The Swipe Volume 1 Chapter 37
Nanowrimo is go! Authors across the globe watched Halloween slip past in a pumpkin-spice scented fog and readied themselves for the task ahead. Come November 1st, we planted ourselves in front of the keyboard, took a deep breath and howled out the traditional Nanowrimo refrain—‘why am I doing this to myself again?’
Why indeed? Well, as the old saw states, a writer writes. If you don’t have words on a page, you don’t have jack. It’s AICKO time (Arse In Chair, Keyboard Out). However painful and difficult the effort will prove to be, how tough it is to slot writing space into your packed schedule, the result is something you can work on, refine and most importantly show people. A story is one thing spoken out loud. Don’t get me wrong, there’s value in that. But it can transform once it becomes the written word. It gains an extra kind of power.
For me, Nanowrimo is a month filled with surprises. The story takes turns you didn’t see coming. The characters do things you didn’t expect or plan for. Like falling in love, or standing firm instead of running away, or dying at the most inconvenient time for the plot. I live for moments like that, when the story begins to tell itself and you’re just along for the ride.
Apologies in advance for the poor state of the newsletter over the next few weeks, as I plow away in the word-mines, but I’ll try to keep a presence here as usual. Worst case scenario, you might get an extract of the work in progress.
Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Nanowrimo Swipe.
Rob is reading…
What, you think I have time to read here?
Rob is watching…
I find this sort of thing very soothing, and wish I had the skill and patience of the unseen gent who coaxes this old soldier back to life. I wish he’d kept the original wood finish, though. Or at least the little sticker on the scratch plate. It feels a little like he’s erasing the guitar’s history in favour of new shininess. Still a great way to decompress if you need it.
Rob is listening…
They don’t really fit behind that desk, do they?Rob is eating…
Donna Hay’s Roast Garlic Chicken on a leek and potato gratin. Rich and soothing all at once, with the added benefit of leftovers and a carcass for stock. It’s a meal that just keeps on giving.
Rob’s Low-Key Obsession Of The Week…
Words on the page, baby. Nothing but words on the page.
Let’s start with a piece which just missed my radar for last week’s spooky special. It’s a great bit of speculative fiction—a lil bit skiffy, a lil bit horror, a whole lotta fun. Beware the moon!
Ah, writers. We are such delicate flowers, so needy, so potentially explosive. This one goes out to those poor brave souls who have to put up with our nonsense all day every day. TLC, I don’t deserve you.
Endless supplies of whisky and praise
There are 15 years worth of blog posts on Excuses And Half Truths. Even excluding the times when it became a clearing house for my podcasting adventures, that’s a lot of writing. I’m very proud of the body of work I’ve generated. However, its existence remains fragile, at the whims of service providers and web hosts. I have spent more time on initiatives like The Swipe than I have on more ostensibly mainstream writing projects—novels, short stories and so on. Will my online writing ever get any form of recognition? Probably not…
On a similar subject, the good folk at Vittles are bringing out great writing weekly which often transcend the humble bounds of food writing to provide far richer experiences. Take Orphée You’s history of three generations of French home cooking, which takes the staple duck a la orange as a starting point for an exploration into wide-ranging social and economic trends. There’s still a recipe at the end if you need it, though.
Here’s a mind-blowing Threads thread from Mike Achim on an extraordinary cataclysmic pair of geological events which changed the face of Europe. You think we have extreme weather now? Buckle up, buttercup.
If my Ninth Art posts don’t interest you then move along, pilgrim, cos this one is high level geeky. A long piece from the letterer’s letterer Tod Klein on the art, technique and history of this vital component of the comic page. As you might imagine, I wallowed in this like a pig in mud, but YMMV.
Tod Klein’s Pen Lettering For Comics
The much-ballyhooed ‘last Beatles song’ is, let’s be frank, a bit of a disappointment. A plodding ballad gussied up from a fragmentary John Lennon demo which sort of meanders around a bit without ever developing. The story of how it came to us is the most interesting bit.
A sweet story in Xwitter form from Gail Simone. The guy she talks about could be all sorts of problematic but you do somehow end up liking him. God, I hope he isn’t a serial killer.
Ok, that’s it! Thanks in advance for your patience over the next few weeks while I moan and whinge about actually doing the thing I should be doing as a matter of course. A writer writes, right? If you’re Nanoing, I hope it all goes smoothly for you. I’m here if you need to vent.
Let’s keep the vibe positive with something motivational from The Redskins. Keep on keepin’ on, yawl.
See you in seven, true believers.
