Black Cat

Good Morning! 5th of July 2021

Peter Germany Cat, Editing, Horror Writer, Outlining, Planning, Preparation, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Howdy Folks! How are we all doing today?

After I blogged yesterday I was going to get a little work done on an upcoming blog post but I had a nap instead. I was hoping to get it done so I could get it typed up and at least scheduled today, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case.

I am planning on getting the vampire edit done this week. It’s less than 60k so I think I can. I am being flexible in things like this though. I’m taking into consideration the day job as well as other non-writing elements of life (like the little ball of black chaos that is known as Raven!).

I’ve been brainstorming a lot recently and I’ve got to set about transferring all those handwritten notes to the appropriate project files. I think some of what I’m getting from brainstorming is installing an element of a story in my head and when it comes to writing the story that element won’t be forgotten (hopefully!). But I don’t want to rely on my brain solely, I’ve got so many notes on the mermaid book now that I can’t guarantee I’m going to be able to recall them when it comes time to write the story (this’ll likely be my NaNoWriMo story for this year!).

A busy week ahead, and I’m determined to hit the ground running!

And here’s the ball of chaos being cute ☺️

3am thoughts (1/6/21)

Peter Germany Cat, Conventions, Life, Random Thoughts, Uncategorized , , , , , , ,

I’m awake, very awake. That doesn’t mean I’m not tired, I’m beyond tired. Sleep isn’t coming though. Luckily I’ve not got the day job tomorrow, so I’m not having to worry about that.

The thing about be awake at this time of the night is very few people are. I don’t mean globally, and thanks to the internet there is always someone I can chat to as I’m blessed to have made friends all over the planet thanks to writing, and the internet. Where it gets strange is there are no, or very few, cars driving up and down my road. Yeah it’s a little country lane, but we’d still get vehicles coming up and down. There’s always tractors and other farm machinery moving around. We get people walking up and down, some with dogs, others without. Cyclists use the road as well. We get a lot of groups of cyclists that I’m guessing are from local organisations (all seem to forget the rule of riding single file, but that’s a rant for another day).

If someone walks this road tonight they might glance up at the single window illuminated and wonder who is awake, and why they are. They might even seen me (my desk is at my window). Will they have the same thoughts I am? How the hours between midnight and say, 5am, are strange and almost alien. Or are they thinking, ‘look at that muppet’.

I know for some the nighttime hours are not weird. They’re not an alien concept. For them it’s their profession. How many jobs now exist where people work all hours. I don’t just mean the emergency services but I’m thinking about hauliers, taxi drivers, workers fixing roads because at night it’s easier as it’s less impactful on the traffic, Supermarket workers. There’s a whole host of people going to or still at work while the majority of us sleep.

I’m not a city boy, but I’d imagine even the cities and towns which are people say never sleep, still see a drop in activity in these early hours of the morning. We as a species aren’t nocturnal. Some people are, they feel at home when the sun is giving light to the other side of the planet, but for most people their days start when the sun is rising or risen, and end when it takes it’s light away for another day.

Unlike Raven, I’m not nocturnal.

I’m going to try and sleep. Writing this post might have pushed me over that tipping point where exhaustion will win out over the reasons why I’m awake.

Peace out, Folks!

30th August 2020

Peter Germany Cat, Editing, Horror, Horror Writer, Short Fiction, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Good afternoon, folks!

I didn’t get as much done today as I’d have liked but I did work through beta readers notes and got that story submitted. I also did an out loud read through of another short story. I wrote a post for my Buy Me A Coffee page that you can read here.

I did want to get more done, but its one of those things where I need to find the right balance between writing and getting some down time. I’ve had a busy week at work, and have managed to get words down. Today, I needed a breather before Stefan from Stefan’s Daily Gaming comes over to play Mario Kart on Switch. Not played that version of Mario Kart yet, am bound to get my arse kicked!

Speaking of which, he’s on his way.

I hope you’ve all had a good weekend and good luck with all that you do for the next week!

Raven sitting on my lap, which isn’t normally like her so I made the most of it 😊

28/8/2020

Peter Germany Cat, Editing, Life, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Good afternoon folks! How are we all doing today? I’m just about to start work, but managed to get 1707 words done this morning on a piece that feels quite brutal in a lot of ways and I hope

It reads as bleakly as it feels then I think I’ll have pulled it off.

I’m still feeling pretty good. That one part of my life which is very hard at the moment is the same as it has been for a week or so. Again, not going into details as I don’t believe they are needed here. Everything else is improving nicely and I feel like I’m beginning to find my feet again. I looked at my projects list last night and I am making progress, despite having added to that list.

I’ve got plans on Sunday but I’ll have some time ahead of those to get some writing done. I’m going to focus on edits of projects that are in different stages and a little bit of writing. I know the submissions dates of two anthologies I want to submit to and I have a little breathing space on both of them.

That’s a printer, not a cat perch 🙄

Another story will be submitted on Sunday, if all goes to plan. It’s a little close to the deadline but I should be okay.

Right folks, as you can see I’m making progress but now I need to get into work. Have a good day, all!

Good Morning, 8th of August 2020

Peter Germany Editing, Health, Horror, Horror Writer, Life, Planning, Preparation, Short Fiction, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It is 8:37am and I am up and have had breakfast and have a cup of tea by my side. I am tired, I have a really bad back, and I’m still feeling down. I’m not going into why I’m feeling down, although I’m generally quite honest here there are some things I just don’t want to share here.

I’m feeling down, but I’m also feeling strangely okay. I can’t let the hard parts of my life get to me, I can’t. And this morning it feels like I’ve got enough to keep my mind occupied so I’m not just sitting feeling sorry for myself.

As I said yesterday, I’ve got a story that I’ll be submitting to an anthology by the end of the month. I’m going to get back onto Penal Earth, I know I should be working on the zombie book but I don’t have the cash for cover art and editing at the moment so I’ve still got a little more time for it. This is one that will be affected by Covid, not by much but I can integrate this pandemic into it in a way that it’s there but doesn’t change the story I’m telling. I’m not going to make it about the pandemic because that’s not what it was about.

I’ve got a list of pieces that I need to work on. Unless I see a submission call for something that tickles my attention I’m going to focus on what needs doing with what is already written.

Another picture of Raven ‘helping’ me yesterday 😂

Over today and tomorrow I’m going to look at my work schedule and see what time I can commit to writing and then map out the next week of writing. See how well I can do with planning and executing it.

Have a good weekend, folks!

7th August 2020

Peter Germany Editing, Life, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Good evening folks, 3462 words edited on a short story that I’ll be looking to submit to an anthology which has a submission deadline which is the end of the month.

I spent a fair part of the day setting up a desk in what will be an office eventually. I did get those words edited and I’m looking forward to making the most of the space. It still needs work, and it’ll be something I’ll work on over time as I’ve got more pressing things to get sorted.

Raven ‘helping’

I’ve been given a printer that means I can print the documents off and get red-penning. It’s a method that works for me; edit a digital draft, then go through a printed draft with a red-pen. Boom! Done. It’s worked well for me in the past and I think it’ll work well for me now.

It felt good getting that space set up. Not got a lot to smile about at the moment but this did feel good. Proactive and something that’s going to help me focus on writing when I have the time to sit down to get the words done.

This sort story will be with beta readers by the end of the weekend. I like it, it’s one that when I was working on it yesterday I wrote a bit which rattled me a little and I had to go out and sit in the garden for a while to compose myself. Editing it today wasn’t as bad as writing it, but still wasn’t fun. To me that means (hopefully) I got it right.

That’s a wrap for tonight. I’m knackered after a few challenging days.

Rock on, folks!

21-7-2020

Peter Germany Editing, Writing , , , , , , , , , , ,

Good evening all! I got about half an hours work done tonight. All editing on the vampire book. At the moment I feel like this is a preliminary edit as I know I didn’t finish the rewrites when I was working on it last. So I’ll come to a point where I’ve got crack on rewriting as opposed to editing it. I was half thinking about working on multiple edits, but I think I’m just going to stick with this one till it’s done. I’m wondering if chopping and changing when editing isn’t a good idea. I can do it when I’m writing a draft but I’m not sure it’s productive at this stage.

I’m still struggling to sit down and read. I just can’t keep my attention on a book long enough without it wondering off. I need to be able to keep focused for half an hour or so to allow me to get into one of the books I’m trying to read at the moment.

That’s it for now. Another early start tomorrow so I’d like a little down time before I get me head down.

Be safe and half a good one, Folks!

A little “help” I had sorting bookcases out the other day.

19-07-2020

Peter Germany Editing, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Good evening, folks. How are all you good people doing?

No word counts to report tonight. I have done some editing and although I added words it’s not worth mentioning how many I did add. The important thing is I got two scenes edited. It’s a drop in the ocean of editing I need to do, but it’s a start.

I keep trying to rewrite everything from scratch, but I’ve got a good half a dozen drafts completed of various stories, I just need to go through and do proper edits on them. In a minute I’m going to sit down and list all the drafts I’ve got done and figure out if I want to put them in an order or if I just gonna go with what takes my fancy, I’m tempted to put them in an order and work through them. The key thing I need to do is not do mass rewrites and not to start anything new. I’ve got to stop chasing the shiny new story and just get what I’ve got written polished and ready to get edited and either self-publish them or send them off to publishers.

I’m still trying to get my rhythm back, trying to find some real focus. I feel like I’m getting there day by day.

Today’s picture is Raven watching the birds.

21st of July, 2019 Update.

Peter Germany Writing , , , , , , , ,

Good afternoon folks. Its early afternoon and I finished writing about 90 minutes ago. Have since had lunch and am now chilling out watching a movie before going off out later.

I wrote 2012 words today. I was doing 20 minute sprints and posting them in my local NaNoWriMo group. I had a couple of other members sprinting along with me which is always a lot of fun. I’m beginning to find that these sprints are really good for me as they do what they’re meant to, focus attention. Aside from one of the cats getting stuck and calling out for help, I kept on target and got the 2k done in six or seven sprints.

The distraction in question. Five minutes later she was back up there, but figured out how to get down herself.

I haven’t got onto the beta notes like I’d planned. I read through them in the week and will go through again tomorrow night and get any changes made that I agree with.

That’s a good start to my writing week. Let’s keep it going tomorrow.