sobs and curses to one of the series’ main character, Kanderil, who listens with a patient unease. He’s heartbroken, resentful and has given up trying to keep a lid on things, preferring instead to drown out his thoughts with alcohol. The guy’s self-destruction is in full-swing.<br /><br />I can say with absolutely sincerity that this is a coincidence. The scene was the next in line and is not being written as result of my newly-found single status. There are plenty of written notes and around four preceding chapters to support my claim. Also the scene I described isn’t what I’ve been doing personally. There’s been a lot of beer involved but I haven’t quite reached the stage poor Ethanei has. However there are certain similarities between his current scene and mine. I reckon I could lay out a lot of my feelings – that is, the way I’m thinking and the things I want to say <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">right now</i> – through Ethanei’s actions and words, slipping them between the alcohol-fuelled excess and limb flailing. Being a fictional fantasy story I could get away with it too, most likely. In fantasy? Pfft. People expect angry men to fuckin’ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">RAGE</i>, violent men to murder innocents on a nightly basis, and heartbroken men to start a quest or adventure or something equally redemptive. (They should at the very least write some poetry or sit in a bar staring at the same tepid ale for hours.) It wouldn’t be too hard to be <a href="http://s1.favim.com/orig/18/fanta-fantasea-fantasy-funny-life-Favim.com-195114.jpg">metaphorical about the literal.</a><br /><br />But I don’t want to pour too much out on the page. I want to focus and direct my personal experience into the dialogue, to give them a little realism and direction. But the rant Ethanei is going to give <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">must</i> be directed as his ex-wife, Claira. The words shouldn’t be directed at my ex-fiancée. So there’s the trick. It’s a fine line because I’ve already shared this joke with her and she found it kind of funny as well, but it also means she’ll be acutely aware of the scene when she reads it. I don’t want to offend her <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">or</i> come across as an idiot.<br /><br />The adage ‘<a href="http://bigthink.com/think-tank/write-what-you-know-nil-the-most-misunderstood-piece-of-good-advice-ever">write what you know</a>’, which I touched on a few posts back, is mightily applicable here. Other events in my life have been introduced to scenes and characters. Little sayings. Mannerisms. Almost all of them are so far in the background, or so layered underneath good ol’ fashioned fictional nonsense, that I don’t think even my closest friends of family could point out a line when <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Queen of the World</i> launches and say ‘Oh man, this is so based on that time you...’<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But my personal belief is that my experiences should add texture and a touch of reality to my fictional work. It shouldn’t dominate or make my created world semi-autobiographical. I need to save my real life stories for when I’m stinking rich and famous and am encouraged to pen my memoirs, after all.<br /><br />Anyway, we’re getting to around two and a half months before the book should be released. Things are a little behind schedule – well, actually more than a little – but I retain my immense faith in Sara and Inspired Quill to get us back on course and keep things ticking over. I like to think I’ve had quite a lot of stuff going on this year, but it’s nothing compared to the amount of work and various other projects my editor has planned. I do my best not to stress her out with my occasional panic about things. Pretty sure it’s working so far.<br /><br />As for now, I’ll be in Norway for another couple of weeks and then shipping off back to Essex for the foreseeable future. That’s going to be a barrel of fun. At the very least I will be doing much more writing in my old bedroom, which is the plan for now – type like a machine until I find a job to get things ticking over again. Good thing we’re heading into springtime. I haven’t spent a summer in England for about four years. Pub gardens, suspect barbecues and music festivals. Doesn’t sound so bad, does it?<br /><br /><br /><br style="mso-special-character:line-break"> <br style="mso-special-character:line-break"> </p>-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-61473788624620050882012-02-29T07:21:00.005-08:002012-03-01T04:27:04.007-08:00Social commentary on toast.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> 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Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif][if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;">During a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">drunken</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">conversation</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">with</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">very</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">nice</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">chap</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">named</span> Sigurd during a party <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">on</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Saturday</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">night</span>, he <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">asked</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">me</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">very</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">interesting</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">question</span> (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">As</span> a side note, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">the</span> Norwegian <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">word</span> for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">having</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">pre</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">club</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">drinks</span> is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">forspill</i>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">which</span> literally <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">translates</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">as</span> ‘foreplay’. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Which</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">makes</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">it</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">hilarious</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">every</span> time <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">someone</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">invites</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">me</span> over to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">their</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">place</span> for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">some</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">Childish</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">but</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">what</span> are <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">you</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">going</span> to do?).<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">We</span>’d <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">discussed</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">what</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44">life</span> is like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45">in</span> Essex and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46">how</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47">it</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48">compares</span> to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_49">living</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_50">in</span> Hamar. I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_51">explained</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_52">the</span> weekend <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_53">culture</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_54">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_55">booze</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_56">drugs</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_57">fights</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_58">one</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_59">night</span> stands <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_60">which</span> Essex has <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_61">become</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_62">somewhat</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_63">famous</span> for. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_64">Shows</span> like <a href="http://www.itv.com/essex/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_65">The</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_66">Only</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_67">Way</span> Is Essex</a> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_68">didn</span>’t <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_69">really</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_70">help</span> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_71">that</span></i> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_72">one</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_73">We</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_74">agreed</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_75">that</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_76">such</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_77">culture</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_78">isn</span>’t <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_79">really</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_80">prevalent</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_81">in</span> Norway; at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_82">least</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_83">that</span> I’ve <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_84">seen</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_85">Things</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_86">here</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_87">seem</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_88">little</span> more <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_89">laid</span> back. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_90">People</span> drink to have <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_91">fun</span>, not to pass <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_92">out</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_93">in</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_94">toilet</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_95">somewhere</span>. (And trust <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_96">me</span>: <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_97">they</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">do </span>drink.)<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_98">The</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_99">two</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_100">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_101">us</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_102">went</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_103">out</span> for a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_104">cigarette</span>. Sigurd <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_105">was</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_106">interested</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_107">in</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_108">my</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_109">writing</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_110">since</span> he <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_111">also</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_112">had</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_113">aspirations</span> to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_114">one</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_115">day</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_116">write</span> a story. During <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_117">our</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_118">chatter</span> he <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_119">asked</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_120">with</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_121">complete</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_122">sincerity</span> “<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_123">So</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_124">why</span> do <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_125">you</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_126">write</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_127">fantasy</span>, given <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_128">your</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_129">background</span>?”<br /><br />I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_130">couldn</span>’t <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_131">really</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_132">answer</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_133">so</span> I just <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_134">said</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_135">it</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_136">was</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_137">what</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_138">enjoyed</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_139">reading</span>. I’ve <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_140">touched</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_141">on</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_142">how</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_143">started</span> to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_144">become</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_145">writer</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_146">in</span> <a href="http://makingittothepage.blogspot.com/2012/01/you-dont-need-dice-pt1.html"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_147">these</span></a> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_148">two</span> <a href="http://makingittothepage.blogspot.com/2012/01/you-dont-need-dice-pt2.html"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_149">posts</span></a>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_150">But</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_151">the</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_152">question</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_153">stuck</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_154">with</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_155">me</span> over <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_156">the</span> last <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_157">few</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_158">days</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_159">Why</span> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_160">fantasy</span></i>? I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_161">believe</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_162">the</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_163">answer</span> is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_164">fairly</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_165">intriguing</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_166">so</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_167">here</span> is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_168">the</span> best <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_169">way</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_170">can</span> summarise <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_171">it</span>.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_172">On</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_173">the</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_174">first</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_175">page</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_176">of</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_177">Queen</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_178">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_179">the</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_180">World</span></span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_181">there</span> is a line <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_182">which</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_183">simply</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_184">says</span> ‘<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_185">The</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_186">world</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_187">wants</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_188">heroes</span>.’ I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_189">think</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_190">this</span> is true <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_191">in</span> most <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_192">cases</span>. Almost <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_193">everyone</span> has a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_194">role</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_195">model</span>, or someone they look up to. We idolise people from all aspects of human culture.<br /><br />Let’s start with celebrities. As much as you may personally dislike the fact, people do make the likes of <a href="http://cdn2.gossipcenter.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/story_header/photos/paris-hilton-fhm-feb-2012.jpg">Paris Hilton</a>, <a href="http://s11.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/j/6/j65babfj9jnzbaj6.jpg">Russell Brand</a> and <a href="http://cdn.buzznet.com/media-cdn/jj1/headlines/2011/12/lindsay-lohan-playboy-cover-leaks.jpg">Lindsay Lohan</a> their inspirations, whether it’s for fashion, lifestyle or glamour. I don’t agree at all, but I understand. It’s a mindset. ‘They seem to live such an exciting life, and I want to do the same.’ Even through the flaws – homemade sex tapes, drug abuse, jail time – it doesn’t matter. I think we forgive celebrities for a lot of things. Look at <a href="http://www.judiciaryreport.com/images/chris-brown-11-13-10.jpg">Chris Brown</a>. Puts a woman in the hospital after <a href="http://www.tmz.com/2011/02/24/rihanna-photos-brutal-beating-chris-brown-attack-police-attack/#.T05GxPWD-rQ">repeatedly hitting her</a>, and then comes back to win at the Grammys. On Twitter, a sizeable number of female fans responded with comments such as ‘<a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/horrible-reactions-to-chris-brown-at-the-grammys">Chris Brown can beat me up any time</a>’. Really?<br /><br />Of course, there are a huge number of outlets for fame and talent which actually involve skill. <a href="http://www.buckinghampost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/lady-gaga.jpg">Lady Gaga</a> and <a href="http://images.sodahead.com/polls/001538779/3023951035_funny_breaking_news_justin_bieber_cuts_his_hair_xlarge.jpeg">Justin Beiber</a> for immediate pop culture. They have a fair share of detractors, but at least they create and give something to the word. For more ‘classic’ heroes in the music industry, you have characters such as <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml8yJ0rGrbs">Kurt Cobain</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MYIc6s5ACY&feature=related">Jimi Hendrix</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STKkWj2WpWM">Aretha Franklin</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1Ond-OwgU8">Elvis Presley</a>. People worshiped and aspired to follow in their footsteps. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But it’s all subjective. You may not like them because of the music they played or the lifestyle they lived. And that’s fine.<br /><br />So how about sport? <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QEmnP48PEc&feature=related">Pelé</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babe_Ruth">Babe Ruth</a>. <strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://beauproductions.com/golfswingsws/babezaharias/images2/TheBabe10.jpg">Babe </a><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://beauproductions.com/golfswingsws/babezaharias/images2/TheBabe10.jpg">Zaharias</a> </span>(<a href="http://www.google.no/search?q=babe+Zaharias+&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a">Google </a>that last one. She was pretty amazing). Sports require physical skill and excellence for the most part. Unless you’re playing darts or bowls or something. But they train hard, compete at the highest level and win the admiration of the fans of the sport. There’s something good, something kids can look up to, when they see <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79aEWuBETLw">Lionel Messi</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Woods">Tiger Woods</a>. Tiger is an interesting one. For years he was the man.<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>The perfect package. Dominated his sport, clean cut, handsome and wildly successful. That’s probably why when his <a href="http://www.boston.com/sports/golf/golf_blog/2010/02/tiger_talks_liv.html">infidelity came to light</a> he was so truly massacred by the press. Everyone felt betrayed. We’d trusted him to be better than the rest of us, and it turned out he had the same faults as regular people.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_mandela">Nelson Mandela</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_parks">Rosa Parks</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNDTmbALTdk&feature=related">Winston Churchill</a> were / are heroes, and rightly so. But they excelled in political and sociological circles. Mandela is certainly an inspiration. What he’s been through in his life takes a fairly strong man to withstand and remain an advocate for freedom and equality. Churchill stood up to Hitler and acted as a beacon for the British during World War II. Parks was a catalyst for the Civil Rights movement. All of them helped to change the world in their own way, and they shall correctly be remembered as heroes to many. But they're not the heroes I want. I'm after the larger than life, hands-on, save the day heroes.<br /><br />During the aforementioned war, there was a Finnish sniper named</span></strong><b> </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4">Simo Häyhä</a>. During one hundred days of conflict, in temperatures falling as low as -40</span><span class="st">°C</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> and with few daylight hours, he personally killed over 705 Soviets who were invading his homeland. He has the highest confirmed number of sniper kills of any war ever. When asked later if he regretted killing so many people, Simo replied “</span>I did what I was told to as well as I could.” The Soviets nicknamed him simply ‘White Death’.<br /><br />For me, that is a hero. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonidas">King Leonidas</a> (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Spartaaaaa!</i>) was a hero, along with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_arc">Joan of Arc</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_the_Lionheart">Richard the Lionheart</a>. I’m not saying heroes must be violent or good at killing people, but they were people who now seem mythical in their reputation. I mean, <a href="http://www.jesuspictures.co/children-jesus-233.jpg">Jesus</a> defintely counts. It doesn’t matter if you celebrate or disregard religion. If Jesus the man existed then he unquestionably made a huge difference to the future of humanity.<br /><br />Would you rather meet <a href="http://missioncreep.com/mw/images/libwrings.jpg">Liberace</a> or <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BuUvOkglPvs/TbHLXqPr4nI/AAAAAAAAGIM/Gs9yd-E-4DM/s640/William+Wallace%252C+Lord+protector+of+Scotland.jpg">William Wallace</a>? <a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pixies/2009/12/16/1260997142725/John-Lennon-001.jpg">John Lennon</a> or <a href="http://www.findingdulcinea.com/docroot/dulcinea/fd_images/news/Europe/2009/june/Macedonia-s-Alexander-the-Great-Statue-Stokes-Tensions/news/0/image.jpg">Alexander the Great</a>? Everyone I’ve mentioned is the pinnacle of excellence in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">someone’s</i> eyes. But my interest is with people who went out and changed the world with a battle-cry, a sword in hand and a flag flapping in the wind overhead. People who forged nations, destroyed empires and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">literally</i> changed the world in their lifetime.<br /><br />My world needs heroes. And so I write about them. Characters that are able to use their skills, talents and code to make a difference. I like the romantic idea of skill with a blade or a bow over one’s talent with a gun or a bomb. I like people who don’t have the media or the Internet or advertisement to shape their opinions. My heroes have honour, passion and the will to succeed. Fantasy is the strongest breeding ground for such people, and it’s why I write about it. Besides, I don’t think any of the characters in my book would be better off with an iPhone or a pair of Reeboks. -grins-<br /><br />Feel free to comment, share or otherwise print this out and staple it to someone. </p>-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-24333207983551588532012-02-15T11:00:00.000-08:002012-02-15T11:15:13.571-08:00Mumble.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> 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mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">My current manuscript for the sequel to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Queen of the World</i> is at 51,000 words. I’ve been writing pretty much every day. I’m proud of the amount of work I’ve done – the writing began about four weeks ago – but I still sometimes wonder if I could do more. Being honest I probably could, but even now my brain is fried and my imagination comes in <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1IDV1pEm-hUHO3KjyB8SJuptPotvyvj09tqqZ8oNQNtYk9VDFS7q8y1W1SOYyqHaBGUEcWoPS_5lY8DQX1lCleO7IeFI39VuK8HEso-WCvWg6giY7htVUWbyz2gBGqt0aqSoBTRULchc/s1600/no+imagination.JPG">dribs and drabs</a>. Writing is still fantastic, of course. There’s still that kick of falling into a scene and letting the words spill out. I guess as time goes on it’ll be easier and I’ll fall into a rhythm without as much effort. But that 51,000 seems like it should be another five figures on top. Which is nuts, really. I have some people on my Twitter page who are able to write ten thousand words <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">a day</i>. I managed that once. To finish the first draft of Queen of the World I wrote 12,000 words from 10am to 2am. When I’d finished I felt like I was drunk.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Stress is a factor for me, more than I perhaps realised early on. I’m trying to juggle various things in my life – I want to move back to Norway instead of sitting in my old bedroom in Essex, I want to get a job which allows me to live with my fiancée, I want to have a plan so that I can actually feel stable for once instead of living from a month-by-month basis – and it all impacts on my work. If I’m in a good mood I can hammer out four thousand words in an afternoon and then happily spend the rest of it watching films and playing games. Sometimes if I’m tired, or worrying about something, then it’s a crawl to even make a few hundred. It sounds a bit lame, like the struggling artist perception of needing to be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">in the zone</i>, and I’m aware of that. If I was working as a plumber or in a warehouse I couldn’t phone in sick on the basis that I had things on my mind. I’d get laughed into unemployment. But since writing is technically a self-employed job, sometimes you have to kick your own arse and say ‘C’mon. Just get to work and stop being a dick.’<br /><br />Thankfully, I find editing much easier. I received another section of revision from my editor, Sara, which I read in one sitting and applied the basics of into the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Queen of the World</i> draft. The comments and suggestions were just as helpful as before, and I’m starting to get a clear picture of my strengths and flaws as a fiction writer. One section involving a supporting character was absolutely <a href="http://static.someecards.com/someecards/usercards/b9e7634875b2d86d4843f18c68c8f74a.png"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">mauled</i></a>, but instead of upsetting me I actually got inspired and sat up in my chair thinking ‘Ok, so how can I fix this? Do I need to edit or rewrite? Is it even necessary?’<br /><br />To my delight, when I sent out the final(ish) draft to some friends and peers, all of the critiques were very positive in their praise and any suggestions for change were pretty minor. Character names, uses of words, descriptions and the like. It was a hell of a morale boost and I did get a lot of useful information about the story, but I’d never experienced what it was like to having something directly pointed out as not being as good as it could be. So for my editor to pull out a part and say ‘This really isn’t as strong as the preceding chapters’ was like a jolt to the system, and one I really enjoyed. Getting my arse kicked is going to help much more than it’ll harm. (Though please don’t <a href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSvTufN8RdGk9TdCm20mdjeEQFdounMBHSNTjMSBzwIX6cFDvGy4D7gstRu">savage the rest of the book</a>, Sara!)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">That’s about it for now, really. I’m paying a visit to <a href="http://www.meanwhileat.com/image/1433-meanwhile-in-norway-funny-image.png">Norway</a> on Friday which with a bit of luck will become permanent, so I’m passing the time with writing, drinking coffee and listening to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFVlJAi3Cso">Pearl Jam</a>. I’ll update again in a few days with an article-thing I’ve been toying with.<br /></p>-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-60325444357430744402012-01-29T07:06:00.000-08:002012-01-29T07:13:47.768-08:00Stick this in your pipe and -delete-<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> 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mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">While I’m unemployed, I’m writing full time.<br /><br />I’ve got it down to an actually shift, now. I sit down around three in the afternoon with a fresh coffee and my headphones, switch off the Internet and just write. My aim is at least three thousand words a day. Sometimes it’s easy, and the words hammer across the page like the <a href="http://images.pictureshunt.com/pics/l/looney_tunes_road_runner-5218.jpg">Road Runner</a>. Other days I crawl along with a line here and a paragraph there, staring at the screen thinking to myself ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">What the bloody hell is the point of this scene?’<br /><br /></i>When I wrote Queen of the World, I had a break between the first six chapters and the final fourteen. I was on a motorbike travelling south through Vietnam, staying in cheap hotels and getting drunk with strangers in hostels. It wasn’t exactly conducive to writing, so I left the manuscript alone for about two months. During that time I would think about it often. The doubt would sometimes kick in. Was it any good? Was it boring? Was the pace too slow? Were the characters interesting?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I didn’t let myself read what I had. I just kept churning ideas over my head, so when the time came to carry on with it I just blurted everything on the page in a mental purge. Three months later and the first draft was complete. I left it alone for about four weeks, until I watched the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ixEWrTLiZg">Game of Thrones</a> series and was inspired to go back and read it all and begin the editing process.<br /><br />It turned out I quite enjoyed what I had. The pace <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">was</i> steady, but I didn’t feel like it was boring. I enjoyed the exploration of the characters and how they found themselves in the situation they’d been handed. Queen of the World was never going to be an action-packed thriller. The film isn’t going to star <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6yPr1EZcUw">Jason Statham</a>. (Yeah, there’s going to be a film. Somewhere around the time I build my towered castle out of Red Bull tins and hire Morgan Freeman to read the newspaper to me in the mornings. IT COULD HAPPEN.)<br /><br />Now with the sequel I’m working on, I’m having those same doubts. I feel like I just have scenes at the moment, and that they’re not very good. I also feel like I’m flailing around too much in the early scenes and that there isn’t a unified <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">story</i> happening yet. That’s to be expected, since the first draft isn’t meant to be spot on. It’s meant to give the structure you need to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">make</i> it good. Some may argue this, of course, and more power to you. If you can pull a finished story out on the first draft then I give my complete admiration.<br /><br />I think the issue here is that I’m a pantser, and I write things as they pop out of the ether.<br /><br />Quick definition for people who aren’t aware of the term: A pantser is someone who has an idea for a story and then writes it down, mainly from memory. They write by the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">seat of their pants</i>, hence the term. A plotter is someone who outlines a story in advance; they work out the scenes they need to write and then follows the plan. The latter tends to result in a stronger first draft but can impede the spontaneous development of a story, since the writer already wants to get from point A to B. The former, which is my camp, has a much broader canvas to work with but can sometimes get stuck, left with nowhere to go.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Since I’m working from nothing each time I write, I sometimes end up with an empty thousand words where not much happens. They might begin travelling to a place they need to be, or they might reveal a little about themselves, but it’s just scratchwords. (I call anything which is fun to read but adds no weight to the story a bunch of scratchwords- i.e stuff which can be deleted if I need to trim the word count.) I have scenes in my head, of course. I have quite a few fun things I’m going to include in the current manuscript. I think I have a good book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">in my head.</i> But if I can’t make it a good book on paper then I might as well just go to people’s houses and tell them what would have happened. At least that way I might get the occasional cup of tea out of it.<br /><br />Another issue is that this is my first real sequel. With Queen of the World I had the time to let things develop naturally – introduce the characters, the setting, a little here and there about the world’s history. Things unfolded with no real urgency. With this manuscript, though, I’m working with the assumption that the readers at least have <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">some</i> idea what’s going on. They enjoyed the first book and now want more. (Unless the first book sucks, but we’ll talk about that another time.) But I also need the sequel to be a standalone story, which people can read without being confused by what they missed in the first book. I’m struggling with how much back-story to use and how much to leave to the occasional reference. I don’t think I’ve done too badly – there isn’t a prologue, at least, and characters don’t say things like ‘As you know, this is all because blah blah blah...’ – but it’s still new ground to me.<br /><br />Ugh. Anyway, the edits on Queen of the World have been slightly delayed due to unavoidable publisher workload, but everything is still on schedule. That, added with my employment status, is why I’m writing so much at the moment. And also why I’m basically emptying my brain into this blog. I don’t think this is a great blog post, but I feel a bit better. So thanks. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>–grins- <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And please feel free to comment if you have any ideas of experience with this kind of bewilderment.</p>-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-60104302590016720902012-01-18T07:39:00.000-08:002012-01-18T09:06:01.275-08:00You Don't Need Dice: Pt.2(<a href="http://makingittothepage.blogspot.com/2012/01/you-dont-need-dice-pt1.html?spref=fb">Read 'Part One' here.</a>)<br /><br />Eventually I plucked up the courage to join in. I used the best typewriting I had, which mainly consisted of the correct capitalisation and an occasional comma. I made KurtCocaine walk over to one of the tougher looking characters and stare him right in the eye. And it had to be STARE HIM RIGHT IN THE EYE because, like my name, it made me sound cool and rebellious.<br /><br />This other person, typing somewhere else in the world, wrote a brilliant descriptive paragraph about meeting Kurt’s gaze, giving a wry smirk and then punching him square in the face.<br /><br />I wish I’d saved that paragraph somewhere because the effect it had on me was profound. To my credit, I typed back a hastily worded response about being punched in the face and falling over. I had enough sense to not try and make out I was all-powerful and untouchable. But I sat there dwelling over that response. This person, who’d never met me before and had no reason to acknowledge my ignorant intrusion on his game, had taken the time to respond to me. And it wasn’t just a ‘go away’ response. It was six or seven lines of <span style="font-style: italic;">good </span>writing, crafted just for me to react to. I eventually sent the person a private message, asking a bunch of questions about the chat room I’d found myself in and thanking them for punching me in the face. The person responded by introducing himself as Frank, laughing about my excitement at being chinned and spent about thirty minutes explaining the general rules of the room. He also directed me to a forum which had been set up to support the game, introducing me to dozens more players.<br /><br />The best part about the game was that there were very few rules at all. You couldn’t affect people without their permission, you couldn’t take the piss and create a character who was essentially God, and you couldn’t rip people off and imitate them. There was a combat system in place which did have quite a few stringent rules for the turn-based nature of it, but that was all. Anything else went. If you wanted a fire-breathing Jedi who rode a vampiric badger around, you could have one. If you wanted an undead mail-room clerk who occasionally ate a baby, you could have one. My imagination was limited so I initially made a barbarian-type character with a big sword and an even bigger beard. I remember typing the words rippling muscles a lot. I ran up that £300 pound phone bill I mentioned, but nobody ever questioned what I was doing with it.<br /><br />I played and wrote in this game for about seven years.<br /><br />Now think about that for a minute. Seven <span style="font-style: italic;">years</span>. I reckon I accessed the rooms for around twenty hours a week from the ages of fourteen to sixteen, at which point I was allowed to bring the computer into my own room. Then my weekly access increased to about <span style="font-style: italic;">fifty </span>hours. And also consider that everything was based in text. Character description. Narration. Dialogue. World building. Structure. The rules, the backgrounds and the accompanying prose. Every single thing about the game was written down and created through a keyboard. The players behind the characters became friends. Close friends. Two of them met up in real life, got married and had kids. I still know a few of the people from those days now, and have met several of them in real life. That was just in England; in America, where the majority of the players lived, people would travel hundreds of miles to meet up for lunch or hang out at each other’s places. I imagine quite a lot of us ‘roleplayed’ with each other for real... We were all teenagers, after all. I had two social lives, and I considered them equally important for a time. Those I went to school, worked and partied with – and those I knew solely through their writing.<br /><br />It’s important to make a distinction there – this wasn’t a place to ‘escape reality’ or anything like that. I wrote about characters I enjoyed writing about in stories which interested me, but when I spoke to the other players I was still me. I was still Ben (Referred to as English Ben, since there were quite a few Bens involved). I purposely made sure I was truthful about what I was like in real life, so I didn’t make up a fake persona or present myself differently. I simply had to rely on my writing, which improved dramatically over those years.<br /><br />So when it comes to ‘Read a lot and write a lot’, I used to believe I hadn’t written or read enough to qualify as an author. It held me back in attempting to write Queen of the World. I’d always written, but mainly in short stories or poems and the like. I’d always read, but within the genres I liked. I read fantasy by Gemmel, Eddings and Pratchett. I enjoyed horror by King, Herbert and Barker. I read a bit more here and there, but never ‘broadened my horizons’. I never read Chaucer, Austin or Hemmingway.<br /><br />But then I realised that I <span style="font-style: italic;">had </span>written and read <span style="font-style: italic;">HUGE </span>amounts of text during those seven years. Maybe none of them were published or critically famous, but they were my age and they were of my level of competence at least. Many were better, especially in the beginning until I found my own style. Between twenty and fifty hours a week of writing for seven years to create worlds and stories with people from all across the world? I couldn’t begin to imagine how many hundreds of thousands of words I put down. We created together, became better writers together and learned from each other’s strengths and faults. We saw what was good and slipped it into our own input. We saw what looked pretty terrible or what jarred us out of our little bubbles of immersion, and we cut it from our posts.<br /><br />In a nutshell: <span style="font-style: italic;">I learnt to write through applying my imagination to the ideas of others</span>. That sounds like some kind of tagline I want to try and put into quotes, but it is a good for any self-help enthusiasts who need something inspiring. I don’t reckon anyone will look to me to teach them how to write, and my work probably won’t win any awards for technical application of the English language. But I did learn to tell a story. The only difference is that with Queen of the World I told it by myself instead of with others to guide me, but without those brilliant writers who welcomed me into that online world of text – now sadly defunct, since Yahoo decided that everyone who uses internet chatrooms is either a child or a sexual predator and closed all user created content – then I don’t think it would have ever been written.<br /><br />So to anyone who ever heard of <span style="font-style: italic;">Tenaria</span>: Thanks.<br /><br />And remember that reading and writing comes from a large number of different places. Don’t limit yourself, and don’t be afraid to try something new.-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-75851504029147116192012-01-17T15:21:00.000-08:002012-01-18T07:42:31.818-08:00You Don't Need Dice: Pt.1<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> 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mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--><span style="line-height:115%; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";font-size:11.0pt;" >Sometimes we take advice too literally.<br /><br />(I was going to put a ‘literally/literary’ pun in there. -sniggers-).<br /><br />One of the most regularly repeated tips when it comes to writing is ‘Read a lot and write a lot.’<br /><br />This is, of course, excellent advice to any writer regardless of experience, background and raw talent. If you don’t read plenty of authors who use a range of different styles then you won’t be exposed to what’s possible. If you don’t read something that takes your breath away then it’s difficult to know when your work could do the same to others; you’ll have nothing to aspire to. Likewise, if you don’t read something that just plain <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">sucks</i>, then how will you understand what to avoid in your own prose?<br /><br />Same goes for writing. You need the tools to write. You need to practice, just like you need to practice drawing, playing an instrument or kicking a football. You need to write to find out your vocabulary level, your ability to use tenses and the best way to apply grammar. (For the record, I really suck at grammar <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">terms</i>. I know the rules and the application for the most part, but I couldn’t tell you exactly what a Predicative Adjective or a Reciprocal Pronoun is precisely. Let’s just say I won’t be teaching creative writing at Oxford anytime soon.) You need to know if you can get the idea in your head down onto the page without losing any of the spark which got you excited in the first place. You must learn how much dialogue, description and introspection makes the best mix for you. All this comes from writing as much as you can.<br /><br />But the endless supply of writing advice which is available on the internet and in magazines rarely specifies <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">where</i> you should practice these main two rules. Is it exclusively books? Fiction? How about websites? Do newspapers count? Blogs? Text messages?<br /><br />How about games?<br /><br />How about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">roleplaying</i> games?<br /><br />Ooh, got ya. See, here’s the bit where at least one person reading will say ‘Oh, Christ. This is where Ben confesses that his book is based on a <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dnd/">Dungeons and Dragons</a> campaign and it’s going to be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">terrible.</i>’<br /><br />But it isn’t. Queen of the World is an original idea in a world I created. Some of the character ideas I’ve used through the years have been put through a grinder and find themselves sprinkled amongst the manuscript, though. Bear with me while I tell you a little story.<br /><br />Years ago, maybe around 1997-ish, my family got its first home computer. It was a gift for me, under the pretence of ‘a good idea for doing schoolwork’ which is probably what every young teenager tells their parents before getting one. However, I wasn’t allowed to have it in my room, so it went into the landing and became the family computer. I shared it with two elder brothers. Mainly we played games on it. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commandos:_Behind_Enemy_Lines">Commandos</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Championship_Manager:_Season_97/98">Championship Manager</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life_%28video_game%29">Half-Life</a> are the games which stick in my mind. But the main novelty was having access to the internet. This was before the days of having broadband attached to your phone line – remember kids, you’re lucky these days – and we had to use a 56k dial up which made a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsNaR6FRuO0">buzzing sound as it typed in the phone number</a> to connect every time you turned it on. It was also before pre-pay packages, so internet time was limited. There was no Facebook or Twitter. No Reddit or Imgur. Livejournal hadn’t exploded yet, and neither had MySpace. Mainly there was Hotmail, ICQ and chat rooms. One of the biggest ones was Yahoo Chat.<br /><br />Now Yahoo Chat, like many other chat rooms in those early days of the mainstream internet explosion, gave users the ability to create their own rooms. These could be public or private, and weren’t policed very heavily. Some of the names were pretty grim. In the Teen section – and I was a fourteen year old boy so I qualified – there were a lot of rooms dedicated to sex. Now despite what a lot of my friends reading this will immediately presume, I never went into these sex rooms. Mainly because I was terrified it was somehow traceable, and my parents would get an email from the phone company about how I’d racked up a £300 pound phone bill in HOT TEEN SEX CHAT 16-19s, a room created by b1gd1ckst3ve.<br /><br />I also wasn’t interested in rooms about <a href="http://www.axisofevilproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/manga21.jpg">Anime / Manga</a>, Premier League Football or Take That. I couldn’t care less about rooms dedicated to people from California, Melbourne or Glasgow (Although when I did visit the Glasgow room one time to see if they typed in their accent, I was confronted with an incredible number of uses of the word ‘Fuck’). But what I was interested in was a few rooms dedicated to roleplaying. I clicked in and had a look, using the entirely roleplay appropriate name of ‘TheRealKurtCocaine’. Yeah, I was a Nirvana fan and I thought the surname pun made me sound cool and rebellious. Nevermind.<br /><br />What I found was a room of about twenty people roleplaying. When I say that, I mean using an entirely text-based platform to create their game. Roleplaying existed on forums but it was too slow, having to wait for people to come on and post huge reams of description and exposition just to say ‘My character waves and leaves the room’ because they weren’t going to be able to get back online for a week. But in this chat room it was reactive. A group of people were creating a story on the fly depending on the actions of others. There was a loose ‘Type something then wait for others to have their turn’ but it wasn’t rigid. Some wrote several times while others hung back, waiting to contribute when the time was right.<br /><br />I sat there and watched for about an hour, captivated. I sipped my can of Sprite and didn’t dare ruin it. I’d never taken part in anything like this before so I was worried there would be a huge set of rules I’d have to follow, and trying to join in would get me hounded out of there and banned for life. My brothers had dabbled with roleplaying – we had a couple of D&D books and a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_of_Cthulhu_%28role-playing_game%29">Call of Cthulhu</a> game manual in our house, as well as some Warhammer miniature and a big foamy sword for <a href="http://www.larp.com/">LARP</a>ing <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>as evidence – but I’d never taken part personally. Besides, the internet had only been filtering into people’s homes for the last year or two, discounting corporate, enthusiast or government use. This was new. This was for me.<br style="mso-special-character:line-break"><br />(<a href="http://makingittothepage.blogspot.com/2012/01/you-dont-need-dice-pt2.html">Read 'Part Two' here.</a>)<br style="mso-special-character:line-break"> </span>-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-38642720790217619162012-01-03T04:36:00.000-08:002012-01-03T04:59:24.721-08:00Happy New Swear.This post is going to contain a fair amount of profanity. If that isn't your thing, or you're offended by such words, then you might want to skip this one.<br /><br />I recently started reading the book <a href="http://thefuckitway.com/">Fuck It by John C. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Parkin</span></a>. It's quite good. The humour is a bit hit and miss and the language deviates from the point occasionally, but the message buried within the Fuck-laden prose is positive and serves to reinforce the message; Things aren't quite as important as we make them out to be.<br /><br />I've not had a great month. I won't go into too many details here because this is supposed to be a blog focusing on writing, but let's just say things haven't really gone my way in December. I've spent a lot of time dwelling on things which seem huge and impossible to get through. I read a quote once which said 'The broader the imagination, the greater the fear'. I'm not saying I'm somehow blessed with a fantastic imagination, but I think people who explore their creative sides do tend to think about things a little more honestly. For better or worse.<br /><br />So this book essentially says Fuck It. Fuck the problems, fuck the worry and fuck <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">whatever</span> might happen. I can relate to that. I tend to say Fuck It to quite a lot of things in my life. Always have. Worrying about things you can't change doesn't help. If a problem is out of your hands - or even a potential boon - then you might as well just wait for things to unfold by themselves. Saying Fuck It out loud does give a nice little boost.<br /><br />I thought I'd borrow a very small part of the concept and apply it to writing, since it isn't directly addressed in the book (as far as I know). Writers can be incredibly good at <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">procrastination</span>. We look at the work we need to do and say 'Fuck it, I'll just make a coffee first.' Then we check our emails while we're drinking it. Then we quickly <a href="http://dangerousintersection.org/2011/08/08/its-time-to-read-this-article-on-procrastinatio/">look at an article</a> we've been linked. Then check our local writing forum. Soon we're browsing YouTube or talking to a friend on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Facebook</span>. Hours pass. We look at that writing and think 'Fuck it, I'll do the work tomorrow.' Check any writing site for forum posts or articles - it won't be hard to find one asking for advice on how to just get on with the work instead of avoiding it.<br /><br />So try saying Fuck It. Fuck It, I'll just start. Fuck It, I don't need a coffee. Fuck It, I can look at <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHEUI2cv0XI&feature=fvwrel">videos of kittens</a> later. I've done this a few times even before I started reading this book and it does help. I feel that mindset of avoidance sneaking up on me and then I have to force myself to just sit down, open the laptop, load Word and just get typing. As I'm sure many of you will agree, writing is much easier once you've started. Besides, what's the worst that could happen? Even if you manage to write one <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">sentence</span>, it's still one <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">sentence</span> more than you had when you started.<br /><br />I'm not usually one for self help books or life counselling or all that jazz - I'm a guy from Essex after all, where we often deal with our problems with alcohol and loud music. But the concept <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Parkin</span> utilises is pretty straightforward. Things aren't really as bad as we think they are as long as we're willing to accept that.<br /><br />Fuck It.<br /><br />Happy New Year everyone. I hope you all have a very positive year, full of success and enjoyment and stress-free living. I also hope you're all as excited about this summer's release of Queen of the World as I am. -<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">sniggers</span>--Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-48748777830732265942011-12-15T13:04:00.000-08:002011-12-15T13:16:04.764-08:00Fix your face.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> 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mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">Last week I received my first 50 pages of edits from <a href="http://www.inspired-quill.com/">Inspired Quill</a>. It was a really enjoyable experience. Reading through my work after it had been through the editing process was quite weird but super-funky at the same time. They sent it with a mixture of blue and red text. Blue text is mainly comments and suggestions, while red text is ‘Change this’. Almost all of the red text covers typos, odd grammar mistakes and incredible tense errors. A few of them had me wincing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>‘How the hell did I miss <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">that</i>!?’<br /><br />There were a few editorial observations which have really helped already. It was pointed out I use a lot of ‘He/She’ at the start of sentences. While it made me giggle a little shamefully – mainly because there’s another 190 pages of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">that</i> particular fault to come for Sara as she goes through the manuscript – it also made the problem quite clear. As a result my future writing will keep an eye out for overuse of such simple language terms. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Also I tend to repeat words quite a lot. Some of it is stylistic, but occasionally I get carried away. Obviously this is a second draft thing, but I’ll certainly be looking with a more critical eye over my future drafts for five uses of the word ‘Bounced’ in a single paragraph.<br /><br />There was also some positive stuff throw in, along with chapter summaries. Sara has been very kind with her feedback so far. One of her comments about the protagonist, Sarene, really had me smiling. It’s quite a kick to be told by your publisher that a character is a favourite. In addition the small dashes of humour I throw into my work seem to be well received. I can’t wait for the rest of the edited manuscript to come back to me. Here’s hoping that she still enjoys it when the <a href="http://img1.etsystatic.com/il_fullxfull.214302637.jpg">vampires and werewolves turn up in alien spacecraft</a> halfway through the book.<br /><br />-grins-<br /><br />A recent conversation with <span class="screen-name"><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/madeleinecook">@madeleinecook</a> on Twitter gave me a bit of inspiration for this blog. Y’see, a lot of times when we communicate with others through text it’s hard to pick up <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">how</i> something is written. Sarcasm is a tricky one. While you hear a wry tone of voice when you type it, the person who reads it may hear deadpan, straight-forward delivery. Smileys help – a pokey-out tongue here and a wink there cuts a lot of the bite out of potentially hard words – but what if you don’t tack one on? (I smiley the hell out of my Facebook and Twitter posts, and it sometimes annoys me. Surely it just detracts from the words themselves?) </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="screen-name">I guess the better you know a person the easier it is to work out their intentions. An odd example is when I send applications and cover letters to jobs. Yep, I’m job-hunting at the moment. Anyway, when I write those emails out to prospective employers, the words on the screen sound a little soulless and forced. You can’t inflect them with wit or charisma. You can’t build a rapport anywhere near as well as you can with a phone conversation or face-to-face meeting. You certainly can’t add a fucking smiley. While it’s now easier to communicate with others than it has ever been, the communication has changed. Words are plentiful but charm is lacking in its place. In my opinion anyway. But then, I’m one of those stuck-up arseholes who thinks textspeak will be the <a href="http://www.thecornellian.com/archives/article.php?viewID=746">death of the English language</a>, so you can’t really trust what I say too much.<br /><br />In other news: I’m still in Essex for the time being. It’s been a bit quiet over here. Had one incredibly messy session with a few old friends in Romford last week, which was ace. Next week a lot of my buddies here in Grays will be taking various breaks from work so will be looking to be out and about a bit. I’ve picked up my workrate during my break from Norway, so the other two WIP I have at the moment are ticking along nicely. However that may all change when the new <a href="http://www.swtor.com/">Star Wars MMO</a> is released next week. I’m going to have to be pretty strict about doing my daily work before logging on. I might even get my brother to set up a parental control on my internet, arf.<br /><br />Please feel free to add comments or thoughts below, and remember to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/benhennessyauthor">follow my Facebook page</a> (ick) and my <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/HennessyWrites">Twitter account</a>. Cheers.<br /><br /> <br /> </span></p>-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-88197754649695892192011-12-04T20:42:00.000-08:002011-12-04T20:53:18.320-08:00I'm flying..?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> 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mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:NO-BOK" lang="NO-BOK">I’m sitting in <a href="http://www.en.ryg.no/">Oslo Rygge</a> airport. </span>It’s 5.27am. I’m on my way back home for a currently undetermined length of time. It could be for a week. It could be for a month. It’s basically out of my hands at the moment. I’m cool with that, though. I’m not really in a rush to be anywhere.<br /><br />I like airports. I like the routine – travel, waiting, security, waiting, boarding, waiting – and I like what an airport does to you. There’s a struggle with duty free and what you may potentially need at your next stop. There’s the common debate about whether you’re hungry enough to pay the exorbitant airport prices for a burger. There’s a lot of people watching. And then there’s what an airport <span style="font-style: italic;">represents</span>. Often it just represents going to visit family or staying with friends. But potentially you could go to an airport and then just leave. Go somewhere else in the world you haven’t seen before. Not everyone will do that, but it’s a possibility. Nothing’s stopping you.<br /><br />In the end I didn’t buy duty free, I didn’t pay for a burger (I brought my own <a href="http://itdoesntgetanybetterthanthis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/cheeseandpickle.jpg">cheese and pickle sandwich</a>; fuck you, commerce!), and I’ve watched people. I like people watching. It gives me ideas for characters. Not whole characters, obviously. Writing a character based on someone you saw in a waiting lounge would be pretty lazy and I’m not sure you’d have a great character on your hands. But the little things people do in airports are details which can be added to a character. A person who moves their lips while they read. A person who nods their head and air-drums to their earphones. Someone will fall asleep on the shoulder of someone else, all the while dribbling happily onto their shirt. Some will travel alone and ignore everyone around them, while others will travel in groups and critique everyone who passes by. Security workers will drift between enthusiastic, apathetic and stoic. It’s the same with the people who greet you at the gate. Sometimes they like the job and sometimes they don’t.<br /><br />I’ve been at this airport for about six and a half hours now. I’m only about halfway through my journey. I’ll land in <a href="http://www.stanstedairport.com/">Stansted</a> around 10, then spend two hours dicking around on buses. I don’t mind too much, though. I do wish I had some headphones, but a book will suffice.<br /><br />Anyway, book related... <span style="font-style: italic;">Queen of the World</span> is currently being edited by Sara of <a href="http://www.inspired-quill.com/">Inspired Quill </a>for the first time. I’m looking forward to my initial update in that regards. I think it’ll be cool to work out how the book is handled by the publisher once it’s out of my hands. Happily I’ll get the final say on things but I have no reason to believe I’ll have to put my foot down at any point. <span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" class=" down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link"><img src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Link" class="gl_link" border="0" /></span></span>Obviously that may change if they slip a vampire in somewhere. -grins- I have a few friends working on art pieces for the main characters, which will be excellent to have. The cover art is in a queue, so I’m guessing that will have to wait before I can discuss it in more detail. I’m thinking trees will be involved, though. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgSB6Cqvwn95mvmGiXnRITh4Ze0VpU4KNw3f2-zZ77f-vl3CsNoN5Kuy0Dy6VFNuE2LhAdLI_qke1yj2XYnI5ACsaQbcxSe4ZKcL6hwhTZOIF-BCuuLjDytp0YmlVLn5TdjQK81al3r9B0/s1600/funny-pictures-tree-hugger-pandag.jpg">Everyone digs trees.</a><br /><br />Updates have been a bit slow because there hasn’t been much book related going on recently. I’m considering just filling this with some random tripe in the meantime, but I wouldn’t want to detract from the point of this blog, which is cataloguing the process from book writing to book printing. We’ll see how it goes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">-read above update-</p> <p class="MsoNormal">...Bugger.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /><br /><br /></p>-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-34651423656291521342011-11-24T03:39:00.000-08:002011-11-24T03:43:42.211-08:00Morocco. 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mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">On the Morrocco trip, we happened by the large film studio in <span class="st">Ouarzazate. It had some sets still open in a vast dusty plain, where sets for previously made epics still stand. Parts of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra_%281963_film%29">Elizabeth Taylor film Cleopatra</a> were filmed here. Parts of those sets were re-used to film the more recent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterix_and_Obelix:_Mission_Cleopatra">Asterix and Obelix</a>. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But the set which most interested me was the huge replica castle built for the film <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Heaven_%28film%29">Kingdom of Heaven</a>. It’s still in one piece due to another film being planned for production there next year. Our tour guide didn’t know the name of it yet, but he would be working there as a driver.<br /><br />The castle was mainly wood and plaster painted to resemble stone masonry. The scale was huge, hundreds of metres square. We paid a small fee to get inside and take a look around, climbing up to the battlements and wandering through the courtyards and corridors. We did have some pictures but the person who owned the camera dropped it down a sand dune and it was ruined. But I wrote a journal piece as an inspiration to myself, as a reminder of what it felt like to be on both sides of those huge walls and how it must feel for a soldier in those times. Here’s what I wrote; as with the last post, this will be unedited and copied ‘as is’.<br /><br />First, from the viewpoint of an attacking soldier laying siege to the defending fortifications:<br /><br /><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Staring up at the castle walls, you feel ineffective. They are too big, the tops too high and the stone too thick. Maybe in an assaulting army with battle cries around you, urging those ahead who already climb ladders, trying to gain a foothold on the walkway, men who know death is a strong possibility as arrows rain down from towers and killing windows. The gates are heavy, barred and portcullised. But then you see your siege weapons, trebuchets and assault towers and catapults, and you rain down hell on the walls and gates and ramparts. You sit back out of range and suffer the heat and try to find some shade, wondering when the next attack will be. Too soon, you are called upon to protect the battering ram, which swings heavy and solid under a slanted hide roof. Bodies litter the ground and you wave a temporary truce to collect them. You eat and try to sleep and then take to the walls again.<br /><br /></i>Bit all over the place, but I was writing it down in a bouncy jeep hurtling across a desert. Now, from the defender’s viewpoint:<br /><br /><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">You stand on the walls and look down. The armies besieging the city stand ready to attack. From this distance they are small in stature but thousands in number. Behind them the mountains stand, oblivious and uncaring to the fate of the soldiers. Standing at the edge of the battlements demands that crossbows are used while longbows step back, peppering any in range approaching. Stairs leading from wall to tower to courtyard are less than sturdy. Inner stairwells are claustrophobic, leaving little room to manoeuvre before the killing windows, with others climbing over you to make their way past. The courtyard is walled away from the city, the main gate providing a last bastion of open ground before the invaders would reach the streets. Open ovens sit beneath tall chimneys, for both bricks and food. The place smells stale; a mix of dust, manure and stone. Buildings are tiered, differing levels, allowing interesting movement along rooftops, Wells provide water enclosed in an underground stream. Knockers on the inside of the gates would rock as something pounds on the outside. Noise would be muffled or amplified by the natural acoustics.<br /><br /></i>So that’s that. I guess it’s easier for me to see the pictures because I was actually there (surprise!), but it would be nice to know what anyone reading this thought as well. Can you get an idea of how it must have been? Where there any other details you would have thought I’d include? Feel free to comment!<br /><br />In other news – NaNoWriMo is still kicking my arse but I’m making a late cavalry charge on it, so it’ll go down to the last couple of days. I’m going home to England for a month to work on a few things. And the editor-in-chief of Queen of the World has been switched to someone who loves fantasy, so surely good things await. </span></p>-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-33572054467489347832011-11-15T14:25:00.000-08:002011-11-15T14:28:23.187-08:00National Novel Staring Month.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> 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mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">National Novel Writing Month, or <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/">NaNoWriMo</a> for short, is a love / hate relationship. Sometimes it inspires me to work harder than I usually would. Other times it hangs over me like a blanket of evil, whispering into my ear that I’m <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">not going to make it</i>.<br /><br />Every year, thousands of people sign up for NaNoWriMo in an attempt to write a novel of fifty thousand words during November. This is my first year of taking part. I’ve been reading up on the forums of the website, trying to make a sense of it all. For some people it’s a breeze; fifty thousand words is obtained in a few weeks, and they assure everyone else that it is possible. All cheerleading and sabre rattling. Others find it a complete slog, shifting shit through a quicksand of ideas.<br /><br />I’m currently in the second camp. I’m behind on my target and I’m finding it hard to catch up.<br /><br />I think NaNoWriMo in itself is a great idea. The chance to bring people together through a mutual love of writing and to give them a goal is something I’m totally in favour of. I’m generally in favour of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">anything</i> which brings people together through writing. So for that I commend it, and would advise anyone with more than a passing interest in the craft to take part next year (if you haven’t already had a pop).<br /><br />On the other hand, my goodness is it a burden. Falling behind a couple of days is fine. You think to yourself ‘Sure, I’ll pick it up again next time. Easy.’ Nope. I’m so far behind I feel like I’m in a great big tunnel of fail. The light at the end is becoming dimmer by the day, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to find the end in time.<br /><br />That’s a touch dramatic, but I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">hate</i> missing deadlines. True, I’ve had enough distractions in the past couple of weeks to give a vaguely admissible excuse, but that doesn’t mean I’m losing. I want to win, God-damnit, and get my forum picture to prove it for next year.<br /><br />I basically took part so that I could take some time off from Queen of the World. I’d been writing about that universe and the characters within it for nearly a year, and I needed the time to focus on something else. I’m going to finish the NaNoWriMo project before I move on regardless of if I finish it in November, so it’s simply a matter of how long it takes me.<br /><br />Right now it feels like aaaaages.<br /><br />In other news; well, nothing much happened this week. I’ve been writing, procrastinating, eating and sleeping. I actually have a bed in my room now. That might not sound like big news, but it’s been about four months since I was sleeping in a double bed with the missus. Norwegian sleeping arrangements are weird.<br /><br />Oh, the second part of the Morocco trip is coming. It’s a bit of a writing-inspiration thing. You’ll see.<br /><br />If any of you are taking part in NaNoWriMo this year then please add your comments on how it's going. Also, go and like my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/benhennessyauthor">fan page</a> if you haven't already. Ta!<br /></p>-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-71117917881986324932011-11-06T11:59:00.000-08:002011-11-06T12:08:21.540-08:00His presents filled the room.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> 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mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">This week Sara-Jayne of <a href="http://www.inspired-quill.com/">Inspired Quill</a> and I went over ‘groundwork’. It’s basically a measure of my online presence, to help with marketing and networking. It involves keeping me active on various social media, as well as providing a platform for me to talk about my <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT12MTZmJT0"><s>ninja squirrel encampment</s> </a>work.<br /><br />It’s pretty straightforward. I need to blog at least once a week – technically this post counts! – as well as post on <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/HennessyWrites">my <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span></a><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/HennessyWrites">Twitter</a> once a day and use various writing forums and websites to keep up a communication with people. I also need to keep my new Facebook fan page updated.<br /><br />Yep. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/benhennessyauthor">Fan page</a>.<br /><br />They’ve changed the term for it (you now ‘like’ a page instead of becoming a fan of it) but it’s the same concept and people are generally intelligent enough to realise that. I understand it’s a publicity and advertising thing, but it really does make me cringe a bit. I’m generally not someone who enjoys making a big deal of myself. I’m not trying to say I’m humble... Well, I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">am</i>, but that isn’t the point. I mean that I’ve always tried to keep away from the ‘look at me!’ aspect of whatever I do. When I was travelling I’d post pictures and make status updates and send emails and that would be enough. I wouldn’t need to actively draw attention to the fact. People either took notice of they didn’t. Same as when I worked at <a href="http://eu.blizzard.com/en-gb/">Blizzard</a> – people either found it cool or they couldn’t care less. It wasn’t up to me to try and make them think I was cool.<br /><br />Now I understand that the point of a fan page isn’t to show off. I’m not putting it up for my old school friends on the basis that they’ll think I’m all successful and whatever. I’m not bragging to my peers. It’s purely another aspect of online presence to help me provide information on myself so I can hopefully sell a few books and make a few contacts. But there’s still that (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6I_8HXcO54">Alan Rickman</a>) voice in my head saying ‘All your friends are going to think you’re a conceited arsehole.’ Which is dumb. But it still happens.<br /><br />We also covered the first steps of cover art. I’ve had an idea in my head for Queen of the World for a while now, so we’ll have to see how it matches up with what the publisher thinks. I’m open for compromise of course, but I’m glad Inspired Quill have given me some say in what will go on the cover. Apparently a lot of publishers just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">give</i> you a cover and that’s that. If all else fails I’ll just demand a picture of <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a7/Batman_Lee.png/250px-Batman_Lee.png">Batman</a> on the cover. People always buy things with Batman on the cover.<br /><br />In other news Halloween was quite fun, if messy. I’m making plans to be home in Essex for Christmas. And I found a credit card at the feet of some young lady at a bar. I thought it was hers, so I tapped her on the shoulder and offered her the card. She smiled and put it into the card machine, thinking I was offering to pay for her drinks. It was only when I tried to explain to her that I thought she’d dropped it that she pulled it out, turned it over and handed it to me. On the back was a picture of the owner, a hairy fella named Andreas. I think she was quite insulted but I couldn’t understand what she was saying, so I ran away. Hah. </p>-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-71577763464910874062011-10-27T05:09:00.001-07:002011-10-27T08:03:52.300-07:00Signed, sealed and delivered.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> 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mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">This is the first blog post since something fantastic happened. The second part of the Morocco trip will come up in a few days.<br /><br />Yesterday the signed contract appeared thanks to the postman. I’m now signed up with <a href="http://www.inspired-quill.com/">Inspired Quill</a>, an excellent new publishing house in the UK. Established this year, they are providing a platform for new authors to establish themselves in the industry as well as training and information on other related areas, such as marketing and online commerce. I’ve been really impressed with them so far. They’re in regular contact via email and <a href="http://www.skype.com/intl/no/home">Skype</a>, and I feel like I’m being handled with a great deal of attention. It’s all I could ask for from a publisher. As a side note; according to their <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/inspiredquill">Twitter account</a>, they’re currently open for submissions and are looking for bloggers, so if you’re reading this and have a manuscript handy or feel like helping them with their online outlets, then give the website a look.<br /><br />It all came about from a chance meeting on the website <a href="http://litopia.com/">Litopia</a>. Litopia has a weekly live radio show called <a href="http://www.litopia.com/radio/author/litopiaafterdark/">Litopia After Dark</a>, along with an accompanying chatroom. It was that chatroom where I got talking to Sara-Jayne, the owner of Inspired Quill. After an enjoyable conversation she encouraged me to send in a submission. After reading through their mission statement and some of the interviews done about the company, I was really hoping they’d like my work. Fast forward a couple of months and here we are, ready to progress on to next year and a planned summer release. I’m really excited about how it’s all going to unfold. Writing as a career is something I’ve always dreamed of, but it felt like something done by other people.<br /><br />When the idea for Queen of the World came up it was around 2007. Before I ever considered trying to write the novel – huge and daunting as it was, with a potential word length which made me cringe – I took up a position in Cork, Ireland with <a href="http://eu.blizzard.com/en-gb/?-">Blizzard Entertainment</a>, where I worked for the next two years. Writing was still a part of my life but only as shorter work and bits and pieces for my ‘portfolio’. Queen of the World rattled around in my head, and various scenes and characters fermented and grew. I didn't write them, though. I was too involved in my career as part of one of the biggest video game producers in the world. I actually went to the head of Blizzard Europe’s customer service department for a meeting about how to get involved with their Creative Development team. I wanted to write for <span style="font-style: italic;">them</span>. I wanted to write quests, stories and flavour text. I wanted to help create for the world of <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Azeroth_%28world%29">Azeroth</a>, with its richly detailed history and memorable characters.<br /><br />“So do you have any of your work available? Have you been published? What can you present to showcase your work?”<br /><br />I didn’t think the answer ‘I have a <a href="http://www.deviantart.com/">DeviantArt </a>page and some poems!’ would be a great comeback. I listened as he explained that the company, as huge and successful as it is, gets to pick and choose who works for it creatively. He said it would be a good idea to build up a library of work and to become successful in the literary world on my own, and then come back to them later when I could properly present myself. So off I went back to my desk, carried on working, and wondered what to do. I worked forty hours a week. I didn’t have any publishing credits. And Queen of the World was just too big, too much effort along with all the other matters in my life which needed my attention.<br /><br />I left Blizzard in 2010. My girlfriend and I went to Vietnam to live and work for six months. During the trip we bought a pair of Suzuki GN125’s and rode down from Hanoi to Hue. We worked and drank and lived in shitty little apartments and generally had a blast. One of the main reasons for me to leave my solid job and dick around in South East Asia was to write Queen of the World. Only it didn’t work out that way. I was now working six days a week, more than at Blizzard. I was dealing with culture shock and constant budget balancing for the trip. Over those six months I managed 62,000 words which I didn’t think were very good. I started to doubt whether I could even <span style="font-style: italic;">write </span>the damned thing, let alone write something worth publishing.<br /><br />On the way back to Europe we landed in Paris for a few days. I walked barefoot on a tour of the sights, due to my shoes being ruined in Bangkok (A story for another day). As we got out of a taxi taking us to the airport my rucksack was stolen. In it contained my walkman, some expensive headphones, my pet stuffed monkey and my laptop. The laptop containing the manuscript. All I had was an old backup on my Hotmail account. I was down to 38,000 words.<br /><br />I came back to Norway after the journey was all done. My girlfriend, who along the way had suffered the misfortune of becoming my fiancée, took me to her family cabin on the coast. There was no TV, evening-only internet connection, and no towns within an hour’s boat journey. I had a seat by a window overlooking the great scenery. I had a borrowed laptop. And I had a lot of free time.<br /><br />So I wrote. I wrote every morning for the next nine weeks. I wrote up to 4,000 words a day. And at the end of it all I finally had my first draft. I edited it and redrafted it and edited it again. I had some friends read it to give feedback. I changed the ending. I cut some scenes. And in the end I was finally ready to start looking into submissions.<br /><br />And now here we are. I’m chuffed to bits, looking forward to the year ahead and ready to make Queen of the World the best book it can be with the help of Inspired Quill. Here’s to proving that with enough effort, you can do the things which <span style="font-style: italic;">seem </span>to be done by other people.</p>-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-83442379742100543512011-10-17T07:49:00.000-07:002011-10-17T16:10:08.568-07:00Morocco. 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mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">I spent the last week in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco">Morocco</a>. It was ace. I kept a journal of the trip, which I’m going to write here word for word, with no edits or amendments. I’m quite rubbish at writing long hand, since it’s too slow for my brain and my handwriting is terrible, so it might suck. At least it’ll be honest. (This post is pretty long - just sayin'.)<br /><br />-</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The country is hot, dry and tan. The influence of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_protectorate_of_Morocco">colonial power</a> which once ruled is still plain to see. Amidst the palm trees and the castle forts are huge blocks of French architecture and western style models on French language billboards. Women wear beautifully varied throws, scarves and gowns while guys wear shirts and polo necks. Kids wear <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Messi">Messi </a>t-shirts and Reebok hoodies. Cars range from sparkling new to rusted, battered wrecks on wheels. Taxis have ‘official’ labels hand-painted on doors.<br /><br />The city of Fes feels like the desert encircling it. Buildings, roads and walls are mostly a creamy, sandy colour but a surprising amount of greenery prevails under the pale blue sky. The streets are clean and the construction work light. The people are polite, patient and welcoming, apparently eager to ensure that a positive experience is had.<br /><br />As we drive further out of the city and the hills retreat to patchy forest, the tarmac trailing through dirt, you begin to get a feel for the scale of the area. In the distance mountains loom as shadows on the horizon, too far to make out in detail but too large to ignore.<br /><br />The city of Ifram is like a Swiss village, picturesque and calm. Huge European villas line alongside smooth roads and small parks. Evergreen woodland covers the surrounding slopes, separated by acres of plains. As we drive away, soon Ifram looks like a miniature model replica of itsel, red rooftops over white walls.<br /><br />Near the desert of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahara">Sahara</a>, while not quite reaching the sand dunes so famous, the the air is dry and still. The only like, apart from tinder-bush, is contained in farms or around dams – the latter huge pools of water deep within a canyon of sun-kissed rock. A concentration of date trees sits in a valley bowl, bordered by the homes of those who pick and sell them.<br /><br />We stop for lunch in a place which looks like a Persian palace, appropriately named The Kasbah. The food is good but a tad expensive. We also attract a horde of flies, which dive bomb us as we eat, assailing our Coke bottles.<br /><br />The landscape between towns is dotted with forts which seem synonymous with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Foreign_Legion">Foreign Legion</a>, all flat surfaces and right angles. Here and there we see a wall or barricade built for no obvious purpose. In the towns, the streets are full of small shops, eateries and cafes. Kids leaving school are like kids anywhere else; happy, yelling and waving at passers-by.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Sahara itself is magnificent. We have all seen the TV shows and movies but when in the middle of it, surrounded by the immense dunes and nothing else, you start to understand the scope of it all. Sitting atop a huge peak of soft sand watching the sun creep over the horizon, after sleeping under the stars which are as clear as diamonds and riding camels through shadows cast by moonlight, you realise how trivial your problems are in the grand scheme of existence.<br /><br />We found a snake on the ride back to base. After a fantastic stay in a desert camp, excellent food to eat and feed to kittens, topped off with traditional Moroccan drum music, we rode our camels like fucking sand pirates. Along the end of the trail we come across a baby sidewinder, which flees into a bush. The guides then burn the bush and hurl stones at the snake. Humans triumph.<br /><br />Driven further west, we pass what look like termite mounds which act as an irrigation system to store water for the agriculture which sits within spitting distance of the sands. A stop on the road lets us get out and feed a group of monkeys who hang out in a small woodland cluster. We feed them peanuts. They seem quite chilled out, in contrast to the climate. Skar, one of our group, takes a ride on a donkey. A small time bandit with nothing to steal.<br /><br />The Gorges are a stunning sight. A deep chasm road lets us walk between colossal rock faces, below which a stream meanders, water seeping up through the soil. Vendors line one side of the road, selling trinkets, silks, art and minerals. The natural colour of the scene is vibrant and lush.<br /><br />We stop in a hotel in Ouarzazate with a pool and a great number of couches and pillows. The decor is both traditional and minimalist. The staff are friendly and polite. The food is a little more western which helps you appreciate the local cuisine by comparison. It’s a nice, peaceful atmosphere.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We leave the next morning refreshed and having slept properly for the first time in three nights. We go to a film studio which has been in use since the Sixties. It is a wonderful location which has served as Rome, Egypt and Jerusalem. We buy tickets to look around a Crusades-era castle. It is one of the most inspiring constructs I have ever had the fortune to explore.<br /><br />The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Mountains">Atlas Mountains</a> are next, driving up and up along cliff-side roads which fall away to greenland and dammed rivers. We stop for lunch at a cafe overlooking the other peaks in the range. The food here in Morocco is generally impeccable, with everything well cooked and deliciously spiced. We eat liver, heart and testicle on our way. Well, maybe that last one wasn’t so delicious.<br /><br />Riding down and on to Marrakech we say goodbye to Jourad, our guide, a truly nice and affable man. Marrakech is a far cry from Fes and a startling change of pace. Scooters, horse carts and cars fight for space in cramped, spiderweb streets. The air is hotter and the sun seems brighter. Every building is made from the same sandstone and it feels like walking through a Pharaoh’s maze. Our Riad hostel is small but pleasant, with an open air terrace which we spend the evening enjoying.<br /><br />The next day, after obligatory sunglass buying and deodorant saturation, we find ourselves in a herb and spice shop. The owner is laid back, charming and genuine. He brews some ‘Kings Tea’ from eight different ingredients. We buy plenty for when we get home, as well as some spices to give Moroccan cooking a try.<br /><br />On the whole the trip was an unexpectedly overwhelming success. From the moment we landed and walked across the tarmac to a glorious sunset, each aspect has been incredible. The people were accommodating and tolerant, encouraging, defying all of our misguided preconceptions about Muslim countries. The scenery easily rivalled South East Asia for spectacle and wonder. The food – especially <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajine">tajines</a> – is almost worth the price of the flights alone. The hotels and Riads, the service, the aftertaste of colonial France, the reasonable cost of most things... I can say without question that this was the best short term holiday I’ve had. I will recommend that anyone with some free time and a few quid to spare investigates this marvellous place for themselves.<br /><br />There's some more about the castle visit and how it relates to improving my writing, which I'll include in a second post in a couple of days. Until then, go find some tajine!<br /></p>-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-47072768563658386372011-09-21T05:38:00.001-07:002011-09-21T06:20:27.074-07:00I CAN'T EVEN SPEEL!Writing is hard.<br /><br />No, really. Ritin iz harrd. The nuts and bolts of actually writing a full novel is very tricky. I mean, I could probably throw out a thousand words in ten minutes if I wanted to discuss why I dislike <a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/217430/no_music_to_my_ears_why_nickelback.html?cat=33">Nickleback </a>or how important it is to eat fajitas once a week. Writing stuff which is funny and stupid and honest is a breeze. Think about your current partner. Think about people at work. Think about that time in Amsterdam you got <span style="font-style: italic;">really </span>messed up. You could probably write quite a lot about them easily and enjoy doing it.<br /><br />Writing a long piece of work, especially fiction, is difficult. Not only does it have to remain interesting but it has to make sense. Well, technically it doesn't but that probably won't result in anything great. I've read plenty of books where stuff just happened with no real rhyme or reason. "I'm a reserved, insecure young woman but I just had to sleep with that guy to express my sense of freedom!"<br /><br />Really? Or did you sleep with that guy because he happened to be an undercover agent, and if you hadn't there wouldn't be a book?<br /><br />(That isn't aimed at anything specific, by the way. I'm hardly one to start criticising other works before I've had a single word printed.)<br /><br />But yeah. Writing <span style="font-style: italic;">Queen of the World</span> was hard. It's a matter of motivation and self-doubt. Does this character work? Why am I writing this scene? Is anyone going to be interested in this plot? Why did that character do that? What could I be doing instead? Isn't <a href="http://www.youtube.com/">YouTube </a>more fun that this?<br /><br />When I hit a scene in my work that I really enjoy, or have been looking forward to reaching - it's usually one where action happens, or where some plots merge and things start to make sense - then it's good fun. I can plough through that like a tractor tearing up a plot of particularly soft mushrooms. But when it's something else, and where I need to do some research or work out character motivation, then it can be a drag. I can write the same paragraph for hours and still end up chucking it. It's the problem of being someone who believes in character progression over plot dictation. Sometimes my characters simply wouldn't do something I need them to do, so I need to work out a way around it. An intelligent and skilled man trying to avoid detection by his enemies isn't going to suddenly decide that a two-week shopping holiday in New York is a good idea, even if I really need to get that character to a New York shopping mall.<br /><br />The self doubt in me sometimes exploits this and just yells at me. My inner critic sounds like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Rickman">Alan Rickman</a>. His heavy, drawling tones will whisper in my ear "This is futile. It's too slow, the writing is boring and the characters aren't likeable. What's the point? You might as well go back to playing <a href="http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/">World of Warcraft</a> and stop trying to make a career of this."<br /><br />Usually a can of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Bull">Red Bull</a> and a cigarette shuts him up. Usually.<br /><br />It's kind of stressful at the moment because not only am I trying to write a follow-up to <span style="font-style: italic;">Queen of the World</span> but I'm also trying to learn Norwegian and earn money. Writing another hundred thousand words just seems like trying to cut down a redwood with a piece of cheese. But I'll get there. I love writing even when it's hard, and I love the characters and the world I have so far.<br /><br />Wouldn't it be great is all jobs were like that?<br /><br />Other updates - no reponse from the publisher I did a full submission to(yet), so at least I haven't been turned down (yet). I've joined Twitter - find me <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/HennessyWrites">@HennessyWrites</a> . It's pretty addicitve. Also, I've got a craving for hamburgers which I'm judiciously encouraging. There's worse things to be addicted to.<br /><br />If you're considering being a writer then <a href="http://www.cracked.com/blog/how-to-become-author-in-5-incredibly-difficult-steps/">read this</a>. Read it if you like reading things which make you laugh, as well. Then buy his book.-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-21721040295344999732011-09-05T12:44:00.000-07:002011-09-05T12:57:54.968-07:00Camera on Four. 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mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">So this is going to be a fairly long post. I’m going to cheat quite a lot and post something from my book.
<br />
<br />Basically the last couple of weeks have been busy. I’ve finally finished the book – now to be known as Queen of the World – and it has been edited, redrafted and tweaked about as much as I can do without seeking professional assistance. It’s about as good as it is going to get. I’ve sent off a few agents in the States because I haven’t yet gotten around to finding a printer. Most UK agencies was a regular mail submission. I trawled a few agencies which accept email submissions and tried my hand. So far, no joy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I did get one request for a full manuscript submission though. I’m not going to name anything yet in case it all falls through. Hopefully I’m going to get more than one request for a manuscript in my career so naming each one as it goes seems a bit silly. If it gets accepted then, of course, I’ll plug the bejeezus out of it. We’ll see.
<br />
<br />Oh, and some guy offered to give me a thousand euros if he can invest in the manuscript. Bit of an ego boost, to be honest. We’re talking a salad-tossing confidence boost here. Reckon it’s going to be turned down though. As someone said on my Facebook - If it’s good enough to be invested in then it’s good enough to retain 100% ownership of it. But anyway, felt a bit splendid when the offer came in.
<br />
<br />In the next couple of days some proper work will begin on the sequel. It is currently in progress in the sense that I have about four scenes and two new characters in my head. I also have the first few chapters primed and ready to go. I know how the book will open and how all the robot ninja sharks will be seamlessly integrated into my world of magical realism.
<br />
<br />(Part of the above paragraph may be a lie.)
<br />
<br />Now to the long bit. This is the prologue to Queen of the World. I hope you enjoy it and get a better sense of what this blog has been banging on about for the last two months.
<br />
<br /> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Most people say that magic doesn’t exist. They’re correct, to an extent. Magic is a product of the imagination. People would like to be able to fly; <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>to conjure fire from their fingertips. Those early days of childhood, where anything seems possible, stay with us. They help form our future and they linger long after we have matured. A boy may eventually stop pretending to be a famous hero, but the dream of fame itself does not completely fade. Neither does the ambition of being the greatest swordsman or the finest archer in all the land. The world admires those skilled in the martial arts.
<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>The world wants heroes.
<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Unfortunately life doesn’t work that way and so admiration comes in other forms. A man who can provide for his family is respected. A loving parent is, in turn, loved by her children. The king of a nation who rules with a fair and steady hand is given the loyalty of his people. This is how it should be, and this is how many believe it to be these days. For most, life is relatively peaceful.
<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>It was not always so.
<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>The world was once savage and cruel. Respect and admiration was demanded by the strongest and the most barbaric. Loyalty was given to those who were feared the most. Nations were forged by warlords, by chieftains, by people who were larger than life. They ruled with an iron fist, caring little for the common wants and needs of their subjects. They made vicious examples of any who stood up to them. Those who would not fight worked the fields and were at the mercy of the very soldiers who claimed to protect them. War was common, as opposing factions fought for land, resources and power. Lives were short and brutal.
<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Then came the Four.
<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Nobody knows where they came from or why they came. The Four walked separate from one another, each journeying one corner of the land.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Slowly, patiently, they came to every one of the warlords and the chieftains in turn. They were viewed with suspicion, with intrigue, with derision and scorn. The Four would ask for an audience. This was sometimes granted, but often denied.
<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>The Four could be persuasive.
<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>It is said that they could do anything. </i>Anything.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"> The legends tell of mountains being cracked open with the wave of a hand. Whole cities brought tumbling down. Rivers made to boil and the sky turned to flame. Men were shaped to appear as beasts and women to birds. They could kill with a look and torture with a word.
<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>The warlords and chieftains listened.
<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>The Four came with a simple message. Those in power would use their position to help their people. They would make peace with one another and focus on advancing culture, education and science. They would protect those who lived under their rule and no longer terrorise them. They would ease the burden of taxes and let the people support themselves as well as each other. They would promote trade. They would provide sanitation and medicines.
<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>They would do all this, or they would be removed from their rule forcibly.
<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>One does not argue with a God.
<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Some did, of course. Some tried to silence these arrogant men who made demands of them. They did not live long to regret that choice. The more intelligent of the warlords, the smartest of the chieftains, these were the ones who survived. They did as they were asked, and they pledged to lead their people into a new age of prosperity and peace.
<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>The Four, once satisfied, left. They did so with a warning.
<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Let things return to how they were, and we will return.
<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Since that time, over five hundred years previous, no nation has dared test this promise.</i></p> -Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-30306669669733059672011-08-18T18:33:00.000-07:002011-08-18T18:38:20.579-07:00A colony for bluuuuaarrgggh.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> 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mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">The website <a href="http://litopia.com/">Litopia </a>is excellent. I joined maybe a couple of weeks back. It’s a writer’s forum at heart. It combines a radio station containing live shows dedicated to the discussion of writing, articles by members of the community and various other sources of information. It seems designed to help people grow as authors as well as providing a place for people to discuss any aspect of the profession. I really recommend it if that is your thing.
<br />
<br />I managed to get people to talk about <a href="http://ribena.co.uk/summer-soundtrack/">Ribena </a>and vodka during one of the live broadcasts. My work here is done.
<br />
<br />I’ve been reviewing the manuscript some more. It’s a lot easier to do on paper. I seem to be picking up a lot more mistakes, inconsistencies and grammatical errors now it’s physically in my hand. Some feedback from my test readers has started trickling in as well and so far the reaction is positive, which is a relief. I’m not really sure how to handle positive criticism. I mean, it’s great to be told that I’m doing something right, but I can’t really go ‘I agree, I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">am</i> quite amazing, aren’t I!’ Neither can I come back to this blog and start writing about how fucking fantastic I am, either. I think instead I’ll just say ‘It isn’t terrible at this stage of the final editing’ and be done with it.
<br />
<br />My brother said I overdid the commas. He’s totally right, as well. An unrelenting cull has since taken place.
<br />
<br /><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’ve just got my hands on a copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Orcs-Stan-Nicholls/dp/0316033707"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Orcs</i> </a>by <a href="http://www.stannicholls.com/">Stan Nicholls</a>. It’s a book I’ve been waiting to get my hands on for a while since everyone I know who has read it says it’s pretty good. The aforementioned brother has a pretty solid collection of fantasy novels – him being all employed and stuff, ho ho ho – and so I occasionally steal them if I don’t want to download it onto Kindle for PC. Will see how it goes.
<br />
<br />I’m not being hugely productive during my week in England. I am planning my next book though, which I intend to start when I get back to Hamar. It’s likely going to be the fairy / heavy metal / apocalypse book I mentioned in a previous post. So I’m just kicking back and enjoying my break until then, at which point it’ll be writing for four hours a day once again up. Score.
<br />
<br />This post was a bit lacking in substance. It’s my holiday. So nyah.</p> -Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-31863647197835609332011-08-06T09:51:00.000-07:002011-08-07T00:47:54.300-07:00Second daft. 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mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">I’m done with the second draft. Ish.<br /><br />The missus read through the manuscript. It was printed out, all two hundred and forty pages of it. It looked lovely. Having the thing in my hand after nine months of staring at it on a laptop screen was great. I was like a kid at Christmas waiting for it to arrive. When it did it was laughs and smiles all round. Anyway, she read through it and gave me some excellent feedback as well as some morale-boosting affirmations that it wasn’t a big pile of poo. I’ve since mailed it off to a few other friends who agreed to critique it, and am now anxiously waiting to see what they say.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I found this very cool PDF file from <a href="http://www.darcypattison.com/">Darcy Pattison</a> giving <a href="http://darcypattison.com/AfterTheFirstDraft.pdf">advice on the second draft</a>. It gave some tips which most other articles covering drafts touch on, as well as some others I hadn’t considered.<br /><br />So after drafting a bit extra and touching up the first three chapters – well, making three chapters since the original manuscript isn’t chaptered, just broken into pieces – I’m looking to agencies who may be interested in representing me, providing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">they</i> don’t think the story is a big pile of poo. It seems only a handful of agencies in the UK represent fantasy. <a href="http://metaphysicalfantasy.wordpress.com/getting-published/4-literary-agents/">There’s a list of them to be found here</a>. Reading through it struck me that getting an agent is going to be pretty tricky. They get hundreds of submissions monthly, it seems, and not only do I have to ensure my work is saleable but also that the submission stands out in the first place. What if it turns out that a person is a great story writer but terrible at submissions? That isn’t self referential, but looking at some writing forums a common complaint seems to be ‘I’ve been submitting for years and never got a single good reply back from an agency’. Is that due to their writing or the way they submit?<br /><br />Also, I need to write a synopsis. I find the idea of doing so to be difficult. It’s not so much condensing down the story into a single page – that shouldn’t be too tricky, I haven’t written the Bible – but the deep-seated need to want to keep things interesting. I would rather say ‘Then the character arrived to meet his nemesis WITH HILARIOUS CONSEQUENCES’ and then let whoever I’m describing it to read for themselves what happens. I have this idea that if you know the story in advance, and get it all in five hundred words, why would you then read a hundred thousand more?<br /><br />Of course I understand it from a selling-the-bloody-thing perspective. It just makes me go ngggghhh.<br /><br />I sent one submission to <a href="http://www.johnjarrold.co.uk/">John Jarrold</a>. The submission was terrible. I’m not expecting anything in response. Balls.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In less than a week I move to my home for the next year. Student shared accommodation. Get in. Also, I’ll be home to visit the family and friends in sunny Essex later this month. The sunshine here in Arendal is excellent at the moment. I caught my first Norwegian fish. It was a cod. I was happy.<br /><br /><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Really</i> happy.<br /><br />It tasted awesome, too!</p>-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-43113805242645050552011-07-23T12:08:00.000-07:002011-07-23T15:24:38.492-07:00Game of Bastards.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> 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locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal">Damn<span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">you</span><span style="font-size:100%;">,<i> </i><a href="http://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones/index.html"><i>Game <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">of</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Thrones</span></i></a>.<br /><br /></span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">So</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">the</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">missus</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> and </span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">me</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">watched</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">the</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">HBO</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> series </span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">based</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">on</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">the</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14"><i>Song</i></span><i> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">of</span> Fire and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Ice</span></i></a> series </span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">of</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">books</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> by <a href="http://georgerrmartin.com/">George R R Martin</a>. </span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">It</span><span style="font-size:100%;">'s </span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">fantastic</span><span style="font-size:100%;">. </span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">It</span>s high <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">quality</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">production</span>, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">excellent</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">cast</span> and tale <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">of</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">political</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">intrigue</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">with</span> a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">big</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">dollop</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">of</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">fantasy</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">tossed</span> over <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">it</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">made</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">it</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">one</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">of</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">the</span> best series I've <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">seen</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">in</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">years</span>. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_44">It</span>'s <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_45">astounding</span>. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_46">If</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_47">you</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_48">missed</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_49">it</span>, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_50">go</span> and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_51">find</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_52">it</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_53">somewhere</span>.<br /><br /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_54">It</span>'s <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_55">interested</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_56">me</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_57">in</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_58">getting</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_59">the</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_60">books</span>, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_61">which</span> I <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_62">will</span> do <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_63">as</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_64">soon</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_65">as</span> I have <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_66">my</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_67">Kindle</span>. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_68">Money</span> is a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_69">bit</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_70">tight</span> at <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_71">the</span> moment, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_72">boo</span>. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_73">But</span>, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_74">judging</span> by <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_75">the</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_76">Emmy</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_77">nominations</span> and rave <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_78">reviews</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_79">the</span> show <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_80">got</span>, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_81">it</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_82">also</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_83">suggested</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_84">that</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_85">fantasy</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_86">as</span> a genre has a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_87">pretty</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_88">big</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_89">potential</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_90">that</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_91">hasn</span>'t <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_92">been</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_93">fully</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_94">explored</span>. Most times <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_95">when</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_96">it’s</span> done <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_97">seriously</span>, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_98">it</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_99">becomes</span> huge. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_100">Look</span> at <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_101">the</span> <a href="http://www.lordoftherings.net/">Lord <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_102">of</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_103">the</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_104">Rings</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_105">trilogy</span></a> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_106">of</span> films. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_107">That</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_108">made</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_109">around</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_110">two</span> billion for New Line <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_111">Cinema</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_112">in</span> gross.<br /><br />Robert Jordan, David <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_113">Gemmel</span>, David <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_114">Eddings</span>, <strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">Margaret </span></strong>Weis<strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> & </span></strong>Tracy<strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong>Hickman<strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">, </span></strong><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_118">Terry</span><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong>Pratchett<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">, Raymond </span></strong></span>Feist<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">. </span></strong></span>Think<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>of<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>movies<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> and </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> series and </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>games<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>that<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>could<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> be </span></strong></span>mined<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>out<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>of<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>them<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> all and more. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonlance"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_134"><i>Dragonlance</i></span><i> </i></a>film </span></strong></span>trilogy<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; font-weight:normal">? </span></strong></span>Hells<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>yes<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; font-weight:normal">. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld_%28world%29"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_138">Discworld</span> </a></span></strong></span>MMO<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; font-weight:normal">? </span></strong></span>Splendid<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; font-weight:normal">. </span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">I </span></strong></span>mean<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">, </span></strong></span>remember<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beastmaster_%28film%29"><i><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_143">The</span></i><i> </i><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_144"><i>Beastmaster</i></span></a>? </span></strong></span>That<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> film </span></strong></span>was<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> bad-</span></strong></span>ass<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">.</span></strong><br /><br /></span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_148">Anyway</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">, </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>reason<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> I </span></strong></span>damn<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> Game </span></strong></span>of<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>Thrones<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> series is </span></strong></span>that<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> I </span></strong></span>was<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>so<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>impressed<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> I </span></strong></span>immediately<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>went<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> to </span></strong></span>work<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>on<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> second draft </span></strong></span>of<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> book - </span></strong></span>hence<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>non<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">-</span></strong></span>updates<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">. I </span></strong></span>finished<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>it<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>up<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> last </span></strong></span>night<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">. </span></strong></span>Well<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">, I </span></strong></span>finished<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>up<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> all </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>housekeeping<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>work<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">. </span></strong></span>Adjusting<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>tense<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">, </span></strong></span>fixing<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>spelling<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>mistakes<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> and cutting </span></strong></span>out<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>terribly<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>long<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>winded<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>sentences<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>when<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> all </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>character<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> is </span></strong></span>doing<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>it<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>picking<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>something<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>up<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">. I </span></strong></span>made<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>my<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>notes<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> and </span></strong></span>my<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> to-do list and </span></strong></span>worked<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>out<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>what<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>needs<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> to be </span></strong></span>added<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> to make </span></strong></span>it<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> all a bit more </span></strong></span>coherent<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">. I've </span></strong></span>come<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> to terms </span></strong></span>with<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>fact<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>that<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> book </span></strong></span>isn<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">'t </span></strong></span>going<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> to be a </span></strong></span>literary<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambo:_First_Blood_Part_II"><i>Rambo</i></a>. </span></strong></span>It<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">'s a slow </span></strong></span>burner<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> and </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>events<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>come<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>with<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> a </span></strong></span>gentle<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> pace. I </span></strong></span>considered<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> cutting </span></strong></span>out<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> huge </span></strong></span>reams<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>of<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>text<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> to make </span></strong></span>it<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> snappier </span></strong></span>but<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> I </span></strong></span>decided<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> against </span></strong></span>it<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">. </span></strong></span>There<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> are </span></strong></span>enough<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>books<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>out<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>there<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>which<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> hammer a hundred different </span></strong></span>explosions<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">, </span></strong></span>deaths<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> and </span></strong></span>titties<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>into<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> a single </span></strong></span>novel<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">. </span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">I like </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> book and I'm happy </span></strong></span>with<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>it<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">. </span></strong></span>With<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>enough<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>work<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> I </span></strong></span>think<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>it<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>could<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> be </span></strong></span>pretty<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>good<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">, and </span></strong></span>leave<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>option<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>open<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> for </span></strong></span>further<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>books<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>in<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> same </span></strong></span>world<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">. </span></strong><br /><br /></span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_266">So</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> I'm </span></strong></span>going<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> to </span></strong></span>leave<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>it<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> for a </span></strong></span>couple<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>of<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>days<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> and </span></strong></span>then<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> start </span></strong></span>writing<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>additional<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> scenes. I'm </span></strong></span>also<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>considering<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>removing<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>some<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>of<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> start, </span></strong></span>though<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> I'm not sure </span></strong></span>what<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> to </span></strong></span>remove<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">. </span></strong></span>There<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">'s a fair bit </span></strong></span>which<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>isn<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">'t </span></strong></span>directly<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>related<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> to </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>main<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>plot<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>but<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>it<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>does<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> provide a </span></strong></span>sense<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>of<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>characterisation<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>which<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> I </span></strong></span>think<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> is </span></strong></span>important<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">. </span></strong></span>We<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">'</span></strong></span>ll<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>see<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">.</span></strong><br /><br /></span><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_306">That</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">'s </span></strong></span>about<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>it<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> for </span></strong></span>now<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">. </span></strong></span>Would<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> just like to </span></strong></span>express<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>my<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>condolences<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> to all </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> families </span></strong></span>of<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>those<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> lost to </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Norway_attacks">Norway <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_318">attacks</span></a> </span></strong></span>yesterday<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">. </span></strong></span>Was<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>pretty<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>unreal<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>watching<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>it<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> all </span></strong></span>unfold<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>on<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> TV and </span></strong></span>the<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>developments<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> just </span></strong></span>got<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>steadily<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>worse<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">. All </span></strong></span>our<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>thoughts<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> are </span></strong></span>with<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal"> </span></strong></span>you<span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;font-weight:normal">. </span></strong></span></p>-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-28828661471513307892011-07-10T14:22:00.000-07:002011-07-11T07:28:31.911-07:00How to lose a poem.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> 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mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">Alright, so that’s the end of the blog. I’ve been published. Cheers, have fun!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">...</p> <p class="MsoNormal">A joke, but let me clarify. I received my first acceptance letter this week. A poem I wrote, ‘Salutations’, is going to be printed in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Seeds of Inspiration</span> poetry anthology later this year. Which is good fun, and I was pretty stoked to hear about it. Only, if I may confess something...<br /><br />I didn’t remember sending it off. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I didn’t remember which poem it was. I didn’t even know if it was mine.<br /><br />When I received the letter it had the poem’s final proof attached. Which was handy as I didn’t fancy waiting until the book was produced before finding out what my contribution was. I remembered that I wrote it in 2009 as a challenge to someone who said most of my prose was ‘too wordy’. By that she meant I usually write in one big paragraph. I didn’t really pay much attention to pentameter or form or style. I just wrote stuff down and that was it. So I did this poem in a regular rhyming couplet format thing, and a couple of years later saw this poetry competition. After a minor revision, off it went.<br /><br />(Something I found funny: I wrote it in Ireland, sent it off to <a href="http://www.unitedpress.co.uk/competitions/">United Press </a>whilst in Vietnam, received the acceptance letter in Norway and will be printed as an English author. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Tee-hee.)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, so I’m being published for the first time. What the purpose of this blog is, though, is to have a <span style="font-style: italic;">novel </span>published. So while it’s a nice addition to my CV, and I am genuinely pleased, the mission continues!<br /><br />I’ve decided to work on a new long story whilst waiting for the second draft. I’d toyed with the idea of laying it off until I was completely done with the novel I have now, but this is the first new idea I’ve been really excited about in a couple of years so I’m just going to hammer it onto the page and sort it all out at a later date. It won’t be so much a second draft when I come back to it as a big jumble of vaguely connected words.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The new story includes the following; forest nymphs, twin worlds, Armageddon, sex, drugs & heavy metal... and lots of profanity. I’m of the belief that if I am going to draw from my own experiences, I have to be honest – with language, growing up in Grays around the ages of 18 to 21, everyone I fucking knew swore.<br /><br />I’ve written about five thousand words so far messing around and it’s been lots of fun. I like the idea of merging the real world I grew up in and the kind of fantasy world I enjoy reading about. The result with be marketable to few people, I think, but it’s definitely a story I’m writing for my own interests. As the story runs in my head it seems too full-on for the young adult genre – I haven’t seen much drug use and utterings of the C word in the works I’ve read – and too fairy-filled for people who like stories of fucking and fighting. I also plan to have a lot of <a href="http://www.ironmaiden.com/">Iron Maiden</a> in it for shits and giggles. So it’ll fall somewhere in the middle, I suppose. We’ll see.<br /><br />Haha – As I’m writing this someone on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/">Facebook </a>said it sounds like an episode of <a href="http://www.cwtv.com/shows/supernatural"><span style="font-style: italic;">Supernatural</span></a>. Brilliant. I can promise now that in my head it isn’t much like that. Though I fully endorse the suggestion!<br /><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I’m no longer at the cabin, and am back in Arendal. I’ve got a few weeks to go before I visit home and see my excellent friends. Looking forward to a bit of a catch-up. Apologies if this entry is a bit all over the place. I’m quite sure I’ve drunk at least two too many cups of coffee. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-44600578595553884012011-07-03T16:57:00.000-07:002011-07-03T17:04:31.005-07:00My Enemy is Made of Fluff.My biggest pet hate with any medium of storytelling is a completely useless enemy. When the primary opponent is built up to be a potent danger to the cause of the protagonist we need to believe it to make the story work. They’re perhaps lauded to be deadly in combat, or deviously intelligent, or in possession of a great power. But when they actually step up to centre stage it turns out they’re nothing more than an obstacle to the plot. I call it Stormtrooper Syndrome.<br /><br />Forgive me for stating what many fans would consider the obvious while I elaborate. In the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_wars"> <em>Star Wars</em></a> universe, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stormtrooper_(Star_Wars)">Stormtroopers </a>are the soldiers of the Empire. They’re the workhorses on which the Empire has established dominance, the front line of troops charged with carrying out the orders of this huge intergalactic house of bad-asses. In the first scene of the first film Stormtroopers invade Princess Leia’s vessel, kill all her defending guards and capture her without much effort. Even Obi-Wan Kenobi points out the marksmanship of these soldiers later on, stating that the wreck of a transport vehicle on Tattoine was attacked by Stormtroopers based on his observation on the accuracy of the blaster hits.<br /><br />What happens when the Stormtroopers encounter the heroes later on? They get their teeth kicked in on a regular basis. In every scene they’re in. The aforementioned accuracy goes to shit as they don’t hit any of the main cast at any point despite firing off hundreds of shots. They get blown away by the dozen. The highlight of their futility is their crushing defeat at the paws of four-feet-tall, twittering bloody Ewoks. All they become is a plot device used to give the heroes something to quip over as they meander from one scene to the other.<br /><br />Star Wars is brilliant. Stormtroopers are fucking rubbish.<br /><br />(There are a few spoilers here. If you haven’t seen or read Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Alien or Se7en, then don’t read any further.)<br /><br />Take <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Jackson_%26_The_Olympians">Percy Jackson and the Olympians</a></em>. I’ve only seen the film, so if the book makes better use of Hades then that’s brilliant. The plot was fun. But if the film should stand alone as a story, and it should, then Hades is terrible. He is the God of the Underworld, and he’s trying to take over Zeus’s throne. You’d think, therefore, he’d be pretty powerful and terrifying and all that gubbins. I mean, he’s got a legion of hell hounds surrounding the heroes. He’s got Zeus’s lightning bolt in his hands. He’s won, surely.<br /><br />But no, he gets betrayed and rendered unconscious by some completely secondary character who turns up about five minutes prior to his own fifteen minute scene. He loses the bolt, the heroes get away, and that’s it. That’s his contribution. In this instance not only does it nullify the threat of Big Bad Hades, but the heroes also escape via methods entirely out of their control. They had nothing to do with defeating Hades. They were superfluous to their own success. (As a side note, Steve Coogan was a terrible choice to play Hades. Coogan is an excellent actor but he’s neither scary nor commanding.)<br /><br />In my opinion, if a story involves direct conflict then the main character should have to work his or her kidneys out to overcome the primary foe. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(film)"><em>Alien</em> </a>is an excellent example. By the time Ripley’s alone with the xenomorph in the airlock of the <em>Sulaco</em> we know that it has acid for blood, we have witnessed it kill off all her crewmates with ease, and we know she doesn’t have a weapon in her hands. Therefore we can accept that she’s scared witless as she tries to open the airlock hatch. Even more so there’s <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Se7en">Se7en</a></em>. The killer John Doe manages to complete his scheme of seven murders. The good guys win on a technical level by shooting the bad guy at the end of the film. There’s that payoff. Good guy shoots bad guy, which is what you want to see when you root for the hero for an hour and a half. But in this story John Doe’s death completes his work. Even as he faceplants the floor with a bullet in his chest, he wins. He dies a successful enemy. He confirms his credible threat.<br /><br />If the enemy soldiers are made out to be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparta">Spartans </a>and then the hero takes out five of them at once with barely a scratch in return, then I feel it devalues them. Maybe the hero is that skilled or deadly or powerful, of course. But it just means the next time more pseudo-Spartans are sent to capture or kill him, it weakens the tension there.<br /><br />Anyway, what have I done recently. I wrote two short stories, one for the Bridport Prize competition as mentioned last time, and one as a proposed magazine-webzine submission. I’m going to write a few stories to send off to various places while waiting for the second draft of the book. It’s fun doing a few thousand words as a complete tale again. I enjoy the pace of it. I might write up something small for this blog to show off my writing style. After all, it might be upsetting to keep up with my progress only to discover I can’t write for toffee.<br /><br />I nearly put a smiley at the end of that paragraph there. The temptation is terrible, like a smoker trying to ignore the call of the open packet lying before them. Speaking of which I am in the process of trying to quit smoking. I say that with a grin on my face because I am absolutely hopeless at it. I’ve been trying to quit for about four years. Still going strong.<br /><br />Oh, and I really want a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Kindle">Kindle</a>. If anyone has one I’d love to hear your opinions on the thing. Two month battery life? Yes, please!-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-65259574726085472062011-06-17T19:05:00.000-07:002011-06-17T20:31:39.417-07:00My face hurts.The author I enjoy the most, the one whose writing style I find the most appealing to me, is <a href="http://www.stephenking.com/index.html">Stephen King</a>. His book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/On-Writing-ebook/dp/B003BVFZ4Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1308365542&sr=1-3"><span style="font-style: italic;">On Writing</span></a>, is an incredibly good read and proved to be something of an inspiration to my own work. His novel <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001C4NXKM/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=1278548962&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=6305594368&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=05B7CFFG1DEBX715KTBT"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Stand</span></a> is a fantastic multi-character story dealing with large themes such as the actions of humanity when faced with oblivion, personal conflict opposed to the greater good and a renewed belief in faith. I have nothing but respect for the guy, a brilliant character writer who puts the words down honestly and tells stories which have impacted modern culture.<br /><br />The author whose <span style="font-style: italic;">stories </span>I enjoy the most is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gemmell">David Gemmell</a>. His tales of flawed heroes standing in the face of overwhelming odds is one of the (many) reasons I wrote the book I did. The common aspects of his work - courage, loyalty and respect - run through plenty of his characters. My dad recommended him to me, passing me the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00513F9S4/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=1278548962&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0345379063&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0FZRSRTJCADCYQ4KWYQM"><span style="font-style: italic;">Legend </span></a>to read. "Take a look at this," he said with more than a little enthusiasm. "There's loads of violence in it, with guys having their guts torn out and head cut off. You'll love it." I was about thirteen at the time. He was right. There's a lot of violence in it. I reckon he found the morals and lessons within the book just as enjoyable, of course, but he needed to sell it to me first. Decapitations worked, and <span style="font-style: italic;">Legend </span>is one of the best books I've ever read.<br /><br />Anyway, updates, updates.. I've spent the week with toothache while the missus swished her way over to Italy for a few days with her friend. I've been sitting here, in something of a pillow-and-blanket nest, on the couch of a brilliant little cabin on the shores of Norway. During that time I have been completely unproductive. I'll be honest, I <span style="font-style: italic;">haaaate </span>toothache, and this one was an absolute belter. But it got me thinking; How long can I reasonably slack off from doing any work?<br /><br />Then I remembered I'm meant to be writing full time at this point, so I'm essentially my own boss. So I have to kick my own arse when I'm being lazy. I'm curious to know if I'm going to be any good as a boss. I have an employee staff of one - me - and I know I can be incredibly good at avoiding doing anything at all if given the chance. I'll have to take steps to train me.<br /><br />That was a bit confusing to write.<br /><span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" class=" down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link"><img src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Link" class="gl_link" border="0" /></span></span><br />I read <a href="http://writerunboxed.com/2010/12/14/7-tasks-to-bridge-your-first-and-second-drafts/">this article on what to do between the first and second draft of a story</a> and found it quite useful. At least, it gave me something to think about. I'm still quite a way away from picking up the book and going through it, but I think about it often. I'm really looking forward to that first read through. It could be dreadful, of course, but I have an idea that I'll enjoy it either way, just as proof to myself that I am capable of writing a full novel. Once that's done, if the people I choose to be my first test readers dump all over it, then I can just go 'Ah well' and stick it in a flash drive somewhere and move on to something else. (I was going to write 'stick it in a drawer', but I don't have it on paper and I don't have any drawers on my desk. So that buggered that one.)<br /><br />I'm going to write a short story for <a href="http://www.bridportprize.org.uk/">this competition</a> and then review a Dungeons and Dragons campaign the missus wrote up - she'd sent a pitch in to <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dnd/player.aspx">D&D Magazine</a> and recently received a mail back from the editor asking her to submit the full thing. I'm dead proud of her. It would be excellent if she got it published as a first time writer.<br /><br />(bitch.)<br /><br />I kid, I kid. Anyway, that's my workload for the week. I have to think of something I want to write about for 5,000 words. Hmm.-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1016726509642168940.post-41411513841058841712011-06-12T14:15:00.000-07:002011-12-04T20:55:44.752-08:00Prologue, Pt.2<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> 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mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">So there is an objective to this blog. I have three objectives directly. Between those objectives I have some other stuff I’m going to write about, such as the second draft of the book, the process of revising and researching the bits I blagged the first time around (Like how to build a windmill. No, really), and anything I read which generally proves useful to me. I should start by giving a little more information about all this, so you lovely people have a reason to come back and read more. I’m not sure how successful my ramblings would be otherwise.<br /><br />The book is called ‘book’ at the moment. I haven’t decided on a title but I have a few in mind. I wanted to wait until I’ve reviewed what I have before naming it all. The book is a fantasy story of a young girl’s adventure as she finds herself in a situation she knows nothing about. Forced from her home and chased across the country, she finds herself escorted by a reclusive woodsman in the search for her brother in the hope that he can protect her from the people who hunt her.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">Now that’s about as basic as I can get it. Being honest, when I write it with such a vague tone it sounds a little unoriginal as well (It isn't, I hope!). I don’t want to give a full blurb just yet until I’m sure all the elements I’ve used so far are retained in the second draft. Also, don’t be scared by the word ‘fantasy’. There is not an elf, dwarf or dragon to be found in my tale. That sounds snotty, but it’s true (Don’t get me wrong, I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">love</i> high fantasy novels with monsters, magic and mythical beings). The story is intentionally character driven, and while it may not be a modern day story, I think certain aspects of the story can be adapted to everyday life. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><br /><br />I like the story. I’m proud of the book so far. I had the idea in my head for a good three or four years before I sat down and put it down in words. Let’s be honest, if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have made this blog. I would have waited until I had a ‘better’ book with a greater chance of success. As it is I think I this story is good enough to push. I’m looking forward to finishing it completely and getting the ball rolling. For now, I’m waiting a few weeks until I’ve forgotten about it to an extent. Apparently it’s important to leave a first draft for an extended period (experts!), but I do want to just get back to it. Rawr.<br /><br />Anyway, here’s the main three objectives of this blog:<br /><br />1. Find an agent.<br /><br />No, I probably don’t need one yet. I mean, I’m one guy with a big chunk of text at the moment. I don’t have any writing credentials, publishing credits or anything. However, it appears that a lot of authors who seek the traditional publication route (I.E want their books in the stores) could do worse than have an agent to help them do that. I also like the idea of have a literary agent, <a href="http://www.sho.com/site/californication/home.do"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Californication</i> </a>style. There’s a few I’m interested in but until I’ve finished up the second draft, I can’t really send off manuscripts.<br /><br />2. Find a publisher.<br /><br />Yep. Get someone to print the book. Not a real hard one to understand, but for me the best part of writing is having other people read it. If someone’s willing to put in the time to read the three or five or seven thousand words committed to page then that shows that what I’ve done is at least vaguely interesting. Now I’ve got 131,289 words, though. Mwuahaa. Anyway, it’s been something of an ambition of mine to have something I’ve written on the shelves of a Waterstones or W.H Smiths. I think I’d get a hell of a kick from achieving that. Suppose it’s the same from a band seeing their record on a CD rack, or an actress having their name imprinted on a theatre poster. It’s certainly an ego thing, but also a validation that they’re getting somewhere.<br /><br />3. Failing those, self publication.<br /><br />In recent times, authors skipping the old school publishing houses and going straight to Amazon Kindle, E-books and iPad typeofthings has become pretty popular. <a href="http://www.techonthego.co.uk/2011/01/amazon-now-sell-more-kindle-books-than-regular-books-1708">Last year e-books sold more copies than regular books</a>. Now bear in mind that there’s a fair few reasons for this – e-books are a lot cheaper, it’s more convenient to just download a book than go to a store, internet shopping as a whole is still rising, to name a few – but it’s interesting to note. It has been said that self publication (termed also as ‘vanity press’) is for those people who’s work is not deemed good enough for regular publication. I feel that’s quite a cheap way of phrasing it. With the advent of companies like <a href="https://www.createspace.com/">Createspace </a>you can supply paperback copies of your book to those who buy it online. I think the main difference is that publication companies will provide a much more stable route to the bookshops.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I really want to get my book into the regular publishing machine, but self publication is always a fall back option.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">I’ll probably learn much more about this over the coming months. Come back to this page later in the game and we can laugh together about how completely uninformed I am/was.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">Oh, and feel free to share and follow this blog. I’ll try not to spam you too much, and it’d be nice to hear what people think about the process. <3</span></p>-Ben-http://www.blogger.com/profile/12575874881465565784noreply@blogger.com2