Nick Bryan's Blog, page 18

Is it me or is there a COMPLETED SECOND draft in here? (WriteBlog #24)

Unfortunately, the pun in the title doesn't really work, as that kind of draft is spelt draught. But enough self-sabotage.

This week, on Wednesday to be precise, I completed the second draft of the novel I've been blogging about for ages. So yeah, hit my self-imposed deadline of the end of April by about six hours, go team. Now, this doesn't mean it's time to show it to publishing professionals, or indeed other humans at all, but it is a major chunk of work finished, and I'm going to number it as second draft anyway, simply because it gives me a feeling of progress.

So what exactly do I mean by second draft? And what's next if not showing it to others? Time now for a little pause-and-take-stock in the editing process.

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Hobson & Choi #65: "Matchstickmaker"

The soap opera reaches critical mass in this week's episode. Will anyone survive the awkward sex conversations and needless poo joke?

A good one this week. And also next week, actually - clearly I'm on a roll.

Genuine query, now: I've had a bit of a rush of votes on H&C lately, has anyone done a post/blog/review/plug for us somewhere? Much appreciated if so.

In non-H&C news, I finished the second draft of my novel! A full blog about this to follow, but it seemed to go well. Next: the third draft.

Game of Thrones review - where are all the arseholes?

Surprisingly few arseholes in this week's Game of Thrones. What's that about? Review up now on Dork Adore!

And we're fast approaching the end of April, so if you fancy voting for Hobson & Choi to help our top 30 efforts, now is the time. Recent episodes have been good too, so go for it.

Fighting The Skeleton Army - Fleshing out NaNoWriMo writing (WriteBlog #23)

This week, I came within 1.5 chapters of finishing the second draft of the novel! But this isn't quite the victory lap blog post yet, I'll get to that next week. This week, after editing 5.5 chapters worth of NaNoWriMo work (I wrote the last seven chapters during NaNo 2013), I finally worked out the real difference between this and better, more carefully written first draft material.

No, it wasn't the terrible spelling and barely comprehensible sentences, those would've happened anyway.

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Hobson & Choi #64 - "En Route"

The second chapter of the new Hobson & Choi storyline is up now! Crime, soap opera and hardcore commuting!

And this is the final H&C chapter of the month of April, so if you want to help us jerk up a few places in the monthly Jukepop charts, now is the time to get the reading/voting done. Ta very much.

Lastly, in case you missed it earlier, I just did a post paying homage to one of my favourite superhero comic series, the Black Panther run by Christopher Priest. Check that out.

And now, away to the cafe for typing. Writing blog likely to follow either later or tomorrow...

Black Panther by Christopher Priest - A Homage

I recently subscribed to Marvel Unlimited, a Netflix-esque system that gives me all-I-can-eat Marvel comics for a fairly low price. Not bang-up-to-date ones, but I've not read half the comics I wanted to over the last decade due to financial concerns, so I can keep trawling for a while.

However, as well as striking out for new material, I've also re-read some old favourites, and I'd like to talk about one of those now: Black Panther by Christopher Priest and various artists, a series that ran from 1998 to 2003. The Black Panther character has existed since 1966, King of a fictional African nation called Wakanda, and mostly associated with standing in the backdrop of Avengers groupshots in the later decades of the twentieth century.

Attentive readers may note Priest also wrote Quantum & Woody, a series even closer to my heart than Black Panther. I started reading Panther due to following Priest over from Q&W, barely knowing who the character was, and Priest made me love it in approximately one issue. If you want a gushing tribute to Q&W, here's one I wrote in September 2012.

But anyway. Black Panther. What was that about?

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Game of Thrones!

It's Game of Thrones review on Dork Adore time, and everyone's kinda looking at last week with bafflement.

Back to work after Easter, and on a Tuesday. How odd.

The Trouble With All That (WriteBlog #22)

Since last week's London Book Fair adventures, I've returned to my normal life and tried to live the lessons, y'know? I've emailed a couple of people, spoken about things, set wheels in motion, and then... well, at some point I had to sit down and do some writing again.

And honestly, it almost felt a bit dull compared to all the faffing around checking my book options and seeing pretty colours. Not to mention, there are so many things to be done on the vague self-pub checklist, there's always some other task I could/should be doing.

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Hobson & Choi #63 - "Good Morning"

The beginning of a bold new storyline! Hobson and Choi get up to go to work! Anything could happen, and probably might!

Seriously, it's fun writing this stuff, like doing a whole new novel. We've established ourselves, we got rules, we got characters, onwards to the next adventure.

Hopefully you guys enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it. You never know. And happy Easter, just in case I post nothing else in the coming days!

Game of Thrones review time!

Your weekly Game of Thrones review on Dork Adore, and be warned, it does feature some of those spoilers you've heard about.

Good episode, though. So, how does it feel to exist in a world without the Hobson & Choi Podcast? I know I'm still getting used to it...