Drink up, dreamers, you're running dry.

PSA: Joining the Great LJ Exodus

2017-04-05T14:19:21Z

Oh hey, it's been a while.

This is a quick post to say that I've caught up with all the LJ changes, including some worrying ToS changes which I had to accept before it would log me in, and I've decided to follow everyone else by moving my content to DW. (You can do it yourself from the Organize -> Import Content menu.) Once everything is exported, I'll be deleting the old account. If you think I haven't added your DW here, let me know!

As it is, I seldom use this these days - I tend to be on FB for personal family/friends things, Twitter for socialising, and Wordpress for my writing blog. Hit me up there, assuming you know where all these things are.

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Politicking

2015-04-20T21:32:22Z

For the benefit of those who don't look at Twitter and/or Facebook- I was at the SNP manifesto unveiling today. It was good, and I wrote about it over here.

I now have a glossy manifesto booklet and a feeling of oh shit this election is super close now oh shit. Still, I'm hopeful...

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Contact

2014-11-20T14:32:23Z

Yeah, still alive. Still writing. Might blog more here in depth later, because Storify is acting up on IE11 and I need to get down something about unhinged authors before it falls out my brain.

I tried to email a bunch of you lovely lot, but I got a 'delivery failed permanently' for addresses I thought would work. Cambridge folk will see where this is heading. If any of you have a GMail, Hotmail/Outlook, work address that doesn't mind personal mail...hell, even a sodding Yahoo, could you let me know what it is? (Comments screened, if you want to put it here.)

I'd apologise for the dreadful inconvenience, but think of your anger at using a popular free email address in the same way I look on the only method of contact for some people I care about being stamped on by someone with the social airs and graces of a plate of mashed potato.

Ta muchly!

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cryptogirl @ 2014-11-04T21:18:00

2014-11-04T21:18:40Z

Been giving this some thought recently.

( On tumbleweeds, and other places to socialise )

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Women for Independence- What Next?

2014-10-06T22:33:47Z

Making a rare public post here, because a) it doesn’t belong on the professional blog and b) some people on Facebook/Twitter would like to read my thoughts on this. If you must comment, do try and keep to the ‘be excellent to each other’ rules, hm? Apologies for any typos or nonsensical bits; I was on the tail-end of a migraine today and the words didn't, er, word sometimes.

( 'Scotland won't know what's hit it' )

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I wasn't busy enough...

2014-07-31T23:50:17Z

...so I went and won Camp NaNoWriMo, the April and July versions of the writing challenge. To be fair, as you're allowed to do anything from scripts, novellas and editing, I started with the 40-odd thousand words of my WIP and set a target of 65k. In between that I had day job stuff, a jaunt to Glasgow and query angst. And I validated my word count with FIVE MINUTES TO GO.

( Proof, innit )

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[EIFF] Garnet's Gold

2014-07-04T10:52:49Z

Why yes, I've been busy submitting a short story to the Scottish Book Trust, starting another two and jumping on the Camp NaNoWriMo in a vain attempt to up my word count. But I got round to writing this too, at last!

I love a good documentary. I used to be glued to Arena, and BBC's Storyville series is equally magnificent. This film, as far as I can gather, will be hitting the small screens at some point, and I'm going to try and persuade you to clear your future schedule for it.

( A dreamer, some hills and a lot of heart )

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[EIFF] Metropolis; The Anomaly; The Green Inferno

2014-06-24T22:08:15Z

In all my festival-going years, I've somehow managed to miss the Film Festival. Partly it's because my Edinburgh visits tended to be in August, and partly I was never old enough for half the films. I decided to make up for it this year. My bank account will never forgive me :(

( Metropolis )

( The Anomaly )

( The Green Inferno (with spoilers!) )

Tomorrow we're seeing Garnet's Gold but I can't decide what to see for the last weekend. Damn my eclectic tastes :(

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What did you learn in school today?

2014-06-17T17:56:21Z

( One in a possible continuing series, if I can be arsed. )

Right, back to the sportball...

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Active Yes, or how I learned to stop worrying and love leafleting

2014-06-13T19:31:47Z

So, when I'm not basically being Grauniad Public Enemy #1, I may have mentioned that I went along to my local Yes event last weekend.

( Contains politics, but also stovies. )

TL;DR- went to Yes Super Saturday, had a splendid time, will spend as much time as I can afford volunteering. Because life's too short to sit on the internet farting out things you've read in the Guardian.

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The bloody book again

2014-05-23T20:00:20Z

So. That book, eh? I might have gone quiet in blogland, but that doesn’t mean I’ve not been busting my ass getting it in shape for the Grimly Long Publisher Hunt. Yeah, I can juggle a freelance career, being a tortured writer *and* the demands of brazen housewifery- I’m that awesome.

I need some input though, from you LOVELY POTENTIAL PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BUY MY BOOK.

( Some random worrying and that. )

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Lies, damned lies and the BBC

2014-05-21T11:22:04Z

So we spotted something on the news last night that perhaps Wings over Scotland and Bella Caledonia may be interested in. I'm not usually given to doing a spot of civic journalism or whatever you call it, but this was the BBC and, well, they're not in my good books generally at the moment.

( Tax doesn't have to be taxing! )

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PSA

2014-05-19T13:30:59Z

Oh, this wasn't the post I wanted to write today. I wanted to write something Wings Over Scotland-ish about social housing, but you'll have to wait now.

( Sit doon, kids. )

MESSAGE ENDS.

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Eurovision 2014 roundup, part 2

2014-05-05T11:17:40Z

I should be spending my day off doing useful things, like the tax return that plopped onto the doormat last week. Instead, I'm reading the Journal of Social Archaeology, drawing Incan art and writing about Eurovision. I think I've got this self-employed starving writer thing sorted.

( The Semifinal 2 lot. )

( The Big Six. )

And that's your lot for this year. I've stocked up on Bucks Fizz for Saturday and I'm already plotting where to stick up the homemade flags and classy LED blinkenlighten. Let the cheese commence!

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Eurovision 2014 roundup, part 1

2014-05-03T16:34:24Z

Ah, it's that time of year again. National Final season is over and we have nothing but the on demand leftovers to entertain us until the big day next weekend. The quality of the NF shows has been really good this year, incidentally. Sweden's Melodifestivalen was slicker and funnier than anything UK Saturday night TV could throw at us, and even the low-budget sports hall charm of Latvia kept our attention. Anyway, time for my annual ramble about European music an' ting.

( Thoughts on the national selections, and this year's absentees. )

( The Semifinal 1 contestants. With occasional husband-based input! )

And that's it for part 1, folks! Part 2 tomorrow, after I've pootled round town and added a billion pages to the novel ideas notebook. *ponders Eurovision spin-off book*

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The end is in sight

2014-03-30T21:41:50Z

So, thanks to more logistics-furtling with removal people, they're now coming down to pack things on the 15th, then they start heading north on the 16th and we get the keys and unload on the 17th. This means, realistically, we've really only got 2 full weeks left to pack things and say our goodbyes.

AAARGHHHHHH.

( But so far everything is awesome. )

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Chapter 2: chapter harder

2014-02-28T20:40:40Z

Oh, it's just been one thing after another this week what with the house moving stuff, my devotion to the Church of Eurovision and pjc50 throwing his copy of this at me so that my research looks approximately 100% more intelligent and not like I'm spending my time buying American E numbers and crying into awful documentaries about awful things in other countries. So, yeah. Words. Have some.

( Nice weather for, er, supernatural creatures )

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Chapter 2-ish

2014-02-20T17:30:15Z

I'm a whole day early putting this up on account of steaming through this week's editing mountain. Today has been brought to you by incoherent rage at crap news pieces and finding a South American internet radio station that's full of 80s.

Right, angry people in the 80s, you say? Have some more book words. I'm 75% sure there's more of Chapter 2 and this was a section break, but I can't find my notes and my wrists hurt so nyerr nyerr.

( In which angry men are angry. )

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CHAPTER 1 KLAXON

2014-02-14T16:50:15Z

Alright. I've sent off the short piece to my writing teacher, written a suitably Pseud's Corner author bio, so shut up and take my words before I change my mind and angst about it all again. Contains rude words and that.

( Some words and stuff )

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On writing

2014-02-06T04:45:45Z

Hoo boy. Pain in my shoulder from weightlifting and headweasels set to 'chatter unhelpfully'. Looks like it's another late shift on Word for me. Current earworms time.

A friend has been encouraged into creative writing and I promised I'd write something more substantial than a Facebook comment. I've written more frivolously about the NaNoWriMo slog here, but not much since people started going 'hey this is not utter tosh so how about editing eh' because I’ve been, er, editing.

( Such that a newbie can offer deep insight into the writing process, here it is. )

Well, that got long. Any questions?

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Your soul may be repossessed

2014-01-31T11:58:38Z

So, we went to the bank to apply for a mortgage like some kind of responsible adults.

( It was so harrowing. )

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Some novel thoughts.

2014-01-15T23:19:15Z

The first edit is done. Oh yes, it is done, and with my editor. Having spent a fortnight doing nothing but prodding the thing, I sat down and did a bit of number-crunching on it.

( Tedious stats )

Now, I've been thinking about this momentous deed quite a bit, in between the whole 'Pete accepted a job and I might be in Edinburgh househunting next week and oh god stop talking to be about conveyancing my eyes are bleeding' thing.

( In which the authoress in no way attempts to justify herself one bit )

Incidentally, I've been secretly beavering away on a book blog similar to my editor's, so watch this space. But, y'know, NOVELS, EH.

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2014 Resolutions, or I Should Write More

2013-12-31T18:56:17Z

Well, we got back from Edinburgh yesterday after a fraught rainy drive in which my husband learned how to download Spotify playlists so he could interrupt Foxtrot with CHVRCHES*. We've had a massive lie-in, ploughed through some of the food my parents weighed the car down with, and we have our first Hogmanay drink of a Fog Cutter with all the ingredients orthodox except the Earl Grey gin, Peruvian brandy and Kraken dark spiced rum. So, not very traditional but BY GOD IT'S DRINKABLE.**

Anyway. It seems traditional to do resolutions of some sort as 2013 draws to its arse-end and we go into 2014, incidentally the Scottish Year of Homecoming.

( Achieve all the things! )

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A WINNAR IS ME

2013-12-13T18:31:36Z

So, I finished NaNoWriMo on the 28th, getting 51847 words before midnight. And that was before adding another 500 words or so of epilogue. And now I would go splat, only I have all this editing thing to get finished. Blargle.

What have we all learned from my first winning Wrimo, then? In the spirit of the recent Barnes and Noble piece, I've done a list of 30 things about my NaNoWriMo which may or may not contain copious amounts of Tumblr gifs.

( Because writing iz srs bizness )

TL;DR- wrote a novel, turned into a starving artist/hormonal teenager/boring prog fart, really enjoyed the entire process. Even if I scared everyone around me. Roll on the long painful edit!

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Just fancy that.

2013-11-13T10:52:21Z

Social media is a funny beast sometimes.

Yesterday on Twitter, I managed to:

- Discuss the shooting location for Modern Love with a Twitter pal who's a massive prog nut (Shepherd's Bush Tube station, incidentally)

- Have a sobering talk about a friend's customers with substance addictions (while she was hiding as one of them smashed the place up)

- Complain about O2 censoring sites on 3G with their crap porn filter after angua found herself on the receiving end of it (And I only made one joke about ladygardens after a gardening site I was on was blocked.)

- Finish a discussion with an online friend in America who, while he holds views on things like guns that I disagree with, is able to have an interesting and articulate debate about it

- Talk about creative writing with the girlfriend of the legendary paperghost. Thanks to her I'm now aware of the existence of Bata, Bata… Pa'no Ka Ginawa? and she's sending me the link to the English version shortly

- Laugh at the original Doctor Who theme with a listener to the WoW podcast I guested on a while back

And, on top of all that, I totally overcompensated for Monday's writer's block and wrote over 3000 words of novel.

MORE DAYS LIKE THIS, PLEASE.

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