This last ten days or so I’ve had a non-writing, non-family or work issue that’s been on my plate. It’s resolved now but I hate how it knocks me off my pace. I feel like I’ve got to re-orientate myself with War Child and get back on track with it.
Maybe I need to try something like setting a timer for half an hour for example and just look at the project I’m working on. Even if I don’t get anywhere it’s still installing that world into my head a little which can open up ideas.
Okay, I feel like I’m gonna go off into a ramble in a minute so I’m gonna wrap up. Tomorrow is gonna be a ‘get shit done’ day.
Next up in my watch of David Court’s top 35 horror movies of the 2000s is the movie Pontypool.
I had no idea what to expect with this movie, although for some weird reason I thought it was set in Wales. So going in, I had no preconceptions on what to expect. I had no idea it would be this though.
If you want to watch this movie, stop reading now….. seriously. Stop and watch the movie. Don’t google it, don’t look it up on IMDB. Don’t ask friends. Just please, go and watch it.
Have you watched it? No, go and watch it!
Okay, I’m guessing you’ve watched it now.
So, this is set in a radio station as a shock jock sort of DJ(Stephen McHattie) is starting his morning stint on the station he works out with a producer (Lisa Houle) and an engineer (Georgina Reilly) ( I think those are the two ladies roles), and as the morning rolls along they start getting reports of an incident that is going on.
That’s enough for the plot. The acting is beautiful, the lead actor nails the character while the two other main characters play their parts with a solid strength. The producer character sparring off with the erratic DJ is particularly interesting to see.
The script the actors are working with is beautiful, and gets a lot of depth across. The actors, in particular the fella playing the DJ, really nail their respective lines and characters. I don’t think this film would work without these actors, what they bring to the film sells the story. Their execution of the dialogue has to be spot on as I think movies where its filmed in one location need that strength to hold the viewers interest.
The story plays out well, and there are explanations to what is going on. The ending hits a little hard, and there’s an odd little scene at the end of the film, which shouldn’t work but it does.
Pontypool is a new favourite of mine. Intriguing and from a story tellers point of view, it’s fascinating.
I’ve written 816 words on War Child today. They came pretty easy and straight forward. As I’ve previously said, this story has a lot of moving parts to it that I need to get just right. It’s definitely a small steps project at the moment.
I’ve got a light work rota the next few days so I’m gonna try and get stuck into some of the scenes that are bouncing around my head.
This blue notebook is my bible for War Child. Since I started this draft this is where all the brainstorming has taken place. Character details, plot points, and much more.
Howdy folks, just a quick post tonight. I’ve written 476 words today. I overlaid after a late shift yesterday and had an errand to run this morning. So not a great days writing but some good progress made on War Child.
It’s good working in War Child again, the little break I’ve had from it has done me the world of good. It’s let me reflect on some of the bits and pieces that I need to work on.
Howdy, folks! Just a quick one tonight. I finished the final read through of Black Blood on Monday, having smashed out a 10k words in editing. It’s nice having it done, but now it’s on the shelf until I have the cash to get it edited or find a publisher to submit too.
There’s not much else to report, I’m stepping back into War Child. I’ve had some good thinking time on it, and I’m looking forward to getting back into it. I’ve also started work on a little flash fiction piece. Just kind of a palate cleanser, I fancy doing something a little different to what I’ve been working on for a while. Lots of science-fiction with touches of horror, so I kinda want to get into something to make skin craw, from the inside. But it’ll probably end up being a bloodbath with lots of gore. We’ll see how it goes.
Right, have an awesome one, folks! You all rock!
10k words edited in a day is about my max.Raven’s found a new seat 🙄War Child, been running around my brain since 2017 ☺️
I knocked out a quick 3479 words of editing on Black Blood tonight. It was a chapter that had little going on in, but it still carried some important details and serves to slow the story down. The characters need to breath, and I think the reader does as well. It can’t just be bang bang bang, and I think the story hasn’t had much time to breath so far. I’m also getting near the end of the story now. So I think this is a good place for a breather.
Right, just a short one tonight. Tomorrow’s the start of a new week. It’s up to us to do what we can to make it a good week. It isn’t always easy, but we’re the only ones who can make it happen.
I’ve got a nice little bit of momentum going the last few days. It’s nice having my desktop set up. The laptop (which I’m working on now) is good and a darn good work horse, but having a decent sized screen, a little closer to eye height it making it a damn site easier. I’m getting more done in a smaller slot of time, despite kitty interference, and it’s feeling good and energised.
At this rate Black Blood will be wrapped up soon and then it’ll be onto the next project, which’ll likely be getting a first draft of the serial killer collection done.
I’ve not done much practical work on War Child, but its been popping in and out of my head. I’m slowly wrapping my hands around what I need to do, I just need to sit down and get some of these thoughts scribbled down.
Right, I need to get my head down. An early start tomorrow.
I’ve edited almost 10000 words on Black Blood over the last couple of days. This was despite work today, and a lot of errands yesterday morning.
I’m rewatching Orange Is The New Black, I’ve not seen it in a year or so. It’s easy to forget how good a show is. This is one of the best tv shoe out there in my opinion. Definitely worth a watch.
I’ve had a good weekend with family. But I did manage to get a little writing down first thing yesterday and a little tonight. About 4500 words edited in about an hour or so altogether.
It’s been a good start to the writing month, I’m nearing 8000 words edited with around 500 new words down. Most of those are on a non-fiction piece.
I did also, finally, find a way to get my iMac up and running. It’s been out of acton for a while. What happened was the screen just up and stopped working. Well, it was like someone turned off the screen’s light. You hold a torch to it, you could still see the display. Now, I did do a little googling at the time, and here and there I’d look into it. Although I didn’t go into Apple and speak to someone I did speak to a couple of computer repair shops and they were quite clear in that it just wasn’t cost effective to repair it. The annoying thing was, it would work for a bit and then nothing for months. Eventually I just stored it, having given up on it.
Then, a few weeks ago I got thinking about it again, like could I just not connect it to another screen? Well, back to the googling, and yes. I was searching for the problem previously. This time I was searching for the solution, can I connect my iMac to another screen? After a little digging, all I needed was a thunderbolt connector plugged into a HDMI adaptor. I plugged it into my tv and boom! it worked! I planned to connect it to my old tv which had lost its sound, but the tv had completely died. So I hopped online and ordered a monitor and I’m up and running. The annoying thing is, the damn iMac screen is working perfectly well, at the moment………
Until it does, I’ll run it as a multiscreen set up. It’s strange, a lot of the changes I’ve been making the last couple of years all seem to be coming together. I’ve got better concentration, I’m more at peace in myself. I don’t have so much of the self-hatred running around my head like I used to. It feels good.
Right, I’m off to watch a bit of Orange Is The New Black. Have a good one, folks.
January wasn’t a bad month, I wrote 5448 words, and edited 51758 words.
I realised I needed a lot more background work on War Child before I can move forward with it. So I decided to go back to Black Blood while I start building what I need to progress on War Child. Because I’ve had a somewhat busy and interesting month I’ve not done as much on War Child, or writing work in general, as I’d have liked. But it’s not been disappointing though, it’s given me time to let War Child simmer nicely, let ideas grow naturally. I think that element has been very helpful in that I haven’t just rushed through it and made a pigs ear out of it all.
The edit on Black Blood is not overly taxing. For the most part it is just going through and taking out any little spelling and grammar errors. This will be my final pass on Black Blood before it’s shelved until I have the money to get it edited. It’s behind Penal Earth in that queue.
Not quite what I was hoping for, but still enjoyed it.
On a personal note, I had some good news which came near the end of the month. I broke out of my fear-built cocoon and got away for a couple of days, I’ll have a post about that soon. I feel like I’ve had some good mental and emotional growth, and have made some interesting self-realised revelations about myself. Which, honestly, I’m still working on figuring out.
Peter Germany's World 