Sunday, November 12, 2006
Chicken Bhuna = Abi Titmuss
Musselborough was good last night. Had curry and beers with my mate and his fiancee (as of last Wednesday night) at their new home. It's the perfect balance between bachelor pad and married home, with a lovely wife and child in the house and a pool table and fridge stacked with beer in the garage. I don't think he'll ever let go - and I support it all the way.
I have no idea why, nor do I care why I dreamt about the magnificent Abi Titmuss last night. It was one of those dreams you wish you could have at will, any night of the year, but if that's what Chicken Bhuna does for me on a Saturday night I'm definitely having more of them.
Rose slightly later this morning, my batteries and life energy getting an excellent recharging this weekend before the early starts for NaNo next week. Half way through week two and progress is still above the target.
Couldn't seem to get warm today at all. When I finally did my hands stayed cold and it was difficult to type. Even with the radiator on full next to my desk I still couldn't get warmed up.
One of my Khoolie Loaches met with a grizzly death. The wee critters resemble eels as they are long and slithery, but they have fins and gils so they are actually fish. They have a natural tendency to burrow, which is good for the gravel in the tank as they turn it over, but they can disappear for days even months on end without being seen, happy to live under the wee stones and rocks.
It was Laura who spotted it, lying inside my lump of lava rock, colourless and still. I tried to nudge it with the net but it wouldn't move, and even other fish swimming over it couldn't disturb it. Eventually I put my hand in and stroked it. Nothing. So I tugged at its tail. It still wouldn't budge. After quite a lot of pulling and tugging it finally came free. Dead.
The poor wee thing had burrowed into one of the holes in the lava rock and got its head stuck. Unable to free itself and probably in some amount of distress, it died where it was. The lava rock is not only a home to several of the fish, it has also become a monument, commemorating the life and death of one of my Khoollies.
Started work on Slick before lunch. I looked at my chapter synopsis and realised I am racing through it again. With just under half way to go, I am once again running out of story. But I'm also on an easier roll so I wasn't sure whether to go back and pad out or to carry on blind.
I carried on, because I feel the padding required may involve larger new sections of the story being added, not just a few descriptive passages or sections of dialogue. I also have developed a habit of moving the story on by missing chunks out that seem irrelevant in order to keep up the tension and drama. For instance, instead of going round several flats to look for a place to rent, we join the MC as he finds the best one and has settled in. Things like this need thought more about.
I came to one particular section of the story as detailed above, where the time between the two chapters is at least a couple of weeks. In my original plan I intended to skip straight over, but now I've given myself license to go where I want with it. I'm not going to plan what happens in the two week period to my MC, so I know I'm taking a risk. I have to get back on the path before the end, but by doing this I may end up so much off course I could end up re-writing the end of the book!
Who said this NaNo wasn't a challenge or an experiment. Might as well go where the words take me!
NaNo words today: 3826 (a 6K weekend!)
NaNoWriMo Progress
I have no idea why, nor do I care why I dreamt about the magnificent Abi Titmuss last night. It was one of those dreams you wish you could have at will, any night of the year, but if that's what Chicken Bhuna does for me on a Saturday night I'm definitely having more of them.
Rose slightly later this morning, my batteries and life energy getting an excellent recharging this weekend before the early starts for NaNo next week. Half way through week two and progress is still above the target.
Couldn't seem to get warm today at all. When I finally did my hands stayed cold and it was difficult to type. Even with the radiator on full next to my desk I still couldn't get warmed up.
One of my Khoolie Loaches met with a grizzly death. The wee critters resemble eels as they are long and slithery, but they have fins and gils so they are actually fish. They have a natural tendency to burrow, which is good for the gravel in the tank as they turn it over, but they can disappear for days even months on end without being seen, happy to live under the wee stones and rocks.
It was Laura who spotted it, lying inside my lump of lava rock, colourless and still. I tried to nudge it with the net but it wouldn't move, and even other fish swimming over it couldn't disturb it. Eventually I put my hand in and stroked it. Nothing. So I tugged at its tail. It still wouldn't budge. After quite a lot of pulling and tugging it finally came free. Dead.
The poor wee thing had burrowed into one of the holes in the lava rock and got its head stuck. Unable to free itself and probably in some amount of distress, it died where it was. The lava rock is not only a home to several of the fish, it has also become a monument, commemorating the life and death of one of my Khoollies.
Started work on Slick before lunch. I looked at my chapter synopsis and realised I am racing through it again. With just under half way to go, I am once again running out of story. But I'm also on an easier roll so I wasn't sure whether to go back and pad out or to carry on blind.
I carried on, because I feel the padding required may involve larger new sections of the story being added, not just a few descriptive passages or sections of dialogue. I also have developed a habit of moving the story on by missing chunks out that seem irrelevant in order to keep up the tension and drama. For instance, instead of going round several flats to look for a place to rent, we join the MC as he finds the best one and has settled in. Things like this need thought more about.
I came to one particular section of the story as detailed above, where the time between the two chapters is at least a couple of weeks. In my original plan I intended to skip straight over, but now I've given myself license to go where I want with it. I'm not going to plan what happens in the two week period to my MC, so I know I'm taking a risk. I have to get back on the path before the end, but by doing this I may end up so much off course I could end up re-writing the end of the book!
Who said this NaNo wasn't a challenge or an experiment. Might as well go where the words take me!
NaNo words today: 3826 (a 6K weekend!)
NaNoWriMo Progress
Colin 9:19 pm