News:

Anybody interested in joining a behind the scenes critique group, please PM Ed :smiley:

Main Menu

The good morning, good night thread

Started by Ed, October 22, 2007, 03:49:05 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 9 Guests are viewing this topic.

Ed

Maybe we should do a recruitment drive again. I closed registration a long time ago, probably a couple of years, because I got to the stage where every day I got about eight or ten spambots signing up, which got really tedious.

It may be time to ditch the Tinyportal and swap over to ordinary SMF forum, which I assume has better registration tools to filter out the spambots by now. Maybe run a small version of the comp. I've still got the same problem, though -- no time to devote to anything other than work. It would have to run itself.
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Ed

Thread killer, huh? :grin:

What a gorgeous weekend that was. We just sat around soaking up the sun like lizards. Had the ubiquitous barbecue yesterday, plenty of red wine, steaks, burgers. Spent the rest of the time lolling around, catching up on sleep -- could get used to living like that.
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

delboy

Yes, a lovely weekend indeed  ;)  I took the opportunity of doing some writing research and spent a few hours at Gloucester Crown Court watching mock trials, talking to the judge and custody officers, being "taken down" - going from the beautiful wood and leather surroundings of court # 1 into the cold and narrow concrete staircase that led to the tiny cells below. I took some photos of interview rooms and sat in the cells within the prison van...and just generally soaked up the details. No idea when or if I'll ever use this stuff but it was great!

Also put new strings on my guitar: http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12794224

Cheers
Derek
"If you want to write, write it. That's the first rule. And send it in, and send it in to someone who can publish it or get it published. Don't send it to me. Don't show it to your spouse, or your significant other, or your parents, or somebody. They're not going to publish it."

Robert B. Parker

Geoff_N

I did similar research as Del but in Chester Crown Court. There used to be a police HQ across the road and a tunnel led there from the court house, which used to be part of Chester Castle dating back to Roman times. Some say the tunnel dates back to medieval days. They still exist as dark, damp and chilly in more ways than one. I used some of the essence of that research in Escaping Reality. It's not so easy researching crashlanding on a moon of Jupiter!

notsoscarey

Popping in to say "hi" after...quite a while. LOL I've got a different job now and struggling to find writing time and social time and sleep time. Grateful summer is almost here.  :smiley:

Ed

Hi Notso -- good to see you stopping by. I know exactly what you mean about the job change affecting your time allowances. I think I was only ever creative before because I was so bored in my everyday life with nothing to tax my mind except trying to make my prose better.

Are you still writing at all?
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Geoff_N

I thought yipee when I officially retired from teaching. All that time to do writing. Then my kids had kids and our parents suddenly gained age, illnesses including death. So half my week is maintaining 3 lots of gardens, shopping, grandparenting, father-in-lawing. I thought I'd have loads of time to write novels, and I have except when I've taken on editing clients. Then writing ceases for weeks at a time but at least money comes this way to justify my spending on writer's retreats and computers. It is a rare day when I have no deadlines re: editing, writing for an anthology editor, proofing a novel, rushing to Manchester, fixing up a boxroom for a child to stay in, etc. How did I ever have time to go to work?

notsoscarey

Still writing--trying to finish a novel and submit shorts. I'm writing press releases every day now and it seems like the creative well isn't as deep as before.  :huh:

Geoff_N

Just wait until you have to write press releases about your own novels. Fun to start with but frustrating when most of the media don't use them. Ho hum.

For instance the final book in my ARIA Trilogy is released July 1st. I'm to give the publisher ideas for wow press releases. Help!

Ed

It's all good, though -- at least you're still writing :afro:
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Geoff_N

Off to Lanzarote tomorrow without wife. I suggested she should come too for the week but she says she hates writers and yet she likes all the writers she's met personally when helping me at FantasyCon and book signings. I have 3 goals 1) finish The Chaos of Moki - a short SF in which a city exists only in the imaginations of its inhabitants.
2) Draft a piece commissioned by Cycling World about cycling along Offa's Dyke
3) Sketch some ideas for children's books. These to be aimed at 2-7 years, illustrated along the lines of those by Tony Ross. My grandkids have been told (not by me) that I am an orfer, even Oliver's reception teacher collared me when I collected him from school and wanted confirmation. So now I worry they'll want to read or have read to them samples. Aarggh. All my novels and many shorts have naughty bits or horror. But hey, only about 200 words per book and no page numbers - how hard can it be???

Geoff_N

Bugger, wife has hidden the garage key so I can't access my bike. Just because I had to have an emergency angioplasty on Wednesday and supposed to rest for 72 hours. I told her cycling uses less energy per distance travelled than walking (on the level) but hey ho.

Ed

Sounds a bit iffy, Geoff. I hope you're feeling all right :huh:
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

delboy

Emergency angioplasty sounds a bit serious, Geoff. Hope all is good!
"If you want to write, write it. That's the first rule. And send it in, and send it in to someone who can publish it or get it published. Don't send it to me. Don't show it to your spouse, or your significant other, or your parents, or somebody. They're not going to publish it."

Robert B. Parker

Geoff_N

Thanks, Del. I was told only 1 in 500 die during the procedure, better yet, none at the Liverpool lab I was being done to in - so to speak. With stable angina where the chest pain only came when I struggled up hills, I could have lasted decades, but when it became unstable it could have upgraded itself to full blown heart attack at any time, so it was necessary. Now each day I'm better than before and will soon be up those hills again.