Diverting Downton...

It finally got me! And I'd done so well avoiding ITV's mega-successful series. Unfortunately, my most recent bout of illness coincided with discovering 'Downton' was available on NetFlix in its entirety. Damn. What's a girl to do?

 

 

I have to say, I really enjoyed the series. It was quite as good as I'd been led to believe. Once I started watching, I devoured every episode. Now I'm back in the land of the living again.

The ending? Call me awful if you like, but I could only smile. Think about it. New mummy Sybil died of eclampsia, then new daddy Mathew got himself squished. Now, if I was a Downton girl, I'd be very wary of getting pregnant after all this tragedy. The odds of any new baby surviving the next series finale doesn't look at all good!

Beware of becoming clichéd, Mr. Fellowes, talented chap that you are. I should have been shedding tears, not smiling. :)

My dotage...

I think I stepped into its perimeter today. :(

Regular readers of my whining and whingeings will know I've recently been getting hammered by one cold/sickness/chest infection after another. Today, I woke feeling, not ill exactly, but like someone had stuck a syringe into my body and sucked out every last dreg of energy. I'm talking 'husk' here people!

Tell me, when you were young (or indeed if you're still young!), did you have an elderly relative (usually female) who could always be relied upon to suggest a cure for every ailment? In my case, this relative was my nan.

Some of her suggestions were firmly in the 'dodgy' category, such as sleeping with a collection of corks in order to ease rheumatism, or strapping half an onion to 'cure' a painful ear (!)

No, I haven't tried those particular 'Top Tips'.

Failing a specific 'remedy' such as those listed above, Nan had one more weapon in her armoury. The Big Gun. The 'never-fails' cure-all. I am referring to, of course, a Universal solution to hasten the end of every malady known the man/womankind. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present...*drumroll*

 'The Tonic'!!!

 

Yes. That's what I bought from the chemist today. A fecking tonic! I swear, on the bus ride home, as I clutched my shameful purchase to my chest, I could almost smell the snake oil oozing through the packaging.

You can mock me if you like, but one day something like this will probably happen to you too!

Ego-boosting nonsense...

But who doesn't enjoy a little ego-stroking after a long, hard, and lonely day at the keyboard?
Click on this link and experience the thrill of having your writing compared to that of writing god/dess.

http://iwl.me/

Apparently, I write like James Joyce!

Yes. Of course I do. A very hungover James Joyce, running a fever of 103 degrees, perhaps? :) Or maybe the quiz is messing with our heads? What if the quiz hates Joyce's work and gets its kicks by comparing his work to that of a fumbling wannabe writer...ie: me! ?

Happy Saturday!

Hooray, it's the weekend.

I'm in a happy mood. Today, I wrote eight pages while my kids ran themselves ker-azy at the local indoor play area. Eight! Even better, my hero has FINALLY put in an appearance.

*sticks out butt, makes elbow 'wings' and wiggles* That's my happy dance!

Here's something for you to have fun with. It's been circulating the web for a while but it's the first time I've seen it.

1 - Go to wikipedia and hit random. The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
 2 - Go to quotationspage.com and hit random. The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
 3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days” Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover. (pick a resolution size and then right-click "save as")
 4 - Use photoshop of similar (google+ is a free online photo editor) to put it all together.

Here's my result:

 

I enjoyed myself, anyway. Makes me almost wish I had a band! Maybe I'll adapt this to find a title for my book? :)

Have a good weekend!

Addiction?

Writing the final pages of my current MS is a real slog. How many more loose ends are there, for goodness sake? But I keep on finding them. This story sheds threads like irritating fibres from a mohair sweater.

Question to self: Why are you putting yourself through all this? Even deprived of your novel, the world will keep right on turning. Find another interest, why don't you?

Answer: Because I can't. I don't want to quit writing. It makes me happy--in a snappish and snarly kind of way.

The highs are just amazing. Those rare sweet days when the words come tumbling out are my shot in the arm. It's a short flight, but it's pretty damn spectacular while it lasts.

Then comes the crash...then another uphill slog...jump off the edge and I'm flying again. :D

Of course, I can quit any time I like. *sniff* I just don't want to. Not really.

Busy, busy...

I might not be posting as frequently over the coming days as 'The Book' is being very demanding. I really want to get this first draft down on paper. I don't care if it's sketchy and scribbled, just as long as I get to 'The End'.

The process of fleshing out and hosing down can wait until later. Compared to writing the darn thing, it'll be a breeze. At least then I'll have the basic story contained and complete in some form.

This endless chasing after 'The End' is making me loopy.

A time to kill...

I'm about to kill off one of my most precious characters, and I just don't want to write the scene.  I so want him/her/it to live. :(

Should I do it?  How do you cope with killing off one of your pretties?

Perhaps I should ditch writing and take up stamp-collecting or train-spotting instead?

Does anyone know if the writing gene has an 'off' switch?