On the other side ….
As to what side I’m referring to, I’ll let you make up your own mind …
But…
We’re in the grip of a drought, and finding some green grass is very hard.
Rain is not predicted for quite some time, so I expect in a few months time the question will be, is the grass browner on the other side?
Somehow, it just doesn’t have the same ring about it, does it?
This is Chester. He’s looking for a cool spot to lie down.
We’ve been having something of a heat wave for the last few days, temperatures soaring above the mid-thirties, and nearly as high as forty degrees centigrade.
So, this morning we watched the ice hockey, and even Chester stayed the distance, not so he could smirk when the Maple Leafs lost, but to channel the idea it was cold somewhere else in the world.
And it worked for a while. Having been to the ice hockey in Toronto in person, I know just how cold it was.
After that, it was a matter of leaving the doors opens to let what breeze there was flow through the house, so Chester first sat by the front door, then the back door, then came out to see me.
Time for the air conditioner.
Yes, we have air conditioning, and yes, the cost of electricity in this country is horrendous. It was why we had solar panels put in.
I just leave it as long as possible before turning it on.
I thought about toying with him, but he’s sitting on the keyboard looking angry.
Now was the right time.
I have been working on the final chapters, and these are proceeding slowly.
The plot has been veering off course because new possibilities come to mind that will give me an ending that I didn’t think was possible.
But now, with a little tweaking over the previous five chapters, and going back to the start of the third section, a whole new scenario has come to life.
And no one will see it coming.
I certainly didn’t, because in the original storyline it was meant to have a happy ever after ending, each with a different person.
So, it doesn’t finish in quite the same manner for either of the two main characters.
In the meantime, I have to flesh out the major, major plot development!
I’m guessing I’m not the only one.
November usually drags. Sometimes, being a so-called shoulder period for flying, we go off on a well deserved holiday when prices are affordable.
Not this year.
November is NaNoWriMo month so I had to stay home and get that done.
It was worth it because I wrote 75,000 words, and only a few chapters short of another novel. And it was fun to write.
This was withstanding the fact the ice hockey season had started and we have discovered we can get the live coverage, at a reasonable hour of the day.
It also meant that I didn’t have time to get anything else done except for a few new blog entries.
My other four episodic stories didn’t get a look in and they still sit where they were at the start of the month.
Now it’s December, and once I get the last chapter of the NaNoWriMo project completed, I’m straight back to the four stories.
But…
Christmas is just around the corner.
And that’s a whole new ball game.
I’m always on the lookout for inspiration for stories, especially the short stories I attach to photographs in my Being Inspired series, and one of the topis that has been suggested is along the lines of the following.
There is certainly a lot of scope with these.
One’s home is the preferred place to all others, the one you are most emotionally attached, i.e. you have the deepest affection for. It may not necessarily be a physical place though.
I must say I tend to agree with this because every time I go away, I’m always looking forward to coming home.
Even when I’ve had to stay away for a few months, it’s not possible to call that home, it’s just another place to stay.
On the other hand…
It’s the name of a song by Elvis Presley.
And it has been the title of several films.
The Hallmark channel presses this point home time and time again.
Pliny the Elder is credited with coming up with the saying.
This is a similar saying, but, to me, it means something completely different
Though many will say this means that it’s where family and friends can come to, a place where memories can be made, I don’t believe it’s the same as the first saying.
What you make of it depends on your circumstances, you can hate it because it might be because you’re stuck with one parent with perhaps a step-parent. Or you might love it because you’ve escaped a bad situation.
But it’s not necessarily where your heart is.
Barbra Streisand made this song famous, and probably means that no matter where you are, it is home to you. It would be more fitting for someone who doesn’t necessarily see their true home very often, ie you work in the diplomatic service or in the military and you move around a lot.
This is a place that is as good as your real home.
Without the pressure of a time limit, and no distractions, I was able to sit down and go over the plan for the last few chapters.
I had got to a point in the story where I was satisfied with what I’d written, but it did have ramifications later on, ramifications that were not in the original plan.
That later on, of course, is now, so once I’d looked at the plan, read the previous two chapters to get my bearings, it was easier to write.
But…
Isn’t there always a but?
As I’m writing, another thought came to mind. Some time ago I realised there needed to be another action sequence arising out of an event that had sparked an impromptu and ill fated attempted kidnapping.
That had to be avenged, but in the rough draft I had already written, it didn’t figure in the ending.
Now it does, and I have written it, and it’s great.
Even if I say so myself.
Tomorrow I will be covering the fallout from this event.
It’s past five o’clock in the afternoon and I haven’t had a look at working on the last few chapters.
I looked at it last night, made the changes I thought I needed to continue working the next day.
But…
The day started with the Maple Leafs playing the Buffalo Sabres. It was at Scotiabank stadium, our home ground, so the odds were in our favour to win.
Of course, the day before we lost. It was disappointing, and if anyone has been following the trials of living with Chester, my cantankerous cat, you would know he was happy they did.
And still getting his least favourite food.
He knows the deal. Barrack for the Maple Leafs or there will be consequences.
Today we won in overtime. Good, we’ve been winning since we changed coaches, and the loss yesterday was an aberration.
The game ended in the early afternoon, our time.
Then we switched over to test cricket, and this will run till about ten tonight which means not much work will get done.
I have been forsaking the cricket to finish the NaNoWriMo project. Now that pressure is off I have a few things to catch up on.
At least the next hockey game is not till Wednesday.
The cricket may be over in a day or so.
In the meantime, when there is a lull in sport, I will get back to work.
Finally reached the end of the month and came out a winner
With my winning certificate, the third in three years.
And the chart with the number of words written for the 30 days.
There will be more when the novel is finished in the next day or so.
I’m in the middle of writing a new chapter, one that goes back a little in time, but helps set up events that occur later towards the end.
And true to form, it’s going a little off track.
There is scope for it to be a pivotal point in the story but it’s not quite working out that way.
I’m doing this while I’m waiting for my usual Friday grandchild collection from school. Here I have to get here a half hour before puck up time to get a favourable position in the queue.
So it’s a good time to do some writing.
And it’s where I work on one of my stories matched to a photo as inspiration.
Not today.
There are pressures in getting the NaNoWriMo project finished and it’s getting away from me.
This part is not as easy as I hoped, so back to the job. Hopefully there will be better news tomorrow
I never thought I would get to this point, where there’s almost a complete novel.
It is quite remarkable that it is possible if you decide to focus, to get a novel out in a month.
What it does tell you is that proper planning is really a necessity if you want to succeed.
But…
It’s not the be-all to end all.
I’m not going to stop flying by the seat of my pants, but it’s given me another insight into the writing process.
I’m up to the business end of the story, and it requires concentration, and, it will not be the first time I have written a page or two, gone back to reread it and make an adjustment.
I have to be careful not to be overly critical. After all, it is only the first draft and I’m not looking for, nor should I be expecting perfection.
It won’t be, but I can always hope.
Thrills, Spills, and just a dash of Romance 