My favourite colour is blue...

... but I'll always be a red!
It's been a strange season in the football world. If the media were to be believed, Man Utd were finished, gone - financially and football-wise. I've looked at, and listened in horror to, the conclusions of all of the so-called experts. Everyone seemed to be ignoring the obvious: the injury crisis at Old Trafford was almost crippling. Not according to the media. Man U were simply not good enough any more. Their time was over. Ronaldo and Tevez were the heart of the team. They couldn't recover. Completely forgetting that they both did little last season, and were reduced to virtual spectators by a Barcelona team playing in a Spanish version of the Scottish Premiership.
I must be following a different game. Where did they get it from... the media, that is?
And Alan Hansen - he with the Liverpool badge - was at it again. Man Utd can't win the premiership: they've lost three games already. Following that line, nobody can win it now! He should be pensioned off. I mean, you can't win anything with kids, can you lol. And didn't he also berate David Ginola for daring to think France could win the world cup in '98? Major stuff, yet the BBC still uses him. His finishing is definitely not sensational. Mediocre, actually.
As I said, it's been a strange season, and Man U might not win anything. I just can't figure out, though, why their faults were so magnified by the media, and everyone else's positives were so praised. Because everyone else's negatives are now kicking in. How could Man Utd's positives have been so ignored?

Which way is up?

Rich has been told (and I mean told ) by an agent that he has to write with more fluency, more freedom, if he is to be published. And I'm sure he will do this. He will get that elusive deal. I'm sure he will do that, too.
So then - how about me? How do I measure up to that criteria? Subjective, in this post, but I've always felt that I write with fluency. Whatever I managed to do in the past, the polished effect seemed to be there. Except, I didn't polish. It came out as it ended up. However much I planned - and I didn't plan much in the early days - what you saw was what I wrote from the start. Very little editing; just moving the odd word or sentence here and there. Sometimes I would write whole drafts and there were barely any crossings-out or changes. A mistake? I don't know. I don't feel so. And you know, wherever I worked, too, I'd take reports and rehash them into a more readable form, increasing or decreasing the volume as I felt necessary, stating the obvious into a more exact form of information, and so on. People liked what I did. But the report writing's all gone now - I removed myself from Local Govt, and feel so much more free now to think my own way forward. It's been difficult, but the whole point was to try and give myself more mental freedom.
Self-praise? A legend in my own mind? Deluded? You could be right. Only, this new story... well, having planned and written lots of it since mainly mid-2007, I know I've really struggled with the beginning. The fluency has been hard to capture. In the past, I would have just carried on and then returned to the beginning. But this time, I had made my mind up that this beginning would be a beginning worth having, and that the rest would follow in a manner I could be proud of. And that I would write no further chapters until the beginning was completed. (Though I did manage to revise one ;-))
In the end, I don't mind saying that this has been the slowest-created chapter in the history of my life (Life? I've almost forgotten what life is!) I've never fallen over so much in anything I've written. Ever.
Last night, however, was a bit of a breakthrough. I actually wrote some good stuff! It wasn't very long, but it did interest me. And I felt that I was moving towards where I eventually wanted to be at the ending of the chapter, and in other parts of the story. I feel like I'm writing the beginning as Solvey and Noel the Ultimate Proofreader feel I should be writing it. In my own way, though - which is not how I was feeling over the past few months.
Perhaps there was a bit of jar in my head with the loss of the prologue. There was so much information inside it, with no 'tell' as far as I could see. Just it was a bland piece of writing. Too much ice; not enough fire. I can rewrite it, or at least put more into it one day. But I will not be revisiting the prologue until the story is finished.
The good thing is that the beginning has much more life to it and I don't think I'm too far off completing it. Then I'll be able to write the rest of the story in a much quicker and more fluid manner. That's how I feel right now. There's so much still to do, and I daren't consider a second or third book any more until I'm way down the line with this first one. I have ideas, but Noel has insisted I stop writing with an eye on the future and just write in the 'now'. For now. So I am.
Much more hopeful than I was yesterday - more than I've been for months. It's a result.

Tense

One of the people in this new story is introduced in a chapter all of her own. Except, I chose to write about her in the present tense. I was playing with tenses and quite liked what I had done with it. Actually, the original plan was to write the book in first person. Of course, one of the restrictions is that the main person in the story must be present - everything being viewed through his eyes. I couldn't marry that with how the story was meant to pan out. So, I switched to third person, past tense. I left the chapter for a while and didn't expand on it at all, not knowing if it was a true part of the story. Well, I've changed it. The chapter is now in third person past tense - like the rest of the story. And, you know what? It works!
The reason it works is probably because I had left it. Then, when I did look at it again, everything seemed fresh and quite new. There was no hangover, and, having written the other chapters in past tense, the new chapter looked rather odd in comparison. It had to be changed. A job done, and a chapter saved!
Moving on with it all now.

Fun In Acapulco

Just watching Elvis in Fun In Acapulco. I must be one of the few who actually like Elvis films. What a film star he could've been, instead of the rather shallow leads he often played. But then again, they are infinitely more enjoyable than the dreadful caricature he became on stage in Las Vegas. A club singer in a white jumpsuit. What a role model for all the Elvis copycats around the world. Funny; but not fun.
Maybe I'm just too serious, or too critical. Whatever, I know what I like. A young Elvis was absolute brilliance - even though he dyed his hair black to hide his natural red hair. I'm amazed at the number of people who don't know that - especially the ones who should know.
Then again, I should know: my younger brother used to dress like him, and had his hair cut and styled the same way, too. He even had 'Elvis' stapled to his belt - all this in a school where we had to wear uniform every day!
Back to the movie...

Compare The Meerkat.com...

lol I love the meerkat adverts. A bit miffed that the Green Witch adverts didn't last a bit longer (boring script problems, guys?), but at least we've got the meerkats to enjoy.
We are doomed! lol

Funny you should say that...

Chatting at work with Becca, something she said jogged my memory, and suddenly I was remembering half-forgotten people. These were internet-based memories about people I had never met, but had spoken to many times. A lot of names had gone from my mind, but they had all influenced my thinking while coming up with some kind of plot for my newest story. Becca probably thought I sounded very strange. Wouldn't blame her, as I think I am, too. Once home, I dived onto my laptop and searched for a few things. Lo and behold, someone said a name on TV, and then Sting sang a song called Soul Cake, both of which references are part of this tale!
A sign, perhaps. Well, I'm having a lot more artistic thoughts these days than I have been. Maybe I'm picking up on things - things I should have been more aware of. But then again, maybe I was aware of them, but it was a subconscious thing.
Agh! Stop analysing. Just write!

Miracle on 34th Street

One of my favourite films; this one and the original. It must be wonderful to be able to dream of something, and then for it to happen. Wishes are not just for Christmas, but it's a marvellous time to wish for something. I think a few of us could do with a wish or two coming true, and I hope for you that they all do.
And so, as I now retire to watch the rest of this lovely film, to everyone who has ever stopped by, and to everyone who regularly does (not that there's much to read here, these days), I hope you have a great Christmas and a very happy New Year. And I hope that whatever wishes enter your life turn out to be the kind of wishes that do come true x
All the very best
Es

Falling leaves...

I keep seeing them. How they relate to what I'm about to write is up to me, I guess, but they seem relevant. They seem to represent death. But it's what they become, not what they are, that is the key.
I've settled on a certain new first chapter. One that carries links with the past in the tale, but which also foretells danger for those who are left to carry on. I'm not entirely sure that this is the right way to go, or even that it is necessary, given that I like the original first chapter (now the second chapter). But the scene I'm writing seems to have no place later in the story, and the very beginning is as natural a point for it to exist as I can find - meaning that I was going to write it (it's in my notes) but hadn't found a place for it up until now.
It's possible that, after writing it, this may still not be a first chapter. But it will have been written and I can make a decision afterwards. I guess, after having the original first chapter there, in front of me, for ages makes it difficult to view another one in its place.
Still, on with it. See where it goes!

Where's foxy?

Well, the council have been out in force, cutting stuff everywhere - at least it looked like the council. To the point where, to my horror, the copse looks rather ragged and threadbare. Anyway, foxy has gone, or seems to have gone. I've left food there, and it disappears, but that could be anything. Just there's no sign of the little mite. Hmmm. I hope he's all right.
Mind you, it doesn't have to be the hand of man that upsets anything. It's quite nice looking at the woods and the wildlife, listening to the noises and stuff, but I came across some kind of hawk tearing a wood pigeon to pieces. What a shock! I was both fascinated and horrified at the same time. Nothing I could do, of course. Darwin had a point, and who was I to even attempt to interfere. Nature's cruel, but that's life in the wild. Strewth!
Still, I'll keep putting food out for a while and see what happens.
On the writing front, I've written nothing. Talked about it, thought about it, going through things, but not written anything. Just there's not much urgency in my head to do it right now. I don't know why. I will be looking at it tonight. Atmosphere; opening words. What am I missing? I need to study things. Let's see how it goes...

Clean-up

Had a bit of a tidy of my blog. Youtube's messing with videos and references has caused one or two vids having to be removed. Some vids have just gone missing completely. Pehaps they'll come back. I might've buggered off by then lol

Oh, to be a vegetarian...

You know, I did wonder why I gave young foxy a pork pie, when I've always liked pork pies. And today, with some odd reluctance, I cooked up a chicken dinner. This reluctance was confirmed by my lack of enjoyment while eating it. Not like me, I can tell you. Seems like I'm going off meat, for some reason.
I've got stuff for sandwiches, soup in the freezer with meat in it, leftover chicken, bacon n stuff.
None of it appeals. I'd rather just have something plain, like wheatgerm bread and butter. And fruit juice rather than fizzy drinks. Hot chocolate as opposed to coffee - well, some of the time!
A symptom of getting older, perhaps?
Absolutely no idea what's going on internally, but I feel like I'm changing. Maybe it's moving to this new place. Perhaps I've discovered a new outlook, with it.
Soon it will be 2010.
Tried to find a play on words with Space Odyssey and food, but I couldn't.
I need a beer!

Help! again...

Yep, the Fabs are on tv tonight - 10.45 pm on BBC2. Great fun! I'll watch it tonight. They don't make 'em like this any more.
On the subject of help (tenuous, I know), I've had another conversation with Noel the Ultimate Proofreader. Noel has revealed that he likes the poem at the beginning and the name of the young girl, and that one of his favourite bits is the last line of the third chapter, which refers to a cat. He also enjoys the atmosphere, which I build from the beginning of the current first chapter, and the fact that I have enough in the form of people in the story to create interaction and events that mean something. Noel hopes that the cat will play a larger part as the story goes on. No worries on that score, I assured him!
Solvey believes that the story has great potential, but, like Noel, feels the beginning needs some kind of punch or memorablity to be more effective as a beginning.
I'm writing an opening that, I hope, reveals danger to the audience and also gives more information to the audience than the hero is allowed. It's not a reversal, but it is death by murder - a strong event that will only work if I write it well enough.
The original and now-removed prologue is a rather flat flashback that is probably unnecessary - perhaps the other flashbacks will be emphasised because of this removal. I don't want many of them, for sure, so we will have to see there.