Chariots Of Fire

I went out for a couple of drinks this lunchtime. On my return, I was presented with a meal of mince and dumplings by my new next door neighbour and her husband. Could get used to this!
I'm now watching Chariots Of Fire, which features the most lovely and fragile music composed by Vangelis. Inspirational stuff, and I don't want to miss it.
Later tonight, I'm off to the Riverside pub to watch a good friend, Brian Houshby, doing a 'turn'. He's hilarious and highly entertaining. So much for spending time writing, but I feel I need this break tonight. I'm off on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, during which time I should have finished the beginning of the story.
Then the critiques from Noel, Solvey and Rich should confirm my abilities, good or bad!
Roll on 20th July, when I'll be off for two weeks. Thinking of going to Ireland then...

School's out!

Browsing blogs as I do now and again, and finding less than ever that I felt I could comment on with any authority, I came across a post on Peter Cox's blog (Maria Harris's agent) concerning the lack of interest-worthy school subjects. A friend of mine has just had a baby girl (congrats Kay!) and I remembered a conversation I'd had with someone else. I just happen to feel that most people leave school totally unprepared for life. Typical of me that my attempts at leaving a comment were unsuccessful. Obviously, school has left me unprepared for internet life, too lol

However, I also spied a podcast on Pc's blog about writers' clothing style. Now here is a subject of which I've had lots of experience: shopping unsuccessfully for clothes. Depending on which shop I go to, any kind of trouserware has me veering from 30" to 36" waist and short to regular leg - nope, never extended to long - and large to xxl shirts (especially in FCUK) where I always used to be 'M'. I always thought M stood for 'medium'. It seems M must now stand for 'massive'!!! Underwear, too ;-)

Now I've just bought a leather jacket, for which I really need the arms of an ape. Major surgery seems to be the only answer - on the jacket, I mean!

Writing life...

Youtube is beginning to suck

They keep removing stuff, or something. Now The Last Midnight video has gone missing. How dare they!
Hmmm...

A new place...

Well folks, I've moved house! I'm no longer by the River Tyne, which is great as it's so much more peaceful now. In this place, I will finish the first book of my latest work. (lol there I go again, writing sentences backwards!)
The area is quiet, even at its busiest, so I believe I will be quite productive. No excuses. No regrets. If I fail, then it is me at fault. Or with no talent, one of the two. Let's see, though. Now, where was I...

Words

A long, long time ago, a good friend of mine painted a rather striking picture full of words, originally entitled: Words.
Millions of years later, we bumped into each other and the first thing that entered my head was this picture. And yep, the picture still exists.
Funny that, as I don't have the opening words to the beginning of my second chapter. God, if I could have just dipped into this picture for a while and grabbed some! A friend in need... indeed!

The Words.

The Words.

It's not writer's block. There's a spark of inspiration missing. It's coming, I do know that, just it's hiding in a corner, somewhere dark, somewhere quiet, whispering to me, slightly out of earshot, tantalising. I'm listening, just not recognising. Yet!
I've got four days off next week, and I'm hammering at the door of creativity, believing the face of this book's devil will be reflected in the words of the 'good people' on the other side of the door. Good people? What is 'good'? It's all relative, I do assure you. I need to reassure myself - maybe that's the problem. I gotta think!
I took my time over the opening words of the tale, and I'm hoping, believing, that the story will write itself, like the beginning did. (Great english, that!)
I'm close to finishing this chapter. What on earth am I worrying about? Opinions, probably. I gotta live up to the hype. My hype, actually.
I'm cracking up. Probably, too.
Madness!
Writing life...

Lions and tigers and bears - Oh my!

Yep, I watched The Wizard Of Oz on Sunday, and before it Easter Parade. Two of my favourite films and in my top five list on Facebook, too.
I fully intended to complete my rewrite of Chapter 2, but this wonderful boost of light relief was very much needed: the darkness of my new work can have the effect of colouring my thoughts. It was great!
Another reason for not writing too much is the previously-referred-to Dickensian addition to the tale. Having now accepted that this must happen, a rather crazy conversation between two people in the story sprang up inside my head, which, if I manage to pull it off, should be illuminating as to the thoughts and attitudes of people towards the hero. A bit of show, and no tell!
Soon, Solvey, Rich and Noel the Ultimate Proofreader will get their copies of the new opening poem, prologue and first three chapters. Not because I'll be sending them off soon (they won't be sent, as I now understand I can't do that until the book is almost finished), but because I'm going to need their opinions. And these three opinions will count hugely towards my new thinking of the future of the story.
So, on with the show!!! Monday is gonna be a big day... a big writing day.

All I want for Christmas...

... is a green witch! Dontcha just love the Orange phone network advert? The wicked witch made The Wizard Of Oz so much more interesting. And she's come back. I just love witches - the star of Into The Woods is the witch, and the title of this blog is her song, which I had to play again.
I hope there are more adverts with this green witch. She's a star!

What the Dickens!

Ha! Something straight out of Dickens has entered my story. It kept flashing at me every now and then, and although I wasn't ignoring it, I kept putting it to one side to think about later.
Actually, it isn't from Dickens - that is, he didn't make it up, just it is an association with his memory, his work.
It's taking me such a long time to move on into the rest of this story, especially this Chapter 2, and I've been getting worried about the future: where would it lead, end, take me. Now I understand that my hesitation is probably founded in this new addition. It's also part of the middle section, the river. Hey! It's a result!
And probably means I'm still in the planning stage.
Perhaps.
Oh, what do I know...

Ghosts

Whilst finalising my thoughts about Chapter 2 (revised), I began to look through all of my notes. Checking things over in case there was something I had missed, I told myself, preparing for the movement into the tale itself. In actuality, I was re-familiarizing myself with the story and its inhabitants. Almost shaking hands with ghosts.
I surprised myself by what I had recorded in these notes with regard to the beginning and the end. I also surprised myself by what I hadn't written with regard to the middle.
I understand now that I have no middle, mainly the movement from the beginning into the tale itself, and then the ending (a possible choice of endings which I have yet to totally set out). I love what I have done so far, but I get a feeling that I may be hampering myself by not properly exploring the main event. Guess I've been too busy thinking about the beginning to have had many thoughts about the hero's journey after that. Then again, the beginning is vitally important, so I shouldn't be too rough on myself for that.
Perhaps, when Ch 2 is done, my mind will free up and I'll be able to explore what really should happen next. The flashbacks are great, for one thing, and hold up very well after looking at them with a fresh pair of eyes. Fitting them in should be fun, and I have to remember that I wrote them, so I shouldn't be worried I won't be able to write what is going to happen around them.
You gotta have faith, boy!
Cracking up? Probably...

You and I are yesterday's answers
The earth of the past come to flesh
Eroded by Time's rivers
To the shapes we now possess

The Sage, Emerson Lake and Palmer

Just musing while watching Alien Resurrection...
Were the stars put there so that we can admire them, or were we put there to admire the stars?
Either answer implies a consciousness behind the reason. That is, someone (?) must be behind it all.
The one constant I can find in anything - in the absence of the proof of life beyond our current knowledge - is 'light'. Light travels from one star to...... where, exactly? Where does it go after most of it passes by us? Does it stay together, or expand into next-to-nothingness, or is eroded by planetary forces as it brushes past, or all of these?
And what is the purpose of light? Is there an intended purpose? Just why is light?
I know we can say why to anything, making the question an almost redundant nonsense behind which particular smokescreen all answers to existence may hide. But light intrigues me more than anything - apart from emotions, because without them no reason of any kind could exist. Well, you wouldn't ask any question and care about the answer if emotions did not exist, would you?
So I wonder: does light have another purpose to those scientists know of? And could it be alive, organic? If it is not alive initially, does it become so while travelling through Dark Matter?
Are we actually part of light's own self? Is it possible that if we find the true reason for light's existence, we may find the answer to our own existence?
The words of Ed Wood JR spring to mind in one of his masterful (!) films. He hinted at the existence of the Solar Unite. A force that linked all planets across the universe. Silly, I know, to listen to the ramblings of..... But I guess he had a point. Is light some kind of solar unite?

The above was created without the use of alcohol or other substances of any kind. I promise!

Technology - Huh!

Can't seem to get Blogger and Youtube to agree to show the video I want. Oh well, maybe another day...

Happy New Year!!!!!!

Happy New Year everyone.
Would you believe it, I just opened a fortune cookie from a Chinese meal. It said: You have a potential urge and the drive for accomplishment.
Glad I don't write that way, but the sentiment's good enough for me lol