A Rough Draft in 100 Days

I will write a rough draft of my next book in 100 days.

Well that's torn it, no backing out now. Anything less than an embryonic book by day 101 and my failure is public. To expose myself further I am committing myself to tweet an update every 24 hours. Motivation you see, that's the idea.

I've been plotting out a book, and am now ready to tell myself the story in the form of a rough draft. I could just start writing but I've tried that before. I get bored, discouraged or distracted. I find excuses, obsess over a new computer game, or just forget. Sometimes I do stick with it, Hiding is proof of that, but even then it takes too long. Time to try something different.

Very rarely I buy one of the writing magazines that huddle together in the darker corners of WH Smiths. A few months ago I picked up a copy of Writers' Forum. I found a few articles to be useful, but one in particular caught my interest.

In short, the article proposed setting a writing goal and challenging yourself to achieve it in 100 days. There's more to it than that, such as how to chose the right goal, why 100 days etc. The article was written by Paula Williams and is based on material from The Business Bakery. Credit where credit's due so if you want to learn more then have a read here. Fair warning it's a bit cutesy, but each to his own.

The best thing about the 100 day challenge is that it gives you an excuse to buy a notebook. Not just any notebook, but a beautiful journal, one that you will look forward to writing in. I have a borderline stationery fetish, so this might be what reeled me in.

The notebook is not for the actual draft. The idea is to write in the journal every day about what you are have done to reach your goal. I've added the extra motivation of announcing my target here, and tweeting about it from day 1 to 100. I may even photograph and share the pages of the journal.

It needs a hash tag doesn't it. How about #100daydraft

It's important to set an achievable target for obvious reasons. My book is planned to be 90,000 words in 20 chapters. An average of 1,000 words a day should be within my reach. Day 1 will be when I get to the shops and pick myself a journal. No that's not procrastination, it's a consequence of having a day job.

I may well regret doing this, but I'm hoping my ego will drive me on. It's easy to give up when no one is watching.

Later...

I've just announced my 100 day challenge to the twttersphere via #writingchat. This is a group of writers who get together on Twitter ever Wednesday at 8pm UK time for an hour. I now have a horde of writers promising to nag me for 100 days.

I don't dare fail.

Writing for WhatCulture

I'm happy to report that one of the opportunities I mentioned in my last post Angels Take Manhattan: The Basement has paid off.

WhatCulture.com is always looking for contributors, and not so long ago it asked for people to specifically write for its Doctor Who section. Too good a chance to miss I thought, so I gave it a shot. I sent them a note telling them how great I was and they invited me to send an audition piece.

I had something in my rework pile that seemed like a good candidate so I rewrote it to fit the WhatCulture.com criteria. Happily the Doctor Who section editor liked it and made me a contributor. This meant that I now had access to the dashboard where I could pitch articles or apply to take on one of their recommended assignments.

The dashboard has a detailed and clear style guide so I realised my audition piece wasn't quite fit for purpose. One more light re-work and I submitted it. Just 24 hours later my debut piece was live and being clicked, shared and, most importantly, read. What was it? Well I invite you to consider 10 Things That Every Parent Of A Doctor Who Fan Should Know

Since then I've pitched another article which has been accepted. I think I'm going to enjoy this gig.

If you fancy chancing your arm have a look at the Write For WhatCulture page. It says it much better than I could. You can also have a look at my Profile Page if you don't find Doctor Who frightening enough.

Lovely.

Angels Take Manhattan: The Basement

Is this a joke?

Previous episode: Angels Take Manhattan: 2012

Next episode: Angels Take Manhattan: 1938

Game version played: 2.5.1 (GP-A)

The basement, where Rory met the chuckling cherubs. That was also in Manhattan, but in 1938 not 2012. Same place, different time. Blue Time fragments are likely but no rare drop. The backdrop is a series of arches containing shadowy figures. Shield that Brightwell & Hyman match, screw your courage to the sticking place and follow me.

My team is led by the 11th Doctor at Rank 2, who is accompanied by Jenny Flint, Madame Vastra, Porridge and Rory Williams who are all at Lvl.9. I anticipate that this mission will get Jenny to Lvl.10 and hence the next rank. That's confidence for you. It's also a sure way to lose a level, thinking on the reward rather than the task. Stay focused Allsop.

Wave 1 of 4 consists of a Blue Weeping Angel as faced in the last level, plus a Blue cherub which game-wise is a less dangerous version of full grown Angels. We also have Stone gems to add to the fun. I tried for 5+ combos where I could but the Stones make it difficult. It took me 4 rounds to kill the Angel, then just one more to clear the cherub. Knowing that the cherub is less sturdy I probably should have targeted it from the start.

Wave 2 is a single Blue Weeping Angel but this one is in chains. It's the wrist-snapping Angel that Julius Grayle imprisoned in his office. This Angel attacks in 2 rounds instead of 3 and can take a lot more damage than the usual. During our fight she hit me for 160 HP twice, forcing me to use Rory's Stand Firm power. Jenny also powered up but once again using her Smoulder power would have made things worse. Vastra's power was a different story and she let rip, though her Riposte of 150 points barely scratched the chained Angel. By now Porridge was ready to lay a bomb but the Angel was down to about 30%, so I kept it in reserve. The next round she fell so it was the right decision.

The waves are getting larger and next we have a trio of cherubs. This is a multi-coloured flight, 2 Blue and 1 Green. Aha! A chance to let Jenny have at them. I used her Smoulder power and targetted the Green cherub with the resultant Reds. It was a big hit and got Greenie down to 10% or so, as well as badly damaging the other 2. That set me up well and I cleared the cherubs in 7 rounds. I took a few hits but managed to stay near full health using available Pinks. By the time I was done I had the 11th Doctor flashing at maximum, plus Vastra, Jenny and Porridge all with special powers primed and ready for the 4th wave.

The boss wave doesn't feature a boss as such but it's no walk-over. It's the chained Angel flanked by a Green and a Blue cherub. There was no point saving attacks now so I 'unleashed Hell' as Russell Crow said. The 11th Doctor concocted a Fast Plan and aimed 1,000 damage at each opponent. The Blue cherub vaporised but the Green one survived due to his resistance to Blue damage. Next I let Vastra use her Riposte on the survivors which took Greenie down to about 10%. The chained Angel was at about 60% so I planted Porridge's bomb at her feet. I next used Jenny to Smoulder the Blue gems into Red to make sure of the Green cherub, which I targetted.

My first Gem attack killed the Green cherub and got the chained Angel down to 25%. In the next few rounds we traded blows. Rory healed me once and I had the Angel down to next to nothing when the bomb went off and blew her into gravel. A nice bruising battle though I still kept my HP well above 50% all the way through.

There were no drops but after the battle Jenny Flint did indeed reach Lvl.10. The surprise was that Porridge was also promoted to Lvl.10. Both of them ready to elevate to the 2nd rank. Oh yes!

Madame Vastra should give her a rise

This is a landmark in the game, but don't forget the basics. You still get an extra point for going up a level so make sure you assign it. Jenny's attributes have grown over her career, increasing gradually with each level. However her special power, Smoulder, has stayed the same. If you want that to increase, and for her to be able to progress further, then you need to upgrade her rank. Until you do she will be stuck on Lvl. 10 however much experience she gains. Of course there is a price to be paid.

To upgrade Jenny to Rank 2 the cost is 2 Red and 2 Green Time Fragments. Luckily I have them. All you have to do is press the Upgrade button on the Companion's Attributes tab. I did so and was treated to the same 'Brilliant' sequence that I saw when promoting the 11th Doctor. Jenny then immediately jumped to Lvl.11, though you don't get an additional attribute point that time. Looking at her Profile tab her Special Power is now called Flame, and it converts Blue gems to Red in 6 turns instead of 7. Her power has the same effect but you will be able to call upon it more often.

It's worth comparing the advancement of Jenny's power to her wife's for a moment. At these levels Madame Vastra's Riposte is becoming less useful as opponents get stronger. However Jenny Flint's ATK attribute keeps rising with every level even if you add no points to it. So she does more damage with each Red Gem. This means that her conversion power constantly grows in effectiveness. Direct damage powers by contrast grow effectively weaker. Something to ponder.

 Jenny's upgrade got me an extra star which took me to 9 in total, 1 short of a new Perk. Good job Porridge is ready to promote as well.

Ah! There's a problem. Porridge needs 2 Yellow and 2 Black Time Fragments to be upgraded. I've got both of the Yellow but just 1 Black fragment. Foiled. However there is a work around. In these situations you will see that the Max Level button in the Profile tab now says Instant Upgrade instead. If you press it you are offered the chance to go ahead with the upgrade by using 2 Time Crystals instead of the required Fragments.

This means I have a decision to make about Porridge, with three options available.

Firstly, I could use Time Crystals to promote him here and now, and I have earned 10 of these through normal play. In my main game I have many more, some of which I bought to unlock the Fan Area and support the developers. Crystals are not short cuts or cheats, they are part of the game and a reward for putting your money where your mouth is. However here it does seem expensive to use 20% of my crystals just to compensate for 1 missing Black Fragment.

Secondly I could take my team and replay levels that offer Black Fragments as a potential drop. Working backwards the first opportunity is The Snowmen: The Great Intelligence. In my case this level still has Strax as a Rare drop. If I replayed it then I might get to fill that empty slot in my team roster while I'm looking for Black Fragments. I might also get Yellow Time Fragments which I am likely to need soon with Vastra at Lvl.9. I would also be guaranteed to collect experience for my team, and have fun replaying levels. There are other missions that offer Black Fragments but they are lower level without a Rare drop, and so less attractive.

The third option is just to play on. I might get a Black Fragment very soon and I would be earning higher amounts of experience in more advanced levels. I might also get more Rares. The drawback to this option is that Porridge will not gain any of that experience and will not get stronger. Each level will become tougher as he gets left behind. If I had other Companions in the TARDIS I could swap Porridge for one of them and let them gain the experience, though my team would be weakened significantly at first. I have beaten all levels so far reasonably comfortably, so I'm confident I could go on for a few levels yet.

Is this wise?

So my options are to pay up, circle back and build my strength, or to press on. In my main game when I first reached this sort of situation I circled back. Later on as my cache of Time Crystals grew and the number of needed Fragments increased drastically I have tended to pay up.

This time though I'm going to push on. That was the original intent when I started this series of posts, here. It'll be fun to see how far I get before I lose, and a nice challenge to play with what the game gives me for free. That's one of the secrets to enjoying a game I find, to adopt a style, character or strategy rather than just play to a  believed optimal strategy.

So on we go, with Jenny Flint at Rank 2 and Porridge stuck at Lvl.10. But not just now though.

While I've been writing these posts some promising ideas for future books and stories have blossomed and I can't ignore them any longer. There's also a couple of other opportunities that I want to explore so my journey through Season 7, or Chapter One as it is now called, will have to take a break. Getting my first Companion to Rank 2 seems like a good place to pause and I don't want to make the same mistake I did with Cryonite Cove and let things peter out. This blog will continue, though it will focus elsewhere for a time and will probably not be as frequent for a while.

Writing all of this has been fun, educational, thought provoking and a good exercise of the writing muscles. Thanks to all those who have read and commented through Twitter or elsewhere. An especial thank you to Tiny Rebel Games who have produced a wonderful game that is a worthy tie-in with my favourite ever television show, Doctor Who.

Nightmare In Silver: Stalemate

Previous Episode: Nightmare In Silver: Closed For Business

Next Episode: Nightmare In Silver: Mr Clever

Game version played under: 2.2

There, next to the plant at the back

You are blooded. You have faced the Cybermen and left them shattered and smoking in your wake. Nothing can stop you. Push on.

From the Play Episode screen you can see that your next mission is again on Hedgewick's World of Wonders, but this time you seem to be in the Punishment Platton's barracks. Is that a cuddly Dalek in the background? A mascot perhaps. Again this is a TV story, and you have the chance to win both Green and Red Time Fragments.

In my case my team consisted of the Eleventh Doctor at Rank 1, Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint both at Lv. 2. This early on you would probably have exactly the same unless you've rolled for characters in the store.

The episode starts with the appearance of a single Red Cyberman, the Doctor shouts to get down and the battle begins. With a bit of targeting you soon establish that Blue is strong against Red enemies, so the Eleventh Doctor will be effective here. You won't see any Green or Black gems on this level so making matches should be simple.

The first Cyberman is well armoured but weak and I soon finished him off, only for the Doctor to declare that the Cybermen were upgrading, and you'd better be careful. Pah! I scoff at their upgradability. Another Red Cyberman attacks, but this chap has the Lock power. What does that do? Best to you kill him before you find out. I tried, and even had the Doctor's Cunning ability to help, but 2 rounds later the Lock power was unleashed.

Lock has two forms but it will be a while before you come across the other. In this version, random gems are locked in place for a number of turns. This is annoying and stops you from moving said gems, either directly or by dragging others through them. Nothing to panic about, just take a few extra moments to plan your move. The gems' colours are still visible, and if they form part of a pattern then they still contribute to a combination. As well as boosting damage this also causes them to vanish from the board, being replaced with unlocked gems.

I soon had #2 beaten, and I laughed at his shouts of Delete as he bit the dust. The wingnuts were at last learning, and they then sent 3 Green Cybermen into the fray, including our old friend the chess player. Now the Eleventh Doctor is at a disadvantage against these, but luckily Red is strong against Green so it was Jenny Flint's time to shine. Two of these blighters had Lock and they each attack on a different schedule. One attacks each turn, one every other turn and the last every third. This offset attack routine can be nasty. In this combination, if they were to survive long enough, every 6th turn you get hit by by all three at once. If you fail to spot this coming up it can be painful.

In my case I soon had them whittled down by one, and Jenny Flint then started to Smoulder for the first time. This let me convert Blue gems to Red, which Jenny then used to blast the last two off the board. Lovely.

Wave #4 then charged into the fray and I had 2 Red Cybermen to deal with. With impeccable timing the Doctor's Cunning came to fruition and they didn't last long. As they died a Time Crystal fell.

It's a start

Lastly, the Boss shows up, none other than the Eleventh Doctor himself. This is him in his partial cyber-state, the self-styled Mr Clever. He looks like a less curvy, yet more modestly dressed Seven of Nine. Mr Clever is Green and has the Grab power. This allows the enemy to steal all the Gems of one colour from the board, which are then replaced by other colours. Sometimes this can actually help if you have an unhelpful board in front of you. In this match Mr Clever stole all the Blue gems, which wasn't very clever as they are weak against Green. He should have taken the Red.

By this time Madame Vastra's Riposte was ready, and with back up from the others he was soon sent packing. Victory!

Time to check the booty, which in my case was a single Time Crystal. The experience gained wasn't enough to get anyone levelled but it all counts. However I did get 2 Achievements rung up which is always welcome. I got No More Green I for beating 10 Green Enemies, and Exterminate I for using ally abilities 5 times. I already had Time Tot for making 25 gem combos.

Nightmare In Silver: Stalemate is an unspectacular episode but you are introduced to two new powers and you take on tougher opponents. A nice escalation in your introduction to the game.

Neil Gaiman - taken by Manfred Werner

Now to the actual television episode Nightmare In Silver (NIS). My first feeling after watching this episode was one of disappointment, but after recently re-watching it I thought it was good. The first watch problem was that my expectations were high, as this was the second Doctor Who episode written by Neil Gaiman.

His first was The Doctor's Wife, a quality episode, perhaps my favourite Eleventh Doctor story. I was hoping for something equally original, written by a man who obviously 'gets' and loves the show. NIS is a significant episode as regards Cyber-lore but I wouldn't call it original, and I'm not keen on the direction the Cybermen have taken.

The new Cybermen look great. Sleek, lithe and lethal. This race has always improved itself and it's the basis of their origin, both the original Mondas and the new Lumic versions (what?). My problem is that after NIS they have become too much like the Borg. The Cybermites are like big Nanoprobes, assimilating victims and joining their minds to the Cyberiad, which is basically the Borg hive mind. Borg and Cybermen are of course both Cyborgs, and this similarity was used to good effect in the Doctor Who/Star Trek cross over Assimilation2, which by the way is a good read.

The Borg are a great sci-fi creation, body horror at its best. They came after the Cybermen but have probably eclipsed them in geekdom fame. Making the Cybermen more like them rather than more distinct from them is not a good move.

One last moan. The Cybermen can now disconnect parts of their bodies which is handy (sorry) and the Borg can't do that, but the need for the human brain is the one thing stopping the Cybermen becoming robots. If they can now remove their heads and then walk about and fight, then it can't be that vital. I think NIS is an upgrade too far.

Now I've got that off my chest, I think the NIS story is good. I want to live in a reality where Warwick Davis is the Emperor of the Universe. Matt Smith is given a Smeagol/Gollum scene to show off in and he does it well. I've always enjoyed 'base under siege' stories and this one ticks that box near enough. I was also pleased to see gold used to temporarily foil Mr Clever. It's nice to see that weakness back, and with a bit more of a logical explanation.

I also liked the odd ball collection of misfits that was the Punishment Platoon. They were a more engaging military unit than some of the efficient, faceless, ray-gun fodder that we've seen in the show recently. I do think that the self confidence Clara showed when the Doctor put her in charge was so fearless that it bordered on insanity. She's full of herself that one.

So overall NIS didn't live up to Neil Gaiman's debut, but that was hard to beat. I'm nervous of what's happened to the Cybermen, whether that's Steven Moffat's plan or Mr Gaiman's. Still I have faith in both of them so there's a good chance I could be proven wrong. I hope I am, and that it isn't the last we've seen of Neil Gaiman on Doctor Who.

Moving

I hate moving house. No, to be accurate, I hate buying and selling houses that you intend to live in. Conveyancing, it’s such an innocent sounding word.

My family and I have been in our new house for nearly a month now, and the horror is just beginning to fade. It’s like waking up from a nightmare. You know it’s over, the terror is fading, but you’re damned if you’re going back to sleep just yet. 

The actual move itself isn’t so bad, just work and expense. Putting your place up for sale is expensive but reasonably simple. Finding a place to buy is exciting, almost enjoyable with its initial hope and optimism. The pain begins just after the joy of finding your buyer or seller, when the lawyers get involved. From there it’s a rapid descent into hell, and you soon realise that this rollercoaster is just a bit too scary for you.

I work in process improvement, and if there’s ever a process that needs improving, conveyancing is it. The whole thing seems to be a cobbled together gentleman’s agreement, where each buyer has their vendor’s testicles in an inescapable grip. If everyone is nice and calm then we can all pretend to be friends, but as soon as one person squeezes, the pain chain begins. Meanwhile the solicitors and estate agents sing softly to each other, telling you not to worry as your sanity unravels. 

If a political party pledged to throw the whole system up in the air and start again, they’d get my vote. Unless they were Conservatives, UKIP or racists of course. 

Still it’s done now, and we’re in. I now have a front room to sit in and write, or listen to the radio, or hide when it took me an hour to notice a new hair cut. It almost seems worth it. One woman told me moving house was like child birth. You swear never again, but soon forget how horrible it was. Before you know it you’re planning your next one. 

I’m surprised there aren’t more books about moving house, or stories with a move as a backdrop. There’s drama, intrigue, uncertainty, stress, arguments, hope and despair. If anything would push someone to the brink of murder, this is it. 

I don’t think I’ll write it now though. I’m still too traumatised. I should fill a notebook with everything that happened and how I felt about it. That way I’d have something meaty to work from, or should the urge to move ever return, I can use it to cure myself of the notion.

Getting Your Book Online

If you have any interest in publishing your own ebook, then may I direct you to ‘how to publish an ebook’ on C|Net. Not an imaginative name but an accurate one. It is largely thanks to this article that I managed to get Hiding out there. It is a great ‘how to’ and ‘who with’ article, and the author David Carnoy has updated it a few times, most recently in June 2012.

The article gives an overview of the various options you have, covering Amazon Kindle, Scribd, Lulu and several others. It gives hints and tips, contrasts and compares, and from what I can see is even handed. I have this permanently bookmarked and it is a constant reference.

With my book I chose to start off with Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and I have to say it turned out to be easier than I thought. I downloaded a free ebook ‘Building Your Book for Kindle’ which was a big help. If you know how to format a Word document then you’ve nothing to fear. I enrolled in KDP Select for the first three months of publication as this provides significant perks. Once that period expired I decided to come out of it, so that I could then go with Smashwords. KDP Select has an exclusivity clause.

The benefit of Smashwords is that once you publish on their site, you can then have them distribute your masterpiece to most of the major ebook sellers, including Apple’s iBooks, Kobo, Barnes & Noble’s etc. When I first published Hiding and spread the word amongst my friends and family, there were a significant number of people who were asking if they could get it on their Nook or whatever. I decided to make my book as widely available as I could.

Smashwords has its own free guide to turning your manuscript into an ebook, called the Smashwords Style Guide. This is a bit more comprehensive than the Kindle equivalent, and at first looks a bit more intimidating. However I read through it once, and then used it to get my Word file into their required format and uploaded in less than two hours. You can now buy Hiding direct from Smashwords here.

The book passed review for their Premium Status, and so has been distributed to the other ebook sellers. Smashwords themselves have made it available in all the formats that I’m aware of, so it is possible for people to buy books for almost any device direct from them.

I am computer literate, and comfortable with word processing programmes, the internet etc. so will have found the process with KDP and Smashwords easier than some. However I am not an IT consultant or publishing magnate. If you’ve managed to write a book, and have mustered the required faith in it, then you’ve done the hard part. Getting the little blighter on line is easy.

Give it a go and let me know how you get on. Good luck. 

Pressing the 'Publish' button

The biggest achievement of my writing career so far is my book Hiding. Back when I first decided to take writing seriously, I thought that if I ever got a book published I would have 'made it'. However I soon realised that it would instead be an important milestone, rather than the ultimate goal.

Despite this realism, once Hiding hit the virtual shelves (and I hesitate to say this) it was a bit of an anticlimax. I didn't feel a sudden surge of confidence, a spontaneous burst of writing super powers, or a big wedge of cash materialise in my back pocket. I didn't even get a certificate to stick on the wall.

What I did get, and continue to feel, was a sense of accomplishment. I thought of an idea, wrote the story, crafted it into a book, learnt self publishing, and finally pressed the 'Publish' button. I'd been thinking about it, talking about it and working towards it for years. Now I'd done it. I'd written a book.

Strangely enough that last step, to press 'Publish', was perhaps the hardest of all. Once released into the wild it would be properly finished. Available for all to see and as good as it was ever going to get. I was asking people to spend time on money on it, and that made it fair game to be ignored if I was lucky, or be criticised and ridiculed if I wasn't.

I now wonder if that's why it took me so long to take the final step of self-publishing. Up until then I was a keen amateur and hadn't dared to stick my head above the parapet. Once that button was pressed there was no hiding place.

Well like I said, anticlimax. No one has pointed and laughed at me yet (well not for Hiding anyway), and I haven't been sued for taking up valuable web space. Of course you've got to be noticed first. Critics wouldn't take a pop at Dan Brown if he didn't sell books by the lorry load.

I don't mind the anticlimax now, because the rewards of publishing your own book are durable, not a fleeting glory. I love it when I see that one more person has downloaded my book, that they were in Germany or Japan. I still grin like a loon when someone says, "Stephen wrote a book you know," and people look at me in surprise. Of course I've always got my tablet with me to show them the cover, modestly of course.

Apologies for that short interruption

So anything happen while I was away? No? Great, let's pretend I was here all the time then shall we?

Okay, a quick explanation/excuse.

I threw myself into Cryonite Cove and absolutely loved it. Lots of fun writing it, causing controversy, getting barred, being let back into the fold, and of course playing Pirate Galaxy. I had so much fun that this blog dried up and blew away effectively. Once Cryonite Cove (CC) came to a stop I should have come back, but I was probably too embarrassed to show my face again.

Anyway I've bared my soul already on CC and it's not that interesting so enough said I think.

Life is back on an even keel, and my writing career is back up and chugging along. Lots to talk about, most of which deserve a post of their own. Suffice to say my book Hiding is now published and available on Amazon.

Exciting isn't it? Time to start this blog up again, and it's very much in need of an overhaul. Consider my sleeves rolled up.

My Cryonite Cove blog for the online space game Pirate Galaxy is almost two months old now, and I'm having a great time running it. This is important as that was key to my decision to start it, as I explained in Writing For Fun.

So far the advertising cash hasn't started to flow yet but I'm still in the early days. I kept Cryonite Cove quiet at the start so that I would have time to build up a body of posts that would be worth reading. I also spent time fine-tuning the design and layout. I'm confident enough now to start inviting people to visit.

I've joined the official forum for the game and posted about the blog which generated some return visitors. It's also in my forum signature so I need to start posting there more often. There are lots of other avenues to explore so it's time to get more aggressive in attracting attention. I'll have to ask a certain seven-year-old for tips.

One drawback has been that over the last two months I've spent less time posting here. However I consider Cryonite Cove to be actually writing, rather than writing about writing, so the time was well spent. Now I'm in my stride I'll be posting here more often. Plus the Autumn Sci-Fi extravaganza is upon us again so I'll have lots of genre telly to rave about, as long as I can stop watching it for long enough.

Piranha 3D

Saturday I went to see Piranha 3D on an unexpected date night. What a great film. When we came out the whole audience was grinning, which would have been rubbish if we’d seen The Passion of the Christ, but for such a blatantly fun film it was perfect.

Just to summarise the plot, ‘prehistoric piranha attack spring break’. Now there’s a great example of a five word film pitch.

You do have to accept a couple of dubious assumptions though.
1. A colony of piranha could survive for two million years in an underground lake through cannibalism alone.
2. Ugly girls don’t go to spring break.

Some of the effects were excellent. CGI was used to support prosthetic and make up effects rather than being the main attraction, the exception being the piranha themselves. The after effects of the piranha attack were especially impressive, with one screaming half-eaten victim falling into two as rescuers carry her up the shore.

My favourite magazine SFX makes the very good point that horror is the true home of 3D and it works very well in this film, gratuitous and effective.

There was an excess of gratuitous female nudity too, which works for me. Actually there is male genital nudity but I will not elaborate, as it is far from erotic and much funnier on screen. Kelly Brook may have found the film here to break her in Hollywood. She’d make an excellent scream queen for quite a few years yet.

In fact there’s a six word pitch that may convince you to see this film if I haven’t sold you on it yet.

‘Kelly Brook, nude, underwater, in 3D’.

Cryonite Cove

On Saturday I started my new blog about the online space game Pirate Galaxy. The name is Cryonite Cove, and it can be found at http://cryonitecove.blogspot.com/


The blog is driven by my writing ambition rather than my genuine fondness for the game. I’m not one of those people who are driven to gain status within a hobby. Some strive to the best, others to be the most famous. You can do this by having the biggest collection of x, be the best player of y, or being the most opinionated and vicious critic of the hobby they love (Comic Book Guy, I’m looking at you.) Desmond Morris opened my eyes to this sort of thing in the Naked Ape, and I’ve never looked at my fellow sci-fi and gaming nuts the same since.

Writing novels and short fiction is hard, I like what I write but it kills me to do it. Blogging is easy. How good it is I couldn’t say (not modesty, I just haven’t assessed my blogging ability yet), but motivation is not a problem. For now anyway, maybe the novelty will wear off.

Anyway, the blog is up and running. If all goes to plan I’ll write an entertaining and interesting blog which Pirate Galaxy fans will flock to, earning me vast sums of cash through advertising as they do. As I love the game and enjoy blogging, it shouldn’t be akin to pulling my own teeth.

Writing for fun

I do sometimes worry about spending time relaxing or having fun rather than writing. There are those, so I'm told, who relax and have fun by writing. I envy them. I like to think about writing, read about it, talk about it. I also like to look back at my work and show it off, or defend it as the case may be.

Unfortunately the writing itself is work, and not work that I look forward to. Once I'm underway it's not so bad. In fact when I'm in full flow I resent any reason to stop, such as eating, sleeping or the unreasonable desire of your family to communicate with you. It's getting started that's the real bugger. The exception is this blog, which I do enjoy. I think it's the bite-size nature, seeing my writing on the WWW, and discovering that someone from Moscow was last night reading about my bed-time stories.

There are books of advice on forcing yourself to write, and I'm sure all of it works for someone. There are tricks that work for me too, but it is still a challenge. So when I sit down to play Pirate Galaxy, or watch telly, or sit in the bath reading, there's always the nagging guilt that I should be writing.

Well I have hit upon a plan.

Why not start a Blog on my Pirate Galaxy adventures? People have found this blog looking for Pirate Galaxy information and comment, and there are forums and data bases run by fans all over the web. Maybe there's a market for an honest, independent, entertaining (hopefully) blog written by a non-obsessive, literate player.

As well as combining two fun things, there is the chance of making some cash from it too. I've decided to keep ads off this blog, but in a Pirate Galaxy blog they'd be welcome. Maybe I'll earn a fortune and be hired by every MMORPG game to play and blog in their universe and spread the word. PC sponsors will supply me with free equipment and broadband, while players fight to be in the clans of the famous blogger.

Why not, and did I mention the fun?

Update
The blog is now up and running. Have a look and see what you think.
http://cryonitecove.blogspot.com/

Earlyworks Press Competition

I've just sent off 5,000 words of Hiding to Earlyworks Press along with a cheque for £14. They're having a competition for 'Book-length Fiction for Children or Teens'. First prize is either £100 advance plus publication, or £350 cash plus a professional appraisal and edit.

earlyworkspress.co.uk/childrens_fiction_competition

I've never entered a competition with an entry fee before. As long as the holders are up front and honest about it I don't see a problem. The fees could cover the cost of the prize, which is fair as long as it is not described as 'donated by our generous sponsor ...'. That means more competitions for us optimistic types.

The holder of the competition could also use the entry fee as an income stream to keep their enterprise going. Again not a problem, as long as everything is transparent and above board.

One advantage for those entering is that it probably cuts down the number of entrants. Those who only enter free comps are not necessarily of lower quality, but it is easier to stand out in a smaller crowd. Plus your work is more likely to get a good look rather than a cursory glance.

So if any one's interested in my new competition let me know. First prize is a free sheet of blank A4, winner to be drawn at random, entry fee £50. You must be prepared to come and collect your prize though, I'm not paying for postage.

Made-Up Story for Bedtime

I have on occasion been called upon to make up a bedtime story on the spot. The bedtimer is always the heroine, and I usually get a specified cast list as well. In these stories the heroine has gone to school with socks on her hands and gloves on her feet, stepped out of the crowd at half-time to play and win a football match, rescued her friend from a giant spider that lives behind the garden shed, and helped Doctor Who on his adventures with her magic wand.

The most successful stories have been the ones where the bedtimer's two cats turn into human children, or turn the bedtimer into a cat. Last night the cats came to school and took part in Sports Day. The boy/cat Toby won the running race by dropping to all fours half way when he forgot he was pretending to be human. The high-jump was a bit of failure as the cats tried to blend in and Toby ran face-first into the bar, which got a big laugh from the bedtimer. Finally they got first, second and third in the egg-and-spoon race. Girl/cat Rose would have won but she dropped her egg, so she and Toby chased it about like a cat toy leaving the bedtimer to snatch gold.

I'll have to start writing some of these down, you never know.

The Write Place Vs Prizemagic

As I posted the other day, The Write Place has cancelled it's novel competition. After a quick bit of Google action I found out that the 'third party's website' was www.prizemagic.co.uk

I didn't see Michael Shenton's original comment on the competition, but his latest post refers to the value of the prize (publishing) and he suggests that the publishing firm are involved in vanity publishing. I've no idea myself either way so you can read the available comments on both sides and make your own mind up. Either that or just move on.

Whatever you decide to do, bookmark Prizemagic. It has an impressive list of writing competitions that are currently live. A valuable resource for budding poets and authors. It also lists active non-literary competitions which are based on skill, in case you want to put some determined effort into winning a car or holiday. Good luck.

Intriguing

I posted here that I would be entering The Write Place Competition. Unfortunately the entry details on the site have been replaced with the following

IMPORTANT NOTICE AND APOLOGY - Due to comments from a third party's website that has compromised entries to this competition we have had no choice but to cancel the event.

I immediately started to feel guilty. Had I wrecked the competition by posting it here? What did I say? When I got home would there be a crowd of earnest authors waiting for me, slapping monkey wrenches into their palms? (Yes I know, but whenever I picture someone looking for trouble I always see them with adjustable spanners).

I'd love to know the story behind the comp being pulled. I think I am in the clear, but shall have to investigate.

The Write Place Competition

One of the reasons I started this Blog was to create some self-imposed pressure to get on with my writing career. I have inertia issues, otherwise known as being bone idle.

That's why I'm announcing that I'm going to enter Hiding into The Write Place Novel competition. Please throw rotten fruit at me if I miss the deadline.

Thanks to Perry for the notice on the competition.

Authonomy

www.authonomy.com

Authonomy is a website owned and operated by the publishers HarperCollins. The idea is that aspiring writers upload their books, complete or otherwise, for everyone to read and review. If you like a book then you can back it, this pushes the book up the rankings. If you show a talent for backing books that later climb high in the rankings, your talent spotter rating increases. The higher your talent spotter ranking, the more effect your support has. The books that finish in the top 5 every month get at least 10,000 words reviewed by HarperCollins editors.

I think this is a great idea and the site is well produced and managed. I put my book Hiding on the site and got some very kind and supportive comments. However the comments I got were very brief and the reviewers had obviously read only the first chapter. (Maybe my first chapter needs to be more engaging.) I got a hundred times more from my online writing group The Novel Writers. After a few weeks of obsessively watching Hiding crawl up the chart and doing my best to conscientiously review others’ work, supplying honest and constructive comments, I decided to take my book off. I was falling too far behind and the constant ‘back me and I’ll back you’ messages made me cynical. I also realised that the time and effort I’d have to put in to get to the top of the chart could be better spent writing new stuff. A review by professional editors isn't a big enough incentive for me.

I hope the person at HarperCollins who thought of this got a big bonus. It’s a good way to get a few thousand keen writers to submit their stuff to you, then have them all sort through the slush pile. The books that get to the top are either good, or have writers who are good at promoting their work.

Although I still visit the site and read the many helpful and interesting articles, I am now a silent member.

Junior

I've added a page called Junior. It's a story I had published in Raw Edge magazine a few years ago. Sadly the magazine is no more. Hope you like it.