Snippets and WiPpets

So I've been kind of badly behaved this week*.  Though I've not written anything I've still rewarded myself for it.  Well... not rewarded, exactly, and not exactly for that, but the upshot is, to distract myself from the fact words mostly seem like a forlorn hope I've treated myself.

I've wanted a Playstation Vita for a while, despite not being the biggest fan of Sony as a company and having never owned any kind of Playstation in the past.  It wasn't the price of the console or the games that put me off either, but the extortionate cost of the proprietary memory cards.  But since the price of them doesn't look to be changing much, now seemed as good a time as any.

As a result, I find myself with a surprisingly nice handheld console, more games for it than I had a week after buying my 3DS, and something to retreat into when my brain wants to escape.  In short, I'm enjoying it a lot.

It's also been a good week stationery-wise.  I saw this calligraphy / stamp set when I ordered the games and couldn't resist.  The box is very attractive and I'm not going to say no to another nib, dip pen and bottle of ink.  The paper base comes out and it has a velvet inner so I'm probably going to keep my other pen and nibs in there as well.

Today also heralds the arrival of my new Lamy Al-Star in Copperorange (their name for it, not mine) along with two extra nibs (one F black, one calligraphy) and a bottle of Ocean Blue J. Herbin 1670 ink with actual gold flakes.  I'd intended to use it with dip nibs but I might just look at the pretty bottle instead...

And when I say I've not written anything, that's not entirely true.  The Vita, its memory card and a wired Xbox 360 controller (not for my Xbox, ironically enough, but my PC) were all dispatched from Amazon on the same day, but in three separate packages (bear with me).  Last month K. S. Norton wrote something about "the what-if scenes of life".  I don't really get them in relation to family life, but I do get random story snippets that relate to absolutely nothing, and as such I usually ignore them.  This time, however, faced with the sudden, abrupt idea that it'd be incredibly embarrassing to mess up and deliver each item separately, I did my best to pin it down.  At around 1am.  ...It may not entirely make sense but hey, for once I actually managed to write something.  And you're getting it right here, or I'll end up forgetting all about it.

He stared down at the package in his hands.  One package.  One last package and his round would be done.  But why did it have to be here?  Of all the places...

Nothing for it.  Heart in his mouth, he knocked on the door.

Wide eyes greeted him.  Wide brown eyes and a tentative smile.  "Yes?  Can I help you... again?"

He proffered the package, squinting against the expected tirade.  "Your delivery, sir.  Your last delivery." 

The expected tirade didn't materialise.  When he looked up, the tentative smile had become a full-blown grin.  "My third one today.  I am lucky.  Or... did you just not arrange your deliveries properly?" 

He again cursed his stupidity for telling his coworker about the handsome young man on his round who always opened the door with such cheerfulness.  "I..." 

The man leaned in to take the package and simply didn't move from there.  His breath tickled his lips.  "Or would it just be easier to give you my phone number?" 

His heart skipped a beat; he didn't let go of the box.  "I could... warn you about deliveries beforehand..." 

The grin widened.  "How about you warn me of the delivery I really want.  Say yourself, at six o'clock?" 

Phrased like that, how could he refuse?  After all, he'd always been told the customer was always right...

And that's not even today's WiP.

Oh, and there was a very short exchange between Fayth and RQ too, but you'd have to ask nicely for that one.

* I've started to notice that my weeks no longer run from Monday to Sunday, but from Wednesday to Wednesday...  Don't know whether to be amused or worried.

WiPpet Wednesday

First off, WiPpet Wednesday is K. L. Schwengel's fantastic idea, a blog hop where participants post sections of their works in progress and relate it to the date.  You can read the other posts (which are always brilliant) and take part yourself over here.

What with The Rose Queen not being originally intended to be my main canon, so to speak, I've run into a bit of a problem.  There's the snippet I want to post, which makes no sense without context you didn't get, and there's the context, which is from the first chapter and thus isn't in chronological order.

In the end, since it explains both what was going on with RQ when Fayth arrived as well as just why he's so lost the second he leaves the habitat again, we're flicking back to Chapter One.  Sorry about that.  Normal(ish) service will be resumed next week.

Since it's the 18th February 2015, this is 1+8 for a total of 9 paragraphs and has a profanity and content warning.  Fayth has just arrived on the ship and is trying to blend in with the crew while he finds his way toward the habitat, though not all the crew seem worth blending in with.

It was a fucking rabbit warren.  He’d expected neat, straight corridors that mirrored the rigid, austere lines of the ship, but no.  Someone had decided that twists and turns were the way to go, and just when he thought he was heading towards the habitat he realised he was off in completely the wrong direction for the fifth or sixth time.  For all of its massive size, the giant dome seemed to be the last place they wanted anyone to go, and it had taken him an embarrassing twenty minutes to reach this conclusion while spectacularly failing to reach the dome itself.  In desperation he swung around a corner into the crew quarters, and straight into a group of men huddled around a single small screen.

“Sorry,” Fayth said, as nonchalantly as possible despite his pounding heart.  Shit, worst possible timing; all it’d take was one person to notice he’d never been there before...

The expected anger never materialised.  It was all the injured party could do to lift his eyes from the screen.  “No problem, mate.”

Fayth shrugged and resumed padding down the corridor while the men resumed their conversation.  “I always figured ‘Ice Queen’ was a better name,” one said, snorting back a laugh, “but shit, looks like I was way off the mark there.”

Pausing ostensibly to look at a overstuffed noticeboard, Fayth suddenly found their inane conversation the most interesting thing in the universe.

“No kidding.”  The second whistled appreciatively, never taking his eyes from the flickering display.  “Certainly opened up for him.”

“They’re not speaking now, but it’s not stopping everyone else having a go,” the first said.  “Maybe even you’ve got a chance.”

“Chance?”  The third said, licking his lips.  “From what I hear, all you gotta do is ask and you’ll receive.”

“Ask?”  This time the first speaker’s laugh was ugly; Fayth crushed the urge to stride over and punch him.  “I don’t remember saying anything about asking.”

National Stationery Week, Day 7

Dear readers,

No, you've not accidentally missed out a day.  I was in Nottingham with my friends / local National Novel Writing Month writers yesterday, so there's no #NSW14 Day 6 post for yesterday.  But don't worry, you're not missing anything: it was Get Organised Day, so you'd only have seen another photo of my (still tidy) desk, with the words "this is as organised as I'll ever get".

Well, not quite.  I have a To-Do list and Daily Chores on HabitRPG, and that is probably as organised as I'll ever get.

Today (Day 7) is Write A Letter Day, and it's not something I do very often.

Actually, I can't remember the last time I wrote one (I don't think birthday cards count).

So you, lovely readers, are getting a letter.  They're not much different to blog posts, are they?  (Or, at least, not in my case.  Sorry about that.)

Although, if anyone would like an actual letter from me, handwritten (probably in a weird colour, possibly with sparkles) on actual paper, sent through the post with a stamp and everything, please drop me a DM on Twitter and I'd be more than happy to send one, complete with terrible handwriting and... hell, if you want, I'd even write flash fiction for you.  All addresses would be confidential and would only be used to write to you all of once etc. etc., blah blah, seriously I spend my day job swatting spam, I've got no interest in adding to it.  Especially not through the post.  Junk mail is a pain in the arse.  I'm also not a burglar, won't sell your details, really won't stalk you (too much effort and it'd mean leaving the house) and so on.

There's not really much else to say, is there?  I was very restrained yesterday, I didn't buy any more notebooks.  I did buy two Andrzej Sapkowski novels though, and a worrying amount of comics, and the gift of the entire Game of Thrones novel series from a friend.

And DVDs.  Lots of DVDs.  Turns out Hansel And Gretel, Witch Hunters is a pretty terrible film that's funny for all the wrong reasons, but The Lone Ranger is actually a pretty funny and very enjoyable movie.  Even if Armie Hammer is three years younger than me.

I feel old.

Now I'd say it's probably a good time to sign off, so have fun and take care of yourselves.  This returns you to the usual (sensible) blogging schedule for the foreseeable future.

Best regards and all that,

Pax

The Promised Handwritten Blog Post - It's National Stationery Month Soon...

Click to make it larger if necessary!

For more information, check out National Stationery Week's site and their Twitter @NatStatWeek -- and maybe consider joining me in writing something?  Please?

Reviews, And What People Expect From One

...Which is a roundabout way of saying, I have no idea what people expect.

I will freely acknowledge that I am terrible at reviewing things.  It brings up awful memories of GCSE and A-Level English book reviews that I casually tried to avoid doing until I was almost thrown out of classes.  Writing a review should be a joy, not a chore, I understand that.  You want to share your experience.  Or, at least, according to the internet, you should.

Am I the only person who finds writing reviews anxiety-inducing?  They're a minefield, or at least they seem so from Twitter, and the mines in question range from things you choose to criticise (more on that later), to whether you should review anything you didn't unequivocally love, with a smattering of "what happens when the author comes along and thanks you / bitches at you / threatens you physically?"

The reason I call my reviews "No-Nonsense" is because I, as I said above, am terrible at reviewing things, and I assume that at least some people, like me, don't really sit down to read long and involved reviews either.  I concluded that by listing things I liked, things I didn't and things that might vary from reader to reader (inasmuch as it all varies because if we were all the same we'd be a hive mind and there'd be no need to read or write stories, we'd already absorb them from the mind that created them) then I could at least review books without driving both myself and anyone who reads the reviews mad.

But when it comes to things you like and things you don't, where do you stop?  What if a book is swimming with typoes--not just the average one or two, but enough to drag you out of the book?  Is that worth pointing out, or will it bring Author Wrath down on your head should they see?

What about the price?  What if a book is worth more, in your eyes, than its sale price--or indeed worth less, or is a free copy you wouldn't have otherwise bought because the price was too high?  Are those worth noting?

I could--and probably would--plunge blindly on if it wasn't for Twitter where, in the last couple of weeks, I've seen an author threaten a reviewer because the reviewer posted a bad review, and another author assert that reviewers who refer to typos as a negative in a book review are somehow deficient and need patronising and gently insulting until they see the author's point of view: that typos should be acceptable in indie novels and the reviewer should only review the plot, not things like spelling.

Faced with those, and various subtle others, I found myself wondering, what actually is the point?  If something irritated me in a novel, apparently I shouldn't ever mention it--but then what is the point of a review?

That, in short, is why I've barely reviewed anything lately.

But I'd rather hear from you guys: what do you expect from a book review?  Should indie books be held to the same standard as ones published by the big names?  What would you like to see commented on, and what would you prefer went ignored?

Or, instead, do you even read reviews, or do you buy solely on the book's blurb?

Incidentally I do have a glowing book review to post, I'm just... building up to it.

Committing To A Schedule

Or at least trying to...

I'm aware of the fact I've failed to blog consistently for months.  In part this has been due to failing to write anything regularly, part due to NaNoWriMo (I acknowledge that only accounts for a month), a small part due to redecorating--I'd intended to start this earlier this week but apparently painting takes forever and wallpapering half a wall takes a whole day--and part due to sheer laziness, because after everything else I'm knackered.

So I'm going to try to commit to a more regular schedule where Tuesdays, which used to be Meet My Desk days until I ran out of desk for you to meet, will be reviews of stationery (and maybe technology and books) and Fridays will be general blogging days, much like this.

It seems an easy enough schedule to stick to, which probably means you can expect resounding failure!

I won NaNoWrimo for my eleventh year with the Unravel AU, this time set nine years on from my Ridiculous Challenge.  I might even finish this one outside of November as I realised both how to end it--not usually my strong point--and the existence of some unintended plot points along the way.  I also need to finish up the steampunk novella, which is still in desperate need of a name; I'm not sure why I'm having trouble with it as I'm actually on the last section of the whole thing, but there we go.  Maybe I should challenge myself to finish it before the end of the year?

In a desperate attempt to write more regularly I'm intending to resume posting at Runaway Tales (one piece already posted, as well as crossposted to my usual place: "One Step Closer")as well as signing up to niee87's annual "I'll Jingle Your Bells" porn ficathon which I wholly recommend joining, especially if you're shy about writing porn.  I was nervous last year when I signed up and now look at me.

Take that as you will.

So with fingers crossed I'll actually be able to take up posting more regularly, as well as posting more stories.  And on the subject of posting and stories, if you have any opinions (and I know everyone does, even if secretly) on how and where you prefer reading online, please please have a quick look over the wordily-titled "How Do You Prefer To Read Fiction Online?" post, vote and add any comments if you wish.

I think that's about it, so hopefully I'll be seeing you again next Tuesday with a review of the Copic atyouSpica pens!

"You're Allowed To Write Crap"

I have to keep reminding myself of this, because I forget and then I just keep editing a sentence or two until I'm satisfied with it... and then I'll go away, then come back and edit them again.  Which is ironic really, because I vary wildly between editing until it's as dry as dust, and hammering it out in one big blast, checking for errors and the worst examples of repetition and then booting it out into the wild.

I am allowed to write crap.

Because writing pages and pages of crap is better than having one nicely polished sentence.  There's a lot more you can do with those pages than with that one perfect, isolated line.

I've managed to find things to do instead of writing.  I have a very nice village in Animal Crossing, for instance.  I've listened to all 28 podcast episodes of Welcome to Night Vale (12 hours and 2 minutes), during which no writing could occur because you have to actually listen to them, not do something that'll distract you and mean you need to rewind.  I sketched and inked a fairly rough picture of Kirill (it's not procrastinating if it's drawing the character you're supposed to be writing about, surely).  I've moved pallets around (the big ones, not the painting ones), taken the dogs for a walk, spent time on the treadmill in my desperate bid to lose some weight...

I've just done everything but writing.  And when I do sit in front of my Works document--don't laugh, I've been using it for 16 years now and the only other thing I'm comfortable with is Abiword; I'm well aware that's abnormal--I just edit the last sentence I wrote.

So... this time next week, if I've not written 5,000 words (or, ideally, more), you have permission to hunt me down and give me a quick kick.

No, I won't tell you where I live...  hey, stop planning the trip already!

So if you're struggling too, remember this.  You are allowed to write crap.  Even if it takes ages to do it, even if you've spend 12 hours being distracted by a voice, at some point sit down, stop worrying and start writing.  We can save the editing for later...  and then really go to town on it.

The Plot Bunny Avalanche; I Can't Turn My Back For Five Minutes...

I complained at the start of Alternate Universe Month that I don't normally write high fantasy and that it was, pardon the pun, a bit of a closed world to me.  I'm usually far happier with contemporary fantasy or pretending I know what I'm doing with my sci-fi world.

Honestly, quite recently I'd been struggling for plot.  I've got a few stories in Alex and Milos's contemporary world that need writing (one smut, one small arc that I started and then left hanging for AU Month), and the continuation of AU Month itself--I should've known better than to think I could complete a whole story in a month.  It's not worked for the last ten years of NaNoWriMo, why would it work now?

With these on my mind, I was taken by surprise when my friend and co-ML reblogged a writing prompt on Tumblr and the damn thing started writing itself in my head.  I tried to ignore it, I really did, but the more I ignored it, the more lines spiralled through my mind so in the end I caved in and wrote it.  The prompt was about a dragon rescuing a princess from a knight, but this being me the princess turned into a prince long sick of being called "fair maiden" and the dragon turned into a rather handsome man.  It turned into something quite cute and fluffy and I really enjoyed writing it.  (You can read Rescuing The Princess if you're interested, it's only around 1,500 words.)

And I thought there it'd end.  Cute one-shot fluff.

Except today I find that my prince is leaning on the sill of his window tapping his fingers on the brickwork and giving me this expectant look, while the dragon is apparently engaged in working out whether he can become a dragontaur and they both seem to think that I can provide them with another story.  Which, to my horror, seems to be something my brain is actively working on as we speak.

I went from being distinctly uninspired to having to try to fight off ideas with a pathetic wooden sword--with little success.

All I want to know is: when did my own mind become so rebellious?

Friday Status Update and Music Musings

I'm now three days behind.  This isn't entirely a surprise to me--what really is a surprise is that it's only three days.  I'm currently rocking a grand total of 35,191 words spread over 16 chapters, so I'm probably doing a little better than I thought I would, even if I am still disappointed in myself for those three days.

Hopefully by the end of today it'll resume being two days.

When I write, I tend to have specific 'soundtracks'--collections of songs that remind me of certain stories.  Radial has one, Unravel has one (which in fact proved awkward when trying to narrow it down to average CD length for a challenge).  Even stories I've not mentioned here such as Arkadian and Chime have them: they both share The Killers' Day & Age between them, along with tracks by Muse and Fair To Midland.

This Alternate Universe doesn't have one.  A lot of the ones I associate with Alex and Milos are too contemporary to move across, and after I removed those I found I had very little left on the playlist.  So I added in music from Sonata Arctica (somewhat a mistake: I associate a few of those with another story too), Orgy and Our Lady Peace in the hope some of those would stick.

Nope.

I'm enjoying the music, don't get me wrong, but there's nothing that's firing off random ideas.  Sixteen is having the occasional Mood over which songs he does and doesn't want to play--there's a few that if I didn't see them on the playlist I'd think I'd forgotten to put in--and I can't find anything in my folders that is giving me the right 'feeling' for a fantasy story about an arse of a knight and his long-suffering slave (although it's odd how much does work for an arse of a government agent and his long-suffering genetically-modified subordinate).

So... if anyone has any suggestions, I'd be incredibly happy to hear them!  And if not... well, I'll be over here staring mournfully at Sixteen's screen and wondering why I can no longer string together a coherent sentence.  And with this post, I think I've proved that...!

What I'm Reading, or, Why Can't I Put This Damn Book Down?

I’m reading Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding right now.  I picked it up on Saturday on the basis of the cover art, the interesting font used for the title, the blurb on the back and, most importantly, because on standing in the middle of the Science Fiction and Fantasy section and reading the first page, the writing style and I got along just fine.

It’s also very difficult to put down, with bite-size chapters just perfect for reading in spare quiet moments and intriguing characters I want to find out more about.

And honestly, that’s the aspect of the novel I’m finding the most interesting.  A lot of advice given to authors, particularly in Wired For Story: The Writer’s Guide To Using Brain Science (there is more title, I'm just not using all of it; I'm sure you can find it from that), focuses on how the author should be upfront with information about the characters.  The theory is that if you, the reader, know everything about them from the beginning, then you’re rooting for whatever the problem is to be solved.

Retribution Falls apparently didn’t get this memo, but I’m loving it all the more for it.  Right now I don’t know why Frey is so irritated by the youthful picture of him on his wanted posters, or quite what’s wrong with Jez, or what Crake is running from.  There are nudges and hints, little prods, but there’s no clear picture spread out for me.  If Wooding was following the previous advice about laying out everything on a plate, would I be so interested in continuing reading?  Possibly, because it’s written with a very nice style.  But would I have this intense, burning curiosity, this need to find out what happened to the characters just as much as I want to find out why Frey’s job went so wrong?  Probably not.  If I’m honest, it wouldn’t have such a hold over me as it does if I knew all these things already.  As it is I’m just as desperate to find out more about these people I’ve been thrown in the deep end alongside as I am to follow the plot.

It’s an interesting reminder that for all that the advice might seem good, maybe sometimes it’s also a good idea to kick it out and write what feels right instead, what lures a reader in and then inescapably hooks them until being separated from your half-finished story makes them feel empty and impatient.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a book I need to get back to.