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Monday 9 January 2012

Clogs Are Turning!

Hello and welcome to another mindless brain numbing blog about random stuff.
Firstly, I hope everyone's New Year's were particularly memorable, especially to those who weren't drinking themselves into the hospital. Secondly, I hope that your New Years resolutions are still going strong.
Now, I don't smoke, or drink (maybe the occasional celebrational drink for my b-day/a friend's birthday or a wedding but they happen very rarely) and so, I wondered what could my New Years resolution be?

I got to thinking (it pained me to think so hard) but I came up with a very tricky resolution: To NOT listen to any K-Pop. Now being English you'd think it would be easy, but nope. I will be jetting away to South Korea in Feb and I refuse point blank not to listen to any weird K-Crap as I'm now dubbing it.

For those who listen to K-Crap, then well that's your own fault really, I have no patience for your mindless screaming, "I LOVE MBLAQ" or "I LOVE SHIN-ee" ;) I tolerate the screams of teenagers and their incessant yodelling of the members names on their fb page; to each their own.

And as because K-Pop, sorry K-Crap, is big in South Korea, it will be very hard to not listen to it. I have, therefore, devised a cunning plan (rubs hands like Bauldric), apart from bringing my iPod with me, THANK GOD!, I am going to be listening to K-Rock!

Now, I'm not quite sure that many people know this about me, so I'll say it loud and I'll say it proud. Many moons ago, I used to be a Goth. Black clothes, make-up, rocking out and shoved in a mosh pit to Korn, Nirvana and the like, and retaining that part of my very strange teenage life, I have decided that I like K-Rock. I heard a few songs from Youtube and I did like the music, the melody and the notion that they created their own music traditionally and organically. Yes and I know that sounds weird, but being a musician myself, I know how difficult it is to create and write a song and the repetition of learning it off by heart and the recording of it etc. That is a true artist, a person or band, who can play their own instruments, that's taken them years to practice> not someone who found out they look good, or are "Eye candy" as it's now called, think they can sing, get shoved in front of a microphone, can only shake their arse after told they'd get a load of dosh (money) if they open their mouths and pretend to sing while a computer makes their voice sound pitch perfect. That does NOT a musician or singer make.

I took singing lessons when I was younger and it was difficult, not because I was crap at singing thank you!, but because I had a certain range or pitch and my music teacher had to help train me to reach certain pitches, both low and high, in order to expand my singing range. I ended up being Soprano, when I used to be Alto. So I felt better in myself for reaching such high notes.
Anyway, after saying all this I hope I am trying to make a valid point in that pop is crap and fake, rock is hard work but authentic and rap is...don't even get me started on it.

So summarising, I'm not going to listen to K-pop at all for a whole entire year while living in Korea.

So as it goes with my writing. A'hem! Good! ^^ Yesterday I managed to remember something from over a year ago and I decided to write out the plot, go me, another fantasy story, only worth one big fat book over 200-300 A4 pages, but I've only written the plot and the prologue! I will still stop writing when I'm off to Korea. If I have ideas, then I'll write them down, but I can't miss anything while I'm there, it's a new country, a new experience and a new year that I don't want to miss.

x

Monday 2 January 2012

No Freaking Way!

Ok so, for starters, sorry I have been neglecting the blogging thing, I've just been uber busy. Again with the bullet points:
-I got a literary agent who wants to publish Tattoo of the Black Angel
-I have got so many books now from work my floor will break and I shall fall into the room below me
-I have finished Scar of the Centaur (WHOOP)
-I have finished Journey In Time (Sequel to Loving In Time)
-I finished my NaNoWriMo story and will soon commence the second in the series, albeit very slowly.
-Still preparing for South Korea, cannot wait to go!
-Going to go on a whirlwind tour of Wales to see all my friends in the 2nd week of Jan, my friends don't know this yet, so I think I may need to tell them soon...
-I watched season 7 of House within 2 days
-I ate two Terry's Chocolate oranges in two days
-My Canadian friend is just awesome, I love her to bits and her present is coming with me to S.Korea!
-I own my own mini Zanpakuto kasa! I feel very cool, just like Ichigo from Bleach! hehe
-Getting nervous about going to Korea but doesn't everyone?

Right I think that is everything bullet pointed so far to the point of being updated within a month or so.
Now then, onto business. What to discuss?

Being an "author" or "writer" or "soul spiller", whatever you want to call it, I get very strange questions from my readers. So here are a few things which I hope will clarify some questions.

Question: Do I like myths?
Answer: Blatantly obvious and a resounding, Yes! I love myths/mythology and everything in between, however, I rarely read mythology stories... =/ I know, weird right? I haven't read Percy Jackson or Hunger Games (not mythology but still a question that people annoyingly keep asking me) so please...STOP ASKING ME!
But in all fairness, I prefer action books, like Andy McDermott and S. Larsson. Their books are just frigging awesome, but they are also adult books and I know a lot of my readers wouldn't read them because they may find them boring. Sorry, but being an archaeologist, I must love McDermott it's my being to love him and forever more! (The main character is an archaeologist called Nina)

Question: How do you write out your plots?
Answer: Depends. Sometimes I write it on paper when I'm taking a walk or I'm away from my computer, or sometimes when I'm at the computer I have my notes right in front of me. Personally, I think it's imperative to plot down the backbone of the story and give yourself a reason on why you are actually writing, what are you trying to accomplish? I'm not sure about other authors, I suppose they have a great idea and must write it down for entertainment, but for me, I think it's about finding that moral, that "something special" that makes a book. Think it corny of me for saying, but I want to show that behind my weirdness that people deem "flippant, idiotic and childish" about my personality, that there actually is something about me that should come across the pages that I write and will say "Oh so that's who Abi is?".
Recently I paid a visit to some of my old managers. I won't mention any names or professions, but when I told them that I had written 12 books within a year and a half and I had got a literary agent, they were dumbfounded. They thought I was a "special" girl and not in the sense of a gift, they thought I was a little "mad up-stairs and slow" and so I was belittled by my colleagues. It hurt so much, but with their words, I decided to change tact and keep at it and I have surprised everyone around me.
With this determination to let go of those who thought ill of me, I have strived to write out all the plots of my stories from the very beginning, or else I may lose sight of what I am intending to write: A inspirational book that gives insight into other cultures, old religions, hopeful and good morals and also teaches some amount of education in history.


I hope that everyone has had a good New Years. Congrats to my two wonderful friends Dave and Mand who have recently got engaged. <3 you guys!