Donald B. McFarlane's Blog, page 8
April 1, 2018
Week in Review: 01/04/18
It’s Easter Sunday, and April Fools day all wrapped into one, and when I looked at March’s sales numbers, I realised that the joke was on me. Grim, grim. 23 books sold. I’d need to sell that per day to match my 2007 salary as a journalist. Not good.
This week has seen a few promising targets hit. I finished Grammarly edits on ‘Standish’, and then had a manuscript printed out.
I like to edit on the page. Much easier than editing on the computer. 450 pages of sci-fi action adventure. It’s going to be mega.
Of course, you always have to deal with the realities of editing. It’s work, baby.
On another positive note, got my Trademark paperwork in the mail. A little disappointed at the lack of pomp and circumstance surrounding it, but hey, at least it’s finally in my hands. Don’t have to worry about those mega-twats from Candy Crush for the moment.
Popped down to Crystal Palace on Saturday for some reptile investigations. Got some good shots at the same time.
New tunes from Kalax helped power some editing this week, while I watched the freaking dreadful Man from Uncle. Gorgeous cast, stylish, and a complete mess. I also watched I Saw the Light about Hank Williams, which I thought was slightly better than the reviews were saying.
The plan for the next few days is to red-pen the hell out of Standish, get those changes made on the old computer, then get another copy printed out for my beta-tester. I also plan on getting some work done on ‘Love in a time of War’ during that period. In fact, I’d like to have that finished and online this month. We shall see.
Now, back to Captain America: Civil War. So far, it sucks. But hey, what was I expecting?
March 25, 2018
Week in Review: 25/03/18
Well, there isn’t snow on the ground, that’s a start.
This week has been devoted to the painfully slow editing process on Standish. I am never writing another book of this length again. The sheer scale of the thing is making the editing process much more difficult, and after finishing my Grammarly edits this week, I’m going to print out another copy to edit with the dreaded red pen.
Other than the editing process, I went to the National Gallery for a very disappointing Still Life exhibition, which occupied two rooms and was a waste of time. Not impressed.
I also found myself watching the Vivienne Westwood documentary with a bunch of Westwood people. Interesting film.
Spotted an old poster for North by Northwest after the Westwood film. Hitchcock and Cary Grant at the height of their powers.
Had I Bats knock up another helmet for Standish supporting artwork. I’m thinking about a minor supporting character I’m going to introduce that is part of a species that are all clones. Might be a great opportunity for a stand-alone book in the future, possibly exploring how the whole cloning process came about.
Work continues on a cover to Love in a time of War. This is an example of a rejected option, but I’m really liking the overall look. Really like the vibe that’s going on. My make Luke West is quite the artist.
Formula One started this weekend, hopefully it’ll be a more entertaining season than last year. If we’re lucky.
Until next time.
March 18, 2018
Week in Review: 18/03/18
Winter has returned. It was a lovely 14 degrees on Friday, now it’s around 0, and there is snow on the ground. Luckily the weather is expected to improve in the coming week. On the work front, Standish is now going through edits. This is going to be a long slog. I’m using Grammarly to help me edit, and it detected close to 7,000 errors that need to be addressed. Combing through all of those is going to take a considerable amount of time, and there are some holes in the story that need to be filled. All in all, a lot of work left to do.
We lost two icons of very different industries and disciplines this week, both close to my heart. Hubert de Givenchy and Profession Stephen Hawking. Both titans in their respective fields, and both icons.
Another loss to deal with this weekend, and last was the poor run of England’s rugby team. Defeated in Paris last weekend, and then losing to Ireland at Twickenham on St Patrick’s day. England finished 5th in the tables, not a good look.
I’ve recently gotten into The Wire. Love it. Great cast. Some many of the actors I recognize from other shows and films. Really enjoying it so far, in fact, I’d put it above the Sopranos in my estimations, but that’s just my opinion.
I also watched Annihilation on Netflix. What a mess. I don’t care that the Guardian thinks it’s cerebral, it was a hot mess. Here are some of my notes, and no, they won’t make any sense to you id you haven’t see the film
-How did Kane get from what is clearly the Gulf Coast to Baltimore in the beginning of the film -I don’t really buy Portman’s PHd wife who happens to teach at John’s Hopkins, being married to an SF guy.
-Really annoying flashbacks
-There’s a scene where the ladies are in an elevated tower, yet come down to the ground to investigate something, because yeah, let’s leave a defensible position
-The ‘I’m going off on my own to look for our missing colleague’. Portman’s character is ex-military, as such, would know that you don’t go anywhere without your battle-buddy.
-Natalie, the ex-soldier, put her M4 down on the ground with the ejection port down. Nope!
-Too gruesome
-Is Benedict Wong the go-to smart Asian dude these days? Sunshine, The Martian, Prometheus, the list goes on.
-Not clear on what is really going on throughout the entire film regarding the Shimmer and its powers.
-At the end of the film, are Kane and Lena aliens? Or what.
-Another attempt at trying to be too clever with sci-fi
Speaking of Sci-fi, got the Dredd soundtrack for some editing motivation. This soundtrack has got some great tunes on it. Good for the creative juices, and good at keeping the mind focused on fixing my space-opera.
Got back to the Victoria and Albert museum after some time for the Ocean Liners exhibition. Takes me back to the time I did a crossing from Southampton to New York on the Queen Mary 2. The golden age of travel when it was more sophisticated and elegant.
https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/ocean-liners-speed-style
As this week draws to a close, I’m looking forward to getting Standish finished and into the hands of my beta-testers, then getting stuck into Love in a time of War.
Until next week, dear readers, stay frosty.
March 10, 2018
Week in Review: 10/03/18
Another week in the books, as I like to say, and it has seen the end of Standish. I can report, with certainty, that the fate of the novel is sealed. Now, there are holes that need to be plugged from when I was working on my first draft, which I am now in the process of sealing. Once this stage of the process is complete, I’m going to hand the book off to two beta-testers, and get them to give it a read. After that, another edit will take place, and hopefully by May, the book will be live. I’m very excited. This story is a lot longer than I anticipated, but I think that it tells a compelling story of a young female’s experiences in a time of war.
I am still working on Love in a Time of War, and have had some nice ideas about bringing in a familiar face from Standish for a cameo. We shall see, but I like the idea of having the stories that are tied to the Earth Saga having a few connected dots.
Watched two films this week. Midnight Special, which I thought was interesting. Probably the best film with Adam Driver in it I’ve seen. Strong performances by Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, and Kirstin Dunst.
On the other hand, The Outsider with Jared Leto was a fucking white-washing mess. I’d give it 1 star if it weren’t for the stylish suits the Yakuza wore and the beautiful female lead played by Shiori Kutsuna, but without those two factors, the film was a hot mess. The plot sucks, and oh yeah, ex-military man Jared somehow, while speaking very little Japanese, becomes a senior member of the Japanese underworld? I think not!
This weekend we’ve got some 6 Nations rugby, and lots of editing to do. Editing a book that is close to 200,000 words is not easy or fast. The weather is grim, but warming up, and the fitness regime is on track. Gotta get ready for summer!
Good night, and good luck.
March 3, 2018
Week in Review: 3/3/18
Another week gone, and while it wasn’t a blockbuster, it was good. Reached the 190,000 word mark on Standish early in the week, and not I’m going back and edit/up-grading. There were some sections of the story that were left unfinished, and there are obvious editing needs to go along with that. I’m not sure how long this process will take, but we’re in the final stretch on Standish.
Got some very exciting artwork from Ivan Batsalov this week. Dynamic Operations helmets with two different colour schemes. I was thinking that the Dynamic Operations branch of the military would want some flair when going into battle in their nearly invincible armoured suits, so I had two colour schemes worked up.
The blue and gold scheme is for a raid in the AB-79 system.
The red and black, a tribute to the Atlanta Falcons, is for a major action sequence at the end of the novel.
I’ve also had a first look at the work on the cover for Love in a time of war by Luke West. Very different from my other book covers, but I enjoy the direction it’s heading.
We had snow in London this week, which was fun. I got to the gym every day and drank way too damn much. But hey, it’s my birthday, so who’s judging?
February 26, 2018
‘Standish’ Helmet
Dynamic Operations combat helmet for Team Beta One-One for the raid on Qera in ‘Standish’. Inspired by the Atlanta Falcons.
February 25, 2018
Week in Review: 25/02/18
It’s Sunday, and the Olympics are over. The last two weeks were a great opportunity to watch some cracking athletic performances in a variety of sports that you only really get to see once every four years. Pity about England’s performance in the 6 Nations this weekend, a very poor performance.
This was an alright week for writing. Currently at 186,205 words on Standish, making this weeks word-count 9,200. Roughly. That is lower than where I’d like to be, but it is a vast improvement on the end beginning of this month. The finish line is in sight, and there is only so much more of the story to tell. I anticipate that the finished product will be up-worded after the editing process happens.
I’m also thrilled that I finally got a full 5 days in the gym this week. Summer is around the corner, and I need to get back into shape. Taking 18 months out of the gym was a critical mistake, and hopefully next week will be positive as well.
Had to pop into the tailors this week. Went up to Huntsman on Savile Row to grab a jacket of mine they had, then popped into The City to see David, my personal tailor, about some alterations. I’m a firm believer that most men today put zero to very little effort into they way they look. It doesn’t help that there aren’t really any stylist celebrities at the moment. They might be fashionable, but as we know, style is permanent.
Been sticking with the Sopranos watching this week. I’m thinking that the show is good, but not great. Still, just two seasons to go now. I watched ‘By The Sea’ with Brad and Angelina. Dear, fucking, God! That move was horrific, and it makes me wonder if those two can even act. Brad plays an alcoholic writer who doesn’t do much writing. Everyone wants to be a writer. And a drunk. Naturally.
On a final note, I have started on a short story, objective word count roughly 20k called Love in a time of War. This book will be set in the Earth Saga universe, and should be a nice way to provide a slightly different product to the readers, while at the same time adding depth to by catalog. Once Standish is complete, it’s straight into Condition Zero: Earth Saga VI.
Until next week.
February 17, 2018
Week in Review: 17/02/18
It’s another week in the bag and things have started to get back on track, for anyone giving a shit. Got back into a more regular writing routine this week and hit the gym four days. Not bad. Getting back on track.
Watched lots of Olympics this week. I always enjoy the chance to watch some amazing competition in events that you don’t see very often every 2 years. I also binged on The Sopranos this week, finishing off season 2. It’s a good show.
Got 5,637 words down on Standish this week, which isn’t great, but considering the last 2 weeks were disasters, it’s an improvement. I did cross over the 175,000 mark this week, so that’s a nice mile-stone. I keep telling myself that the end is near, but there is still a major action-piece to wrap up, then more of a story to tell. We’ll get there.
I’ve also decided on a bit of a tag-line for Standish, to help give potential readers an idea of the vibe of the books and I’ve decided, for the time being to go with: Wonder Woman meets StarShip Troopers. I do think that helps capture the mood and vibe of the book.
I’ve had an idea in my mind for a while about how Standish looks, and the closest female I can find that comes close to capturing the physicality of Standish is Sara Sigmundsdottir, an Icelandic Cross-Fit athlete. All you have to do is image her with blue and white skin.
Friday, I went and saw Black Panther in the cinema. It was fun, and for all those out there familiar with both London and Atlanta, like I am, I’m sure they’ll have spotted a very prominent building from Peachtree Road that is not in London. Nice try.
It’s a mild weekend in London, and I think that some more Olympics are on the cards, along with some drinking, and some more writing Sunday.
Stay thirsty my friends.
February 11, 2018
Week in Review: 11/2/18
Another week down, and it was another unproductive one. No words were put to page.
I watched Cloverfield Paradox, and it was horrible. The cast was incredible, but the story itself was dreadful. Just horrible.
Another terrible film I watched this week was Bullet to the Head. A Stallone action film with Khal Drago as the villain. Also a train-wreck. Not a successful week of Netflix viewing!
On a positive note, I did get back into the gym for a few days. Next week we’ll be back on a full schedule of Monday to Friday on, rest the weekend.
This weekend the Olympic games started, so I’ll have some viewing entertainment in the background for Monday when I get back into my writing groove.
A rather dull weekly round-up, but it’s going to happen from time to time.
