Almost Christmas

It's almost Christmas, and this may possibly be my last post before the New Year.
I would never have imagined that this year I would complete the first drafts of not one, but two novels. Thea Gael, my NaNoWriMo effort, is not too bad as first drafts go, but nothing really happens in it, and so I don't really want to spend time editing it at the moment. I finished The Dragon Prince last week, which is possibly the first book in a series, aimed at children aged between 7-10. I'm still playing with the tone of the story, but the essentials are all there. Now all I need to do is to finish Inter Vivos and I'll be set!

So I will be starting the New Year with two first drafts to work on, as well as a semi-completed first draft of IV, and two budding ideas - one for a stage play and one for a novel (Dorcas). Also, I was thinking over High Street Aphrodite this morning as I got up late, and also Hoodies.

I think next year looks to be a busy, but productive, year, and that's just the way I like it.

Merry Christmas everyone!

The £1.95 million book

I'm a bit flaggergasted at the minute upon hearing the news that J.K Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard sold at auction for close to £2 million. I mean, I can understand it, in a way, because if I had millions of pounds floating around my bank account, I would have paid that too! The woman could sell her shopping lists and she would make a fortune.

Lack of Concentration

The writing is not really going ok at the minute. I'm back in the same writing state that I was in early on in my NaNoWriMo experience; basically, writing 50 words and then going to get a snack, and then writing 10 words and then going to make a drink, and so forth. I will be 15 stone if I carry on this way, so I've got to work on my concentration some more!

I spent about two hours on Inter Vivos yesterday, and wrote about 800 words, and I'm still not any further on in the story. Guess this is where patience and discipline come in. Think I'm coming down with a cold, and consequently everything seems a little bit darker and glummer, which is probably why I should leave IV for today and work on something that won't leave me feeling utterly depressed if it doesn't go right.

Zit

Question: How come I can look in the mirror at 8 o'clock and have perfectly clear skin and then look again at 10 and have the most enormous pus-filled zit on my face? Where did it come from? Have my friends and co-workers been monitoring the gradual appearance of this monstrosity whilst I have been sitting here for hours, oblivious to the whitehead that is slowly trying to take over my entire head? :-(

Well, I have finished reading Inter Vivos, and it's actually not that bad. Which is great news! I can see how lazy I was when I was writing the first part, skipping over bits or repeating bits from earlier, so I have a lot more work to do to add to the story. However, I am going to leave what I have already written for the time being, and continue onwards with the story. Once I have reached the end, I will then go back and correct, rewrite and flesh out the bits at the beginning. And then my first draft will be complete! Hooray!

Got to go get some Clearasil and a paper bag now...

(PS I was going to post a picture of a zit on here to accompany this post, but just looking at them has made me feel a bit sick, so I thought I would spare you).

Festive Greetings

Hooray, it's almost Christmas! I am so fed up at work, it is unbelievable, and I'm also nervous because I am supposed to start my new job in January and I've not yet had my job offer letter. I just want a break now. A nice long holiday.

In terms of writing, I have not done any since I finished NaNoWriMo. I am reading through Inter Vivos at the moment and making notes, and am going to do some more tonight. My house is a sty from not cleaning for a month whilst I wrote my novel, and I just can't be bothered to start trying to tidy it up. So I'm currently living like a pig.

Wish I didn't have to work, especially two jobs. But I've spent way too much on Christmas presents, so my dreams of unemployment are a long way off yet!