Update

So, I haven't posted here in over a year and a half. Oops.

An update on how my life's changed since I wrote the last post, since I think it would be rather incomplete without it; it being this blog, and it being an explanation.

Last September, 2012, I packed up my things and drove to University. Which one? you're asking with bated breath. (If you're not, then pretend).

Bangor University!

It was my first choice, and I was so damn happy when they accepted me, I could barely believe it. The colleges and teachers of the country all seem to try and crush your hopes for university as much as they can, just because they're afraid that someone won't get in and blame them.

Yeah, it's awful that some people don't get in to places... but if you choose your course and university right, do decently in your A Levels and put effort into your application, you're going to be fine. That's the most advice I'm giving gratis today. You can't blame me, either, if you don't get to university. It's not my fault.

Well, anyway. I got in. So, I moved out here (Wales), and subjected myself to about six months of rain, and one of glorious sunshine. It's been AWESOME.

So, I don't mind telling you that my A Level results were good, but not the best, and that the work I've done at uni so far has been, mostly, good but not the best. However, there's a huge difference between the two.

I've heard that A Levels are harder than University in general. I agree, but not because of the level of work, but the awful way they treat you: halfway between a kid and an adult. Uni doesn't, all adult. Hard to get used to at first, believe me.

And whilst 'good' at college is not that great, 'good' at university is good. Getting an A at A Level means something completely different to getting an A, or a First, at University. An A at college was expected. I mean, really badly expected. Here? A's are legendary. You feel awesome when you're given them.

Side note: I'm getting bored of this post. Sssh, don't tell anyone.

Okay, so... wrapping up this long post. I'm in a relationship with someone I met here; I have a house with six other friends for next year; I'm doing well at uni; I'm not depressed like last year; I've written lots of new things, including scripts and poetry; I'm happy.

See you later.

Okay, so I got a little sidetracked there...

It's almost been a month since I last posted on here, and there's a few reasons as to why...

Firstly, NaNoWriMo began on the 1st of November. I managed to adhere to the schedule for a total of 5 days before I succumbed to the pain of writer's block. Sigh.

Next year, I'll do better.

If I'm honest, I wasn't too enthralled with my plot, such as it was.

That's a topic for another day - but I did get some good writing done on something that wasn't my previous NaNovel, which was healthy of me.

I am currently in the middle of the waiting stage of my UCAS application. I have two offers already, Conditionals for Edge Hill and Sheffield Hallam, and I have an interview at Manchester Metropolitan University's Crewe campus at the beginning of December - Bangor have received my portfolio and are currently (I assume) in the middle of reading through all of their applicants this year.

I am currently working on the portfolio I shall be taking to the MMU interview; they asked for specific things in their portfolio so I have to write a second one (the other two Uni's decided against portfolios). 

MMU asked for three paragraphs in first person which capture the voice of three different types of character: a child, a homeless person and an executive.

 Each of these people are looking into a fire: what do they see?

That was my prompt, and I shan't be divulging my paragraphs for copyright reasons - if they did an internet search and they found the work online they may reject my application, regardless that I've posted them myself. It's much simpler if they simply find nothing when/if they search.

To go along with this small task they asked for a small personal statement in which I talk about why I want to study Creative Writing at degree level - which will arguably be the hardest part, for me. I hate writing to sell myself... urgh.

However, the upside to MMUs approach to the portfolio is that they offer us candidates a chance to include a sample of original creative writing work of our own choice; a maximum of 1000 words, or 3 poems. But let's face it, my poetry is horrid (something I wouldn't mind remedying at University, mind).

I have something in mind which I think shall do the job quite nicely. It's also 200 words under their limit, which is nice. If I can prove my writing worth with 800, why not do it in 800? Those extra 200 words would probably ruin it, anyway.

Fake mercies and I think it's time to leave it be...

Okay, so the last post was about how I had recovered a PDF file which was the latest version of my story?

Lies.

When I checked the file properly, I found out that it was in fact a slightly older version - though not as old as the backup - and I don't have a lot of words I obviously added later.

I'm pretty annoyed at myself, but I'm forcing myself to ignore the situation and roll with it.

If I don't get it back, well then, it serves me right for not backing up properly and I will either re-write the story or leave it and write something else (not the highest chances for that).

I've worked on this since last November, when I began NaNoWriMo for the first time. It has become my "beloved" story, and I have a bit of an impression that I'm trying to start too big.

As of this very moment, I've completed 1 short story, of around 4,300 words (which I can retrieve, sent it in an email recently) and - completed, mind you, with a clear goal and finished quality - 2 shorter pieces.

That's right. Three.

I have so many beginnings it's unbelievable and these three finished stories, and yet I'm sat here worried about another unfinished work?

Pretty pathetic, really. Who was it, King? That said you have a million practice words in you?

My novel-to-be has 17,000/18,000 words in it... and these shorter pieces mostly come to around the 2000 mark.

These are all, apparently, horrible compared to what I will produce some day -- as I keep practising and improving.

Though, I recently realised that the advice writers tend to give you is actually true, cause dammit I never really listened...

Write every day,

Doesn't matter what you write, and you can't help but improve as you go. Your word choices become ever more varied, blending together more fluidly, your style becomes more apparent and you feel good about writing.

I think it's time to leave my novel on the back burner. I'll return eventually, but for now... this ship has sailed.

Small mercies...

Thank God for small mercies...

I recently lost my memory stick, and the last time I backed it up fully was July. Not good.

Luckily, thanks to an upload of a PDF version of my work in progress to Lulu I have a copy of the story and can reproduce it in Word if needs be!

Hopefully, I'll be able to find my USB at college - there's a chance I've left it at the library.... Oh, how I hope that is true.

Engage with conflict sooner rather than later...

I had a problem with my work in progress novel last week. I didn't know how I would get from the beginning to the end. I have the two figured out. I know what I want to happen. It just didn't bridge after a certain point.

A friend of mine offered his services as a wall for my idea bouncing session - oh alright, so there wasn't much free will involved...

Either way, he brought up a very good point to contest one of my own.

I had said: "Novels, these days, are either stand-alone, trilogies or four-plus multiple volume deals."

Because, I was worried that everything I want to write about wouldn't fit into a single novel without becoming too unwieldy.

He replied with: "Well, either remove the huge war you have planned, condense it, or make it happen sooner."

Of course, he was right... I had to edit the plot - obviously. The events for the middle haven't changed in a year. This is ridiculous!

So, changes were made and steps were taken to ensure that clichéd horror would not occur. Mainly about the gender of characters.

My plotting sucks. I shall have to improve. I am on the way, though.

It begins...

The waiting is the worst part of this process, isn't it my fellow university applicants? And for those of you who haven't and/or don't want to and/or won't get the chance, it is the worst part of applying to university.

This morning at 9:36am, my UCAS form was sent away. Now I wait. Possibly for a long time.

I shall pass the time by writing various coursework pieces, and fantasy stories, and reading books. Yes, that sounds nice.

Prepare your quills, ladies and gentlemen...

Preparations for NaNoWriMo 2011 have begun!

An A3 piece of paper with a diagram detailing the scenes I shall add daily.

I don't know why I never thought of it this way before, but 50,000 words into 30 days is 1,667 a day, rounding up... and that is everyone's daily word goal... so why not have 30 scenes of 1,667 words each?

It's simple, and easily organisable. So, I currently stand at twenty-two scenes planned.

However, I don't usually plan, and this is mirrored in this plan by the "plans" being sentences like:

Public hate the elitist mages for their power. Uprising. Mobs.

Not sure about you, but that's just about as ambiguous as it can get.

I've actually worked backwards, this time, too. Started with the end scene, and so this way I can work back to a logical starting point and not worry that it won't come to a cohesive ending.

Here's to success!
Happy writing, all.