Sep
14

Some head…

Wednesday saw the weather – somewhat temperamental given it’s only just spring here – improve and so we headed out for some outdoor adventuring. A long winded way of saying we went for a walk.

Manly is located on a finger of land jutting out from Australia that helps form part of Sydney’s natural harbour. The Northen Head of this outcrop of land affords – we were assured – good views of the harbour. The walk itself was described as scenic, there was a museum on the way (promising some history of the Head during the second world war) and, at 4k, a decent bit of exercise.

It took us a couple of attempts to find the route as being pampered poms we were expecting a scenic walk that was marked by signs. This is not the case and the first part of the walk is a somewhat mundane meander through a Manly suburb on your way up to the North Head National Park. Once you’re in to the park itself the going becomes much more like bush that entails the footpath disappearing and a thick covering of trees and bush either side that obscures any views. We weren’t the only walkers but there were long gaps where we were the only people on the road save for whatever was moving through the undergrowth along side us. I have a vivid imagination.

The Artillery museum was, alas, closed. We had checked in the guide and we were there within the stated hours but I guess it was out of season and, although there were other people around, it was hard to justify staying open for the full day. Many of the exhibits (read huge guns) were by necessity outside and so I had a brief look at these before moving on. There was still some distance to go.

On reaching the apex of the Head and the lookouts all became clear. A stunning view of the harbour – our first proper view – and following the Fairfax trail (named for a local newspaper man) afforded some great views of cliffs not a million miles away in appearance from the coastline in my native Wales. We spent a good hour up there. It really was beautiful. It was a relief to see a bus idling as we turned to make our descent. I’m not to proud to confess we took the bus back into town.

Our walk had left us with quite the hunger and so we meandered off to a local restaurant where I tried some local produce. Kangaroo tastes like a very meaty version of beef, quite rich and tender but with less fat and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A good day all in all.

Sep
13

Jingle jingle

I’m just posting these as I get a chance, and really just picking up on some of the highlights. In between I’m working on the book and relaxing.

Monday we switched to a hotel in Manly to allow ourselves some pampering and to give my sister a break. We had an enjoyable, if unexpected, tour of Manly courtesy of a misunderstanding between the taxi driver and myself. Jetlag, it seems, is the gift that keeps on giving. However, we got a good dinner recommendation out of it. Result.

Our evening meal was spent at a small Australian chain restaurant called Ribs and Rumps. Nice restaurant; great service and gargantuan servings of meat – which was what I was after. G then rolled me back to the hotel. :)

On Tuesday, feeling we should really take advantage of our locale, we ventured out into Manly to the places small but perfectly formed gallery. In the guides it is actually declared a museum and gallery but this does seem to be stretching the definition  a bit given the historical exhibits all fit in one room. It was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon wandering round some interesting and talented paintings.

I wasn’t aware that Manly had a long established history of bringing kids from the outback out to the Far West school and so, although small, the museum exhibits were genuinely interesting. It was a bit heartbreaking to see the medical conditions that many of the previous incumbents of the school had to deal with. A charming, if random, contrast to this exhibit was provided by a brief history of the surfboard, including example boards going back to the twenties that adorned the ceiling.

A local musician (Manjia Music) serenaded us with violin and keyboard, playing – quite by chance – as part of the Manly art festival. The intriguing performer actually jingled as she walked – her costume having been strewn with tiny bells – and played her self described mixture of spiritual, healing and meditative music. I don’t know about that but it was relaxing, as was the rest of the day.

Sep
12

Jetlagged in Manly

This was written a week ago but access to the internet has been intermittent.

When last seen I was chilling out in Hong Kong airport, en route to Sydney. I’m in Sydney now, having spent all Sunday with my sister and now being safely ensconced in a decent hotel to write for a few days. I’ve found the jet lag hit me more on the way over than it did when I went to New Zealand, I’m not sure why – though we were running quite hard before the trip.

The flight over was alright; long haul flights are never much fun because I don’t thing human beings are designed to be in that close proximity for that amount of time and we’re definitely not designed to sit for that long. I fly Virgin because I’ve generally had good experiences with them. That said, I was a bit disappointed with some aspects of the flight including their reduced number of services; 3 meals and a snack on what is a 25 hour trip is a bit of an ask. Also: kicking a passenger to get them to move is not cool – even if you are in the right – and so I’d think twice before booking with them again.

That said, I managed to get some sleep on the way over and so when we arrived in Sydney I was able to present some semblance of coherent thought as long as I wasn’t asked to add up. Sunday morning seemed to be the time to arrive. It’s not the largest airport and the passenger pile up in arrivals gave us plenty of time to experience the joys of Australian border control. It was a strange paradox of seemingly fussy checks, coupled with a cheery smile and an other wise laid back attitude that seemed at odds with the actual rules. As a result it took as about an hour and a half to get through customs but we were still smiling when we got to the other side. Jet lag does funny things to you.

It was very cool to see my sister who, aside from a brief overnight visit, we hadn’t seen since October 2008, and my brother-in-law who I hadn’t seen at all for two years. A brief car journey took us through the Sydney surrounds to Manly, the wind was whipping up good but other than that the sky was blue, the sun was out and it was a pretty fresh Sunday morning. Ready to start nibbling on my elbow after the somewhat sparse food services on the flights we threw on a change of clothes and headed out into Manly.

I can see why my sister moved there.

A brief walk along a path that runs parallel to the crystal blue water led us round the bay to Manly Wharf and from there into the town centre of Manly. Breakfast was obtained in a pleasant café whose name I have promptly forgotten in a cloud of jetlag amnesia. The wind wasn’t enough to deter us from sitting outside but we nearly came a cropper when the gusts launched one of the canvas shades up into the air. Vigilant service staff led me to believe this wasn’t an uncommon event and they soon had the shade secured once more.

We continued the walk onto busy Manly beach – it was, I’m given to understand, the first good days weather in a few days. The surfers were out in force despite my concern that they bore an unfortunate resemblance to seals that prompted me to recount how and why most large shark attacks occur. Note to self: I must try to remember others do not always share my fascination with those toothy marvels of evolution. There were several enthusiastic volleyball games in progress on the beach and I found this spectacle led to me running out of steam on my lectures on the dangers of oceanic wildlife in the southern climbs. I can’t imagine why.

In a somewhat bizarre experience of pseudo-time travel I saw what looked to me like a full-blown square rigged sailing ship coming round the distant point. I pointed out my observation, lest jet lag had induced hallucinations, and was confirmed in my assessment. It was a square-rigged wooden sailing ship. Moreover I learned that you could book a trip on it and I can assure you I will be trying to squeeze that trip in before I go. It was a strange sight: the horizon was otherwise clear of ships and so the image wasn’t – one imagines – dissimilar to what the original inhabitants must have seen a few hundred years ago as the first European ships arrived – without the surfers, naturally.

By the time we had completed a circuit G and I were starting to flag. The rest of the afternoon was passed chatting, quaffing ginger beer, and enjoying the frankly spectacular view across the Manly section of the bay. I admitted defeat around early evening and passed out.

Sep
04

Hong Kong…ish

I’m in Hong Kong. For an hour.

The sun has just gone down and the hills are coming alive with neon like nesting firebugs. I like Hong Kong. I was here three years ago, experiencing the weird Chinese/British fusion that is peculiar to this place and having adventures. Victoria Peak at sunset is still one of my favourite places.

I also like that the airport has free wi-fi: as it should be rest of the world.

Now I just need to dodge be-turbaned men who think I have a lucky face until I fly and all will be well. See you in Oz.

Aug
31

Stuff…

It was back to work with a bump today after a nice long weekend (in the UK there’s always a bank holiday the last weekend in August). I’m on the final few days before I head round the far side of the world to see my sister and so I’m frantically crossing things off my to do list which seems to be never ending.  I’m still not entirely sure how I managed to book a trip to the same country worldcon is on at and yet still manage to miss it but there you go. :)

I was trying to work out where the summer has gone. In once sense it only seems to have been summer for about five minute but in another it seems to have stretched on for ages. We’ve gotten loads done: redecorated the hall (you’ll have missed that unless you follow me on twitter, apologies); had five different sets of visitors; been to New York*; been back to Wales a couple of times and had the guttering replaced on the back of the house. All while working and writing (or taking pictures in G’s case). It’s been pretty full on.

September is looking pretty busy too with my big trip and my brother’s 30th. That reminds me, today is my sister, E’s, birthday – that’s the one I am going to see very soon and I won’t tell you how old she is because she’s picking me up from the airport and I don’t want to walk. Happy birthday, sis. When we get back I’ve also got to fit in finishing the bathroom and decorating my study and planning the wedding and I suspect that by the time that along with the writing projects are done I’ll be posting about where the year has gone. I’d much rather be busy.

That’s all for now. I must return to the To Do list.

*I never did get round to posting my notes from New York. I may try to post these while I am away.

Aug
28

Deadline

I’m about 25k into my next novel, I expect the first draft to come in around 140k*. It’s taken me about a month to get this far, for someone who was banging out whole first drafts in 8 weeks** only a year or two ago this is kind of appalling.

You know how it is: you take an interesting day-job because you can’t bear boredom; your commute is a massive time sink; your life doesn’t stand still just because you write; you stop submitting because there’s not enough time to look at the markets because your free time is inexplicably shrinking and so you need to focus on writing; writing has ceased to be composition and has become endlessly editing because – dammit – you know how many other people are submitting and you’ve got to be better; friends stop asking how the writing is going because it’s gotten “awkward”. Pretty soon it’s easier to just flump out in front of the telly rather than reach for the keyboard.

This week the cold kipper of realisation struck and I feel a bit like I’ve emerged from some kind of waking coma: confused as to how I got here; a bit shaken and with the slight odour of fish hanging in the air. I may have overextended on that. To clarify: I realise that I am slipping into the trap many aspiring writers fall into: ceasing to produce finished new material, endlessly tinkering with existing stories and promising yourself you will send out those manuscripts tomorrow. Tomorrow, naturally, never arrives. I remember a published writer – I forget who – describing this very scenario to me and my reaction of: that won’t be me.

Lest I paint to dire a picture I should point out that I got a damned fine sale this year (due for publication next year) to Murky Depths. It’s a fine publication of discriminating taste and you should subscribe. But: I can’t say I’ve been overworking either my email client or the post office with my submissions since and, frankly, I should be far farther a long with my untitled project. The Scarred God – the first novel I have actually worked into a readable form – sits on my shelf patiently, waiting for me to decide what to do with it. I am letting go, inch by inch.

I have seen the future: and it will not do. Time to make good on those goals I keep posting.

While I am pleased I am writing regularly again, the absence of a deadline is leaving me a bit like a rudderless ship and so I am setting myself a deadline of two months (28th October) to finish the first draft. Moreover, I am ashamed to say I have a complete short story that read very well with my test readers just lying around on my hard drive, as well as a couple of lingering pieces of flash that I’m happy with. I shall be submitting them as soon as possible and for certain before my forthcoming trip to Australia. I still aim to hit my original short story target for this year (including submissions) but in order to do it I need to get at least two done while I am on holiday – probably on the flight to and from. The ideas are there: I just need to step up.

I’ll let you know how I get on.

* That’s possibly a little long for a contemporary fantasy but I’ve learned from previous projects that it’s easier to take out than put in. At least for me.

** 8 weeks produced a 98k novel that had a coherent but pulpy storyline. I opted to file in the complete rewrite pile or trunk-for-now. But you get the point, I hope.

Aug
22

Urban contemporary

I’ve been making steady progress on the current work-in-progress.

I’m averaging around 5-7k a week at the moment which is forward motion, even if it’s not at the rate I would like and I’m starting to feel like a proper book is coalescing. I’ve been cagey about talking about the story until I have a coherent draft because – until that stage – it’s all to theoretical and past experience has taught me that I lose the desire to tell the story. Instead, I’ve been giving vague descriptions of an urban fantasy told across four centuries and set (mainly) in London.

The problem is that urban fantasy seems to be ever more synonymous with what I would probably call dark romance and that is categorically not this project. Indeed, much to my surprise, the book seems to be twisting and wriggling away from what I originally envisaged and so it’s more accurately described as a contemporary and historical fantasy mash up with slipstream highlights.

That’s cleared that up then.

Jul
30

Time

I’ve been thinking a lot about time.

I never seem to have enough of it. I make excuses for it: I do have a long commute (3 hours a day, sometimes more); I do have a challenging day job that frequently requires extra hours; I am still doing up my house; I am getting married next year.

But…

I am in control of a lot of these things. I do devote a lot of energy to some of this when perhaps there is less need or it is unproductive. I have had more free time in the past.

I suspected, and now know, I was wasting time and so I did a quick tracker of what I’d been up to. The results were startling. In addition to the time sink that is my commute I waste four to five hours a day doing…sweet FA: surfing, watching stuff on TV because I am emotionally exhausted (because I have let trivia get to me), misjudging train times, waiting for take outs because I can’t be bothered to cook. It has to stop. In some respects it’s genuinely hurting me.

For example, a frequent excuse for not writing is that I am too worn out and stressed (last eighteen months have been a bumpy old ride). Yet: if I sit down and write – after: I feel relaxed, energised and happy. It doesn’t matter if the first few paragraphs are like getting blood from a stone because I know by the time I get four or five in the words will start to flow. I always seem to forget this.

So what am I going to do?

1. I am avoiding take aways (I am creating an exception for my holiday in September because otherwise it is not realistic.)
2. I am banning TV unless I have finished my word count for the day. Ditto surfing the Internet.
3. Inspired by this post, I am making time to think at weekends and to ponder stuff as I wander between offices (no more moaning about split locations!).
4. I am going to reintroduce cycling to the office (at least some of the time).
5. I am posting this so I don’t forget.

Now: I am going to write something.

Jul
22

Wordcount: A writing update

Ola. How’s tricks?

I thought I’d do a writing update as I haven’t done one for a while. People who follow me on twitter (and it’s a good way to find out about what slapstick mishaps have befallen me on any given day) will know that I came out of the gates pretty strong on the new novel. Chapters 1, 2 and 3 went down pretty fast before I crashed into writer’s block.

That’s a bit misleading.

What actually happened was I realised that I had created a structural issue that meant everything started really fast and then slowed down for too long. It’s said that when writing a first draft you should just get the whole thing down and then play around with it meaning that it’s easier to edit a full draft than doing it on the fly. I think this is true up to a point but I do feel dealing with a fundamental flaw up front is better than building out a whole story on false foundations.

Anyway, I took some time out and went back to basics, pulling apart some books admire, some that are related in terms of genre and did some analysis on them. I have been a bit reluctant to do this in the past because it is quite time consuming but I have to say it was really useful and enabled me to highlight the particular issues and an appropriate fix*. I’m now spinning up to speed again with the revision and anticipate forward momentum by tomorrow.

On the short story front I’ve started having ideas again, something of a relief, and am planning a dark fantasy/horror story for the end of this month/beginning of August. My focus now is really to get significant levels of new wordcount generated between here and the end of the year and to get back to regular submissions. That’s all for now.

* Note: identifying what is wrong does not mean I am using a fix from elsewhere, it merely highlighted what the problem was and I devised my own fix. I am trying to avoid retreading the same path as other writers, as far as that is *ever* possible.

Jun
19

Testing

I really hope this works…

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