Category: Review

NaNoWriMo – Day 14

It’s nearly half way through and I don’t feel as though I’m going to make it.

The writing is fine, it’s just three chapters a day seems a lot, and the latest project of the total word count, if I continue in the current manner, will be about 90,000 words.

I might have to start editing at the same time I’m writing, to keep it down to a manageable total.

Another new idea came to me, but this time it was before I was writing the piece, rather than later and have to go back.

Still, there’s time if I don’t begin to panic.

Or get writers’ block.

For the statisticians, todays word count is 2,801, for a grand total of 33,111 words so far.

Searching for locations: Lake Louise, Canada

We survived the first night and woke the next morning to look at the sun rising, and the fact everyone else was not lingering in bed when there was ice, snow, skating, skiing, and walking on (perhaps) thin ice to be done.

I was the first to brave the elements, it was about mins 10 still, or maybe a little colder, but I had come prepared with a hat, gloves, multiple layers of clothing and a (maybe) windproof jacket.

Of course, there was no wind, just cold.

Stepping out of the warm inside of the hotel to the cold outside was a shock, but after a minute or so to get used to it, I still didn’t think I’d be out too long.

First, a photo of the hotel, it was immense, and it explained why there were so many people about.

Then it was the partly frozen trees.  I suspect there had been a little thawing of the snow on the branches

Then of the frozen lake, and it is quite a large lake, and incredible one so large could completely freeze.  I’d like to see it in summer.

Then the brave adventurers who, in summer would be rowing to the end of the lake, who now were taking a hike, and praying no doubt, there was no thin ice

Were they trying to get a close look at this mountain, or considering climbing it.  Yes, there were actual mountain climbers staying at the hotel, and though we didn’t know it till later, there was a frozen waterfall which proved the most adventurous with an interesting challenge

More of course, on a unique feature at this hotel, the ice castle.

NaNoWriMo – Day 13

Friday the thirteenth, that should have raised the red flag.

But lucky for me nothing went wrong, and I have been writing on several fronts.

Ideas have been coming, and I’ve been scribbling them down. I’m just hoping at the end of the day this book isn’t 1,000 pages long.

Editing is going to be fun.

Maybe it will end up being two books, or a trilogy. Hang on, that’s what my eldest grand daughter suggested way back when we were throwing ideas around.

Anyway, the writing is going smoothly, and I’m progressing.

For the statisticians out there, today’s word count is 2,615 words for a running total of 30,310.

A movie review, “Honest Thief”

Considering that we are in the midst of a pandemic, going to a movie theatre seems like the least like thing to do.

Hundreds of people packed into a small space for a few hours, just the sort of environment the Coronavirus loves.

Well, we may have zero cases and zero local transmission, ans the theatres can open, theses just a few details first.

Social distancing means areas of seating are blocked of so you and your partner are like sitting on an island. So limited seating. Social distancing in all queues, rubber gloves and masks on all attendants, and hand sanitiser at the door, in passageways and in theatres.

Overkill? Maybe.

But despite the fact there are no blockbusters coming out, there a few interesting films about, one of which was ‘Honest Thief’

It has Liam Neeson in it so how bad could it be?

Actually for starters there were four of us watching the movie in what we designated Gold Class, very comfortable recliner seats and waiter service. And by the way the food cost more than the movie tickets

But back to the movie. Like I said, i came expecting a kick ass movie and that’s just what I got.

The premise is a man who returns from the war, used to being in high risk situations not knowing if the next day is your last, finds he doesn’t fit in, so as all similar people do, you rob banks, and very successfully.

Until you fall in love

Of course you may, by the end of it decide that being in love is not all that it’s cracked up to be, but it’s certainly a good reason to stop.

Until things get serious and you want to fess up.

The bad guys, well they’re bad, and the one man wrecking ball, well, he does what Liam Neeson does best. Think Taken and take it from there.

I always take notice of the others in the film, and was a welcome sight to see the actor who made Michael Weston in Burn Notice famous, playing such a different role. Loved the dog, too. Then there was the bad Terminator guy who just seems to get older, and now playing what might be called character roles. The love interest I didn’t recognise, but later discovered was Kate Walsh, who, I think, once graced Grey’s Anatomy.

As for everyone else, I didn’t recognise them, but no doubt they’ll turn up on TV soon enough.

For me, any Liam Neeson kick ass film gets five stars, and a pity perhaps that it will not get a chance to be seen by more people.

NaNoWriMo – Day 12

AS happened when looking at a large writing list, I got confused.

How hard can it be, you ask?

Well, I have half a dozen ideas that match chapters, and I was trying to get down all of the ideas as bullet points in their respective chapters.

So, you ask, how can that be confusing?

Easy. There’s a point where one of the characters goes down to the dungeons in search of her father who is languishing in one of the cells. Her approach to the dungeons is not be the usual method, but one that affords discretion, but when she gets there, there’s no clear, of safe way to reach him because of the guards posted.

That chapter in the original outline was supposed to be where she does get to see him.

Then, later, I wrote another chapter, possibly two, that seeks an alternate path, and then doesn’t get see him but finds an alternte method of communication.

But, since springing surprises on the reader is not exactly a good idea, I had to go back and establish how she came to realise there was such a means, in a casual conversation with another character.

The confusion?

Not updating the outline properly, and then putting chapters that came later, referring to previous events in the wrong place.

I know that sounds complicated, or confusing, but events can’t happen before the groundwork is laid before them.

So, I spent a valuable hour rearranging the wrongly place chapters, and checked a few others, and finding one in the wrong place.

The job, I fear, is only going to get harder.

NaNoWriMo – Day 11

It’s been another day of highs and lows, as the reality of the task ahead of me sinks in.

99 chapters, according to the plan. 99. That’s a lot of writing.

I started today focusing on the second Princess, Ophelia, who needs to find a way of fighting back against the forces of occupation.

The fight for the castle was basically over before it started. A people who had grown fat and lazy, in a realm where there’d been no fighting or any discord for many lifetimes.

It seemed to me that this is possible any time in the world we live in, that a nation with a vastly superior army could just come and take over without anything more than a whimper.

And there are nations out there that actively and subtlety seek world domination. Perhaps it might happen before we realise what’s happening.

But back in fantasy land, Princess Ophelia is on the move, and on reconnaissance, and the question is, will she be caught?

For the statisticians, 2,594 words written today for a running total of 24,992, just short of half way.

I think this story is going to be much longer than 50,000 words.

Searching for locations: Lake Louise, Canada

A sleigh ride wasn’t the first activity that came to mind, but that first day we saw the sleighs lining up and thought it might be a bit of a lark.

It was New Year’s Eve and we booked a 2pm sleigh ride.  I figured any later we’d probably freeze to death.  The ride was for about 45 minutes, out around the edge of the lake and back.

Rides were on the hour and sometimes run at night.

We arrived at the departure point about 15 minutes before the ride and watched those who had been on the ride before come back looking somewhat frozen.  The only covering you had provided was a red blanket.

Wisely we put on many layers of clothing, hats, and gloves.

We managed to get a seat for ourselves where the maximum per seat was three.  The blanket wasn’t the thickest.

It was cold, and according to my phone, about minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit.  You could feel it, and it was lucky we were not moving fast.

 At the halfway point, we went out onto the lake to turn around.  It gave us a chance to take a photo of the sleigh, and the horses pulling it.  I felt sorry for the horses out in the cold.

As we turned around, we got to see a frozen waterfall.

In a word: Pause

Yes, when you are going at it like a bat out of hell, it might be an idea to take a pause and regroup.

That being a pause as an interruption to an activity.

In music, it’s a mark over a note.

Perhaps it’s a good idea to pause recording a TV show while the ads are on.  Networks don’t like it, but it makes the show make more sense without the distractions of advertisements, sometimes quite inane, or annoying.

What I just said, might give pause to my opposite number in this debate.

Have you been in a conversation, someone says something quite odd, and there’s a pregnant pause?

How did the word pregnant get into the conversation?  That, of course, usually means something significant will follow, but rarely does.  But it can also be a conversation killer where no one says anything.

Is that a wide eye in awe moment?  You did WHAT?

Then there is the word pours, sounds the same but is completely different.

In this case, the man pours water from the bucket on the plants.

Or my brother pours cold water on my plans.  Not literally, but figuratively, making me think twice about whether it would work or not.  Usually not.

Or a confession pours out of a man with a guilty conscience.  AKA sings like a bird.  Don’t you just love these quaint expressions?  It reminded me of a gangster film back in Humphrey Bogart’s day.

It never rains but it pours?  Another expression, when everything goes wrong.  A bit like home renovations really.

Really, it means to flow quickly and in large quantities, ie. rain pours down.

And if that isn’t bad enough, what about paws?

Sounds the same again, but, yes it’s what an animal has as feet, especially cats, dogs, and bears.

One use of it, out of context, of course, is ‘get your paws off me!’

And one rabbit paw might be good luck, but having two rabbit pows, I might win the lottery.

If only….

 

 

NaNoWriMo – Day 10

It’s officially time to panic!!!

Before I started today’s block of writing, I loaded up my trust Excel spreadsheet which holds a loose plan of the Chapters to be written in the book.

Well, that’s what I started with, but since I’ve been melding old and new together, and the story is coming together, I needed to go forward and make sure the chapters to be written followed the storyline as it is now.

That was a shock. After an hour of moving stuff around, going over what’s been written, and checking the word counts, up to yesterday there was a disparity of 12, from the NaNo total of 20077, the sheet told me I had 20089.

So far so good.

Then I listed the headings of all the chapters to go and it came out as 99. Yes, 99 chapters. And I have got about 40 written. So let’s do the math, 20 days, 59 chapters, that’s 3 chapters a day.

Is it possible?

It might. If I start cutting now, but even then, it’s still a monumental task.

Stick with me and let’s both see how this goes.

For the statisticians, todays total is 2,321 words, for a so far total of 22,398.

I was looking for some good news…

And it seems there is some. The might be a vaccine for COVID 19, if everything goes well. I mean, we know that it’s for 90% of people, but we don’t know how long the immunity lasts, something tells me the tests need to go on for a few more months before they have answers to critical questions.

They also say there is another treatment available that can be given to people just turned positive, and who are expected to suffer badly from COVID, and that it will lessen it’s effects.

But, and there is always a but, it depends on who gets it first, and that seems to me to be who put up the most money. I doubt a small country like us would be able to match the bigger countries so I guess we’ll have to wait in line.

Good news on the vaccine, bad news on where we are on the globe.

I also just read an article of the last flight of a 747 Jumbo Jet. That plane change the face of flying for us, tucked away over 12,000 miles from anywhere, and I got to fly in a very new British Airways 747 many years ago and it was an amazing experience.

It’s sad that such a plane is no longer financially viable.

It seems airlines bottom lines are driving the planes we fly in these days, and it will also see the end of the Airbus A380. I’m glad I convinced my better half to fly in one when they were quite new, and it was an amazing experience that such a large aircraft could be so quiet and comfortable, even tucked away in the sardine can down back.

Looks like this is turning out to be bad news…

Which brings me to the event that no one wants to be reminded about, the fact Election Night on CNN didn’t run for the ‘Election Night’, it ran for over 4 days straight. Aside from saying the same stuff over and over about 200 times in 300 different ways, surely people could count faster. The only excitement was when new figures came in.

I wasn’t really interested in the outcome, just purely the numbers, until the networks (TV I’m assuming) called it for Biden. How could a media network call the winner of an election. Isn’t that the responsibility of the electoral bodies? And oddly enough, I was expecting civil war to break out in the streets of the states where there were ‘contentious’ issues.

Let’s hope for the ordinary family who just want to get on with their lives, not get COVID, and get back to work, it doesn’t.