Confessions of a lazy perfectionist

Pearl of China - Anchee Min

2010-05-01T14:01:00.001Z

With only peripheral knowledge of Pearl S Buck, I came to this book not knowing what to expect. Min’s prose, simple and understated, gives this epic story space to build itself in your mind’s eye, making the unfamiliar terrain and times come to life through her engaging cast of characters.

The story covers the life of Pearl S Buck’s fictional Chinese best friend, Willow, a character created by Min but based on a number of key figures from Buck’s life. Covering 70 years or so means that we dip in and out of Willow’s life, following her through pre-revolutionary China to Mao’s heyday and beyond. These dramatic episodes carry the story forward, but I found myself wanting to know more about everyday life for China’s ordinary people through these interesting times, so now I’m going to read ‘The Good Earth’ by Pearl S Buck herself, Min’s inspiration for writing this remarkable work.

The magic of a 3-day weekend

2010-04-28T09:14:00.004Z

The last few months have been hectic, with a work trip away, an overnight walking marathon and two 30th birthday parties at opposite ends of the country (plus all the usual knitting, reading, cooking and, oh, working etc...). I can't WAIT until this weekend - 3 days with nothing to do unless I really want to do it. Knitting buddy Kathryn has invited me to potter around with her on her new allotment, and other knitting buddy Charlotte is having a 'first night in a new flat open house with takeaway' on Friday, but other than that, I am free and I have the flat to myself...

I have already stocked up on yummy treats (Waitrose fish-finger sandwich, anyone?), and am planning what I'm going to read. There are several things that I've started over the last month, but haven't finished, so some quality time with a book and a pot of coffee on the balcony will help me polish them off. I am also really excited about the writing I'm going to do. Some of the massive tangly plot disasters from the first draft have resolved themselves in my head over the last few weeks, and it's going to be very interesting going back and seeing how much I need to change. And I may even squeeze in a blog or some tweeting!

Reading habits

2010-03-30T08:57:00.003Z

I was away with work for most of last week, and realised that when I'm at a conference or something, I HAVE to read crime fiction. It's a weird compulsion, and I don't really understand it. I quite like reading whodunnits, but in general I've got several books on the go, and swap between genres according to my mood (I'm currently reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Scoop, Harry Potter e la camera dei segreti, The Greatest Show on Earth and The Little Book with a few dabblings in Italian history and culture on the side for when I'm feeling virtuous). What is it about being away with colleagues and tackling the constant threat of having to be nice to clients that makes me want to read about solving murders? Hmm.

Bullets bitten

2010-03-07T14:47:00.002Z

So I'm back from Milan (although my case is not. It should be arriving at my office at around 9am tomorrow. Nice.), and while there I did a lot of things. Read, shopped, ate, drank, talked (sometimes in Italian!), and.... WROTE! Not much, but it's a start. Draft 2 is now underway, with one whole chapter done. I've got a bit of a plan, and also some ideas for other stories, one I could start writing soon, and another which will take a lot of research. But research means BOOKS, so I'm all for that!

Here's to finally getting on with the damned thing.

Harry Potter e la Pietra Filosofale - J.K. Rowling

2010-02-24T13:24:00.002Z

I started this for the first time in April 2007, while on holiday in Sardinia with S and a few chums. It didn't go very well. My GCSE Italian was not really up to the challenge, and I'd forgotten my little dictionary, so I quickly gave up. I started again last summer, hoping for a bit of light relief following my A level, and a fun way to build up my fluency and stamina. I think it worked - when I began, I was looking up dozens of words on each page, and really puzzling over quite a lot of grammar. Last night I didn't look up a single word, despite having my dictionary beside me, and my www.wordreference.org app on my iPhone, ready and waiting just in case.

I'm also reading set books for my degree course, and finding that they're tougher than Harry Potter, but a little easier because of him. I know that I can read now 7 or 8 pages in Italian in one sitting, without being tied to a dictionary, and while it's harder to guess what unknown words mean when you don't know the story, that doesn't mean it's impossible.

I'm off to Milan for a week on Saturday, and I think I'm going to be picking up 'Harry Potter e la Camera dei Segreti', and possibly one or two others. That way, no matter how confused I get by my set texts, I'll know that I've always got something manageable I can read - just what I need to make sure I actually do some Italian every day.

Plunge...

2010-02-17T15:43:00.002Z

I've only gone and done it... Wednesday afternoon was never a good time for productivity, so follow me, @eleanor_steele, and help me pass the time!

Ponder...

2010-02-17T13:18:00.002Z

I've just come out of a digital training session at work. It's given me lots of ideas for projects I'm working on with my clients, but it also made me think about what I'm doing online just for me, like this blog and being part of the Novel Racers. I read the BubbleCow blog, and have been quietly absorbing what they say about Twitter and other online tools for raising one's profile, but haven't quite taken the plunge yet. Part of me is worried that it'll take too much time (something I really don't have a lot of). I mean, I barely update my blog once a week, I never get through the backlog of blogs I read, so when would I have time to tweet and follow other people?

But now I have an iPhone, and things just look a little easier to manage - I can read my blogs in bed without my laptop, I can blog from the tram, so maybe I'm ready to dip my toe into the waters of Twitter...

Pause...

2010-02-12T08:50:00.002Z

This year has been rather strange so far. There have been some big changes, and some small ones, which add up to massive changes when combined, so my focus has been somewhat blurry. Things are starting to feel a bit more normal now, and my optimism is gradually returning.

I haven't forgotten about writing exactly, but other things have sort of taken over the time I would normally use to write and to plan, but it has all been ticking away in the back of my mind. I've had a few minor epiphanies along the way, and I'm really hoping that this month I'm going to get the ball rolling on my second draft. Now, I just need to remember what it's all about...

Read in 2009

2010-01-05T13:19:00.003Z

A Florentine Death - Michele Giuttari (trans Howard Curtis)
A Most Wanted Man - John le Carré
A Secret Alchemy - Emma Darwin
A Wedding in December - Anita Shreve
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
American Wife - Curtis Sittenfeld
Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
Black Boxes - Caroline Smailes
Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
Daphne - Justine Picardie
Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris
Devil Bones - Kathy Reichs
Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
Ethel and Ernest - Raymond Briggs
Falling Angels - Tracy Chevalier
Fast Women - Jennifer Crusie
Guernica - Dave Boling
Heaven Can Wait - Cally Taylor
Hold Tight - Harlan Coben
I, Claudius - Robert Graves
Key of Knowledge - Nora Roberts
Key of Light - Nora Roberts
Key of Valor - Nora Roberts
Library of the Dead - Glenn Cooper
Light of the Moon - Elizabeth Buchan
Lords and Ladies - Terry Pratchett
Lyra's Oxford - Philip Pullman
Man in the Dark - Paul Auster
Midnight Sun - Stephenie Meyer
Mistress of the Art of Death - Ariana Franklin
Nation - Terry Pratchett
New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
Northern Lights - Philip Pullman
Once Upon a Time in the North - Philip Pullman
Past Imperfect - Julian Fellowes
Pigeon Pie - Nancy Mitford
PopCo - Scarlett Thomas
Revelation - CJ Sansom
Romanitas - Sophia McDougall
Rome Burning - Sophia McDougall
Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay
Small World - Matt Beaumont
Stephen Fry in America - Stephen Fry
Temptation - Douglas Kennedy
Testament - Alis Hawkins
Testimony - Anita Shreve
The 19th Wife - David Ebershoff
The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman
The Book of Unholy Mischief - Elle Newmark
The Chalk Circle Man - Fred Vargas
The Crocodile on the Sandbank - Elizabeth Peters
The Dogs and the Wolves - Irene Nemirovsky
The Fire - Katherine Neville
The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton
The Ghost - Robert Harris
The Girl Who Played with Fire - Steig Larsson (trans Reg Keeland)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson (trans Reg Keeland)
The Grass is Singing - Doris Lessing
The Great Lover - Jill Dawson
The Information Officer - Mark Mills
The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce - Paul Torday
The Island - Victoria Hislop
The Last Samurai - Helen De Witt
The Library of Shadows - Mikkel Birkegaard (trans Tiina Nunnally)
The Lost Book of Salem - Katherine Howe
The Magic Scales - Sam Wilding
The Maze of Death - Ariana Franklin
The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins
The Mummy Case - Elizabeth Peters
The New York Trilogy - Paul Auster
The Other Half Lives - Sophie Hannah
The Other Hand - Chris Cleave
The Other Queen - Philippa Gregory
The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
The Secret Scripture - Sebastian Barry
The Separation - Christopher Priest
The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Sorrows of an American - Siri Hustvedt
The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman
The Sunflower Forest - Torey Haydn
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher - Kate Summerscale
The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
The Well-Tempered Clavier - William Coles
The Welsh Girl - Peter Ho Davis
Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
Volevo i pantaloni - Lara Cardello
We Need to Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver
When Will There Be Good News? - Kate Atkinson

Considering I also managed to finish the first draft of my WIP, do my Italian A level and work considerably more than my contracted hours, I think 88 is a pretty decent total. I'd be surprised if I manage as many this year, but I'm hoping more of them will be in Italian!

Read in 2007
Read in 2008

Eek!

2009-11-09T19:26:00.002Z

I've just taken the plunge and splashed out on lots of course books for my new degree course. I don't know whether it will mean that I spend less time blogging, because I'll have so much to do, or whether I'll spend more time procrastinating, which could lead to a blogging explosion...

Seriously?!

2009-11-08T18:32:00.000Z

I have ONLY JUST noticed that I have three characters with the same name. Oh well, I've only been writing this for A YEAR.

This has not been a good weekend for my brain. I'm going to take a brief chocolate break before I carry on with the text edits.

Blushing retraction

2009-11-08T14:18:00.003Z

In future, when I am driven to such lengths of frustration by my computer that I am compelled to post a ranty blog on the subject, I will endeavour to check that, for example (hypothetically, of course), I haven't set the default language to Italian.

Sigh.

I growl at technology

2009-11-07T11:44:00.003Z

I am taking a break from re-plotting to go through the top-line text edits of my first draft, and for reasons of version control, am doing these edits in Scrivener, rather than in my over-sized and rather lumpy Word document of the whole 100,000 words. But, for some INFURIATING reason, EVERY new word I type comes up with a red line underneath it. And sometimes the word next to it too! I KNOW HOW TO SPELL 'THERE'. AND 'MIND'. AND 'TO'. But currently, my computer doesn't believe me.

Heaven Can Wait - Cally Taylor

2009-11-03T09:22:00.004Z

I don't read a lot of chick lit, but 'Heaven Can Wait' had two major advantages for me. Firstly, I know the author, Cally Taylor, and secondly, I have a bit of a weakness for all things supernatural. I started reading as soon as I got home. Every time I tried to stop and get on with the many jobs I needed to do that evening, I thought, 'Oh, just one more chapter...' and eventually I realised resistance was futile - I finished it in one evening.

Something about the writing reminded me of Neil Gaiman, possibly the mix of the everyday with the supernatural, and the unlikely hero (or rather heroine in this case) overcoming bizarre obstacles to achieve the 'right' thing, not necessarily their heart's desire. The humour was also a wonderful mix of juvenile guffaws with clever observational gems, but the ending achieved something special, as it brought a tear to my eye. This is easier said than done, because I have clinically dry eyes - I have to use eye-drops with the worst name ever (I can't put it here, it could have an interesting effect on my searches profile...). I've also persuaded one of my colleagues to buy her own copy, by cunningly letting her read the back, then refusing to let her borrow it! It's a risky book-selling technique I realise, but it's working so far...

That autumn feeling

2009-10-20T11:49:00.003Z

It's been a while since I posted, but lots has been happening behind the scenes. I finished my read-through of 'Unseen' last night - it's taken me ages! At the moment the holes are so big I'm feeling rather daunted about what I need to do to patch the plot up, but at least I know where they all are now. Tomorrow night I'm going to have a massive plotathon, then start writing the missing scenes and cutting the rubbish ones. S says he wants to read it too, and I think it would be useful to have someone else's opinion, though it's too shaky for me to show to any of my readers yet...

But while I am excited about moving 'Unseen' to the next level, the chill in the air is making me think about NaNo. I know it would be crazy to start a new WIP now (not least because I've just signed up to do a part-time degree in Italian Literature... gulp!), but I've been working on 'Unseen' for so long that it's only natural that my brain is percolating the ideas for the Next Big Thing. I just need to let them simmer a bit longer!

The Dogs and the Wolves - Irene Nemirovsky

2009-09-19T14:14:00.006Z

While it is set earlier than Suite Française, and not exclusively in France, The Dogs and the Wolves is nevertheless a similar mixture of the epic and the intimate. The divisions in the Sinner family run deep, with one branch privileged and cultured, the other struggling for stability. Ada Sinner glimpses her more fortunate cousin Harry several times throughout their childhood, and feels herself drawn to him, much to her other cousin Ben’s disgust.

As the families move to Paris, the distinctions between them grow, and yet Ada remains convinced Harry is part of her destiny, and is unwilling to let this go despite the obvious barriers between them. The poignant prose leads to a feeling of inevitability, highlighting the barriers constructed by society that were generally insurmountable, especially for Jewish foreigners in Paris between the wars. However, it is clear throughout that the wheel of fortune is always turning, and none of the protagonists know where the next revolution will take them.

Did I write THAT?!

2009-08-13T10:39:00.003Z

So, after a bit of a break, I've started on the bizarre process of the Second Draft. I've never got this far before, so I'm slightly making it up as I go along, but that's fine. It's fun, and fresh, and different from trying to churn out words. Now I'm trying to recognize the ones I wrote 8 months ago.

I've got a shiny new notebook with handy sections, and I've started reading through the 1st draft, making notes on what happens in each chapter in the blue section, while I'm making notes about the characters in the red section. I found that when I was getting to the latter stages of writing, I couldn't remember what I'd called some of the more minor characters, and other little details, so having the main points jotted down should help when I start putting it all back together. My 1st draft is printed out in a big blue folder, and I've been making quick edits on obvious things I've spotted as I go, and also underlined important things in green. It's quite weird - I've foreshadowed things that I hadn't even thought of when I wrote the beginning and I'm also trying to highlight all the little clues I've left through the text to make sure they all come to something later on.

When I've finished my read-through, my plan is to draw a map of the book on a piece of A3 paper, and start working out what needs to change and where the extra chapters that I've thought of need to go. I might start off with this on Post-Its so I can move them around, but I want to end up with a chart I can stick on the wall (if I can persuade S to let me stick something up! Blue tack stains, you know!). And then comes the actual writing again. Phew, it all seems rather complicated now...

FINISHED!

2009-07-12T20:31:00.002Z

At 100,794 words, the first draft of 'Unseen' is finished! I would have posted about this earlier, but I actually typed the final words in the car on Friday night, while being whisked away to the wonderful Losehill House Hotel for a surprise birthday getaway. I haven't drunk the pink prosecco yet, but I think a glass or two might be in order this evening...

Almost... there...

2009-07-08T12:50:00.003Z

2.5% left. I can do this! I think I've sorted out what the ending is going to be, and even realised I have another little twist left. Despite distractions (like my birthday on Friday), I am GOING to finish it by Sunday. Honest.

Another inch

2009-07-01T11:01:00.002Z

With 1000 more words since yesterday lunchtime, and a revelation that I've just started my penultimate chapter, I'm another inch closer to 'The End', and drinking the bottle of pink prosecco that's been tempting me from the fridge for months now. I just have one, tiny problem. I know what goes in this chapter, and even the first half of the next one, but I have no idea what needs to happen once all the loose ends are tied off and everyone knows everything. Is it good enough just to say '...and they all lived happily ever after'?

Did you see that?

2009-06-30T11:13:00.001Z

My word count just crept up - 1500 words since Sunday. At this rate, I may actually finish it this weekend.

SQUEEE!

Don't tell my Italian teacher...

2009-06-08T12:56:00.003Z

Three days before my penultimate A level Italian exam I have finally finished reading my set text, 'Volevo i pantaloni', by Lara Cardello! I managed 80-something pages last autumn, when we were actually studying the book in class, but never quite got around to finishing the damn thing. However, as the old adage goes, pressure produces diamonds, and with the thought of having to write an essay (albeit only 250 words) on this book later this week, I had to get going on it. This weekend was mostly spent curled up with my HUGE but wonderful dictionary, my copy of 'Volevo' and a notebook for key vocab, and I just finished off the last 13 pages during my lunch break, helped along by the yummy Covent Garden soup of the month. Just don't tell my teacher I'm 6 months late with this particular assignment...

Another week, another lack of words...

2009-06-03T13:18:00.003Z

Yep, you guessed it, no writing this week. I don't even really have time to add this, but I've got 2 books to add to my 'Read in 2009' list (I know, I know - reading, not writing...) and I don't want to get behind in that as well. My only excuse is that I have been writing, but in Italian, preparing for my exams over the next 2 weeks. When they're over, I'll have completely run out of excuses so I'll have to start writing again!

Writing fail

2009-05-27T13:28:00.002Z

Oops. Instead of writing during the many hours driving (Manchester - Bristol - villages near Exeter - Newport - Manchester) over the weekend, I did no writing at all. I listened to Radio 4, which included a surprising lack of comedy during the hours we were listening. Well, intentional comedy. I suppose when the news programming is focusing on MP's duck houses it sort of merges...

Zzzz

2009-05-19T09:44:00.003Z

Maybe it was slightly over-ambitious to think that I would have the brain-space or time to start writing last week, but I've got so many ideas and I really miss it so I thought it might happen. But, unsurprisingly, it didn't. I did have a lovely weekend, with a barbecue (somehow avoiding the customary Mancunian rain), a Eurovision spectacular and a meat-filled birthday dinner for a carnivorous friend keeping me busy.

This weekend does have an extra day tacked on the end with the lovely second May bank holiday, but it also contains a friend's wedding in Devon. And, yet again, S and I are both singing, which will be lovely, but does take up a fair bit of time, especially considering the groom's composition (rather tricky...). That said, I have recently perfected the art of typing while S drives, and it's less anti-social than reading, which is one of the only other methods I have of staying awake when being driven. Maybe the journey to Devon and back is just what I need to finish off those last 7,000 (ish) words?

Normal service will resume shortly

2009-05-11T13:00:00.002Z

Last week was one of the busiest I've ever had, culminating in a big meeting in Dublin. Despite having a day off last Monday for the May bank holiday, I managed to work over 60 hours, and am still a little bit drained. I've found the lack of time for anything other than work really frustrating, and I want to try to address this, but I think that it might have to wait for a while... But hopefully, if all goes according to plan, I should have some time for writing before the end of the week.

Photo fun

2009-04-20T14:59:00.000Z

As a bit of a bookaholic, I think my Book Nook is the coolest part of my flat.

Pay it Forward

2009-04-19T14:36:00.004Z

Weeks after receiving this very exciting package, I have actually got my act together and taken a picture of the goodies Calistro sent me. This means that I can officially declare my part in Pay it Forward open, and anybody who would like a surprise parcel of excitingness should send me an email (eleanor dot steele at gmail dot com). The first three people who provide their address will be the lucky recipients of something suitably fun!

Yay for presents!

I have been eaten by the Evil Monster of Busy...

2009-04-15T12:08:00.002Z

...but will return when I have fought my way through its Super-Sized Stomach of Work with my Burning Sword of Efficiency and my Sparkly Arrows of Initiative. But it might take a couple of days.

It's a big monster.

90,000!

2009-03-23T09:44:00.002Z

A slightly unexpected burst of speed (possibly induced by the contents of Calistro's Pay It Forward gift, which I'll post about properly on Wednesday when I've taken the pictures) on Saturday has taken me past the 90% mark!

It's arrived!

2009-03-21T16:54:00.004Z

If I wasn't just about to leave the house (we're spending Mothers' Day with my in-laws and we need to get on the road!) then I would SO take pictures and put them up immediately, but frustratingly, I don't have time right now. But, my Pay It Forward package from Calistro has arrived and it is FABULOUS.

Holiday reading

2009-03-15T14:00:00.002Z

ON HOLIDAY!

2009-02-24T23:24:00.000Z

Back soon!

Busy

2009-02-12T08:22:00.000Z

Still writing, just busy. Will blog again soon...

Trudging

2009-02-05T10:00:00.003Z

Well, my word count is rising, but nowhere near as fast as I had hoped. My internet broke on Saturday, and after spending about 2 hours on the phone to TalkTalk trying to tell them that I needed a new modem while they insisted on performing many diagnostic tests before telling me that.... (wait for it!) I need a new modem, I didn't really feel like going near my computer again. Then my girly night in with a chum was cancelled due to her menfolk going down with the Tummy Bug of Doom, which also didn't help. So I read (The Welsh Girl and Testament), thoroughly enjoying both books. I then made the mistake of watching The Black Dahlia on my own (the fountain scene still gives my the heeby jeebies). Not very productive. Oh well, I have now crossed over 80,000 words...

77,123

2009-01-29T13:11:00.002Z

This lunchtime I got to just over 77,000 words! I'm planning to do a big push this weekend, and get as close to the end as I can. I'm actually quite surprised by how the pacing is working. One of my biggest worries when I started was that I'd have run out of plot before I reached 50,000 words, let alone 100,000, or go the other way and have only just established my characters and the situation when I finished NaNo, but it seems to be working out better than I could have hoped. That said, I haven't reread any, except the odd bits here and there to check things, so it could all fall apart when I start the second draft...

Déjà lu

2009-01-27T13:34:00.002Z

Yesterday, I began 'The Welsh Girl' by Peter Ho Davies. I bought it last week, having been meaning to read it for a while now. When I started reading, I got the strangest feeling I had already read it. While I couldn't remember the plot exactly, the scenes seemed familiar. It came out in 2007, so I checked my 'Read in 2007/8' blog posts, and it wasn't on them. I might have missed it off by mistake, but I remember seeing it in bookshops and thinking 'Oh yes, I want to read that!' for quite a lot of last year. It's possible that I read an extract somewhere (I've only read the first 30ish pages), so it will be less familiar when I've got further in, but it is the strangest feeling.

On writing, I cracked the 75,000 barrier yesterday!

Disaster strikes! (and is then averted reassuringly quickly)

2009-01-23T10:47:00.003Z

I didn't bring my laptop to work today as I was getting the local train (for local people), which is not equipped with the luxury of tables, making typing while commuting harder. I was still planning to do some writing at lunchtime, thinking that I had saved a copy onto my work computer yesterday, but when I looked in the folder to check, Oh Horror!, it was an Earlier Version. For a full thirty seconds, I was devastated! The new chapter I was hoping to start would have to wait, maybe until tomorrow morning, and possibly even until Monday due to a busy weekend! Those ideas might drain away! It might all go wrong now!

Then, my brain kicked in. I'm starting a new chapter. I can do it in a new Word document, then copy it into my WIP later. Phew. Crisis over!

"It accumulates by a magnitude"

2009-01-22T14:26:00.002Z

No, not snow, words. I don't do a thing for ages, and now I can't stop. When I'm working (and therefore have very little free time), I can do 1000 words a day without noticing, because I fit them in around other things, little batches of a couple of hundred words. But when I have acres of time....

Words vs pages

2009-01-21T15:06:00.003Z

I'm writing my WIP in Word, and I'm currently on page 291 (and 72,371 words). Everytime I finish a chapter, I copy it into Scrivener, partly for back-up in case Word goes wonky, partly for when I start revising (it makes it easier to swap chapters around, make notes and see the bigger picture). When I was doing NaNo, I came to terms with the fact that word counts are different between the two programmes, but was excited that the Scrivener word count also includes a 'Paperback Page Count'. I had been getting a little bit frustrated by this page count - it wasn't going up anywhere near as quickly as I had expected/hoped it would, despite my growing word count. When I realised that it was saying 177 pages for around 69,000 words, I decided to do the maths, and found that it must be using about 390 words per page to calculate the number of paperback pages your wordcount would fill. Is it just me, or does this seem a lot? I would have expected 300-350, but might be way off...

Slow going

2009-01-19T10:49:00.003Z

Sometimes life trips you up when you really think it's going to be smooth underfoot. Last week was pretty much a washout in terms of writing for reasons beyond my control. I did get some time (and brain-space) yesterday, and managed to crack 70,000 words, a milestone which has been looming on the horizon for weeks, never seeming to get any closer. I'm thrilled to have passed it, and really hope that the 70s are going to be easier to get through than the 60s...

Routine vs holiday

2009-01-12T13:06:00.001Z

I did write over Christmas, just nowhere near as much as I had anticipated. It was silly of me really – I live a long way from my family, so when I go there for 10 days over Christmas it shouldn’t have come as a shock that there were things, like having fun with them, that were more important than writing... I’m not worried about the hiatus, and managed about 2500 words over the weekend, so I’m back on the horse. It just highlighted to me that I work better when I’m in my normal routine, rather than engaging in wrapping paper-based warfare with my brothers.

Read in 2008

2009-01-10T14:19:00.000Z

Beneath the Bleeding - Val McDermid
Bones to Ashes - Kathy Reichs
Borrower of the Night - Elizabeth Peters
Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
Careless in Red - Elizabeth George
Cat's Eye - Margaret Atwood
Crazy for You - Jennifer Crusie
Disraeli Avenue - Caroline Smailes
East of the Sun - Julia Gregson
Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
Fast Women - Jennifer Crusie
Fault Lines - Nancy Huston
For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway
Gifted - Nikita Lalwani
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - JK Rowling
Human Traces - Sebastian Faulks
In Search of Adam - Caroline Smailes
Interesting Times - Terry Pratchett
Leviathan - Paul Auster
Making Money - Terry Pratchett
Mudbound - Hillary Jordan
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman (e)
New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult
Painting Ruby Tuesday - Jane Yardley
Petite Anglaise - Catherine Sanderson
Read in 2007
Rebecca's Tale - Sally Beauman
Second Glance - Jodi Picoult
Sepulchre - Kate Mosse
Shakespeare - Bill Bryson
Sihouette in Scarlet - Elizabeth Peters
Star Gazing - Linda Gillard
Stardust - Neil Gaiman
State of the Union - Douglas Kennedy
Street of the Five Moons - Elizabeth Peters
Swallowdale - Arthur Ransome
The 39 Steps - John Buchan
The Alchemist's Daughter - Katherine McMahon
The Athenian Murders - Jose Carlos Somoza
The Cairo Diary - Maxim Chattam
The Cleft - Doris Lessing
The Confusion - Neal Stephenson
The Courage Consort - Michel Faber
The Crimson Petal and the White - Michel Faber
The Dante Club - Matthew Pearl
The Dante Trap - Arnaud Delalande
The Duchess - Amanda Foreman
The End of Mr Y - Scarlett Thomas
The Evil Seed - Joanne Harris
The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
The Gum Thief - Douglas Coupland
The Hippopotamus Pool - Elizabeth Peters
The Inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai
The Light Years - Elizabeth Jane Howard
The Lollipop Shoes - Joanne Harris
The Magician's Nephew - CS Lewis
The Mathematics of Love - Emma Darwin
The Murder Book - Guillermo Martinez
The Night Climbers - Ivo Stourton
The Outcast - Sadie Jones
The Point of Rescue - Sophie Hannah
The Post-Birthday World - Lionel Shriver
The Rose Labyrinth - Titania Hardie
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
The Secret of Lost Things - Sheridan Hay
The Seville Communion - Arturo Perez-Reverte
The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield
The Virgin in the Garden - AS Byatt
The Woman in the Fifth - Douglas Kennedy
Welcome to Temptation - Jennifer Crusie
Winter in Madrid - CJ Sansom

Writing Whirlwind

2008-12-12T15:43:00.003Z

Since beginning NaNo on November 1st, I've written 60,003 words, which is an average of 10,000 words each week. I'm absolutely shattered, but determined to keep this pace up until I type 'The End', ready for me to work on the second draft in the new year in the brand new Novel Race. Next year, I'm planning to be one of the winners!

Slightly sore head

2008-12-10T10:48:00.002Z

Well, as could have been predicted, we didn't even make it out of the restaurant once we got talking, so no skating and no German Market action, though plenty of red wine (and an ill-advised limoncello, which I'm blaming for my feeling of wrong this morning). We also managed to embarrass our waiter, who seemed to have an uncanny knack for appearing behind the person saying something outrageous (often me). He overheard anecdotes about day-glo nylon thongs, phallic glassware (and gestures you should not make with them) and enthusiastically joined in a conversation about suet. We're going back on Friday, and are hoping he'll be working again!

On a more writerly note, I managed my 1000 words pre-wine, so they all, more or less, make sense.

Second wind

2008-12-09T14:02:00.005Z

So far I've managed over 1000 words each day, though as this is just since Sunday that means, technically, twice. It sounded more impressive in my head... I've done some more this morning on the train, and should manage 1000 again, though hopefully before I hit the town with my Knitting Circle coven-mates for our Christmas Night Out. With the prospect of ice-skating, followed by mulled wine (NOT before the skating. That would just be foolhardy) and waffles from the German Market, any words I produce later on this evening will probably be slightly squiffy ones.

Luck, or the lack thereof

2008-12-07T20:17:00.004Z

I seem to be having rather bizarre luck at the moment, and not in a good way. Not even in a bad way, just in a rather frustrating and strange way. I normally either bring my lunch from home, or buy something from Boots or Tesco in town. On Thursday, I decided to go to Sainsbury's, which is a bit further away than the alternatives but I would also be able to buy ingredients for supper. I knew they were doing some building work there, but it's been going on for about 6 months. Somehow though, I'd managed to choose the only weekday during the whole process when the store would be shut all day. These things happen, so I went off to buy a sandwich elsewhere.

Then this evening, I remembered that I've been meaning to change my mobile bill to e-billing rather than paper, but had never managed to do it at work because I needed my account number (why this has to be different to my phone number, I don't know, but it is). I had my account number on a bill so logged onto the site. I registered all my information, went through the FAQs about what e-billing entails and then went back into the 'Your Account' section to change my details, but it had gone. I had logged into my account TWO MINUTES before the site went down for planned maintenance until 8am tomorrow. My timing really sucks.

Time off for good behaviour

2008-12-07T12:37:00.002Z

When I finished my 50,000 NaNo words, I (almost immediately) came down with a horrible cold. My voice is nearly back to normal, and I haven't had a huge coughing fit for 2 whole days now, so I have started to feel as though the break I was taking from writing might have grown a little long. I don't want to lose the momentum I had during November, but when my head hurt too much to think properly and I was sneezing over everything, writing wasn't really an option.

In the middle of all that, I also went away twice, first to an isolated 17th century cottage in Snowdonia, and then for a night in London including a big curry with some chums. I got out of the routine I had created for NaNo, and writing didn't fit so easily into my gallivanting as it did in my normal everyday life. Now I'm back at work, and in my (freezing cold) flat for the weekend, I'm writing again. Only 246 words so far today, but it's a start. And I'm going to keep writing, one word in front of the other, until I get to the end.

Almost celebrating...

2008-11-24T14:54:00.003Z

On Friday evening, when I was travelling down to London for a weekend of frolics with friends, I crossed the NaNo finish line, ending my journey with 50,023 words. While this is certainly a cause for celebration, the story isn't yet complete, and that's what my real goal is. I can't stop now. I think I'm over halfway through the story (though it might be surprise me and be longer or shorter than I expect...), so am beginning the downhill section. I've got a bottle of pink champagne waiting in the fridge for the day I type 'The End', and set myself a revised deadline of December 31st. I'll update my word counter to show the target as 100,000 words tomorrow, but until then, I'm enjoying having it look like I've finished!

Confused...

2008-11-15T13:23:00.003Z

I am seriously obsessive about backing up my work. My NaNo WIP is currently on my laptop, my work PC (so that I can work on it at lunch-time, never during the working day... Honest.), and a memory stick. Also, whenever I finish a chapter, I copy it into a new Google Document and also into Scrivener, the novel-writing package I have on my laptop. I'll be using this to edit it once I've finished the first draft, as it is much more flexible than Word, which is what I'm using for NaNo.

The Scrivener project stats tells you lots of things on top of just a simple word count, including how many paperback pages you have written, and this is what I've generally checked when I've added a new chapter. I copied in Chapters 17 and 18 this morning, and happened to also notice the word count for the project. In Word, I had reached 37,801, as you can see today in my word counter bar. When I looked at the Scrivener word count it said 37,910! I really don't understand the discrepancy, and am inclined to believe the Word total with the belief that it's better to get to 50,000 then realise I've actually done more when I validate it on the NaNo site than the reverse, but it still makes the scientist in me slightly nervous. Which one is right?! There is a discrete total of words (unless there's something funny going on with hyphenations or contractions) and I want to know what it is! Argh!

70%

2008-11-13T22:55:00.002Z

With 35,026 words and lots of ideas left to write, I think this might be the best November ever, despite not making it down to Lewes for Bonfire Night. Again.

50%

2008-11-09T10:35:00.003Z

After 8 and a bit days, I have hit the halfway milestone - I now have 25,052 words! This has been a fairly crazy week, with furious typing occupying every free moment I've had, but I've absolutely loved it. Blogging has suffered a bit, but I think that's only natural.

This has been a real learning experience for me, and I've found it rather liberating. I'm such a scientist, I like being really accurate, but I've made myself set this story in fictional places so that isn't such a thing as accurate - they're all only in my head. I can go back and change things later if I decide to do things differently, but for the first draft it's much more important to just get the words down.

Right, I need some coffee, and then it's back to the grindstone!

Name change?

2008-11-02T19:32:00.002Z

After this weekend of frantic activity (12,258 words so far, and I think I've got a few left in me before bed), my 'lazy' credentials are severely tarnished. If this continues, I may have to rename the blog, but 'hard-working perfectionist' just sounds rather dull, and not at all like me. Oh well, I'm sure when I get back into the office tomorrow, my momentum will falter, but with a start like this I don't really have any excuse for not finishing the 50,000 words this year!

Reward

2008-11-02T14:45:00.002Z

Having already exceeded my target for the weekend (I'm at 11,082 words now!), I'm off to the pub for a well-deserved lunch.

More writing when I get back, and I'm hoping my characters will lead me to write even more unexpected things, following the creation of a feminist fairy-tale earlier today, which my main character told her daughter as a bedtime story!

Day 1 total

2008-11-02T10:09:00.002Z

I had a good day yesterday. I think I've broken my previous record for number of words written in a day quite easily, and don't entirely know if I can keep up the momentum. But I can only try.

My total for the day was:

8,215 words!

Progress

2008-11-01T09:52:00.001Z

So far, 291 words, but I've just had to shut Word down for some updates to install. Annoying! But, security is important... And this is a good excuse to go and make a cup of coffee!

And they're off!

2008-11-01T09:15:00.003Z

I am just about to start NaNo. All my preparation have been made, and I'm raring to go. My nails are short for ease of typing, all the books I might need for reference are around me, and Word is opening up as I type. I also have a big pile of fruit for when it's going well and I'm feeling virtuous, and a big pile of junk food, which I probably won't need for the bad times... I also have a big keyboard hooked up to my laptop to save my wrists.

So, without further ado, 'Once upon a time...'

D'oh!

2008-10-24T12:29:00.001Z

I've just realised that the books I've been looking forward to receiving from Amazon won't actually ever arrive.

I only dreamt that I ordered them.

(Realisation occurred 5 hours after waking up...)

Hacked or just really open?

2008-10-22T14:01:00.001Z

I'm not sure whether this will stay long before being amended, but when I just went onto the John McCain page on Wikipedia, the first sentence was:

"John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936) licks balls."

Decision

2008-10-20T13:05:00.002Z

After some soul-searching and calendar-scouring, I've decided I'm going to attempt NaNoWriMo again this year. I only managed about 16,000 words last November, but am coming at it from a different angle this year. I've noticed that while my WIP isn't autobiographical, a lot of the characters and situations have some basis in my life or experiences my friends have had. I think this is understandable, but I want to broaden my writing. So, for NaNo I've decided to really experiment and try to write against my instincts, in terms of characters and plot. I'm not letting myself think too much about it before November 1st (though to be honest I'm so busy right now, that's not too hard!), but I've already got some ideas, and they feel really fresh and different. When it gets to December, I'll have to reassess what I want to concentrate on, and whether my NaNo writing will change any aspects of my WIP. I'm really excited about seeing what will happen!

Forgot...

2008-10-15T20:52:00.002Z

I managed to unremember that I'd also written 1000 words in a notebook, so that's been tacked onto the word count too. Nearly back up to 43,000...

Words

2008-10-15T16:36:00.001Z

I have now adjusted my word count, and was pleasantly surprised. I knocked off 10,000 words from my total over the summer with some much-needed pruning of the brain-dump back-story, but have managed to carry on writing since then and added 5,000 words back in. Now I just need to keep going...

Swan Lake

2008-10-15T08:36:00.004Z

Last night I practically swam across Manchester (the weather was dreadful) to get to The Lowry. Standing in the foyer waiting for my friends, chilly and with wet feet, I thought that the show would have to be pretty special to make me feel a bit better about the state I'd got into on my way. Well, I wasn't just pleasantly surprised, I was totally blown away.

The Australian Ballet have totally reinterpreted the story, making it much more intense and dark, and the choreography is so much more than just dance. There is an emotional depth to the performance that I've never really seen in ballet before, and a heightened realism to the movements that makes it all the more haunting. I think it would definitely still have been worth seeing, even if I actually had to swim the Manchester Ship Canal to get there.

Cringe...

2008-10-14T16:17:00.002Z

I realised I had left my purse at home today while trying to pay for my lunch in Boots. Luckily, I did still get to eat because I knew the person in the queue behind me, and very kindly paid for my food.

Unfortunately, it was my boss's boss's boss (my great-grandboss?).

My cheeks matched the tomato in my sandwich.

Correlation

2008-10-13T15:20:00.005Z

I have spotted a direct inverse correlation between workload and blogging frequency before. The last month (since I received a promotion, thereby increasing the number of accounts I work on and the responsibilities I have for each of these) has yet again highlighted this relationship.

I have kept writing, doing some major surgery on my WIP, taking out around 10,000 words of back-story that isn't strictly crucial for what I'm trying to say. I've also plotted more and been working on filling out scenes I've sketched. Unfortunately, I haven't updated my word count here, but will when I remember and am on the right computer.

I'm also getting that autumnal NaNo-is-just-round-the-corner feeling, and story ideas unrelated to my WIP keep popping up. I'm trying to suppress them so far, but maybe a break is what I need...

Irony

2008-09-05T13:35:00.001Z

It is pouring with rain, and has been for most of the day. However, I am in a building without water. To get a drink, or use the loo, we have to go to the building opposite. Through the pouring rain of irony.

Time, and how I lack it

2008-08-19T11:54:00.002Z

A week on holiday was lovely, the following week - not so much. I got back into the office last Monday to be told that I was needed in Denmark 2 days later for 2 days. This was followed by a trip to Glasgow to visit friends, which was lovely, but I felt bad that I dozed off with alarming regularity. Anyway, while I'm now back, it's not for long - a weekend of singing will keep me busy (and still not writing...).

Success!

2008-07-23T08:59:00.002Z

Yesterday I managed 13.5 pages in my little notebook, mainly because the friend I met for a drink was about 40 minutes late! It's all planning for the next section, and I think this is really important. I was putting off writing it because I couldn't work out how to get from what had happened to what I knew had to happen later on, and just writing it blind wasn't working for me. But now I've plotted out loads and will start writing the actual scenes when I get home tonight.

Although I will have to fit in an episode from the first season of 'The West Wing'. I've been having withdrawal symptoms...

Slowly...

2008-07-22T09:05:00.002Z

I've watched the guys who joined the '100 words a day' group with their steadily increasing word counts, and thought about how busy I am, and how tired I am and how blah blah blah blah blah blah.

Now I have stopped making excuses.

I'm not signing up for 100 words, but I'm going to do something everyday, even if that is only some scribbles on a post-it during a meeting. (Not that I ever think about anything other than work during meetings. Obviously. It was just a bad example that popped into my head.)

On the train on my way to work this morning I wrote 4 pages in my little stripy A6 notebook. And my hand ached afterwards (must get used to writing with a pen again....)

Graffiti

2008-07-21T10:06:00.000Z

A sticker on the door of the train toilet said, 'Out of use'.

Underneath, written in pencil quite neatly, though obviously while the train was in motion, 'Your mum is out of use'.

Lucky Lazy P

2008-07-14T14:42:00.002Z

Throat infection + birthday would not normally = good times, but somehow the addition of a sapphire surrounded by 10 diamonds helped. Sparkly!

Splodges...

2008-07-07T20:54:00.000Z

...have appeared all over my throat, accompanied by an inability to stay awake after 3 pots of coffee.

I feel some daytime TV coming on...

You think that's a good idea?... Really?

2008-07-02T13:54:00.002Z

At lunchtime I saw a woman using crutches experiencing some difficulty walking.

Possibly because she was also wearing high-heeled flip-flops.

I truly despair.

Meme

2008-06-27T08:42:00.004Z

I've been tagged by Calistro to do this meme, so here goes!

What were you doing 10 years ago?

I had just finished my A levels and was counting down the days until my first legal drink.

Five things on your to-do list for today:

1. Work out where the wedding I'm going to tomorrow is.
2. Find out what time it starts, and what time I need to be there for a rehearsal beforehand.
3. Learn the music I'll be singing at the wedding.
4. Buy a wedding present (can you detect a theme?).
5. Finish the vocabulary analysis I've been doing at work.

What are three of your bad habits?

1. I go to sleep whenever I'm a passenger - cars, buses, trains, planes - nothing is safe from my slumber.
2. I secretly think it's a waste if I'm not reading while I eat. I'm not sure why, but I think words make the food taste better.
3. I am EXCEEDINGLY messy, and if I try to tidy up, chances are I'll find a book after 2 minutes and accidentally start reading it while trying to put it on the shelf (or, more likely, one of my many piles of books 'hidden' in the corners of my flat, which my lovely husband kindly ignores).

What would you do if you were a billionaire?

Move to Italy and take lots of courses, but also travel wherever and whenever the mood took me.

What are some snacks you enjoy?

Prawn crackers
Carrot sticks
Green and Black's dark chocolate with ginger
Stem ginger without the chocolate
Fishfinger sandwiches

What were the last five books you read?

1. Shakespeare - Bill Bryson
2. The Secret of Lost Things - Sheridan Hay
3. The Woman in the Fifth - Douglas Kennedy
4. The Cairo Diary - Maxim Chattam
5. The Dante Trap - Arnaud Delalande (I haven't quite finished this but am on the last chapter...)

What are five jobs you have had?

1. Nursing auxiliary in a nursing home
2. Telephone fundraiser for my university
3. Fundraising researcher, also for my university
4. Editorial assistant at a medical communications agency
5. Medical writer

Five places that you have lived?

1. Uckfield, Sussex
2. Horam, Sussex
3. London
4. Paris
5. Manchester

I feel a bit guilty about not tagging people, but I know this one has been doing the rounds for ages, so I think almost everyone on the planet has done it already!

Think before you quaff...

2008-06-19T09:06:00.002Z

Ribena were giving away mini-cups of their new juices at Manchester Piccadilly this morning, and as a sucker for anything free, I gratefully accepted one. I headed to my train and took a big swig, which was immediately followed by the thought, 'Yeah, this doesn't really go with toothpaste... urgh.'

I'm sure it's nice to drink before cleaning your teeth though...

Excuses, excuses

2008-06-17T17:41:00.002Z

While I have been doing a little writing over the last week or so, I've taken on a rather ambitious project - translating a novel from Italian. This is really only for my own benefit, as I'll be studying it for my A level next year, and want to get a head-start, but it has sapped some of my creativity and writing time. I think it will balance out once I get into the swing of things, and will probably be good for my writing, as I'm having to delve much deeper into the text that I normally do when reading a book. Fingers crossed, anyway...

Training...

2008-06-09T13:18:00.003Z

As part of our preparation for the Ribbon Walk, we walked 11 miles over the hills yesterday. Having checked the BBC weather forecast on Friday at work (black cloud, rain-drops), obviously Sunday was the most glorious day we've had so far this year. And I am now slightly stripy in the shoulder area and my feet are polka-dotted with blisters. Nice.

I want your money!

2008-05-30T08:22:00.003Z

I have rather foolishly signed up for the 20 mile 'Ribbon Walk' in aid of Breast Cancer Care on Saturday 21st June, and would be very grateful for sponsorship! If you would like to sponsor me, please go to http://www.justgiving.com/eleanorsteele

Thank you!

Courtesy of Popbitch

2008-05-29T15:21:00.004Z

'A customs test at Japan's Narita airport last week placed a quarter of a pound of cannabis in a randomly chosen suitcase on its way to the baggage hold.
'Sniffer dogs failed to detect the cannabis and the officer could not remember which bag he had put it in. Anyone finding the package has been asked to contact customs officials.'

This once happened to me, albeit with a much smaller amount - in a sealed box of Smarties from a Brighton newsagent...

Sex and the City

2008-05-29T14:42:00.003Z

I went to see the new 'Sex and the City' film with about 4 million other people last night (and that was just in the same cinema - they were showing it on 2 screens every hour!). Beforehand, I was excited, but also worried about whether it would live up to the expectations of everyone who had loved the show. Could it be as good? Could it translate to film? Would I secretly find Carrie exceedingly self-absorbed and sometimes want to give her a good shake (just like when watching it on TV)? Luckily the answer was 'Yes' to all these questions.

We all laughed, cried, and felt that the time had gone by in a flash, and I came out of the cinema with a smile (and a bit of smudged mascara) on my face. Even though some of the characters, especially Charlotte, lost some of their personality and became almost caricatures, it was still captivating. And best of all, along with the film I enjoyed a fair number of dolly mixtures as a retro treat. Yum!

Psychic

2008-05-28T14:21:00.002Z

Please don't laugh, but I think my iPod is psychic. On a number of occasions, I have been talking about a film with iPod playing on random in the background, and a song from the soundtrack has started playing. This is a pretty big coincidence as I have 8.7 Gb of music on there - enough to play continuously for days.

At the weekend, I listened to a CD in a burst of traditionalism. Today at work I wanted to listen to the same CD on my iPod, but scrolling through the tracks I just couldn't find it, so I selected something similar and got on with my work. But which album did my iPod choose to play me after the one I initially selected? The one I had wanted to listen to in the first place.

Business as usual

2008-05-28T09:22:00.002Z

After a couple of weeks of sunshine, warmth and blue skies, I was beginning to get a little suspicious. This didn't feel like Manchester! I was no longer certain where my umbrella was!

Luckily, I woke up this morning and the weather had reverted to type. Grey skies, proper rain (not the weedy little 'showers' we've had to make do with most of the month) and temperatures low enough to necessitate finding a scarf. And my umbrella? Still in my bag from last time, thank goodness...

Writing is Dangerous...

2008-05-26T20:23:00.003Z

... and should not be done when there is a pan of potatoes boiling in the other room. This way lies kitchen fires.

Luckily I smelt burning before there were actual flames, though I think I'll have to buy some potato salad to go with tomorrow's dinner. Oops.

On a more positive note, I've written over 2000 words this weekend!

Я не понимаю*

2008-05-25T19:04:00.003Z

While doing some writing today I needed to check a Paris street map, so I googled, oddly enough 'Paris street map'.

I clicked on the first image that came up.

It was Paris, but it looked a bit odd.

I zoomed in to try to work out why.

All the street names were in Russian...

*'I don't understand' in Russian

A washing-up hum

2008-05-09T18:31:00.002Z

I hum and sing a lot. This afternoon, while washing my lunch stuff at work, I had a little hum, which turned into a little sing. Luckily there was no-one around to hear, as it went something like this:

'Mmm mmm mmm, la la la,
How luckeee I am,
Living on the sea bed
In old Amsterdam.'

I'm just hoping it wasn't my subconscious having a global-warming related premonition.

Progress (at last)

2008-04-28T21:24:00.002Z

Thanks to the impetus from Saturday (and possibly also because I forgot my book today), my word count has crept on by a whole 1%! Squee! Am now feeling a lot less like a fraudulent Racer, and while the finish is still a long way off, I'm out of the pits and back on the track again for the first time in months. It feels good.

Wow!

2008-04-26T16:54:00.002Z

It seems fitting that my first post in ages should come straight after I meet all my fellow Novel Racers. (Thanks for the verbal kick up the bum Zinnia, please keep them coming!) Talking to everyone, sharing our ideas and experiences has made me want to stop letting work etc get in the way of both my blogging and writing. Even if it's just a few sentences, I need to actually do something regularly. So, I apologise for any times you have checked the blog and nothing had changed - I will do better. (Though being properly better about writing might have to wait until after my Italian exam. Eek.)

Feedback #1

2008-03-05T14:15:00.003Z

I've heard back from one of my lovely reviewers, and am very relieved because she liked my chapters! She also made an interesting point about the genre of my story - she couldn't tell which it was. Thinking about this, it became obvious why. I have no idea either... I think I need to do a bit of thinking!

Hiatus...

2008-03-04T14:22:00.002Z

There are many things I want to post about, and will do very soon, but this week is SO busy for me that it will probably be next week before I get round to it...

Eeeeek!

2008-02-22T11:58:00.003Z

Having got my first three chapters completed earlier in the week, I have bravely sent them (via Google Docs) to a couple of friends, to get their opinions. They are both rather knowledgeable regarding matters literary (one is the daughter of an author, the other studied English at both Oxford and Cambridge), so I know that their advice will be useful. I'm just rather nervous about receiving it...

Possible title change necessary!

2008-02-21T14:12:00.003Z

This week, far from being the lazy perfectionist of the title of my blog, I've been a highly motivated perfectionist and achieved a lot. My word count has shot up by over 5000 words since Monday, and the ideas seem to be pouring into my head. The only thing I'm finding difficult is having to not write 'Saving' for the 7.5 hours a day I'm contracted to write medical stuff. And sleeping and eating seem to be getting in the way a bit too, rather than the other way round, which is the norm, I've found...

He loves me, he loves me not

2008-02-21T10:43:00.003Z

I watched a fabulous French film last night, 'He loves me, he loves me not' starring Audrey Tautou and Samuel Le Bihan. This 'love' story is the antithesis of 'Amelie', and really cleverly constructed so that you see both sides of the action, and the very different perspectives of Angelique and the love of her life. There's very little else I can say without giving away too much of the story, but the more sinister moments are beautifully balanced by Tautou, who radiates innocence and sweetness throughout.

I loved the use of metaphors about cardiologists and less literal problems of the heart, which were often hidden in the many layers of the story so that the meanings didn't become clear until close to the end of the film. It was a very visual story, particularly with Angelique's beautiful paintings and collages giving an insight into her rather lonely world. It's just the sort of imaginative tale you can get completely lost in for a few hours.

Bad blogger

2008-02-20T12:02:00.003Z

I am a bad and neglectful blogger. I missed my own blog's first birthday! It was a whole week ago and I didn't notice. Oops. Must try harder...

30,000 words and counting

2008-02-19T10:39:00.003Z

The Novel Race this year has spurred me on, and I expect to get to 32,000 words later today. I'm finding that the more I write, the more I want to write, which is a satisfying feeling. However, I definitely go through peaks and troughs, so I'm hoping to extend this peak as long as possible, even if it means lugging my laptop all around Cheshire and Manchester so that I always have it with me.

Apart from reaching 30,000 words yesterday, I also achieved another milestone. I write in a fairly patchwork way, jotting down bits of scenes all over the place and adding to them when I think of something to say. It means there's always something interesting to write about no matter what kind of mood I'm in, but it does mean that I don't really do linear landmarks. Anyway, I decided to concentrate on my first few chapters, and as of last night, the first three are all finished! They're still quite rough and first-drafty (draughty also works as I'm sure there are plenty of holes the wind can whistle through...) but my story has a definite start now. I just need to tame the wilds and plug the gaps in the middle and end, and then I'll have the first draft of a whole book...

In Search of Adam - Caroline Smailes

2008-02-15T10:04:00.004Z

'In Search of Adam' by Caroline Smailes, a fellow Novel Racer, is very different from most books. The way she uses text as a visual device, rather than just a way of getting her words into the readers' brains, and her intentionally idiosyncratic use of sentence structure, gives the impression that every word and strand of the story has been teased into the perfect place with surgical precision. This makes Jude's life, which is not comfortable to experience, seem all the more true. The use of language and of information as an emotional rock at times reminded me of 'The History of Love' by Nicole Krauss, another novel about a young girl trying to find her way in a world that seems to have buried all that she needs to find.

The hidden depths beneath the secondary characters enclosing Jude's world give an ominous feel to what might otherwise be considered a 'normal' street. These characters will also get their chance to be heard on Monday, when Caroline releases 'Disraeli Avenue', to raise money for victims of abuse via the charity 'One in Four'.

New Moon - Stephenie Meyer

2008-02-13T22:57:00.003Z

This is the sequel to 'Twilight', which I read on holiday in Sardinia last year. 'New Moon' moves away from Bella's adventures with the Cullen family of vampires, and looks instead at her growing friendship with a werewolf - not entirely what you might expect from a romance...

I read 'New Moon' while recovering from a bout to stomach-related nastiness, and needed something light-hearted but enticing. I could also particularly relate to Edward's abstemiousness, having eschewed food for 48 hours. The twists and turns took me through my queasiness, and made it more bearable sitting at home for 2 days when watching TV gave me motion sickness. I did sometimes want to give Bella a damn good shake (self-involved, much?) but that's what being a teenager in all-encompassing love is about I suppose. The perfect book for curling up with when feeling a little sorry for oneself.

PS. A - don't worry - I bought 2 copies!

Arms race...

2008-02-06T09:28:00.000Z

I sprained my ankle quite badly in November, and hadn't ventured to the gym since. This morning I finally went back, and met up with one of the trainers to put together a programme that would not put too much pressure on my ankle. He suggested using the rowing machine, something I hadn't done much on before. I tried it out, and after a few minutes I detected a slight problem. I'm left handed, and consequently use my left arm more than my right. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but on the rowing machine it manifested itself in, quite literally, an arms race, which my right arm was losing fairly badly. At least I wasn't in the water going round in circles...

Breaking the silence

2008-02-04T14:18:00.000Z

Following a wonderful holiday in Marrakech, and then a not so wonderful virus last week, I'm now back online and in a fit state to blog... Unfortunately, I'm also rather busy after an unexpectedly long time off work, so it may take a little while before I get round to it. Argh.

And 'Best Typo of the Evening' goes to...

2008-01-18T00:20:00.000Z

'As soon as his lips touched mince...'

No, this isn't a story about cooking.

Hey ho - I have broken the 20,000 word barrier though, so not all bad news.

We're all going on a winter holiday!

2008-01-17T11:17:00.000Z

S starts a new job in February, and we decided ages ago that we should go on holiday before he leaves his old one. This led to one of the most complex negotiation periods of our marriage - 'Where should we go? How long for? What should we do when we get there? How much can we afford to spend?'. We spent hours scouring the internet for the perfect destination, with the perfect flights at the perfect times. Last night, we finally sorted it out. Next Thursday, we're off to Morocco for 4 days, and I can't wait!

Now I just need to find some new sunglasses, dig out my summer clothes (they were rather neglected last year with the lack of any kind of summer-like weather in the UK) and decide which books to take (then let S take out most of them saying that as we're only going for 4 days I really don't need 10 books, sneak a couple back into my handbag and swear that it doesn't weigh a ton when I struggle to pick it up...).