R.S. Pyne's Blog, page 2
June 25, 2015
Y Twits
Reading Roald Dahl's The Twits (Y Twits)in Welsh. Just about finished now and ready to start "Bywyd Blodwen Jones" by Bethan Gwanas. Reading fiction in another language is challenging but it is a good way to learn. I wrote a short story in Welsh a few months ago - <2000 words but it took me longer than a 12k one in English!
June 21, 2013
WIP 3 now at 40,000 words!
A month ago, my current work in progress was 16,500 words. It is now at 40,000+ and still not finished. This tale of a kung-fu fighting grandmother from the Rhondda Valley might turn into a novel after all.
Part of the "research" for this involved making Bara Brith. That is my excuse anyway - when I'm not writing, I am up to my eyes in bread flour and fresh yeast. Glad to say - the speckled bread turned out brilliantly. After two provings of 1 1/2 hrs each, it is certainly not fast food!
Part of the "research" for this involved making Bara Brith. That is my excuse anyway - when I'm not writing, I am up to my eyes in bread flour and fresh yeast. Glad to say - the speckled bread turned out brilliantly. After two provings of 1 1/2 hrs each, it is certainly not fast food!
June 9, 2013
Tom Sharpe RIP
I first started reading Tom Sharpe at university and thoroughly enjoyed all his books. Riotous Assembly is perhaps still my favourite - I am writing this remembering the scene where 500 white lunatics squaring up to 500 equally mad Zulus to the tune of the 1812, watched by an audience of local dignitaries.
Britain has lost a great satirist, who will be sadly missed.
R. I. P.
Britain has lost a great satirist, who will be sadly missed.
R. I. P.
May 29, 2013
WIP 3 update and a book recommendation.
WIP 3 is now officially a novella - 21,500 words and counting. There is some South Welsh dialect so the grammar police won't like those bits at all. Tough.
Just started re-reading Neil Hanson's brilliantly written but disturbing "The Custom of the Sea." Highly recommended but perhaps best avoided if you are planning a sailing trip with friends!
Just started re-reading Neil Hanson's brilliantly written but disturbing "The Custom of the Sea." Highly recommended but perhaps best avoided if you are planning a sailing trip with friends!
May 24, 2013
A strange new life of it's own
I started writing a short story last month (WIP 3): nothing too elaborate and with a planned word count of about 7,500 words.
It has now grown to a 16,500 word monster with no sign of stopping any time soon. A sub-plot sprouted along the way, taking me off in an entirely new direction. Might as well just go along with it and hope for the best!
It has now grown to a 16,500 word monster with no sign of stopping any time soon. A sub-plot sprouted along the way, taking me off in an entirely new direction. Might as well just go along with it and hope for the best!
December 16, 2012
Free - at last
Off work now until the 22nd of January - there are some good points to term-time only.
No more getting up at stupid-o'clock in the morning ... unless the world really does end on the 21st December. Then I will feel strangely cheated, having spent most of 2012 telling everyone the Mayan Long Count is just an ending - it doesn't mean Armageddon.
I haven't got time for the end of the world anyway - too many WIPs to finish, plus two research papers that won't write themselves.
No more getting up at stupid-o'clock in the morning ... unless the world really does end on the 21st December. Then I will feel strangely cheated, having spent most of 2012 telling everyone the Mayan Long Count is just an ending - it doesn't mean Armageddon.
I haven't got time for the end of the world anyway - too many WIPs to finish, plus two research papers that won't write themselves.
October 14, 2012
A change in pace
Starting a new job last week means I have had to revise my writing strategy. There are long periods of time between lectures, giving me the chance to carry on with current works in progress in longhand.
I am still working on an illustrated, print version of my grandfather's war memoirs (Fleet Air Arm Memories: Tales of the Brummagem Bastard) to follow on from the Kindle version. With the change in pace, it might take me a bit longer than expected but will be worth it in the end.
I am still working on an illustrated, print version of my grandfather's war memoirs (Fleet Air Arm Memories: Tales of the Brummagem Bastard) to follow on from the Kindle version. With the change in pace, it might take me a bit longer than expected but will be worth it in the end.
August 9, 2012
Sinister Dexter - looks like it will be a novelette/novella after all!
My new WIP is now over 7,500 words in length and shows no sign of stopping. There are still a few loose ends and more characters than usual in my shorts. It is probably 1/3 complete.
Spent an enjoyable hour researching Roman ballista and onagers, pay scales for centurions and auxiliary soldiers etc.
Also finished Pizarro by Stuart Sterling: 4* and a fascinating book - recommended if you haven't already read it.
Spent an enjoyable hour researching Roman ballista and onagers, pay scales for centurions and auxiliary soldiers etc.
Also finished Pizarro by Stuart Sterling: 4* and a fascinating book - recommended if you haven't already read it.
August 3, 2012
New WIP going well
Despite the siren call of my third novel, I am currently 3,000 words into another short story in my 'Sinister Dexter' series set in Roman occupied Britain just after Boudicca's rebellion of AD 60/61. Previous episodes in this series are:
Centurion's Choice,
Death under the Eagle
Of Hemlock and iceni Gold
Under the Eagle - A short story collection
I always find the research stage just as enjoyable as the writing itself! It also takes my mind off the horrible weather outside. Taking dogs for a walk in torrential rain is not my favourite thing but it has to be done!
Centurion's Choice,
Death under the Eagle
Of Hemlock and iceni Gold
Under the Eagle - A short story collection
I always find the research stage just as enjoyable as the writing itself! It also takes my mind off the horrible weather outside. Taking dogs for a walk in torrential rain is not my favourite thing but it has to be done!
