It Had Better Be Good

Fever

2008-07-25T11:57:00.002+01:00

So far this week I've only managed 2500 words. Not what I was hoping for, but staring at the monitor for too long brings on the spins. I think I have a virus of some kind; I still feel achy, tired and feverish.

On the plus side the fever seems to inspire my writing - I think the quality has gone up a notch, but I may be delirious - and the television screen doesn't cause vertigo, which is something to be very thankful for!

I'm hoping to get more writing done over the weekend to catch up. May you all have a great one and take good care of yourselves.

Aches

2008-07-23T11:35:00.003+01:00

Not feeling good at all today - my body aches like a tooth, especially my stomach and back. Have a high temperature so I'm feeling worse than I should be I reckon.

Self-pity aside, I need sleep, fluids (non-alcoholic variety sadly) and television, not necessarily in that order.

I'm determined to keep chipping away at the novel though. Full coverage will return when I'm feeling up to it, which will hopefully be very soon.

Back

2008-07-22T09:48:00.003+01:00

Got back yesterday - The Ours and I both had an amazing time, the highlight was definitely the Blues and Jazz street festival on Saturday. You couldn't walk a few yards without passing a stage/beer/food tent, and being Luxembourg it was all the best of everything. It was lovely to catch up with everyone and really let our hair down.

I am truely knackered today though, the good wine and food life has caught up with me. For some reason I started researching famous disappearances last night because of an idea I had - unfortunately some stories were quite harrowing and I ended up having nightmares.

I also have a dentist appointment later today so I'd better get some writing in before it; it's the last appointment for a while thankfully!

H-Day

2008-07-17T08:43:00.001+01:00

Holibobs Day has finally arrived - back on Monday!

Dr. Horrible

2008-07-16T09:38:00.004+01:00

Feeling much better today. I am determined to get some writing done before my holibobs, but I wanted to spread the word about Joss Whedon's new musical Dr. Horrible - which you can watch free and online for one week only. (Found via Eimear's blog, cheers!)

Here's the first act (acts two and three will be made available tomorrow and Saturday) and here's more about why Whedon is doing this.

Stomp

2008-07-15T14:26:00.003+01:00

My hayfever kicked in around eight o'clock last night making my head feel like an over-inflated balloon. I didn't get to sleep until three am and awoke in a very dark, foul mood four hours later.

Then I got bin juice all over my hands while taking the rubbish out. After a tense and overwrought shower I went to the supermarket, stomping around the aisles and whinging like an overtired toddler. On my return The Ours, still housebound due to a metatarsal injury, immediately sent me to bed to avoid a full-blown tantrum.

So the fact that I managed 1000 words so far is not bad at all I reckon.

National Holiday

2008-07-14T10:49:00.006+01:00

Happy Bastille Day y'all.

I have taken the day off today, ostensibly to nurse a poorly The Ours back to health but really to laze around and listen to funny podcasts with him. You just can't beat this kind of quality time!

For the first time in weeks the sun broke through the clouds yesterday to shine on Paddington's barbeque. If that wasn't miraculous enough I did not touch any of the lethal punch and stuck to soft drinks. I must be growing up.

We're flying to Luxembourg on Thursday to visit my parents, brother and Toby the Teacher - I am so excited. Cue lots of great company, food and drink. What else could you ask for?

Insight

2008-07-12T15:08:00.003+01:00

Hope you are all having a great weekend.

I thought I'd post a few articles read this week that moved me greatly and gave me a compelling insight into other people's lives.

Footage of Ingrid Betancourt's rescue
Ian McEwan on the brother he never knew he had
I'm obsessed with the number twelve
How to talk to someone with autism

Plans

2008-07-11T16:00:00.002+01:00

Another wet and windy Friday, but I'm happy as I've finished the paper edit of story six and rewritten 1000 words to get a head start on next week. Not a bad job considering this week coincided with my discovery of Adam and Joe podcasts and several dental procedures of varying discomfort.

And so the weekend is ahoy. Saturday I'm going to see Mama Mia with Daisy - my idea - which is strange as I usually switch off a film as soon as someone bursts into song. I did enjoy the South Park/Team America musicals though, and Glenn Close* and Pierce Brosnan look like they're having a great time in the trailers so I thought it worth a gander. Who knows, if I like it I may even watch *gasp* The Sound of Music.

Sunday I'm going to a barbeque at Paddington's house, which has been postponed once already because of the weather. This time he is determined to go ahead with it, even if he has to cook the food in the oven, and I applaud his tenacity. Here's a man that won't let the weather get him down! He's promised to make a particularly delicious and lethal punch that I may have to avoid if I want to get some work done on Monday morning.

Have a great one whatever you do.

*Whoops I mean Meryl Streep, thanks Marmite and Tea - I always get those two mixed up!

Pain

2008-07-10T16:28:00.004+01:00

My first memory is of climbing over a barbed-wire fence when I was five or six years old. My hand slipped and a barb tore a one inch gorge into the middle of my palm. In the hospital my mother held my good hand and the doctor stitched the bad one up, while I recited Jack and the Beanstalk punctuated by the odd 'ouch'.

Many years later I had a wisdom tooth with a twisted root extracted under anaesthetic. I had a relatively pain free twenty-four hours but something went wrong and I developed a painful complication called dry socket. I spent a week in agony, unable to open my mouth.

I know that both these situations were extremely painful because of my reactions and that people tell me so, but I can't actually remember what the pain felt and behaved like. When I hurt my hand shock came down like a transparent curtain, turning me into a mere bystander to the frenzied blur to the hospital.

Similarly I have now blocked out the feeling of nerve exposed to air, not through shock but through self-preservation. I remember crying in helplessness and frustration, my whimpers and groans muffled through gritted teeth, calling my boyfriend at work just to hear his voice, the receptionist telling me to go back to the surgeon because my pain was not normal.

Now my mouth is filled with Novocaine and again I can only describe my bloated useless tongue, the slurred speech and the distant tingling in my lips – but the feeling itself eludes me once more, the complete opposite of pain, the absence thereof. It is my writing's achilles heel.

Masochism

2008-07-09T09:21:00.003+01:00

After stoically ignoring my increasingly sore and tender gums for several days I finally gave in yesterday and called the dentist, thinking that they'd have a slot free next week or so. Unfortunately they had a cancellation for midday today and the no-nonsense receptionist, who probably heard my stammered excuses a million times before, deftly talked me into a check-up.

Which leads me to confess - I haven't had my teeth looked at in five years. It's disgraceful isn't it? I'm not particularly afraid of the dentist's chair (even though I am nervous this morning); it's more that I won't go until I have a problem. And miraculously I haven't had even a twinge in all that time. (I'm also very cheap and baulk at the prices.)

This morning I'm wishing I had gone more often, as I'll probably be on the receiving end of a stern lecture and a painful cleaning. And after enduring a Brazilian wax only twelve hours prior, I'm starting to think I may have masochistic tendencies...

Treats

2008-07-07T20:37:00.003+01:00

Had a good day today - edited ten pages, cleaned the flat of all DIY/painting residue and did some Wii Fit yoga.

After all that hard work I decided to treat myself. Unfortunately I've had to go on a diet due to developing a habit of rewarding myself with chocolate and/or booze for the simplest of tasks. (Like scoffing a kitkat for getting out of bed before midday, as it's a tad early for a slug of vodka really.)

Luckily I stumbled across the Adam and Joe podcasts from their laugh out loud BBC Radio 6 show. It's on a Saturday morning but I always forget about it and mindlessly watch Saturday Kitchen instead, so the podcast suits me down to the ground. If you haven't heard of Adam and Joe, they do hilarious and clever songs, skits and random natter.

They also did some XFM podcasts, which I'm off to download onto my iPod. That's the beauty of living in a city; when I walk down the street sporting my writer-rags and my uncombed hair while sniggering to myself, no-one bats an eyelid.

Formatting Your Novel Manuscript

2008-07-06T10:39:00.009+01:00

In between coats of paint yesterday I decided to format my novel manuscript properly, or at least the part that I've edited and rewritten.

After reading several websites, posts and forum discussions on the best way to format your novel manuscript ahead of submissions to agents and publishers, I've found that some standards put forward are universal - and some vary drastically from person to person!

What everyone seems to agree about:

1. Cover page
At the beginning of the manuscript, put your name, address and contact details at the top left hand side (single-spaced), the name of your novel and your name/pen name centred half-way down the page, and the approximate word count rounded up to the nearest thousand centred at the bottom. The header and page count should not appear on this page.

2. Header
Right align: Your surname / ONE OR TWO WORDS FROM YOUR NOVEL TITLE / Page #.
So my novel heading is: Reilly / DECALOGUE / Page #
The header should appear on every page apart from the cover page.

3. Chapter headings
Start each chapter on a new page. The chapter heading should be centred and begin either a third/half the way down the page. Follow the same format for each new chapter.

4. Body text
Double-space the text, indent the first line of each paragraph by 5pt and don't use too small a font. Use styles if you can so that if you decide to change the body text you can do so more easily.

5. Scene breaks
Indicate breaks in scene by inserting a centred '#' character. (No need to insert this at the end of a chapter though.)

Unfortunately here is where much of the advice diverges:

1. Font
There isn't a full consensus about which font to use. Traditionally you would use Courier 12pt because it is a monospaced serif font (meaning that each character is the same width), therefore the editor will be able to see how many pages your novel would run to when published.

But some agents have professed Courier to be ugly and difficult to read, and prefer another serif font like Times New Roman.

The general advice - check the agent's submission guidelines. If a font is not given, use Courier 12pt. That's why using styles is so helpful; you can change the entire body text with a few clicks.

2. Word count
Traditionally each page of a manuscript is 25 lines long with each line averaging 10 words (60 monospaced characters, hence the use of Courier). The editor would count each page as 250 words. (To get 25 lines in a page, select 'Exactly 25pt spacing' instead of 'Double-spacing'.)

However, in the age of word processing and automated word counts, this has changed somewhat. I couldn't find out if editors still used this format as each novel is now printed with different font types and sizes. As it doesn't seem like a deal-breaker I'll be using the word count given by Word until told otherwise.

3. Spacing after a full stop
Traditionally you would always put two spaces after the end of each sentence. Some agents/publishers seem to prefer this still, but others are put off by it as it has fallen out of favour. I'm using one space, but if I change my mind or am told otherwise I can use the find and replace tool in Word.

A disclaimer: please don't take this post as gospel, I just thought I'd share the results of my research like a jumping off point - I'm merely a beginner! Here are some links to some people with way more experience in the publishing industry:

Holly Lisle
William Shunn
BBC Style Guidelines
Charlotte Dillon (includes step-by-step Word setup - very handy!)
Miss Snark

Food and Photography

2008-07-04T17:24:00.002+01:00

The Ours and I took the day off today. After sanding the bathroom walls, which made my hair look grayer than usual, we headed out for a leisurely lunch.

Marks and Spencers on Grafton Street has just opened a roof top restaurant and was advertising a special deal, so we wandered down to take a look. They had finished the offer but we decided to stay as I was about to keel over from hunger.

We were seated outside at a dusty table without cutlery, and no-one came near us for fifteen minutes until we made frantic hand gestures at a waitress who wasn't even covering our station. We were then brought the wrong drinks, and when the food came the fish was cold in the middle and the chips were undercooked.

Luckily the person we complained to was very apologetic and took the meals off the bill, but the damage had already been done - I just HATE wasting a hunger and bad service drives me to distraction!

But we cheered up after a stroll around St Stephen's Green, which is hosting an outdoor exhibition of amazing Polish wildlife photography. There are 54 large prints on display taken by Polish photographer Artur Tabor, and each one of them is just beautiful. I had no idea Poland had such a variety of wildlife. Next time I'll just grab a sandwich and head straight there!

52%

2008-07-03T16:13:00.004+01:00

After a rocky start to the week I knuckled down, as The Ours was taking Friday off and I wanted to get the fifth story finished this week.

Yesterday I managed 1700 words, which I was very happy with. Later in the day I realised that this story was stretching a little longer than the others, which threw me a little off schedule.

But I had my heart set on wrapping story five today so I wrote 2500 words in a finger cramping frenzy of typing. Even better, I passed the half-way mark on my rewrite today too, bringing me up to 52% complete.

Even a weekend of sanding, painting and atrocious weather couldn't dampen my mood!

The Demon Drink

2008-07-01T14:36:00.005+01:00

Hungover today. Went to the Irish Film Institute's showing of All About Eve with Brisbane's Answer to Nigella Lawson aka Michelle last night. A great film and a gorgeous cinema; their yearly membership is only 20 Euro and allows you to buy up to four tickets for a reduced price amongst other things.

After the film we popped over to The Mezz for a quick drink...then another...until I found myself stumbling home at two in the morning. My head still hasn't cleared and I'm not divulging today's word count in case I have to delete it all tomorrow.

Alcoholic writers (of which there seems to be so many) how do you do it? On second thoughts, don't tell me. I don't need any encouragement.

Slush Pile

2008-06-30T14:32:00.006+01:00

I turned myself into a gibbering wreck yesterday researching the submissions process. The Ours was amazed:

"You've written an entire novel but you're freaking out about a synopsis?"

"But I haven't a CLUE how to write one! Don't you SEE, if the synopsis is WRONG the agent or publisher will LOB it in the BIN before they even read a WORD of my novel! It's all a COMPLETE waste of time, I might as well GIVE UP right now -"

Cue The Ours handing me a paper bag to breathe into and giving me a Jolly Good Talking To. (Yes, he's English.)

My mistake, as always, was ignoring the second Golden Rule of writing - One Step At A Time (TM)*. In other words, there's no point worrying about it until you get there, and when you do you'll figure it out. No matter how tight of a corner you've written your characters into, how awkward your premise is to explain, and how your novel is a collection of ten short stories so the request of three sample chapters by agents/publishers makes no sense in your case (guess which one is my problem?) it will all come out in the wash. Hopefully.

But just in case you're subbing at the moment, or if you want a quick peek at what all the big fuss is about, here's a brave and generous article by Daniel Clay where he shares the submission letter and synopsis that helped him escape from the slush pile.

* The first Golden Rule is: There Are No Rules, which comes in helpful when it feels like there's an infinite number of (often conflicting) rules about writing, editing and submitting your novel, and if you don't follow each and every one of them you haven't a hope in hell of getting published so you might as well GIVE UP right now. (Ignore the fact that the second Golden Rule contradicts the first one. That's writing for you.)

More Laziness

2008-06-29T11:27:00.001+01:00

I woke up this morning to sunshine. Could there still be a summer in store for Dublin? I'm almost too frightened to type these words in case of fate tempting.

Yesterday we managed to agree on the paint colour for the bathroom and haul it home with some mirrored shelves. We don't own a car so we were a tad knackered afterwards. Even the thought of sanding the walls was too much, so we just sat around, drank beer and watched tv instead. Hopefully next weekend the paint will actually make it on the walls.

We're off to watch Dublin vs Westmeath later in Croke Park. Watching Gaelic Football is always good fun and the stadium is fantastic - can't wait!

Chuffed

2008-06-27T16:13:00.005+01:00

1200 words today. I'm so chuffed at my progress this week, not only in word count but also in attitude.

Since I decided to go back to work full-time in September I've been managing my time better, getting more writing done, leaving the flat for a walk every day and generally feeling less anxious and more upbeat. I'm just one of those people who really needs a deadline and works very well to one.

I'm also excited about the challenge of earning money and writing a novel. Before when my savings ran out I'd be back at work, and all writing would pretty much cease until I could give up work again. Working and writing at the same time is a better solution long-term as it offers me the best of both worlds. It won't be easy but I'm determined to do it!

The weekend is again upon us - The Ours and I are having home-made burgers and wedges tonight. Tomorrow we're planning to paint the bathroom (planning being the operative word!) and on Sunday we're going to the Dublin vs Westmeath match.

Have a great one wherever you are.

This Crazy Writing Malarkey

2008-06-26T19:23:00.001+01:00

Today I had one of those golden writing days, the ones where you start tapping on your keyboard and, hey presto, it's three hours later and you've written 1400 words. But here's the golden part - it felt like three minutes.

I had entered the The Writing Zone, that mysterious state where everything clicks into place and the scene just writes itself. It hasn't happened that often during the rewrite so it was a pleasant surprise.

(I put it down to the dodgy 80's music station. Its cheesy tunes lifted me to a higher state of consciousness.)

Yesterday was on the other end of the scale. I'd woken up with a scratchy throat, itchy eyes and a nose like a running tap. My hayfever, in previous years just a slight nuisance, had mutated into a three hundred pound gorilla on my back.

I spent the day sneezing violently, wheezing like a sixty a day smoker and trying to remove my eyes with my fingers (luckily with no success!) Needless to say I didn't get much writing done, and what I'd managed I deleted this morning due to it being utter gibberish.

Lazy Meme

2008-06-25T08:00:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Helen for tagging everyone on her blog so I can slack off again:

What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was studying English at UCD, dreaming of being a writer and living with three of my closest friends.

Five things on your to-do list for today:
Get up and think about writing.
Check email, blog feeds, facebook and twitter.
Put on the dodgy 80's radio station and come over all nostalgic.
Write 1000 words.
Go for a walk.

What are three of your bad habits?
Biting the skin around my nails.
Giving my opinion on absolutely everything.
Talking non-stop at the top of my voice.

What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Go on a round the world trip with The Ours, give my family and friends lots of cash so they could live the high-life with me and write, write, write.

What are some snacks you enjoy?
Hummus.
Chocolate in all its forms, and lots of it.
Diet coke.
Popcorn.

What were the last five books you read?
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (still reading).
Underground by Haruki Murakami.
After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell.
The End of the Affair by Graham Greene.
Sight Hound by Pam Houston.

What are five jobs you have had?
Insurance administrator.
Editor and writer for a pharmaceutical mag.
Estate agent, showed backpackers luxury apartments to rent.
Instructional designer (aka web-based training writer)
Legal secretary.

Five places that you have lived?
Dublin.
Luxembourg.
London.
Sydney.
Jersey (for one month!)

I tag the entire blogsphere. Yes, that means you!

Lazy Tweets

2008-06-24T13:27:00.001+01:00

I've rewritten 2100 words in two days - result! If I keep going like this I'll have finished the second story by next week.

In the interest of sharing my life as a struggling writer I've decided to post some of my twitter tweets from the past few days. (Please note: This is not an exercise in cheating or a poor excuse for not writing a proper blog post.)

Ever since I started listening to a cheesy 80's radio station my writing productivity has shot up. The cheesier the song, the better my writing. Go figure.

Tweets are going missing...grrr. That whale picture, once cute, is now grating on my luddite nerves.

I'm thinking of calling my local Garda station to complain about their helicopters keeping me up all night. Or perhaps the local joyriders.

I had visions of helicopter blades crashing through our bedroom window and its undercarriage strewn across the paving slabs like a cgi film or a season finale of ER.

Someone was reminiscing about using a phonebox to call his gf's mate to fetch his gf and have her go to a phonebox so he could call her. You forget what life was like without mobile phones.

Watching a programme called Flipping Out about an OCD property developer in LA. It's hillarious.

In one episode he gets a pet psychic in because he's afraid that his dogs will be upset with moving house. No joke. To me that is LA.

Quite overhanged today. Luckily lashings of diet coke are at hand. And stupid facebook in jokes.

Calvin&Hobbes quote: I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. If we're in each other's dreams, we can play together all night.

Backup

2008-06-23T15:35:00.004+01:00

I've had my fair share of nightmares where I open my laptop and my entire novel has been wiped, or I spill coffee on the keyboard and the whole thing blows up, or every document is corrupted into a random pattern of nonsensical characters...you get the idea.

So I've developed a healthy obsession with backing up my work. At first I sent an email to myself with the WIP or finished story document attached. But those were difficult to organise and I like to periodically delete my emails to stop my email account from getting to big, so I looked into other means.

After some research I bought an external hard-drive, which I just plug into my laptop when I need it. At first I copied the documents over manually but The Ours set it up so that it syncs automatically. However, I don't keep it permanently attached as I have visions of it blowing up along with the computer during a power surge. (I have an overactive imagination when it comes to electricity!)

But you can never be too careful, so when I heard the term "The Cloud" at the weekend I remembered Google Docs, where you can upload, create and view documents, spreadsheets and presentations on your Google account. I logged on and uploaded my novel files in a few minutes. You can view and edit the documents online through your browser and even invite others to edit or view a document or folder - a feature that could come in useful for peer reviews!

This may seem like overkill, but I sleep better at night in the knowledge that my novel won't disappear with a puff of smoke.

Inside the World of Chicklit

2008-06-22T13:11:00.002+01:00

I spotted this article today by Emma Jones about chick lit snobbery and success - an interesting read.

Dublin Pride, Football and Breakfast

2008-06-21T10:48:00.003+01:00

Packed weekend ahead - Dublin Pride is today and the parade starts at 2:30. (It's raining, unfortunately!) We're going to watch the Russia vs Holland match later tonight and then find out where and how drunk our parade-marching friends are.

Sunday we're going to Liberty's new flat to have a hangover-busting breakfast.

Have a great one.