Last Day of 2010

I completely forgot this is the last day of 2010, until my dad reminded me. As cliqued as this is, what can I say? 2010 has been a very stagnant year and to some, a bit of a bastard, considering that the Tories have gotten into power, the LibDems went back on their word and as a result, most college leavers won’t be able to go to university.

Has it been a bastard to me? Yes and No.

Yes, because my ex moved on with someone else, resulting in me struggling to concentrate on my university work and feeling depressed 99.9% of the time. But, I think his indifference was a wake up call, which in the long run was good for me, for I feel absolutely nothing for him now. And can I just throw out…being detached is a very, very good feeling.

Finding work after graduating has been a piss take. It got so bad to the point where I had to settle for an unpaid internship, which wasn’t very pleasant. It was like working in Azkaban with a bunch of Dementors. Yes, in all seriously, their bitterness and ugly personalities really do suck the life out of you. But because of this, I managed to find a paid job at the end of the year (although the first 3 weeks will be an internship), so it all worked out in the end.

And the latest misfortune happened this morning, when I found a thick A4 envelope shoved through my letter box, which I instantly recognised as the one I sent to Conville and Walsh. Yes, I knew I was rejected before I read the letter accompanied with my synopsis and chapters. Although they read with interest and really enjoyed reading my work, they felt it wasn’t quite suitable to be on their list. But they did encourage me to sent my work to other agencies and publishers, which was what I did later today. I’ve got a feeling I might be rejected by the agency I sent the copies to, but according to the ‘Writer’s Market’, they do offer constructive criticism when they return stuff, so at least I will know the strengths and weaknesses from a publisher’s point of view.

But 2010 hasn’t been all bad; in fact it was brimming with achievements and exciting people and experiences.

For starters, I graduated with a degree back in May. Although I didn’t attend my Graduation, seeing my certificate in print was a pretty proud moment…it was like being told that I’m officially a graduate. I also managed to complete a novel. After eight months of writing, redrafting and writer’s fatigue, I proved to myself that I could indeed do whatever if I put my mind to it.

Year 2010 is also the year I made some of the most amazing chums. I developed my friendship with Jason, who I befriended at the end of 2009, after one year of being estranged. We became much closer after my ex moved on, because Jason had been in the same situation with his ex girlfriend, who also moved on. Its strange how these things bring people together.

Ashish and Birmingham David were also amazing; giving me advice with the novel, as well as taking me out every other weekend. They’re both different, Ashish is very hyper-active, doing funny impressions and gestures, whereas David is much more reserved and bookish by comparison. But they’re both equally great to hang out with. I also made good friends with Janet, who I mostly ignored at university, as there was no opportunity for us to be acquainted. But we got talking during our 3rd year lectures, since we sat together and found that we were quite compatible as friends.

But the largest highlights were the holidays. I went to Morocco after I left university, which was a pretty amazing experience. Even when we stepped off the plane, it felt like a different place, as the smell of earth, dusk and dirt filled the air. Market places were brimming with beaded necklaces, filigree lanterns, tagines and beaded hangings. And dancers and flute players performed in small spaces during the night.

We also went on a road trip around Scotland. Edinburgh had an old grandeur about it, despite the modern shops and teens in Topshop gear - it was probably because of the old honeyed buildings and Art Nuevo architecture. Oban and Ben Nevis were the same as they were since I last visited four years ago and Glasgow had the same ambience as any average city.

I’m hoping that 2011 will be a better year. I hope the new job goes swimmingly and someone decides to publish my novel. For the mean time I can only hope and pray.

As for tonight, I’m not sure what I am going to do…I’m too skint to travel all the way to Wolves or Birms to see friends. I think my family might make some last minute plans and go out for dinner and some drinks.

MY PERSONAL TOP TEN SONGS OF 2010

After reading David Well’s ‘Top 10 of 2010’, I thought I’d do some thieving and create my own top Ten as well. I was careful to put in ‘personal’, as I don’t want ‘real music’ fans silently demanding why certain artists are in the list and accusing me of having ‘shit taste in music’.
So yes, this list is a little ‘chavvy’ or ‘Poppy’ for some tastes, but that’s only because I’m terrible at keeping up to date with new music. But these are some of the tracks I know were released this year and were either so good or annoyingly catchy; they made me abuse the Reply button on Youtube.


10) Travie McCoy and Bruno Mars – “Billionaire” Yes, it’s an unusual song for me to pick, as it shouldn’t be to my tastes. For starters, it an RnB song, with some materialistic and greedy themes for its lyrics, which is pretty self explanatory from the title. But in this case, the acoustic guitar and the garnish of Jamaican drums segregate it from the generic crap. It is these elements that give the song the same laid-back coolness and mellow ambiance as that of an LA beach during sunset.
I’ve heard a lot of people complain that this song is gay. But just because something is not your cup of tea, does not make it so (is gay even an adjective?). You cannot deny that Bruno Mars has a great voice and Travie McCoy can rap very well. In fact, this song does not work without either of them, as I stumbled upon a group covering this song on the X Factor and they did it no justice.

9) Lady Gaga – “Telephone”I am not a Lady Gaga fan. I don’t like most of her songs and as for her image, I think it’s a little too out there, with her zombie-corpse dresses and space-ship hats. Before you know it, she will shave her head and stick Russian Pom-Pom balls all over it. Don’t give her ideas, I hear you shout.
I also hear some of you shout, “so why have you included this?”. It’s simple. It’s a good pop song, which I understand is an oxymoron to some people. But once you give this a listen, it becomes addictive. Well for me anyways. There’s little to really dislike about this as a pop song: it’s edgy, loud and has more energy than a bottle of Lucazade. But no disrespect to Gaga, as much as I’m not an admirer, I do appreciate that she thinks outside the box at times, what with quirky but catchy intros like “Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah! Roma-roma-mamaa! Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!”. And Telephone really isn’t an exception to this, as the beginning starts with a floaty keyboard that literally sounds like a lute.

8) Cyprus Hill and Tom Morello – “Rise Up”I'm a bit of a Tom Morello fan, as I like ‘Rage Against the Machine’ and ‘Audioslave’. However, and I know some of you will hate me for this, but have never liked Cyprus Hill. Not even their 90s classic ‘Jump Around’. So I’m not sure if I like this song because they are collaborating with Morello, or they are developing into something I might actually like. But either way, it doesn’t really matter. Accompanied by a Sin-City style music video, the song screams out with funk beats and banging riffs. Yes, it’s loud, it’s gutsy and it’s f***ing awesome.

7) Black Eyed Peas – “The Time (Dirty Bit)”I’ve never been much of an appreciater of the Black Eyed Peas, as I’ve never really been into Hip-Hop. Granted, a few of their songs are really good, like ‘Pump It’, ‘Boogie that Be’ and ‘Lets get it started’. Alright, one or two on this list are more catchy than really good. But, ‘The Time’ I would put in the latter category. No, it’s not their usual Hip-Hip sound, but rather techno, which I will openly admit to being a bit of a fan of. Alright, a huge fan. Taking a sample from Dirty Dancing’s ‘Time of my Life’, this is the perfect fusion of fist-thumping dance and rap, the sort of song you’d go crazy to in a nightclub, even when you’re not fuelled with booze.

6) Ellie Goulding – “Your Song”I don’t object to cover versions as long as they don’t sound karaoke and the artist puts their own personal stamp on it. This is why I adore this rendition of Elton John’s ‘Your Song’. The beauty and snowflake fragility of Goulding’s vocals and piano reminds me of Victoria Bergsman‘s version of Sweet Child of Mine, which ironically was also used in the John Lewis Christmas advert last year. Yes, because of this, ‘Your Song’ is the perfect winter song, and worked beautifully in the backdrop of the advert, which depicted snow covered landscapes and people preparing for Christmas.

5)Eliza Dolittle – “Pack Up”This number is as summery and refreshing as a glass of Pimms. Unfortunately, I only heard of this song through the X Factor, when I caught a clip of someone singing it on boot camp. But luckily, Dolittle’s album was advertised on TV, which made it easy to find this song on YouTube. It’s definitely a song most people, including myself, can relate to, for unfortunately, bitter losers who feel the need to spew their venom do exist in this world. Dolittle’s beautiful and emotive vocals give the lyrics the fragility it needs. But its Lloyd Wade’s powerful vocals as he boasts out a sample of 'Pack Up Your Troubles…' that injects the two fingered ‘whatever!’ vibe. But at the same time, his soulful voice enables the song to retain its prettiness, the sort you find in Cath Kidston accessories – quirky, dainty, with a very retro feel.

4) The Prodigy – “Stand Up” Yes, I’m aware that including this song is kind of cheating, as it was never really released as a single. But it was included in the film Kick-Ass and its soundtrack CD, so technically it is still a song that was made public. This may sound a little controversial, but I much prefer their come-back efforts to their earlier tracks, and this single just comes to show that the band can throw in new influences and sounds and make it sound just as brilliant as their usual stuff. “Stand Up” is a burst of loud and confident trumpets, cymbals and electronics, which easily makes it one of the best releases of this year for me.

3) Sex Bob-Omb (Beck) – “Threshold” Here I am cheating again, by including another soundtrack and (shock-horror!) by a band that doesn’t even exist. But, as I pointed out before, it was made public this year. The song is taken from the film ‘Scott Pilgrim vs the World’ and was written by Beck. I’m not surprised that the Indie icon wrote this, as he’s churned out plenty of great quality songs, even in the pop genre (Check out ‘Feel Good Time’, sung by Pink). And by no means, is this any different. The song has just as much energy and colour as the film it was featured in. With Cera screaming that his band are here to make us “think about death and get sad and stuff”, the track then explodes with thrashing drums and smoking riffs. And both were too awesome to me think of death and make me feel depressed.

2) Linkin Park – “Waiting for the End”This number two choice may be a little biased as I’m a bit of a Linkin Park fan, although I only got into their music recently, after a friend at university got me into them. Personally, I don’t think their new sound is as exciting and angsty as the stuff they’ve done before with Hybrid Theory, but I love the fact that they’re not scared to develop and try new things, without becoming too Poppy and diluted. *Cough*, Kings of Leon, *Cough*. But I love this song; the chorus has the sort of sentiment and beauty you'd find in most tracks on Incubus's 'Morning View'. And the instrumentals are fresh with experimental tinkering above the drum beats and piano.

1) Plan B – “She Said”This is the first time I’ve heard of Plan B, since MTV2 was taken off me three years ago and I had to hear about new songs from other people’s Myspace Pages, and visits down the nightclub. I’m going to be honest; I was never really a huge fan, being a scarf-donning Indie kid at the time. But I did appreciate his style, as he was not your typical British rapper, combining acoustic guitar with lyrics about personal hardship. And it is because of this lukewarm appreciation that this song hit me like a snowball. No, it’s not your typical song. In fact it doesn’t really fit in any genre, as it’s a dichotomous mixture of retro soul and rap, complete with subtle trumpets and laid-back beats. And guess what, it f***ing works.

Merry (belated) Christmas

Merry belated Christmas!

I could have wished everyone best wishes yesterday, but I had no access to a laptop as I was at my brother and sister-in-law’s house.

My parents, older brother and I spent Christmas at their place yesterday. It was strange spending Christmas in a different house, as we have always spent it in this scutty little living room with its faded wallpaper and piles of books and boxes. But I’ve got to say, my brother’s spacious living room and simple modern look was a perfect place to have dinner.

The afternoon was spent eating chocolates from my brother’s Christmas hamper. Every Christmas his workplace gives him a free hamper to enjoy over the holidays, which normally comprises of Lily O’Brian chocolate, fruit cakes, dried fruit and Pringles. Speaking of the latter, the Onion and Sour Cream favour is extremely addictive. My brother and I finished three quarters of the tube in one go!

Anyways, this was the first time my mum did not nag at me to cut down on my sugar intake. After all, Christmas is all about indulgence and I think she got that. Although she was stingy enough to tell me that I’m only allowed one glass of alcohol. I was planning to rebel anyways, as this was Bailey’s with crème Caramel…the most amazing alcoholic drink on the ace of this planet. But I got a little drunk to the point where I felt the need to sleep, much to my sister in law and older brother’s amusement, as they thought the sight was very funny.

Luckily I was fine by the end of the Christmas meal, which was lovely, brimming with Turkey, ham, cheese and cauliflower, sweetened carrots/turnips and roast potatoes. Oh those roast potatoes…

As we watched Christmas movies on TV, I got a text from one of my friends Jas…well, I’m not sure if I can call him that, I’ve been referring to him as an acquaintance ever since I made the mature decision to forgive him after he broke my heart two summers ago. Not that I have feeling for him, far from it. Or that I feel weird about the tiny bit of history between us. By the way, it’s not a bad one that makes it impossible to be friends, but just a bit of it. I won’t go into detail about it as I’d much rather forget about it. But let’s just say that I was insanely in love with him for two years and there was a brief mutual attraction between us.

Anyways, the problem is that looking back on the way he broke my heart, I sometimes feel I may have been too soft to forgive him, considering that I have a stubborn idea as to what a moral person is and isn’t. But since he had the courage to get back into contact, I can’t help but admire that, since I know I can never do it when feeling remorse and regret over my actions.

He texted me a Merry Christmas and asked me if I wanted to meet up with him next week. Since I feel nothing for him, I felt it would be best to return the kind offer by agreeing. Plus, perhaps a face-to-face meeting might convince me that I’m being too judgemental about his mistakes and perhaps might put the water fully under the bridge. And I could also do with an outing, as I have been living like a hermit for the past few weeks.

The day was finished by watching Star Trek (the one with the oh-so-sexy Chris Pine) and Eastenders. With regards to the latter, I’m glad that they did not kill off Stacey Branning, as another dramatic death would have been ridiculous. It’s bad enough they killed off Stacey’s husband Bradley, who was much more likeable that some of the characters that are still alive…i.e most of them.

So yes, Christmas day was brilliant, although Boxing Day will be spend at home as I’m not materialistic enough to buy clothes I don’t need AND I do not want to be trampled by greedy women rushing to buy the best items at cheaper prices.

Snow, Snow, Go away. Come again another day

Yes, you read correctly. I really do want the snow to go away. But rest assured, I am never usually this grouchy when it comes to Little Miss Pretty applying some much needed foundation to a common estate, as shown in the picture.

On Wednesday morning (before the interview), I received emails from ‘The Literary Agents’ and ‘Conville and Walsh’, giving me permission to send them my opening chapters, synopsis and covering letter. I was planning to go on Thursday, however a woman called Maya, who works under Ann Gough, asked me to come into Wolverhampton College to return my ID card and to tell her about how my placement went. Seeing this as pointless, I asked her if I could send the card by post. Unfortunately she was adamant that I come to see her.

So I spent Thursday morning brushing up the chapters and making sure everything was perfect to the point where I knew I was going to be running late for my meeting. I’m not sure whether this was due to dodgy hormones or stress, but I really did not care, as I planned to turn up late just to spite Maya or whoever ordered her to email me. But luckily, my dad arrived and offered to give me a lift, as Daysavers are a little costly.

I turned up to the college to find that Maya was an attractive young girl, who looked to be around 18 or 19 years old. But during our casual conversation, I was shocked to find she was actually 25. There really must be something in the chapattis. Anyways, I felt a little guilty cursing her prior to our meeting, as I found out that my old placement specifically told her to give them the card by hand. I can’t really argue with that and I could easily throw in some catty remarks about Vickie (especially with regards to her looks and weight), but I won’t. Unlike some people I have dignity.

On Friday, I spent the morning procrastinating, listening to Indie, Rock and Metal tunes, before I finally managed to persuade myself to do some work. I guess the fears of rejection made me double check the 3 chapters and synopsis and funnily enough, I did find some grammatical errors and parts where the sentences were a little awkward or muddied. I think my proofreading is improving now.

Content with every single document, I planned to go to the library today to print them out, only to find my estate caked in snow this morning. I could have gone and stopped being a wuss, but my dad said I would be better off at home, as the temperature outside is horribly low and I have recovered from two sniffles in the past few weeks.

So my new plan is to go on Monday, for the editor of DD magazine called me yesterday to come into the office to see her. Yes, it looks like I will finally have a paid job. According to forecasts, it will be sunny tomorrow and foggy on Monday, so the roads won’t be too bad and I will be able to run my errands. Perhaps I will buy a new diary as well.

Tree Decorating and Interview

The past week has been going very well. I have now finished redrafting the novel and it looks like it is ready to be sent to agents. At the moment, I am working on the synopsis (cheers Janet, for proofreading it!) and the covering letter.

Other than that, I have been switching between two addresses and attended yet another interview.

I went to stay at my brother’s house on Friday night after my sister-in-law persuaded me. I think it is getting to the point where being the only girl in her home is becoming lonely. I know the feeling and although I get on better with guys, sometimes being the only graduate in a work place can be very isolating.

But anyways, I digress. I managed to get most of the redrafting done over the weekend, spending the free time on Saturday helping my sister-in-law decorate the tree, whilst listening to Katrina Kaif mime to a song about how sexy she is for everyone. Yes, she really is humble...

...Only kidding…I’m not an envious prick, for I really do like beautiful women.

I also forgot how amazingly funny 'Father Ted' was. My brother's friend lent him the DVDs - I have not watched them since I was 10 years old and I've got to say, the jokes I did not get back then are funny to me now, particularly the part when Father Ted confronts milkman Pat Mustard about impregnating the women of Craggy Island. In response, Mustard askes Ted if he's implying that he should used articificial contraception and Ted shouts, "Yes I...no I....if you're gunna be..I...JUST FECK OFF!" Honestly, I did not know that Catholics were not allowed to use condoms until I was 16.

I was planning to go back home on Saturday after the X Factor finishes. However, my mum and dad did not turn up and I had to stay another night. Not that I did mind, as I quite enjoy staying with my brother and sister-in-law, although at this time of year, I have to tolerate watching Strictly Come Dancing on a Saturday night. Boo times indeed.

It was during the Sunday result show of X Factor that my mum and dad arrived, telling me that they could not turn up on Saturday because they lost track of time when they went to visit my dad’s friend in hospital. As for the X Factor, I immediately lost interest when One Direction were voted out…yes, trendy Boyband members are not really my type, but I’ve got to say I am a sucker for big curly hair and long side-fringes. Ok…I admit, just big curly hair ;)

I have just returned from an interview in Birmingham for assistant journalist at DD Magazine. I received the email from someone called Yannick last Friday, asking me if I’d be happy to do an internship for a few weeks before being paid, which I agreed to. But to my surprise, I found out that Yannick was actually a man…if I had known this I would have opted for a lower-cut top….

…Joking! I would never lower myself in that way (excuse the pun!). The interview went really well, as they asked me about the course I did at university and what I have done in the past with regards to journalism. Surprisingly, the interview was very short and I went home straight away. As soon as I got home, I sent the articles I promised to email Yannick, as he wanted to keep the NME Style supplement I created with my group two years ago. So hopefully, in a few weeks time, I will be working in an office again soon. I just hope that it’s a pleasant enough place.

Re-drafting and Re-writing

Hey hey, time for another fill in.

I was updating last Monday, but my lovely internet connection thought I had a nice enough sense of humour to see the funny side of it losing connection just as I was publishing the post. Of course, it thought wrong, for I had just wasted an hour typing up something that was never going to be read by my friends. Internet connection…you slag.

Anyways, I will update on what’s been going on in the re-drafting department over the last few days. I sent the first 6 chapters to three of my friends on Sunday, since they all kindly volunteered. My friend Janet gave me the quickest response, sending me my drafts on Monday morning. I brushed up the grammar and put in a little tweaks on the last five chapters, where Janet highlighted the faults. But it was the Prologue that needed the most help, as she was a little confused as to what the characters looked like, imagining alien creatures, rather than the human forms they are.

Three years of being taught to be economical in the description parts looks like it has had a negative effect. I am not saying you must never do this. It’s always preferential that the author describes one or two features that best show the character’s personality. But only in a novel that is set in the real world. In fantasy, when you have two different races that are not human, it is vital that you describe what they look like, or at least tell the reader if they are human-looking at all; otherwise you will think what Janet thought when she read my opening chapters.

Yesterday and today, I spent my free time extending one of the chapters to the point that it had to be split into two chapters. I realised that the story didn’t flow every well in the chapter and the large surprises came too suddenly and therefore, came across as vague. So I had to do an awful lot of extending and to be honest, I really enjoyed it. On Tuesday, I spent four to five hours typing incessantly and it felt like the narrative was naturally flowing out of me like bog roll. Unfortunately, such hard work comes at a price and I ended up suffering from a bit of a headache.

I did not bother with Paracetomel, I only take them when I really need to (i.e. horrid period pains that make you feel like crap all day). So I decided it was best to sleep off the pain and surely enough, I was feeling fine by the next morning. I have just finished extending the other chapter and brushing up on the two that follow. I will have to spend my free day tomorrow looking through the chapter and thinking about ways in which to make it exciting.

Last Chapter Complete

Yes, the blog title is self-explanatory. The last chapter of the novel is now complete! After two hours of procrastinating, I have managed to finish this chapter. Ah, the joys of tiredness and temptation. But I am now happy and a little sad that the tale has now come to an end.

I am happy, because seven months of hard work has paid off and yet sad because…well the ending was a little sad. I did not cry, mind you. To be honest, it is possible to cry at your own work? I’m not sure, but for me, I never get emotional when I read something poignant I’ve written, which is why I find it very, very difficult to judge whether what I’ve written is any good or not. Oh well, I will sent it to some friends when I get the chance.

I know the entire thing is not perfect, which is why I plan to re-read and re-draft the entire thing when I come back to it with fresh eyes. Yes, I plan to take a week off from all of this, then come back to judge it. Its difficult to judge your own piece right after you’ve finished writing, because a) you are tired and can’t judge good writing properly and/or b) you been behind the scenes, you know what happens and how the story unfolds and thus, it’s difficult to read your own piece from the POV of an unknowing writer. Reminds me of something Margaret Attwood wrote in the Guardian:

“You can never read your own book with the innocent anticipation that comes with that first delicious page of a new book, because you wrote the thing. You've been backstage. You've seen how the rabbits were smuggled into the hat”.

I’ve included the link at the bottom. Annoyingly, my links never works, which means you need to copy and paste the stupid thing into the address box at the top of the page. Even though it’s an old article (Birmingham David sent me the link back in June), it’s an interesting read. Basically, 14 writers give their top 10 rules for writing fiction. Some are worth reading, others not so…so read critically!

LINK

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/20/ten-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-one

My Mistake...White Lions do Exist!

I have just realised that I made an idiot of myself in yesterday's blog about white peacocks.

I sarcastically said that in several years time, we may see white lions, panthers and perhaps even trees.

Well, it transpires that white lions already exist, as do lobsters, crabs, penguins, tarantulas, parrots and many other animals you don't expect to be white. You can Google them if you like...they are actually astoundingly beautiful creatures.

I also realised that panthers are not a species of the cat family who are exclusively black. If fact, "black panther" is a term used to describe any leopard, jaguar or cougar that has a black hide. Yes, I was shocked when my brother told me that black leopards exist, to which I conjured an image of a leopard with black fur and white spots. In fact, he was the one who told me to wikiepedia "panther", seeing an opportunity to make me look like an idiot. So yes, Bagheera from 'The Jungle Book' is in fact a black jaguar. And the Pink Panther is the same, but either painted himself pink or drank too much strawberry milkshake. As for the latter, this is a cartoon, anything can happen...you can even turn yourself orange by eating too many Wotsits! Well, at least it's a cheaper alternative for Katie Price wannabes.

I was going to suggest that black swans may evolve from white ones. But I thought I'd Google it before I'd make such a joke. And yes, they do exist. Again, Google them...they are gorgeous creatures.

The only thing I can think of now is that we may find black flamingos in the future (white ones already exist). I googled black flamingos and I could only find flamingo shaped ornaments painted black, so I'm certain they do not currently share the planet with us. But I think they should...they'd look pretty awesome :)

White Peacock Charm

And no, despite what the title of this blog suggests, I am not racist. White peacocks do indeed exist, as shown beautifully in the picture on the left.

I was Googling peacocks the other day (can’t remember why now), when I stumbled upon this gorgeous stunner. Perplexed that such a creature can exist, I decided to do some further research on Google to see how and why this could be. Apparently they are not Albinos. And they DO live in parts of India. My wild guess is that they are like the black and white tigers and leopards…they are merely a form of evolution. You never know, in a few years we might find white lions and panthers…maybe even trees! :S

Anyways, as I was reading up on them, one woman mentioned that it’s good luck to see a white peacock. She’s had a picture of one on her desktop for couple of days and so far, her days have gone smoothly. If she hasn’t been run over yet, I’d say it’s probably true.

I now have a picture of one on my desktop, simply because it's amazingly stunning. But I personally won’t know about its lucky charm for sure, until I get the novel published, somehow find 100K in my bank account and I get a very long hug from Harry Styles XD

One Chapter to Go!

Yes you read it. I now have only one chapter to go! I spend most of this week trying to get Chapter 26 sorted.

I’ve got to admit, it was difficult getting into it, as starting a chapter is by far the most daunting thing about chapter writing. I even tried to resort to writing on paper. Yes, I know this is a little hypocritical, seeing as I complained about it in another blog. But there was too much temptation on the laptop to procrastinate (Facebook, Blogger, newspapers, Youtube…you get the idea) and moreover, the glare of the screen can give you a bit of a headache. So I tried the pen and paper way, only to churn out one sentence, before lazily watching some random cooking programme that my dad always watches on a weekend.
Fortunately I did write a few paragraphs before tuning into the X Factor’s Sunday Results. Yes, I know I slated the show in a previous blog, but watching the suppressed annoyance on Cowell and Miss Tweedy’s faces when Wagner gets through is becoming a weekend ritual. I’ve got to say, his outlandish performances are getting a little tired now. But because he’s a gracious man, smiling in the face of horrid judges, apart from the lovely Danni and a booing crowd (it’s a dumb TV show people. He did NOT rape or murder anyone!) I do hope he gets through and makes it to the final, just to show that the programme and the press have no power over the people.
Anyways, I digress. I wrote the rest of the chapter over the last few days. It was a very sensitive chapter, delving deeper into the issues at hand. It allowed me to explore the psychology behind love…which I know to be a very complex thing. Since the protagonist is a child, it was interesting to observe this sort of thing through the eyes of a 12 to 13 year old. Again, I won’t reveal too much ;)

Over the next few days, I plan to figure out how the last chapter will close the entire thing. I’m pretty excited. But at the same time, I guess it will be like finishing some exams. You spend months revising like someone on a strict diet. But then when it all finishes, it feels strange to wake up the following morning and realise you don’t have to revise, stress and panic anymore.

Two Chapters to go!

Only a short one today. I thought I’d give an update on the novel front. The title of this entry is self-explanatory, which is why I haven’t been writing in this blog for a long while.

The two battle scenes are complete now. Surprisingly (or not so), I found them to be extremely enjoyable to write once I got into them. Reminds me of something Paul said: “I don’t think I believe in Writer’s Block. Writer’s Block is a term people use to give them an excuse not to do anything”. I partially agree with him. Sometimes, lazy people give themselves all kind of excuses not to do anything. It’s a way of saying, “Gah! I’ll do it tomorrow”. And then the day after that becomes the new tomorrow and so on.
But at the same time, I do feel that people genuinely cannot bring themselves to write, either because they are exhausted or are emotionally distressed about something. I can definitely say that I’ve been in both camps, which was why one or two of my essays did not turn up as great as they should have been. Yes, writing and the unpredictability of men is not a good combination.

But anyways, I digress. I think what Paul said was my problem. I was tempted by laziness and as a result saw the task as impossible. But being the driven person I am, I looked back at my notes and decided to plan the chapter in a way that excited me - for example, I added interesting scenes, forms and dialogue that would hold my attention.
Everything is doable. You just need an interesting story and characters to keep you going.

I have just completed the chapter which ties up everything that has been happening in the novel - won’t give too much away with regards to that. At the moment, I’m feeling a mixture of sadness and relief. Sadness because my protagonist’s journey is coming to a close and relief because my six months of hard work is finally paying off.

Battle Scenes and Crashing Taxis

Thought I’d give a quick update with regards to the novel. I’m really pleased to say that after weeks of not being able to do it, I’ve finally started the battle scene and completed a chapter last weekend. I think the drive came from spending three days doing something very formal, and then relishing in the joy and pleasure of doing something fun and creative over the following days.

I wish I could tell you guys that I only have three more chapters to go. But alas I can’t. I had to cut the battle scene into two chapters as it was that long. But don’t worry. The writing is not kinetic and it does not go into detail as to how the two sides fought (something I detest in battle scenes I have read). Instead, I’ve focused more on emotion and interesting events that really show off each character’s abilities and personalities.

Other than that, work has been Ok over the past few days. Although, it is getting a little tiresome as I’m doing the same things everyday, i.e writing press releases, analysing press cuttings on Durrants and emailing lecturers and staff. But today has been pretty good, as I interviewed someone for the first time…my Creative Writing lecturer, Paul McDonald.

I’ve been taught by him a few times during my time at university, particularly the ‘Humour Writing’ and ‘Novel Writing’ modules. But other than that, I have not seen much of him around.

The interview went quiet well, as he gave some very interesting answers, the best one being: “don’t wait for inspiration to come, go and find it. It’s like catching a taxi. You have to call one to get one…it’s not going to come crashing through your house window”. As you can see, Paul is a comedic writer.

But best part of the reunion was at the end of the interview, when I thanked him for giving me advice on the covering letter I sent to Tindal Street Press (by the way, he was the lecturer who commented on my status regarding this). He told me that if I do get published, there is a chance that other publishers might read the anthology and email me if they think what I’ve written is really good. But I’m not setting my hopes too high. I know my luck better than anyone else.

WILTED Shortlisted

I decided to keep this post separate so as not to overload anyone with information. Moreover I naturally feel that this topic has to have a post by itself as it was the only thing this week that made my chest burst with pride and happiness. Not literally of course, otherwise I wouldn’t be alive writing this blog. Ha!

I was going to despondently report on Sunday that my short story Wilted must have been chewed up in the Recycling Bin icon, as I had not heard from Tindal Street Press all last month. I suppose now it was a good thing that my laptop was infected with Spyware all weekend. After an exhausting first day at work on Monday, I threw myself by the heater and pushed the laptop open to check my mail. My heart jerked when I found an email from Rikhi, one of the editors of the ‘Asian Enough’ anthology.

He told me that they had received plenty of high quality submissions and the reason why it took so long to respond to everyone was because shortlisting had been so difficult what with so many brilliant stories.

And because of this, I was shocked when he wrote that my story (see the blog WILTED in the August section) had been put forward for the final round of consideration. I was so overwhelmed; I went on my abandoned Facebook account to notify my friends of the news.

The response has been lovely, even one of my Creative writing lecturers congratulated me and he never comments on my statuses!

This is going to sound cheesy, but I don’t care, I just have to say it. From the bottom of my heart I thank Chris and Janet for reading the piece and giving me much needed feedback. I must also thank Chris for his script, which inspired me to write again during a time when I was suffering from writer’s fatigue. And last but not least, I want to thank Nicola for encouraging me to write this piece. If she had not mentioned the anthology and threw out some vague ideas to get me started, Wilted would not exist.

The final selections will be made in mid-November, so I have some time to wait for a response. Knowing my luck, I might not get picked, as there is so much competition, but I’m just glad that the editors loved it enough to shortlist it.

Other than that, I’ve sent off a short story I did in first Year University today to the Grapevine, an ex pat magazine. Again, Nicola encouraged me to do this, for she has sent a few of her stories off to the magazine, which she knew of as her sister is one of the people who read it.

The short story was written during the module, ‘Craft of Writing’, in which we were taught to craft a short story. I was made to write it in a week, for my lecturer wasn’t too keen on the story I had given her to critique a week before the deadline. I don’t blame her now; it was an embarrassment of a tale which involved an acrobat taking revenge on her lion tamer lover. Anyways, she said that I was a good enough writer to write about something real. So, I decided to write about a pretentious woman who is slave to society’s shallow expectations of her. You could call it slightly semi-autobiographical, for at college when I was doing my Textile course; I was sucked into buying the most expensive clothes I could afford and styling them immaculately: gold shoes matching my bag and a khaki jacket that looked fresh and clean against my beige top and light jeans. As it was only a year ago or so since it happened (at the time), I could clearly remember the judgemental looks from other people and the fear of disapproval from the other guys and girls studying fashion.

No need to worry these days of course. I’m much happier now that I’m doing something that I enjoy and is very much me. In fact, I’m so content and anxiety-free at this very moment, I’m going to go and watch Disney’s The Jungle Book now with my family. Since Katie Waissel sang ‘Wanna Be like You’ on the X Factor, my dad has been wondering where our VRS copy of the film was, since it’s one of his favourite films of all time. Luckily, we found it over the weekend and watched it on Saturday and again on Sunday. Just comes to show how addictive it truly is.

Spyware and Work

It’s been a while since I wrote in this. I was going to update last Sunday, but unfortunately the laptop was infected with Spyware and was subsequently sent to my cousin’s to be repaired. Yes, the joys of bitter spotty virgins who think that hacking other people’s computers is a form of social life.

I was a little disappointed, as I managed to get some writing done on Friday. My mum and I went to my brother and sister-in-law’s house for a visit. As my mum and sister-in-law babbled in Gujarati, I took out my brother’s laptop and began writing the first bit of the Battle scene. It’s strange how motivated one can be in an environment other than their home. Don’t get me wrong, I can write a lot at home. But sometimes when I’m not motivated to do something, I find that there are plenty of opportunities to daydream or read articles on the Daily Mail website. There have been times where I thought about taking my laptop to the library to write, but I don’t like the idea of walking home alone under the darkening sky, when there are dodgy people lurking around, spying out lonely skinny women who can’t defend themselves. Bastards.

The weekend was pretty uneventful – I tried writing the rest of my chapter the old-fashioned, traditional way…yes, by pen and paper. Unfortunately I only churned out a few sentences before lying down by the heater lazily. I’m just too used to typing; it’s easier to abuse the keyboard, rather than scrawling hastily on a piece of paper while your brain is working faster than your hand. Or maybe I’ve been writing stories via Word for so long that writing on paper feels un-natural.

On Halloween, we only got one trick-or-treater at the door, which we ignored, by pretending that we were in the back garden and couldn’t hear them. It was strange, because we always get at least three. But then, I saw some little children dressed as superheroes, clowns and monsters in the afternoon, heading around one of the corners of our estate without knocking on any doors. It seemed apparent that one of their friends was holding a Halloween party, which probably explains why most of them didn’t bother with the Trick or Treating this year.

I started work on Monday. It’s going quiet well, although the environment is pretty dry as I don’t have much common ground with the girls who share my working space. Their walls are covered with Take That posters, pink hearts and flowers and drawings of Edward Cullen and Jacob Black. But the work is pretty enjoyable, as I spend all day writing press releases and articles for the university website. I felt a little stupid as Vicky keeps finding grammatical errors in my work and tells me to re-word things. But I’m confident that I will improve once I get used to this strange world of real jobs.

Marathon, Handsworth and early Trick or Treaters

I am taking a couple of weeks off the novel now. It is getting to the point where I’m losing motivation because I’ve been doing the same thing for several months. I will get back to it, but only when I have a burning urge to write a novel again. For the mean time, I will spend my free time reading and becoming inspired. If there are any recommendations, feel free to comment.

I went to the EDF Half Marathon in Birmingham last Sunday. My brother (the one who has his own house) had been running by the local canal over the past couple of months in preparation for his run. I had expected him to tell us when to wake up the day before when he came to visit us. However he didn’t, which meant that he was not planning to have us watch him cross the finish line from the sideline, beaming with joy.

Nevertheless, my mum suggested that we go and surprise him, as well as to fulfil my expectation, as I had been looking forward to going all week. We walked all the way to Broad Street from the car park. We arrived there to find a forest of sweating men and women padding under the bridge, wrapped in silver foil, which flashed and glittered in the sunlight. I’m not sure why this is, but I think it’s supposed to be a symbol that screams, “I ran 13 miles and made it!”, as their medals are probably too small to catch other people’s attention. No disrespect of course, running a marathon for charity is worth being proud of and showing off.

After an hour or two of watching and waiting, we came to the realisation that my brother must have finished a long time ago, as we couldn’t see him anywhere. Moreover, we know that my brother isn’t a slow runner. So we went to the stalls and bought a cheese burger and some hot dogs, which were lovely by the way. Beacon Radio was hosting the live music that was playing on stage by the finishing line. According to the Radio DJ on stage a 77 year old man took part in the marathon. To be honest, it doesn’t surprise me, as I saw a man of a similar age climbing Snowdon back in 2006 and another a few months ago on Ben Nevis.

Apparently people from all over Europe had taken part, which probably explains the thousands and thousands of people we saw. It’s funny now, because at the time I was thinking, “Surely there can’t be that many Sports enthusiasts in the West Midlands?” But then, there could have been participants from other parts of England, as far away as Manchester and London. Actually, the latter might be a little unlikely, as London have their own Marathons.

We then went to Handsworth for some grocery shopping. It’s a district in Birmingham, which is heavily populated by Asians. No, Birmingham is not racist; in fact it is one of the most multicultural parts of England. But I suppose as there are so many shops to run independently and Asians are well know to set up their own businesses, it’s natural that this part of the Midlands would become a less exotic Bazaar. And a Bazzar it is.

The baskets at front of supermarkets are filled with fruits and vegetables; the shelves in some shops are lined with miniature Buddhas laughing as their stomachs slouched and others with CDs of Bollywood tracks and religious hymns. But what always catches my eyes are mannequins posing at shop windows, clad in jewel embellished saris and suits. That’s the best thing about this place. I can always fantasise about wearing things that are too expensive for me. And perhaps I will never wear.

Unfortunately that night, as I was sat messing with my phone and half listening to the Xtra Factor (nothing else was on!), I heard a knock on the door. My brother and my sister in law had visited a few hours earlier to show off the medal, so naturally I thought they had forgotten something. Much to my horror, I opened the door to find a pair of painted green faces and pointed hats. “Trick or Treat” said the girls.

I opened my mouth as some mumbled sounds came out of it. It wasn’t so much that I was nervous. It was more out of disbelief and being stuck in an awkward moment with two strangers who, to be honest, seemed too old to go trick or treating. I eventually uttered “I haven’t any money”, to which they drawled a lazy “OK”, before walking off.

And that was the first time I didn’t have to lie I order to get some people to go away ;)

Toy Story: Kinder Suprises in Battle

Over the first three days, I struggled to conjure the motivation to write the battle scene.
I think it was a combination of being burned out in the creativity department as well as being a typical girl. I know the latter sounds a little sexist, but I think it’s true. Jason and I were talking last week after my intern interview. Apparently, he would have no problem in writing a battle scene, but he would struggle in writing a love scene. With me, it’s the complete opposite, I know how to describe sensuality and bring romantic feelings to the page, but writing a scene that involves jabbing swords, blood spurting and raucous screaming is difficult without it boring me or coming across as boring to the reader.

I know this sounds weird, coming from someone who included a battle scene in her novel, but at the time I seriously thought I’d be able to write one and have fun with it. But when it came to the crunch, I guess I came to the realisation that I only have fun with writing when I’m dealing with strong characters interacting with one another, something I’ve been incessantly encouraged to do for three years by my lecturer. Damn you Candi Miller. Damn you.

Today, it got to the point where I could not stand being unmotivated. On Tuesday, I Googled ‘How to write a battle scene’ to kick start my brain and one source suggested that I get some pins and items and plan out the battlefield. The closest I have to pins are my Kinder Surprise toys, which have been left in a plastic bag for seven years now.

It was weird to look at and touch my toys. The Polly Pockets look like they’ve been drenched for a year in urine and my some of my toys (the ones you have to assemble together) are now limbless. But the better quality toys were still how I remembered them, although a little gnawed and white here and there from excessive use. Most of these were the ones I got from the Kinder Surprise chocolates, which I got addicted to collecting at the age of five after my cousin bought me one. Hawaiian turtles wore garlands flowers around their necks and heads and the crocodiles held books and bags in preparation for school. It’s a bloody shame the company doesn’t make them as bright and creative as they used to. I bought one two years ago, and left the flimsy plastic toy I had to assemble on the shop shelf. That is how horrid they are.

Anyways I digress. I split my toys in two opposing sides: the turtles and crocs played the part of the Asurs and the Disney characters played the part of the Devs. I’ve got to say, this method worked. I was able to visualise the scene and made notes on the various events that could happen. Funnily, while I was doing this, my sister-in-law dropped by for a visit. She pointed the tips of her rigid palm towards my toys (the way most Indians do) and mockingly asked me how old I was.

Now that I have the idea, I need some good battle scenes to read, just to see how such a chapter is organised and how it’s written. My friend Janet recommended The Final Battle by Greg Farshtey, which I will look for in the library…if not, then Amazon it is. In the mean time, I will be skim reading The Return of the King, just to get an idea of how events in a battle chapter are organised and shown in a narrative. To be honest, getting through Lord of the Rings without the over-written Medevil language putting me off is a bit of a challenge already. Plus, I’ve been severely told off my Candi for overwriting, most of which was down to being encouraged by my English teacher to use Tolkien as inspiration for my metaphors and similes.

Pricks and Friends

It has been a very long day. I have come back from Birmingham, where I was to have my “interview” with a nameless company. I say nameless because the bastard on the phone was careful not to mention it, in case I did a Google search.

It was on the bus back from my intern interview last week when I got his call. He made it out as though he was offering paid on-the-job training and that I was to attend a very informal interview. I should have known there was something very strange about all of this as I don’t remember applying for any admin work in Birmingham…but then, I very rarely remember the vacancies I applied to.

I was going to cancel it after I received an email from Vicky regarding my intern. That was the reason why I didn’t mention it in my last blog, as there was no point. But as he was not in his office, I thought it would be best to contact him on Monday morning.

But this morning, he called me to ask me if I was still going to make the meeting, to which I told him about the intern. He said I could still do it part-time, so I decided there was no harm in coming along, just to see what the office and people were like.

However, the unprofessional manner of this man and this Techworks company were all too apparent. He was 20 minutes late, as I sat on one of the plush chairs of the waiting area, reading a high-fashion glossy. He led me into a spacious office room, with leather cushioned stools and modern desks. Here, I filled in an application form, while he disappeared somewhere. When he came back, he explained that because of the competition in the IT and admin area, I would need some training. He handed me a sheet that listed all of the modules of this silly course. I can’t remember what he said as I wasn’t listening, all the time thinking, “mate, I left university five months ago, I need on-the-job experience, not another course”.

I looked down at the sheet and saw the price of it all. £1000. My mind was made up. I told him that I will get back to him when I have earned enough money, when really my intentions were to ignore him as though he was some loser I had drunkenly led on the night before. But to be honest, there was no way I was going to trust him anyways, as there was something very ‘cuntish’ about his stretched smile and sleazy aura. Yes, I do hate him; but only because he tricked me into travelling all the way to Birmingham and wasted 2 hours of my life. Prick.

For those who think I’m being too harsh, I actually Googled Techworks and yes, they are a scam. One disgruntled man had paid the money, only to receive poor services from the website where he had to do his online learning. Not only that, but he realized that he could have learned all that he knew from a book costing £20…or even £10 on Amazon. He is now trying to get his money back and so he should (see link below).

Now that I’ve ripped up the module sheet (which also included Prick McPrickson’s number), I’ll move on to the less depressing parts of my day. I saw Rupal on my way home. She looked glamorous as always with her Bridget Bardot hair and plum scarf that made her skin look even more opulent. She was all smiles as she had just returned from university. I didn’t tell her about the stupid man, but I did tell her about the internship, which she was really pleased for as she gave me a huge hug. We stood there talking for a good 15 minutes. That’s what I love about friends. You never tire of their company and when it’s time to go, you wish time would stop being such a jealous bastard.

On a more lighter note, I’m a little disheartened that Diva Fever were voted out yesterday on the X Factor. Yes, I did slate the show in a previous entry, but I’m a sucker for novelty acts that are so bad they’re good. Last year it was Jedward (the Ghostbusters performance was by far the most hilarious TV moment of 2009), this year, its Diva Fever and Wagner, the latter only lives 15 minutes away from my estate!

Oh well, Wagner’s still in, even though his last performance wasn’t as funny as the first. Perhaps Louis should give him a Ricky Martin number to further mutilate.

Oh and for your viewing pleasure, here's Jedward's ritous rendition of Ghostbusters



LINKS:

http://www.certforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=34343

Starting Placement in two weeks

I am pleased to inform that I am going to start my placement in two weeks.

My interview was last Thursday. I turned up to Wolverhampton University in my chiffon blouse and pinstriped trousers and was told by the receptionist to wait on the second floor. So there I was, sitting on a plastic chair against a large glossy window, wondering when the interviewer, Vicky Warren was to turn up.

Surprisingly a few minutes later, a young woman climbs down the stairs and walks towards me, showing off her perfectly white teeth. For some reason I had expected Vicky to be an older woman in her late to early thirties, which is silly as most older women with the same name would rather be called Victoria.

I led to the third floor…apparently; the receptionist had sent me to the wrong floor. I was led into a room filled with computers and people typing and drinking coffee. Think the office place in the film ‘500 days of Summer’ and you get the perfect picture. She then led me to a little room at the back, where Lisa, a woman from the Communication department, was sat waiting.

To my relief, the interview went amazingly well. I had been stressing over the few days, as I had let procrastination tempt me and I was forced to do a lot of last minute revision. But the interview only comprised of telling them what I wanted to get out of the placement and what my strengths were, before showing them some articles I had written during my time at university, both at UCE and Wolves. They seemed quite intrigued, commenting that they were very well written. They even asked if they could keep them.

I was given some homework, in which I had to turn a press release into a news article. I agreed to meet Jason at 4 o clock, as one of his team members moved the group meeting from 12 to 3. So, I spent the 2 hours I had to kill on writing up my article on one of the computers in the building.

I met up with Jason outside the main entrance, for the security guard would not let me in without an ID card. After three years of easy admittance, I forget that I’m no longer a student. As we had hot chocolate in the student café, Jason asked me if I miss student life. I looked around. Students in checked shirts, hoodies and River Island outfits bought from their Student Loans were sitting at tables, chatting and laughing. To be honest, I did not miss uni life in the slightest; perhaps because I feel like a large fish in a small pond. Although work life is never going to be easy to begin with, at least I will be doing something I enjoy, rather than working on assignments and getting drunk, the latter is now very boring to me.

The following day, I brushed up and proofread my article, before sending it off to Vicky. Two hours later, I received an email from her telling me that my article was very good and that she is offering me the intern. Yay times indeed! I will be starting at the beginning of November, so it will give me two weeks to go office garb shopping.

As for the novel, it will have to take a back seat for now. I have included a new chapter, which will add a little kick to the suspicions that arise in the later part of the novel. To be honest, I really do need a break from all of this. It’s getting to the point where I have done this for too long and I need to look at the whole thing with fresh eyes. I will plan the battle scene in the two weeks I will have free. Although, I feel a bloke would be better that this :(

A Promising Placement

I was meaning to write this entry yesterday, but alas didn’t because a) my brother spent most of yesterday evening on Youtube, comic book websites and Liverpool FC and b) I was working obsessively on my CV, the latter relating to this entry

I spent most of Monday applying for placements on Graduate Advantage and The Graduate Talent Pool. Surprisingly, I received an email from Ann Gough, a staff member of Wolverhampton College the following day, inviting me for a meeting. I wasn’t sure whether this was an interview or an informal meeting, but I decided to wear my pinstripe flares and chiffon blouse, just in case.

It was the first time I set foot in a college in four years. There were girls in Topshops outfits and plastered on makeup, Jocks in hoodies and Cool kids with layered hair and Indie- Tees. I’ve got to admit, being around 17 years olds was a little uncomfortable, despite the fact that I’m always mistaken for one. No, it was not because they make me feel old, far from that. You see, there are two types of teenagers. There are the reserved types, who are either dressed down, or take their fashion inspiration from NME and Kerrang. At school, they were too shy, quiet, swotty or non-conformist to be included in the in-crowd. These people I do not mind. However, then there are the arrogant hyperactive types, who without a doubt were the head of the school hierarchy, who spend too much time staring in a pocket mirror and talking about which girls or boys they want to shag, whilst listening to Justin Timberlake and Timberland. No, the populars at my school were never sneering towards me, in fact on the contrary they were very nice. However, that was Holly Hall. I am not sure if other schools around the West Midlands are quite the same.

Anyways I digress. I arrived at the college a few minutes late; as the 246 I catch to Dudley Bus station was ten minutes late and I had trouble finding the place. The hot blonde receptionist directed me to Ann’s room, coolly pointing at a corridor, as though he was showing off a gun. Luckily, Ann was finishing a phone call when I arrived, for I had worried that my slight lateness might have given a bad impression.

Much to my surprise, I find out that Ann was more like an agent to graduates, sending off their CVs to various different placements around the UK and abroad. I was under the impression that I was starting an internship at Wolverhampton College, but I’ve got to say, Ann was much more helpful than any agent I find at job centres, asking me what I was like as a person and what I wanted to get out of an internship. I told her about the novel I was working on and that I wanted to gain some much needed experience from my placement as applying for jobs on the net is pretty much fruitless. She made me feel better about my current situation, telling me that the last thing a graduate should do is sit at home applying for jobs, for employers will very rarely hire someone with little experience, regardless of how superior their degree is.

I went home that day with the intention of rewriting my CV, for Ann told me that although it highlighted what I have done in the past, it said very little about me and my personal and professional attributes. I agree, my CV does make me come across as one dimensional. However, despite that, Ann emailed me this morning telling me that Wolverhampton University want to see me for an interview next week for a PR internship.

I’m pretty excited about doing some professional writing work and delving in the media side of things. I intend to spend the next few days preparing for my interview and making sure I do not make a tit of myself, like I had done in the last interview.

Certificate, Cool Kids with Superhero Powers and (hopefully) an Interview

The last few days has been very hit and miss. In fact, I’ll start with the miss as the list of hits that will finish this blog will make me feel less sucky about my progress at the moment.

Ok, here it goes. I did not do much writing since completing the 21st chapter. Actually, telling a lie, I didn’t really complete it, as there still needs to be one or two more paragraphs that will lead up to the largest final battle scene. The ideas are there (vaguely), but it’s just the process of writing that is putting me off. I know this is very ironic as I am writing right now, but as I’ve explained in earlier blogs, writing in a journal is different to writing a chapter. In a journal, you can write whatever the hell you like without worrying what other people are going to think. For example, I could have one or two spelling errors in this blog and perhaps one or two of the sentences might not flow so well, but the people reading this blog will not judge this entry too harshly. Whereas, with a novel, a publisher (or a very picky reader) will judge it like the Strictly Come Dancing judges judging a ropey dancer. Yes, every detail counts. If there is one spelling error or a sentence is a bit meh, it will go straight in the reject pile.

Birmingham David tells me that I’m just burnt out from writing every single day. In fact, I would say it is very true. I have been writing for nine months (including uni work) non-stop. After university finished, I went straight into novel writing, as it was something I wanted to do. In the words of our Dave, “you need a holiday”. Yes, Dave I would happily jet off to Thailand or Goa for a week…if I had the cash.

On the Hit side…I finally received my certificate on Thursday! I wasn’t sure if it was going to arrive as we need to send a copy of our passport and a recent letter to Student Office confirm our identity and address. The only recent letter that is not a bank statement was one from Student Loans, sent last year. I panicked a little when a woman sent me an email telling me that I need to send a more recent letter. But I held my ground when I told her that it was the only letter that does not have my bank details. Annoyingly, there was no response for a few days and I was wondering if they were ever going to post my degree. Luckily, my next door neighbour dropped by and handed my mum a recorded parcel. I knew from the card board that it was my degree. My heart leapt as I ripped open the seal and saw the Times Roman print of “University of Wolverhampton”. I showed my dad that night, who told me it was the best present I could ever give him. Yes, a little cheesy, but when you’re a proud parent you can get away with sentimental cliques.

On Sunday, I took the day off from job hunting and writing by watching Scott Pilgrim with Birmingham David. Annoyingly I had to walk all the way from Argos (can never remember the street) to Corporation Street where I was to meet Dave, as most of the roads were blocked off to make way for David Cameron and his shiny black Limo. Apparently the conference was taking place in Birmingham this year. Luckily, Birmingham David seemingly wasn’t annoyed and we made our way to AMC on Broad Street. Thankfully, as I hate wasting money in this recession, Scott Pilgrim was amazing! It was a kaleidoscopic burst of Nintendo sounds, Comic book tags and bubble writing exploding with “K.O.”, “Vs” and “Smack”. The guys sport Indie hair-cut and scruffy Tees, the girls ooze a rocker-chick sexiness (or cuteness, depending on who you’re looking at) and in homage to Mario, the bad guys explode into coins when they’re killed. And not only that, but it is easily the most quotable film, with my favourites being:

1) “you cocky cock!”
2) “you punched me in the boob! Prepare to die obviously!”
3) “you made me swallow my gum, that’s going to be in my digestive tract for seven years!”

But be warned, it is one of those films that you’re either going to think is fantastically awesome, or hideously silly. So do not take my word for it.

On top of the certificate and the joy of witnessing cult classic brilliance, I have also been short listed for an interview. I know it’s not much to scream home about, but it is a much needed ray of hope after months of searching.

And on a finishing note, I will upload a video. Since yesterday, I could not stop listening to Scott Pilgrim’s Sex Bob-Omb’s songs, all of which have been written and composed by Beck. It was hard choosing a favourite between ‘Garbage Truck’, ‘We are Sex-Bob-Omb’ and ‘Threshold’, as they are all equally awesome. But this one beats the other two by just a millimetre. Enjoy!

Getting in touch with my Gok Wan alterego

I am quite happy at the moment. I have made some progress in the past few days. I now have four more chapters to write, but for the mean time, I am leaving them alone for this week. I’m sure many of you are wondering why, and here is the answer. After much pondering, I have decided to include a new character.

At first I was reluctant to do it, as I have gotten used to the original story. But it had to be done. There were two suspects and it was becoming too predictable as to who was behind the murder of one of the characters. Yes, I know my readers are not dumb.
So I spent a very enjoyable Friday and Saturday writing a new chapter. And no, I am not being sarcastic, it really was very enjoyable. I got to create a new character and show his personality, which was easy as he was a mixture of my dad, nephew, ex, my mates ex and me. Yes, that is an eclectic range of inspiration, but to be honest, it all naturally happened. It was only when I re-read the chapter that I was like “Huh, that’s like him and that’s like her…”

Currently, I am including this character in places where he could be. After all, I cannot have him in one chapter and have him forgotten in the rest. He really does need to come into contact with the protagonist…I can’t explain why, but it just feels natural that he should. That is another thing with writing. You really do need to trust your guts and write things that feel right.

Other than that, my week has been busy, what with writing and job hunting, but I did take the Sunday off. I played personal shopper with my friend Rupal, who needed someone to assist her with clothes shopping at Merry Hill. She needed some new clothes for university (she starts today – YAY!) and like all women, needed a second opinion as to what looked great on her. Even though I have not done Textiles in four years and I’ve neglected fashion since starting university, I must say, I really enjoyed giving advice as to what colours suited her and what items accentuated her hourglass figure. In fact, fashion may well be something I need to be reacquainted with, as I’ve sent an application off for a journalism job in Birmingham. It’s for Indian Mirror magazine, which is very similar to Asian and Asian Bride. I have some experience in writing fashion and make-up articles at university, most of which I’ve written on my own accord to be sent off to MSN. Unfortunately, the website did not publish any of my articles, probably because the angle was not right for the readership. But nevertheless, the articles were very well written and demonstrate my enthusiasm for writing and style. Fingers crossed that I will get a reply from Indian Mirror very soon :)

Being a Dickhead's Cool

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

This blog is called ‘The Writer’s Journal’, not ‘The Bitch’s Journal’. But, I am going to break the rule, by uploading this video and commenting on it.

Thanks to my friend Brighton David (who’s sarcastic blogs always make my day), I came across this epic video called ‘Being a Dickhead’s Cool’, which pokes fun at hipsters donning bright skinnies and lens-less ‘Where’s Wally’ glasses. Yes, the latter are truly awful.

To some people who consider themselves trendy or normal, this video may come across as being nasty to bohemians and alternatives in general. But alas, it is NOT. There is nothing wrong with being different. In fact, being different is good. But there is a difference between someone who is genuinely bohemian and someone who isn’t but is either trying very hard to be one, or is trying to heighten their ‘hipster status’.

What is meant by ‘heighten hipster status’, is that some of these people will consume certain beliefs, religions and items, just to show off. For example, my ex knew a few people at university who joined Buddhism and took a feverish interest in the Mighty Boosh, just to show how cool and “with it” they were. I try not to judge, after all they could be very pleasant people. But if I must be honest, doing certain things to prove you’re worth/superiority to others is a minor pet peeve of mine. But that is not the point.

The true problem I have with many of these hipsters is that, many of them are horrifyingly fake. I have known some of these “dickheads” in the past. In fact, one of them was a horrid girl I despised at school. When I accepted her friend request (after all, she seems to have put her grudge behind her), I found that she was now into bands such as ‘The Horrors’ and ‘The Arctic Monkeys’. At school, she loved Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. She now dresses like a nerd in checked shirts, cardis and converses. At school, she called me a “swot” for being too studious. And she now favours that scruffy look that she accused me of having at school (even though my hair was Barbie Doll sleek and I dressed neatly). I’m sorry, but her new image screams of desperation to be in with “what’s cool and trendy”. And no, I am not being judgemental here, she even said on her page that she wants to go to Brighton "where all the cool kids are".

Not only that, but some of these dickheads are grotesquely arrogant. My friends, all of whom are alternatives, have met many of them and have complained about them being very sneering and aloof. Unfortunately, I met one when I went out clubbing once. She was many of the things described in the video…pretentiously dressed, on the dole and up her own arse. The worst thing was that she was shallow, taking excessive pride in the fact that she was “fit” and hated anyone who took attention away from her. Don’t get me wrong, there are conformist girls who do behave like this. But this sort of behaviour is coming from someone who claims to be Indie, a type of person who isn’t shallow at all. It is like a “Punk” stressing about not having an Aston Martin.

I must stress that I do NOT have anything against hipsters who are genuinely hipster and most importantly, down-to-earth about it. My friend Robbie is considered an Indie kid, but he genuinely loves Vintage clothes and bands as much as I do and is not doing so to be purely “cool” or to “show off”. Moreover, he is one of the nicest, carefree people I know.

But these pretentious ones are no better than the chavs, fashionistas and ‘Wagtastic’ plastics and jocks who think they are above everyone else; just because they wear gold jewellery from Argos, weird “on trend” shoes and they shag footballers/glamour models respectively.

Excitement…and no, it is not an Orgasm

I’m brimming with excitement at the moment. I only have five more chapters to write and the first draft of the novel is complete. But what I’m most happy about is the passion that has come back to me regarding this novel. For the past couple of weeks, I have lost interest in this project, simply because I thought I had written a steaming pile of crap and it was going to take a ridiculous amount of time to rectify. I knew I needed feedback from someone else to see what exactly needed to be improved for the novel to be successful to its target audience. So I sent the first few chapters to my friend Chris.

To my surprise, he loved it, calling it “excellent”. He said the characters are well fleshed out and that there are exciting incidents and surprises, as well as tension, heartbreak and motives. He couldn’t find fault, which for me was a shame because I really wanted to improve and raise it to exceptional. But alas, I can’t improve if people reading it give no reason for me to improve. I will however, read the entire thing when all the chapters are done and then try and expand and elaborate on some parts.

So far, I added a new chapter after the 2nd and then tweaked the following chapters here and there. Unfortunately, I have a feeling the entire thing will add up to roughly 70,000 words, which is a bad thing as I intend for it to be at least 80,000. But I do have ideas for the beginning bit, as I feel it could be expanded, for the travellers are being followed and I have not really shown that. The part where the enemy turns up suddenly is too abrupt and vague and the beginning bit can do with some parts that lead up to the surprise.

Other than that, I’ve been applying for more jobs. Annoyingly, I got an email from the University of Birmingham, who informed me that I have not got the library job. Drat. Seriously, what does it take to beat competition in the job hunting field? Well, I suppose it’s the almighty bastard…Experience, something that is rarely handed out to job hunting virgins. Not that I have never worked before, I have during the summer holidays. But not a lot of it, unfortunately.

I have also spent my spare time watching Entourage with my older brother. I’m not sure how he got the DVDs of the first and second seasons…he either borrowed it from my cousin or randomly bought them. Either way, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that I’m addicted to the show.

Of course, the L.A look is all exciting with it sun-polished beaches, glossy skyscrapers and Motor Show cars. But what draws me to the show is the chemistry between the actors, their pranks and name-calling all too characteristic of typical male friendships (Yes, I should know as I have a lot of male friends) Not to mention the hilarious performances from Jeremy Priven who plays the agent and Kevin Dillon, who plays the actor’s brother. I would highly recommend it. Although, if you dislike nudity, promiscuous girls and player behaviour, I suggest you keep away. And if you have seriously low self esteem regarding your appearance or lifestyle; then definitely keep away.

For those who are interested, I included a clip of Jeremy Piven aka Ari Gold's best moments from Entourage. Enjoy!

Cinema and Progress

I am really proud of myself. I managed to write an entire chapter this weekend AND managed to brush up the 4rd chapter to perfection. Okay, for a lot of enthusiastic writers that is not something to be elated about, but considering how difficult it was for me to get back into a project that I had neglected for so long, it is amazing progress!

During the past week, I have been putting off writing. I had promised myself that I would get to work on it after the day of the interview. But that night my best friend Jason called me to tell me that he has just moved into his halls and asked me if I wanted to catch up in Wolverhampton. Of course I went along, as it has been several months since I had last seen him. To be precise, it was just before I finished university. We went for some milkshakes in the Quadrant Lounge, an Art Deco bar in Wolverhampton.

This time, we decided to go and watch a film. We had planned this for several months, but never got round to it. The last time we agreed to watch a film, I had to cancel on him for the EDL were campaigning in Dudley Town, where I always catch my bus to Wolverhampton. Yes, the joys of living in Dudley. Luckily, few of the campaigners got run over and badly injured the last time they came here and it seems likely they won’t come back.

Anyways, Jason quite liked the sound of ‘Dinner for Schmucks’ and since I had an Orange phone AND it was Wednesday, we had the luxury of paying for one ticket. YAY indeed. Considering that I had watched an advert for the film in which rave reviews flashed every few seconds, I had expected the film to laugh out loud hilarious and perhaps a little quirky. Instead I got a “comedy” that only made me chuckle once or twice. The script was far too reliant on silly scenarios that were supposed to make us laugh. They didn’t. It also was too reliant on Steve Carrel and although he was likable in his role, it was apparent the writer was confident that he would act goofily enough to make us laugh. It didn’t happen. No offense to the man, he was very funny in the Office, particularly the flasher scene. But like all comedy actors, he needs witty lines and jokes to be funny.

I left the theatre, wondering if I was the only one who thought the film was rubbish. Luckily, I was not alone, for Jason was equally unimpressed and the girl in front of us pulled a face at her partner and shook her head in disapproval. So, memo to all of you, keep away. Far away.

At the moment, I am trying to brush up on the 5th chapter, even though my enthusiasm is dying down a little. That is the problem with spending too much time on one project and re-reading the chapters to the point where it becomes boring. It actually does become boring. But rest assured, I am determined to get all of this done as I did not spend the entire summer writing for nothing.

Oh and by the way, I couldn't find the flasher scene annoyingly. But to make up for it, I decided to include an equally funny Steve Carell moment. Enjoy!

The (Non) Graduate

Now that my headache has waned, I think I’ll be able to update in this again. I just got back from a job interview. Yes, YAY indeed. Better still, it was an interview for a respectable organisation, not a scam one like the previous interview I skived.

Unfortunately, I don’t think I will get a job. Prior to the interview, I was pondering why an organisation like Walsall Lifelong Learning Alliance would want to consider me when I have little marketing experience. I have now learned that I was invited at last minute, which probably means that a better applicant must have cancelled on them. I gave it my all and tried to ‘sell myself’ as well as I could. I pointed out my strengths and tried to explain some ideas I had for some of the campaigns they had going. Unfortunately, some of the questions caught me off guard and I gave some weak answers that might affect my consideration for a second interview. Looks like I will be back on the vacancies sites.

Because I have spent the last few days researching the company and preparing for my interview, there has been no writing progress. In fact, I am finding it really difficult to get back into it as I’ve left it alone for so long. Even the idea of re-writing chapter 3 is pretty daunting. I think it’s because I’ve been going on this journey with the protagonist and going back in time to change something seems very unnatural to me. It would be like getting inside the DeLorien and going back to some time in my past and influencing the 18 year old me to take a gap year before applying for the Creative Writing course, instead of going straight to UCE. Actually, would that be so much of a bad thing? That way, I would never have wasted 1K on one useless semester and I would never have met some of the most two-faced ugliest bastards I had the misfortune to meet. But then, I don’t really regret meeting them, as it’s made me a stronger, more resilient person.
Anyways, that aside, I don’t really like the idea of dragging my story out, but as my lecturer said, some of the surprises in my story are too vague and abrupt and I must say, do agree. They do come across as random. So yes, it will be back to the earlier stage of my novel.

At the moment, I am pondering how graduation is going. I had to cancel mine because of the interview. Although the interview was in the morning and the graduation in the afternoon, it takes about an hour and three quarters to travel from Dudley to Walsall. This means that I would get to Dudley by 1 o clock, which is when we need to arrive at Wolverhampton Grand theatre to put on our gowns. To be honest, I’m not too upset. The idea of graduating was all too scary for me because it would mean 3 hours of sitting down, only to walk awkwardly on stage to collect my degree. Not only that, but the whole thing was too costly. Gowns cost £30 to hire and pictures are ridiculously priced as well. I just don’t have that much money to spare.

On the upside, I will be looking forward to getting my degree by post :)

Inspiration and Drive...

I haven't written in this for a long while, so I’ll do so now. Plus, I think I should get into the habit of writing again, considering that I’ve taken a very long break from it.

For the past week, I’ve been busy polishing off ‘Wilted’ and applying for more library work and marketing and PR roles. As much as I hate to admit this, I got a job interview. Now you are probably thinking, “since when was getting a much needed interview so shameful?”

Rest assured, it never was and inevitably never will be. In fact, it is like finding a pound coin on the street, especially now as we are in a recession. Yes, I was excited, so much so I was stressing about what to wear for my interview (I hadn’t bought my pencil skirt yet!) and what the hell I was to say. But alas, I should consider myself lucky that I used Google to know where the company was.

In the option bar that flags down when you’re typing something, I could not help but notice ‘Bradford Marketing scam’. At this point I was intrigued and the option led me to a series of forums where past graduate employees ranted about how awful the company was. The interviews were never conducted professionally, the employers never told their employee what they would be doing, using the “you’ll see when you get there” to brush them off and the job was 100% commission based. Fair enough, if you’re persuasive enough to sell, fine. But I know for certain I could never do it and the fact that the company is known to send scam emails puts me off. I’d much rather go through another batch of application forms and vacancies.

Since then, novel writing has been stagnant. I spent my free time this weekend spending time with my brothers. Not together as a three, but individually, as the oldest lives with my parents and I and the other has his own house. Saturday saw me lunching in Nandos with my oldest one. My parents, my other brother and my sister-in-law went to Wales to visit a Hindu temple, leaving us to look after the house and prepare our own meals. Yes, we were lazy that afternoon. But I did make pancakes that morning, so I wasn’t THAT lazy!

Regards to the lunch, it was the usual order of Chicken burger and fries. But this time, we decided to order dessert, something we’ve never done before as we never noticed the desserts menu. I have to say, Mango Sorbet was a mistake. I ordered it thinking that it would be a mango puree. Instead I got a slushed ice-lolly that pained and numbed my mouth. I think I will opt for a cheesecake next time.

Sunday saw me and my other brother take a trip to the cinema to see Inception. My sister-in-law couldn’t make it as the only showing was at 4 and she had to go to work by then. I have to say, it’s easily one of the best films I’ve seen this year, alongside Toy Story 3 and Kick Ass. Not only were the action scenes original and mind blowing, which includes a fight scene that takes place in a revolving hotel corridor, but the story flowed brilliantly. Even the sub-plot, which is normally treated as a filler in other movies, tied in with the main story. Christopher Nolan really knows how to tell a story.

Personally, I think it is better than the Matrix

*ducks down to avoid the tornado of items being thrown at her.

Yes, there are many who will disagree, but then, I remember the horrendous sequels that followed. Sorry, but the first movie has been destroyed for me since. Besides, I liked the debonair feel of Inception, whereas the gothic leather jackets and the black and green pallet of the Matrix, although cool at the time, seem a bit tacky to me know. There’s other reasons why I preferred Inception (and no, it won’t be another fashion and style remark), but I won’t go into them.

Anyways, I will go back to the novel this week. After watching Inception, it has given me the drive to develop and polish my own story into a final product. Tommorow will be hectic as I will have to shop around for a pencil skirt for my Graduation and send off a parcel, but I will have a full afternoon devoted to writing.