Monday, December 29th, 2008
Reposted due to a hard disk failure at Hostgator.
I won NaNoWriMo 2008!
What the NaNoWriMo 2008 winner goodies page said:
Through storm and sun, you traversed the noveling seas. Pitted against a merciless deadline and fighting hordes of distractions, you persevered. You launched yourself bravely into Week One, sailed through the ...
Posted in Writing | No Comments »
Saturday, November 1st, 2008
And I'm off again...
I've done NaNoWriMo every year since 2005 and won it each time. Hopefully I'll win in 2008 as well. I've already written over 2000 words today (the minimum daily word count is 1667) so I'm on the right track.
Once again I'm focusing on my All ...
Posted in Writing | No Comments »
Monday, March 10th, 2008
I've been journaling on my computer, rather than on this blog lately. I'm concerned about privacy, and I don't want to spill my life and secrets to everyone.
But while listening to the Writing Show podcast today, I found out about something that I have to share: Book Crossing.
It's like ...
Posted in Books, Geocaching and Adventure, Writing | No Comments »
Monday, November 26th, 2007
A message from NaNoWriMo staff:
You Won!
So it's official.
Our word-counting robots have analyzed your November novel, and they've delivered their final, binding assessment: Winner.
You did it! You did it! You did it!
This was, without a doubt, one of the hardest years on record for NaNoWriMo participants. At some point in the ...
Posted in Personal, Writing | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, October 30th, 2007
My Neo has just arrived. I got a pick up notice from Australia Post in the mailbox today and charged down to the local post office.
Thirty minutes later, I'd tested out my brand new Neo, and uploaded the fan-made fonts. Like the font in the picture - Bold. (There's ...
Posted in My Computers | 5 Comments »
Friday, October 26th, 2007
Maybe it's the upcoming NaNoWriMo 2007 artificially inflating the prices, but I just saw a second-hand Neo on eBay for US$198. That's only US$1 less than a brand new Neo with the NaNoWriMo discount.
As the three year warranty on new Neos must be worth more than US$1, the second-hand Neo ...
Posted in Internet, Silly Stuff, Writing | 3 Comments »
Monday, October 15th, 2007
I've been researching a device I can take everywhere for writing. My handwriting is too slow and messy for a notebook. I can type at over 70 words a minute, so why waste time with a pen and paper? But a laptop doesn't cut it. They ...
Posted in My Computers, Writing | 5 Comments »
Tuesday, September 11th, 2007
Apparently the introductory note for the Táin Bó Cúailnge goes like this:
I who have copied down this story
or more accurately fantasy
do not credit the details
of the story or fantasy
some things in it are devilish lies
or some poetical figments
some seem possible
and others not
some are for
the enjoyment of idiots
This could be the ...
Posted in Writing | 1 Comment »
Sunday, August 19th, 2007
In sixty-four words, Norman Mailer explains why most fiction on the web doesn't work:
On Experience:
A very young writer sits on a park bench with his girl. He kisses her. He's seventeen. He's never had such a kiss before.
Later that night, he tries to capture the event. He writes:
I love you, ...
Posted in Writing | 2 Comments »
Monday, March 26th, 2007
A very useful list.
1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
This sounds easy, but in practice is incredibly difficult. Phrases such as toe the line, ride roughshod over, stand shoulder to shoulder with, play into the hands of, an ...
Posted in Writing | No Comments »
Sunday, November 12th, 2006
My short story, Wonder, a tale about scientists studying alien life, has been shortlisted for the Science Fiction Short Story Competition 2006.
I'm thrilled!
Posted in Personal, Writing | 1 Comment »
Sunday, May 14th, 2006
England's a very good place for me to get writing done. Warm weather tends to lure me outside and away from my laptop. But cold, wet days (like today) keep me inside and writing. I plan to enter the TNT Magazine travel writing competition next week.
Posted in Personal, Writing | 1 Comment »
Monday, May 8th, 2006
I'm reading Going Postal by Terry Pratchett in between e-mailing referees, applying for jobs, doing phone interviews and taking calls from companies.
Going Postal is terrific. It's wonderful how Pratchett can write so imaginatively and observantly, yet cram in so many bad puns at once.
I'd love to write like that.
Posted in Books, Career | 3 Comments »
Saturday, May 6th, 2006
A surreal day. I wanted to go to the Dali Universe exhibit again. Last time I was there was the day my wallet was stolen. I've got bad memories from later in the day, but I remember my first visit with affection. There's something about the surreal that makes me ...
Posted in Personal, The Arts, Travel | 5 Comments »
Sunday, November 27th, 2005
Just finished Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood.
Whenever I read Margaret Atwood, I feel like I'm in a battle of wits with a heavily armed person. I keep trying to guess what her next move will be and that keeps me interested. Atwood's craft is so flawless it's like standing ...
Posted in Books, Writing | No Comments »
Saturday, November 26th, 2005
From NaNoWriMo.org:
Dear Novelist,
You did it.
Despite everything else going on in your busy life, you managed to pull off the creative coup of writing a 50,000-word novel in just one month.
When the going got tough, you got typing, and in four weeks, you built vast worlds and set them in motion. ...
Posted in Writing | No Comments »
Thursday, November 24th, 2005
I just passed the 50,000 word mark in the National Novel Writing Month.
I can't actually stake my claim and finish yet. You can only start doing that after 25/11/05. Once timezones are taken into account, that's Saturday. I'll probably write a few thousand more words, because I wrote some of ...
Posted in Writing | No Comments »
Sunday, October 23rd, 2005
Belinda sent me this list of science fiction writing cliches.
Turkey City
Posted in Writing | No Comments »
Saturday, October 15th, 2005
Got myself an iTalk, a voice-recording device and speaker that plugs into my iPod.
I can't believe how painless it was to install. I just plugged it into my iPod and it worked immediately.
Then I plugged my iPod into my iBook and it not only automatically uploaded the file I'd just ...
Posted in Music, My Computers, Personal, Writing | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 11th, 2005
I've entered the National Novel Writing Month that Keat told me about.
This should be a good incentive to actually write the novel/s I've been thinking about.
Posted in Personal, Writing | No Comments »
