My work hours are very flexible. As long as I’m available for meetings, hit my deadlines, and make my monthly hours, I can basically work when I want. This means I don’t have a strict time I need to be at work in the morning.
I love this about my job, and I consider it a big perk to have, but it also means that there are no repercussions for sleeping in. I’ve never been good with early starts, and when I’m laying in bed in the morning, mentally negotiating how much longer I can sleep, it’s hard to drag myself out when I know I can just make up the time that evening. Obviously, working into the early evening is horrible, but try telling my morning brain that. It will not listen. This last month I feel like I’ve regressed into my former high school self, as far as my sleeping schedule is concerned. I’ve been sleeping in later and later, and it really needs to stop. I actually have fairly good will power, but not in my weakened morning state.
I seem to have finally found a technique that works for me, until I get my act together. First, set one alarm by the bed. Then set a second alarm outside of your bedroom door. Finally, set a third alarm next to your computer, with a nasty notice pasted to it.
By the time you read the note, sit down at your computer, and check your e-mail, you’ve been away from the bed for long enough to defend against its siren song.
I can’t believe I have to start NaNoWriMo in three days. This whole thing seemed like a great project when it was still a month away, but as the dread grows and the inevitable failure closes in, I’m realizing what a silly, silly idea this was.
In order to ready myself for this, I have:
Written a brief outline - I have the first couple of chapters mapped out fairly well, to get started, and then I just have a set of key scenes and a rough ending I’d like to work towards. I’m not tying myself down too tightly, but I do want some basic milestones to aim at.
Grown a beard - It’s very Hemingway.
Cleaned my apartment - Nothing quite distracts me like a messy apartment, so I scrubbed it top and bottom. You could eat off my toilet. I probably wouldn’t recommend it, but your chances of dying have been greatly reduced.
Created a playlist of instrumental and vocal-light music - It’s a good mix of songs, to create a mood for whatever scene I happen to be writing.
Stocked up on instant noodles and take-out menus - A man’s got to eat.
Made sure I didn’t have a girlfriend to distract me - This sure was a tough one…
Started reading No Plot? No Problem! - I’ve read up until the week by week guide, which I will start Wednesday night. The book’s been light on any real information, but it’s a nice read to build enthusiasm for the event.
I still don’t really have any interesting characters, or any idea what will happen in the middle of the plot, so maybe I’ll have a go at some more planning tomorrow night.
This is an updated list of the books and graphic novels I’ve been reading this year. I’ll be continually adding new books and occasionally creating a new post to bump to the front page when it’s had a few updates. I think it’ll be interesting to look back at the end of the year and examine my reading habits.
This has been on my to-read pile for years now, but a couple of my friends read it a while ago, and I was urged to finally pick it up. It’s an amazing book, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series. The characters are unique and have depth, the plot is layered and enthralling, and the words are beautifully written. His dialogue feels alive, and his plot twists actually take you by surprise. I really loved everything about this book.
I listened to an interview of Mark Strand on a CBC podcast the last time I drove to Kamloops. He seemed like a fascinating man, and the poems they read of his were terrific. They were surreal and hilarious. I ordered this book as soon as I got home, and I’m fairly happy with it. It was way too expensive for its size, and I found many of the poems to be forgettable, but there are a few gems hidden in there.
Warren Ellis’ graphic novel about a detective in a new town working on, you guessed it, gruesome and disturbing cases. Having just read Crooked Little Vein, I was a little wary about Ellis trying to gross out his readers without plot to back the story, but I actually enjoyed it. It occasionally falls into the Crooked Little Vein realm, but there are still some genuinely interesting stories here.
I really enjoyed this book. I can get behind any story with a comic book nerd as the hero. The characters are great, and the story grabs hold of you from the very beginning. I love con operations, and I love geeks, so this book really worked for me. According to the author’s website, the sequel to this, Geek Mafia: Mile Zero, can now be ordered directly from the publisher.
I think Warren Ellis is great, and I’ve really enjoyed the graphic novels of his I’ve read, but this book was a disappointment. I got the feeling reading it that he wrote a shopping list of gruesome things he’d like to mentioned in the book before he started and just ran down the list. The plot was thin and the characters forgettable. I don’t really get disturbed that easily by actions alone. If disturbing things are happening to a character that I’m invested in, then I can find it gripping, but otherwise it’s just a bore.
I finally bit the bullet and read a Harry Potter book, and it was fairly enjoyable. I still think the series is enormously overhyped, but I’ll eventually read through the rest of the books.
The NaNoWriMo website appears to finally be functional, so I thought I’d drop in here and point you to my profile. If you’re taking part this year, add me as a writing buddy. I don’t know what writing buddies do, exactly, but if nothing else I can spy on your word count like the big voyeur I am.
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A handy tool, if you’re planning your NaNo digitally, is FreeMind. It’s a Java-based mind-mapping program that’s quite easy to use. I’ve been experimenting with it while sketching up characters and trying to tie together some sort of plot. I think I prefer to plan on paper, but this is a great alternative.
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Suzie at Words, Words, Words makes a good point about the daily word count goal in her Ten Tips for NaNoWriMo post:
1667 words a day. That’s actually not a lot. Rather than say to yourself I am going to sit down from 7.30-9.3pm every night you should grab every spare minute you have. This is more useful if you have a laptop - you can write in coffee shops whilst waiting for someone, or on the bus on your way to work. Even if you have a desktop computer though, every time you get a spare ten minutes write a couple of paragraphs. They all add up.
1667 words a day really shouldn’t be too hard to hit if I can manage to just write without looking back. I won’t edit, I won’t stop to find the perfect word, and I won’t even reread what I wrote. Just dump the contents of my mind onto paper and then get on with life.
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In the comments for Suzie’s post, Jessica had this tip to share:
The article suggested using a spread sheet program for your outline. In column 1 number the scenes, in column 2 tell what chapter(s) the scene appears in, in column 3 tell the point of view character of the scene, and in column 4 describe of the scene.
I really like this idea. When planning a story, I tend to start by coming up with a lot of random scenes and trying to piece the them together afterwards in a logical order. This will make shifting scenes in the outline a lot easier.
I’m listening to M. Ward’s Transfiguration of Vincent right now. He’s an American singer-songwriter, and I’m really enjoying the entire CD. It’s hard to describe his sound, but it’s kind of laid-back and bluesy most of the time. It sounds like a dusty, relaxing afternoon in the middle of summer. He reminds me of Tom Waits, in a way.
It’s impossible to pick one song that truly exemplifies the whole album. I’m tempted to post half the CD here, but I’ll hold off. I’ve uploaded ‘Poor Boy, Minor Key’. It’s really not the best example of his music, but it’s my personal favourite at the moment. The song opens with a a nice piano melody, and then a minute and a half in it shifts into electric guitar and cool lyrics. I’d recommend popping over to Amazon and listening to the samples there. Particularly ‘Sad, Sad Song’, ‘Vincent O’Brien’, ‘Helicopter’, ‘Fool Says’, and his wicked acoustic cover of Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’. Oh hell, go listen to the whole thing.
Sorry for this mass of text. I’m too tired to write any CSS to add linebreaks, and my CMS dictatorship, commonly known as WordPress, won’t let me add them manually in the HTML. I tried.
Thanks everyone who left book recommendations on the last post. I’m a little embarrassed that I’ve read so many writing books and haven’t written a damn thing. Reading about writing is just so much easier, I suppose.
My friend, Tanya, sent me a photo the other week of a strange plastic object with a plus and a minus on it. I was really excited for her, because I thought she bought the new hand-grip Wii controllers, but it turns out she’s just pregnant (and I’m very slow). Congratulations Tanya!
I’ve been exhausted this last week. I must be fighting off the black plague that has afflicted everyone around me. I fall asleep if I stop moving for more than twenty minutes. I slept through Friday night, after getting home from work. The next morning, I went golfing and fell asleep the instant I got home, napping through the entire sunny afternoon. What a waste of a day.
I’ve been writing plot ideas and character sketches in my wee Moleskine to ready myself for NaNoWriMo. I have the opening of my plot ready to go, and I just need to find a middle and an end somewhere. I’m excited to start writing, but I also have a rising feeling of dread as November creeps closer. I don’t want to fail this challenge, but it’s nearly impossible to imagine writing that much in a single month.
I’m trying to plan a trip for early next year, but I’m having a hard time deciding where to go. I’ve narrowed it down to:
Scotland, to meet relatives and finally visit the motherland. Unfortunately, I’d have to suffer through nasty weather at that time.
Various bits of Scandinavia, to visit friends I studied with in Austria. Also terrible weather.
Australia, to backpack with my friend Lee-Ann. She might be moving there next year, and I’ll tag along for the first few weeks if she does. Fantastic weather.
Backpacking alone somewhere in Africa or Asia. I have traveled alone before, and I actually quite enjoy it, but I’ve only done it in western/central Europe.
I visited a local bookstore this afternoon to buy some writing references for November. Unfortunately, I left empty-handed. I’d already read the well-known books on the shelf, and nothing else really jumped out at me. I was also disgusted by the outrageous prices. Writing books are usually quite expensive, but still having to pay an extra $7 above the American price when the Canadian dollar is higher just really bugs me.
To keep my interest piqued for NaNoWriMo, I’ve decided I should have some writing-related books ready to read during the month. I’m going to dunk my head into this thing and not come up for air until December. I’m searching for inspirational author autobiographies as well as general writing references.
For the autobiographies, I’m considering rereading Stephen King’s On Writing and Terry Brooks’ Lessons From a Writing Life. Both are fantastic, and I’d gladly recommend them to anyone even remotely interested in the craft. For the references, I just found a half-read Immediate Fiction by Jerry Cleaver on my shelf, so I’ll definitely be reading that. I also have my eye on Beginnings, Middles & Ends by Nancy Kress and Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card.
If anyone has any favourite books they’d like to recommend, that would be fantastic. I’m always on the lookout for great writing-related books. I’d be especially grateful for an autobiography recommendation. It’s inspiring to read how someone else accomplished the task you’re setting out to face.
I’ve decided to attempt NaNoWriMo. I’ll start drafting an outline tomorrow and try to find some direction. I’m actually getting quite exciting about it. I still can’t see myself getting to 50,000 words, but I’m willing to give it a shot. Even if I fail miserably, at least I’ll be writing.
Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock group, and they’ve been a favourite of mine since first hearing their Ágætis byrjun album a few years back. They sing in Icelandic, and occasionally a made-up language called Vonlenska, but you don’t need to understand the lyrics to understand the music. Each song is haunting and emotive, and they instantly conjure up images and feelings, memories and fantasies.
They’re a great band to listen to while writing, especially if you don’t speak Icelandic. The lyrics meld into the music, and it becomes a pure instrumental, which won’t distract you from the writing. It’s hard not to feel inspired when listening to them.
I had a really hard time choosing one song to preview here, but I decided to go with Starálfur as it was one of the songs that first jumped out at me from the album.
*Update*
The file wasn’t working, so I’ve uploaded it again. It seems the accented letters in the name were screwing with their system.
Use All Necessary Force
