Old year’s night

A Yorkshire alternative to New Years eve – albeit cynical – been out to stock up on supplies – Famous Grouse and Stones ginger wine, plus snackettes to die for. Was going to plan for the future but decided to settle for dreaming, a more conducive frame of mind for writing especially as I’ve decided to indulge in JaNoWriMo – with a 30k target – which starts tomorrow. Wish me luck. A happy, peaceful and creative new year to all.

Gilbert and George

No fairies in our house this year <apologies to Sequins>.  Only Gilbert and George (left) were prepared to hang around – despite pine needles, Lindt chocolate wrappers, balloon sculptures – the promise of more Jack Daniels liqueur choccies will bring cheer to new year!

Tra la la

Tra la la … nothing done, don’t care, head in the sand, la la la la la la …  can’t hear you. Tra la la <insert sound of brass band playing carols or music of your choice>.

Survivors

Today we’re playing Survivors. It’s zero degrees outside and there’s no-one around. We could be the only people left on the planet. Managed to find wood for the stove this morning, fed the hens and then went off foraging for vegetables. What else? Well – had enough of viral infections, so now it’s dark we’ve blockaded ourselves inside …

You can see where this is going?

This book will save your life

Slowly working my way through This Book Will Save Your Life by AM Homes. It’s the sort of book you want to savour, tasting it bit by bit and, OK – the sort of book I’d love to have written. Still, there’s a good review here if you want to check it out, but better still – read it! I’ve two books waiting for me when I finish this one: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami (Kafka On The Shore was my favourite book this summer) and Roll Up for the Arabian Derby, a collection of short stories by Susan Wicks whose work I haven’t read before. It’s published by Bluechrome Publishing though a search on their site found zero results for Susan. Hope that’s not an omen. I’ll let you know when I get around to reading it!

Screenwipe and tree things

I’m doing a radio adaptation of one of my short stories and have  several other [writing] projects planned so feel the need to recharge my batteries. I like taking photographs and often use them as records of sometimes fleeting observations which I use as prompts or detail in stories.

Also watched Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe Series 4, Episode 3 where he interviews writers on writing practice and empathised particularly with Jimmy McGovern stating he’d ‘rather be confused for ten minutes than bored for five seconds’. This has made me feel much more confident about the surreal episodes I’ve come across in my NANO novel which have entertained (and confused) everyone I’ve shown them to but which I’ve not yet dared to post here!

Running on Empty III

NANO excerpt III

George is sitting in his car down by the docks. He is fiddling with the tuning knob on the radio, but whichever way he twists it, the opera singer’s voice still crackles. He gives up and switches it off, opens the window and listens to the traffic going along the bypass on the opposite side of the docks. What if he didn’t go back? Ellen would be expecting him to. Usually after they’d argued she’d phone him on his mobile, but on this occasion he’d flung it at the wall and now it was flashing large letters that made no sense at all. He presses the speed dial number. The phone bleeps at him then the display goes black. He puts it back in his pocket then turns the key in the ignition and heads in the direction of the main road. He drives several metres before realizing he has no lights. Shit. In a panic, he flips the lever onto full beam which reveals a woman running along the pavement towards the traffic lights. As the lights turn red and he slows to stop, she bangs on the passenger window.