John Wasn't
Secrets
Sixty Years
I am sat in the student flat where my niece Wendy resides watching Preston slowly wake up. A seagull is circling outside stretching his wings and the building opposite is swallowing up the office workers for another day of tedium. Me? I’m drinking a cuppa and planning my shopping list! Early retirement is wonderful but I am slowly reaching the stage where I have more dash than cash. It could have something to do with the fact that I am becoming more high Maintenance. Glasses are more expensive when you need varifocals lenses that cure the eye sight which is deteriorating!! Dental bills – well don’t even get me going on that subject. But I suppose the screws in my jaw will prevent my teeth from EVER falling out again. I must make a mental note to myself though to make sure I have the funds for a mobility scooter with go faster stripes when my knees give way.
But in the mean time I am off to hit the shops, but please don’t tell the hubby. Poundland & Primark here I come !
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Yesterday I drove the 300 miles between Worthing and Blackburn to get my ‘Lancashire Fix.’ Six miles into the journey I suddenly realise that technology is moving backwards where cars are concerned. I remember not so long ago when all cars had a little orange light on each corner that would flash whenever the driver changed direction. Not any more apparently. Whenever I left a comfortable gap between me and the vehicle in front the driver on my near side felt duty bound to fill that gap. Without the aid of these now extinct orange lights it got a bit dodgy at times.
I think there must be a new national sport developing here as the gap was usually occupied just as I was about level with the offender! I lost count of the number of tail end shunts I saw along the way. (Honest!) The best one I think was five cars in the outside lane of the M6 all damaged because they had obviously been driving too close together when someone decided to partake of this ‘national sport.’ What was reassuring though was the road designers are obviously determined to stop this by replacing all the Armco Barriers with very solid concrete barriers. One assumes this is so the said offenders bounce nicely off and hit poor innocents minding their own business driving along safely. I think it must be part of a greater plan to decrease the number of vehicles on the now busy roads.
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I’m still trying to complete the Nano Wri mo challenge of writing 50,000 words during the month of November. Somehow I don’t think I’ll make it!
I am up to a word count of 38,000 but as there are only three days left I cannot see myself managing 4,000 words a day. But hey nothing ventured nothing gained. The great thing is my Dragon story is almost complete. When I started the month I had an outline of a story that I imagined was going involve a fierce battle between the Faerie Dragons and the fire breathers but it has taken a completely different line. Now comes the worse bit, editing and reediting it. Part of my problem this month has been that I keep going back on my self and amending storylines and checking spelling. I think I will have to content myself with 40,000 words this year and really ‘go for it’ next year.
As I started writing this blog I looked at the calendar and realized I had missed someone's birthday - off to send an email! Then I'll try and rattle out another few hundred words!
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Well I am now over half way on my quest to write 50,000 words in the month of November. The problem is we are now well over half way through the month. So today I am determined to play catch up! I am still going back on myself to right the wrongs! My best one yet was to send two blokes into a dark cavern without a torch and then three of them emerged! I just had to go and give the poor blokes torches and get them rescue another character in the story that had gone missing! Well at least that was another loose end tied up!
If you remember this is my first draft I will share one of my favourite passages of yesterday:-
There in front of them was another dragon, bronze in colour, wearing a monocle, deerstalker hat and a long black leather overcoat with gold coloured buttons down the front. Each button was adorned with a coat of arms. She stepped forward, ‘You must be another member of the Jewel family.
The dragon bent towards her very slightly and in a very soft lilting voice asked ‘How would you know that little girl?
Because that crest is the Jewel family crest Jonus has it above his bed in there, she pointed toward the bed chamber.’ Her Dad poked her in the back. He stepped forward ‘who might you be?’
The dragon offered a paw, ‘
‘Donnan Diamond and you must be a good friend to Jonus to try and protect his property like this.
‘Aw you are Jonus’s little brother the one that went missing! Ruby told us about you. I’m very pleased to meet you I’m Ellie and this is my Dad Alfy to you. Do you know that Jonus is very ill?’
‘One thing at a time little girl I am not sure what Ruby has told you but I never exactly went missing. My crime I’m afraid was that I fell in love with a Fire Breathing Dragon and made the mistake of getting her in the family way.
Well Here I go again another few thousand words today!
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The NaNoWriMo challenge to write 50,000 words during November sounded like a good idea when I signed up; now the attraction is starting to fade just a tad. I’m almost up to 20,000 words which sounds good but I’m starting to slow up and I am now about 1,500 words behind schedule. My problem is I have to keep going back on myself and correcting errors in the storyline and spelling! Old timers to the challenge advise just writing. According to them it is a first draft, which sounds fine but I’m frightened I am just churning out meaningless words. Also the website at NanoWriMo keeps ‘going down’ I just worry that if, no wait when, I have achieved 50,000 words I wont be able to download them to the site and get my winners badge. But I suppose my dragon story is moving on apace and that is what I really wanted out of the challenge! So first draft mistakes must stay if I am to move on!
Best passage so far is:-
‘Well ladies,’ Dr Owain addressed Ruby and the girls, ‘I am afraid it isn’t good. Years of pipe smoking has taken its toll on the old boy, he’s interlobes are completely clogged up.’ Dr Owain noticed the girls frowning, ‘They are the tubes between his lungs and his fire breathing chambers, because they never fully developed in the faerie dragons they become a problem in later years. Not helped by his pipe smoking. I am afraid he has Intermonia. Sorry Ruby.’ Both girls looked toward Ruby who was now holding onto the back of a chair.
‘Sit her down quick she’s gone pale!’ Ellie remembered her first aid training and added ‘put her head between her knees’.
Ruby slowly gradually deepened in colour but started to sob quietly muttering ‘My love what will I do?’
This is a reprint of the earlier entry as the 'Guru' who lives up in the loft had a problem with his fail safe back up system!!!
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