Melbourne Zoo/Supanova - April 2012

(this post contains a lot of photos and will probably chew up a fair bit of bandwidth. But the pictures are cool. So there.)

This is a writing check-in and fun post all in one. I have done some writing this week - around 1,000 words worth - but a death in the family this week meant that a lot of the time I was meant to spend writing and marking assignments was lost (it wasn't someone I was close to but it has been hard for other family members). Ah well, sometimes these things happen and all you can do is try to work around it. As far as my novel goes, I think some scenes are becoming a bit clearer, but others still need work. I am starting (slightly) to break myself of the habit of picking at one section at the expense of finishing the story, but it's a slow process :) I did manage to do a painting last night, though, since I couldn't concentrate on either writing or uni stuff:

I spend most weekends at home either writing or painting; ie. being a desk hermit. Today, however, I set aside my anti-social tendencies and went gallivanting off into the city, more specifically, to the Melbourne Zoo for a friend's birthday party and to Supanova. Here are some of my favourite photos from the zoo:









After I left the zoo, I headed over to the Melbourne Showgrounds for Supanova. I didn't get to spend as long there as I would have liked, but I did get to chat with two awesome authors, Michael Pryor (writer of The Laws of Magic series and the Extraordinaires series, and wearer of wicked top hats) and Ben Chandler (The Voyages of the Flying Dragon series). If you like reading YA fantasy, especially with a steampunk setting, check out their books. You won't be disappointed.

Tomorrow will be spent catching up on assignment marking, since life (or, more specifically, death) prevented me from getting it done during the week, but at least today was awesome :) Anyway, I'm off to slather more deep heat gel into my knee (old karate injury always plays up if I walk around all day) and head off to bed. Adios.

Judgemental Dog has been temporarily usurped by Imperious Meerkat*:

ROW80 Round 6 Goals + 1st Update

I know, I missed the goals post and my first check-in is late because of work... And this check-in will be a bit short since I worked all day... Retail on Easter Saturday with a lack of staff... It was like Armageddon :| *dies of exhaustion*

My main priorities for this round are a) to revise my novel outline and b) to just write more of the damn novel. My novel is at around the 35,000 mark (I wrote a lot last round, but much of that was for a different - now abandoned - story idea, and several sections got cut because of plot inconsistencies etc). I haven't made as much progress on it as I would have liked; sometimes I'll punch out a few thousand words over a couple of days, and then I'll barely write anything for a week. In a few past ROW80 rounds, I've tried setting goals like "I will finish these four chapters" or whatever, but it just doesn't work; I always just ended up faffing about with other random scenes and completely ignoring the ones I was meant to be working on, which of course brought on the old writer's guilt we all love so much. For this round, I'm going to just try writing 500 words a day; doesn't matter what chapter or scene, just as long as I'm adding to the manuscript. Wednesdays are going to be a non-writing day, though, since I spend all day at one job and then rush home and go straight to my other job. I will have neither to the time nor energy to write, so it's probably better to just accept that I won't get anything done on those days.

My novel outline is also in pretty dire need of attention. I've had a few plot points that have been bugging me pretty much since I wrote the first version 2 years or so ago, and though I think I've finally found solutions to these plot holes (more like plot craters in some cases), it will need a pretty heavy rewrite. But it has given me some ideas for how I can expand one of the sub-plots and make the world seem richer, so hopefully once I spend some time with my outline, I'll be more excited about tackling the novel itself.

In the break between rounds, I did a little bit of writing, but mainly just a few random snippets. I did get to have a go at using my new Derwent Artbars, though. I also wrote a review about them, including a few drawings; you can see it here (hey, I may not have been working on my novel, but at least I was still writing :D).

So, goals:
-Write at least 500 words every day except Wednesdays
-Expand and revise novel outline
-Create more artwork (focus on painting but also wax crayons)
-Continue job hunting (especially towards end of semester)
-Keep up to date with assignment marking

Anyway, my dodgy knee is aching like buggery after running around (it was that busy I was literally running for most of my 9 hour shift), so I'm off to go marinate my leg in deep-heat gel. Mostly I'll probably only update once a week, but if I have a good week progress-wise, I may pop in more often :)

Judgemental Dog drives a hard bargain:

ROW80 Round 5 - Final Update

My final check in for this round is a bit late, since I've worked the last two days, but I did manage to end up with quite a few new words, writing around 2,000 on Tuesday and 1,000 or so on Monday. I wish I could be more consistent with my productivity; I tend to write heaps over a few days and then do hardly anything for a few days. Then again it's a bit hard to be consistent, since the days I work all day, I generally don't feel like doing anything. I seem to be back in the right frame of mind for the story now, since random ideas I have are actually for this novel and not some other random half-baked project. I still haven't finished the first four chapters, even though that was one of my main goals, and I think I'll just have to accept the fact that if my brain doesn't want to work on things in chronological order, it sure as hell isn't going to :S

Also, I got more art goodies in the mail today, so I look forward to playing with those over the next few weeks (I think I need to be more specific about art-goals in my next round, since I've only done two or three pictures since this round started). (for anyone who's interested in arty stuff, my new toy is the full 72 set of Derwent Artbars, water-soluble wax crayon/pastel thingies).

Anyhoo, I'll keep this update short, since I'm sleep deprived and grumpy and am going to go finish reading my book. But I'll be back again next round :D

Judgemental Dog was just as surprised as I was by my weekly word count.

See how other ROW80ers fared here.

ROW80 Round 5 - 16th Update

No new paintings this week, but I have been doing more writing on my main WiP, which makes me happy. I think the enthusiasm for the other Shiny New Idea that was bugging me might be dying off, or at least waning slightly. I am glad about this, because it's one of those stories that, even though you enjoy/feel the need to write it, you know it isn't particularly good. I still hadn't even come up with a plot, so without that, it was only a matter of time before I ran out of steam. I'm not discarding it entirely - just putting it away in case some of it can be salvaged in the future - but for now it seems that story idea has run its course. I spent some time rereading what I had for Dark and Silent Waters while listening to the playlist I put together for that story, and slowly the ideas have started percolating again. So far I've probably only done around 500 words a day, but I feel like I'm starting to get back into the right mindset for it again (I also finished two chapters that just needed one small scene, but those are for later in the story; still need to finish the first few chapters). Does anyone else have certain songs/music types that help them get into writing mode?

On the exercise front I've been doing okay. I've taken His Judgemental Lordship for a walk every day this week except Wednesday - just around the block, along part of the railway line and back - to give us both some fresh air. Walking doesn't seem to do my knees too much harm unless I'm doing it for more than an hour. Unfortunately my knee has been playing up a bit lately (not the one I dislocated last year by walking, the other one, which I've dislocated 5+ times at karate over the years. Yeah, I really need to sign up for bionic legs or something). I'm hoping that with a bit more exercise and strengthening activity I can hold it off doing anything horrible, but I've been getting that achy, wobbly feeling in it I always get right before it craps itself.

Haven't been swimming but I have been using the exercise bike, which is funny because for some reason Rex is terrified/infuriated by the WHIRRRRRR! noise it makes and he runs around in circles yowling at me the whole time I'm using it. The other day, I realised how unfit I really am, not just in terms of physical strength but also my cardiac system. I had to run a few blocks to catch a train because I was running late (only just made it), and while I would have done that without breaking a sweat a few years ago, by the time I staggered onto the train I was gasping and wheezing like a beached whale. My knees will probably prevent me from becoming as fit as I used to be, but I need to become far fitter than I am now, that's for sure (though I know some people who get winded walking from their armchair to the fridge and back, which makes me feel better about myself).

No, Judgemental Dog, you will not distract me with your charm!

See how other ROW80ers are faring here.

ROW80 Round 5 - 15th Update

Quick update tonight; haven't done much in the way of writing lately, since I've worked every day since the last check-in. I did get another few odd paragraphs (a little under 1,000 words, I'd estimate) done on Dark and Silent Waters, but I'm not entirely happy with them. I wrote them for the sake of trying to fill out a few odd scenes, but they didn't really 'flow' as well as I'd have liked. Still, at least they're there for now.

On Tuesday (the only day I wasn't at work all day), I finally managed to finish a painting with my new acrylics:

I've also decided I need to try to add some fitness goals. Even if they're not part of ROW80, it's still something I need to do. Until last year or so I've always been fairly fit. I did karate until a few years ago, and even though I had to give it away because of my knee and back injuries, I always made sure to at least keep up some level of fitness. But since I dislocated my knee last year (which in turn made my other, even dodgier knee play up from the extra strain), I've had a lot of trouble doing any real physical exercise; I literally can't run more than a block without my knees screaming in agony and often just giving out on me altogether (not only is it painful for my knees, but face-planting into the ground isn't much fun either).

Since most forms of weight-bearing exercise are out - at least til I build up some more strength; it's a lot stronger than it was before I saw the physio, since I've kept up with all the knee exercises, but it's nowhere near what it was before the injuries - I'm thinking swimming and bike riding are the main options. Except I'll be using the exercise bike in the kitchen because the only helmet I have for my real bike is a pink one my dad gave me when I was little, and I hate pink and don't want to wear it in public and am also too stingy to just go buy a new one. I've also thought about starting up that Zumba exercise dance thing (I actually have the starter set with the DVDs etc, don't even know where it came from), since it looks like it might make exercise fun, but I'm kind of wary it would make my knees even worse; it looks like there's a lot of jumping and twisting which are the two things my knees really hate. Has anyone else used Zumba/know anyone else who has used it? What are your thoughts?

Judgemental Dog is looking forward to tomorrow afternoon, when I'll have more time for writing.

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

ROW80 Round 5 - 14th Update

Well, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of last week didn't see much added to my word count (I think those days are generally going to be low productivity-wise since those are my most work-filled days, and by the end of it I can't be bothered doing anything even when I do get home). I made up for it Friday, Saturday and Sunday, cranking out another 4,000 words in total (don't know what the count was for each individual day since I was too lazy to check) for my new story, bringing me to about the 10,000 word mark. It still doesn't really have a plot; all I have so far are the two main characters and a few random scenes, which will more than likely be cut once I figure out what the characters are meant to do. This is one of the few times I've thought of the characters before a plot, and it's a bit weird to work with. In all my other stories, the plot came first, followed quickly by the characters who put that plot into motion. Maybe I should give these two a self-help book each so they can work out what to do with their life -.-

Today I wrote another paragraph for my main WiP (yes, one paragraph. Break out the champagne). I'm trying to get back in the mindset for this story, since it's the one I care about more and want to finish more, but the other dumb story won't leave me alone. I've been listening to the music that originally inspired this story in the hopes it would take me back there, but it's only half working (if anyone else has any suggestions for writing exercises etc that might help with this, fire away).

I've also started a little painting with the new acrylics that arrived the other week. Didn't get off to a promising start, though, so I had a minor tanty and packed it all away again; in fact, I'll probably just gesso over it and start again tomorrow after work. Hopefully I'll have something to show for my next update. It's been a while since I painted with acrylics, so at the moment watching me paint is a bit like watching a budgie try to eat noodles with a spanner or something equally ridiculous. I also must remember to wear clothes I don't care about; I managed to splatter paint everywhere and now my previously-plain shirt looks like it was decorated by Jackson Pollock (still, I think half the fun of painting is getting it all over everything, including yourself).


Sure you can, Judgemental Dog. Just as soon as I finish writing it... *slinks away*

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

ROW80 Round 5 - 13th Update

I know, I know, I've been a bit naughty and missed the last two updates. The first one was because I hadn't really done a lot worth writing about, and the second was because I was busy with work (both jobs) and writing. What I lacked in productivity for the first half of last week I made up for in the second. Oh yes, I made up for it. *cue maniacal laughter*

Three days in a row, I managed to get a little bit done on my main novel in progress, Dark and Silent Waters. I think I got around 2,000 new words for that story, which was pretty awesome since I'd been lagging on it a bit lately. But the real fun started when I started playing around on 750words.com after seeing other people talking about it in the ROW80 Facebook group. Since DASW is kind of 'solidified' in my mind, I found it difficult to be as spontaneous with that story, so instead I decided to start hammering out some of the other story (the one that was a random mash-up of genres) that's been bugging me lately. It seems to be settling more into the fantasy Feudal Japan setting, so at least it has some direction... sort of (and it still seems to want to develop into a romance, though I have no idea why). Hoping to at least get something out of it, I started story-rambling in 750 words... and ended up getting more than 1,000 words three days in a row. Yesterday I actually wrote 5,000 words, which is more than I usually write in a week. Sure, most of them are probably rubbish, but hopefully now that I'm back in writing mode, I can keep up the momentum. At this stage I have what could be an opening (or perhaps second) chapter for the story, which makes me happy; I like to write chronologically, but usually I just can't and end up bouncing around through my story in any old order.

I do feel guilty about not working on my main WiP. I really want to finish it, since I feel like it has potential and I also feel like it's something I can finish, if only I can work out a few small plot kinks. But this new idea is so shiny and fun and it's eating all my creativity :( I've already got around 6,000 words for it, after only a few days of writing, which I suppose is a good thing, but I really wish I could have added those 6,000 words to DASW instead.

Anyhoo, I have to go finish marking some uni stuff before bed. Adios!

Judgemental Dog was so pleased with my progress he even dressed up for the occasion:

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

P.S. More Judgemental Dog news: Late last week the vet said we could decrease Rex's medication for his bowel disease to two doses a week. This has made a huge difference to him. He's basically back to his maniac-puppy self, bouncing around like a fool and full of energy. His appetite seems to have returned with a vengeance, since he is now eating all of his food at mealtimes (and then trying to scam some from us as well; he nearly knocked off my ham roll the other day, living up to his Austrian crime-fighting namesake). His paw is completely healed, which means we've been able to take him for a few walks (only short walks, though; every day lately has either been scorching hot or full of torrential rain as is typical for Melbourne). He'll have to be on the medication for a while longer, but at least at this stage it seems he'll beat this bout of the disease as well.