It's been nearly a month since my last blog so I thought it was about time i did another. I haven't really done much writing lately, Ive been kind of busy with other things, work, drama, etc but hopefully that is all going to change. I really need to start concentrating on my writing more. If I don't then I won't pass this course, and that puts a stop to my five year plan! And yes, I know how pretentious that sounds! :) So, before I get stuck into the writing I need to do I thought I'd "flex" my writing muscles by doing a blog.
Well, on the 30th of March I started my new job at Scottish Southern Energy in Cumbernauld. It's a call centre and my job is in customer general enquiries. It's permanent back shift 11am-8pm on the phones dealing with customers gas and electric bills etc I'm not actually on the phones yet, I have 3 weeks of training to do first (2 weeks down, 1 to go)then after that, its 6 weeks in the "academy". Kind of like nursery for call centre newbies :) The people I'm training with seem to be a nice bunch of people so training etc should be and has been fun so far. I'm really dreading going on the phones though, because that's when things get serious! If I mess up a gas bill calculation, or don't do things right on the system then I'll be in trouble! The company seem to be pretty laid back so far but i can see that changing when we get on the phones.
As for everything else.... I've come to the conclusion that everything else, no matter how much it pains me, has to stop. I simply will not have the time! I love the apex, the podcast, the theatre and separately they don't really take up that much time but add them all up and I'm struggling! I simply can't choose between them either. It's too difficult, so I'm going to have to start giving them up. I don't like it but if I'm going to pass this course then I need to. With the Apex I'm committed to helping out there for the next couple of weeks leading up to the show but after that, I'll need to step back. It's going to be tough. Anyway, that's the plan, let's see if I carry through with it :/
until next time, take care!

and finally, part 3

Part 3 is Danianes journal entry from after his meeting. I decided to go with the meeting with Debra, simply becasue it gave me more ideas to use. so here it is :-

Age of the wolf, 10th ascension, Decron 16th
I saw her. My sweet fallen princess, my Debra, my daughter. It filled my heart with joy to see her alive yet it also reminded me of what I have lost. I remember the day I lost her to the Dwarfen. She was so sweet and innocent, barely 2 years old. To be taken away from her family in such a cruel and barbaric way. To be ripped out of her dying mothers arms and concealed in the darkness of the night. I searched the entire kingdom but never found her. I know now she had already been taken into the realm of men. But by who? Not the Dwarfen, it is obvious they intended to kill her. She is my heir to the throne. With no heir the kingdom of the Fel would fall. No, someone had hidden her in the realm of men to keep her safe. I must find out who. How I wish I could have brought her home today, back here to the realm between the edge of midnight and the beginning of shadow, but that would have meant certain death for us both. I thought I was dreaming at first. She has grown so much since I last saw her. In the year since our last meeting, 40 years have past in the realm of men. She is no longer my little girl, she is a beautiful, fully grown woman. Yet I know, in my heart, it was her. She still bares the mark I gave her. The scar that one day, when it is safe to do so, will remind her of who she is and allow her to return home. I long to see her again but I know to do so would be foolish. She is safe for now. Hopefully the power of the scar will cleanse her mind of me. But to be safe, I can never again return to Ariel’s Bistro. I must continue the fight to restore my throne. I must find the medallion of Rannock. Then, and only then, can my sweet fallen princess return to me.


So there you go. A little more insight into the world of Daniane and the development of his character. It's strange. I had always intended Danaine to be my villain, the evil prince of the fel, yet through this workshop I discovered a "human" side to him. He still is ultimately an evil flawed character but I think a more rounded character now that he has shown he can care and have feelings for others. Anyway, hopefully I'll have more writing to post later this week. Until then, cya!

Ariel Bistro part 2

So in part 2 Danaine meets someone elses character. In my case I ended up being paired with two different characters so here they are. First,Debra:-

Danaine looked down at the small feast in front of him. He reached out and took hold of the cup of coffee. He could feel the warmth of the liquid radiating through the cup into his fingertips. He held it there for a while letting the warmth slowly spread throughout his hand. Slowly he lifted the cup up to his face. He held it just beneath his nose. He closed his eyes and let the smell slowly drift up into his nostrils. That bitter sweet smell made the visit here worthwhile. Try as he might he could never find that smell in his realm. Here, in the realm of men, a place filled with so many pungent smells, was a fragrance fit for kings. During all the times he had visited Ariel’s Bistro he had developed the perfect ritual to make sure he fully enjoyed the experience. The warmth of the cup, taking the time to enjoy the smell, and then that bitter sweet first taste. Sheer heaven. It was then, after his first taste, that Danaine did something that did not come naturally to him. He smiled.
“Debra, your hairs in your coffee!”
Daniane opened his eyes and shot a look across the bar to Marjory. How dare she interrupt his moment of peace. He turned to face the woman next to him, this Debra that Marjory spoke of. Had this been his realm both would be lying in a pool of their own blood or at the very least clapped in irons and thrown into his dungeon to be forgotten about but here, he would have to settle for a verbal tongue lashing. As he turned to face her his expression changed from anger to shock. It was her. His damsel in distress. That long fiery red hair, those eyes of emerald green. His eyes searched her face for confirmation, and there it was, on her left temple, the scar. His scar. She looked older. But then time moved faster in this realm. A year in his realm could be a lifetime here. Why was she here? He had come in search of the ultimate power and had found her. Did she know its whereabouts? Was it coincidence? No, there was a connection between her and the medallion of Ranock. There had to be. But what was it? How could this she help him in his quest? Before he could say anything her eyes closed and she began to fall. This time he reached out and caught her in his arms. As she slowly came around he looked into her eyes and said “greetings, my fallen princess”


Scondly, Geraldine. I kept the smae first paragraph for this one but changed it after that:-

Danaine looked down at the small feast in front of him. He reached out and took hold of the cup of coffee. He could feel the warmth of the liquid radiating through the cup into his fingertips. He held it there for a while letting the warmth slowly spread throughout his hand. Slowly he lifted the cup up to his face. He held it just beneath his nose. He closed his eyes and let the smell slowly drift up into his nostrils. That bitter sweet smell made the visit here worthwhile. Try as he might he could never find that smell in his realm. Here, in the realm of men, a place filled with so many pungent smells, was a fragrance fit for kings. During all the times he had visited Ariel’s Bistro he had developed the perfect ritual to make sure he fully enjoyed the experience. Feeling the warmth of the cup, taking the time to enjoy the smell, and then that bitter sweet first taste. Sheer heaven. It was then, after his first taste, that Danaine did something that did not come naturally to him. He smiled.
‘ Mind if I join you Madame?’
That voice. He recognised that voice. Danaine stopped and tried to tune out all the other sounds in the bistro. He concentrated on hearing that voice and only that voice.
‘…friend. Damian Walsh”
Damian Walsh. Daniane could take no more; if this truly was Damian then he had to act before it was too late. He picked up his coffee, turned and made his way to the table.
‘You are an interesting lady Geraldine’, said Damian,’ but tell me, what reason would a lady of your stature have for visiting a place such as this?’
Geraldine blushed. This smooth talking young man certainly knew how to push her buttons. “Well Damian, a true lady never reveals her true intentions. But I could ask the same of you my dear boy. What is a young gentleman of such high taste doing here, and what, prey tell are your intentions towards me?’
‘Perhaps I can answer that question’ interrupted Daniane.
Geraldine looked up to the young man who had wandered over to her table. He was tall. He seemed to tower over them dominating the space. His hair was dark, and fell over his shoulders like the nightfall. His skin was pale and he was dressed in what can only be described as Gothic clothing. The black ruffled shirt, black trousers and black leather boots were not unusual to Geraldine. In her line of work she had come across many young people who played at being gothic. But this man, this mysterious dark stranger, she sensed he was not playing. He wore an emerald green cloak which fastened round his neck with a gold buckle in the shape of a lion. But it was his eyes that unnerved her. They shone with the white silver of moonlight. They were captivating.
‘The intentions of Damian are fairly obvious to those familiar with the ways of his kind’, said Danaine as he lowered himself into an armchair between them. He caught Geraldine in his gaze and continued. ‘He will charm you into leaving this fine establishment in his company and lead you off into the night. The rest of the night will be filled with wondrous sights, the likes of which you have never seen. You will feel magical sensations that you never thought were possible that will fill you with indescribable pleasure. But, as day begins, and the night draws to an end , my dear lady, so will your life. It is then, when you feel that you can trust this creature with your life, that he will feed on you. If you are lucky he will drain you of your existence. If you are unlucky, you will be reborn as one of his kind, condemned to an eternal hell of feeding on life itself.”

So there you go both part 2's. Ill post part 3 later.

Ariel Bistro

Near the end of last year, my tutor set up a workshop for us aspiring writers. The workshop was simple enough but at the same time quite challenging. I thoroughly enjoyed it. In the workshop she introduced us to "Ariel's Bistro", famous for marjory's eggs benedict! The workshop was in 3 parts. part one involved sending one of your characters into the bistro. At the time iwas working on the second TMA nad was developing the character of Danaine the Fel prince. Here is my submission:-

“You will find what you seek at Man’s Tavern of Retribution” The words of the oracle still ran through Danaine’s mind. He thought of the time he had spent devouring books in the castles library, looking for any reference to this tavern. He knew of plenty of Taverns here in the Fel kingdom, twice as many if he included the ones in the kingdom of the Dwarfen, but which one was the “Tavern of Retribution”? Days he had searched, days he had wasted. Then tonight, when he had given up hope and had finally succumbed to his sweet slumber, it came to him. “Man’s Tavern” the oracle had said. A tavern in the realm of men. Once he figured that out the rest was easy.
He pulled his cloak around him tightly, trying to keep in the warmth but more importantly trying to keep out the stench of man. These creatures, these humans, looked like Fel. A lot like Fel. Some scholars had even said they were distant cousins of sorts. Same species, different evolution. Danaine’s answer to that was to make their heads temporary fixtures to his battlements. He found the mere idea of being related to these foul creatures appalling. These men were weak. They had no real power. Not like the noble Fel warriors. They were power personified. Strong, mighty, vicious if need be. Coupled with their mystical ability to change form and they were unstoppable. No, a Fel prince like he, would rather die at the hands of a lowly Elfen than be seen in the realm of men. Yet, here he was, at the tavern of retribution, or to be precise the Tavern of the Angel of Retribution, the Arch Angel Ariel. Ariel’s Bistro. Somewhere inside this place of men, he would find what he was looking for. He would find ultimate power. With a quick look behind him, he opened the door and stepped inside.
He stood in the doorway. Within the blink of an eye he had scanned the room. Exits were the front door, a rear door leading into the kitchen and toilets and a large door marked fire exit led out into the side alley. There were no obvious weapons to speak of. There were cutlery knifes, and an umbrella in the stand by the door which could be used to impale in a pinch. He wasn’t expecting trouble, but it always helps to be prepared. Besides, he had been here before. This place was his guilty little secret. He discovered it totally by accident a number of years ago. He had been hunting for a particularly annoying Dwarf called Tubrig. His informant had told him he visited here regularly. Danaine had waited here for three days and nights but didn’t find Tubrig, but he did find something better, something that was worth visiting this realm for.
“Americano with a shot of expresso and Marjory’s Eggs Benedict please”

part 2 and 3 to follow :)

life update

It's been nearly two weeks since my last update and its been a busy two weeks! Last week I was on jury duty again. Once again, I didn't get picked. A lot of people complain about doing Jury Duty but from a writing standpoint I would like to do it. The experience of seeing how the court works, the process of the jury system are all valuable experiences for a writer. I did come up with a story idea while waiting in the court to see if I was picked. I nice idea, sort of human interest/love story type thing which I will get around to writing eventually! At the moment it's filed in the the "to do" list!Also last week I FINALLY got a job! :D WOOHOO! I don't start until march 30Th so a couple of weeks stress free from job hunting! Its in a local call centre which, while not ideal, is made better by the fact I have some good friends who work there. I'm looking forward to it. Now that I know I have a job, I was able to start car hunting. By this time next week, or maybe by the weekend if I'm lucky, I'll have a car to run around in :) Can't wait. I must say though the cars I've been looking at scream "mid life crisis". I have been looking at convertibles :) we hired a convertible when we were on our honeymoon in Florida and I loved it! Of course, there's a big difference between the weather in Florida and the weather in Scotland... It's true, that its not really practical as a "going to work" car but the way I'm looking at it is it's my reward for the 11 years of working for my previous company! I left there with a reasonable redundancy and some of that money is going toward buying me a convertible :)
As a budding writer ( calling myself a writer sounds pretentious to me!) I'm always looking for new and different experiences. I reckon the more things you try the more it can help your writing. Well, this week i had the chance to take part in a short film. It's a short science fiction film called "macs" and is based on a short story by the same name. It came about through the contacts I have at the Cumbernauld Theatre. They sent word a couple of weeks ago that this independent film company were holding auditions at the theatre for a short film. So, for a laugh me and a couple of friends went along:) It's the first time I've done anything like that so it was fun to do even if it did feel a bit strange. Luckily my audition was successful and I was offered a part in the film. We filmed this Wednesday on the set of Taggart. I gotta say it was great fun! :) sure, we spent most of the day sitting around waiting to be called and only really filmed for half an hour of so but it was great fun! Not many people get the chance to see a film crew in action let alone take part in it all, but I did and can't wait to do it again! :) So , thanks to Steven and Owen for letting me take part in your film.
On the writing front some really interesting opportunities have been put in front of me this week. A good friend of mine, Mandy, has came up with an idea for a Zombie movie and has asked me to look over it for her. I jumped at the chance and put together a couple of pages for the start of the script right away, based on her idea, and sent them off for her to look at. As always when it comes to writing, you never really know if what you've done is what they are expecting so you sit, with baited breath, to hear what they think. Mandy loved it!! We both seem to have the same sense of humour and the same take on what we can do with the movie so she's asked me to help her develop it and write it! should be fun :) I'll keep you posted on how it goes :)
At the film shoot an old friend, tam, was there and we spent a lot of time talking about an idea we had for a play nearly 15 years or so ago. We started talking and throwing some ideas about for it and are now considering getting together dusting it off and finally writing it down! It's called " a night out in front of the box" and is a sketch show in essence. The show is an entire days television viewing of a fictional TV channel from the breakfast show through to the late night TV. There's a lot of good ideas for it and , if we can get it together, it should be fun to do and write:)
The next section of the uni course is life writing, biography and autobiography, so look out for some pieces of that being posted later in the month. Until then, cya later :)

poetry TMA

Ok, here it is my Poetry TMA. I wasn't going to post this but I've posted every other TMA so thought might as well. put the good and the bad up :) Not holding out much hope for a good score on this to be honest, I think its fairly basic but here it is. you be the judge :)

The Tale of Borden, the Dwarfen King

Borden was the king of all he surveyed,
He lived in a castle of gold,
He was wealthy and strong, and worshipped they say,
As a warrior mighty and bold,

It was said in the past he roamed the realm,
On a stallion made of pure fire,
He had slain many Dragons, Wolves and Fel,
And had defeated the Goblin Empire,

But there was one he fought, not with axe or sword,
But with words and wits and cunning,
Try as he might he could not be ignored,
This warrior’s skills were quite stunning!

They had fought about land and food and slaves,
Fighting many a great verbal battle,
Borden would talk, expound and debate,
But this warrior’s resolve was un-rattled,

So he conspired with a Dwarfen of low self esteem,
A rogue of a Dwarfen called Rubtig,
And together they plotted to remove from the scene,
Borden’s enemy, the warrior called Tubrig!


They tricked the Elven into thinking that he,
Was guilty beyond any reason,
Of committing the crime of conspiracy,
And charged him with plotting high treason,

“There can be no doubt you are guilty as charged,
Your crimes make my Elven blood boil,”
Said the high court judge as he sentenced poor Tubrig,
To imprisonment inside a Gargoyle,

Borden had won and Tubrig was gone,
But he found his heart was not soaring,
With Tubrig away, and his battles all done,
Borden’s life had become really boring,

Then one day came a messenger boy,
Bordens fortunes had finally turned,
His face did smile his heart filled with Joy,
It was news of Tubrig’s return,

So Tubrig is back and Borden is happy,
They argue all day without fail,
But will Tubrig still be his loquacious lackey,
When he learns of Borden’s betrayal…


There you go. this will no doubt be THE LAST poetry post of this blog!! WOOHOO!!

Poetry, and life

The past couple of weeks have been strange ones. I've now been without a job for 3 weeks and its now starting to sink in that there will be no wage coming in at the end of next week. Its a terrifying thought that I don't know when or where my next wage will come. You would think that that thought would spur me on to apply for more jobs but for some reason it's not. It seems that every day there are more rejection letters or emails arriving, sometimes for jobs I don't remember applying for.I've applied for so many different and varied positions over the past couple of months that this week when I was at an interview for a job, mid-interview, I forgot what job i was trying to get and what company it was! The problem is that all these interviews are the same! Its the same competency based questions. " give me an example when you dealt with an angry or irate customer. What were they angry about, how did you react and how did you resolve the situation" Its come to a point now that I've developed a stock answer. Its almost like sitting in the pub swapping stories! You get so used to telling them that it becomes second nature, which is why I think, i lost track of what company i was interviewing for. It was only for a brief moment, couple of seconds at most, just enough time for me to scan the room looking for a company logo. Thank god for headed note paper! Luckily though it didn't seem to affect the interview. I got an email on Friday to say that the interview was successful! Now normally that would lead to a offer of a job, but no, what it means is they now will go to "pre-appointment checks". I presume that means checking that the information on my application is correct, and if that is successful I'll be placed on their reserve list where " should a position arise within the next 12 months we will contact you".. better than a no I suppose.
I don't see any problems arising from the pre-appointment checks, so the way i look at it is , at least I know that at some point in the next year I'll have a job. Its not much but its less daunting than the alternative!
On the OU front we've moved onto the poetry section. The one part of the course I was not looking forward to. I've never really read any poetry, let alone write any. Don't get me wrong I do appreciate that writing good poetry takes skill and determination, and i respect the people who can do it but for me, its just not my thing! I much prefer writing fiction. In fact, i love writing fiction. Its one of the most energetic, fun, creative, and rewarding activities Ive done. Taking the time to create characters and worlds, then putting them into situations to see how they react. I always thought that writers who said the characters wrote the story where pretentious or smoking something but its true! If you create a good enough character, you know just how they will react when put into any situation and the dialogue and plot simply flows. Trouble is it doesn't always go they way you expect it to! Still, love it or not, I still need to write 40 lines of poetry by next Friday for TMA 3... Its going to be a long week!