Of course, some of that time that should be spent writing is spent in other past times.

It’s such mindless entertainment, and can become repetitive at times, so I just quit and go start watching the TV show (or, more often than not, do both at the same time. Yay for two monitors).

Gotta take a break out from the hectic though. I’m getting better at it too. Knowing when to focus on the writing, when to step back from everything, etc.

Like today. Packed up myself, put two books in my bag and headed to my girlfriends. Spent the whole day reading The Regiment by Michael Asher. It’s a brilliant book telling the story of the SAS, Britain’s Special Air Service. The stories that are told are simply breathtaking, and make you rethink what you originally thought were corny WWII cliché’s. The whole walking past German/Italian guards pretending to be an officer and dressing them down; pretending to be asleep/drunk on the ground so the German patrol ignores you; taking out a field of planes with aircraft machine guns attached to the tops of jeeps.

If you’re interested in British history, or War history, then you really should check this book out. And the Prologue which focuses on the SAS’s most triumphant hour – the 1980 Iranian Embassy hostage release – is a great read, and sheds a lot of light on the event.

If you don’t know what the Iranian Embassy hostage crisis was, check out the video below. Classic footage.

I’m a fan of Greek myth any day of the week, but by gosh when you put Liam Neeson in with it I’m sold!

While we’re at it, another movie I’m looking forward to that I only just heard about is Inception, starring the “I don’t hate him anymore that he grew up” Leonardo DiCaprio.

So I get to wait until the 1st of April for Clash and and 22 July for Inception. Can’t wait!

So I’m back, reporting from the other side of yuk, and writing for Comic Book Movie again. It’s nice to be back at the site that really helped me get my footing in freelance writing and shaped my writing skills. I’ve got my own “fansite” there where my stuff will be posted – here – and I’ll be covering as much as I can from the world of comics, comic book movies, and movies.

I’ll also be picking up my content producing at Fantasy Book Review, where I’ll be contributing to the news blog. Hopefully we’ll be able to increase the site’s exposure by increasing the news that we deliver in tandem with the reviews we’re dishing out.

I sat down a day or so ago and conducted my own little review-a-thon, and cranked out 7 reviews, including this one on Scott Lynch’s second book in the Gentleman Bastard series, Red Seas Under Red Skies. It rates 7.5 on the site’s current rating system (a 75 on mine).

So I’m awake, at nearly half past 2am on the fourth of the new year, on the day that I hopefully sit into a new routine. I’ll be aiming for mornings writing articles, afternoons writing my novel, and evenings with Bronwyn or reading (or both, preferably). It’s a wonderful feeling a) being away from the previous job, but also b) being in God’s will for my life.

So yeah… Happy New Year everybody, and as I said on Twitter;

Happy New Year. May God bless it, and you, and those you love.

And now I have work, and I’m not overly stressed.

It’s not (probably) related to Bronwyn being home. It does however, I think, have to do with the fact that I promptly found out Tuesday morning that I am unable to cope with morning shifts. It was debasing, frustrating, and had me on the verge of tears for a lot of Tuesday morn. But, as people are want to say, “we live and we learn.”

So now I have to focus on working well at night, and hopefully find myself a job that doesn’t involve me being awake at 2am and still working!

Any takers?

That’s right, I return to World of Warcraft.

And it’s happening again, right now. I’m listening to the Instance and installing WoW again.

Some will laugh at me for going back to a game that, the last few time’s, I’ve gotten very bored with very quickly. But the game has such an allure for me. I love the ability to run around in this fully fleshed out fantasy world and kill stuff and look awesome in my armour! I can’t get enough of it, until I can, and then I quit.

I’m hoping that this time will last longer, as the latest patch (3.3) has some pretty cool stuff in it that I’m looking forward to checking out. Hopefully I can get into some decent instancing with the cross-realm LFG system, and I’m looking forward to seeing the new quest stuff.

Show of hands who cares!

*hand up*

Make sense?

So I tend to use other terms to describe the lull’s and stoppages to my writing.

One was writers’ ennui, and it fit perfectly (scroll down a few posts for that one). Another one is writers’ (road) block, and it’s pretty much not the writers’ fault. Just like a road block to a driver, it isn’t the driver’s fault they’ve run into road works, it’s just happened.

And so is writing in a world where “life” seems to be all to frequent.

Don’t get me wrong; writing blocks happen and I’ve suffered all to many. But sometime’s other things get in the way that stop all manner of writing’s, not to mention thought. For as much as there are times where you can’t write, there are doubly more where you can’t think of what to write.

Last night (TOnight?) was also the Whitehorse Carol’s. It was a tremendous amount of fun, as always, with another horrible rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus to top off the night (not to mention We Wish You A Merry Christmas stuck in our heads for the following two hours).

The weird kid’s time with the odd Santa’s Helper lady and, what I can only assume was a drunk Transylvanian Santa Claus did add the night a hint of the absurd, but it was rendered moot by some wonderfully sung carols.

I won’t touch on the absence of Dennis Walters as it still hurts to talk about. It’s in the same vein as Ray Martin no longer hosting the real Carols by Candlelight.

Anyway, here are some photos from the night, a random house I walked past on the way home, and some pictures from housesitting.

So I return to the internet.

I looked at GoDaddy and SquareSpace and thought about going it out on my own, but figured I would wait to put down an investment – ie, hosting, a domain – until I knew that I could keep up with it again.

It’s three am here, and I really thought I’d be in bed by now. But I’ve got Dave Matthews Band on in the background, and I am not tired. It’s frustrating, as I had planned to go to church in the morning, but … decisions are being rethought.

That being said, I’m really looking forward to the Whitehorse Christmas Carols this avo. Should be a lot of fun!

It seems a touch unfair that, after a day of over 6,000 words written on my book, I can’t come up with a single one today. The way it is, I suppose, but it is mighty frustrating.

So now the decision; to bed? or do I go and read Wizard’s First Rule or Warhost of Vastmark? That’s the question.

In the near future there will be an interview appearing on FBR between us, and I can’t wait to see what comes of that. Janny is a truly wonderful person, a real gem, and I am really glad she has taken the time to write me. I’ll be peppering her with questions about writing every now and again, and she has gladly agreed to reply when she can.

However first off, I asked her a question that was specifically tailored to her. Why does she write the way she does. I have commented on it in a previous post, and she took the time to reply. The answer is amazing, one truly worth reading, and it is below (with permission).

So check out why one of the greatest living fantasy authors writes the way she does.

Why do I write the way I do?

The short, flippant answer: I grew up reading the library, and didn’t bother with television much, if at all. This was because the trite themes, short format, and predictable plots became too unbearably boring. I’ve read so many books that words and vocabulary became absorbed, as it were, through the skin.

The deeper answer: I am not a minimalist. Contrary to belief by conformists, any one word is not the same as another. Each has a precise and different shade of meaning, and to me, that makes a difference. I prefer choosing the exact one for the occasion.

Further, I traveled Russia while the iron curtain was still up. That left me with a searing impression of what happens when human individuality is not valued. We are given different voices, different experiences, different interests to make our world more richly creative. To adhere to one standard is to lose something vital – having one common denominator determine what is art and what is not gives rise to a sameness that is utterly numbing. I felt suffocated, literally. Flatlined. The lack of extremes made everything gray. One may deplore or dislike the chaotic insanity of a free-wheeling western culture. But the alternative is to lose the awesome variety of choices available. I have committed to independence, therefore, to culture my own, individual voice. This may alienate some. The result might well not appeal to the masses. But the brand is my own, vibrantly distinct, and not dumbed down for the nonvirtue of middling conformity. The result will spark passion, for or against. It won’t be bland, or tame, or attempt to please everyone.

Let the work be fierce and unusual. That way, it won’t be forgotten.

There are other reasons. I am not just writing to entertain, but to provoke creative thought. I strive to stretch the envelope between what is known, and reach into the imagination – to bring the reader an experience more vivid than simply words on the page. It is fact, that if the thought process is slowed down, the impact is heightened. When all of the senses are engaged, imaginatively, both hemispheres of the brain come into synchronization. The result lends the story a sharper edge, and fine-tunes the emotional response. The result, I can hope, is a story that is made richer and more provocative.

I am both a painter and a musician. I perceive, naturally, with layer upon layer of perception, and quite deliberately, I’ve woven that wealth of mood and awareness into what goes on the page. This is not done as window dressing, one bit. It’s composed as a symphony to heighten the story, to raise the tension, and to spur immersive involvement. To read my style is to experience something of what an artist encounters. To feel life as more alive. To read the words aloud is to hear the rhythm and syntax that underlies the beat in a musical composition. All of these strands are carefully worked into the story, with each word selected for more than one purpose alone.

I do not believe in the notion, so often touted by workshop-taught writers today, that “transparent style” – or wording that is “invisible” can be used to enhance a story line. The words chosen do affect the story. They are part and parcel of the end product, and become the frame for the canvas. What I strive to create is an experience far deeper than what happens to the characters. What they do is just as important as why they do it. The events are colored by their emotions. They will not be a comfortable extension of you. They will be themselves, and strongly color the readers’ innate expression.

It’s not just about plot. It has everything to do with experiencing something beyond the world we’re at home with.

People often observe they adjust to my style, given about five chapters to settle in. The effect isn’t just becoming accustomed. It’s about shifting the way the synapses fire, about altering how the brain thinks. Fight it, or hate it – the books were not written for the timid of heart, or anyone afraid to step beyond the boundaries of the familiar.

Lastly – I don’t use a thesaurus to write. I have all the words I need, in my head. Real life experience has taught me the specialized ones, for the nautical scenes, or the horses, or the terms for historical weaponry. The structure of the sentences is not incorrect. I have blushed from the comments returned by my copy-editors, who are gifted people, wise with years at their craft, who know and appreciate the absolute care and effort I’ve taken to polish my prose.

The result? I have never yet met one of my dedicated readers who was not curious, intelligent, discerning, and more, willing to explore life in provocative directions, and not follow the dust of the crowd on the trampled path. My hat’s off to them, every one, for the open eyes to risk sharing something unique.