Writing Log 130922

Laser project my partner is working on.  Real science stuff.  Image © Imperial College 2013

Okay this week I finished reading my Sandman collection, and while by the end of it I was enjoying the process of reading it. Also,  it occurred to me that I have changed over the years, and that my annoyance at being slowed down by changing between text and image processing was a sign of me getting older, and probably an indication of age related process.  I also took a moment to reflect upon a comment made by a comic artist friend of mine that my script for The Bureau was in his opinion not drawable, which is arguable, but I can see where he was coming from, and tend to agree.

Of course last year when I dragged the text out to work on I found myself getting into an awful mess with the task of converting it from a script into a novel.  I remain hopeful that when I get back to working on it, sometime early next year, I hope that the experience gained from writing three first drafts will get me over the hump, so to speak.  I certainly feel that I have developed as a writer during the course of this year; both from a structural perspective and that I have become more skilled with words.

So this week I have managed to write 6,518 words, bringing my running total up to 40,247, and by comparison to the previous novels at this same time I am ahead of where I was when writing them.  For instance Bad Dog at the six week point I had written 29,998 and Strike Dog a very similar 29,772.  For me the lesson learnt here is that I get caught inside my own assessment of how I'm doing and think I should be doing better, when in actual fact I am doing better.  Score one point for keeping a log of my word counts, not for the numbers per se, but to keep one grounded in one's progress.  I am clearly writing consistently and the amount I'm able to write is increasing.

Away from my neurotic self obsession with failure I've been watching more Stargate SG1.  Finished season five, which was note perfect.  Not a single episode was filler.  Best season so far.  Just started season six and while it remains good, some episodes are not necessary to the overall plot behind the story arc.

Reading wise I'm still labouring my way through The Emperor's New Mind, which couldn't be more densely written if it tried.  Sorry, Hawking's did a far better job with his Brief History of Time in conveying complex ideas in an accessible manner, and I know that a lot of people who bought this book and were unable to finish it, because they thought it was hard going.  Trust me when I say that Penrose's book is a much harder read.