Monday 7 November 2011

Sunday Summary - on Monday

Writing
NaNo started last Tuesday and I'd issued a 'write-at-least-one-scene-for-NaNo' challenge to those people who felt unable to do the whole 50K. So I felt obliged to have a go.

I wrote another 3 scenes for last year's NaNo novel. Actually it was more a collection of scenes with a plot in mind. While it reached the winning wordage, it wasn't finished by a long way. Another way of saying there were a few good ideas embedded in a whole lot of waffle :D

One day I may have the writing ability to do justice to the plot and characters.

Life
I caught a stomach bug. Amazing how something as miniscule as viruses can bring a body down! Even when symptoms subside, it takes time to fully recover. I notice that I've been very forgetful this week.

Owing to feeling grot, I embarked on some comfort reading of Anne McCaffrey's Pern series. She's a fantastic writer, and I especially like her earlier books. One fascinating thing to notice if you read through the whole series - at least, those books she wrote alone - is that her story-telling changes over time.

This week
I've edited and in part rewritten a piece of non-fiction. It is finished. AT LAST! :D
Lesson 18 of HTRYN beckons - it's time to do the next step.

Peter Barry estate agents offer a competition, details of which can be found here. Closing date 12th December.
I've had a few ideas and need to start working on them.

Have a good week. And may you have a bug-free autumn!

2 comments:

  1. I'm curious--what changes did you notice in McCaffrey's storytelling over time?

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  2. Early books seem to have detailed descriptions - almost as if it's stage directions. It doesn't read like that but I can see all the people, their movements, clutching at a belt, an expression etc.
    Later (a long time later - 20 - 25 years possibly) the stories are still told well but seem much more general. All that entrancing detail is gone. It reminds me of an artist painting a beautiful picture using broader brush-strokes instead of tiny dots of paint.

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