March 2017
Clock Watching
That Infernal Clock
1, 2, 3 .... Shakes is getting us all excited about the upcoming publication of The Infernal Clock - it's looking great. And I for one can't wait to get me mitts on it (or on the Kindle with it on). Been hard work for Shakes and Steph ably helped out by Emily and with the art from Tamara; basically it's been a full on positive for the Flash Dogs community and I'm sure their work will have paid off in spades.
Bring it on.
...10, 11, 12.
Get your Kindle ready for it and watch this space!
1, 2, 3 .... Shakes is getting us all excited about the upcoming publication of The Infernal Clock - it's looking great. And I for one can't wait to get me mitts on it (or on the Kindle with it on). Been hard work for Shakes and Steph ably helped out by Emily and with the art from Tamara; basically it's been a full on positive for the Flash Dogs community and I'm sure their work will have paid off in spades.
Bring it on.
...10, 11, 12.
Get your Kindle ready for it and watch this space!
Comments
Writing and Writing
Performance Monitoring - It's Not Good News
I'm behind, I am. Tick tock. The plan is there to motivate, surely. Tick tock. Or else it is there to measure failure. Arghhhhhh!
I should be three or four stories into Project 1 - and Project 2 should be properly started. Shouldn't it?
Well. Well...
Okay, I'm behind. But it's catch-up-able. Blasted out a quick 500 words on Story 2 of Project 1 this morning. Will print out the thing and see how much work it needs (and if it's any good yet). Then hopefully complete by say... Monday? Then I can get onto Story 3. Again.
Still, 500 words is better than none. Right? Hell yeah!
And I may get a few more done later on Story 2 and Story 3 as it stands (or at least some notes on where to go with it).
Dang! I just thought of a decent idea for a book - or at least the structure of one - maybe add that to the list for Project 4. My god, stop it already and finish one of the others first. And lord, look I'm talking to myself. Indeed shouting to myself (in a quiet inwardly no-one else would notice kind of way). Arghhhhhhh!
Of course there's the Angry Hourglass challenge going live later. The decision will be whether to write 300 words or so on that today or tomorrow or use that time on one of these stories or Projects. Decisions. Maybe I'll just see what the prompt is before calling that one.
Hope to do a little on Project 2 later whilst on the move. That'll be a worthwhile investment of time.
My only other writing this week (other than a couple of blog updates) has been a job application; now that is definitely a worthwhile investment of my time!
Come on AJ. Get with the Plan. Keep writing. And writing. And tick some of these little buggers off the list...
I'm behind, I am. Tick tock. The plan is there to motivate, surely. Tick tock. Or else it is there to measure failure. Arghhhhhh!
I should be three or four stories into Project 1 - and Project 2 should be properly started. Shouldn't it?
Well. Well...
Okay, I'm behind. But it's catch-up-able. Blasted out a quick 500 words on Story 2 of Project 1 this morning. Will print out the thing and see how much work it needs (and if it's any good yet). Then hopefully complete by say... Monday? Then I can get onto Story 3. Again.
Still, 500 words is better than none. Right? Hell yeah!
And I may get a few more done later on Story 2 and Story 3 as it stands (or at least some notes on where to go with it).
Dang! I just thought of a decent idea for a book - or at least the structure of one - maybe add that to the list for Project 4. My god, stop it already and finish one of the others first. And lord, look I'm talking to myself. Indeed shouting to myself (in a quiet inwardly no-one else would notice kind of way). Arghhhhhhh!
Of course there's the Angry Hourglass challenge going live later. The decision will be whether to write 300 words or so on that today or tomorrow or use that time on one of these stories or Projects. Decisions. Maybe I'll just see what the prompt is before calling that one.
Hope to do a little on Project 2 later whilst on the move. That'll be a worthwhile investment of time.
My only other writing this week (other than a couple of blog updates) has been a job application; now that is definitely a worthwhile investment of my time!
Come on AJ. Get with the Plan. Keep writing. And writing. And tick some of these little buggers off the list...
Long cold evening out
24/03/17 19:49 Filed in: Work
Long Evening and Night - Over and Out
Well it's been a funny old week at work; and by funny I don't mean funny at all. Sometimes you just have to shrug, grin (or not) and bear it; days and weeks come and go. And some are better than others. Sometimes adversity looks great in the wing mirror. Ho hum. Maybe not but I'll just give you my bit of wisdom based on my van breaking down on Wednesday evening...
The van broke down due to a catastrophic failure of the coolant pipe. No coolant.. no drive it! (Error message read 'Hazard of Engine Failure' Eek!!! It happened at 6.15pm when I was on the A55 about 40 miles from home. I got home at 1am. Sheesh! ZZzzzzzzz
Wisdom to take on board for next time: keep on driving... just a little bit further. Or even go back to where you came but on no occasion EVER stop at a service station in a telephone blackspot (okay, I'm with 3Mobile so that may rule out a fair few service stations, but hey ho). And worse; no phone signal AND no wi-fi. Do not stop at a service station in the evening when it has a Little Chef... that closes at 3pm?!
Do always always keep a book with you. Keep a sleeping bag with you. A torch and a notebook. Gloves maybe.
Remember if you ain't got any cooling you can't run your engine - and so you won't get any warmth. When it's a starry night and 2C it's a bugger of a fault to get. I got out to walk to warm my feet. It warmed my feet but the rest of me got colder. Five and half hours in an unwarmable vehicle is not a cool place to be. Well it is. But you know.
It's also a bugger when the AA turn up 30 minutes later than they said they would be ('at the latest') and then tell you that they are due a 15 minute break!
Oh, there's more. So much more but my feet and fingers are still numb and I'm so so tired.
Over and out.
Well it's been a funny old week at work; and by funny I don't mean funny at all. Sometimes you just have to shrug, grin (or not) and bear it; days and weeks come and go. And some are better than others. Sometimes adversity looks great in the wing mirror. Ho hum. Maybe not but I'll just give you my bit of wisdom based on my van breaking down on Wednesday evening...
The van broke down due to a catastrophic failure of the coolant pipe. No coolant.. no drive it! (Error message read 'Hazard of Engine Failure' Eek!!! It happened at 6.15pm when I was on the A55 about 40 miles from home. I got home at 1am. Sheesh! ZZzzzzzzz
Wisdom to take on board for next time: keep on driving... just a little bit further. Or even go back to where you came but on no occasion EVER stop at a service station in a telephone blackspot (okay, I'm with 3Mobile so that may rule out a fair few service stations, but hey ho). And worse; no phone signal AND no wi-fi. Do not stop at a service station in the evening when it has a Little Chef... that closes at 3pm?!
Do always always keep a book with you. Keep a sleeping bag with you. A torch and a notebook. Gloves maybe.
Remember if you ain't got any cooling you can't run your engine - and so you won't get any warmth. When it's a starry night and 2C it's a bugger of a fault to get. I got out to walk to warm my feet. It warmed my feet but the rest of me got colder. Five and half hours in an unwarmable vehicle is not a cool place to be. Well it is. But you know.
It's also a bugger when the AA turn up 30 minutes later than they said they would be ('at the latest') and then tell you that they are due a 15 minute break!
Oh, there's more. So much more but my feet and fingers are still numb and I'm so so tired.
Over and out.
Twisted!
Twisted Tax Tales
Once upon a time... a tax and accountant company* in Australia ran a writing competition. And one A.J. Walker had an off the counter story which fitted with the theme (basically story needed to include 'an accountant' as a character). I actually had a story I wrote back in my days doing an OU creative writing course called... The Accountant.
So a tiny bit of editing... Attach and... press Send.
Then wait...
Wait..
Wait.
Yep, Short Listed. Whoop!
I had posted the fact that I'd entered on Facebook and one Mark Davoren spotted it. So he entered too. And yep, another writerer from Liverpool got in there too. Nearly all the rest of the authors were from Australia and New Zealand unsurprisingly. Was cool to see two Liverpool writers getting in there.
And yesterday the book arrived. Lovely it is too, don't you think?
Just a teeny wee shame about the typo on my blurb about one of my favourite books; Perdido Street Station by China Mieville has been autocorrected to Period Street Station. Doh!
The book with a whopping 35 stories in it is available in Paperback and on Kindle. It's a mahoosive £16.55 in Paperback and I blame the Australians (and perhaps their tax rates) for that. At least the Kindle version is available too.
#KeepWriting
*Success Tax Professionals
Once upon a time... a tax and accountant company* in Australia ran a writing competition. And one A.J. Walker had an off the counter story which fitted with the theme (basically story needed to include 'an accountant' as a character). I actually had a story I wrote back in my days doing an OU creative writing course called... The Accountant.
So a tiny bit of editing... Attach and... press Send.
Then wait...
Wait..
Wait.
Yep, Short Listed. Whoop!
I had posted the fact that I'd entered on Facebook and one Mark Davoren spotted it. So he entered too. And yep, another writerer from Liverpool got in there too. Nearly all the rest of the authors were from Australia and New Zealand unsurprisingly. Was cool to see two Liverpool writers getting in there.
And yesterday the book arrived. Lovely it is too, don't you think?
Just a teeny wee shame about the typo on my blurb about one of my favourite books; Perdido Street Station by China Mieville has been autocorrected to Period Street Station. Doh!
The book with a whopping 35 stories in it is available in Paperback and on Kindle. It's a mahoosive £16.55 in Paperback and I blame the Australians (and perhaps their tax rates) for that. At least the Kindle version is available too.
#KeepWriting
*Success Tax Professionals
More Thinking Time Than Writing Time.
Time, Time, Time
Writing when you work for a living can be a right problem. Unless you write for a living of course. Then it's a whole other kettle of fish I expect.
Today though was a case in point. Expected to be back home by 5:30 or 6:00pm but got home at around 7:30. That's up to 2 hours of potential writing time out of the equation. And when the other parts of the equation include eating, dishes and winding down it leaves actual time pretty slim. I had hoped to get the bulk of one of my Project 1 stories finished tonight, but I haven't.
Still, whilst driving around north Wales on my deliveries today I did get some good thinking time for two of the stories I am doing so hope to get stuck into them and should finish them by the end of the weekend still. So that'll be fine.
There are other things of course that could help free up a bit more time... denying myself any Social Media time for one. Or having an absolute No TV rule. And maybe that 'Winding Down' time could be after the writing. But then again writing before winding down may lead to some unusually sweary and erratic writing; then again that may help with some stories.
Next time I'm short of time but keen to get something actually FINISHED then maybe I'll pre-wind write. Today I chose to write just a bit and leave it (got about 400 words down on a story). So I've got a foundation (some words). I've got my scaffolding (my ideas). It's now up to me to set aside the right write time over the next few days.
In the meantime at least it was a lovely day down/up/along here. It was stunning all day in Llandudno and Penrhyn, and the first day of the year I spent all day without a jacket on. Shorts are a-coming!
And I even had myself a (late) post work ice-cream in Rhos-on-Sea. Nice!
Keep Writing!
Writing when you work for a living can be a right problem. Unless you write for a living of course. Then it's a whole other kettle of fish I expect.
Today though was a case in point. Expected to be back home by 5:30 or 6:00pm but got home at around 7:30. That's up to 2 hours of potential writing time out of the equation. And when the other parts of the equation include eating, dishes and winding down it leaves actual time pretty slim. I had hoped to get the bulk of one of my Project 1 stories finished tonight, but I haven't.
Still, whilst driving around north Wales on my deliveries today I did get some good thinking time for two of the stories I am doing so hope to get stuck into them and should finish them by the end of the weekend still. So that'll be fine.
There are other things of course that could help free up a bit more time... denying myself any Social Media time for one. Or having an absolute No TV rule. And maybe that 'Winding Down' time could be after the writing. But then again writing before winding down may lead to some unusually sweary and erratic writing; then again that may help with some stories.
Next time I'm short of time but keen to get something actually FINISHED then maybe I'll pre-wind write. Today I chose to write just a bit and leave it (got about 400 words down on a story). So I've got a foundation (some words). I've got my scaffolding (my ideas). It's now up to me to set aside the right write time over the next few days.
In the meantime at least it was a lovely day down/up/along here. It was stunning all day in Llandudno and Penrhyn, and the first day of the year I spent all day without a jacket on. Shorts are a-coming!
And I even had myself a (late) post work ice-cream in Rhos-on-Sea. Nice!
Keep Writing!
Project One: More Storifying.
Project 1: Short Story Writing
I'm behind time a little bit with Project 1 of my 2017 plan, but I have a (sub)plan to get two short stories completed this week for it. I've started the third one, just to get it rolling. It's an idea I've had for a while and hopefully will come out fairly easily ultimately. That's the theory, anyway. We'll see.
I intend to finish Story 3 this week and then go back to the story with the 1000 word start; as starts go it's not a bad one.
The lack of good telly each night should mean I've no excuse other than lethargy and sloth. And there the answer may be coffee.
Pretty sure with both Story 2 & 3 these are relatively low hanging fruit and then I can get back on target for my 'one story a week' aim.
Will report back on here with my progress by next Monday. So fingers crossed.
In the meantime I did start taking a look a my NaNoWriMo 'novel' at the weekend to see whether it was any good and/or worth looking at doing more work on - perhaps as Project 3. Only read the first two chapters again so far and I'm thinking I need to read the next two to make a more reasoned determination. But it's not a 'no', yet...
Anyway folks, keep writing!
I'm behind time a little bit with Project 1 of my 2017 plan, but I have a (sub)plan to get two short stories completed this week for it. I've started the third one, just to get it rolling. It's an idea I've had for a while and hopefully will come out fairly easily ultimately. That's the theory, anyway. We'll see.
I intend to finish Story 3 this week and then go back to the story with the 1000 word start; as starts go it's not a bad one.
The lack of good telly each night should mean I've no excuse other than lethargy and sloth. And there the answer may be coffee.
Pretty sure with both Story 2 & 3 these are relatively low hanging fruit and then I can get back on target for my 'one story a week' aim.
Will report back on here with my progress by next Monday. So fingers crossed.
In the meantime I did start taking a look a my NaNoWriMo 'novel' at the weekend to see whether it was any good and/or worth looking at doing more work on - perhaps as Project 3. Only read the first two chapters again so far and I'm thinking I need to read the next two to make a more reasoned determination. But it's not a 'no', yet...
Anyway folks, keep writing!
Come On!
More Reading, Not Enough Writing... Come On!
Just finished reading Primo Levi's 'If This Is a Man', my thirteenth book this year according to my reliable GoodReads friend. A good and thought provoking read if not exactly a cheerful one. Wouldn't be a pick for everyone. Not sure what my next read will be, but it will probably be more cheerful and thankfully less thought provoking... so many options. Still need to finish The Silmarillion so maybe I'll just drop back into that.
That said I've got writing to do! Yes, writing! I've just written a daft quick story for Microcosms and put that up on the site. It's my first Microcosms for a few weeks. But really that's a side issue I've got to drop back on to Project 1 (and/or 2) of my 2017 Writing before I fall behind on these.
Okay, decision made... next up will be some thought, if not words on my second story for Project 1. I reckon I can finish that (thought AND writing) by Monday to remain on track.
I have it printed it out. I have pen, I have paper, will travel... and, err, think...
Am Reading...
Am Writing (Promise)
Just finished reading Primo Levi's 'If This Is a Man', my thirteenth book this year according to my reliable GoodReads friend. A good and thought provoking read if not exactly a cheerful one. Wouldn't be a pick for everyone. Not sure what my next read will be, but it will probably be more cheerful and thankfully less thought provoking... so many options. Still need to finish The Silmarillion so maybe I'll just drop back into that.
That said I've got writing to do! Yes, writing! I've just written a daft quick story for Microcosms and put that up on the site. It's my first Microcosms for a few weeks. But really that's a side issue I've got to drop back on to Project 1 (and/or 2) of my 2017 Writing before I fall behind on these.
Okay, decision made... next up will be some thought, if not words on my second story for Project 1. I reckon I can finish that (thought AND writing) by Monday to remain on track.
I have it printed it out. I have pen, I have paper, will travel... and, err, think...
Am Reading...
Am Writing (Promise)