Tuesday, 15 November 2005
not to be outfoxed
Had to hatch a few plans for 2006 today, so Sue drove us to the Fox and Hounds for lunch and some scheming. Last time I went to this particular pub I got lost in the twisty lanes.
Sue's mushroom risotto looked good and my Caesar Salad was fine. A modicum of wine and some cappuccinos rounded off a pleasant lunch.
And we've made a great start towards putting our 2006 ideas together.
never bored
Some of my life is stranger than the fiction in the nanonovel. Someone queried whether my trip to Cannes was real (it was) and the fancy penthouse(it was, even the bit about the S Class and the Hamman steam bath). And in real life, as a social request, I have just been asked to drive around London to look at a particular genre of roadside billboards.
Monday, 14 November 2005
Jake's house
Luckily Jake was elsewhere when the Russians arrived and Bigsy and Clare were already on the Eurostar. The two cops were not so lucky and you can see the aftermath above. Of course, this is my nanowork, now at 25,555 words, which seemed impossible on Friday, particularly with an already busy weekend.
I must admit, when these characters were in Starbucks earlier, they could have ordered 'two coffees' but instead had 'a tall skinny latte, a grande cappuccino and, after some indecision, a piece of carrot cake' [2 words vs 16 words]. Oh dear.
Tag: nanowrimo, novel, writing
Sunday, 13 November 2005
Nanoprofile
Well, I'm still hanging in on the NaNoWriMo thing, although today I've been out in Hampshire and Surrey's November sunshine, which gives me a challenge to keep up with the wordcount. If you click on the page above, it should take you to my profile and if you are a kindred nanospirit, please feel free to add yourself as a buddy. I see there's a writer's drink in central London on Tuesday; it doesn't say where at the moment, so maybe it'll be like a flashmob.
Tag: nanowrimo, novel, writing
blue guitars
Julie thought of a great present for my birthday. Its a music album of different blues genres written and played by Chris Rea. Clearly a labour-of-love, Rea has assembled 11 CDs and a DVD packaged with a rather elegant book including his own paintings and commentary about the music. The CDs fit inside the book and the whole thing looks quite lavishly produced.
Yesterday I was listening to the Chicago Blues volume and the fully and sympathetically supported tracks are fluid, well-produced and have Chris Rea's gravelly voice adding a strong vocal dimension. Whilst some may consider this a showcase, one gets the feeling that Chris Rea really wanted to make this all-new set (it says it took eighteen months) and included are photos of the guitars and other instruments used.
I think it will take over ten hours to listen to them all just once, but I'm enjoying selecting a genre, cranking the volume and just enjoying the vibe. Excellent and I didn't have to wait until Christmas either!
Tag: music, guitar, Chris Rea
Yesterday I was listening to the Chicago Blues volume and the fully and sympathetically supported tracks are fluid, well-produced and have Chris Rea's gravelly voice adding a strong vocal dimension. Whilst some may consider this a showcase, one gets the feeling that Chris Rea really wanted to make this all-new set (it says it took eighteen months) and included are photos of the guitars and other instruments used.
I think it will take over ten hours to listen to them all just once, but I'm enjoying selecting a genre, cranking the volume and just enjoying the vibe. Excellent and I didn't have to wait until Christmas either!
Tag: music, guitar, Chris Rea
Saturday, 12 November 2005
the triangle
Brian had been in the gallery for around ten minutes. A series of white cube rooms displaying art. Very different from the place he’d visited the last time he’d been given private tickets. That had been a rather grim gallery the size of a news-agents, somewhere out west. Graffiti art, decomposing artifacts on the floor and literally rats running free as part of the installation.
Not this time. It was clean pictures on clean walls in a gallery he had pretty much to himself. He looked towards the white space between the hanging pictures. Pristine. Then he noticed it from the corner of his eye. A very thin red line arcing across the wall. A new line appearing as he looked at it. Then he felt it. The knife had done deep damage. Then he felt nothing.
Outside, November graphite skies, gentle rain. A quiet, dark-suited man slowly left the gallery, flicked his umbrella up and walked across to a modern metallic BMW. The driver clicked the locks, he climbed into the back seat and slipped into the busy traffic.
Tag: nanowrimo, novel, writing
Friday, 11 November 2005
yay!
My birthday today against a madly busy day! I decided it is better to reschedule to start in the evening and therefore spill over onto the 12th. I've had some great cards and thoughtful presents and will feature one tomorrow, when I have more time. Something involving guitars, I think. Meantime, I must blow out the candle.
Thursday, 10 November 2005
nice and peaceful
Nice Airport was quiet when I arrived. The first chance to do any writing for a couple of days. I sat quietly in the cafe until Nick arrived when we moved to a lounge area, where we also ran into Tony, Mark and Ronan. End of writing for another day. Still, I'm just over 16,000 words now, so I feel vaguely on track.
Tag: travel, france, cannes
Wednesday, 9 November 2005
poolside reflections
Blogging means thinking up new things every day. I'm painfully aware that this is the third day in a row I've been writing about the same French resort. I'm taking solace that I can at least try to use this experience in the NaNoWriMo novel which I should be writing. I've found a good source of advice for Nano-ing from Debra who has posted a whole range of practical suggestions.
And as I'm heading back to UK this evening, I suppose we will have a change of scene for tomorrow's entry. For now, back to that nice cool poolside drink.
Tag: nanowrimo, novel, france
Tuesday, 8 November 2005
a spot of luck
I travelled light, cleared Nice airport in minutes into a waiting S Class Merc for a fast ride to Cannes. The hotel only had one check-in person, so things slowed, more than compensated by the magical phrase "you have an upgrade".
Next thing I'm being shown to a penthouse apartment, with its own meeting area, lounge, office, separate bedroom, decked balcony big enough for fifty people, side balcony with screen garden and hot-tub, remote controlled everything, Hamman steam room (with eucalyptus delivery system) and Jacuzzi.
Oh yes, and the view out across the entire Cannes bay. Mediterrean blue sea, yachts, marina, mountains and later a great sunset.
Worth a few minutes check in delay. Wanna look? I'm on the seventh floor - check it out!
Tag: travel, france, cannes
Monday, 7 November 2005
it cannes be done
Sunday, 6 November 2005
nanohotlegs
I've discovered a new form of industrial injury doing this Nanomalarky.
Its 'hot legs'.
Earlier today I noticed a red mark on my left leg. I worked out it was a sort of heat burn from the Powerbook, which has been receiving above average attention in the last few hours courtesy of trying to get the wordage into the 10k zone.
Other people have Repetitive Strain Injury and carpal tunnel syndrome - they both sound a lot more exotic than hot legs. I'm back to normal now, so I suppose its alright for me to start again - this time with a cushion.
And another thing, why have a '5 hour journey' somewhere {3 words}, when you can have a 'tortuous five and a half hour journey', instead? {7 words}. At this rate I can finish the novel with only half as much plot!
Tag: nanowrimo, writing, madness
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