447: white screen

Aww hell, writing a novel is hard, and sort of insane. If I wasn't writing a novel the ideas I am coming up with would leave me a jibbering wreck, eating flies and crying for my Lord and Master to come and take me away. One crazy idea, be it plot point or character trait, just leads me down and down into the crazy fictional world of my own creation. Today's writing session has been particularly enjoyable; I have created my own wacky alternative therapy system, which of course is trademarked, and written some fine scientific sounding prose to sell it to the health conscious with money falling out of their pockets and brain cells dribbling out of their ears. Shame it's not real as it's the sort of out there nonsense that would make me millions and grant me the arrogance to call myself Doctor, armed only with a publicist, a phalanx of lawyers and a mail order doctorate from an unaccredited American online college.

I still have just over 40,000 words to go; just keep writing, just keep writing, just keep necking coffee and sleeping 30 minutes a day, and taking notes on the walls and toilet paper and my shirt cuffs and my partner's sleeping face, and talking to myself openly on the bus...

There seems to be a general air of sleepy headache-iness permeating the air, affecting myself and my partner. Concerned friends and family: it's not carbon monoxide poisoning, we have a new alarm which remains comfortably quite, as the battery-working button beeps every 45 seconds. I put it down to all the hard work during the day, and the staring at a white computer screen in the evening. For that reason I think it's about time I stopped and had an early night. Bye.

444: this

I'm writing furiously to meet my daily wordcount target for National Novel Writing Month. Yesterday I was just under the target and if I continued at that rate I wouldn't reach my 50,000 word target until 3^rd December. That would be a big fat fail as far as being able to call myself a NaNoWriMo winner, but of course I'd still have written the 50,000 words. I want to be a winner, and today I have started to get into the flow. At this rate it's going to be a doddle, and I'm going to become an insanely prolific writer (that's the plan). My flow on the novel has broken off momentarily, but I have switched the window and continued writing this blog. It'll keep me away from all those lovely documentaries on iPlayer.

My fiancee was watching Disney's Jungle Book DVD in the other room. I suspect she may have drifted off in there because the movie is over, and a small bit of Ooh-be-do, I wanna walk like you, talk like you is playing over and over, looping infinitely over the menu screen and driving me to despair. It's quite apt at the moment, as a scene I was writing yesterday involves a mother driving a car with two young kids in the back, and being forced to listen to the kids music over and over just to keep them happy. I imagine that it's a piece of piss raising kids, I don't know what all the fuss is about, but I think I'd struggle with the catchy, crappy childish tunes that take over a parents world. It'll be earplugs or knitting needles in the auditory canals for me; whichever is cheapest.

I'm starting to get into the stride of it, and have already written almost twice the amount yesterday.

....

All the above was written on Wednesday but I forgot to post it. It is now Thursday, and I have yet to commence today's epic novel writing session. I think I left my house keys at work, and must hope they are found by a decent chap who hands them in. Unless I have lost them on the bus the who knows if I'll ever see them again. Fingers crossed.

This post is at an end.

356: Short/Here's a cow

Right, ok, and let's begin. Tonight was a good night, and being the drunken exhaust that I am this will not be the best blog evar(!), it will circle the drain like a pigeon plop blasted off the pavement by the council. However, proscribed poor blog aside, tonight was full of quality people whom I will thank via the medium of links ; here goes to the good people of this evening: Mark, Liz, Andy, Val, and Paula. And that was that was the night and there was the beer ; and tonight I have given my card with this blog emblazoned boldly upon it, and hoo-lah-lah, hip-hip-hizzle, this here shizzle is the first crap these people will read.. I refer you backwards or forwards to better days.

Erm, and that's that : a new precedent of shortness. But I'm five foot five ish, so I'm used to that. Here's a picture of a cow:

287: In which my blog gets a new hair cut

Look at that; that thing up there.  The big splodgy pink and black rectangle with the words I BLOG EVERY DAY splashed across it.  That’s my new banner, that is.  It’s a first draught, and may be getting elongated slightly, but I love its 1950’s sci-fi movie poster/Hitchhikers’ Guide book cover feel.  It’s designed by Michael Thorp, Manchester based illustrator extraordinaire, whose work can regularly be seen in blankpages online magazine.  Here it is again just in case you missed it:

I recently switched the blog name from Block Chop to the simple, catchy and self-explanatory I Blog Every Day.  The thinking behind the whole block chop thing was that I was chopping through my writer’s block.  I think I may have done that by now, and besides I never even really like the clunky ham-fisted pun on a wrestling move/chopping block.  Always seemed a little forced, and I just banged out the logo in a few minutes and slapped it on the blog.  But that’s gone now.  Before block chop the blog was tediously called Kevin Bradshaw, Artist’s Blog and unsurprisingly this wasn’t hugely popular with the general punter.  Since changing the name and expanding the scope of what I write about, my hit rate has increased quite a lot.

I’m not exactly top of the pile but have a lot of pretty good hits if you search for me on Google.  Also all the links and images I have started including are bringing flocks of people interested in Ernest Haeckel, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and a picture of some birds from Hollyoaks.  I get about 100 hits a day from all over the world.  Go! Me.

So, erm, what’s up?  Well, I’m going to discuss a new flat because we can’t afford this one, but looking forward to the move.  Then after that it’s down to BLANKSPACE to be taken prisoner by the launch of the exciting new show Switch Circuit (part of the FutureEverything festival).  BLANKSPACE has been transformed into a dark prison; a series of imposing cells, each holding a mysterious piece of interactive technology/performance-based art.  There is something to do with receiving instructions on your mobile phone, and off course free drinks and great art.  Looking forward to it as it’s all new to me; haven’t been involved in the planning or execution so it will be a great surprise.

And that’s all I have to say at the moment.  Gotta get my shit together a go out.  More blogging tonight.  Danke Schon, Bitte Schon, Auf Weidersehen, Tchuss.