I feel like some pictures - Scotland

I've been on holiday to Scotland lots of times, it's one of my favourite places, especially the Outer Hebrides, a group of islands off the north-west coast of Scotland. I had a book on Skye when I was younger and there was a picture of a house in it that I was determined to buy when I got lots of money. When I went there on holiday I made my Mum drive round the island until we found it!!



We went on a trip to Lewis and saw the Callanish Stones, I love ancient monuments, especially mystical ones.



One of the things I love about the Islands is the beaches. With the white sand and the azure sea it's hard to remember you're actually looking at the Atlantic Ocean!



Now I'm getting all nostalgic for Scotland...I think I need to go there again on holiday.

Very Short Update

I might as well just copy+paste from earlier posts.... I failed my driving test again - for the third time!!!

My manoeuvres went okay this time because I didn't have to parallel park. It was the rest that was rubbish. My gears went to pot, I tried to pull out of a junction in third instead of first, I stalled twice, I was bloody useless!!!

I have put in for it again - March 18th. It's so expensive so I better pass soon. The test is £55 (more expensive on a Saturday) and £38 for a two-hour lesson.

I hate driving.

pbwiki - still great!!

I've written about pbwiki before, in September when I started this blog. I've found it really useful for my writing, a good back-up along with my hard-drive and my flash-drive. I've been using it for my F2K work as well as my novel.

Mine is a private one as it's got all my work on it, but there are public ones out there too.

Here's a few I found that show how some people use them...

Narnia Confidential

FrauBucher: Books and Book Searches

Spam Legal Action

The Reading Cat

F2K : Lesson Three

I found this difficult to write, I cried a lot. It's about Jake.


From your own writings, pick out a paragraph you like; then tell it from a different POV.


The lead slipped from her hand and the dog nimbly dodged underneath the couch, jumping over the metal struts supporting the legs.

"Hey you, come back here!"

Annie chuckled a little as he faced the corner then headed back around the room. However, her laugh was strained, the tears were falling. He walked back towards her, his trailing lead getting tangled round the vet's legs as he tried to move out of the dog's way. She sat down on the floor, leaning back against the wall, "Come here darlin', come and have a cuddle".

He headed straight for her and, turning round, sat down on her outstretched legs. "That's a good boy." She put her arms around him and gave him a hug, breathing in his doggy smell. Normally she hardly noticed it, but now she wanted to remember everything she could. His white fur tickled her nose and she sneezed, surprising them both.

The nurse came into the room carrying a metal dish and she and the vet both looked down to the pair sitting on the floor. Annie nodded slightly and nudged her dog off her lap. She stayed on the floor, kneeling up to hug him again as he stood in front of her, his side pressing against her. She could feel his heart pitter-pattering under her hand as she held him close.

The vet spoke softly, "Hold him tight for me; I just need to shave a little bit of his leg."

He knelt down too. The electric razor whizzed but it was so quick that the dog didn’t seem to notice the noise. The nurse knelt down beside him and passed over a small antiseptic wipe.

"This will be a bit cold for him, hold him and keep talking to him."

Annie hugged him again as he moved his leg away from the coldness. The vet took one of the syringes from the metal dish that the nurse was holding.

"How...how long will it take?" Annie asked, tears running down her face.

He smiled gently, "It's very quick, less than a minute, just keep talking to him all the time". She nodded, and buried her face in fur.

"It's all right my love...it's all right." Hot tears ran down her cheek and spilled onto her dog's back. She deliberately didn't watch what the vet was doing but heard the clink of the syringe in the dish and tried not to think about the liquid death that was pumping round his body. She knew that it was nearly time.

"I love you darling, you know I love you, I always will." She repeated the same words over and over, kissing the top of his head. She wanted the last thing he heard to be her voice, the last thing he felt to be her arms around him and her kisses. She wanted him to know that he was loved. Her voice turned thick and croaky as she cried.

She felt him sag against her, and gently supported him as she let him slide to the floor. She started to sob even more. It was over.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Jake could smell the scents of strange creatures. He recognised his own kind, and those pesky cats, but there were others in the air... He skipped across the room under the bed, there was one wafting on the air over in the corner and he wanted to have a closer sniff.

He heard her voice calling from behind so turned back and, pushing past a stranger, trotted up to her and sat down heavily on her lap.

This is much nicer than sitting on the cold floor, he thought. He felt her arms around his tummy and smiled happily to himself as she scratched one of his ears.

He stood up again as she nudged him and then pressed himself against her as she hugged him. Hug me again, he thought, I love it when you tickle my tummy and scratch behind my ears. Scratch my back too, in that place I can’t reach however hard I try.

He felt someone else kneel down beside him and looked round, confused at the new people who were here with him. The whirr of something strange distracted him a little but he snuggled back against her and closed his eyes in pleasure.

What’s that, it’s cold...ouch...and it’s sharp...

He could feel water splashing on his coat and looked up, worried for a moment when he saw she was crying. She smiled at him again and he felt reassured, everything’s fine.

He could hear her voice telling him she loved him and he wished he could tell her that he knew, and he loved her too. But these humans, he thought, they just never seem to understand what we say.

Her voice seemed to be getting further way, and he felt a sudden wave of tiredness sweep through his body. His eyelids felt heavier...he leant against her.

So tired, just need to sleep for a little while.....

Word Cloud

I found this on mentalexcrements' site.

My Blog summed up in 100 words.





You can buy T-shirts with your very own Blog Cloud on.

F2K : Lesson Two - Writing Exercise 2

Write one (1) paragraph using all the senses. Include at least three (3) words or phrases that suggest something without saying what the sense is.

She walked, trying to move silently through the trees. Dried brown pine needles crackled under her boots and she winced in dismay. Quickly she turned to see if there was any sign of someone following her but there was no one there. Her chest hurt as she breathed in the Christmas-scented air quickly and deeply, her heart still pounding from running into the forest. Her misty breath clouded her vision as she peered into the blackness behind her. As she reached the bottom of the slope the ground became very soggy. Mud squelched under her pink wellingtons, dirtying the bright white daisy pattern. She skidded a little in her hurry, trying to keep her balance on the sloping ground. Suddenly a crow cawed loudly as it flew up from a nearby tree, breaking the heavy silence. Turning again to look behind, her foot slipped in the mud and she fell heavily. The mud was thick and viscous under her hand. She tried get up but her hand kept sliding away so she turned herself over to push herself up from her knees. She tried to stifle a sob as pain shot through her ankle where she'd twisted it as she fell. She could feel the sweat running down her face but when she wiped it she was shocked to see streaks of red amongst the dark brown mud on her hand. She felt around her mouth gingerly with her tongue, and tasted the coppery tang of blood seeping from the inside of her cheek. She must have bitten it as she fell but hadn't even realised until she saw the blood on her hand. Daylight was starting to fade and the forest was becoming gloomier all the time.

F2K : Lesson Two - Writing Exercise 1

Write one sentence for each sense (all 8 of them).

Sight
As the flames reached ever higher, sparks and flaming flakes of ash rode the wind upwards and disappeared into the smoke.

Hearing
The child covered his ears with his hands and shut his eyes tightly, but the screams of the women still echoed in his mind.

Touch
She tried to free her wrists tightly bound behind her, the coarse rope rubbing her raw flesh.

Smell
There was a rancid stench from the thick smoke billowing from the pyre.

Taste
The taste of death was in the air.

Time
The silver moon hung low in the sky, its reflection fractured in the frozen surface of the lake.

Space
As she sank to the bottom of the lake the trailing weeds entangled themselves around her, getting tighter as she struggled.

Unknown
His breath was hot against her cheek...she gasped slightly as his hand tightened around her throat, she could feel herself slipping into darkness.

My Jake

My dog Jake's a border-collie cross. He's been off-side for a while, he went off his legs on Chrismas Day and just lay there, looking confused. He didn't seem to be in any pain and after about ten minutes he was up and walking about. It happened again this morning. We were in the front room and he suddenly started yelping. All his legs had gone, they were splayed out like Bambi on ice. It must have been painful, straining like that and that was why he was yelping. He was in front of the kitchen door and we couldn't get in, but he dragged himself across the floor so we could open up the door.

I rang the vets and they said bring him right in. The vet gave him a good going over and said he had a heart murmur but it was probably arthritis that was causing him to go off his legs. He was getting stiff while he's asleep then couldn't get up when he tried. She said we could try an anti-inflammatory injection, but she knew what we'd come prepared for.

He's sixteen and he's had a good life. Giving him a pain-killing injection would be for us, not for him. So we had him put to sleep. I cuddled him while it happened, he just fell asleep. The vet left us with him and I stroked him while he grew colder under my hand.

We're having him cremated and having the ashes back, but don't know what we're going to do with them yet.

I've got some pictures from Christmas on my new digital camara, once I've worked out how to upload them, I'll put a couple of pictures up here.

I know it was the right thing to do, but it still hurts.

Birthday Blues

It's my birthday on Thursday, I'll be 37. I know in the great scheme of things that's not old, but somehow it's so much closer to 40 than the mid-thirties.

I guess I'm a bit down about it. It's not so much the actual age, it's that I look at my life and see that nothing's really changed over the last fifteen years. I finished my degree (archaeology - so useful in everyday life!) then had about eighteen months of casual jobs (market stall, shop, cafe, potbank) before getting a receptionist job at a doctors' surgery.

Fifteen years later I'm still there, working upstairs doing computer reports on clinical data. But the only real change in my life is the people I've met through the Internet - either in RL as well or just online. I still live at home with my Mum (I know, how sad is that!), we've got the same dog (a mad Border Collie-cross called Jake). I do go to a different church, Anglican instead of Methodist. Oh, my hair's red now but that's hardly life-shattering.

I am happy most of the time with everything, I guess I just get thoughts now and again about what I want from life - this is a 'now' time.

I don't know what could make it different and even whether I'd be happier if it was. Oh well... I'm sure I'll be back to my usual cheery self in a few days, after Thursday anyway ;-)

F2K : Lesson One

Bit nervous but here goes...


Have a character you have created tell us a little about you. Have them give us a view of you that we wouldn't normally see (why they think you created them, how they feel about you, what you put them through in your writing, etc.)

I was in a dark empty place but she hath given me life. For a short time at least - for then she gave me death. Thee might think I would be bitter about that, but I am not, at least not at her. I am Rachel. The witch-hunter Cramer claims I am a worshipper of Satan, but he is wrong. I am a good woman and a good mother whose only crime is to worship the old religion.

I know that it gave her grievous heartache to kill one of her own. She cares too much about such things, she needs to remember that everything lives and that everything dies. My life and death hath lasted many centuries now, but my soul doth not rest easy. I said I have no bitterness towards her for my fiery death, and that is true, but she hath filled my heart with hate, my mind with dreams of revenge. When I first met her I had a joyous life, but she changed that forever. I thought I knew where my life was going, but she hath taken that away from me... I see only blackness now. I do not know where my journey will end.


Let me know what you think, all comments appreciated. They don't have to be complementary - although obviously I'd like that best!! *lol*

Midway-thru-January Resolutions

Well. Umm....so where does the time go to? I think I did quite well with this to begin with, but then made the fatal mistake of stopping! It's hard to get motivated again, especially around Christmas.

But here I am again - two posts in one day!!!

I got nowhere with NaNo but I am determined to keep writing my novel. I definately know that I'm one of those people who need lots of encouragement to realise that they can actually write okay. All the people who comment here at my Blog do that, and I thank you. I decided I also wanted to try a creative writing course that might help stretch my abilities.

I Googled and found F2K: Fiction Writing for the New Millennium. Everyone who registers is put into a virtual classroom and all the members comment and encourage each other. It runs for seven weeks with a new assignment posted every Wednesday, and I've posted up my first one!!! It's a bit daunting, but I'm enjoying it so far.

I think I might post my assignments here as well, then you can see some of the stuff I'm writing too. Maybe.

Well could you all cope with three posts in one day from me?!!!

Driving Test Update

I know - recover from the shock of me actually posting anything here!! I'm in the midst of putting a longer one together, but I thought I'd kick-off with this.

I failed my test again in December, on exactly the same thing. Who needs to parallel park in the Real World anyway? You just drive round until you find a space ;-)

I booked my third one online this morning. Tuesday 14th February at 10:14 am.

*crosses fingers for third time lucky*

A Poem

A Witch's Death by Silver DawnHawk

The forked tongues lick at my flesh
They lick me, teasing, hungry
I shiver despite the heat
I pull against the bonds that hold me
Freedom is beyond the choking grey cloud
My eyes water with unshed tears
Through moments of clarity I see the faces
And then they are swallowed by fog again
The tongues are hungrier
Licking with intensity
Playing with my clothes and hair
MOTHER, my mind screams
But I voice no words
The fog closes in
No more moments of clarity
The tongues finally enjoy their feast.

Silver DawnHawk's Website



Sorry I haven't posted for a while, I've been sewing my fingers off!!
Not a good month to NaNo, I've hardly written anything at all.
So here's a poem by someone else :-)

Mary Sue

I started writing the main section of my novel for NaNo and I found that the main character talks to herself a lot. Some of you may remember me saying here that I do this as well. She's just come out that way, I've not done it on purpose, but now I'm conscious that I mustn't write her like me...or more to the point how I'd like to be!! *lol* She musn't be a 'Mary Sue'!

I've heard of the name a few times before, often in connection with fan-fiction, but I thought I'd look into it a bit more.

'Mary Sue' - A female character who is so perfect that she is annoying. The name originated in a very short Star Trek story that mocked the sort of female characters who showed up in fanfiction. It usually refers to original female characters put into fanfiction, but can refer to any character.

Mary-Sues are characters who are usually extraordinarily gorgeous, amazingly talented, unusually powerful, and exceedingly attractive to whoever the author has a crush on. They often possess ridiculously fancy and pretentious first names -- Angel, Raven, Jewel, Lorelei Bianca Julia Marizza Snape -- and are very, very annoying.

This is a test I found to check if your character is a 'Mary Sue'.

And if you decide you do want to have a Mary Sue in your book then this could be quite useful ;-)

I'm Starr Devereaux, with Silver Topaz eyes, hair the colour of Tousled Mahogany and my signature scent is Ivory Night-Blossom. My paranormal power is Time Travel and my specialised skill is Expert Pilot. My distinguishing marks are Pointed Ears and my newly revealed relationship to a major character is that I'm Tyr Anasazi's Watcher.

So now you know! :-D

Next Test...

I promise I am going to write a post today about my book, but this is just a quick one first!

I've booked my next driving test for 21st December at 11.41 a.m. *crosses fingers* I hope my parallel park works better this time!

Popcorn

Meet Popcorn the Bear! This is the throw I'm sewing for my friend for Christmas. I've cross-stitched bigger pictures but the material I'm sewing on is huge! My hoop is about 2 ft across so it's not the most managable item to hold. I'm going to make the heart pink, I think it needs more colour.

I'm going down to London on 1st December so I need to get it finished by then. I'll carry on blogging but my NaNoCoMo will probably have to go on hold for a while...I'm running a bit behind with the sewing.

50,000 Words in One Month

Well...I'm not going to achieve it this month. I've only managed 2014 words so far! I'm working hard on my sewing to try and get done by the end of the month. I'll have to carry on trying in December (and probably January!) I'm using a free programme I downloaded to write in and it adds up all the words as I go along so I'm going to continue using that.

It's called yWriter and I'm finding it really good. It took me a while to figure out how it works (what can I say - I'm dozy!) but I think I've got it sorted it now :-)

Features:
Organise your novel using a 'project'.
Add files to the project, each containing a chapter.
Add a summary to each file, showing the scenes in each chapter.
Print out summary cards, showing the structure of your novel.
Display the word count for every file in the project, along with a total.
Saves a log file every day, showing words per file and the total. (Tracks your progress)
Saves automatic backups at user-specified intervals.
Allows multiple scenes within chapters
Viewpoint character, goal, conflict and outcome fields for each scene.
Storyboard view, a visual layout of your work.
Re-order scenes within chapters.
Move scenes from one chapter to another.
Automatic chapter renumbering.

Tagged

My first ever Tag has come from rand!!

"Name five foods, dishes or otherwise, that were a part of your childhood, and that you sometimes miss when nostalgia gets to you..."

These are all memories from my childhood before I was nine years old, which was when we moved house. I don't really remember foods in that nostalgic way after that.

Fishfingers, mashed potato and peas
I always came home for lunch when I was at primary school because I lived next door (no excuse for being late!). I'm sure my Mum did make other meals for me, but this is the only one I remember. I watched Mr Benn, Fingerbobs and Rupert Bear while I was eating it, and made castle walls with the mashed potato. Then back off to school again.

Pink Sugar Mice with white string tails
Used to buy these on the way to school - very bad for me, and therefore delicious!

Hotdogs made by my Dad, overfilled with oily onions
We used to go to an old 1860s fort by the sea on summer Sundays and we always took the same thing for lunch. I used to search for crabs with a net in the rock pools. Happy times.

Tomato soup in a white polystyrene cup
This one is very seasonal (if you're English at least). Bonfire night celebrations at my primary school. I don't remember the bonfire or the fireworks, just the hot baked potatoes wrapped in tin foil and thick florescent orange soup.

Thick pea soup with real peas in it
This is nostalgic in a bad way I guess. I don't remember much about it, but my Dad and I were knocked down by a car when we were crossing the road. He broke his ankle, I got dragged along for a while on my face. When it happened people took us into a nearby petrol station until the ambulance came. I was crying a lot so they gave me a bright orange plastic beaker to take my mind of it. No lasting damage *smile* but I couldn't eat properly for days. I used to have pea soup in my beaker that I drank through a straw, and the peas kept getting stuck in the straw! I wouldn't use a bowl or a mug - it had to be that beaker! I only threw it out a couple of years ago, after nearly 30 years.

I think this is my longest post so far. Thanks for the tag rand :-)

NaNoCoMo

Someone suggested this name on the official forum; apparently December is NaNoFiMo for all the novels written this month.

To make the target I need to write an average of 1660 words a day...think I might need to do a bit of a catch-up at the weekend. I've only done about 650 so far! My boss is out tomorrow so I'm hoping I can do some now and again over the day *bad girl...hehe*

I've also got a needlework project on the go. My friend's birthday is at the beginning of December and I'm trying to embroider a throw in time. Fingers crossed I can do both, if not the throw will have priority, and I'll carry on my novel in December.

I know I wouldn't finish the book this month anyway, even if I was writing every waking minute...I’m just happy to be getting some words down on paper. It's definitely been an incentive to write.

Halloween

Happy Halloween and Blessed Samhain to you all :-)