I had to go to the dentist today for two fillings, and the anaesthetic is just about wearing off. So oww.
The fillings were replacing existing ones that were getting old, although that doesn't make it any less fun to have done. I was in the chair for about an hour - and though I tried to distract myself with thoughts of beautiful women and kinky situations, it was hard to do it while the dentist fiddled around in my mouth. On top of that, I didn't like the idea of getting a hard-on mid-procedure... would have been kind of hard to explain.
Anyway. Just wanted to check in and share my pain. I'm going to try and write for a bit, although I'm not sure how long I'll last. Project T beckons, although SG ish 13 is also progressing, just so you know.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
Three lines = three thousand words
In another tab, Project T is sitting at 34,390 words... so about 3,000 more than last night. That's 3,000 words drawn from three lines in my plot description, and there's a lot more to go... lots of fun stuff I hope.
In case you're wondering that 3k took about two and a half hours, with few interruptions (assuming that rating songs in Pandora as I listen to them doesn't count as an interruption). Not much of a boast by the way. Well alright, a little one. Generally though, I can churn out 1,000 words or so an hour of any kind of writing if I'm 'in the zone' and know where I'm going. In this case, I have a pretty good roadmap.
In a comment on my previous post, RJW suggested that I might give out some practical tips to writers. Well, here's an easy one to start with: just write. Sounds pretty frickin' obvious I know, but unless you're willing to devote close to three hours of a weeknight to just sitting at the keyboard and getting the words done, you won't get much accomplished.
Of course, I only get to issue smug directives like that on nights like this. Come back when I've been staring at a blinking cursor for a whole evening - you'll get a different GW.
In case you're wondering that 3k took about two and a half hours, with few interruptions (assuming that rating songs in Pandora as I listen to them doesn't count as an interruption). Not much of a boast by the way. Well alright, a little one. Generally though, I can churn out 1,000 words or so an hour of any kind of writing if I'm 'in the zone' and know where I'm going. In this case, I have a pretty good roadmap.
In a comment on my previous post, RJW suggested that I might give out some practical tips to writers. Well, here's an easy one to start with: just write. Sounds pretty frickin' obvious I know, but unless you're willing to devote close to three hours of a weeknight to just sitting at the keyboard and getting the words done, you won't get much accomplished.
Of course, I only get to issue smug directives like that on nights like this. Come back when I've been staring at a blinking cursor for a whole evening - you'll get a different GW.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
A couple of questions answered
Hey folks. A slightly hungover Sunday morning for me, after a cocktail party for a friend's birthday last night. Cocktails are the devil's work - hangovers are either his too, or Jesus'. Can't figure out which.
Thought I'd pop in briefly and address a couple of things in comments. In response to my suggestion that the next thing I release won't be a Spider-Girl story, well, that assumes everything goes to plan. I have Project T on the boil, but honestly, I'd need to get a lot further ahead in that before I feel comfortable unleashing it. More likely, I'll finish this short story idea I had whilst returning from my business trip. It kept me smiling all the way home, so it's a nice potential one. ETA? At least a couple of weeks, so don't get too excited yet.
Another point raised by Liz Rees (hi Liz!) was the ending of Spider-Girl 12. While I won't spoil it here suffice to say it actually is pretty much the exact same plot as an early Spider-Man issue, so it wasn't something I came up with really. The big difference here being exactly where Betty stands in the story. I was quite pleased with it though; the ending is a springboard to a lot of stuff, and it all comes from her character, so that's the best kind of plot development.
Finally, a small favour. Clicked on an ad recently? Don't go thinking for a second that I'm rolling in dough here, 'cos I ain't, but in terms of clicks this month has been waaay lower than last month. I know I moved them down on the right, but still, they're easy to find. Just takes a second of your time. As I've said before, if you've enjoyed anything I've written... click on an ad for me. Ta.
Thought I'd pop in briefly and address a couple of things in comments. In response to my suggestion that the next thing I release won't be a Spider-Girl story, well, that assumes everything goes to plan. I have Project T on the boil, but honestly, I'd need to get a lot further ahead in that before I feel comfortable unleashing it. More likely, I'll finish this short story idea I had whilst returning from my business trip. It kept me smiling all the way home, so it's a nice potential one. ETA? At least a couple of weeks, so don't get too excited yet.
Another point raised by Liz Rees (hi Liz!) was the ending of Spider-Girl 12. While I won't spoil it here suffice to say it actually is pretty much the exact same plot as an early Spider-Man issue, so it wasn't something I came up with really. The big difference here being exactly where Betty stands in the story. I was quite pleased with it though; the ending is a springboard to a lot of stuff, and it all comes from her character, so that's the best kind of plot development.
Finally, a small favour. Clicked on an ad recently? Don't go thinking for a second that I'm rolling in dough here, 'cos I ain't, but in terms of clicks this month has been waaay lower than last month. I know I moved them down on the right, but still, they're easy to find. Just takes a second of your time. As I've said before, if you've enjoyed anything I've written... click on an ad for me. Ta.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Ten minutes in a hotel room
Call this a writing exercise if you like; call it stream of consciousness, call it a warm up. Here's ten minutes worth of waffle from a hotel room. I'm away on business, and as often happens in these situations, the siren's song of an empty hotel room, an active internet connection and time on my hands leads me to want to do one thing: write.
I have a weird thing about hotel rooms, and being alone in them far from home. They bring out this guy, the guy I am now, the alternative writing persona who's not that far removed from "randy Pan, the Goat Boy" as Bill Hicks would say. I've written some of my best stuff in hotel rooms, to be honest, although one problem I definitely do have is starting stuff in environments like this and not finishing. Not a good habit.
I don't know what it is, but I'll struggle to define it. It's something about the delicious anonymity of hotels, the idea that anyone could be here, that anything could happen. You could do anything in these situations and the likelihood is no-one would ever find out. I should stress it's never, ever happened to me, at least not since I've been married. I've had a couple of intimate encounters in hotel rooms, and only one of which I can recall being particularly fun... but they were all in my 'wild' and 'carefree' single days.
These days, I tend to confine myself to wild and carefree writing. Here, undistracted by anything else, I get some of my best ideas down, my best work. I think it's partially just because of the inherent romanticism (for me) in the idea of being a writer at work in some hotel room. There are plenty of examples of writers who have holed themselves up in hotels to do their work, so many in fact that there are well known fictional examples too (The Shining, anyone?). We like the idea of being focused. No past, no future, just the present - the keyboard, the screen (or paper) and The Writing.
Three minutes left. So what's it going to be tonight? I don't know. First of all I think I'll get down some of the ideas I have had rattling around my head in the past couple of days. A refinement of an old idea, a sort of riff on Charlie's Angels. Something involving twins, and probably, trains. Something else that just came to me involving a hotel - duh. When those are noted (Never, ever let go of an idea, folks... you never know when you'll need 'em) I'll strive to work on something in progress. Inch towards completion.
Dying seconds. Hope you've enjoyed recent stuff, I really appreciate all the comments; feel free to keep 'em coming. I'll be releasing something else next, something not Spider-Girl; there, I said it. We'll see.
Right. Off to it.
I have a weird thing about hotel rooms, and being alone in them far from home. They bring out this guy, the guy I am now, the alternative writing persona who's not that far removed from "randy Pan, the Goat Boy" as Bill Hicks would say. I've written some of my best stuff in hotel rooms, to be honest, although one problem I definitely do have is starting stuff in environments like this and not finishing. Not a good habit.
I don't know what it is, but I'll struggle to define it. It's something about the delicious anonymity of hotels, the idea that anyone could be here, that anything could happen. You could do anything in these situations and the likelihood is no-one would ever find out. I should stress it's never, ever happened to me, at least not since I've been married. I've had a couple of intimate encounters in hotel rooms, and only one of which I can recall being particularly fun... but they were all in my 'wild' and 'carefree' single days.
These days, I tend to confine myself to wild and carefree writing. Here, undistracted by anything else, I get some of my best ideas down, my best work. I think it's partially just because of the inherent romanticism (for me) in the idea of being a writer at work in some hotel room. There are plenty of examples of writers who have holed themselves up in hotels to do their work, so many in fact that there are well known fictional examples too (The Shining, anyone?). We like the idea of being focused. No past, no future, just the present - the keyboard, the screen (or paper) and The Writing.
Three minutes left. So what's it going to be tonight? I don't know. First of all I think I'll get down some of the ideas I have had rattling around my head in the past couple of days. A refinement of an old idea, a sort of riff on Charlie's Angels. Something involving twins, and probably, trains. Something else that just came to me involving a hotel - duh. When those are noted (Never, ever let go of an idea, folks... you never know when you'll need 'em) I'll strive to work on something in progress. Inch towards completion.
Dying seconds. Hope you've enjoyed recent stuff, I really appreciate all the comments; feel free to keep 'em coming. I'll be releasing something else next, something not Spider-Girl; there, I said it. We'll see.
Right. Off to it.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
New release: Spider-Girl, issue #12
Betty's audacious impersonation of her own brother is severely tested, as she gets further embroiled into his life!
Issue #12: Turning Points
Download from Maskingwriter (Yahoo! Group)
Issue #12: Turning PointsThe concluding issue of the Dr Octopus arc! Believe me when I say that after this issue, things will never be quite the same for Betty Brant!
Sorry this has been a long time in coming, but editing and proofreading it took a while, as it's close to 13k words!! Get comfortable though, enjoy, and let me know what you think.
Quick tip of the hat to Steve Zink for the title of this issue; by complete coincidence it turns out that it's the same title as he used in the single issue continuation of my original two issues of this series, all those moons ago. There are other coincidental similarities too!
Finally, to any anonymous commenters: I love ya and want to hear your views! But would it hurt to leave a single initial with your comment, or maybe two? Help me keep tracking of who's saying what! I can't track our chats otherwise, and I really want to do that... cheers!
That's all for now. More news soon. As always, if you enjoyed the issue or the series, consider clicking on an ad for me.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Oooh, dear
Just logged in and saw that I haven't touched any of my writing since the 6th. Two whole days without a single word being written. Oooh. Not good. Why the break? You really want to know? You probably do. You ain't gonna like it though....
I had what I described as a 'perfect storm' of gadgets happen to me earlier in the week, and it consumed me for a bit. First, a (very) shiny new MacBook Pro, courtesy of my work. (I first asked for a Mac when I joined, so it took just under three years; not bad really.) Behold the shininess!
Alright, I'll admit it, some of the shiny might come from the flash. But not much. Of course, this shouldn't affect the writing much, really - in fact I hope the opposite is true, as the true spirit of Apple takes me and I find myself possessed by the muse, wearing a beret, and hanging out in coffee shops sipping a perpetual espresso.
Of course, the fact that re-learning how to do everything (just posting that picture took me 15 minutes of work) shows you that some adjustments may have to be made.
This isn't what you should worry about though, folks. Worry about the fact that despite me doing so well this year, writing so much more than I ever have... I've gone and got myself a distraction. Yes: I also now own an Xbox 360.
This will be an interesting test of willpower.
I had what I described as a 'perfect storm' of gadgets happen to me earlier in the week, and it consumed me for a bit. First, a (very) shiny new MacBook Pro, courtesy of my work. (I first asked for a Mac when I joined, so it took just under three years; not bad really.) Behold the shininess!
Alright, I'll admit it, some of the shiny might come from the flash. But not much. Of course, this shouldn't affect the writing much, really - in fact I hope the opposite is true, as the true spirit of Apple takes me and I find myself possessed by the muse, wearing a beret, and hanging out in coffee shops sipping a perpetual espresso.Of course, the fact that re-learning how to do everything (just posting that picture took me 15 minutes of work) shows you that some adjustments may have to be made.
This isn't what you should worry about though, folks. Worry about the fact that despite me doing so well this year, writing so much more than I ever have... I've gone and got myself a distraction. Yes: I also now own an Xbox 360.
This will be an interesting test of willpower.
Monday, August 06, 2007
No surprise there, then
Yeah, so as you can see I didn't post Spider-Girl #12 this weekend... apologies for that. I'm going to try and find the time to edit and post it this week, because my weekend is looking very busy. Have some patience here people - it's as big as issue #11, with a lot more twists, turns and emotional rollercoaster type stuff... so that takes time to get right.
The weekend wasn't a total loss on the writing front, though. I did make a bit more progress with Project T, and also refined the idea of Project B a bit more with the help of a secret co-plotter who I consult with on these things. There are many more twists and turns to it now, and I think I know how it needs to be written (ie, what voice, etc). The question now just is, when will I write it. Don't hold your breath just yet!
The weekend wasn't a total loss on the writing front, though. I did make a bit more progress with Project T, and also refined the idea of Project B a bit more with the help of a secret co-plotter who I consult with on these things. There are many more twists and turns to it now, and I think I know how it needs to be written (ie, what voice, etc). The question now just is, when will I write it. Don't hold your breath just yet!
Friday, August 03, 2007
Heads up
This is a quick post to give you advance notice that I can't guarantee Spider-Girl #12 will go online this weekend. I know I've left you all hanging on anxiously, but don't get too excited. The next issue wraps up the whole Doc Ock arc, and while I hope you like it, I doubt you'll like it as much as #11. I know I sure as hell didn't like writing it as much.
Anyway, I have quite a few things to do this weekend and also I know I'll want to take some time to edit and polish #12, so I'm just saying right now that I can't guarantee it'll appear in the next two days. Just FYI.
Elsewhere, I've been enjoying moving forward with Project T, which sits in another tab at just over 28k words now. I don't think I've said this before specifically, but I generally aim for a PG-13 (in US parlance) sort of rating with Spider-Girl... there's quite a lot of talk about sex, and implied sex, and occasional actual sex... but it's not full-on, Technicolor sex. Nor are there curse words - y'know, to save the kids.
Well, it's nice to occasionally write full-on Technicolor sex and use as many curse-words as I like, put it that way....
Oh! Also, I came up with something entirely brand new in the ol' shower this morning. By the time I'd had breakfast the idea was pretty much locked. However, I had another thought this evening which I thought I'd run by you.
This story idea could basically have a character in it that's a female, masking as another female. Or, it could be a man, masking as a woman. Then it hit me; maybe it could be both. It might be fun to actually write two different endings to the story - or two different second halves, I guess - and let you choose your preferred kink.
Good idea? Bad idea? Let me know. Got no idea when I might get to writing said idea, but hey. We'll call it Project B for now.
Anyway, I have quite a few things to do this weekend and also I know I'll want to take some time to edit and polish #12, so I'm just saying right now that I can't guarantee it'll appear in the next two days. Just FYI.
Elsewhere, I've been enjoying moving forward with Project T, which sits in another tab at just over 28k words now. I don't think I've said this before specifically, but I generally aim for a PG-13 (in US parlance) sort of rating with Spider-Girl... there's quite a lot of talk about sex, and implied sex, and occasional actual sex... but it's not full-on, Technicolor sex. Nor are there curse words - y'know, to save the kids.
Well, it's nice to occasionally write full-on Technicolor sex and use as many curse-words as I like, put it that way....
Oh! Also, I came up with something entirely brand new in the ol' shower this morning. By the time I'd had breakfast the idea was pretty much locked. However, I had another thought this evening which I thought I'd run by you.
This story idea could basically have a character in it that's a female, masking as another female. Or, it could be a man, masking as a woman. Then it hit me; maybe it could be both. It might be fun to actually write two different endings to the story - or two different second halves, I guess - and let you choose your preferred kink.
Good idea? Bad idea? Let me know. Got no idea when I might get to writing said idea, but hey. We'll call it Project B for now.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Progress on Project T
Welcome to August. Don't know about your part of the world, but after one of the wettest summer periods on record here in the UK, it's good to see (and feel) some sunshine....
I had the day off work today, so I managed to get a bit of writing done, and it wasn't on Spider-Girl. Instead I tapped away at Project T, which I know I've mentioned recently, but I'm not sure I've mentioned that it's over 25k words now. I'm definitely finishing this thing before I actually release it, but when I do let it loose I may serialise it, I may not. Any preferences?
I think sometimes when I release really big chunks of writing, you guys either don't read it or don't have the time to read it. I sympathise - I can be the same way - but obviously I don't want to write something of maybe 40-50k words and then have no-one read it...!
Aaanyway, it's going pretty well right now, is Project T. I've been doing some re-plotting and I like the shape of it now. So all I've got to do is keep banging away at it.
BTW, clicked on an ad recently? They're just down and to the right. Just sayin'.
I had the day off work today, so I managed to get a bit of writing done, and it wasn't on Spider-Girl. Instead I tapped away at Project T, which I know I've mentioned recently, but I'm not sure I've mentioned that it's over 25k words now. I'm definitely finishing this thing before I actually release it, but when I do let it loose I may serialise it, I may not. Any preferences?
I think sometimes when I release really big chunks of writing, you guys either don't read it or don't have the time to read it. I sympathise - I can be the same way - but obviously I don't want to write something of maybe 40-50k words and then have no-one read it...!
Aaanyway, it's going pretty well right now, is Project T. I've been doing some re-plotting and I like the shape of it now. So all I've got to do is keep banging away at it.
BTW, clicked on an ad recently? They're just down and to the right. Just sayin'.
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