My Wednesday was a strange day.
Here's the schedule:
02-03, 1h - Lands Of Mist
03-07, 4h - Sleep
07-19, 12h - WORK
19-22, 3h - Food + The Hate Bearers + Lands Of Mist
22-01.30 - FILM - Dumplings + chat
01.30-02 - Meditation
Somehow I managed to wake up at 1.30 in the morning. I couldn't go to sleep. So I decided to write. So I worked on Lands Of Mist for a while - until I felt tired, really and went back to sleep.
Somehow I woke up - only later realising that I'd forgotten to set the alarm. I was supposed to be at work at nine so I rushed out believing myself late...
Somehow I got to work at 8am, not 9 as I'd intended...
Somehow I managed to have a longer day at work than I'd expected...
Finally I got home and ate and typed some more for The Hate Bearers and some more on Lands Of Mist.
Then I watched Fruit Chan's Dumplings. A really good film. It was labelled Horror but it isn't really. It deals with some scary stuff but the blood and guts is minimal and really done in a way to impress more psychologically than visually. He implies much more than he shows. I found it a very poignant film, a great social critique/parable of our times. As in the previous film I'd seen of his Made In Hong-Kong, he subtly deals with social conditions, the gap between the rich and the poor.
Throughout the film I was also chatting with a friend on skype - that's how these things go...
I still managed to meditate for a bit before going to sleep.
I'm a bit behind my personal schedule but starts do tend to be a bit slow - and it takes a bit of time to build enough momentum...
peace.
Showing posts with label writing schedule. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing schedule. Show all posts
Friday, 5 November 2010
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
NaNoWriMonthing
Yep. Two days have gone and what do I have to show for it?!
Well, my schedule for one:
07.30-08, 0.5h - Meditation
08-09, 1h - Food + Wizard Knight
09-10.30, 1.5h - Lands Of Mist
10.30-11, 0.5h - Chat
11-12, 1h - Lands Of Mist + Emails
12-13, 1h - Lands Of Mist + The Hate Bearers
13-22, 9h - WORK
22-23, 1h - Food + Lands Of Mist
I was really with a good momentum on tuesday. I think it was one of those days that I would've just kept on writing. Not one of those where words just seem to pour and you write 5000 words practically non-stop, but one of those where you pause in between paragraphs and lines, just for a few seconds or a couple of minutes to try and envision where the story was gonna go next and it felt I could just keep on doing it. These days can be a bit frustrating initially, when you just want to write everything in one go, in a powerful torrent of words. But these days in fact enable to write more carefully, with more attention to what you are doing. we become conscious of the passing of time and all the little decisions and moments of awareness that add up to where the story is going.
I did chat quite a bit throughout part of the day with a couple of friends: life, contrary to what you might think, is not NaNoWriMo based. In fact, it seems to continue pretty well without it.
On my way to work I had a couple of ideas for last year's NaNoWriMo. What can I say, that's how the mind works... I also had an idea for the Hate Bearers. So, after the usual initial chaos of information after getting to work, I did manage to jot all I could remember down. It wasn't as clear and sharp and smooth as when you're cycling and everything just flows out in your mind so naturally (beware of traffic!) but it was good enough. At least the ideas and some of the twists in the dialogue were noted. It can all be refined and worked out at a later stage - revision!
I got home feeling really knackered. After some initial moments of questions and chitchat with my flatmates I was able to reach the relative safety of my room and engage with the age old process of eating spring rolls.
(yes, I know you thought I was going to say writing... I still have a few tricks up my sleeve - even if usually I wear t-shirts: just shows you how really skilled I am...)
After my belly was full (and full is the word) I began typing away at Lands Of Mists.
Soon after I was asleep.
Lights on.
As usual.
Music on.
Not as usual.
Peace!
Well, my schedule for one:
07.30-08, 0.5h - Meditation
08-09, 1h - Food + Wizard Knight
09-10.30, 1.5h - Lands Of Mist
10.30-11, 0.5h - Chat
11-12, 1h - Lands Of Mist + Emails
12-13, 1h - Lands Of Mist + The Hate Bearers
13-22, 9h - WORK
22-23, 1h - Food + Lands Of Mist
I was really with a good momentum on tuesday. I think it was one of those days that I would've just kept on writing. Not one of those where words just seem to pour and you write 5000 words practically non-stop, but one of those where you pause in between paragraphs and lines, just for a few seconds or a couple of minutes to try and envision where the story was gonna go next and it felt I could just keep on doing it. These days can be a bit frustrating initially, when you just want to write everything in one go, in a powerful torrent of words. But these days in fact enable to write more carefully, with more attention to what you are doing. we become conscious of the passing of time and all the little decisions and moments of awareness that add up to where the story is going.
I did chat quite a bit throughout part of the day with a couple of friends: life, contrary to what you might think, is not NaNoWriMo based. In fact, it seems to continue pretty well without it.
On my way to work I had a couple of ideas for last year's NaNoWriMo. What can I say, that's how the mind works... I also had an idea for the Hate Bearers. So, after the usual initial chaos of information after getting to work, I did manage to jot all I could remember down. It wasn't as clear and sharp and smooth as when you're cycling and everything just flows out in your mind so naturally (beware of traffic!) but it was good enough. At least the ideas and some of the twists in the dialogue were noted. It can all be refined and worked out at a later stage - revision!
I got home feeling really knackered. After some initial moments of questions and chitchat with my flatmates I was able to reach the relative safety of my room and engage with the age old process of eating spring rolls.
(yes, I know you thought I was going to say writing... I still have a few tricks up my sleeve - even if usually I wear t-shirts: just shows you how really skilled I am...)
After my belly was full (and full is the word) I began typing away at Lands Of Mists.
Soon after I was asleep.
Lights on.
As usual.
Music on.
Not as usual.
Peace!
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Saturday Sun and Rain
Yesterday was a good day albeit I didn't get as much writing done as I'd liked... guess what? You're right - work!
8.30-9.30, 1h Meditation
9.30-11.30, 2h Wandering Mind Meditation Post, Short Story Submission
11.30-23.30, 12h Demo and Work
23.30-00.30, 1h Food!
A straighforward schedule isn't it?!
Meditation has been floaty at best even though there have been some really good moments of concentration. But, like a friend said yesterday, the important thing is simply to sit and be there. Well, at least that I'm doing...
;)
Afterwards I managed to revise the Is Meditation Difficult post and publish it online. Because I still had some time before I left the house I submitted The Running Man one more time. I also received my very first "not interested" reply.
Guess that accounts for some sort of triumph... it's getting out there!
I went to a small demo in Brixton about the ongoing public service job cuts situation before going to work...
Work was good. We showed The Dhamma Brothers today. A film about the introduction of Vipassana Meditation in a maximum security prison in the USA (Alabama of all places...). It's a powerfully moving account of the human ability for personal transformation. Even though it was the second time I saw it, it was as at least as moving as the first time. If you can, watch it. It's the real thing.
After work I had a couple of ideas whilst biking on the way home. (in fact I think I remembered a couple of ideas I had whilst going to the demo and had another one).
Of these I only remember one now. One which I will endeavour to write straight after this post.
But I'm hoping I'll remember the others - they were related to the stuff I want to do this year for NaNoWriMo (which I want to start typing coming midnight tonight...)
I was really knackered when I got home and so it was simply time for some food, for a few pages of Gene Wolfe's The Wizard Knight (I didn't even manage to finish the chapter!) and sleep - lights on and everything - not all my lying posture meditations worked exactly the way I'd like...
But, today, is another day!
Writing rules!
Peace!
8.30-9.30, 1h Meditation
9.30-11.30, 2h Wandering Mind Meditation Post, Short Story Submission
11.30-23.30, 12h Demo and Work
23.30-00.30, 1h Food!
A straighforward schedule isn't it?!
Meditation has been floaty at best even though there have been some really good moments of concentration. But, like a friend said yesterday, the important thing is simply to sit and be there. Well, at least that I'm doing...
;)
Afterwards I managed to revise the Is Meditation Difficult post and publish it online. Because I still had some time before I left the house I submitted The Running Man one more time. I also received my very first "not interested" reply.
Guess that accounts for some sort of triumph... it's getting out there!
I went to a small demo in Brixton about the ongoing public service job cuts situation before going to work...
Work was good. We showed The Dhamma Brothers today. A film about the introduction of Vipassana Meditation in a maximum security prison in the USA (Alabama of all places...). It's a powerfully moving account of the human ability for personal transformation. Even though it was the second time I saw it, it was as at least as moving as the first time. If you can, watch it. It's the real thing.
After work I had a couple of ideas whilst biking on the way home. (in fact I think I remembered a couple of ideas I had whilst going to the demo and had another one).
Of these I only remember one now. One which I will endeavour to write straight after this post.
But I'm hoping I'll remember the others - they were related to the stuff I want to do this year for NaNoWriMo (which I want to start typing coming midnight tonight...)
I was really knackered when I got home and so it was simply time for some food, for a few pages of Gene Wolfe's The Wizard Knight (I didn't even manage to finish the chapter!) and sleep - lights on and everything - not all my lying posture meditations worked exactly the way I'd like...
But, today, is another day!
Writing rules!
Peace!
Friday, 29 October 2010
One Moment Left
Dear ones,
Yesterday was a much shorter writing day that I would've liked.
I had to go to work (and it went well!).
But I still had a schedule...
07-08, 1h - Meditation
08-18, 10h - Work
18-19, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
19-20, 1h - Eat
20-21, 1h - Revise and send One Moment Left
21-22, 2h - Organise NaNoWriMo
22-24, 2h - FILM (first episode of Caprica and a 10 min short from LOST)
24-01, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
Well, I had trouble sleeping the previous night and so, after some 3 and half solid hours of sleep, I promptly got up to meditate and sat for about 5 minutes. So that was that...
Work went well even though it was quite busy.
I came back later than I expected (which is what usually happens...) I showered and ate and did a bit of revision. Slow but thorough I believe.
And then I sat and wrote another bit to One Moment Left, something that'd been dangling on my head that day, clarifying a somewhat veiled thing in the story (TREN). I think the story is better because of it.
I did a short revision of those couple of paragraphs and then set out to read and revise the whole thing.
It stands at roughly 4800 words.
Just reading all of that took the better part of an hour...
But I did a few minor changes and went into the Creative Commons website and sorted out the licensing, revised the email about this short that I'd typed out already and clicked SEND.
And away we go...
I'm happy with this story - but not entirely so. There's a lot in it and I think it has a similar problem to what I felt in Morto and Land Of Fog - it doesn't flow smoothly. It goes up and down, loses and gains speed. It still feels a bit pacthy - from my perspective at least.
But, it is a first draft.
And this is as much as I'm willing to spend editing it for now. In any case, the story is partially aimed at being patchy, this will hopefully enhance the feel of how Kharther's perspective on life is.
Now I want to start with the third short... really wanted to do this today but there are a couple of other things I feel I should do before that...
One is these posts. Another is to revise some more of Land Of Fog. Another is to write a reply to a video I partially watched yesterday. A talk given by Ken Wilber about the nature of enlightenment and the direction of spirituality.
That's what I'm gonna do after this and I'm hoping to email/post it straight after.
And then I'm gonna go to work.
So, let's get on with it, shall we?!
Peace!
Yesterday was a much shorter writing day that I would've liked.
I had to go to work (and it went well!).
But I still had a schedule...
07-08, 1h - Meditation
08-18, 10h - Work
18-19, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
19-20, 1h - Eat
20-21, 1h - Revise and send One Moment Left
21-22, 2h - Organise NaNoWriMo
22-24, 2h - FILM (first episode of Caprica and a 10 min short from LOST)
24-01, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
Well, I had trouble sleeping the previous night and so, after some 3 and half solid hours of sleep, I promptly got up to meditate and sat for about 5 minutes. So that was that...
Work went well even though it was quite busy.
I came back later than I expected (which is what usually happens...) I showered and ate and did a bit of revision. Slow but thorough I believe.
And then I sat and wrote another bit to One Moment Left, something that'd been dangling on my head that day, clarifying a somewhat veiled thing in the story (TREN). I think the story is better because of it.
I did a short revision of those couple of paragraphs and then set out to read and revise the whole thing.
It stands at roughly 4800 words.
Just reading all of that took the better part of an hour...
But I did a few minor changes and went into the Creative Commons website and sorted out the licensing, revised the email about this short that I'd typed out already and clicked SEND.
And away we go...
I'm happy with this story - but not entirely so. There's a lot in it and I think it has a similar problem to what I felt in Morto and Land Of Fog - it doesn't flow smoothly. It goes up and down, loses and gains speed. It still feels a bit pacthy - from my perspective at least.
But, it is a first draft.
And this is as much as I'm willing to spend editing it for now. In any case, the story is partially aimed at being patchy, this will hopefully enhance the feel of how Kharther's perspective on life is.
Now I want to start with the third short... really wanted to do this today but there are a couple of other things I feel I should do before that...
One is these posts. Another is to revise some more of Land Of Fog. Another is to write a reply to a video I partially watched yesterday. A talk given by Ken Wilber about the nature of enlightenment and the direction of spirituality.
That's what I'm gonna do after this and I'm hoping to email/post it straight after.
And then I'm gonna go to work.
So, let's get on with it, shall we?!
Peace!
Revisions Closing In
Dear ones,
It seems like this whole affair of creating a daily schedule does help a bit to keep things going - well, at the very least it reminds me of things I've done during the day, thus enhancing the sense of accomplishment...
Here's my schedule for the 27th:
09-10, 1h - Meditation
10-11, 1h - Eat
11-12, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
12-13, 1h - Mobile phone/shoppi
13-14, 1h - Revise Short
14-15, 1h - Email friends
15-16, 1h - Eat
16-17, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
17-19, 2h - Organise NaNoWriMo
19-20, 1h - Eat
20-21, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
21-22, 1h - Revise Short Story
22-24, 2h - FILM (Ninth Gate)
24-01, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog/Blog Post
Well, a few things got left out (NaNoWriMo and the final revision/blogging....)
All in all it was a productive day. One Moment Left became much closer to completion. I wrote quite a bit - an important scene in Land Of Fog wasn't flowing that well and I realised I needed to change it quite a bit - which I did...
Most of the things I set out to do happened at different times that I'd initially planned but, they were sorted, and that's what matters.
I enjoyed Polanski's film but found it deeply disturbing. The colours, the theme, just sucked me in (as I'm guessing it was supposed to...).
Peace.
It seems like this whole affair of creating a daily schedule does help a bit to keep things going - well, at the very least it reminds me of things I've done during the day, thus enhancing the sense of accomplishment...
Here's my schedule for the 27th:
09-10, 1h - Meditation
10-11, 1h - Eat
11-12, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
12-13, 1h - Mobile phone/shoppi
13-14, 1h - Revise Short
14-15, 1h - Email friends
15-16, 1h - Eat
16-17, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
17-19, 2h - Organise NaNoWriMo
19-20, 1h - Eat
20-21, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
21-22, 1h - Revise Short Story
22-24, 2h - FILM (Ninth Gate)
24-01, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog/Blog Post
Well, a few things got left out (NaNoWriMo and the final revision/blogging....)
All in all it was a productive day. One Moment Left became much closer to completion. I wrote quite a bit - an important scene in Land Of Fog wasn't flowing that well and I realised I needed to change it quite a bit - which I did...
Most of the things I set out to do happened at different times that I'd initially planned but, they were sorted, and that's what matters.
I enjoyed Polanski's film but found it deeply disturbing. The colours, the theme, just sucked me in (as I'm guessing it was supposed to...).
Peace.
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
The Short And Long Of It
Hey there,
Long time no see! Seems like that's how it's gonna be hey?
Well, it will until it ain't, right?!
So here's the news.
Last week I finished a short called The Running Man, just under 2500 words. It tells the story of man that becomes obsessed with death, all the strategies he comes up to dodge it and the result of all that.
I wanted (and still want!) to send something regularly to friends and family. It's a nice way to keep in touch, to hopefully give them something that they'll enjoy and to help myself finish some shorter stuff. I believe that this also helps in finishing the longer stuff.
I've been revising Land Of Fog, as you know, and this long winded process can be pretty frustrating, especially because, for a long time (in my case at least) you can feel that you're not moving. You spend three or four hours revising a single page and then, when you look to the number of the page, and you realise it's page 21 of 230, it might make you feel like you wanna go do something else. There's that certainty of a whole bunch of three and four hours still to come... you don't even know if you're gonna be alive by then!
With a short things are much simpler in many ways. It's like the short is all nicely packed inside your brain and you can see it all of it in more or less one go. Even if you have to spend ten or twelve hours dabbling with it, it's still much easier than the hundreds or thousands you may spend with a book (and believe you me, these numbers come from experience...)
The other thing I wanted to do with the shorts is send them to competitions.
Which I did do yesterday.
Yesterday was an easier day for writing because of what I did the previous night.
I came up with a schedule.
And the schedule was this:
08-09, 1h - Meditation
09-10, 1h - Eat
10-11, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
11-12, 1h - Post Office
12-13, 1h - Revise Short
13-14, 1h - Email friends
14-15, 1h - Eat
15-16, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
16-17, 1h - Sort out mobile phone
17-19, 2h - Organise NaNoWriMo
19-20, 1h - Eat
20-21, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
21-22, 1h - Submit Short Story
22-24, 2h - LOST
24-01, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
Well, let me tell you what I didn't do. I didn't organise any of the stuff for this year's NaNoWriMo. I didn't sort out my phone. And I missed one of the Land Of Fog revision times (we watched Lost's final episodes yesterday and we just couldn't stop...
I also swapped a couple of things around but, essentially, I stuck to the plan.
And it worked.
It gave structure to my day.
So I did it again yesterday night and, I'm hoping, I'll do it every night and keep things rolling...
The great thing about this is that it primes your mind so when you actually get to the moments you need, your mind is more pliable to actually do the things it's required, rather than just be thrown in the water and expected to swim.
I don't think minds like surprises for the most part...
Anyway, I shouldn't be here writing this: I should be reading some more of Gene Wolfe's The Wizard Knight (and if you haven't read it you should - it's one of the most beautiful pieces of writing I've come across in recent times - and probably more than that by the time I finish it... he's one of the best writers around, and more!)
(I could easily do another post just about the joys that this book has given me, in particular yesterday but I won't - I really want you to read it THAT BAD!)
I hope you are all well.
Peace.
PS - I forgot to say. The short I'm sending around is called The Running Man. The one I'm working on (and that I hope to finish today) is called One Moment Left.
(yep, I think that's the title that's gonna stay...)
If you want to read The Running Man just post a comment or something and I'll get back in touch with you and email it to you - because I'm sending it to competitions and magazines I can't really publish it here for the time being. A lot of these publications have the caveat that stories can't have been published anywhere else...
Be well!
Long time no see! Seems like that's how it's gonna be hey?
Well, it will until it ain't, right?!
So here's the news.
Last week I finished a short called The Running Man, just under 2500 words. It tells the story of man that becomes obsessed with death, all the strategies he comes up to dodge it and the result of all that.
I wanted (and still want!) to send something regularly to friends and family. It's a nice way to keep in touch, to hopefully give them something that they'll enjoy and to help myself finish some shorter stuff. I believe that this also helps in finishing the longer stuff.
I've been revising Land Of Fog, as you know, and this long winded process can be pretty frustrating, especially because, for a long time (in my case at least) you can feel that you're not moving. You spend three or four hours revising a single page and then, when you look to the number of the page, and you realise it's page 21 of 230, it might make you feel like you wanna go do something else. There's that certainty of a whole bunch of three and four hours still to come... you don't even know if you're gonna be alive by then!
With a short things are much simpler in many ways. It's like the short is all nicely packed inside your brain and you can see it all of it in more or less one go. Even if you have to spend ten or twelve hours dabbling with it, it's still much easier than the hundreds or thousands you may spend with a book (and believe you me, these numbers come from experience...)
The other thing I wanted to do with the shorts is send them to competitions.
Which I did do yesterday.
Yesterday was an easier day for writing because of what I did the previous night.
I came up with a schedule.
And the schedule was this:
08-09, 1h - Meditation
09-10, 1h - Eat
10-11, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
11-12, 1h - Post Office
12-13, 1h - Revise Short
13-14, 1h - Email friends
14-15, 1h - Eat
15-16, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
16-17, 1h - Sort out mobile phone
17-19, 2h - Organise NaNoWriMo
19-20, 1h - Eat
20-21, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
21-22, 1h - Submit Short Story
22-24, 2h - LOST
24-01, 1h - Revise Land Of Fog
Well, let me tell you what I didn't do. I didn't organise any of the stuff for this year's NaNoWriMo. I didn't sort out my phone. And I missed one of the Land Of Fog revision times (we watched Lost's final episodes yesterday and we just couldn't stop...
I also swapped a couple of things around but, essentially, I stuck to the plan.
And it worked.
It gave structure to my day.
So I did it again yesterday night and, I'm hoping, I'll do it every night and keep things rolling...
The great thing about this is that it primes your mind so when you actually get to the moments you need, your mind is more pliable to actually do the things it's required, rather than just be thrown in the water and expected to swim.
I don't think minds like surprises for the most part...
Anyway, I shouldn't be here writing this: I should be reading some more of Gene Wolfe's The Wizard Knight (and if you haven't read it you should - it's one of the most beautiful pieces of writing I've come across in recent times - and probably more than that by the time I finish it... he's one of the best writers around, and more!)
(I could easily do another post just about the joys that this book has given me, in particular yesterday but I won't - I really want you to read it THAT BAD!)
I hope you are all well.
Peace.
PS - I forgot to say. The short I'm sending around is called The Running Man. The one I'm working on (and that I hope to finish today) is called One Moment Left.
(yep, I think that's the title that's gonna stay...)
If you want to read The Running Man just post a comment or something and I'll get back in touch with you and email it to you - because I'm sending it to competitions and magazines I can't really publish it here for the time being. A lot of these publications have the caveat that stories can't have been published anywhere else...
Be well!
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