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Entry for 5th March, 2008
2008-03-05 22:58:00 31 Days to Write a 50,000 Word Novel DAY 05 Wordcount 11,162 As you read this I expect you to be standing and applauding. I expect to be able to hear the ripple of applause across the etherwaves thoughout the day, for I have smashed through the 10,000 word barrier! Please feel free to gaze awestruck at your screen. Close your mouth. More About: March , March 2008 , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 4th March, 2008
2008-03-04 22:59:00 31 Days to Write a 50,000 Word Novel DAY 04 Wordcount 8,531 I have been spurred on this evening by the thought of Couch Potato's threat and have managed to knock off a couple of thousand words. I am worried though because the weekend would normally be the time when I could move my wordcount forward significantly. However, my Significant Other has things to do on both Saturday and Sunday meaning that I am entertaining the Small Round Faced People for a fair part of my potential novel writing time. Unless I think of some way around this, Couch Potato's forfeit will come into play and I will be found naked and bleeding in some forgotten field near Ashgill. I am wondering if it would be responsible parenting to leave the two children outside Starbucks in Easterhouse for an hour or two while I thump out a few high speed chapters? At first glance this might seem cruel. But which is the greater evil I ask you: a few hours in the cold for a pair of healthy youngsters, or the knowledge ... More About: March , March 2008 , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 3rd March, 2008
2008-03-04 01:12:00 31 Days to Write a 50,000 Word Novel DAY 03 Wordcount 6,350 I thought I wouldn't get any writing in today, but I managed to find an hour straight after work, and rattled out a few words to keep me on track. I had a clear idea of where I wanted to take the next part of the story, so that made it a bit easier. However, my central character seems to want to do stuff on his own. He bought something today, and I'm not sure where it will lead me. Hopefully to at least another 3,000 words. My sister JJ is also doing a novel in a month, and has smashed the 10,000 word barrier already. That is outrageously good and I feel entirely jealous, yet strangely proud. I bet her novel is good too. She is talented that way. Go JJ!!! On the other hand I have no plot, and so far only two characters. One has a beard though, so that is good. Please check out my pal the Couch Potato's blog to see The Grand Forfeit for Failed Novelists. If ever there was an incentive to stay on target, then that is it... More About: March , March 2008 , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 2nd March, 2008
2008-03-02 20:43:00 31 Days to Write a 50,000 Word Novel DAY 02 Wordcount 4,749 It has been a good weekend for the wordcount, although I am beginning to realise that this is going to get much, much harder over the next week. It is relatively easy to find a couple of hours at the weekend to rattle off a few pages, but I fear that during the week, with the demands of work and family, I will struggle to meet the quota. However, it is a promising start. I had an odd experience today, when my central character started doing some interesting stuff which seemed to be mostly of his own (rather than my choosing). I didn't complain (although frankly it was a bit rude of him) because this little frolic of his own racked up a few hundred words, and kept me entertained while I watched him. I am spurred on at the moment by the Couch Potato. As you'll know if you have been following the past few entries that the Couch Potato is Master of the Grand Forfeit for Failed Novelists. I have set him the task of setting... More About: March , March 2008 , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 1st March, 2008
2008-03-01 21:12:00 31 Days to Write a 50,000 Word Novel DAY 01 Wordcount 2,075 Yes! You read correctly. 2,075 words. I am already about one twenty-fifth of a novelist, and I have only been writing for one day. I am clearly a prodigy, and have thus far missed my vocation. I am not letting negative thoughts intrude. In particular, the fact that I still have no clear plot, and certainly no properly defined characters are not matters which I will let get in the way of producing my masterpiece. 50,000 words must be achieved. I am spurred on by the fact that the Couch Potato is currently sitting on his deminc sofa dreaming up some terrible punishment for me if I fail to reach the target. I cannot let him unleash his dreadful forfeit upon me. I shall not fail. I must not fail. Today's quota was written in Costa Coffee in a shopping mall in Easterhouse. Hemingway could not have wished for a better venue. More About: March , March 2008 , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 29th February, 2008
2008-02-29 22:09:00 31 Days to Write a Novel DAY 0 Wordcount 0 I have decided to do it. I am going to try to write a novel in 31 days. Scratch that. I am going to write novel in 31 days and it will be at least 50,000 words long. In 31 days time I will be permitted to call myself a novelist, and if it remains unpublished during my lifetime, then I shall be allowed the luxury of regarding myself as an undiscovered genius. However, in order to spur myself on, I feel that there must be both a carrot and a stick. The carrot of course, is that once I finish, I will be allowed to gloat and boast in a highly irritating way. You will all have to indulge me, because I will be a novelist and artists are quirky and permitted to behave in such ways. But what of the stick? The fear of failure is not enough I think. And this is where I may be about to make a big mistake. But here goes... I hereby confer the following title on The Couch Potato: Master of the Grand Forfeit for Failed Novelists If he takes up the ... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 28th February, 2008
2008-02-29 21:55:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 8 My friend Fiona M has rather unkindly suggested to me that my 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends experiment is one of a stream of midlife crises that I am having. She is clearly jealous of my youthful vigour, energy and restless imagination. She is also wrong. I intend to live until the age of 92, which means I can start to have my midlife crisis at the age of 46. Until then, all of my projects are to be viewed merely as adolescent pranks. When I hit my midlife, I intend to have a proper midlife crisis. I do not regard meeting 40 old chums and sharing a brew with them as symptomatic of a crisis. When I have a crisis you will all know about it, because I shall turn up at your doors in my bright red Ferrari and will in... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 27th February, 2008
2008-02-29 21:42:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 8 My book has been published. I arrived at work this morning to find a big carboard box addressed to me. I still get excited about big cardboard boxes. I think it must go back to childhood, when the only big cardboard boxes you encounter are full of birthday and christmas presents. It wasn't a christmas present though. It turned out to be my six free copies from the publishers. It was a very odd feeling looking at them. Shiny red hardbacks. That I wrote. And someone has published. They look like real books too. All the other books I have written only exist in my imagination. But you could touch these ones. My half-baked ideas have been transformed into something you might see in a shop somewhere. The scrappy bi... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 26th February, 2008
2008-02-28 23:59:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 8 I am just back from a game of badminton. I had one of those terrible games where it feels as if someone has replaced your body with an uncoordinated sack of potatoes. It felt as if my brain was unconnected to my body. Neurons fired. But they did not carry the normal instructions. Instead of "Twitch right bicep, and smash the shuttlecock downwards with manly force" the neurons instead said "Lumber helplessly around the court like a grounded lungfish." Actually a grounded lungfish would probably have had a better backhand than me tonight. There are several grounded lungfish who would be several places above me in the league of crap badminton players. Here is how the table of that league would look - Anne Widdicomb... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 25th February, 2008
2008-02-28 23:48:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 8 I had to get up early this morning to go to a tribunal on the other side of Glasgow, and boy did it make me glad that I don't have to spend any serious time commuting to work. I had to get up an hour earlier than usual, and then face the trek across town at 7.30am. Even at that time the roads were choked. I know that everyone says it, but it's true: we have all gone mad. All of us commuters, in our little metal boxes that have been sold to us by lying advertising agencies. The automobile does not represent freedom at all. It represents slavery - bondage to jobs and car loans and hours and hours of stressful creeping along a smoky, smelly noisy grey ribbon of tarmac. Maybe once - for a brief moment in the 1950s ... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 18th February, 2008
2008-02-26 23:01:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 8 As I mentioned in previous postings I am considering writing a novel in 31 days during March. I am doing this because the world needs more badly written first drafts of novels. Without my selflessness, publishers throughout the world would not have enough poor new material to act as a comparison for the likes of John Grisham. I have had a bit of a crisis though. I had a fairly decent idea for a plot in my head. It was loosely based on one of the plays I wrote for the Edinburgh Fringe. This clearly had the advantage of giving me a rough outline of a story, and some fairly well-defined characters. This would at least provide me with a sort of road map on my mad March journey. However, on my way to Glasgow today som... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 17th February, 2008
2008-02-26 22:50:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 8 Well, I am still here after my game of racketball. Admittedly, every muscle in my body aches, I have twisted my ankle and I have lost the toenail on my right big toe for the third time in a year. Otherwise, I am fine. I lost of course, but given that my opponent is fit as a flea, a racket sports coach and about 15 years younger than me, this was no disgrace. Given that I am useless at racketball, it was probably inevitable. However, such is my competitive nature, I remain irritated at my inability to win even against invincible odds. I will now require to secretly engage a coach, and employ a sports psychologist so that I have the edge for next time. Any oh yes - there will be a next time. On the drama front I a... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 16th February, 2008
2008-02-25 21:01:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 8 My faith in the powers of the humble cup of tea to reach out and form bonds amongst human beings throughout the world has not been misplaced. My 360 friends Leigh O and Fish Face are coming all the way to Scotland from the South of England just to have a cup of tea with me! I am so excited that I am almost on the point of warming the teapot for them already. There is clearly something about the promise of a cuppa which is drawing them North in the hope of adventure, new horizons, and at the very least a nice slice of cake. I confess that I was beginning to worry if I would ever make my total of 40 - there is such a long way to go. I was dejected; downhearted. But perhaps I should just put my faith in the mystic c... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 15th February, 2008
2008-02-25 20:47:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 8 I am off to play racketball tonight for the first time in months and months. I fear that this will probably be my last blog posting, as I am likely to expire on the court. I appreciate that this will come as as relief to most of my regular readers, who only come in here regularly because they have been programmed by the subliminal messages that I have embedded deep in the HTML code of these pages. (Now you know why you often doodle the words "Alan B's Blog is Great!" during important business meetings). Whilst it may come as a relief to you lot to see that these entries have stopped, it will not be good news for me as I will be dead. When the obituaries appear in the paper, people will say "Well. He was over 40 ... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 14th February, 2008
2008-02-24 21:51:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 8 This is what one night away with your friends does to you when you are over forty. It isn't pretty is it? I must learn that I am no longer a student. I must rid myself of the notion that you need a drink to have a good time. Some of you from other parts of the world might know this already, but I come from the West of Scotland where the thought of having a good time without at least half a dozen cans of McEwan's Export is almost unthinkable. Responsible drinking in the West of Scotland is making sure that your friend's glass is never empty. There once was a time, when I could enjoy a late night drink without fear of a bad hangover. My constitution was strong, and I would rise (almost) with the lark. A quick cu... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 13th February, 2008
2008-02-24 21:39:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 6 This is me and my mate Berthrin, enjoying a cuppa at his house before leaving for my annual pilgrimage to Crieff with some of my good pals. I may say, that of the 7 QCTs (Qualifying Cups of Tea) to date, Berethrin's was the most refined - the mugs contain a lovely drop of Earl Grey. You know you are in for a debauched lads' weekend when you kick off proceedings with a cup of the finest breakfast tea in Britain. Myself and seven of my friends hired a cottage in the grounds of Crieff Hydro as we do every year. I do not generally come back feeling particularly refreshed from these weekends. Our diet generally consists of curry, fried breakfasts and beer. Franky if scary pseudo nutrionist Gillian O'Keefe visited ... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 12th February, 2008
2008-02-24 21:25:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 6 It is sad when your heroes fall from grace. One of my heroes is Sanny Wallace. Up until today, I would have suggested that you go out and read all his books - Particularly "Yes Man" (which I nicked the idea out of for the Blog of Yes) and "Join Me" which is more or less the idea in the blog for "31 Days of Kindness". However, it appears that Danny's latest book is basically the same as 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends. The only significant differences appear to be that (1) Danny's book will be considerably better than this blog, and (2) he will be doing interesting stuff like going to Australia whereas I am generally only doing things like popping up to see my sister. (Not that my sister isn't interesting - she ... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 11th February, 2008
2008-02-22 00:23:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 6 I am proper tired tonight. I have a new project at work, and it's right outside my comfort zone, so I have had a couple of really late nights (early mornings actually), and a fair bit of adrenaline coursing through my arteries. I had one of those mornings where you wake early thinking about work. When that happens, I can actually see pages from legal text books before I open my eyes. I kind of like the fact that I can still get keyed up about what I do. On the other hand, I sometimes wish that I'd bitten the bullet an learned how to bake scones. I can almost see the little coffee shop in my home town centre. Can you see him? The alternative me? His only responsibility to make sure that my regular customers get ... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 10th February, 2008
2008-02-22 00:12:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 6 Do you ever get that feeling that you are a fraud at your work? That somehow you have strayed into the adult world, sneaked past the guards, and have found yourself sitting amongst the grown ups. I get that feeling a lot. I sometimes think that, any minute now, someone is going to notice that I am the only one with short trousers at the boardroom table. And that I will be sent to my room after a sound ticking off about staying up after bed time. The problem is that, until I am discovered, I will need to stay here in the adult world. And the longer I stay here, the less likely anyone is to realise I am an imposter. Maybe someday, I will have become so grown up that I will not remember the way back to Never Never L... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 9th February, 2008
2008-02-21 01:36:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 6 I believe that I have now persuaded at least 2 people other than me to write a novel during the 31 Days of March. My friend Blondie seems to be committed and my sister (in spite of her protestations about lack of time) proudly sent me a text today announcing that she has a title for the novel that she will be writing. If anyone from any major publishing houses is reading this, then you should be aware that I am currently entertaining offers of advances for my debut novel. Anything over six figures will give you a reasonable chance of securing the deal, although of course film rights are to be negotiated separately and are subject to the availability of Brad Pitt for the role of the tortured but brilliant and stra... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 8th February, 2008
2008-02-21 01:29:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 6 Perhaps my funeral will not be as poorly attended as I believed yesterday. The Blog of the Kindly Cuppa is delighted to report that it has an offer of another friendly cup of tea in the USA. My American contacts are proving to be very generous indeed. In fact, so far, North America is the second most generous continent of tea drinkers after Europe. Asia has offered only one cup of tea, and frankly those of you in South America, Africa, Australasia and Antartica should be downright ashamed of your lack of hospitality. You will have no chance of hosting the 2024 Olympics if you do not buck your ideas up. Chrissie and her bloke have kindly offered to make a brew for me if I happen to be in Floriday between now and 1... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 7th February, 2008
2008-02-20 01:13:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 6 Here is picture of the Laughing Boy and me enjoying a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea). He takes me to 6 QCTs. I am now worrying that I am running out of friends though. I have a horrible fear that this experiment is going to expose how deeply unpopular I am. I shall be very sad if I reach 10 QCTs and get no further - that would suggest that I have only managed to make one friend every four years of my life. That seems to be a very poor hit rate. I imagine that even Robert Maxwell had a better friends:years ratio than me. I am beginning to get the feeling that my funeral will be very poorly attended. Please come along. I will be watching out for you. If you don't show up I shall haunt your houses and drive your pro... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 5th February, 2008
2008-02-17 20:48:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 5 I have made it to 5 QCTs (Qualifying Cups of Tea). This is me and my pal Gavin the Alien, taking tea at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow this afternoon. (Gavin takes his tea milky and with lots of sugar). Gavin the Alien is a stalwart of the Practical Magic Theatre backstage team, and proudly boasts at least one serious scar from the past eight Edinburgh Fringes. Once when we were drunk we took a photo of ourselves and managed to sell it on e-bay for 1pence pus postage and packing. He has just returned from an extended holiday in Dubai, and seems (from what he has been telling me) to have spent most of his time in the Dubai branch of the theme pub Waxy O'Connor's. I suggested to him that it was a bit poin... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 4th February, 2008
2008-02-17 20:37:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 4 My Significant Other has been engaged doing dancing exams with her dance school over the past couple of days. She was pleased to be finished tonight and I believe that her evening plans are entirely based around soap operas, chocolate and red wine. When she got home, I jokingly asked her if dance exams involved her saying "If you want fame, fame hurts" while she wielded a large stick. She looked at me deadpan, and said a little wistfully, "They don't let you have a stick any more." She said that the dance teacher's big stick has been outlawed by the governing body. Something about the way that she said it made me think that she had gone into dance teaching just to get to use the big stick. More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 3rd February, 2008
2008-02-17 14:33:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 4 I hate it when my Significant Other drives my car! This has nothing to do with macho nonsense about women drivers. Frankly, she is a much better driver than me, and empirical data tends to suggest that she is far less likely to back their car into stationary objects than I am. My annoyance is more to do with territorialism. Once I lived on my own in a house. I had the whole house to myself. I had my own bed, my own living room, my own patio. My own life really. But with the coming of marriage and children my sphere of influence has gradually shrunk. The living room now doubles as a playroom, and you are lucky to emmerge from that room without a stickle brick embedded in your foot. The kitchen - once a haven where... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 2nd February, 2008
2008-02-17 00:38:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 4 My Significant Other has been involved taking dancing exams all day, so I was looking after the Small Round Faced People on my own all day. I am very tired. I took them to the shops on the main street. We have bought the Round Faced Girl a little wrist strap so that she cannot stray to far from us when we toddle along the road pushing the round Faced Boy in the pram. Unfortunately the wrist strap is not short enough to prevent her (a) rolling around on her back on the floor of the butchers, and (b) knocking over an unusually large number of potatoes in the fruit shop. Did I mention that I am very tired? I was particularly tired at about 2 o'clock this afternoon, when I fell asleep in my own driveway after retur... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 1st February, 2008
2008-02-16 01:51:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 4 This Write a Novel in Thirty One Days Idea is not going away. I am thinking about it too much. Until a few days ago, it was just a vague notion, but I now have three separate ideas for a plot (with a strong front runner). I have started to work out how many words per day I need to write to achieve a wordcount of 50,000. I even have a special notebook picked out to scribble ideas in. I am starting to feel my heart race a little with excitement when I think about it. I am like an alocholic, sitting alone in a pub in the early afternoon: a pint glass of cool lager infront of me, globules of condensation slipping gently down the golden tumbler. It looks so good. I can almost taste it. A little drink would unlock adv... More About: February 2008 , February , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 31st January, 2008
2008-02-15 19:00:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 4 I'm afraid that the idea of writing a novel in 31 days has not gone away. I have even bought a kit from the nanowrimo people that gives you advice on how to do it. I haven't yet broached the subject with my Sgnificant Other. I have some fear about her response. I don't suppose any of you lot fancy trying it at the same time do you? Then we could be a support network, and could e-mail each other for advice and sympathy. I imagine that, even as you are reading this, you are thinking to yourself "Ooooooh I like the thought of this. A novel? could I really do it?" Go on! take the plunge. What else were you thinking of doing in March! Here are the rules. Sorry. What I meant to say of course is: here are what the ru... More About: January , January 2008 , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 30th January, 2008
2008-02-14 22:23:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 4 I mentioned a couple of entries ago that The Ideas Hippopotamus has been seen in my front garden. He is still there I'm afraid. Every time I peek out the curtains I see him out on the lawn. He has a tartan travel rug and a flask of sweet tea. He waves to me. The idea that he has come up with: WRITE A WHOLE NOVEL IN ONE MONTH This is clearly a ridiculous idea. It would be an enormous and pointless task. It would be frustrating: the type of task that I would hate myself for taking on. It would involve late nights and early mornings. No more television; no more trips to Borders to while away the hours amongst the bookshelves. I know it can be done. You only have to look at the Nanowrimo site to see that. And I ha... More About: January , January 2008 , 2008 , Entry
Entry for 29th January, 2008
More articles from this author:2008-02-14 22:10:00 Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa 40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends is my goal in life. And it must be done before 10th July. Click here to find out why. If you would like to be my friend and earn a QCT (Qualifying Cup of Tea) then let me know. No. of QCTs to date: 4 I was chatting to one of my mates the other night about shows, and I was explaining to him that I like taking shows to the Edinburgh Fringe because I like pitching my shows up against other productions: testing them: seeing if they hold up against professional shows. I don't think he entirely approved. My competitive streak was ruining the purity of the art. Surely, if a show's worth doing, it's worth expending heart and soul on whether it's at the world's biggest arts festival, or whether it's in the local church hall? Well, that's right of course. But I don't view shows as a sport. There aren't winners and losers like there are in a 1500 metres race. You don't cross the line first. If there is a race... More About: January , January 2008 , 2008 , Entry 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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