tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55207966724599470662024-03-19T03:27:26.804+00:00Postcards From My Mind.My Writing Journal.Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-67881387881604697642014-06-15T23:16:00.000+01:002014-06-15T23:16:25.219+01:00Poetry - The Art of Language<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Hello again you beautiful people. My goodness it has been a while. I do still exist and all is well on my side of the screen; my apologies for being absent from this blog for a year. I became full time at Danny's Dream and also completed the final stage of training as a Local Preacher, so I am now fully accredited. As you can imagine, I have not had a huge amount of time on my hands. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I have thus not been able to do much writing or blogging, though I have been reading a lot. In other news, I am now on Twitter as <a href="https://twitter.com/LizJackface" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">@LizJackface</span></a>. Not much else has changed for me, though I know some of my fellow bloggers have had a much more eventful year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">What I wanted to talk about today is poetry. It is one of those things that is like Marmite; most people either love it or hate it. Many of us were force fed the stuff at school (poetry, not Marmite) and were expected to dissect it in a similar fashion to biology lessons with frogs and pigs eyes. It is understandable why this experience left many people detesting poetry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Other people just don't like poetry. This is fair enough. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I would like to talk about my experiences with poetry and why I feel it can be a highly therapeutic, expressive and releasing art form to engage in, both as a producer and a consumer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I first came across poetry from children's poetry collection books that were bought for me. One of the first favourite poems that I remember was called 'The Friendly Cinnamon Bun' by Russell Hoban. What I liked about this poem was the description and personification of the bun - I found myself both hungry and charmed by this character. The words make you lick your lips and imagine sinking your teeth into the sticky icing. I also felt a little for the friendly bun, and felt a weird sense of betrayal when he gets eaten by the protagonist. It was a short, simple story told beautifully by concise, well thought out words. I have always been a slow and impatient reader, you see. I resent wading through a load of words unless they really mean something. In that respect, poetry hit the spot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Another poem I remember from primary school was 'Chocolate Cake' by Michel Rosen. This poem was written to be performed. One of our teachers, Mr Brown, did a fantastic performance of it with all the voices and actions and tension, and he used to perform it in assemblies. It was everyone's favourite and we often requested it. By the time I left primary school I could almost recite every word. Again, one of the things I loved about the poem was the vivid description of the yummy cake (I did like my food...) and the way the story was told so imaginatively. Here is a <a href="http://youtu.be/7BxQLITdOOc" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">link</span></a> to Michel Rosen himself performing the piece. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I used this poem recently in a service for my children's address during lent - it makes a great analogy for temptation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I remember a writing exercise in primary school where we had to personify the wind; we had to choose a 'character' for the wind and write about it as though it were that character. This exercise was so much fun to do. I already loved creating characters and descriptive writing and I had so much fun writing about the wind as this mischievous character. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I could tell you my life story in the context of poetry. I realise I'm beginning to go down that line. Needless to say, poetry has always been very important to me. As I became more inquisitive and interested in philosophy, I began to write this into a kind of expressive poetry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I discovered along the way that the beauty of poetry is that it isn't all about rhymes. It's about how you feel. It's about the patterns of words you can't express in prose, sensibly or formally. I think poetry was really unlocked for me when I started to use it as an expressive tool - when I began to pour my inner feelings into it. I won two competitions as a kid, one of which was published in one of those awful anthologies that only family members ever saw. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">What made these poems so special and so powerful was that I wrote about the feelings I couldn't talk about normally. It became therapeutic, an outlet for the things I couldn't say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I've never been one to go by the rules in poetry. This has perhaps stunted my competition career, but quite frankly I don't care. I don't write poetry for other people anymore. At the most, it helps me to convey to others how I feel. I recently (in the last few years) entered a poem to Writers' Forum magazine and asked for a critique as well. Of course, I did not win, and the feedback would have been useful. But I decided there and then that that was the last poem I would likely enter. My feelings aren't there to be marked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOSWDzgoiEhj2HX1MyebcT5IXOM7gi1X9Nrj4stH-uqURSYTQQMl8kDcsEIB3eaqJYtCpTM6GJ7BAZD__pmw9OI4sxCqMbeAaAbO3b4VSeHjj1ZtkSS4x-XB5JHrtRaiDTLibWswqPv8T/s1600/poetry+poster.jpg"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So, when the minister of our church announced a poetry competition he was running for the local community, I was both excited and terrified. I was excited and wanted to be involved in some way, but nervous because of my decision about competitions. I was relieved when he asked me to be a judge, as a Creative Writing graduate, because I can still be involved and part of this exciting venture. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I'm very excited to see the entries we get. My perspective as a judge will not be based in structure and form but in language and expression. The competition is for those in the Newland area in Hull and closes July 31st 2014. I will let you know how it all goes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">What are your thoughts and views on poetry? Do you like it or loathe it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">What were your first encounters with poetry like? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Thanks for reading. It's good to be back. </span></div>
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Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-27333478241241067782013-04-22T11:19:00.002+01:002013-04-22T11:20:36.179+01:00Planning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">My current task for my novel is
reviewing and planning. It feels like a really big task and I'm beginning to
realise how big a project I have given myself, but I think I am starting to
draw some order from the chaos. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">To the left is a picture of some of my sugar paper plans -
they are A2 so I have plenty of room to fit everything on. The first is space
for the main premise - the story idea, the setting and the protagonist. The
idea was to get it all down onto paper in some form of visible plan to see what
adds up an what doesn't, what works and what doesn't. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Then the second is called 'story remedies'. This is essentially my
idea edit. I've done a lot of free writing for his novel, working with the
setting, the characters and the story ideas and themes, and though it is
nowhere near where I want the story to be, it has given me a feel for all these
things, given me an idea of what works. From there, I can address the plot
holes, the character problems, the things which just don't make the story flow.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It's funny - in figuring out the problems and thinking of
solutions, I have, for many of them, returned to some of my original ideas from
years ago, particularly with the protagonist. She has become too innocent, too
simple, too whiny. Looking at the character as she is in my free writing, I
have realised she is boring. She is not a strong heroine, but she has every
potential to be. And I seem to have missed out half of the conflicts originally
in her character, and conflicts drive a story forwards. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So I am finding this approach to be very helpful in purifying the
chaos of ideas and refining the raw free writing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">What planning tools do you find helpful? </span><br />
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Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-4605870486406636742013-03-25T19:04:00.003+00:002013-03-25T19:04:58.743+00:00Lost In Translation<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I have just finished reading a
book of short stories called ‘The Elephant Vanishes’ by Japanese writer Haruki
Murakami. It was written in Japanese originally and I read the English
translation.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Overall, I thought the book was
good, though a little odd a times, with elements of the surreal weaving through
each story. This was mostly in the form of magical realism – surreal or
imagined things presented as perfectly regular.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I like magical realism for the
most part – it can be fun or poignant, or both at the same time. My criticism
of the book is that many of the stories seem to end abruptly, or have an odd
structure to them. I also found the central protagonist in each story to be
much the same character – young man, womaniser, drinks a lot of beer. I don’t
know whether this link was intentional, but it didn't work for me. If
it was intentional, it wasn’t obvious. If it wasn’t intentional,
I shouldn't have noticed it.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">There were a few occasions where I
wondered if my confusion or lack of understanding of an undertone or hidden
meaning may have been lost in translation. For example, one of the stories made
use of the word ‘<i>kit-chin’,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>italicised
to emphasise the spelling. Having studied Japanese, I understand how some
western words are adapted to fit with Japanese pronunciation, so I presumed
that was what was going on, though I was unsure why there was an emphasis.
Later, it transpires, another person in the dialogue says ‘kitchen’, and the
writer identifies that she used the Japanese word. The person is corrected, as
this particular firm like to use the English word ‘<i>Kit-chin’</i>. You can
see why this particular part of the story didn’t make a whole lot of sense to
me. However, I think the translator probably did the best they could while
keeping the integrity and original meaning of the story intact.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It made me think of other works I
have read in an English translation rather than the original text, for example,
Jostein Gaarder. Jostein Gaarder, author of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Sophie’s
World</i>, is a Norweigan writer whose work has been translated
into English among many other languages. I began to think about how
much work the translator had to do on his books because of the many deep
philosophical concepts, ideas and metaphors that won’t translate directly or
easily. I’ve always felt the depth and philosophy in Jostein Gaarders
translated works shows that little, if any, can have been lost in translation.
But it occurs to me – how would I ever know?</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Which brings me to one of my old
lecturers, Dr Mariau, who taught a module in Metaphysical fiction. He is
French, but speaks fluent English, as well as a fair few other languages. This
gives him an advantage in translated works, because he has enough understanding
of each language to gauge what is lost through translation. We studied<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>The Story of the Eye</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>by Georges Bataille</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">(I don’t
recommend unless you have a strong stomach and a very,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>very<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>open mind). The version we read
was a bad translation from the French according to him. He said that the
language used in the translation changed a lot of the impact and focus of the
story, making it a lot more explicit. </span><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So how far do you think the quality
of translation affects a story? Do we give enough credit to the translators of
works we know and love?</span></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-79499307397082905862013-02-26T23:53:00.001+00:002013-02-27T16:50:48.998+00:00An Evening with Peter V Brett<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEnSC3345HT1CJmTA4xnTNNve-Edr56GU94ZWV6sh7JtBvBWRx-yCd-KCr7cGjMs_wEsH2AdzlBUlRKf0ygIIU_X0Iz7-9JpVzwTyS111M-RDe4amfSW17FEOV9pPcTYnu7bxmd6WuUW_/s1600/IMG-20130226-00063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEnSC3345HT1CJmTA4xnTNNve-Edr56GU94ZWV6sh7JtBvBWRx-yCd-KCr7cGjMs_wEsH2AdzlBUlRKf0ygIIU_X0Iz7-9JpVzwTyS111M-RDe4amfSW17FEOV9pPcTYnu7bxmd6WuUW_/s320/IMG-20130226-00063.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Yesterday evening, I had the
privilege of meeting and chatting with</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.petervbrett.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;" target="_blank">Peter Brett</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">, author of
<i>The Demon Cycle</i> books. As you may have gathered so far in this blog, I am a
very big fan of his, so it meant a lot to me to finally meet the man
himself. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Peter Brett is currently on a UK tour, which started yesterday at
Waterstones Deansgate in Manchester with the event 'An Evening with Peter V
Brett'. The date was added as an extra to the tour due to high demand, and I
think I can safely say Peat did not regret it. The turnout was great and the
event sold out. Peat told us it was his biggest crowd so far (from the US
tour). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rob and I with Peat</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Rob and I made a day of it, took time off work and headed to
Manchester around lunchtime. We spent a lot of time in Forbidden Planet geeking
out, and of course, in Waterstones. It is an impressive bookshop, far bigger
than our one in Hull; it even has 3 floors. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">I found myself in my element, sat on the floor in the
philosophy section flicking through books. I love a good bookshop. It’s just
not quite the same, visiting Amazon and clicking a few buttons.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">We were lucky enough to get front row seats. I say lucky –
we had been lingering on the first floor of Waterstones for an hour and a half.
We had spotted many other lingerers clutching copies of The Daylight War, so
were slowly edging our way towards the door. There was a point at which a
collective decision was made. We needed a queue. Things were not quite tidy
enough, and a queue materialised in a matter of seconds. Rob and I were third
in the queue, and thus, we ended up in the front row. Forgive me, but as a
Brit, I love a good story about a queue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">We got chatting to some of the people around us – one guy
called Robert had come from Germany, though it had been a happy coincidence as
he didn’t know about the signing before. It was lovely to be around so many of
Peat’s fans. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">When Peat arrived, he seemed very excited that so many of us
had turned up and took a picture of us all on his iPad to show his Mum he had a
‘real’ job. You can find this picture on his Facebook page (though
unfortunately, rob and I were cut out.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Myself with Peat</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Then he did a Q and A, which was absolutely brilliant.
Everyone asked decent questions, and he gave fluid, detailed answers to each of
them. Questions ranged from ‘What do you like to read,’ to ‘If, God forbid,
anything happened to you, who, if anyone, would you trust to finish your books?’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">I would love to break down each question specifically and
detail his responses, though this would a) take hours to write and read and b)
require a much higher memory capacity than the one fitted in my brain. I guess
this is why I am not a journalist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">So I will instead give an overview of what I remember and
what I took away from his answers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Peat began by speaking about what books he likes to read,
and told us how George R.R Martin’s <i>A Song of Ice and Fire</i> series had changed a
lot about the way he looked at writing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Brett uses several different points of view in his books,
and he spoke a little about how this came about; the story was originally from
one POV only, and it became clear that this would not work for the story. It
helps keep the story going to introduce a fresh perspective every now and then,
and also gave him a break from each character as he wrote.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">He also spoke about some of his other works, including the novellas, <i>Brayan's Gold</i> and <i>The Great Bazaar</i>, The comic <i>Red Sonja:Unchained</i>, and a short story featured in an anthology called <i><a href="http://grimoakpress.com/2012/08/unfettered-edited-by-shawn-speakman/" target="_blank">Unfettered</a></i>, put together by Shawn Speakman. This is due to be released in the Spring, which I am very excited about. There are many other great authors in there too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Peat was also asked some questions about how he writes, which of course had me listening very intently. He explained how much detailed planning goes into each of his books, including bulleted summaries of each chapter and an ending in mind. He always knows where it's going, and will not set out with a story until he does, because he finds that free writing presents the danger of 'writing yourself into a corner'. He made it very clear, however, that this is how it works for him; there are those for whom free writing works, however it has been his experience that the key to a story is knowing what it is leading up to. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Signing</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">I plucked up the courage to ask him a question myself. Rob had challenged me to come up with a good question and ask him. Sounds simple, I know, but this is the kind of opportunity I have often missed in my life through hesitation and nervousness. This time, I did myself proud. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The question I asked him was this; </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><i>'Do you remember the point at which writing became more than just a hobby - the point at which it all became real for you?'</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">He had been writing for a while and
had a few pieces in the works including draft of a novel. Working in publishing
at the time, he became friends with an agent, who, upon hearing he had work he
hadn't shown anyone, thoroughly told him off. 'You don't decide if something's
not good enough, I tell you if something's not good enough,' he had said. So he
looked over Peat's work and did just that. The novel draft got completely
rewritten and, though I am cutting out some of the story, is now <i>The Painted
Man. </i></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />I think he must have twigged why I asked, because he went on to give some writing
advice; don't be put off by the rejected work that will never see the light of
day. It is not wasted time, it is practice. The key to any craft is practise,
practise, practise. It will be hard work, but by the time you do get
published, you know it will be good quality because of the hard work that got
you to that point.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Hearing advice like that from someone you respect and admire has a way of making it really sink in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Peat signed books after that, making time to have a nice long chat with each person too. He is such a humble, down-to-earth guy, but 100% confident in his work. Someone asked him if he had any regrets about any of his work, and he said he wouldn't have let it go to print if he wasn't 100% sure about it. Quite right too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">I took every single book by him that I own, and bless the man, he signed them all. What a lovely man. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">I have been so inspired by meeting such a great writer and a wonderful man, and have taken so much home with me (as well as all my signed books). This has been the boost I've needed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">So thank you, Peat, for an absolutely brilliant evening</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">You can check out Peat's blog about the event over at his <a href="http://www.petervbrett.com/2013/02/26/the-daylight-war-tour-manchester-u-k/" target="_blank">Peephole</a>. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me in my 'jamas with all my signed books. This was a good night.</td></tr>
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* All photos taken by my lovely husband Rob on his iPhone (except the one he's in, taken by Topher Knowles.)</div>
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Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-62863893526569870392013-02-15T18:53:00.000+00:002013-02-15T18:53:25.602+00:00Pushing Forward<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My manuals, which thudded through the door...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Last time I spoke about reassessing
my life; well the biggest outcome of that reassessing is that writing has been
brought very much into the foreground again. There was a moment a few years
back at which I declared to myself that I was serious about writing; that
it wasn't going to be 'just a hobby' as everyone had always told me it would.
Well, I may be into the second wave now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Why should writing be a footnote to my life while I work a 'real
job'? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So I have been writing something every day, not just on my novel,
but gathering ideas for short stories, composing letters to companies and that
sort of thing as well. I have been making sure I have time for me every day,
even if it is sat up in bed with my laptop. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">But, perhaps the biggest outcome of this reassessment is that I
applied to a Chapterhouse course for Proofreading and Copy Editing. Some of you
may have heard of them. The course came through my door with a thud and it's
all very exciting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">You see, I figure at the very least, I will come away from the
course having learned how to refine and improve my own writing. But other than
that, it's a starting point for applying for jobs in the publishing industry,
which you can't just walk into. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Does anyone have any experience of this course? If so, how have
you found it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I'll let you know how I get on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-9011174247153963642013-02-02T22:18:00.000+00:002013-02-02T22:18:52.639+00:00Sky Arts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW7G_s0qZQwrGBeBP3uNJ4F5VEBE6WoScD3zFquWpsnltBq3pQ3Ac3_mPBEbefQEelaCwl1IaY9yHNhLegedHdRp5ewqEYcNv8CxkT1mcN_cV8Iny7IJEQNMJaL3nO3rPzGR4TTKyQzKcm/s1600/City+of+Kingston-upon-Hull-20130201-00042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW7G_s0qZQwrGBeBP3uNJ4F5VEBE6WoScD3zFquWpsnltBq3pQ3Ac3_mPBEbefQEelaCwl1IaY9yHNhLegedHdRp5ewqEYcNv8CxkT1mcN_cV8Iny7IJEQNMJaL3nO3rPzGR4TTKyQzKcm/s320/City+of+Kingston-upon-Hull-20130201-00042.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have discovered the Sky Arts channel. After hearing that I had
failed my interview for a permanent contract with my company, where I've been
for a year and a half now, Google and I sat down to reassess my life. This, of
course, needs background telly. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I flicked through
the channels, hoping to find something other than endless repeats of Friends
(though there is nothing wrong with endless repeats of Friends), and I noticed a
program called 'Screenwriting Lecture Series'. I stuck it on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was really
interesting and helpful - BAFTA and Sky Arts had got together to create a series of lectures by various screenwriters, sharing their experience and
giving advice about screenwriting. The first was lead by William Nicholson
(writer of Gladiator), and his words were very interesting and inspiring. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He talked about
the role and responsibility of the screenwriter, bursting the illusion that
they 'just write dialogue'. He spoke about the importance of knowing
characters well in order to really capture their emotions and let us in on his
personal trick of always knowing the ending before he starts to write. He spoke
very strongly and passionately about the discipline of writing, which I really
needed to hear.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The series was
actually first broadcast in August last year, but it looks like they are
repeating it on Thursdays. I thought I would mention it, if anyone has access
to Sky, and hasn't already seen it, it might be worth a look. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-43490732301864468892013-01-29T15:47:00.001+00:002013-01-29T15:57:19.747+00:00Re-emergance<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Hello all. It has been a very long
time. Unfortunately, in the big juggling game called life, the ball that gets
dropped the most is writing. I've decided I'm not happy about that. So I'm
trying to fix it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">For the past few months, my writing has been a bit of a wasteland,
writing one or two lines a week on my novel if it's lucky. I'v decided I'm
going to do something I did last year for a while - committing to writing for
10 minutes every day. It doesn't sound like a lot, which is why the psychology
is good. When it's a word count, or a longer period of time, I am less likely
to do it because there is so much other stuff that *has* to be done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">10 minutes is easy. And it's progress. So in the sight of whoever
has not yet given up on my blog, I declare my commitment to 10 minutes writing
per day. No going back now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I have good news, though. In the wasteland of my writing mind,
today I found an oasis. An idea has been trickling through my thoughts for a
few weeks now, and today it crystalised into a story. I have been writing for 3
hours, and I now have a first draft of a short story. This rarely happens for
me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0sPjVdoSE0PIu2_yP1vFfIog0dGn0PyXqUnXb8Xyzd37xkSO2a2E8ACRP8FALzsSuV9nAOyaEqjFVemjQ_1dzXMSiZLqUARnVXt1ncWPsqnLBIBaS4knsAef47bEKA6tBZdcAUAeuIfgX/s1600/City+of+Kingston-upon-Hull-20130129-00036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0sPjVdoSE0PIu2_yP1vFfIog0dGn0PyXqUnXb8Xyzd37xkSO2a2E8ACRP8FALzsSuV9nAOyaEqjFVemjQ_1dzXMSiZLqUARnVXt1ncWPsqnLBIBaS4knsAef47bEKA6tBZdcAUAeuIfgX/s320/City+of+Kingston-upon-Hull-20130129-00036.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I want to tell you the story of the story. I walk to work most
days, and a fair few of my shifts require me to go down The Avenues. These are
a series of interconnected streets between Chanterlands Avenue and Princes
Avenue in Hull. As I was walking one morning, I noticed some rosemary on the
path. Not just a little bit, as if someone had dropped some, a lot of rosemary.
It trailed along the path for a long stretch. there were heaps of the stuff
about as well, all over the avenues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I couldn't stop thinking about the rosemary. I found it really
odd. Why would there be a trail of rosemary? There must be a story behind it.
I've seen trails of blood down Newland Avenue before, and it doesn't take much
imagination to work out the story behind that. Sometimes you see a trail of
sand or compost, where the bag must have torn without anyone realising.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">But rosemary? I couldn't imagine anybody carrying enough
rosemary to drop that much. Rosemary isn't something one generally carries
about by the armful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I imagined somebody carrying a rosemary plant down the avenues and
started to think about what would drive somebody to do that. Today, a story was
born.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It sounds odd, I know. It may not even be any good. But I wrote
it, and I'm proud. it ha been far too long.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Anyway, I will try to blog more often, to let you know how my 10
minute writing plan is going, and if anything becomes of this little story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" /></a></div>
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Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-33530576458987619012012-09-19T11:27:00.001+01:002013-03-03T19:57:05.086+00:00Bag Books: Beyond Paper and Words<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Our experience of reading is quite straightforward - we go into a
bookshop or library, buy or borrow a book, find a comfortable chair and immerse
ourselves in the world created by the words.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">However, for many people, this experience is not
easy or straightforward. For people with profound and multiple
learning disabilities, the words read from a book alone mean little. For
some, even the pictures hold no interest. So, should we write off books as an
experience some of our fellows just can't have?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bagbooks.org/images/41%20display_200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://www.bagbooks.org/images/41%20display_200.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'The Captain's Hat'</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I was made aware of a charity called <a href="http://www.bagbooks.org/"><span style="color: blue;">Bag Books</span></a> through
an appeal on radio 4 back in May. Bag Books have a team of people creating a
different kind of storybook for those who cannot enjoy a traditional book. The
books themselves are unbound large pieces of card, each page with a different
object that represents that part of the story. Specially trained
storytellers read each page, whilst involving each person individually with the
object. This can mean assisting someone to push a button, feel a texture or
produce a sound.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Through this wonderful charity, children and adults
with learning disabilities can experience the world of a story in a way that is
engaging, fun, and encourages personal development.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The other day, I was reading a story to a client.
The book had pictures, which she was quite interested in, though her eyesight
hindered her a little. So I encouraged her to feel the textures of the
pictures, used different tones to communicate the atmosphere of the story and
made some of the sounds in the story. She loved getting involved with the story
using her other senses. It's amazing how the way in which you present a story
can have such a profound effect on how it is received.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This experience made me realise just how
important people like Bag Books are. They provide awareness of the needs of those
with learning disabilities whilst also providing for them and bringing alive
the story telling world. Visit them at <a href="http://www.bagbooks.org/"><span style="color: blue;">www.bagbooks.org</span></a> and see for yourself the wonderful work they do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-32178924824347505102012-09-07T12:30:00.000+01:002012-09-07T12:30:06.079+01:00Foody Friday: Spicy Sweet Potato Soup<br />
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<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 20.66666603088379px;">This soup is a good winter warmer, and a 'feel-better' soup that will kick the cold right out of you. Sweet potatoes contain beta carotene which is good for the immune system, and red pepper also contains vitamin C, well known for it's antioxidant qualities.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 20.66666603088379px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 20.66666603088379px;">These quantities can be varied according to how much soup you want. I'm a big believer of making soup in bulk, then, once cooled, freezing it in portions for a quick, easy, late-home-from-work meal. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 20.66666603088379px;"><b>Spicy Sweet Potato Soup</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Ingredients:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">1 Red Pepper, sliced and seeded<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">1 Medium Sweet Potato, peeled and diced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Half a large onion (or 1 small one), finely chopped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Vegetable stock<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Oil to fry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Paprika<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Chilli powder<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Black pepper<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">1. Prepare the vegetables s
directed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 21.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">2. Heat the oil in a big saucepan and fry the
onions for about 3 minutes, then add the pepper. Fry for a further 4-5 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 21.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">3. Add the diced potato to the pan and fry
just for a couple of minutes while you make up the stock in a jug.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">4. Remove the pan from the heat before adding
the stock to the pan, to avoid spitting of hot, angry oil, burnt pans and
fires. I speak from experience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 21.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">5. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a low
heat and leave to simmer for 20-25 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent
anything sticking to the bottom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 21.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">6. When the vegetables are tender, turn off
the heat and leave to stand for a few minutes. Blend in a liquidiser until the
soup is smoothe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 21.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">7. Season with pepper, chilli powder and
paprika to taste, depending on how spicy you want it, then blend it again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 21.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">8. Transfer back into the saucepan and heat
again for a few minutes before serving.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Best
served with some nice crusty bread, or brie toast.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-623576578267071382012-09-04T19:42:00.003+01:002012-09-04T19:44:05.150+01:00The Modern Rewrite<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCAqkb0AvByvEMHATLKNDpjg69TMBZKlwd9Gh-MxHjsvMBNYL6El85joYqg1Fw6sanTFEhgNX0dHwD6ThFNTPOX6n0O1CoKUm9ZPwI-3n48Cb0JjIJEspVTmQ-of3Na5ztKYWAxVtspHzF/s1600/dragon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCAqkb0AvByvEMHATLKNDpjg69TMBZKlwd9Gh-MxHjsvMBNYL6El85joYqg1Fw6sanTFEhgNX0dHwD6ThFNTPOX6n0O1CoKUm9ZPwI-3n48Cb0JjIJEspVTmQ-of3Na5ztKYWAxVtspHzF/s320/dragon.jpg" title="" width="249" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">How cute is my dragon?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">One of the most used exercises in
creative writing classes is the modern rewrite - taking a classic story, myth
or legend and rewriting it in a modern setting. We were given this as one of
our first tasks at University, and I still have the half-written story I came
up with. I wrote about Argus, the giant with a hundred eyes, as a modern-day
security guard. With this sort of story there is naturally some level of humour
in the principal, which I found by giving Argus a short, tubby, ordinary human
partner. He offers charisma. And doughnuts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Of course, there have been several rewrites and modern
interpretations of old myths and fairytales in the film world recently; There
was Red Riding Hood, Mirror Mirror and Snow White and The Huntsman, and
Beastly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I write about this because I am currently working on my Local
Preacher Course unit assignment, which calls for us to write a parable of
sorts, reviving the modern message that can be taken from a Bible passage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We have also previously studied Narrative Sermons, which is one of
my particular favourites. You take a story from the Bible, choose one of the
characters (the least noticed or thought about the better) and rewrite the
whole thing from their perspective. These go down really well in family and evening
services.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Anyway, I digress slightly. One of the books on our reading list
for Uni was 'the Seven Basic Plots' by Christopher Booker. Now a lot of people
were outraged, even offended by the suggestion that most if not all stories
written follow one of 7(ish) basic plots. Surely we are more original than
that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">But we can't deny that most of our stories have a particular
structure to them, and a lot of the tried-and-tested basic plots that work well
crop up again and again. Detective novels do it quite shamelessly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Because the fact is that so much can be done within the basic
structure, and if the basic structure works, why not use it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">And this, I believe is why many of these classic stories keep
rearing their heads - because they work. They capture storytelling at it's
best. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Do we need to keep updating these classic stories? Surely, they
are classic for a reason, and work best in the setting in which they were first
written. However, kept as they are, many modern-day readers/film watchers would
not be able to relate or understand the true meaning or depth of the story.
This, of course, is most prominent when talking about modernising parables. We
modernise them to introduce the ideas, messages and lessons into the world in
which we live, not one we only read about. It brings the story to life for us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So, what do you think?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br />Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-20821874239336913332012-08-27T23:05:00.000+01:002012-08-27T23:05:42.859+01:00Hitting The Books<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Many apologies for my two week absence. I have had a stressful week, but I' here now. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">As a writer, research is one of our most valuable
tools. Our research informs what we write and provides essential materials for
building the world of our stories. </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Unfortunately, I am terrible at it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I find that I'm much more likely to dive straight
into a story, getting to know my characters a weaving yarn, which is lovely.
Which is fine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">But I've reached a point now where I realise,
particularly whilst writing a fantasy novel, the importance of research. It is
what makes the world and its people believable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So I feel it is time to hit the local library and
draw on its variety of resources. I have also been reading up on the books I own myself, stepping back and looking at story structure, world building and the shape of the plot.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The trouble is I'm struggling to know where to start. I want to read history books and look at customs and culture of different time periods, different countries, but I can't carry an entire shelf of books home with me. But, I keep telling myself, I need to be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day, and nor is a good novel. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I have recently finished reading Patrick Rothfuss's 'The Wise Man's Fear', and I have now got half way through George R.R. Martin's 'A game of Thrones.' </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">You can imagine how intimidated I am feeling. These books and series are epic - The Wise Man's Fear quite literally. The book weighs a tonne. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I can't begin to imagine how much research and time went into those books. And it paid off. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">So. Stop whining, Nari, and get on with it.
That, I believe, is what Patrick Rothfuss would say. </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Many people have recommended Stephen King's 'On Writing', So I might track it down to hep me out. Are there any other good books or research advice anyone can suggest? </span></div>
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Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-25160847250673577762012-08-10T09:00:00.000+01:002012-08-11T11:52:53.340+01:00Foody Fridays: Grandma's Garlic Potatoes<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; text-indent: -14.15pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Constantia","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I have attempted to recreate my Grandma’s famous
potato side-dish, since I was unable to find a recipe in amongst all her
cookbooks. It is really simple, and a good alternative to roast potatoes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 24pt;">Garlic Potatoes</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-euetOzMZylg4NFAoDIk9KWqvwdklWWwIhLVnj3dsCZ85tjoTWWzzOu2g83EBCwQtTng3aI-iYiaEWernRQhoO7i8rhBvAP6rx6NxsBhyq2Vt0VzgAEyB7NMzjexcKXqbWXRGSPg4no3g/s1600/photo+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Serves 2 Cooking Time: 30 Mins</a></span></b><br />
<b style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-euetOzMZylg4NFAoDIk9KWqvwdklWWwIhLVnj3dsCZ85tjoTWWzzOu2g83EBCwQtTng3aI-iYiaEWernRQhoO7i8rhBvAP6rx6NxsBhyq2Vt0VzgAEyB7NMzjexcKXqbWXRGSPg4no3g/s1600/photo+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-euetOzMZylg4NFAoDIk9KWqvwdklWWwIhLVnj3dsCZ85tjoTWWzzOu2g83EBCwQtTng3aI-iYiaEWernRQhoO7i8rhBvAP6rx6NxsBhyq2Vt0VzgAEyB7NMzjexcKXqbWXRGSPg4no3g/s320/photo+(3).JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Ingredients:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 21.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">3 or 4 medium sized potatoes, peeled<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 21.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">300ml of vegetable stock<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 21.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">2 tablespoons margarine or butter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 21.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">2 cloves of garlic, crushed and finely chopped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 21.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">½ teaspoon rosemary or sage<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 21.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Pepper to season<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 21.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Method:</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: -14.15pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">1.</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Preheat
the oven to gas mark 6/220°C.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: -14.15pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">2.</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Thinly
slice the potatoes so they are roughly half a centimetre thick, then lay them
out in a casserole/oven-proof dish. They should be slightly overlapping each
other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: -14.15pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">3.</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Make
up the stock and pour it over the potatoes, making sure they are not swimming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: -14.15pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">4.</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> To
make the garlic butter, mix together the margarine, garlic and rosemary, then
drop several spoonfuls over the potatoes, so that it will cover them all when
it melts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: -14.15pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">5.</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Season
with pepper to taste, then place high up in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until most
of the liquid is gone and the potatoes are starting to crisp on top.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"> </span><b style="text-indent: -14.15pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Please let me know what you think.
Also, any feedback on the format or phrasing of the recipe would be
appreciated. Thanks, and enjoy!</span></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<b> </b><i><b>Next Week:</b> Spicy Sweet Potato Soup</i>Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-62483250881230039262012-08-07T23:00:00.001+01:002012-08-08T23:53:00.750+01:00A Modern Mystery...<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Before I say a single word, I would like you to
watch this trailer for the York Mystery Plays 2012. It says a lot and gives you
a glimpse at just how powerful and breathtaking the experience is:</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GAKzf4zndmc" width="560"></iframe> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the weekend, my parents visited us in Hull to celebrate their
29th wedding anniversary. A big congratulations to them both - let's all raise
our proverbial glasses. I've learned so much about marriage from my parents and
I owe them a lot.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To celebrate, they
booked the four of us tickets to see the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.yorkmysteryplays-2012.com/" target="_blank">York Mystery Plays</a>,
which are particularly special this year because it is York's 800th
Anniversary.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If I'm honest,
when I'd first heard of it, I didn't really know what it was. So let me fill
you in:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">A Rich History</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The Mystery Plays are part of a
Medieval tradition in York. They began as 50 separate short plays, each telling
a story from the Bible. They were performed annually in the open air by local craft
guilds, each responsible for a different play. This tradition is recorded for
two hundred years until the English Reformation suppressed the plays. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">But the plays live on with the tradition, and 50 plays have been
made into one by writer Mike Kenney.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/allan_harris/7220328392/" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="York Mystery Plays 2012, St Mary's Abbey--3 by alh1, on Flickr"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="York Mystery Plays 2012, St Mary's Abbey--3" height="400" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7239/7220328392_0f5a070c75.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/allan_harris/" target="_blank">(c) Allan Harris</a>
</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This year's production was a
collaboration of the York Theatre Royal, The Riding Lights Theatre Company and
the York Museums Trust. All involved can be very proud of what
was achieved. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Setting</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This year,
the plays were brought into the Museum Gardens, and the stage was built in St
Mary's Abbey, which provided a wonderful backdrop to the performance. On the
main website, you can find a video of the stage being built, which is
definitely worth a look. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The stage was Open Air, which I think is one of the best ways to
do theatre, and particulary this play, as it called for a natural setting.
My Drama-Graduate husband informs me that the stage was 'thrust', which
means that there were audience on three sides of the stage. There were
entrances all around the audience, as well as coming up from beneath the stage -
very useful and powerful for the representation of Hell.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The Play</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Saturday 4th
August, Matinee</span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Before I get too
technical, I want to say that this performance absolutely took my breath away.
In spite of the weather, the cast carried the story with such passion and such
skill. There was not a single moment, not even when the heavens opened and the
director shuffled the cast backstage to procure some very trendy waterproof
ponchos, when I was the least bit disappointed, disconnected or any less than
100% involved in the story being told. I could not stop thinking about it. There were
so many theological points raised, simply by who was where at a certain moment,
even by the simplest action of placing a hand on a shoulder. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/allan_harris/7717975434/" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="York Mystery Plays 2012 - Dress Rehearsal 01.08.2012 -10 by alh1, on Flickr"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="York Mystery Plays 2012 - Dress Rehearsal 01.08.2012 -10" height="224" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8294/7717975434_7bc6603fcf.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/allan_harris/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(c) Allan Harris</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As we were all
fidgeting and getting comfortable, commenting on how sunny this side of the
stage was and that we weren't sure if our faces could take 3 hours of direct
and unrelenting sun, a man in a tan trenchcoat casually walked onto the stage
and began writing excitedly in chalk. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My first thought
was a scientist on the verge of cracking a theory, a mathemetician working out
the missing calculations, or an artist planning out some great design. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was, of course,
a timeless God with an epic idea, working it out with as much excitement as all
of the above. This portrayal of God made me smile right from the first second
because it was just so fitting. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ferdinand Kingsley played the role of God and later, Jesus, and in that, they had cast incredibly well. He had the air of excitement, interest, love and humour, but also of deep hurt and anger, caused first by the rebellion of Satan and the angels, then by humanity, whom he had also created. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He had the audience with him every step, and during the heavy rain, he had this smile on his face which made us all smile with him and laugh freely at the liberation in the image of him stood in the rain speaking of new life and being washed clean through his resurrection.</span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8287/7717995922_4230667f48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="York Mystery Plays 2012 - Dress Rehearsal 01.08.2012 -16" border="0" height="320" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8287/7717995922_4230667f48.jpg" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/allan_harris/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(c) Allan Harris</span></a>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Satan, also, was cast fantastically
well. He was played by Graeme Hawley, most famously known for his role as John
Stape in Coronation Street. He played the opportunist, silently watching and
waiting. In almost every scene, he was lurking, just watching, or whispering in
somebody's ear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/allan_harris/7717995922/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="York Mystery Plays 2012 - Dress Rehearsal 01.08.2012 -16 by alh1, on Flickr"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">There was an eerie presence to the
character, and he would show up in places you weren't looking or expecting to
find him. At the Fall of Man, he did not appear as a snake, or some other
beastly representation of evil, but as a friendly looking gardener. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
He appeared constantly, handing out stones to the crowds before Jesus tells
them it is not for them to judge, whispering into the ear of Herod's wife, placing
a hand on the shoulder of Judas. All these subtle things carried huge
theological weight, and there are so many debates I could get into. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Whatever was the main focus of the play at any given point, I was
always scouting for Satan, just to see what he was doing.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/allan_harris/7717200924/" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="York Mystery Plays 2012 - Technical rehearsal -4 by alh1, on Flickr"><img alt="York Mystery Plays 2012 - Technical rehearsal -4" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7717200924_0fc8cb268e.jpg" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/allan_harris/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(c) Allan Harris</span></a>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The angels gave an interesting
modern take, not clad in white lace and silk with halos and wings, but wearing
very brightly coloured outfits with wide skirts that span as they danced. They
also formed the rainbow after the flood as Noah and his family sailed to
safety. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">As I mentioned before, the weather was it's own character in this
play as well. Open Air Theatre always runs the risk of rain, snow or
thunderstorms, but I felt that the cast rode with the weather so beautifully.
In the first half, our side of the audience got sunburnt, and then in the
second half, a cloud rescued us. The cloud grew darker and darker with the
story, and was a heavy, ominous grey as Jesus died on the cross. During the
Harrowing of Hell, the heavens opened and it absolutely bucketed down. It was
so appropriate; Jesus stood tall, arms outstretched saying 'Let my people go!'
with the rain hammering down poignantly. I had shivers running down my spine
when all the cages of hell fell to the floor and Satan retreated into the
depths of Hell from the power of Jesus' command. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The cast soldiered on through the rain, not even blinking or
skipping a beat in their lines, but it was at the point where nobody could hear
or see, so the director had to apologise and shuffle everyone off to dry off.
The performance commenced after 5 minutes, by which time the rain had stopped.
And not for a second was anything about the play ruined, if anything, the rain
made it more powerful. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Writing</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The language used in the script was
very archaic, and worked almost in Rhyming couplets. In this sense, the whole
thing felt like an epic poem, with cast and characters to get behind the words
and bring them to life. It had an almost Shakespearean feel to it, which was
appropriate given the history and tradition of the plays. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I liked that Mike Kenny had stuck with this type of language,
keeping the plays closer to the original texts. The delivery of the cast was so
good that the writing sounded beautiful and natural, and wove the story
together like a powerful thread. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p> <span style="font-size: large;"><b>I Recommend.</b></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Needless to say, I highly recommend this play.
At first, I was not sure what to expect, and I was so impressed by the
experience I was given. The York Mystery Plays are running until the27th August
2012 - pay a visit to the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.yorkmysteryplays-2012.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> and book your tickets now. You will love it.</span></div>
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<i style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I would like to say a big thank you to Allan Harris for letting me use his spectacular photos in this post. You can find more of his work at <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/allan_harris/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/allan_harris/</a></span>. All images posted here belong to Allan Harris and are used with permission from him. </span></i></div>
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</div>Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-62587997040298226962012-08-03T09:00:00.000+01:002012-08-03T09:00:02.613+01:00Foody Friday: Broccoli Bake<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">As well as writing, I love to cook
and invent things in the kitchen. Being a vegetarian, experimentation and an
awareness of what is in my food is essential, and I have come to enjoy
researching good sources of nutrition. If you know what you need, and what you
like, creating tasty combinations can be really fun. I'm not saying it's
effortless, but it really isn't that difficult to cook healthy, well-balanced
and nutritional meals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So I have decided that I will dedicate my Friday blogs to telling
you all about my latest discoveries in the kitchen, including my own recipes
and reports on other peoples'.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Today I have a recipe which I put together last week;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Notes:</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">-<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This recipe
has quite high fat content, but is balanced with plenty of vitamins
and nutrients.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">- Broccoli contains not only plenty of iron, but vitamin C as
well, which helps the body absorb iron.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">- The walnuts provide omega 3, which is most commonly found in
oily fish. It's good to know that there are other sources for us veggies!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">- The cheese provides calcium and B12. B12 is very important for vegetarians, as it can only be found naturally in animal products, including milk, cheese and eggs.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Broccoli Bake</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Ingredients:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">1 whole broccoli<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">1 whole camembert (250g)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">35g walnuts, roughly chopped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">25g frozen peas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">1. Preheat the oven to Gas
Mark 5/190</span><span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">°</span><span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">C.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">2. Chop the broccoli into reasonably sized
florets. Chop off the end of the stalk and discard, then slice the stalk into ½
cm thick slices.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">3. Boil the stalk and peas and steam the
florets over the same pan for about 5-10 minutes. (If you don’t have a steamer,
bung it all in one, but the florets won’t need as long to boil.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 21.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">4. Chop 150g camembert into chunks, removing
but keeping the rind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 21.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">5. Drain the vegetables and place them back
into the pan. Over a low heat, stir in the chunks of camembert so that it melts
and mixes in with the veg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 21.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">6. Stir in the chopped walnuts, keeping some
aside for the top. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 21.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">7. Season with salt and pepper if you wish,
although I found the flavour of the cheese was strong enough to hold its own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 21.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">8. Transfer into an ovenproof dish. Chop up
the leftover rind and sprinkle on top.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 21.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">9. Slice the rest of the camembert, keeping
the rind on, and place evenly over the top of the dish. Sprinkle the remaining
walnuts over the top<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 21.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">10. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes and
serve immediately.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 21.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Best
served with potatoes, roast or boiled. I served it with Garlic Potatoes (aka
Grandma’s potatoes), <b>coming next week.</b><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIi0wF4BLjw7yztEjcABOl1qJN77dn8687DHr1QcjpzG5nu9el9EaPk7wUD9cJqIi4k60JZN9ycLnq1-6hsT_6dtpgTh_SpMcLc5j-F9PqYIBo4O2HejHtXLXGE2cGLvb8Tjb3rBsTcpC/s1600/photo+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIi0wF4BLjw7yztEjcABOl1qJN77dn8687DHr1QcjpzG5nu9el9EaPk7wUD9cJqIi4k60JZN9ycLnq1-6hsT_6dtpgTh_SpMcLc5j-F9PqYIBo4O2HejHtXLXGE2cGLvb8Tjb3rBsTcpC/s320/photo+(1).JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 21.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<b>Try it out and let me know what you think. I'm always open to ideas and variations. Enjoy!</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-86325482210518532622012-07-25T23:03:00.000+01:002012-07-25T23:04:48.319+01:00Review: Me Before You by JoJo Moyes<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.jojomoyes.com/admin/upload/77834d15a67903887376b969f55d41a9MeBeforeYou.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.jojomoyes.com/admin/upload/77834d15a67903887376b969f55d41a9MeBeforeYou.jpeg" width="254" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.jojomoyes.com/">http://www.jojomoyes.com/</a>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">My Mum recommended this book to me,
because it's related to my job, and she had liked the book so much herself. It
did come with a warning, though. It<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>will</i> make
you cry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Suffice to say, it did. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So, the story:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">a twenty-something girl,
Louisa, lives a simple, small life in a small town. But when she loses her job
at a cafe, everything starts to change. She starts working with Will,
a quadriplegic who was the victim in a motorcycle accident. This is
the story of what happens when their two worlds collide and how their
relationship grows and develops. It becomes not only<span style="background-color: white;"> about making Will happy, but encouraging Louisa to
break out of her small-life box and fulfill dreams she didn't even
know she had.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I won't say I was instantly hooked,
because I wasn't, and I won't say I instantly loved the main
Character, Louisa, because I didn't. I don't know why exactly, but it took
me a chapter or two to get into. But I soon couldn't put it down. When we met
will, I think was when the book realy came alive for me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The book is so beautifully written,
with humour, real human emotions and heartbreak. It speaks so well of human
relationships and the struggles that Will and Louisa encounter in relating to
each other to begin with. In a sense that is what makes my initial reaction to
the book quite fitting, because I learned to love the characters as they
learned to love each other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">What I loved about this book was
it's ability to make me laugh and cry in the same breath, making strangers on
the train peer round their newspapers conspicuously. JoJo Moyes has so
beautifully woven a tale of heartache, juxtaposed with humour that serves the
same purpose as a cup of tea and a rom-com after a difficult day. It helps you
to cope with what you are reading, which I foud very thoughtful of JoJo. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">As well as laughing and crying like
a madwoman on various illegal substances, I also found myself shouting at
Louisa, at Will, even at minor characters towards the end. I would tap Rob on
the shoulder, dragging him out of A Feast For Crows, and say, 'Rob, I'm very
cross with Louisa. Why the hell is she doing that? She's just... What a....
Humph.' It was at this point I established that I couldn't tell him, because he
just<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>had</i> to read this
book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">But you see, I like that. I like the
fact that I was shouting at her, because it showed how into the story I was,
how much I put myself in her situation and thought about what I would do. I
also ended up resigning to the fact that maybe I would do the same as her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">There were some geeky moments in
which I turned to Rob (getting an irritated sigh back) and told him about a
small error in research, like the legalities of crushing tablets, or explaining
that what Louisa should have done was park the car close to the pavement and
get the wheelchair out on the tarmac. There was also one paragraph which
started, 'the thing you have to understand about being a carer is...' and I had
to read it out loud to Rob because it rang so true to both of us. Spending so
much time with one person, tending to their needs, caring for them, putting all
of your attention on them, means that their moods affect your moods. And
perhaps that makes us unprofessional, or perhaps it shows just how deeply we
care about a person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I definitely recommend this book, it
is very well written and grasps the whole spectrum of human emotion in one
sitting. I was not brave enough (or fast enough) to read it in one sitting,
though i think it would definitely benefit from it. In a sense, having the breaks
that I did gave me time to calm down when I should have still been reeling for
the next chapter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I think it has been good to read a book that deals with disability, as like I said previously, I have been wanting to try writing something that deals with disability, and I think I've learned a lot from how JoJo tackles the issue. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Thanks Mum!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-49263846575079749492012-07-18T18:52:00.000+01:002012-07-18T18:53:32.428+01:00Hang on...<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This is the second part of the
blogfest;<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://falling4fiction.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/hookers-and-hangers-thats-right-bloghop.html">Hookers
and Hangers</a>. You can see my first post<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://nari-journal.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/everyone-loves-good-hooker.html">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Now I'm afraid my
hangers (last lines) aren't as good as the others. I suppose this a good
excercise because I haven't really thought about last lines much. Honestly,
most of my chapter breaks have just come when I've thought, 'probably time for
a new chapter', and this exercise has really made me think about
where and how the chapters are ending. Here they are, anyway.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">1. Ana<span style="background-color: white;"> looked up as he approached, and the Captain knew without hesitation
that this was going to be the right decision.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">2. ‘I think we should go back and find out
why she’s here,’ said Visha. When Jonny hesitatd, she added, ‘I’ll race ya!’</span><span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">3. ‘Do you know what they do with them up
there?’ Jenna nodded grimly. Ben hesitated. ‘Does Visha?’</span><span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It has been fun taking part in this blogfest and reading through
everyone's entries, so thank you to all who have taken part and commented on
mine too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This has really made me think about the way I structure chapters, although that's just making me want to edit more.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Constantia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-26033445850008233022012-07-16T21:58:00.002+01:002012-07-16T21:58:27.425+01:00Everyone loves a good hooker...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLG7bnmFjpah0UkH5pSfwYRn0suBiQAjnRECpZ4vrBEIB0IZ-nft4JPKdJ3m_KGAcVcRoLu_5boEGj8jui-cloddRraa-3lV6HfC4VtLxsUfSS3h6a_LI8dkcJT1DOnVSIjpzo_eYGLkMd/s320/Hookers+and+Hangers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLG7bnmFjpah0UkH5pSfwYRn0suBiQAjnRECpZ4vrBEIB0IZ-nft4JPKdJ3m_KGAcVcRoLu_5boEGj8jui-cloddRraa-3lV6HfC4VtLxsUfSS3h6a_LI8dkcJT1DOnVSIjpzo_eYGLkMd/s320/Hookers+and+Hangers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLG7bnmFjpah0UkH5pSfwYRn0suBiQAjnRECpZ4vrBEIB0IZ-nft4JPKdJ3m_KGAcVcRoLu_5boEGj8jui-cloddRraa-3lV6HfC4VtLxsUfSS3h6a_LI8dkcJT1DOnVSIjpzo_eYGLkMd/s320/Hookers+and+Hangers.JPG" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Today is the first
day of the Blogfest: Hookers and Hangers hosted by <a href="http://falling4fiction.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/hookers-and-hangers-thats-right-bloghop.html"><span style="color: blue;">Falling For Fiction</span></a>, so I thought I would take
part. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The idea is to post as many first lines as you like
from you WIP from each chapter. Here are my first five hookers from The Poison
Maiden:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">1. <span style="background: white;">Her scream
pierced through their ears like a banshee.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">2. She heard them calling her
name. They were coming for her.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">3.The streets were heaving as the two children made
their way back through the village.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">4.The sun was creeping lower by the minute, so they
hurried. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">5. <span style="background: white;">Jonny
dragged his feet as he moved away from Visha's door. The realisation was
beginning to crystallise under his skin.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">What do you think? Any advice?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">***</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Continuing the theme, I thought I would share a few of my favourite first lines from my favourite books.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">- 'The horn sounded. Arlen paused in his work, looking up at the lavender wash of the dawn sky.' - <i>The Painted Man, by Peter.V. Brett</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><i>- '</i>My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6 1973.' - <i>The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><i>-</i> 'Carlos Missirian was his name. One of his many names.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Born in Cyprus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> The man who was sat at the other end of the dining table, cutting into a thick red steak, was Valborg Svenneson. One of his many names.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Born in Hell.' - <i>Black, by Ted Dekker.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Does anyone have any other favourite first lines/paragraphs from books?</span></div>
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</div>Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-71117748510450261672012-07-12T22:04:00.001+01:002012-07-12T22:05:56.525+01:00That Editorial Itch...<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In my last post I spoke about
setting myself smaller goals and working on other things as well as my novel,
nomatter how small. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Well, this evening I have written a letter to Good Food
Magazine, and I intend to post it tomorrow. I buy Good Food quite a lot these days, and I love to cook (and eat), so I thought, why not? Besides, the star letter prizes are quite extravagant. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It's a small achievement, but for a while I have been wanting to
write another letter to a magazine, considering how well my letter in Writers'
Forum went down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It might sound odd, but it has really helped me to reassess
my writing style and was really refreshing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Having to get your point across in a way that is concise and yet
captures your voice with a limited word count is a great way to focus and hone
your words.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Believe it or not I found myself editing my 90-odd word letter,
refining it until I was perfectly happy, and this I found really
refreshing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I think I'm itching to edit my novel. It doesn't feel right not
going back over everything every time I write and scrapping loads, refining
each single scene. I feel dissatisfied with what I have written because I know
it could be better. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Ok, I'll come out with it. I'm considering a cheeky editorial
session. Would anyone judge me horribly considering I said I would push on
until I had a first draft?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Is there any such thing as a partial first draft?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-48825155003067770892012-07-06T11:05:00.002+01:002012-07-12T22:06:38.996+01:00Goals, Projects and Writing What You Know<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/179512_10150971766507432_682055598_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/179512_10150971766507432_682055598_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rob and I watching the Olympic Torch arrive in Hull</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Excuse me while I blow the dust off
this blog...Now there's an abstract concept.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I have been plodding along with The Poison Maiden and pondering
over some smaller projects which might prove slightly more satisfying. You see,
while novel writing is thorough and wonderful and at the end is a
great achievement, that end seems a long way off just yet.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I was wondering why I seem so discontent in my writing recently,
and it occurred to me that I have had no smaller or stepping
stone achievements to work towards. My goal for my novel is a first
draft. Great, but considering this is my first fantasy novel, that isn't quite
as easy as just tapping it out. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Perhaps a better way to work is to set smaller goals, even if just
story points to reach, or story chapter breaks. At the moment i'm being really
quite unstructured in my approach to writing. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I also realised that I have nothing else I'm working on, other
than my previous YA novel which is on hold for a while. So perhaps the reason
I'm feeling discontent in my writing is because I have nowhere else to go with
it when I struggle with PM. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So I started to think of ideas for short stories, and the ideas I
found myself having were mostly to do with work and what I deal with every day;
disability. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Thy say you should write what you know, so it seemed like a good
place to start. I have worked with many clients who have brought me into their
world and shown me a glimpse of their experience. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I have started a few stories, based on thoughts I have had at
work, things I've witnessed, things that have bothered me, things I have
learned, and people I've met. The difficulty I'm faced with is writing what I
know without writing specifically. It would be relatively easy to write a short
story about someone i work with, or something that happened, but I can’t for
too many reasons. Also, I think that would detract from the originality of the
writing process.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The idea of writing what you know is to draw on your experiences,
not to write an autobiography or a biography for someone you know. There is so
much about human nature, about the sensory experience, independence and social
interaction that I have learned through work, so much that I could draw upon.
And yet, I am struggling. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Disability is such a complex thing to convey, and as I said, I'm
finding it difficult not to write specifically. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Still, I shall keep working on the ideas i have had - at least
it's something else to keep me busy if I'm fed up of PM, and it is
another channel in which I can put my experiences at work.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Does anyone else find a similar problem in 'writing what you
know', or more specifically, in writing about disability? Any advice?</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-69237148179069785762012-04-20T21:39:00.000+01:002012-04-20T21:39:00.714+01:00A Life of Their Own<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Hello all, and many apologies for my absence. I don't know what I've been doing. Service planning and assignments as well as working on The Poison Maiden, I suppose. All is going well.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I am now on 18,563 words, which is nowhere near what it should be. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">However, in terms of character development, I feel I am making progress - I seem to be learning more about the characters through dialogues and by gauging their reactions to certain situations. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It's funny - I remember a time in my life, a while ago now, that I thought I knew everything there was to know about my main character, Visha. I would have sworn, at that time, that you could give me any situation to write her into and I would know exactly how she would react. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Ah, the arrogance of youth. I was still in school then. I have learned otherwise since.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The fact is, a well-rounded enough character can surprise even the writer, because humans are erratic. If we, the writers, know anything about ourselves, it is that. Humans are largely upredictable, and a writer trying to force a character to do something that clearly doesn't fit is not going to come away with a decent story.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I think to Jostein Gaarder's <i>Sophie's World</i>, in which the characters are infuriated by their author's wishes for them. (Possible spoilers if you wish to read). As such, they try to divert his attention by doing outrageous things that he needs to tie up and explain while they slip away, out of the story. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">A wonderful read for those of you into philosophy, I highly recommend.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Now I'm not saying that our characters have a life of their own in quite such a sense (though I like the idea), but I do think our characters' unpredictable behaviour comes from somewhere in our subconscious. we store all sorts of information about human behaviour from our day to day experiences, and though we may not be able to bring these experiences or insights to mind on a conscious level, they are there, waiting to be discovered.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">And I think writing taps into that and explores our human experience, which might otherwise be forgotten or ignored. What a wonderful privilege we have. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></div>Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-28656147528184209062012-02-18T15:30:00.001+00:002012-02-18T15:31:08.521+00:00My Shiny New Toy<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I did it - I bought a netbook. And I got a much better deal than I had anticipated - I got the last in the store, ex-display (so over half price) Sony Vaio, which is basically all the qualities, memory and hard drive space of an ordinary laptop, just really little, like a netbook. So I paid not a lot more for a proper laptop that's compact, which is the main thing I really wanted. Bonus.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I'm still getting used to the little keys, but I'll get there I'm sure. Now I feel as though I can take my writing anywhere, without llugging a massive rucksack with my cumbersome old machine and it's power cord as the battery is screwed with me. I can fit this in my handbag and take it on the bus. I can tuck it under my arm and pop over the road to the coffee house, or over the road to the local library.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Incidentally, that's what I'm doing right now. I've just tapped out 600 more words over lunch, and I've managed to begin a new thread of the story, which opens out a lot of things, ready to be explored. I know I'm being vague, but please forgive me. I'm protective.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Other news, I finally bought a paperback 'Wise Man's Fear' so that I can actually read the damn book without fear of breaking a first edition hardback. I'm such a geek. Mind you, it's not exactly the kind of book you can just pop in your handbag.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I have a question for you. I'm looking for some software to help me with my worldbuilding, which I know will be a fair commitment pricewise for a lot of them. Does anyone know of any good software that won't break the bank too much?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Sorry for being brief, but I think I need to leave. We're now on the third time through of Jonny Cash, and it's driving me a little bit crazy.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">See you all soon.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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</div>Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-64746795410395020232012-01-30T10:25:00.001+00:002012-01-30T10:27:56.929+00:00Raw Talent vs. Editing<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Is that a valid question? Not exactly a question, but you know what I mean. I've been thinking about my Nano novel, and Nano in general, and I know that the point of the thing is just to write, with the presupposition that you'd edit whatever you came out with afterwards. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">But I'm looking at what I have of this novel and my other Teen Fiction novel which, may I note, I have been working on for years. Comparatively, the older one is a million times better in terms of writing style, pace, voice and wording. I guess it wouldn't take a genius to work that much out, because obviously I have been working on it for a lot longer than the Nano one. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">My point is due. I have several. I have put literally hundreds of layers of editing and rewriting into the older novel, and goodness knows how much time. I'd like to think I have really grown as a writer since I set out with that project, especially looking at the initial drafts of first chapters and comparing them to what I have now. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">However, I'm looking at what I've come out with for Nano (The Poison Maiden), and it makes me blush because it doesn't look good at all. I will, of course, add the word 'Yet' to the end of that sentence. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">But that's my point. Does it make one a bad writer if it's only in the editing that the writing becomes good?</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxh5gJ-4_SfusQKLNG_OWHwFoHmyp8v_9NHkI6f5MZy4zw00D3zrmoNV2AVzVzoFoIgh26RjawfLsYLJGfqaOgu-DGvk5nFzykcvBIQATv9bwUZXUKO8uJJ1_hjZZdZW36cdqnKXfb9LHy/s1600/l_11272493.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxh5gJ-4_SfusQKLNG_OWHwFoHmyp8v_9NHkI6f5MZy4zw00D3zrmoNV2AVzVzoFoIgh26RjawfLsYLJGfqaOgu-DGvk5nFzykcvBIQATv9bwUZXUKO8uJJ1_hjZZdZW36cdqnKXfb9LHy/s200/l_11272493.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Netbook I have my eye on...</span></td></tr>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I've been thinking a lot about this, and while in my most pessimistic of states, I have thought that the amount of editing I have needed proves that to be the case. But I'm picking myself up on it, because actually, I don't quite believe that. While there are some writers out there with raw talent, who can whip something great up in a matter of minutes, I don't think even they would consider their work finished without at least a little tweaking. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">And I think it's all a matter of how you work; I used to take a lot of time over my first drafts, labouring over how each sentence sounded. I began to realise, though, that I was not getting very far this way. And actually, I enjoy the process of editing, going back to a piece of writing and reworking the words. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So just because this Nano way of writing is entirely new to me, doesn't make it a bad thing. I think that if I keep on with it, resisting editing and getting the story and the world down, yes I will have a big task to edit through it and put all those layers of fine tooth combing, but actually, isn't that what it's all about? </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Writing isn't easy, well, good writing, that is. Good writing takes time, and lots and lots of revisiting. If I learned anything at Uni, I learned that. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><b>3. Put time into my work.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">What do you think?</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" /></span></a></div><br />
</div>Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-78553608489512441962012-01-16T17:16:00.000+00:002012-01-16T17:16:45.294+00:00NaNo Write-up<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I suppose it's not too late to wish you all a Happy New Year. Resolutions, lists of things to get done, everything gets a new start, a new look. So naturally, we think about our writing goals, and what we can realistically get done in a year. Trouble is, I don't know what's realistic any more. My first goal for this year: write a list of goals for this year. When I have the time, of course. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I seem to be treating time as an enemy, which it feels like most of the time. I go back to the age old question of whether I am using my time wisely enough. So there you go: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">1. Use time more wisely.</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Since I haven't actually written since NanoWriMo, I should fill you in on how it went. It won't take a genius to work out I didn't get 50,000 words. The goal for me was never necessarily to hit the word count in a month, because I was almost certain I couldn't do it (probably my first mistake - telling myself that). What I wanted to get out of it was the initial push to get that first few thousand words down on paper and to get a story flowing. I wanted to get myself into the habit of writing every day, even if just a few lines, and hoped that it might stick. I wanted to get down these ideas that have been with me for a very long time, but I never had the skills to articulate them. I wanted to take on a new genre and have a bash at creating an entire world. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">What actually happened, you ask. Well, I certainly got that initial push, and I ended with roughly 12,000 words, which no matter what it looks like in the grand scheme of things, I am proud of. Although, reading Peter Brett's blog, he has just cut about that much from his novel-in-progress, which gave me a disheartening perspective. You see, the problem is that I tried after November to continue the pace; but then Christmas hit. Only having 5 days off and hosting Christmas for the parents didn't leave me that much time. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I have barely touched it since then.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I certainly got down my ideas, even if only in crudely formed sentences and somewhat lacking descriptive details, but that was the point, just to flipping well write. So many ideas and potlines have opened up in my head while I've been writing. It's that pressure of knowing you have to write what comes next, not whatever scene comes into my head as I have been known to do. Actually, the ideas came a lot more easily. I found it fascinating to see how far my characters had come, and how much had actually happened in the wordspace. One of my greatest weaknesses in writing has always been writing so much without saying anything. Words and words and words but very little story. When asked 'what's it about', I find myself speaking about the underlying messages and what the characters are like, not about what happens. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Creating a world was fun, but exhausting. There are still so many details which need researching. I know the beauty of a fantasy world is that nobody can check accuracy, but actually most fantasy worlds have elements of truth to them. For example, the system of rule and the monarchy, government or leadership doesn't necessarily have to be based on or reflecting anything we know of. But my point is, I know so little about that sort of thing that I would like to research it, just to see the patterns, or similarities in various systems in order to work out a new one. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">At the moment, consistency is very overstretched. I realised when reading through my novel, that chapters 1-4 all supposedly happened in one single day. If anything, I felt that was a waste of plot, shoving it all into one day. You see I seem to have gone the opposite way and made too much happen too soon. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So, already I am beginning to see things which need improving. However, I am simply noting them down and plan to continue along the same path as I did with Nano. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> 2. Finish Draft 1 of The Poison Maiden.</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I shan't try and conjure up goals in a single post, but will keep them coming over the next few weeks. That's as good a place to start as any, right? <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p>Speak again soon.</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></div>Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-56775060483701624952011-11-21T12:15:00.000+00:002011-11-21T12:15:22.288+00:00Week Two: Progress<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3rm2EgCUvz6Xax08TcqGbP-ek-Gmv7G8_1Qu72WYH8I2TuGfQ2iTc9oJ5f9eMR0tfi-2X7Hg3bfGzNDfQQ6uuJbpkUWq3fPTDBe8fUa2GsiDqfK_eHdQn8-r_UE3CsC_SXxnDLZIt8F86/s1600/DSCF0632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3rm2EgCUvz6Xax08TcqGbP-ek-Gmv7G8_1Qu72WYH8I2TuGfQ2iTc9oJ5f9eMR0tfi-2X7Hg3bfGzNDfQQ6uuJbpkUWq3fPTDBe8fUa2GsiDqfK_eHdQn8-r_UE3CsC_SXxnDLZIt8F86/s320/DSCF0632.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">My lovely new desk</td></tr>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Please excuse the delay of this post. It was meant to go out Sunday last week, but, well, evidently it didn't. I have been making progress, which is really good. Last week was definitely a better writing week. Part of the reason is, da-da-da-da... I<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> have a shiny new beautiful desk. It fits nicely into the space we have, and it has a nice little shelf for the printer. Shanequa has been enjoying having the company too. I also had a lighter week, at 21 hours, so I had a bit more time to play with (and no assessed services...). I do, however, have 2 exegesi (what's the plural??) and an assignment to do for Preacher training, which has been competing for my time.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The good news, though, is that I have been getting into the swing of writing. I've been popping off upstairs while The Husband dutifully sacrifices his much demanded time to make sure I don't have the option to be tempted to play Skyrim. Isn't he dedicated? I mean, even when I'm not in, he's making sure I won't be tempted when I do get in... It's amazing. The guy's a sweetheart.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I'm still not as far as I need to be, but I'm further than I was 2 weeks ago. I'm at just over 8,000 words now, which isn't bad. I'm on another long week this week - it was 40 hours, but one shift's been cancelled and one shortened and I haven't recalculated.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So, the actual story. It's coming along, and I've been getting more and more ideas and plot twists, which I've been writing down on memos or scrap pieces of paper, as you can see on the picture. It's really interesting to see how the plot is developing so quickly when I'm not jumping back and ahead and writing scenes far further along in the story.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I've not had so much time this week, but I have the weekend off. Friends visiting though... I'll let you know how it goes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" /></a></div>Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5520796672459947066.post-86436103900309437822011-11-07T17:39:00.002+00:002011-11-07T18:01:09.677+00:00First Week Blues<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim6BOIaadGb4xJWLsymVv6Lbqz1RQUiMFWP2b0QaYKx8FUTRamTtkCkPvArLdF9D08zaL17uc50TUtV4w-RiDO9hnKYBZN7AK9ehq0Kgkx7OQsj2dYiDBM73mddNV-ghv7zm4PvTYdG4ws/s1600/DSCF0630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim6BOIaadGb4xJWLsymVv6Lbqz1RQUiMFWP2b0QaYKx8FUTRamTtkCkPvArLdF9D08zaL17uc50TUtV4w-RiDO9hnKYBZN7AK9ehq0Kgkx7OQsj2dYiDBM73mddNV-ghv7zm4PvTYdG4ws/s320/DSCF0630.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pumpkin Soup and Goat's Cheese Bread for Bonfire Night</td></tr>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It's not going well. My word count as it stands is a pathetic 2,370. It should be 13,328.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I am positively screwed. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">What doesn't help is that I just so happened to get pretty much a full time week last week, which is brilliant because I can buy things... but It means I have had no time to write. I had an assessed service yesterday, which I have been dedicating any free time I have to planning. I also realised last night that I had not backed up my work, and then proceeded to leave my phone (and the only copy of my novel) in my assessor's car. I have it back now (phew) and I am backing it up as we speak. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Oh, dear readers, things are not going well. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">But, the optimist in me wishes to say a few words. I have a much lighter week this week, and no services until New Years Day (groan), so hopefully I can at least try and catch up. I'm really struggling to let go of the quality control freak part of me, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of just getting words down and, more importantly, getting story down. At the moment the exposition feels shameless and clumsy, and the storytelling very rushed, but I will press on. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In good news, we finally ordered a desk today, hurrah! It's more of a 'workstation', and yes, we ended up going to Rymans - Thank you Tom :) . It's narrow enough to fit into the space we have, and it had space for all my CDs too, with a lovely printer shelf on top. I think it'll do me for a while. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We went into Game today and made another very exciting purchase. We Pre-ordered Skyrim. Oh yeah. Except the midnight launch has been cancelled. I was cross for about a second, but then remembered I have work on Friday anyway so couldn't have gone.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I also got to make my <a href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/7730/pumpkin-soup">pumpkin soup</a> and goats cheese bread for Bonfire Night which was lovely. The soup was pink. I thought it wasn't orange enough and put red food colouring in for a giggle. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Anyway, the more time I spend here, the less my word count is climbing. How is everyone else's Nano Novel going?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5ZrEHjQpqjQ4rlOMyDOedeX5txzQ-xBRMm4_kkc3K2SBDPGlK-39oi_oqIiD0BNKk_AtaPZ1cZSzfZFlowqMLXeT_WkN6cexhQd4akQ3_ZfhYLreSIrf99XkfAhAwFJM-s2ku8urLkIY/s1600/Untitled-1signature.jpg" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: medium;">P.S. <a href="http://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2011/11/fanmail-faq-nanowrimo/">Read this.</a> Patrick Rothfuss makes me laugh. And he is now also doing NaNo. The rest of us don't stand a chance.</span></div>Narihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.com3