Another 1.0

A Year Ago

A year ago, 19th July 2008, I finished my first draft of The River at about 9p.m. It sure feels like a long time ago now, though. I didn’t imagine that I would be putting together a (vastly unreadable) first draft of Bukit Merah so shortly after that, but I did just that last night. At 12.30a.m. today, I completed work on my first draft and I think that just about completes the main task I had set out to do these holidays. Which is great because I have a month to stay away from this thing.

How Long Did It Take?

I can’t remember the exact date that I started, but the official date appears to be about the 7th of May or thereabouts, so that means I finished it in the very short time (for me, anyway) of under 60 days.

My file modification and creation meta data yield some other interesting facts. For example, I had finished the first six chapters (out of the eventual eighteen) by 27th May, which is, say, three weeks. I slowed down considerably at this point and from then until 19th June, I only did two more chapters, and wrote a bunch of fragments. I really stepped it up from there because by 27th June, I was about 80% done with the thing, although I didn’t know it then because I had no idea how much more I had ahead of me. So I think between the 19th and the 27th, I just went full steam ahead and gave it all I had. After this, I focused on finishing up, steering it towards the ending and putting the fragments I had down earlier to use. Ten-hour days, twelve-hour days, fourteen-hour days, et cetera. Eventually managed, so, there it is now.

Crazy Things

This is about the point where I begin to seriously doubt whatever it is I’ve just written. For one thing, it’s bound to need a lot of work from here. That’s a given. But its main problem will probably be that it’s full of crazy ideas that just come one after another. This wasn’t something I was expecting because I, uh, didn’t plan very much. It’s kind of like a children’s storybook, where things don’t always make adult, so-called real-world sense. One moment you’re in a bedroom and the next you’re riding a chicken, and just for the sake of it, in the next moment, you’re talking to a dysfunctional family of beluga whales.

I’m not sure I’m fully sold on that. Which begs the question: Why did I even bother going through with it then? Well, mainly because if I didn’t, I’d never get anything done.

Slow Poke

All of this makes me realise that I’m not really that slow in my work. I used to imagine that I was. I had this project that dragged on for years. It was an interesting diversion, though I was really going nowhere with it, but I suppose that was what gave me the impression that I was simply a slow worker. The River, while difficult to put together, didn’t actually take very long at all, if you think about it. I mean, here we are, a year from the day I actually began writing it, and it’s in some respectable shape at least. And this has been noticeably faster than The River, which really surprised me.

Though it’s certainly still not quite presentable yet.

Where To

And that’s what needs to happen from here, to hammer it into shape. I will probably have to convince myself about the overarching concept behind it, and then work out a few main targets for improvement. My guess is it’ll look like it needs more focus, some reinforcement of themes, and something to do with the nature of the characters. I’m an editing sort of person, I think. I can’t write anything too big and intricate once through without letting myself down in some ways. I reckon that going through it three or four times in detail will eventually become part of my modus operandi.

In the meantime, I’ll crack out the imaginary champagne and relax a bit. I need to pack my room. Yes, I think I’ll do that.

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Ten Years

Thing Is…

I had a whole long post written about the same thing, but in far more detail, a sort of retrospective of the last decade or so, trying to explain why I feel kind of happy now. It was over 2500 words long and I’m pretty sure you don’t want to read that.

So instead, you get this much shorter post. And I’m really only dropping by to share my joy.

On Monday, about noon, I made my first submission, which you already know. I tried to treat it as a normal thing, as part of the job, so that I wouldn’t make too much out of it and could start thinking focussing on the next thing as soon as possible. Didn’t work. In the evening, I told myself, Hey, I made a submission, and I got very happy while I was on the bus, probably with a ridiculous smile on my face that ensured that no one took the seat beside mine.

See, it’s not a book deal. I’m not getting published (yet). I don’t have any reason to believe I have any significant chance at publication either. It’s just the act of making that first submission. It’s the thing I’ve wanted to do for, say, the last ten years. Project after project, all embarrasssing (which is what I tried to talk about in the original long post), and it was really not looking good. To finally figure out what I was doing wrong and to put out a reasonably okay draft of The River in three months last year should probably have told me that I had made improvement that I could be happy about, but it didn’t, and it was only until that submission that I managed to feel that way.

It’s a nice feeling, really, especially to realise what I’ve managed to do and learn, even if it’s nothing great and it took ten years.  So I just wanted to share my joy with you here, because that’s what they say you should share. Now, let’s celebrate for twenty minutes.

Okay, time’s up. Time to get back to work and get started on the next ten years.

Press Start

It’s A New Month!

Which goes hand-in-hand with today’s post, but in the meantime, this sentences here is to tell you to flip your calendar.

All Packed Up

With the results out and none too disastrous, I took some time to pack up the notes and textbooks yesterday, so my desk looks slightly neater and the shelf is now empty waiting for the new term. Probably should have done that a couple of weeks ago, but I kept having my mind on the results, so I just didn’t dare to touch it for a while, almost as if I would jinx them or the like.

Present

That packing up reminded me to splurge, since my results weren’t too bad. Of course, you know that this sort of thing works either way, and I would have told myself to cheer myself up with some spending if they were bad. I’ve been picking a present. I was thinking of the Planet Earth series on Bluray, though the idea of getting a couple of rare photography books has also surfaced. I think in the end, I’ll go for the combo of the documentary plus Nick Brandt’s On This Earth: Photographs From East Africa [via Amazon]. Someone pointed me to the book yesterday and I have to say that the few low-res shots I’ve seen from it  look spectacular.

Still thinking about it, though, mostly because I reviewed my spending for the past month and it’s clearly a little higher than I would’ve liked.

June!

Yes, apart from all that clearing up and rewarding of myself, the arrival of June will hopefully coincide with other “new beginning” things. I stopped at about 50% for Bukit Merah yesterday, and I have to admit that the last couple of days haven’t been particularly fruitful in terms of writing. All been rather workman-like. So I reckon that this is a good place to take a substantial break before diving in again.

In the meantime, I’ve designated June as submissions month, and seeing as to how I haven’t got too many baskets to put my eggs in (yeah, there goes your daily awkward expression), I figure I’ve got to make them count. At the same time, I really think it’s not healthy to obsess over The River much longer, so it’s really time to take the plunge and hope for the best. I don’t know how to go about this, especially given the perhaps slightly unique local scene, but there’s a certain now-or-never to this, and I’m not going to sit around asking silly questions anymore. Bah, you only live once, right?

Certainly not quite as comfortable as sitting in a chair banging out the words, but there isn’t a way around it. It feels kind of like waiting for a job interview, in fact.

I haven’t got a plan of action yet, but at the very least I’ll be needing to clean up a couple of spots in the submission version, and I’ll also have to go asking for some guidelines from anyone who might even be mildly interested in this. If nothing else, that’s some kind of start, right?

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Money Matters

So you spend it.

Here’s the loot report for yesterday, or in other words, the books joining my little library:

1. Seeing by José Saramago
2. All-Star Superman Vol. 2 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
3. The Odyssey by Homer (Translated by Robert Fitzgerald)
4. The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger
5. Pandora In The Congo by Albert Sanchez Piñol (Translated by Mara Faye Lethem)
6. The 4 Major Plays by Anton Chekhov (Translated by Curt Columbus)
7. Last Evenings On Earth by Roberto Bolaño (Translated by Chris Andrews)

Not quite the mix I was expecting, with a shortage of science and poetry. I think I’ll pop by for another book tomorrow if I happen to be passing by, though that’ll likely be a recent novel than anything else. In fact, it might even be in Chinese.

I’m happiest about my Pandora In The Congo buy, actually, because it’s not something I would normally read, and I’ve only heard good things about it.

I had a bunch of other books I was intending to get, including the new Kazuo Ishiguro Nocturnes and In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin, but I suspect I’m going pocket paperback for those, if they ever appear. Otherwise I’ll just get them as they are. There was also a science book that’s in a gigantic hardcover and I was at first slightly tempted, but what the hey, I’m a poor student without a job.

I’m sure there’ll be another before school reopens, since there’s the Great Singapore Sale somewhere along these couple of months, so there’s certainly ample time to stock up on my new semester reading.

Today…

I think I’ll be working on a query for The River. I just want some space from Bukit Merah for now, in case I burn out prematurely. I figure that if I can’t tell how long it’s going to be (since I am making it up as I go along), then I run the risk of either writing it too short (rushing it) or too long (dragging it). Some distance, temporal or otherwise, from it might help, so I reckon I won’t be back at it until Monday, depending on how the weekend works out.

Hmm.

Results in a week. Wonder what I’ll see. There’s something nerve-wracking about getting your results reported to you by your computer. A click of the mouse and poof it’s there. And as if it wants to mess with your head a bit more, it doesn’t appear instantly. No, it just lags a bit and hangs around and tries its best to surprise you. Then it shows up like a magic trick, and you’re struggling to contain the dread in the first couple of seconds as you try to make sense of it all.

Then it makes sense. And it’s like dust, taking ages to settle.

Next week. Friday, I think.

2.8

The WordPress 2.8 beta has got up and going. [via WordPress.org]

TRICO

Team ICO’s next project has an alleged trailer. [via Kotaku]

Looks great. I like the giant beast.

9

New trailer for 9. [via YouTube]

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Books And Wilco

Book Outings

Kinokuniya is having a Thursday-to-Saturday sale, and I’ll be down twice, I think, with different people. Got a couple of special things to look for, a couple of orders, and a couple of gifts. Apart from that, I believe it’ll be the usual stuff, just hoping to spruce up my own library with a mixture of new fiction, classics and non-fiction.

I hope I don’t spend too big, but sometimes, you see a really pretty and rare photography book or the like and it’s just too hard to resist.

So, just to make sure I don’t go crazy with my cash, I’m going to try to keep it to about five novels comprised mainly of new books and one or two of the classics. Then I’m going to add a science book, and possibly a general interest book. If anything else strikes my fancy, I’ll cap it at a maximum of two. And if there really is a rare photography book or some other sort of lovely tome that I feel I just have to have, then I suppose it’s just too bad.

In any case, I’m not planning too much this time. I’ll just pop by and improvise.

Been Busier

I’ve been writing, as you probably know. Finished drafting the third chapter yesterday. I got stuck on what to do for the fourth, so I didn’t do anything. I’m making reasonable progress, I think. I’ve been busier, but this pace has been pretty good. I just hope I don’t neglect The River and fail to make any sort of submission. The writing on Bukit Merah is somewhat unplannable (if that’s not a word, I made it up), but the submission is something I can actually arrange into some kind of a schedule, so for now, I’m just going to go with the writing.

That’s assuming, of course, that my mind doesn’t go blank when faced with the prospect of making a submission. I suspect it will, and if you take it that way, I suppose you can call this self-denial instead.

80

Faber & Faber, one of my favourite publishing houses, turns 80, and has a bunch of celebratory events lined up. [via Faber & Faber]

Entitlement

I was checking my RSS feeds and I saw Neil Gaiman with a nice journal entry about writing and the nature of the job. [via Neil Gaiman]

Signal Leakage

Wilco’s upcoming album was leaked, and this article describes the sort of buzz the subsequent actions taken by the band and vendors that was generated. [via billboard]

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神雕

Too Short

Got a haircut on Saturday. I think I preferred it when it was a mess. Still, I couldn’t just let it grow and grow and grow, and this is the hairstyle I had when I was in NS. It’ll grow back. It’ll take a while, but that means I don’t have to visit Barber Bob again so soon. Looking forward to having a mess on my head again, though.

Origami

I had dinner in a Japanese restaurant on Saturday and saw a diagram they had in their menu (or something) that provided instructions for folding an origami frog. When I got home, I went to work on something. After that stuff was done, I just thought of it again and decided that there’s always a first time.

Having no origami paper of my own, I took a sheet from a notepad I have on my desk and cut off a small fraction of it to make my square. Then, with some online instructions and advice from my sister, I ventured to fold a crane.

My first piece of paper was not nearly square enough, so I set that aside. I used a ruler and a pen to mark a line out and then cut a new square with my second sheet. This was almost perfect. I followed the instructions and realised then that I didn’t really know how to read the diagrams. Thankfully, my sister then found an instructional web video. With some advice, I managed to get to the penultimate step. Not realising that I had actually got to the penultimate step and not quite being able to proceed as described in both video and diagram, I accidentally tore my paper very slightly.

So I cut a third piece. This time, it was smooth sailing, except that I missed out one step (the last step when you have a square, and you fold inwards to make the subsequent step easier), and forcibly went ahead with the next step. Thankfully, this did not vex my plans and I was well on my way to the penultimate step again. When I had got there, it took me ages to figure out what I was looking at. Besides, I had already torn one at this very point and didn’t want to ruin this one too.

After what was probably a couple of minutes of tugging around the thing, I got my bearings and it became a bird. Except that it wasn’t quite the crane I was expecting and resembled a mythical beast of some sort. To spare me some embarrassment, let’s just say that I was intending to fold a 神雕.

Here it is. Don’t laugh.

Now to practise a bit more and find someone to give them to so that these paper creatures don’t take over my room.

Editing

I think I’ve a fairly final copy of The River, so I’m going to start work on submissions once I figure that out. In the mean time, it means I can focus on writing Bukit Merah.

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Positivity

Class Gathering

The reason I don’t appear in many photos (apart from my semi-ninja skills) is that they remind me of how awful I look in them. Usually as if I walked into the photo by accident.

But thanks to everyone who dropped by, whether or not you see them in this photo. Much appreciated, and I hope it wasn’t too bad.

Work Ethic

Sometimes I have nothing to do for the day and decide that I can focus entirely on my work. So I sit in my chair and try to start writing and the whole thing is a struggle.

Sometimes I have plenty of things to do, like on the gathering morning, and I place my hands at the keyboard and I just fire away like nobody’s business.

It’s just the way the world is.

Award-Winner

Before I forget, a couple of links. First, Cormac McCarthy has won the PEN/Saul Bellow award. [via cbcnews.ca]

Science!

“Why is the immune system able to fight off some viruses but not others, leading to chronic, life-threatening infections like HIV and hepatitis C?” [via PhysOrg]

Good Vibrations

Monday morning, things look sharp. The gathering for instance went pretty okay (I think). The River looks like it’s in a bit of trouble but at least Bukit Merah is faring better, and I’m actually having fun getting stuff done. Making friends, talking to old friends, sustaining existing friendships, all seem to be going smoothly, so it’s all provided a dose of fresh air. Oh and my jukebox has been very happy with a healthy variety of music.

(Speaking of friends, many are going off for work-and-travel programmes, foreign university education, and exchange arrangements, so I think I won’t be seeing a number of them for quite a bit. Stay safe, all of you.)

On the flip side, haven’t really started with Ulysses. It’s heavy. I brought it out one day, and reading the introduction alone made my wrist tire. I’m also supposed to meet with a couple of people, but those arrangments have failed to work themselves out so far, and I’ll probably have to step on the gas a bit. The River, as I was saying, is kind of in no man’s land. Sometimes I stare at it and it looks terrible. Sometimes I stare at it and it looks terrific. The usual disease. I suppose that actually means it is terrible. Oh I don’t know. I want to get back into a bit of a groove first by writing some of Bukit Merah first.

Still, all things considered, it’s a reasonably good start to the holidays. Let’s hope it stays that way.

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Friday, Friday

Work Updates

When the holidays arrive, I’m going to start Bukit Merah all over. I have a couple of thousand words of fragments, but I think it’s fair to say that that was something of an experiment. It feels as if the entire thing is a little heavy, a little too long for its own good. I’m going to have to start over.

The River leaves a very different impression on me now, and in fact I believe I can’t actually write like that again no matter how hard I tried. I guess change is something I’ll have to learn to get used to.

School Stuff

Busy. Busy days. Extremely busy. Also extremely sleepy. Tests. Assignments. Project. Stuff.

Now Reading

I’m currently reading Saramago’s Death At Intervals. Did I tell you that already? It’s been a thing of wonder so far, and I probably would have finished it by now had it not been for a remarkable lack of sleep. Today. Today.

Planet Of The Dead Trailer

Here’s the trailer for the upcoming Doctor Who Easter special [via TARDIS Newsroom]:

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Oh school again.

Oh Yes

Bright and merry on a Wednesday morning, it’s off to school again. Not so eager, not so keen, but hey, what’s the worst that could happen?

That said, I didn’t do quite as much as I’d have liked during the break. Some Math, mostly, as well as a bit of reading, visiting of my grandparents, confirmed that I’ve just been ridiculously happy ever since 2009 began, and just about nothing else. The plot goes good, however, the new one I was thinking of, and New Year’s Day is trickling along, though very slightly.

I didn’t get round to doing the querying for The River, although it did strike me that a couple of fairly large chunks would have to be edited. Quick adjustments though, so I’ll be jotting them down some time today, I think.

Happiness Is A…

Strange. This new mood. I think I’m getting old. Buzzing with positivity for no good reason at all. At best, that could be called foolish. At worst, dangerous. Ah but you shouldn’t complain about being happy. I mean, that just doesn’t make sense. Let’s see where this goes.

Short Weeks

School looks like this: Three days this week, short day today, then a long one, and one that is potentially long though most likely short; the weekend; Monday kicks off a brand-new week and it is one of the rare Mondays that will be long because of lab, though I get to work together with three very nice people for the lab; Tuesday is long; free Wednesday (phew); Thursday and Friday should be about the same as this week; and the weekend returns.

Not looking too bad.

And then it’s another week. Sigh.

Book Outing

I’m going shopping soon. If any one of my immediate friends would like to join me on my book outing to Kinokuniya, it’ll be Wednesday to Friday, depending on how it works out. I’m moderately flexible.

Off to school.

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Holiday Review

Last weekend of the holidays, so it’s probably a good time to see what I’d accomplished and what I’d failed to do.

Success

• New draft for The River. I think it’s just about the final draft, so I’m looking to make submissions soon. Relatively happy with it.
• Some plot for Singapura. As is the case with all projects, the first ideas are not the best. That said, it seems to be slowly moving into shape. I’ve no doubt the final product will scarcely resemble the initial concept, but things look optimistic at least.
• Finished my self-assigned readings. Well, actually, I haven’t yet. I was supposed to read the Everyman’s edition of the Flann O’ Brien novels (of which I really liked a couple and didn’t quite like the others as much) and The Absolute Sandman. I’m down to the last section of The Absolute Sandman so things look on schedule, if nothing else.
• Wrote. I wrote one piece of short fiction called Abide With Me. It’s supposed to be edited, but I kind of haven’t got to that. Still, it was nice just to write something completely not related to The River.
• Finished Doctor Who Series 3. It was a nice series. I particularly liked the Family of Blood storyline and Blink. Some parts of the series felt a bit generic, though.

Failure

• Didn’t go on photo outings. I wanted to go take photos, really. Somewhere. Some place. There was just no one, however, and that dampens the mood a bit, so I didn’t go anywhere. I took a few of Christmas lights, though that was it.
• Didn’t draft query. Oh, you. I knew it would be difficult to write you. I knew you would laugh at me when I had no letter to show at the end of the holidays. But mark my words, query, I’ll have the last laugh.
• Plot Singapura? I was initially thinking that I would emerge with a clear idea of where I wanted it to go and how I wanted it to look, but my imagination likes to throw me curveballs so I’m always left with more or less completely new perspectives on the plot. In other words, while I made progress with the plot, I can’t say that I managed what I was expecting.
• Catch up on Doctor Who. I hope they’re showing Series 4.

In The Foreseeable Future…

Here’s what I can see myself doing in the near future (say… this semester):

• Editing. Proofing of The River and editing of Abide With Me.
• That darned thing. The query. I’m looking to find out more of the local book industry, so I’ll get to that as well.
• Minimal writing. I don’t want to write much during the term, but I’ll still try to put to paper two (I think) short pieces. I might also explore a different form. Likely some kind of theatre thing. Though that’s just a self-study thingee.
• Singapura. My main creative output during this period will be to figure out exactly what I want with Singapura, just like with The River last year.
• Reading. Time to kick off the reading for 2009. Many books waiting for me.
• One trip. Somewhere. Anywhere. Preferably not alone. With our cameras. Snapping away.
• The Road. The movie’s coming, right? I hope it doesn’t disappoint.
• The usual shopping. Birthday presents and books, mostly. Oh and the Decemberists album Hazards of Love. I also need to find a nice guide for Ulysses for when the long summer break starts. Of birthday gifts, I only have one to prepare in the near future, though I could be prepared for the Aprils and Mays and Julys.
• Study. Oh what a surprise.

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