Ah. Yes. January 31, 2007
Posted by Jen in : Bits and Pieces, Journal , 6 commentsThis is me today. And quite a lot of other days. There’s just always something else, isn’t there?
Oh, it’s not fair. Why can’t I draw stuff like this? I think I have the wrong brain?? That would explain a lot really. Sigh. I used to use ’sigh’ a lot in email titles. And as stand-alone proclamations. But that was a different ’sigh’. I think that one still exists but just doesn’t get used anymore. Words are funny buggers, aren’t they??
Ok then: 5 Things January 30, 2007
Posted by Jen in : Bits and Pieces, Journal, Writing Bits , 6 commentsI was tagged recently to write five things that people don’t (generally) know about me. So, here you go:
I have quite skinny legs - similar, in fact, to my dad’s sparrow legs and string-width ankles. As soon as I get back from work, I rip off my suit and put on black thermal pj bottoms and one of lovely bf’s massive, massive fleeces. They come down to my knees. My skinny, drainpipe pyjama’d knees. I therefore look like Max Wall in drag. Gorgeous, I tell you.
Um… I applied for a job in a swanky law firm once. They called my then boss for a reference. He had been out for something of a liquid lunch. His reference?
‘Oh, I can’t speak highly enough of her,’ he said. ‘She has great tits and she can really hold her drink.’
Strangely enough, I didn’t get the job.
I am a secret Emmerdale watcher. I love it. I even record it. Sad, I know. I don’t watch stuff like Harry Hill’s TV Burp though. Oh, ok, I do. Bugger, you caught me out.
What else? Oh, in the privacy of my own home, I drink sherry. Maiden-aunt type sherry - Harvey’s Bristol Cream, in fact. I know. The shame. Part of my drinking addiction is due to confession Number 5, which follows hereunder.
Lovely bf is not lovely at all. He is a geek, a freak and, in his most recent display of splendour, a dancing coat hanger. Evidence below. Please, believe me, I had no idea when I started going out with him. You DO believe me, don’t you??
La la la January 26, 2007
Posted by Jen in : Journal, Novel, Writing Bits , add a commentMusic, then. It’s no secret that I love it. I tootle the floot in a chamber orchestra. I’m not bad. I can’t play my guitar. I hum rubbish songs rubbishly. No, really , it’s true. My children say I should try to wipe anything Green Day related from my tiny Mitzy mind. The Itsy Bitsy Mitzy mind. To quote, in fact. Beasts.
In the Novel Racers catch-up, Jane mentions the way she uses music to get emotion across in her writing.
My ongoing urge about using music as part of my novel had a massive surge a couple of weeks ago. In fact, it surged so greatly, I couldn’t even talk about it.
But. It has worked. I wanted (and, erm, yes, still want!) to use music in my novel for various reasons. It’s cool enough to quote the likes of Norah Jones and other ‘household names’. But I wanted to include the other stuff. Real stuff. Real vs airbrushed fake perfection. So I emailed Kat Flint. Cos she’s cool. And her music is ace. And she never gives up. I felt a fool. A spaz. A mental stalking lunatic.
And then she emailed back. (You can sing along here if you like!)
‘Ooh, I’ve never made a literary cameo appearance before,’ she said. ‘Go ahead.’
What a girl, eh? How exciting. There’s so much I could do with it. It’s just making the most of it now. A protégée to be encouraged. To tease and tweak. Yeah baby.
Hells Bells January 22, 2007
Posted by Jen in : Bits and Pieces, Journal , 7 commentsI’ve been tagged. And I aint (should that have punctuation?) never been tagged before. I might kill Kate. Or torture her a little bit. She’s young. I could play Level 42 songs or something. That would teach her, don’t you think?
So… 5 things nobody knows about me. Everyone knows everything about me. And the things they don’t know, NOBODY knows. And, um, that’s for a reason. Well, some people know some things. But nobody knows everything. Maybe people are like jigsaws? Some of the insiders have more pieces than others, can understand how they might fit together. The really special people get the corner pieces. I guess they decide for themselves what they want to do with them.
I will have to think about it. 5 things heh? Hmmmmm…
Am a miserable bugger. My funny is hiding. Is that Number 1? Maybe. Nah, everyone knows I’m a miserable bugger.
Crumbs, this is more tricky than I thought? Will think about it some more.
Innovative and Magical… Erm… Shoes!!! January 16, 2007
Posted by Jen in : Bits and Pieces, Journal , 6 commentsYay! And hurrah!! You’ll never guess what I’ve found? Yes, ok, the clue was in the title. Yet, verily I say unto you, I have discovered the miracle of Magic Shoes. They are not only very good for Walking About, they also Make You Thin.
It must be true. I read it in a magazine. An advert. With a photo of a pretty lady Actually Wearing The Shoes. And I have to say, she was Very Thin. See? True, I tell you. Earth shoes “help you shed pounds, improve your posture, banish cellulite and reduce stress”. Apparently.
I think there is some sort of scientific mumbo-jumbo to back up these claims. But ‘Magic Shoes that Make You Thin’ is as much technomalogical info as I need ta very much.
I haven’t quite managed to buy said Magic Shoes yet - I was all excited about them and thought I’d share the potential joy with lovely bf as we were nodding off last night.
“Make you thin?” he scoffed in a rather rude manner. “What do they do? Shout things like ‘walk faster, Fatty’?” Yes, I thought you’d agree with me about the terrible rudeness.
And that is not all. He also suggested yesterday that I buy the Janice Battersby workout video . Bloomin cheek. Lovely bf indeed.
Actually, the Magic Shoes are really very funky… I shall be both springy and thin. Then he’ll be sorry. Ha! “LoveThoseShoes.com”. I said that in a telly-advert sort of way, could you tell? Just as if I were a pretty lady wearing shoes. I am too talented.
Looking Ahead January 13, 2007
Posted by Jen in : Journal , 4 commentsHmmmm. I accidentally went into Waterstones last week, looking for a book that I couldn’t afford. They didn’t have it, luckily. But, outside, it was raining. And the bookshop staff gave me that exasperated, sighing look that they often give when I go in, poke everything and put things back in the wrong place.
I had to think of something constructive to do for ten minutes. Ding! Brainwave!! I would have a little look to see whereabouts in the shop MY book will appear when it’s published. Manifestation, see? Or cosmic ordering, as I believe woolly-jumpered TV presenters call it.
Lovely bf thought I had lost the plot when I confessed the day’s tragic loitering.
But.
He went shopping today while I toiled in Retail Hell. And just look what he’d done when I got home:
He’s not bad, for a Northerner.
Suppose I’d better write some words. Tomorrow. The straggling remains of today are meant for vino and a film. Yaaaaaawn.
Workspace and Enthusiasm January 10, 2007
Posted by Jen in : Journal , 8 commentsMore procrastination. Oh dear. I have the day off from Retail Hell to write. So many other things to do before I actually Get Down To It though. I can blame Kate Harrison and her request to see other people’s desks for this one. Shame on you Kate. I’ve got a novel to write, doncha know??
So this is it. My desk. A cup of tea rather than a glass of wine. Well, it’s early. Mirror for obsessive plucking of eyebrows when I can’t think of anything else to put off Actually Writing. Lovely bf has a special study of his own. It has a long corridor and lots of doors. It is quiet. Mine is next to the kitchen. I can hear the washing machine gurgle. Close to the kettle though. And the wine.
Oh, and did I mention that I have a view? It’s lovely to see the fragile blossom against the stark sky today. I’m ready for Spring.
Ok. Enough. Time to write some words. Lovely bf won’t buy me any more treats from Amazon until I reach 7,000 words. Meanie.
Inspiration January 7, 2007
Posted by Jen in : Bits and Pieces, Journal, Novel , add a commentI’m becoming more and more excited about the concept of music as metaphor in The Novel.
Apart from anything else, it’s a great excuse to play about and find lots of new stuff to complement the existing ’soundtrack’ of said writerly meanderings. Oddly, as I write, I do almost see the screenplay of The Novel in front of me. I choose the locations, the songs, the clothes - perhaps it’s a premonition? Think big - why not?
Rosie Brown’s Clocks and Clouds is today’s inspiration. Everyone should own this. Go on. Treat yourself. Or just buy this track. Aural heaven.
