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01/19/2008
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of 3 Day Novel
Last year, I did the 3-Day Novel challenge, which was to write a novel in the space of 3 days, i.e., the Labour Day weekend. It was an interesting experience - a lot of writing, a lot of Breton crackers, and not much common sense. There were plot holes though which a Mack truck could drive; there were cardboard characters and contrived situations, worse dialogue, and once it was all over, it was a rough manuscript. However, it was *a* manuscript, and I actually made it from the beginning to the end of the plot! In other words, the whole skeleton of a novel was there, and can now be worked on, if I so choose. Of course, I didn't win, but since I didn't expect to, it's all good.
2008 is set up to be very different from 2007. I'm trying to follow my New Year's resolutions, and trying to get rid of things that don't do much for me, that I don't need, or that stand in the way to where I want to go in my life. Thinking about contests like 3-Day Novel, I figured it was fun, and I'm glad I did it last year, but that I'd rather take 2008 to work on writing I already had, rather than to spend 3 days (and $50) trying to pull a plot out of nowhere into a shabby manuscript I don't really need at the moment. It all made sense. It was a simple decision. No 3-Day Novel for 2008.
It's amazing what final decisions will do to your brain. A short while later that same day, a plot popped into my head, and wouldn't leave. It said to me, "I am the ghost of your 2008 3-Day Novel"... and has been developing ever since! I may just have to do 3-Day Novel this year, just so that the plot doesn't drive me bananas while I ignore it.
The idea is simple: a small gingerbread house in a sea of McMansions owned by yuppies. It's not supposed to be a serious plot, and the more I can make people laugh, the better. (Contrast this to my two NaNoWriMo novels and my last 3-Day Novel, which are part of an epic adventure/fantasy/romance featuring lots of battles and death).
Today I went to the Book Market (a used bookstore) and came back with 84 cents' worth of magazines - a glossy copy of the premiere issue of American Dream Homes, and a copy of Distinguished Home Plans from 2001. Both of these feature some really grand, over-the-top, hotel-lobby-of-the-Waldorf-Astoria type stuff. I find most of the home plans butt ugly, and it's great! 84 cents and I have all sorts of architectural fodder for my novel. Money well-spent, in my opinion! So 3-Day Novel 2008, here I come!!
17:35 Posted in Blog | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
01/09/2008
Sword Skills, Day 1
Just before Christmas, I had the bright idea of signing up for a recreational class in sword handling, held at the local university. Today was the first day of it, and I was kind of nervous going into it, not knowing what to expect, not knowing anyone in the class (my attempts to drag my friends into it have failed...).
As it turns out, the class was great - I really enjoyed it. I am hoping this will help strengthen my upper body which is pretty weak right now, and this seemed more fun than pumping iron (though probably not as effective).
We all bought our bokken wooden swords from the instructor before the class started. Basically they're curved wooden swords about 3 feet long, made of what looks like oak. However, they're mass-produced, and came with warning stickers on them. The sticker says (and keep in mind, this sticker is fastened to a wooden sword):
This product is sold for use in HIGH RISK activities. [Blah blah blah terms and conditions blah blah blah consult physician before starting training blah blah blah] Injuries, including paralysis and death can occur when using this product.
I thought that was hilarious. Um, if you're training with a sword and need to read a label to realize you could hurt or kill someone with it, you shouldn't be training with a sword...
Anyway, it was a fun class! I'm glad I signed up! I'd love to practice even, but I'm afraid I don't think I can swing this sword anywhere in the house without breaking something or punching a hole in the ceiling. I'll have to work the logisitics of this one!
22:31 Posted in Blog | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
01/01/2008
Christmas and the Dog
I almost forgot to mention how Christmas went. It came and went quickly and reasonably easily. The only interesting tidbit is the part about the dog.
Our family doesn't have a dog; it never has, and never will. So when my uncle and his family showed up, dog included, for the Christmas dinner, it was a whole new experience, to be in my own house and seeing this shaggy little furball wandering around. My uncle and his family were staying in a hotel overnight before returning to Montreal. Problem is, the hotel doesn't take dogs, and their Montreal dogsitter went AWOL when they tried to get a hold of her. So, we became the dogsitters. Note that the dog doesn't really know us, and this was his first visit to our house.
Also, my grandmother, another Montreal resident, was staying at our house overnight before heading back to Montreal. Since we don't have a spare bedroom in our house, anytime someone stays over, my room becomes the guest room, and I get to sleep in the family room.
So, by bedtime, the situation was that my grandmother was sleeping in my room, my parents in their room, my brother in his room, I was on the fold-out couch in the family room, and the dog was sitting on the rug in the foyer, just down the stairs from where I was. I turned out the lights, and all was well... for a short while.
"Bark!" went the dog. A few minutes passed.
"Bark!" went the dog. A few more minutes passed.
"Bark!" went the dog. "Bark!"... "Bark, bark, bark... owwooOOOOooo... bark!"
By this time it was about 1 am, and I don't know about the rest of the gang since they all had doors between them and the dog, but at this rate it was going to be a reaaaallly long night for both me and the dog.
None too impressed (must add "swear less" to 2008 Plan for Awesomeness), I turned the lights back on and went to go find the dog, who was sitting by the door. In my mind I could hear my aunt's voice telling my dad that the dog will bark at the door if he needs to go out and do his business. I knew he'd just done his business not long ago, but hey, who knows what happens to dog's bladders if they're nervous about a new environment. I tried to put the leash on the dog, but he kept dodging it, and finally I got frustrated and went to wake up dad, who had gotten the explicit doggie owner's instructions from my aunt.
"Does he need a leash?" I asked him. Dad said he didn't think so, and the dog is supposed to be good about staying close to the house to do his business. So I let the dog out.
Fast forward about five minutes, and here I am in my plaid pyjamas, winter jacket, and boots, trudging through the snow at 1:15 am, calling a dog I don't know to come back to a house he doesn't know. I was already visualizing how I was going to explain to my aunt and uncle that I lost the dog on the one and only night we'd said we'd take care of him. Fortunately, after some coaxing, the dog came back to our place, and dad then held the dog in his little blanket until he calmed down, and then mom and dad took the dog into their room for the night. Thank God.
So I did manage to get part of a good night's sleep anyway, but let's just say, now I remember why I'm a cat person...!
18:42 Posted in Blog | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
2008: Here and Already Rocking!
Well, 2007 came and went. It seemed both like forever and the blink of an eye at the same time - strange how that seems to happen!
I'm still writing up my 2008 Plan for Awesomeness, which is basically a souped-up version of New Year's Resolutions. More like resolutions with a plan for accomplishing them. Otherwise, by January 3rd, I will have forgotten all about my resolutions and that would be that until January 1st, 2009. Anyway, 2008 started off well. In the first 2 hours, I'd already managed to track down a song I'd been looking for for literally the whole of 2007! I'd heard it on the radio, but the radio station I listen to plays lots of interesting stuff but virtually never announces what the songs are. In this case it should have been easy because the song had lyrics which, as long as I could remember a single line, could later be Googled. However, this song for some reason does not come up when the most obvious lyric ("Healing will come like a soft-beating drum") from its refrain is entered into Google. This time around I managed to remember another line long enough to enter that into Google, and it worked. I was so happy - forget the new year, I was partying and jumping for joy over that song! And for those who are curious, it happens to be "Still by Your Side" sung by the Celtic Tenors.
The other thing that happened in the wee hours of January 1st was that I found myself a new favourite music group - Amici Forever, which is an opera crossover band. You may be noticing a theme between this and the Celtic Tenors, which is actually kind of bizarre because I'm not generally a fan of opera at all. I really do enjoy beautifully sung songs, but in general I just can't stand the profuse vibrato in a classically-trained opera singer's voice. That kind of singing feels to my ears what a palm sander feels to my hand. That said I know lots of other people enjoy it, but in general, just not my cup of tea. Anyway, back to Amici, I don't think I've heard anything by them until one of their songs came up yesterday on that same radio station that never identifies anything. As per usual with songs I want to look up, I copied down a line of the song and went back to bed (I was having a bit of lounge in the morning, while I still had the chance. Back to work tomorrow. Bummer.) I Googled it at about 1:30 am, and discovered their music is really good as a whole, when I listened to snippets of their albums. Now I've got to find their albums!!
Whether I can afford the albums if I find them, though, might be another story. Part of my 2008 Plan for Awesomeness is racking up some serious savings for the down payment on the house I'd like to buy next winter. To get anywhere near the savings I'll likely be needing, I need to save like a fiend. I did some calculations, and this leaves me with a very small amount to cover my expenses for the entire month. I might have to go to Gail Vaz-Oxlade's Money Jar/Live-on-Cash technique! (See the TV show "Til Debt Do Us Part".)
The Plan for Awesomeness includes a bunch of other stuff too, including eating healthier, exercising more, finishing books from my to-read pile, and all that fun stuff. It should be an exciting year!
It's amazing how incredibly optimistic I get when I'm not sleep-deprived. Too bad I have to go back to work tomorrow...
18:14 Posted in Blog | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this