I have a problem…

Posted on February 4, 2023 by Columbo

I was sent this image from the amazing How I met your mother tv show recently in response to the number of books I am buying, I don’t blame anyone for thinking that I needed an intervention, even if it is a joke. I have loved reading most of my life and it is extremely rare for me to get rid of books as I am likely to read them again and again. But for the past few years, I have been buying books so fast that I don’t have time to read them… The collection keeps growing. The fact that I just moved into my own room for books as well doesn’t help as I now have plenty of shelf space…. buy more books I hear you say!

Below is my library, not quite complete but getting there. I now have my own room for my books. A nice comfy chair and a side table for my cuppa. I will put some better pictures up when the mold in the room has been sorted and I decorate it, but these will do for now.

I love it, there is nothing in there other than an Alexa Dot for music and a dehumidifier. So I sit in there and read in peace.

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What I’m Reading

Posted on January 2, 2023 by Columbo
https://pixabay.com/

I have started to prioritise reading again in a bid to actually try and get through the massive amount of books I have. Each year I seem to buy significantly more than I read. I need to do something about that, so I have started reading a lot more.

I was trying to finish what I was reading before the end of the year but with all of the family stuff I had on, I was not able to do that. I have finished some of them but I tend to read too many things at once and so I lose track of what is going on. So, one of my goals for this year is to concentrate more on what I am reading and not have too many books on the go at once.

  1. Audiobook – The Great Hunt – Robert Jordan
  2. Fiction Book – Prador Moon – Neal Asher
  3. Fiction Book – Prophesy – Elizabeth Haydon
  4. Fiction Book – Consider Phlebas – Ian M Banks (re-read)
  5. Fiction Book – Moving Target (Vattas War) – Elizabeth Moon (re-read)
  6. Book – How to write a book review – Sarah S Davis

For now I will be getting these finished as they are almost all on the last leg. The Vatta book that I am re-reading I am flying through, I read the first one in less than 2 days. I forgot how good they are. It’s getting me into the mood for writing my sci-fi stuff.

I am currently coming up with a list of books that I can work through in 2023 once I have finished the above. I will do another post for this list.

Back to work properly tomorrow after the holidays. Back into a routine!

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It’s the end….. of 2022

Posted on December 30, 2022 by Columbo

I am an easily led person when it comes to writing. If I am watching/reading fantasy I really want to write fantasy. If I am watching/reading science fiction then I want to write that too. I always think it is a good idea to have a project of each on the go for this reason, but it would be nice to finish a project.

NaNo 22

For the Nano project, I did fantasy and for once I was only halfway through the project when I reached the goal. So I need to continue with this once I get the meets for the writing group set back up. We are going to go for Monthly in-person meets, apart from during camp nano when we will meet more often. We are also going to have weekly online meet so get us to write more.

2023

I have made some moves to do more for writing this year. Planning more meets and I have booked and paid for a ticket to Fantasycon and accommodation. Looking forward to mixing with like-minded people and being in that environment. I have also signed up for the British Science Fiction Association so I can see where this leads.

All in all, I am planning to take writing more seriously this year and get myself on track. as I get older I just realise that if I do not put in the work for something like this then I won’t end up doing anything.

As part of my plan to write more, I am planning on launching a new blog, a book review one. I can pair this with my wish to read more this year. combining two of my favorite things.

So we can see where I go. I need to finalise some planning this weekend and then see what I can achieve.

Hope you all had a great Xmas and have a Happy New Year.

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NaNoWriMo 2022

Posted on December 9, 2022 by Columbo

I have been doing NaNo for 12 years and in that time I have managed to finish twice. this year I decided I needed some motivation after watching a video on how to incentivize yourself. I bought a £50 voucher for Amazon and then gave it to my wife. I told her if I finished I would get it back for books, if I didn’t she could keep it. This incentive along with help from a couple of my writer friends allowed me to succeed this year like I didn’t even when I finished before.

It was a good month and I actually enjoyed the writing, I didn’t feel like it was a grind and I finished on time. It was a really good feeling.

Since the win, I have had a break from writing, but I do think I should now capitalize on this momentum and see if I can finish the story I was writing. Once completed I can then use this as a good draft outline to flesh out the story.

So.. for a change instead of talking about how I didn’t finish because of this or that, I can say I am a Nano winner and proud of it.

Next, I can see about 2023 planning and if I can manage to stick to the goals I set for next year as I did for NaNo.

Wish me luck!

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Preptober

Posted on October 2, 2022 by Columbo

It’s 23:03 on a Sunday night, 2nd October. It was a writing meet day so I got quite a bit done this morning in Darlo. I didn’t get much done once home but I have a start now.

https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/nanowrimo/preptober/

Preptober is the name given for the month of October leading up to National Novel Writing Month. It’s time to get ready for that challenge. It’s also a month for me where I try and get ready and more often than not end up procrastinating and don’t get much done. I then start NaNo and fail miserably. I have tried many times in the past to Pants (write with no plan) and it isn’t the best way for me to work. On the other hand, I cannot seem to get on board with full planning either. I fall in the middle, I’m a plantser. I like to have a base outline of chapters, so I have an idea of where I am going then as I start writing I let the characters guide me through their journey.

The story this year will be on the world of Acomia and will follow the adventures of Melorin as he tries to stop the God of Chaos from destroying everyone. Intrigued… I hope so!

I really hope to be able to get my butt in gear this year and have a plan in place ready for November 1st.

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NaNo prep time

Posted on September 25, 2022 by Columbo

It’s that time of the year again. Time for me to say I am preparing while making procrastination an art…. I mean time to get planning my Acomia Fantasy project. I need to flesh out some of the world-building as I have changed a few things and then minimally plot out the story.

In the 10-12 years I have done NaNo I have only completed it twice and that was with Sci-Fi stories. I would really like to get something completed in Fantasy which if I had to choose would be Fantasy.

So I have 5 weeks, I have tomorrow off from work. One of the main goals tomorrow will be to sit down and make a plan. A prep plan for the 5 weeks and then a solid plan so I won’t fall behind and lose hope in November. I really would like to get into a good routine and get something completed.

Time will tell I suppose, I will either be shouting my success or end up with a large gap on the blog to hide my shame.

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At the Beach

Posted on September 24, 2022 by Columbo

Me and the wife like to go to the beach. Each time I go I signs like the one below, and each time there are people walking their dogs on the beach!

Now we are dog people but it annoys the hell out of me when I see this. The beaches are closed to dogs in the peak season so that we and our kids don’t play where a dog decided to… do some business.

Beach sign

The point of the rant though is the sign, I mean what’s the point? I am not aware of anyone getting fined for having their dog on there. If there was a chance I am sure people wouldn’t do it.

Anyway, just wanted to moan to no one in particular… 🙂

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Hello there

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Columbo

It’s been nearly two months, I thought I was at a place of regular writing but that hasn’t been the case. Camp Nano was a bust, I didn’t do much at all for it.

I was chosen to be on a jury for the British Fantasy Society award, Best Anthology. So I have been reading 6 of them for a while and then working with my fellow judges to choose a winner. this has now finished so I am again left to think about what to do next.

Went for a cuppa with a friend today and while talking about writing he was getting frustrated with me project hopping, or me coming up with new passages or ideas for things when I have a project I am in the planning stages of. So… I need to pick what I am working on and then put the time in.

Projects

Fantasy – Acomia
Sci-Fi – Earth First
Short – Xmas related one

The above is going to be my priorities and so over the next few days, I am going to be making a plan for how to get cracking on something meaningful.

It’s also approaching November, so that means I need to start planning for NaNoWriMo, if I hope to be able to finish it this year.

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Camp Procrastination time

Posted on July 7, 2022 by Columbo

It’s July already and that means it’s time for Camp NaNo. Something I have rarely ever tried which is weird given the self-imposed deadlines. But it is something I would like to get into, so it helps with getting some words down.

I have decided to try and get something done this time by pantsing a story I was planning, I am yet to start mind, it’s been quite busy up until now, then a night like tonight I am off to see 2 films so tonight I am not going to get much done. But it’s a goal and I have the writers meet this Sunday so I should get some good words done then.

I often marvel at how little time I seem to have when I have no small kids now. Each evening seems to be taken up by something family-related and this all get’s in the way of writing. A friend of mine would say this is all excuses, that if I wanted to reach my dream then I would prioritise it and I would achieve it.

As much as I loathe to admit it he is correct. I should be putting this goal forward, less tv watching or gaming maybe, something needs to give as the family part of my time will grow as I get more and more grandkids.

Have a goal is the mantra, what is mine?

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Writing in the dark

Posted on July 5, 2022 by Columbo

I was in a routine with posting but then I stopped putting the reminder on my Kanban board and so no posts were made…. interesting!

I have been reading a book lately which is in favor of pantsing, it is called writing in the dark and it is around that theme.

What the book is saying is that you need to let go of all of your hangups with planning and drafting and just write, quiet your critical voice and let your creative voice free to do what it wants to do. This is something that I would have struggled with as I am a world builder and not a pantser as such. I like to know what is happening in a story. But, I also struggle with too much note-taking and world-building and not enough actual writing. Something I was supposed to be doing something about this year.

This in itself is free writing as I didn’t plan this post I just started writing after reading the book, and therefore writing in the dark. I am also using my new smaller laptop to see what it would be like using this one to do some writing as my main laptop is quite bulky. It is working well, it’s a Chromebook and it is a really nice and small/light machine. It may be something I need to use moving forward when I don’t want to lug along the big one.

It’s the beginning of July, this is Camp NaNo time and I am thinking I would like to give writing in the dark a try during this event. It is a good way for me to test this to see if this is something I will be able to use in November when I am planning to get a lot of writing done.

All in all, it has given me something to think about.

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