The good morning, good night thread

[LashSlash]

530 m !!!!!!---- its only downhill after that......

[delph_ambi]

Wales wouldn't be Wales without the rain, Geoff. I've never cycled through a waterfall for that length of time, but I did climb Cader Idris through one some years back with the kids. Fabulous!

[Rev. Austin]

I've got a day off today so I promised myself I'd try and finish the demon story for that Fallen antho, but I hit a creative brick wall two weeks ago and simply haven't been able to scale it.  I know how the story starts, have even worked out a middle and a really cool ending, but it's the, I guess, 'fourth fifth' of the story (if you like) I'm struggling with  - the bit between the middle and the end.  I've got a bunch of ideas I'm trying to get to work but I can't help feeling I might end up rushing it, purely to get something done in time for the deadline (the end of this month).  I don't think I've done this yet with any stories as I've been quite good at telling myself "No, just let this one go for now" but my idea for this is so mental and I'm pretty desperate to try and get in a Northern Frights antho that I think I might ignore my own common sense.  AAARRGGHH!!!

In less angsty news, I've pretty much got the cover art for No More Heroes sorted and am now looking at starting the formatting!  It's all very exciting!  And the Doomology antho is coming along very nicely!

[Ed]

Rev -- try doing yourself a mind map to help with the plotting. Once all the various thoughts are collected together for you to see they can often spark new ideas. Good luck with it

I went in to work this morning. Things are fairly hectic, but I think manageable. Took stock of the situation and then came home again. I feel like I need a day off to come back down to earth properly. I don't think I've come home and gone back to work the next day ever before, so I see no point in starting now. Haven't even had two weeks off at this point in time

[Rev. Austin]

Thanks for the advice, Ed  with everything written down in sequence I can start to play around with it and see how it works in a different structure.  I was determined to write something today so I started on another horror western  because that market's so ripe right now 

Enjoy your time off, Ed!  I used to hate taking holidays when I managed a café business because I'd either get calls all the time from staff asking what to do, or the instant everyone knew I was back I'd get calls asking what to do.  It got to the point where I  told everyone I would not answer any calls until I had actually started work again, unless it was a real emergency then they could leave a message 

[Geoff_N]

Bah, I was going to catch a train to Llanfairfechan on the North Wales coast and hike 15 miles or so to Conway for the train home - all because the weather forecast was for sunny all day. (first dry day forecasted for 3 weeks) But a front has charged in and the forecast changed to showers and heavy rain. I've had enough of travelling in rain while cycling last week so I'll do some yard work, as the Americans quaintly call it, then walk to town, find a cafe and do the editing I was going to do on the train.

Geoff

[Ed]

Shame about the weather. You would think we'd all be used to crap weather in the UK, but the eternal optimist in us keeps our hopes high that it won't bugger up our plans, even though the odds are stacked heavily against us.

I'm feeling really quite depressed tonight, because one of my main clients had a good long moan at me earlier, for no good reason, either. He's trying to get me to work this weekend, but I said no. I've already cut short my holiday to help them out. I've got most of the work done that desperately needed doing, worked till gone seven last night, but none of it's enough. They're all the same. They want what they want, right now, and anything short of that just isn't good enough. I know the score, there's nothing anybody can do to change things, but it still pisses me off. I've only been back two or three days and it already feels like I never had a holiday.

[QBall]

Reminds me of a joke in Readers Digest several years ago.

A writer died and went to heaven (where else?) and St. Pete asked him where he wished to go.
The writer asked to be shown around.

Visiting Hell, he entered a big shed where writers were chained to desks in a sweltering atmosphere, churning out copy and looking tired and frazzled. The writer hated it.

"Is there a place like this in Heaven?" he asked.

"Follow me," said St. Pete.

Another shed, same scene. There seemed to be no difference and the writer commented on it.

"What's the difference?" he asked.

St. Pete replied, "Up here we get published!"

[Robert Essig]

Hahaha!  That's a good one, QBall!

[Rev. Austin]

I spent most of today at work making things out of origami!  And then when the chap who'd come in found out I was a writer (someone else at work told him!) we started talking about that, and books, and then spent the last two hours at work discussing horror films.  I really do have an incredible job.  AND I can now make an origami swan, dove, flapping bird and crane!

[Russell]

Back from  a week in Cornwall - a little wet at times but enough dry to get some walking in.  Emergency jobs completed - cutting the grass and clearing the drain by the kitchen door.  After all the dry weather cutting the grass felt rather novel.  Goodness knows why the drain decided to get blocked.  Mainly soap from the washing machine by the looks of it.  Very smelly job.  All that needs to be done now is retrieve the animals from the kennels / holiday homes and things will be back to normal.   

[Caz]

  I put in an order at the library for 'The Friends Of Eddie Coyle' about a month ago, I'd heard folk at the cafe recommend it. There's been no word that it was ready for collection, so while I was in the library yesterday I asked when it would be available. Apparently it won't be. The only copy in circulation, local area I guess, is within the prison system and therefore, so I was told, won't be made available to the general public. I accepted this explanation with good cheer and went about my business. It was only later that I started to question it.

  I could be wrong here but I thought that if a book was ordered then the library service had to purchase a new copy if one wasn't available, I know of  one occasion when this was done for me in the past. If it is no longer the case that all books are made available then I wonder if it is as a result of government cuts?

  I intend to pursue this matter when next at the library, no more than a general inquiry to see if my suspicion is correct. If I am right then I'll be firing off an e-mail in the direction of the local MP.

  I could buy the book, but in all honesty these kind of cuts just won't do.

[Geoff_N]

Caz, I believe there have been many changes to library acquisition rules - the main one being to let it fall to the discretion of local councils. The worst example I've seen is with Bolton Council, who have discovered the law only insists on one local authority library being in existence per city or town. Consequetly, on the agenda is a proposal to kill off all suburban libraries  and just keep one central library. Horrendous step back for civilization.

You can have my copy of The Friends of Eddie Coyle if you like. I'll be done reading it during this week and will hold my review until you and any one else who wants to, have read it. Send me a pm with your snail address.

Geoff

[Caz]

You can have my copy of The Friends of Eddie Coyle if you like. I'll be done reading it during this week and will hold my review until you and any one else who wants to, have read it. Send me a pm with your snail address.

Geoff

Thanks Geoff, that's real kind.

Thought I'd recommend 'Mountain Gorilla.' It was on BBC2 last night and I can't remember the last time I was so riveted by the drama unfolding on screen. In the big stand off I was rooting for the old King and the orphan he'd taking under his wing. Felt sorry for the brave youngster who displayed such courage and was in awe of the brave people who observe these powerful creatures. Mesmerizing stuff.

[delboy]

I suspect Geoff didn't feel the same way about Eddie Coyle as I did - I'll be rereading my old copy many times before I'm done!    

I've just bought a couple of books by Robert Campbell, a screenwriter who eventually turned to fiction and wrote (amongst many other series) a few books about a PI called Whistler. I really enjoyed the previous ones I'd read and now I have completed the (small) set. Also grabbed a couple of early James Ellroy's which I'm really looking forward to reading.

Not picked up a pen or plugged in MSWord for a week or two. It's all been music for the last fortnight. Did a couple of gigs over the weekend with two different bands and have been asked to dep for a third. Met a few new - and a couple of old - contacts who are all keen to 'do something' and in a week or two my guitar students will be back. I've been busy practicing my acoustic guitar chops (Django, some bluegrass, a little jazz, and some ragtime, too) as I have a vision of an acoustic band (or rather, a loose collective of musicians) that I've been thinking of putting together for some time and I reckon it's getting close to being about time I did it. So I need to ensure I'm on top of my game, especially as some of the folk who have expressed an interest are very, very good. So it's been music, rather than writing. All my life the pendulum has swung thus. I reckon the break from forcing myself to write every day might be what I need as I was starting to struggle. Strangely, taking the pressure off myself has resulted in me loving reading more than I've done in a long time, too.

Hey ho. More vital than reading, writing or guitar picking is making a living so best I get back to my process document...

Kind regards,
Derek