I have the plague.

I have a cold! I caught it from one of the consultants at work and I feel bleuch! My nose thinks it's a tap, my eyes are grainy and my arms and legs are like lead.  And it's not like I can laze around at the weekend and recover.  I have a 7am flight on Saturday and just a little 21.1k run over the Harbour Bridge on Sunday to contend with.  Early to bed for me tonight.

Being deathly ill makes the fact that I've written 1029 words this evening all the more fantastic! I am being a good little soldier and meeting or exceeding my targets! Since I feel like a zombie and misery loves company, I decided that Rosie could also be sick.  But Ms Rosie has food poisoning and managed to make a spectacle of herself.  She has a fairly sensitive stomach at the best of time and the fish she had for dinner was not lovely fresh stuff from the fish markets it would seem (see, I wasn't off on a tangent yesterday! Admit it! You thought I was!).  So she is now hiding out at home partially because she is still very ill but also because she is very embarrassed.

Once again today the words just flowed.  A blessing considering my brain has been replaced with a plaster model for demonstration purposes only.  I hope tomorrow at work is not too demanding.  I'm not up to answering difficult questions....like 'what's your name?'

Today's beautiful word
Caramel  a medium to dark tan color, firm chewy candy made from caramelized sugar and butter and milk


Today's word count: 1029 words
Total word count: 28044 words

Why are we mortgaging our homes to buy fish!

We are an island nation so why is fish so bally expensive! We pay easily over $25 per kilo for disappointing fish! And $40 for snapper! Snapper is under pressure due to popularity overseas and quota system! At least if you pay $41 at the fish market it's fresh as fresh and the men will fillet it for you! But it's just like lamb and beef....all the good stuff goes off-shore where they of course don't get it fresh and we get the leftovers.
The nice fish man says the best fish to get is Alfonsino at $10.99 for a kilo and they fillet it! It is a firm fish and doesn't dry out. And you get it with the skin on so it's crispy! It's so pretty too! Glorious orange!
Or you can get in your tinny and go and catch it yourself but then you have to kill and fillet it and I won't!

And following on this train of thought, did you know McDonalds is pulling out of Iceland because it is not economically viable. Currently a Big Mac is USD7.50 and they need to raise the price at least USD1!

Anyway, enough about food!

Today my fingers flew over the keyboard and 918 words were put down in a twinkling.  Rosie has moved house so I spent time describing what the change has meant to her. Since I was a good little bunny over the weekend I was quite happy to stop at just over 900 words and enjoy myself! I've got Audrey Niffenegger's latest book and I can't wait to dive into it! I loved, loved, loved The Time Traveller's Wife so have high expectations of this one although I don't believe anyone could top TTTW. We shall see. Audrey has such a fabulous way with the written word so I look forward to devouring Her Fearful Symmetry!

Today's beautiful word
Pluvial   pertaining to rain


Today's word count: 918 words
Total word count: 27015 words

A fine is a tax for doing something wrong. A tax is a fine for doing something right.

For some unknown reason I was wide awake this morning at 5:30 and for some unknown reason I decided it would be a good time to do the GST and Provisional Tax returns!  Oh how I praise Cashbooks! It has actually made doing GST returns so much easier. It, of course, doesn't make the handing over of hard-earned money any easier. Still at least I didn't need to tear out any hair and everything came together fairly seemlessly. So tomorrow the IRD will receive an exorbitant amount of money into their coffers that could be better spent feeding and clothing all of us!

After such an enjoyable time I was ready to enter Rosie's world again.  In between dancing to the radio, washing the floors, making pikelets and a fruitcake, I wrote! See, even at my best I have an inbuilt talent for procrastination! Still I now have pikelets in the freezer, a cake on the bench, clean floors, lots less money and a sunny disposition AND 2166 more words in the manuscript! I rock! Oo rah!

So there is something for being a friendless refugee in Wellington on Labour Weekend! I didn't even go and stare at the McCahon panels at Te Papa and I Love them more than the bucket fountain. I enjoyed the sunshine only by opening my balcony doors all the way up.  I haven't left my apartment for two days!  I am even looking forward to going to work tomorrow!

It's only 4:22! That's what happens when you get up at stupid o'clock. The day drags on forever!  Too early even to make macaroni cheese! All that is left is to get on my bike and pedal my little heart out.  The only problem with that plan is.....my bum hurts! Who designed bike seats! I want a nice sofa-like nana seat not one that is made of concrete and covered with a microscopic layer of cushioning!  Maybe I'll just put on Miley Cyrus and do a hoedown throw down! Or maybe Cupid's happy dance might be better.

Today's beautiful word
Soliloquy   speech you make to yourself


Today's word count: 2166 words
Total word count: 26097 words

Every little bit helps!

I spent an hour working out where I was and what needed doing in each section of the book according to the Newnovelist software. It certainly gave some clarity and I feel a lot happier about where things are going.

I'm looking forward to developing the character of the antagonist, Lydia. She hasn't appeared at all yet! She's Nick's friend and is openly antagonistic towards Rosie when she first meets her and makes no apology.  She is very bright and often unconsciously manipulates Nick into doing what she wants. She also has a bad case of unrequited love - nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter like unrequited love (Charles Schulz) - which she doesn't initially recognise and then denies. She is not ultimately a bad person but is more someone who makes an immediate judgement about everyone she meets and will never divert from it even if it is obviously incorrect to others.  She is fiercely loyal to her friends and would fight like a tiger for any of them.  Unfortunately for Rosie, Lydia decides Rosie is a Cougar and Nick needs protecting from her even before she has met her. She sets out to convince all of Nick's friends of this.

After my planning session, I did do a bit more writing but not a huge amount. I have to remind myself that I've done well and every little bit counts! Considering my goal is 850 words a day, 614 extra words on top of today's mammoth effort is not to be sneezed at! Oo Rah!



Today's word count: 614 words
Total word count: 23931 words

Chained to the desk

Today I developed a clever plan to make sure I was not distracted by the delights of Wellington city.  I got up, had a shower and washed my hair because I do have standards, but then, and this is the clever bit....I got back in my pjs! I also didn't put my contacts in so I'm wearing my ugly glasses.  There is no way I can leave! Brilliant in its simplicity! I had Claude Barzotti singing away in French on the stereo, I had the espresso machine on stand-by and I only opened Facebook at my 4 o'clock break for 5 minutes! I didn't turn off my phone in case someone had something important to say but that's a minor detail!

My Queen Bitch performance yesterday has actually resulted in a number of plot devices!

1) A Queen bitch has entered the scene at Rosie's work and I bow down to her bitchiness.

2) Rosie is exploring Buddhism without beliefs - something I had been doing in order to stop my QB tendencies rising to the surface - hopefully Rosie will have more success. However, this exploration has been useful in my own life and the novel. In order to be awakened each of the four ennobling truths must be acted upon in its own particular way - understanding anguish, letting go of its origins, realising its cessation and cultivating the path of cessation. Now for the book I have twisted this a little and this is not keeping in the spirit of the ideals but I'm not perfect!  I have Rosie and Megan both understanding the non-communication of Nick and Luc in their particular ways causes anguish. Rosie lets go of its origins by mentally slamming a door in Nick's face when he crosses her mind and Megan rips into Luc and tells him what he does that causes this anguish and leaves it open to him whether he chooses to continue or not but Megan will do nothing further.  Rosie realises that the anguish she experienced has ceased when she has to look up Nick's number for someone rather than reciting it from memory and she cultivates the path by removing all unnecessary reminders of Nick from her life.  She doesn't tear up photos and delete him from her phone but she removes him from her groups for emails and texts and seeks out friends to spend more time with. Megan has work to do but she is a character with many faults and that is the beauty of her.

3) A gorgeous phrase rose from something the recipient of my grump said. He didn't say the phrase, It just popped into my head as a perfect response but one that should not be used unless one wants to be Queen Bitch and Empress of punk your ass and I'm trying really hard to embrace Buddhism without beliefs but I am a lexophile so I must let my pretties fly. So Megan will use it when she confronts Luc or 'tears him a new one'. She will also comment to Rosie that the occasional placing acceptable behaviour on hold and actually speaking your mind is most refreshing and really is a service to the recipient because they might do some soul searching but as she says "I doubt it, I reckon 99.9% of the time they'll carry on and absolve themselves of any responsibility which is fine with me cos I still know they're an asshole and that's all that matters to me"

It was a beautiful day so I did get out on the balcony on the Tranzx and  fed the brain some endorphins. It gives the pigeons something to think about. It also clears out the cobwebs. I did make an exception to the pj rule because I didn't want the pigeons to fall out of the sky from laughing so hard.  Remember I'm trying to embrace buddhism without belief and I'm pretty sure that cruelty to animals is something I should avoid.  So as long as they don't poop on me or my bike we shall coexist in peaceful harmony. Being out on the balcony I discover many things about my neighbours. Today I discovered that one of them has a big liking for the wacky baccy.  For the whole hour of pedalling there was a constant fug in the air.

It's now 4:30 in the afternoon and I have produced 2193 words! I will probably write more this evening but still I am extremely happy with that output.

In one of the photos above you may have noticed my white board. I have it covered in quotations that appeal to me and inspire ideas for my characters. But I used one quotation today that was not on the board but suited James so beautifully. James is a Star Wars fan and when Rosie is talking to him about the way Luc is behaving he quotes Cicero- "He removes the greatest ornament of friendship, who takes away from it respect".  Rosie likes this because she thinks it sounds like something Yoda would say, which she thinks is more in keeping with James than a Roman author and orator. I just think it is good sensible advice and shows that there is more to James than Rosie suspects.

Today's beautiful word
Mercurial   changeable; volatile; fickle; flighty; erratic


Today's word count: 2193 words
Total word count: 23317 words

My life as a soap opera

Today I really intended putting my head down and really getting through some heavy duty writing.  But instead I went and saw Julie and Julia.  Meryl Streep is very good...as always.  The addition of Julia's own book added an interesting aside.  I did not know that "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" was co-authored with two others...French women - Simone Beck and her sister Louisette, whom we will discount because "She doz nurt do za wurk"! Julie's blog was, obviously, much more popular than mine. Maybe I should be spending a year working my way through the Edmonds cookbook! But the joy of the blog for the blogger is you can shout whatever is on your mind out into the ether and at least pretend to yourself that you are being heard and validated.

So if I did not write what did I do? I rode my bike on the windtrainer while listening to my favourite Lily Allen tracks. I did not sing along. I did my food shopping and danced around the store to 80s tunes, just to prove I was in a genuine good mood. This has bearing on the next paragraph.  I even smiled at the grumpy woman who lives on the 5th floor. I was in a really fantastic mood. I decided it might be nice to go to a nice pub where I could enjoy a glass on my own and not be accosted by Lotharios.  To this end I sent out a few texts to elicit suggestions. Most people replied they were unable to recommend any such place not being big on pubs (Average age being 55 I believe). Fair enough! I would probably reply the same and that is the crux of the matter! Because....

I then decided to insult someone by calling them a rude bastard!  I assure the recipient is not a bad person - I have been told he restores ones faith in humanity but I find that a little extreme- I see no signs of stigmata nor a halo. I beg the jury's tolerance. Let me plead my case. Mr RB had become incommunicado without explanation and I had been a little worried. My inquiry was important to me. I sent it....and what do you know! no reply.....so after two hours I decided to go out guns blazing and shoot...myself in the foot.  But as I said my response was not based on a single episode, it was the final straw after a long period of tolerance and acceptance (I know, I'm a Saint!). I make no apology for my response, I contend that  a recidivist non-texter who does have the ability deserves to be told the plain truth.  If not from me, then who?

What I learnt from this episode is the following: silent resentment and mumbling under your breath means you run the risk of continuation of the treatment which causes the same or getting a reputation as a crazy woman and maybe even a pet name. But shock treatment, especially that resulting in defensiveness, can result in sudden re-institution of the ability to text to said miscreant and short term rehabilitation of the recidivist, if only to curse you out or at least do some toy throwing. So dear jury, do you not see it was literally a case of self-defence.  Who would not have done the same in my position? Now if my life was really a soap opera, Mr RB would see the effect of his behaviour and there would be a touching scene where we both apologised and agreed to quarrel no more as per Jo and Laurie...whoops I'm slipping over into the classics! But alas it is a reality show so we'll probably form opposing teams and compete for sacks of flour and immunity.

I have also learnt not to buy wine with a cork if you are not in possession of a corkscrew! It is difficult to drink yourself into a self-righteous stupor if you cannot open the bottle. I wholeheartedly support the screw-top proponents! Though bubbly may still need it's special cork to retain it's delicious sparkle.

Today's beautiful word
Recidivist the chronic tendency toward repetition of criminal or antisocial behavior patterns

Quality not quantity

Today I drove from Auckland to Wellington (637km) so it was never going to be a big writing day anyway. BUT there was a crash which blocked SH1 before Hunterville.  Someone had to be cut out of their car and we were told it would be about an hours wait. Apparently there was an alternate route that started out windy but was fine after a while. Soa caravan of us set off  but the leader didn't actually know where he was going!

We went up Sanford Block Road, I believe. This may have been right. It was pretty wiry! Lots of mud and the ABS light came on a few times. I had to silence the Navman because she kept telling me to do a U-turn.
I think we should have taken the Taupo road but we set on Chelteham-Hunterville Rd and ended up in Fielding!

Added over an hour to journey so it was an epic fail! But an adventure!

Then I had to schlep stuff from the car to the apartment, put it away, make some dinner (satay tofu and noodles- yummo!) So time and energy were zapped away!

But I did do 373 words that totally changed Nick from immature to slightly mature so it was quality! And made Luc a little more human! So good work!

Today's beautiful word
Myriad having innumerable phases, aspects, variations, etc


Today's word count: 373 words
Total word count: 21124 words

Food as sex

Now Rosie has finally taken the plunge I'm free to write about a much more important topic - food! I had a delightful time today writing about Rosie and Nick sharing a meal together. The menu included a few of my favourites but not my ultimate favourite - blue cheese wontons. I drew on my reaction to blue cheese wontons to describe Rosie's enjoyment of her fish dish. I may be alone in my appreciation of Chow's blue cheese wontons but I doubt it. The only downside is I really can't eat them in company.  I believe Oliver may have been mentally scarred by my first experience of them.

Describing food is a great exercise. Ultimately you want the reader to be able to taste the food.  The lemon and capers in Rosie's fish dish should not only burst onto her and Nick's taste buds but also the reader's.  I guess one is successful when the reader needs to put the book down and go and find something to eat!

Anyway, books such as Chocolat have already illustrated the concept of food as sex and I think it works very well.  Sharing food is an intimate experience and writing about Rosie and Nick enjoying their meals and sharing tastes acted as an excellent foil for the sexual tension rising between them. I even got over my absolute aversion to people sharing food from the same plate or, shudder, same fork, to let Rosie and Nick feed each other.

So today has been a very successful one...and now I think I need to find something to eat!

Today's beautiful word
Refulgent radiating or as if radiating light


Today's word count: 1587 words
Total word count: 20751 words

Is it hot in here?

After skirting around it and finding other areas to write about, I've finally taken the bull by the horns and Rosie has slept with her Tiger! There was resistance, nerves, indecision. Then there was surrender to her baser instincts. And then Rosie went wild!

The hardest part is trying to write in a way that is acceptable to readers of chicklit without using 'silly sex' terms...you know - manroot, nubs, honeyed centre, I'll probably go back and rewrite but for now Rosie has ridden her tiger like a rodeo rider at the county fair! - Too much information? So now that's out of the way it'll only get easier....I hope. I assure you there were no crashing waves and only a few fire works.

I may dedicate some time to research....of the romance writers' websites to see if there is anything I need to add. But I'm fairly happy and I know both Rosie and Nick are well-pleased. Dave may be a bit put out but spectre's tend to be a bit disappointing in the area of corporeal pleasures. And Luc is but a distant memory. Simply a benchmark to be easily surpassed as is the role of the ex-lover in chicklit. I was tempted for a moment to make Nick lousy but that would have been a clanger!

And so I leave Rosie praising Farmer's lingerie sales, corpse reviver cocktails and the energy of youth.



Today's beautiful word
Zenith a highest point or state; culmination


Today's word count: 1363 words
Total word count: 19164 words

She's back!

I'm back! I battled with the demons of procrastination and managed to at least wing them enough to get some more writing done! Now I just need to keep it up! I may need to beg or cajole someone into taking me to some of the local watering spots to observe modern mating behaviours....or I could just watch TV 'cos that's just like real life isn't it?

I'm quite happy with the way things are currently going  which is of course the cue for one of the characters to mutiny! My money is on James deciding he's gay but there may be a twist and Nick might come out! I'm hoping neither because it does sort of put a damper on the story line!

Anyway, I got an extra 459 words down - Not bad for someone who would rather clean the toilet than face the empty page! Oh what a cruel task master my muse is!

Today's word count: 1542 words
Total word count: 17801 words

More avoidance!

I decided to do some research today. In my manuscript I decided Rosie would stalk Nick when he goes cold on her. She is supposed to stand on a street near his office and watch for him to come out and then 'accidentally' bump into him. I figured she could easily do half an hour. Well, I went out and tried it. I found a building with two exits on different streets (couldn't make it too easy) and found a position where I could see both exits. This meant standing on a street corner. I found if you stand too close to the street people stop to let you cross so that meant standing back a bit. You have to look casual but at the same time be alert. This is not easy! I wore sunglasses so I could face a different direction and look out of the corner of my eye! Lucky it was a sunny day in the capital! Holding a cup of coffee works well. So how long could I, a pretty good stalker, stalk comfortably for whilst remaining in the same place? Well, after 6 minutes I felt uncomfortable and obvious. If I was stalking someone they could easily have looked out a window and seem me! I managed 10 minutes and then feigned a text message and moved on! I learnt that you need to look like you are looking out for someone or waiting for something, that coffee is helpful and a disguise might be a good thing or just might be creepy!

Anyway, I now know that the delicate Rosie either has to successfully catch Nick or move on after 10 minutes. I guess she could sit in her car if she could find a suitable spot but that is a little too Julia Hartley Moore! I see her in dark glasses, a fedora, a trench coat and peering out from behind a newspaper while sitting in her highly distinctive car! Not a goer really!

I've done a cull of the manuscript again. So I'm now only 440 words up on where I was before! All that work for so little reward! Still Rosie has done her stalking and nearly got caught. There were no trench coats or fedoras but coffee was involved as well as some Sauvignon blanc prior!

Today's beautiful word
Iridescent varying in color when seen in different lights or from different angles.


Today's word count: 1083 words
Total word count: 17342 words

The mood for writing

Since arriving in Wellington I have become even more aware of how emotion and how you are feeling affects writing. Duh! But stick with me on this. Of course if you are feeling bitter and twisted it is hard to write about a felicitous scene. But it is also hard to choose an apt word or phrase when you are distracted or tired. Samuel Coleridge claimed that Kubla Khan was inspired by an opium-induced dream, as illustrated by the poem's subtitle A Vision in a Dream, but that the composition was interrupted by a person from Porlock. This may work for poetry but my experience is that writing done while imbibing a few wines, while seemingly brilliant at the time, seems to result in rubbishy crap or maudlin ramblings.

I also find that I need a bit of a natter everyday to clear out the rubbish so I can concentrate on developments in the book without distraction. The change of job has meant I'm not getting this so I find I sit down and my mind wanders of trying to sort out everything but the book! I even start to think about what super power I could most utilise at the current point of time.

What is really irking is I have been given a wonderful plot twist and I just keep skimming over it rather than taking it up and running with it. I may need to invest in a set of handcuffs and attach myself to my desk. Currently I keep remembering things I have to buy right now. I mean I absolutely needed to buy a clock, batteries, plastic containers and coat hangers yesterday. When you can walk out the door and a fantastic choice of opportunities to hand over good money are there right on your doorstep how can I resist! I can even hear the buskers in Manners Mall and I know the Frenchman from Red Cross is out there being Gallic!

You see, even now I'm procrastinating! Instead of writing about not writing, I should be writing!

Today's beautiful word
Felicitous Marked by happiness or good fortune.

Argh!

I have had huge problems logging into Blogger! But hurray, I'm back! I'm in Wellington and Rosie is moving on. Recently I've been working on a side story about her friend Megan and the wonderful man who turned out to be a piece of work! It's been good fun developing Megan's character and fleshing her out from good time party girl to a more multi-facetted character.

I'm 500 words down but that's not too bad considering I've moved down the island and started a new and rather daunting job! But now I'm back down to it again and hopefully I'll keep on this roll and further develop both Megan's story and maybe bring James into play!

Today's beautiful word
Demesne  Dominion, territory