It's Been 10 Years, But I Just

Over the last few weeks, I have been itching to have another crack at writing the sequel to Fairies, because it's been ten years (almost) since I wrote it, I'm back in the place I wrote it (mostly) and I feel like it's about time. As in, it's about time I wrote it, the novel isn't about time. That would add a whole other level of complicated I can't deal with right now. 

4thewords is continuing to be a helpful beastie, because it makes me write at least 444 words a day, and sometimes the hurdle is just starting and putting pen to paper... well, fingers to keys. Once I get going, I'm not anywhere near NaNoWriMo personal bests of 20k days or writing 100k in a month, but I can crack through between 1.5-5k words a day without it interrupting my day too much, so where is the problem? 

Part of the problem is the characters. **If you haven't read Fairies, this is going to contain spoilers, so please consider this your alert.**

Fairies finished with Nate, Adamson, Louie, and, I want to say Felix, but who knows at this point!, returning to the fairy world because an eternal life as a fairy was better than a limited human life. They could make an impact on the lives of humans and they were important there. Seemingly simple? 

It's really not simple. 

Following on from their return to the fairy world, things change around quite a bit, so there's some of the sequel which is about them, some which is about Frank as my favourite person who was left behind in the human world (and someone who crops up into another novel I've been writing for just next to forever but needs a bit of character development in between the two!) and two new characters. One of the new characters is 'evil' and in league with the imps and the other is the one causing me the most problems, as she's Felix's (he's definitely called Felix - I checked) daughter. Originally I intended the story to be just about her, but every time I start writing about her, she seems to find some sort of tangent to go on and finding the way to make the actual storyline (and the reason I'm writing the book in the first place) to happen seems to be beyond me at the moment. 

Ah well - I've had a moan about it, and now I can get back to writing it, even though it's been at least five years since I read Fairies over again (only cringing most of the way through it) so the details are a little hazy and I have no idea where either the .pdf file or the proof copies are, but that's just a bit tough, isn't it?

It's Not Sunday,

I was looking forward to a productive week before heading off to Edinburgh this weekend, and the truth of the matter is I have done a fat lot of nothing. 

I've been too ill to leave my flat, and at points, too sick to get out of bed. I thought it was my recurring chest infection, but when I ventured out to the GPs to query the constant pain in my throat that painkillers weren't touching, I found out I actually had a throat infection with blistering in my throat. It was as disgusting as it sounds, and I was struggling to breathe for a good couple of days, which is why I feel so damn feeble now. 

Put simply; I didn't eat for a few days which meant I was even dizzier than normal. Before anyone thinks of making jokes about that, I have a problem that makes me dizzy and no it's not vertigo. I'm now trying to get back onto an even keel but as quite a small person, I didn't have a significant amount of fat to burn. (Although thankfully Lent is my season to gorge on chocolate, so there was a little bit to keep me going.) The problem is that it means I'm running out of energy quite quickly and needing to sit down a lot. Obviously, that's not overly conducive to getting anything done. 

Part of me is now looking to the trip to Edinburgh as a chance to regain some of the momentum I lost this week and really get on with things, and then there's a nagging part of my brain that tells me I really need a laptop to be able to get on with things on the train. I'm not going to give into it because a laptop is just any techy accessories that I don't need, so a pointless waste of money. It would also make Alphie (my lovely AlphaSmart) redundant, and I would hate to do that. Sticky keys he may have, but that little blast from the past is beautiful. 

I'm trying to plan how else to get work done on the train (and stop myself being really, really bored. I had hoped that I wouldn't allow myself to work on anything new until the point that Yours, was FINALLY fluffing done, but even that is looking unlikely. The best thing I can think of is printing off the pages that I already know need re-writes and doing that on the train, then biting the bullet and continuing to write for another couple of novels on which I have been working. The other thing I have to factor in is the almost complete lack of wifi because Virgin trains make you pay for it unless you're in first class. I'm going to end up really wishing that I had a flask, too. 

I'm under no illusions that I will get any work completed while I'm there, but with the journey there and back taking up so much time the idea of wasting all of it playing 2048 (and believe me I could do that) is pretty haunting. I also don't want to lug a rucksack full of wool there to be knitting the entire journey. 

Ah well, I don't leave until Saturday, so there's time to figure it out yet. Depending on what my arrangements for tech stuff are, I might be missing the Sunday blog post this week, but will endeavor to post on Monday if that is the case. Have a very Hoppy Chocolate Feast!

Hello Out There,

It feels like forever since I last did this, but it's actually been less than a month and I'm pretty thankful for that. 

It's been a hell of a month with a few different things going on and in all honesty, it has been making it difficult to be able to just get through my university stuff, without thinking about anything else, but I have realised something and I hope I never forget this again. ~ No matter what is happening in my life, I can't let go of the things which are important to me, because it makes me lose my grip on reality a little bit. 

What I mean in particular is things like politics, novelling, live music events and all the things I enjoyed pre-uni. And all the people I enjoyed spending time with pre-uni. 

I am glad it is nearly over, because I want to have a life that isn't all about imposed deadlines and reading things I don't want to read and I'm not interested in. If you've been reading this blog for a while (first off, thank you and second) I can be quite a passionate person about the things that matter to me. Unfortunately I no longer feel that way about my degree. I have found that I feel that way about my job though, or some aspects of it, which is why I'm looking at staying within the same industry. 

I think it's at least in part because of the fact that it gives me time, as well as experiences with such a wide range of people and that never really hurt. I have time to figure out what I want to do, time to spend doing the things I love, time to spend with the people I love and time to live in a city that still has the power to make me fall in love with it over and over again despite me having lived here for getting close to four years. 

I want things to change after I have finished university and although I know that I will still take a while to get Yours, to the point where it can be published onto the Kindle and Kindle apps, I'm going to make a commitment to blogging every day in June, just to get myself back into the swing of sitting, thinking and writing at least once every day.

Anyway, 6 days until the exam, so I'd better get back to it...

Nickelback @ The O2,

This is going to be written very quickly, because my sleepy tablets are kicking in pretty fast, and I need as much sleep as possible because I feel sick as a dog.

Earlier today Ben and I were actually discussing if it was a good idea for me to go out tonight, because it's pretty obvious that my body has decided it's allergic to the weather and it's time for one of my bi-annual chest infections. I'm not quite into the depths of it yet, but I'm at the point where breathing hurts, my sinuses are bunged up to hell and my throat feels like I've been swallowing fire. 

I'm pretty sure that I came out with the phrase, I'm going if it kills me, a couple of times, and well, it has. All the screaming and the shouting and the singing along has left me with a voice like Steven Hawking, and the blast of the kick drum has left my heart feeling pretty wobbly and in a bit of pain, but **** ** it was magical. (Magical is my new favourite word for all the stuff I love, which pretty much fits because of Fairies...) 

I felt like the name of the support act, Skillet, was familiar, and not just because we have in common that we belong in the kitchen doing the cooking. :P Although I'm pretty sure the singer was on something - and I'm not sure that something was legal - their performance was beyond phenomenal, as well as pretty unique with the inclusion of a violin and cello which isn't exactly typical "rock-and-roll", is it? They also have an amazing drummer, and she's bloody hot! 

Their music is kind of Papa Roach in style, but somehow, it's even better. It's best when it's loud and bass-y - so they are fantastic live! Their first UK album is coming out soon, and there should be a tour to follow. They're definitely a band to look out for. 

Now, if you've never seen Nickelback, but you know how they can be with the whole, drinking on stage and breaking the drum mics and shit, you might expect their live sound to be shit, and let's face it, with all the amazing things you can do with a computer, who needs to be a decent musician these days? Honestly? Bands that play the O2, because a shitty little computer can't bring a place like that to it's feet, raising the hands and voices of the audience and reminds them what they felt like the first time they heard a Nickelback track. 

Yeah, okay, so they're doing shots on stage, yeah, they broke the drums for a minute, and yeah, the fans did a couple of things they're not supposed to like standing on other people's shoulders, smoking in the O2 and throwing drinks, but that's because they made sure every single one of the 16000 people who came out for them had a cracking time, and came alive with their music. It didn't matter if it was Far Away - where they were joined on stage by none other than Timmy Dawson, an ex member of the band - where members of the crowd swayed along with their phone flashlights (because lighters are too much of a health and safety risk these days apparently) swaying in the air, or the much heavier beats of Burn It To The Ground and Something in Your Mouth, it was obvious that it was a night to remember for everyone there. They even took part in what feels like a tradition in gigs for me, by performing a cover which sounds better than the original, but guys...slightly awkward...It was a SUNDAY night. Still alright for fighting, if you are so inclined though...

So yes, we arrived hours early and didn't quite know what to do with ourselves. Yes, I've drank so much tea that I'm starting to grow leaves. Yes, my skin reacted to my t-shirt, so that during Skillet's performance, I had to change into a shirt with no buttons, and hope no one was watching (or worse, filming. Yikes!) and my stomach was on display for the rest of the gig, which was less than comfortable, though definitely very cool when everyone ended up cramped together. Yes, it pisses me off that the O2 charges £2.30 for a bottle of water, then takes the lid off of you, because you might attack someone with it, even though it is clear from your speaking voice that actually, you're just rather ill and having a bottle with no cap is somewhat cumbersome actually you absolute knit wit people!! Yes, I felt like the bass amps were giving me unrequired CPR, 

but do you know what? I don't give a flying butterscotch and fudge cake 

because it was awesome. 

Though there is another rant coming tomorrow, not specifically about this gig though....

Going to bed now.