Sunday, August 13, 2006
Book Work and August's GDR
I'm having no problem sleeping at the moment. I went to bed at 10 o'clock last night (on a Saturday!?!?) and slept for 12 hours. Catch-up perhaps from all the 5am starts on holiday? Or is it post-holiday depression?
Whatever it is, it will all be over tomorrow when I go back to work. I've got Tuesday off with Laura, which is when the Festival will really begin for me. I'm nervous and excited. It's going to be a real challenge. I cannae wait!
I spent most of the day at the computer. A pal is having PC problems while at the same time trying to develop a website AND keep up to date with her writing schedule. Microsoft seems to be doing it's damndest to block her on all fronts, so I'm doing my best to help her through it.
I typed up all the new poems from my notebook. This took me ages because not only is my handwriting pretty poor in places, but I started re-drafting them as they went into their individual Word documents. I have 68 poems in total. Whether I use them all is another thing.
I had a brainwave as to what the front cover might be while taking a coffee break. I was flipping through the Fringe guide for this year when an image jumped out at me. I can't remember what show (one at the Underbelly I think), but the image was of a bloke in a tuxedo standing in the sea with a big grin on his face.
I immediately thought, "What if I could get a picture of me standing in a swimming pool, fully clothed and reading a book!" Cool front cover, I think you will agree. I'll contact Sarah and see if she's up for it (I hear she might be moving into her own business areas now) and I'll need to contact some local swimming pools to see if they would mind. It would be a laugh if I could pull it off and totally off the wall.
I read a couple of reviews of Irvine Welsh's new novel, The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs. It's a mixture of good and bad, and I do wonder if Welsh is struggling to write about anything else other than violence fuelled drugs and sex. It would be good to read something about the other side of the fence. I'm scared his books may be becoming predictable and that he is writing to please his fans rather than trying to expand his work.
Anyway, here's the two extremes. See what you think.
The Times
The Guardian
Here's August's GDR. Bear in mind that due to my holiday in the Med there's not going to be as much on it. August is all about one thing - The Fringe!
Fiction
* Type up and complete Wide Awake
* Continue with Hunting Jack submissions
* Continue with Stella submissions
* Complete editing A Friend To Die For to point where left off - read/edited to end of ch.17 (30740/40000 words)
* Give A Friend To Die For a better title (if one comes up - already got lots of ideas)
* Keep on top of submissions list
Poetry
* Work on new chapbook, Poolside Poetry
Non-Fiction
* Work on Scotland's Treasure for September column - Hope to visit Van Gogh show in Edinburgh and some kind of a Fringe review.
Marketing and Promotion
* Full effort made to promote Fringe Fantastic at the Fringe
* Complete cross-promotion with Fife B&B for Fringe Fantastic
* Keep website up to date
* Follow up on PR received
Reading and Research
* Release Tall Tales and Short Stories Vol.2 into the wild
* Finish reading Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Other Projects
* Stay on top of editorial work for TSDR - done. 2 stories outstanding
* Work on ARS Anthology - Need to contact writers who said yes, but no sub made
Whatever it is, it will all be over tomorrow when I go back to work. I've got Tuesday off with Laura, which is when the Festival will really begin for me. I'm nervous and excited. It's going to be a real challenge. I cannae wait!
I spent most of the day at the computer. A pal is having PC problems while at the same time trying to develop a website AND keep up to date with her writing schedule. Microsoft seems to be doing it's damndest to block her on all fronts, so I'm doing my best to help her through it.
I typed up all the new poems from my notebook. This took me ages because not only is my handwriting pretty poor in places, but I started re-drafting them as they went into their individual Word documents. I have 68 poems in total. Whether I use them all is another thing.
I had a brainwave as to what the front cover might be while taking a coffee break. I was flipping through the Fringe guide for this year when an image jumped out at me. I can't remember what show (one at the Underbelly I think), but the image was of a bloke in a tuxedo standing in the sea with a big grin on his face.
I immediately thought, "What if I could get a picture of me standing in a swimming pool, fully clothed and reading a book!" Cool front cover, I think you will agree. I'll contact Sarah and see if she's up for it (I hear she might be moving into her own business areas now) and I'll need to contact some local swimming pools to see if they would mind. It would be a laugh if I could pull it off and totally off the wall.
I read a couple of reviews of Irvine Welsh's new novel, The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs. It's a mixture of good and bad, and I do wonder if Welsh is struggling to write about anything else other than violence fuelled drugs and sex. It would be good to read something about the other side of the fence. I'm scared his books may be becoming predictable and that he is writing to please his fans rather than trying to expand his work.
Anyway, here's the two extremes. See what you think.
The Times
The Guardian
Here's August's GDR. Bear in mind that due to my holiday in the Med there's not going to be as much on it. August is all about one thing - The Fringe!
Fiction
* Type up and complete Wide Awake
* Continue with Hunting Jack submissions
* Continue with Stella submissions
* Complete editing A Friend To Die For to point where left off - read/edited to end of ch.17 (30740/40000 words)
* Give A Friend To Die For a better title (if one comes up - already got lots of ideas)
* Keep on top of submissions list
Poetry
* Work on new chapbook, Poolside Poetry
Non-Fiction
* Work on Scotland's Treasure for September column - Hope to visit Van Gogh show in Edinburgh and some kind of a Fringe review.
Marketing and Promotion
* Full effort made to promote Fringe Fantastic at the Fringe
* Complete cross-promotion with Fife B&B for Fringe Fantastic
* Keep website up to date
* Follow up on PR received
Reading and Research
* Release Tall Tales and Short Stories Vol.2 into the wild
* Finish reading Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Other Projects
* Stay on top of editorial work for TSDR - done. 2 stories outstanding
* Work on ARS Anthology - Need to contact writers who said yes, but no sub made
Colin 12:19 pm