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Tuesday 30 November 2010

The Cold

It started like any other disgusting and unwanted cold.

Anyone else have that horrible cold that's going around? You know, for colds, I usually just say 'toughen up' and 'it's no biggie', but man this one was something fierce. Like that English grannie that rocks the turntables, this one just wasn't what you'd expect, not from a cold anyway.

Because one minute it was just sniffly and sneezy, the next it felt like you got kicked in the head and someone was stabbing you in the eyes with a screwdriver. Let me tell you, I get sinus infections occasionally, but I can't remember having one that was quite so bad before. This sinus infection is (still

Friday 19 November 2010

I Am Number Four, Full Fathom Five and Children's Book Packaging

The ash from the fire has settled. Full Fathom Five has been well and truly burned.

I know this is a bit late for the Full Fathom Five debate, but I'm a bit distressed that the argument has been so one-sided and wonder if there's something wrong with me because, the more and more I've read about it, the more and more I want to--in some respects--defend James Frey. (Please don't kill me too.) I want to give him credit for his commercial business concepts. Put down you're weapons and hear me out! I think he has some good ideas, but the execution of these ideas is where Full Fathom Five falls apart.

Wednesday 17 November 2010

Out of Coffee

I think I'm addicted to coffee.

I can't remember exactly why, but when my husband and I got married and moved into THE TINIEST little flat in Islington (because, yes, we are that swanky), my mommy got us a Nespresso machine. I do remember that one of the reasons for this gift was so that, whenever she came to visit, she would always have good coffee available. But more than that, I would argue to say that Nespresso is not only good coffee, but the best. Why is it the best? Because it's

Friday 5 November 2010

This Week's Web History

Because I'm a writer, I generally end up perusing the web at some point during the day looking for information, inspiration or procrastination. The websites are random, sometimes morbid, sometimes bizarre, but always interesting.

A selection of my history this week:
How to Taste Coffee
Goat Wiki
BBC Food - Marshmallow Brownies Recipe
YouTube - Rhianna : Russian Roulette

Tuesday 2 November 2010

How NaNoWriMo Ruined My Day

Yesterday I posted about taking a swing at the NaNoWriMo challenge. Today I sat seething at the computer. Tonight I cried to my husband, a big blubbering mess. Let me tell you why.

Yesterday I wrote a nice big chunk of prose. It was all planned out beforehand and I was even quite pleased with some parts. Yesterday was a very good day and I woke up this morning, ready to write more. But then I didn't. I'm not just an author, but a trained editor who shudders at anything less than perfection. So what did I do today? I deleted. I moved things around. I rewrote stuff. And not just a little bit.


Monday 1 November 2010

NaNoWriMo by Numbers

It wouldn't be weird if you had no idea what NaNoWriMo was. I know about it, but I'm also one of the eccentric writing types that thrives on deadlines. You may very well not be one of those types, which should further your claim to residence in Normalville. I hear it's a nice place.

National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

For me, last week was JoNoOutWe, or Joanna's Novel Outlining Week. I had a few concepts floating