March 11th, 2010 by swedishchef
I’ve started to reread The Business of Thought as its been a while since I wrote it and I know it needs work. Where I’d left things was at the end of the first act and of everything I’ve reviewed, the last line there is my favourite and will stay no matter what. It seems such a natural note to close things out in terms of the setup and, with a wink to the reader, we’re set for the confrontation.
Of course there are bits I like, some that need rework and some that really shouldn’t be there in the first place and need to be put out of their misery. Luckily, very little dialogue appears in the latter category which is surprising as I often find that I drop in one to many cliches or that a couple of characters end up with the same voice and require big rewrites. This gets me thinking about whether these characters seem more rounded than I had previously thought and, at the paranoid end of the spectrum, are they too unique (if such a thing were possible) that they could end up grating on me and the reader. As I say, thats the more extreme end so probably not. Still, I’ll keep a close eye on a couple of characters as I go along.
I intend to do a longer piece on 1 or 2 characters in a later post, but want to mention Jennifer who is fast becoming my favourite. I remember spending quite a bit of time on her introduction and backstory at time of writing and it shows as she was primarily a supporting character but now plays a pivotal role, not only in terms of the denoument, but also as the eyes of the reader.
Anyway, more later on Jennifer and the scope of the rewrite.
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Posted in Thursday Tales
February 26th, 2010 by swedishchef
Riding on the bus the other morning, my mind wistfully visiting somewhere warm and sleepy, I happened to notice a young woman waiting outside her office. It wasn’t that she was doing anything extraordinary, or particularly interesting, rather that her face was caked in fake tan. Which of course I recognised – the colour, not the face – as something I had seen recently. Yes, it was the colour of the inside of one of Holly’s nappies.
I smiled a lot that morning.
You see, there are benefits to changing nappies.
So, things are moving on and while I don’t think colic has gone, and she remains uncomfortably windy, she does seem to be able to sleep most of the night which is great because it gives her mum a well deserved rest for a few hours. Of course, I’m now touching virtual wood.
Even better are the smiles of which there are plenty.
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On the first born front, Liam has now finished Stage 3 reading which is amazing. Kate and I both look forward to – and fight over – helping him with homework at night and we are both so happy with his progress. His writing is great as well – don’t tell him, but much more coherent than his dad – and last week he made a card for those from his old nursery and wrote in about half a dozen names. This was all for a visit last week as Holly will be starting there later this year.
This morning we had a read of the Tiny Titans trade I bought him for Christmas and he seems to like it. The geekification of my son continues apace.
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Tags: parenthood
Posted in Friday Fatherhood
February 25th, 2010 by swedishchef
No, this won’t be a discourse on crossing busy streets or dodging potholes/dog poo. I can hear the collective sighs of sadness even as I type*.
The danger which I speak of today is letting your mind wander and create more potential projects when you are supposed to be working on something else. Which is basically what happened this morning as I strolled into the office, trying desperately to block out the chilling wetness that was soaking through my shirt onto my neck and back region. For some reason – and I don’t know the trigger – my imagination took over and decided to inject yet another idea into my already swamped artistic consciousness.
This time, it started tempting me with a concept for a TV sci-fi/drama series, within 10 minutes I had the concept and came to the quick conclusion that if it did ever exist, it would run for one season and one only. The way things started to map out on my journey, I really couldn’t see it having any legs to stretch out more than a dozen episodes and even then that might push it.
Now it has a working title of “Fundamental” and thats all it’ll be for a while. Notes have been captured and it’ll sit there while I work on the more formed ideas. It’ll come back every so often and tickle me when I least need it to – when I have a self imposed deadline, or perhaps there’s a scene I’m struggling to nail – but it’ll have to wait.
To be fair though, I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Really, if my brain wants to keep throwing out ideas then great because the day they dry up I’ll just look stupid and you’ll all stand there pointing and laughing at me. No, better to cage the creative beast and let it out every so often than smack it on the nose with a rolled up newspaper and tell it to go lie down.
In the meantime, I need to try and force thoughts on current projects as I walk to ensure nothing else creeps in there. Or maybe I should put on my Zune and crank up the volume and drown out the creative process.
If you would like a piece on the potholes and dog poo in the future, let me know in comments section and I’m sure I can accommodate.
* Which of course is odd, because you’re not reading this as I type unless you have control of my machine and running some sort of key logger. Apologies, I watched “Enemy of the State” 5 years ago.
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Tags: writing
Posted in Thursday Tales
February 24th, 2010 by swedishchef
I love a good caption arrow don’t you? Especially when there’s a question. Doubly especially when its for such a cracking mystery.
Yeah man, I got your Twilight and True Blood right here.
Daredevil was never invited back to boat parties as his new hat had a tendency to affect the tides.
Never again would Nightwing borrow Huntress’ perfume and leave the top off the bottle
The Inhuman’s Scissor Sisters tribute band was a hit across Attilan
I have never been so drawn to a button hole
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Tags: comics
Posted in Comics and Such
February 23rd, 2010 by swedishchef
Its still winter(ish) so more comfort food is appropriate I think. This is a great dish to use with leftovers for example if you’ve cooked a lot of rice one day and keep it in the fridge. Its a bit indulgent with double cream, but what the hell you need the extra fat to keep you going over the cold nights.
Ingredients
- 350g of undyed smoked fish (haddock works)
- 100ml of double cream
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1-2 teaspoons mild curry paste
- 250g rice (cooked in advance)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons of frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
- 2 eggs, hard boiled and chopped
- Butter
Method
- Place the fish into a microwavable bowl and pour over the cream. Cover with cling film, pierce some holes in it and cook on full power for 5-6 minutes.
- Flake the fish and remove the bones
- Heat butter in a wok or heavy based frying pan and gently fry the onion
- Add the peas and stir together for 4-5 minutes until onion is soft and peas are cooked
- Stir in curry paste and cooked rice and cook for 1 minute.
- Add cooked fish and cream mixture, lemon juice, chopped eggs and parsley
- Mix together and serve
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Tags: food
Posted in Recipe Tuesday
February 23rd, 2010 by swedishchef
Strange things are afoot, which are hard to describe without giving the game away which isn’t something I want to do at the moment.
Suffice it to say that following an event last week, I was contacted by 2 people who had heard about said event. One wanted some advice and the other to offer some. All very strange and hopefully I’ll be able to give context at a later date, but for the moment my mind is racing with possibilities, especially after I spoke to both individuals separately on Saturday and Monday.
Still, 2 days off last week and a pretty bad night on call Sunday/Monday meant that my plans for content were severely curtailed. I would say normal service will be resumed next week, but I want to break from the norm which is why I am focusing on writing more. If you get my meaning.
Look out for a recipe later today (yes, its not Monday), more past comic selections on Wednesday and my take on what fake tan looks like on Friday.
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Tags: hmmm
Posted in Monday Musings
February 17th, 2010 by swedishchef
Dig that crazy cat Nefaria. He takes request you know.
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Reminds me of that old adage, “Too Young to Die, Too Stupid to Live”
Where’s The National Enquirer when you need it Lois? They would have had the scoop years ago.
I have a feeling this has something to do with frat boys.
No Superman don’t listen to him. Pour it on. Melt the sidekicks. Especially Jimmy.
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Tags: comics
Posted in Comics and Such
