Animal treatment

I'll probably take this don as it's not creativity related but I\'ll leave it up for a while.

It's horrible.




Stop smiling,
Sx

Tools of the trade. Part Three

Very little added to the tale of Elliot and Lily so thought I'd show this:
Present from my mother this Christmas. I know officially own an ink well. I am happy. This will go well with the dip pen, I'll have to find a quill at some point. The poetry reference would probably be towards the small pile of books in my bedroom (I mean small unfortunately).


A note on the title of my NaNoWriMo novel maybe. It's called 'Elliot and Lily' for a reason. The story is oly really about one of them: Lily. It's a story about her life and experiences and what she wants for herself in the future. Elliot is more a tool to explore this than a main character in his own right. But I've tried to make him as human and as well rounded as possible... I mean, yes, he may be a device: but youve also got to read about him!

So why's the title comprised of their names? Why not call it 'Lily's adventures' or something? The answer to that would be that Ellio is a HUGE part of this story, just not the past or future bit... But most importantly I like the way it sounds.

Say it slowly El-i-ot-and-lil-ly. I think it sounds good. Just after I decided on the main character's names (because of their light similarities (The 'l's mainly)) I thought about calling it 'Lily and Elliot'. But say that fast and the words get lost together. Also, for my lking, t's a little to close to 'Billy Elliot' - and I don't want to give the wrong idea of what the story's about.

Keep Smiling,
Sx

I am a very lucky person.

I just went through an old email account that I rarely check and since has been filled up with spam emails but boy am I glad I checked!

As the title suggests I just might be the luckiest person alive! Get this, within moments of a lovely young lady called Wendy emailing me saying that she was 'single, hot and in my area' I got another two emails offering me services to enhance my confidence with women and powers of seduction AND some nice fellow (who was apparently replying to an email I had forgotten I had sent) was offering me, at a very reasonable price, something to improve my sex life.

These emails could not have come at a better time. :) But I suppose the clincher, which really pushed me to do all of this, to accept these fine gifts and offers, was the fact that a very nice gentleman is offering me a cash reward for helping him out. That certainly will come in handy!

Keep smiling - maybe I'll put you in touch with one of Wendy's friends. Apparently they are hot and single too!

What a brilliant start to 2010! Have a good year people!

Sx

It's been a while...

But after NaNoWriMo I had a bit of a writing detox. Only started again yesterday. After reaching just over 50,000 words I cut it back to about 34,000. The vast majority of those last 16,000 were useless twaddle. They discussed a garden in the middle of an argument about rape.

Not the best placed aesthetic critique ever...

Anyway, back on the horse now. Nearing the second half of the third chapter now. I'll fill you in with the plot points so far after Christmas, but right now I'll just share this:

Chapter One: 19,024 Words

Chapter Two: 13,839 Words

Chapter Three: 9,740 Words so far...

and this extract from (the re-written) chapter one:

"After that night I didn't expect to see Adam again, I couldn't have blamed him. It would be returning to the scene of the crime. Cheating on his wife, sleeping with his best friend's daughter, his god-daughter, a minor. It wasn't hard at all to understand why I would never see him again. But I was wrong and the very next Thursday he was back. I almost couldn't believe it when I opened the door and saw him, I didn't know what to say. He stepped inside and handed me the bottle that would go very well with the meal that I hadn't bothered to cook, so convinced was I that I would never see him again. I took it and stared at him in amazement as he calmly closed the door and hung his coat on my father's empty peg before he kissed me on the lips.

'Hello Lil'.

And that was that, that was the beginning of a whole new chapter of my life. I split up with Martin and became known as the school's bitch for two weeks, until everybody forgot, because I dumped him without a reason but I didn't care because every Thursday Adam would be at my door, with wine and a kiss. We rarely bothered with Dinner any more, we just drank the wine and talked until he took pity on me and led me upstairs to my own bedroom.

It went on for a very long time that routine. A very long time, well over a year. God I loved him, and he loved me too, he told me so. I was in heaven for over a year, my own private heaven. Adam was absolutely everything that I wanted. A friend, a father figure, and somebody who loved me and who I could love."

Hopefully you're intrigued...

Merry Christmas for two days time.

Keep smiling,

Sx

Seen one of these before?

Just got my transcript externally validated. :) Just into chapter five. But four and five and part of three are all being deleted. Went off compleely the wrong way. Well, not quite deleted, but removed definitely.

The aim is to get the whole thing to about 100,000 - 120,000 words. NaNoWriMo was just the beginning... Maybe I'll have a 2010 one next year. Wish me luck.

Keep smiling,
Sx

Philosophy

I have a new favourite quote. My old favourite was from Plato's republic:

"My dear Socrates, if you produce theories of that sort, you can’t be surprised if most decent people take their coats off, pick up the nearest weapon, and come after you in their shirt sleeves to do something terrible to you!"

My new favourite is from Nozick's Knowledge and Skepticism:

"If, as is likely, these explanations do not help, please use your own intuitive understanding of subjunctives 3 and 4."

Keep smiling,

I am.

Sx

NaNoWriMo Extract

I said I'd put a bit up and I never did, this is a small extract from Chapter One.

"‘Shit I’m sorry Lil’ he lied convincingly ‘I don’t know why I did that’

She bent down to collect her books before she answered.

‘I do’ she send venomously, ‘it’s because you’re a disgusting fucking prick who couldn’t care about anything except yourself. I’m not going to fucking shag you, not today, not tomorrow, not fucking ever’

Elliot started forwards

‘Oh come on Lil, it was an accident’

‘Don’t you fucking dare come near me’ she snarled ‘I’m not one of your disgusting slutty harem, I will not be fucked and I will not be fucked with. By you or anybody else.’

People were starting to appear at the entrance of the corridor as Lily’s voice grew in volume and in pitch. Elliot wished that he had shut her up quietly before.

‘Chill Lil’ he tried to sound nonchalant in front of the growing crowd. Lily glanced up at them, then back at Elliot as she realised he was trying to maintain some sense of dignity in front of his friends.

‘Piss off’ she spat, then she turned and walked away, the crowd parted to let her through and the instance she was it swarmed into the corridor and Elliot was swallowed up by a mass of people. At the forefront was Mike Flanders, he was the centre mid field of the college football team and he’s always been the one that Elliot had taken to parties. Mike liked a good party, they suited each other well Mike and Elliot, two perfectly coupled wingmen. There had been jokes floating around about a bromance between them, they indulged this after they realised that girls seemed to like the idea. Suffice to say, Mike was the other cool kid on campus.

‘What was that about?’ he asked Elliot cautiously. Elliot rolled hi lower lip into his mouth and bit down with his upper teeth.

‘Lets walk’ he said, and they set off. Nobody else in the crowd even tried to follow them as they walked away from them. It was obvious to all watching that something very serious was happening between them It wasn’t, Elliot was trying to make light of it all. ‘I’m trying to sleep with her.’

‘Trying?’ Mike reply was sarcastic and amused, ‘good job there mate, she hates you.’

‘I know she does’ came Elliot’s lucid reply, ‘but that doesn’t mean that she won’t’

‘You know El’ said Mike, ‘it normally does.’ Elliot didn’t say anything, he didn’t even look at Mike. ‘Anyway man, why would you want to? Yeah she’s pretty fucking hot but she’s not going to be up for anything is she? She’s a total stuck up bitch!’

‘Yeah’ Elliot agreed, ‘but that’s sort of part of the attraction isn’t it? You know, the whole forbidden fruit thing’

‘El,’ Mike said, ‘there is no point in chasing after the forbidden fruit if you know it’s just an apple, there are hundreds of apples out there, most of them are much nicer than…’

‘Mike,’ Elliot interrupted him, ‘I think you might be stretching this metaphor past breaking point.

Mike laughed and Elliot joined in with his cold smile. They turned the corner and stepped outside together then leaned back against the wall just inside of the No smoking zone. They both found their cigarettes and lit them before either said anything else.

‘You’ll never do it mate.’

‘No?’ was Elliot’s quizzical reply.

‘No’

‘You’re sure’

‘Yes,’ Mike was smiling back at him, ‘I think I know what’s coming next’

‘Want to bet on it?’ Mike’s grin widened

‘I was right. Why don’t you give me twenty quid now? Elliot’s smile broadened to match Mike’s. He took a drag from his cigarette and blew the smoke directly into Mike’s face."

I'm writing more, well, er, now actually.

Keep smiling.

Sx