Getting Ready to Nano!

Today is the 19th of October and there are exactly 12 days left until November 1st!

Yes, I know you can do the math, probably much faster than I can, but the reason why this means that much to me is because *hem hem, cue drumroll* I am joining Nanowrimo for the first time this year.

Hee.

So yes, I'm excited. I've actually wanted to try for Nano for the past two years, but we all know about work schedules and how college submissions can pour cold water on pretty much anything. So now, in the middle of a day job, working with my editor and other miscellaneous duties that keep a person alive, I am finally going to take on the Nano challenge.

Yes, I've been doing prep work, which is why I haven't posted in a while. Besides the short stories that I put up here, I generally write fantasy, but this time, I'm planning to try my hand at sci-fi/supernatural. Yeah, I know, the two genres are practically siblings, but still, I'm actually using technical terms instead of using the word 'magic', so I guess that makes a difference, right?

Imagine Dragons's 'Radioactive' and Cecil Baldwin's voice are currently my two choices of mood music. At least, I get certain scenes in my head when I listen to them. I've got a fairly sound idea down and I'm just waiting for D-Day.

Anyhoo, back to musical inspiration. In the words of Warren Zevon, 'play it all night long'. (And that song is awesome, I don't care what people say.)

My Dog Ate My Tardiness Note

I don't have a dog. Technically, I don't have any pets, unless strays count. In that case, I have had nine generations of pet cats. And one in the present generation is pregnant. So ha.

Anyway, things have been rampant on the editing angle. My editor, Derek Prior, is fantastic, but has as much mercy as an axeman on steroids. Meaning, he's exactly what I needed, though that thought of all the subsequent work that is due on my end once he's finished has my innards a-freaking. Ah well. That's a bridge to cross when we come to it.

Otherwise, I've been working on the maps for the book and have so far, finished a full city plan. To all of you artists who do this professionally, I salute you. Seriously, I have been studying the weirdest things in geography links on Google, just to make sure I get it right. And knowing me, I'll beat myself up a thousand times and keep redoing it until I'm satisfied that it's somewhere in the realm of okay.

I might be a wee bit of a masochist there. Or a perfectionist. I sometimes think I'm too lazy to be a perfectionist.

I digress.

Anyway, I'm giving you all a break from my travelogue, which I have been boring you with and am going to give you one of my short stories, one I've thought about a number of times on whether to show it out or not. I've mostly written light shorts till date, and even with ones on heavier topics, I dealt with them in a more casual manner. This one's a bit different.

And before you read it, just FYI: I'm really not a creepy person. I like peppermint and pinwheels.

Case Study Trip: Day 2

Dec 14, 2012
8.18 AM, Room 205, Hotel Narayani Enclave, Kasba, Kolkata
Mood: Stuffed and scraggly

Stuffed and Scraggly Soo. My games with alliteration will never cease to amuse me.

I just had a thorough tuck-in at breakfast. I skipped dinner yesterday and lunch will most probably run late. Two full meals a day is quite enough while traveling anyhoo.

I slept off early last night. It gets really drafty after dark. Finished my accounts and washed my icky mop, thus explaining the adjective 'scraggly'. I currently bear an odd resemblance to an oversized wet dog. Sat and sorted through case study reference notes, flipped through whatever I have to ask anyone and everyone there. I'm meeting Mr. Chowdhury at 11.00 and he'll delegate me to someone else to take me around. I just pray to all ye Gods up there that Whatshisname speaks a bit of English. My Hindi is broken and with my fantastic accent, it's only getting worse.

Scraggly Soo out.

***

Dec 14, 2012
8.28 PM, Room 205, Hotel Narayani Enclave, Kasba, Kolkata
Mood: Tired and tingly feet

More alliteration. Hee. :D

Yes, yes, Uncrowned Queen of Cheap Thrills.

Moving on...

The loo is weird. The toilet talks like the one at home. It croak-groans. Croans. It sounds like Lurch on meth.

Weird...

I did a lot of walking today, explaining the feet. Mr. Chowdhury and his seneschal (sub-director to those who aren't fantasy geeks), Mr. Sathyanarayana, signed the copy of the bonafide from college and I got myself a signed letter in Bangla from the security head. I dunno what it said; it could very well have been an ode to the Tooth Fairy for all I knew, but it seemed to work whenever I used it. No guided tour or anything, I just had free reign to go wherever the hell I wanted. As for info, I had to ask around to whoever was there.

Basically, I was playing critique slash Scooby Doo, sometimes sneaking around the service areas and walking right through the 'No Entry' doors like I bloody well owned the place. The expressions of those watching me were amusing.

As for the info, I spent half the day stumbling over my cracked-and-badly-splintered-at-the-seams Hindi with every security guard I could find. Every bloke in blue. Seriously, they were everywhere.

"Nahin, main Bangla nahin jaanthi hoon," became a refrain.

Give a Southern girl a break, mates. She's trying here.

Anyhoo, I couldn't finish everything today. I have to do up the convention center area and the service yard tomorrow, hopefully by 11.00 AM. I have to call Mr. Lai at 11, a person whom Mr. Chowdhury put me in touch with to get me drawings of the whole Science City. Have to see him tomorrow as well. He gave me directions to the office: 'Park Street, fourth floor by Mother Theresa'.

Brill.

I was worn out to hell and back by the time I got back to the hotel. Made some calls, sent a mail, donned the hoodie and went for dinner.

Where?

The same place I had breakfast at.

Looks like Tacky Spangles Bar next door is exactly what it is: a bar. No wonder the blokes there stared when I told them that all I wanted was lunch.

Meh.

God, I'm sleepy.

It's not even 9.00.

Yeesh, it's cold.

But it's not that cold.

...

Another bit of proof that my brain has a mild case of schizophrenia.

Bah humbug.

I'm gonna snooze.

Nighty night.

Reboot

Hello, welcome and welcome back and above all, my most profound apologies. Really, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I've been neglecting this poor blog for a long time, but in my defense, I had a lot going on.

College had me held up with my thesis work, which I have completed to the most level. Just one final step to have it done once and for all. It's been a long five year ride and I honestly have no idea what it'll feel like at the end. As a result of overwork and late nights and perpetual insomnia, I was rendered mentally exhausted for weeks together and I tell you, it really sapped at my inspiration levels. As a result, there haven't been any new short stories among my recent work.

None except the one. That workshop on Wattpad is over and I wrote one last short for Alice's prompts there. Another John and Rose. Gods, I had missed them. I'll put that up shortly here and I welcome any sort of plot prompts if anyone can provide them.

Other than that, I've been working more on my larger writing project, which I'm running a final edit on before looking for editors and book consultants. Can't wait to get started on that; it's been close to six and a half years since this first started and it'll be great to finally get this on board.

Anyhoo, nothing much else has been going on. So yes, I'll be updating more regularly and here's a tidbit of John and Rose for ya.

Tally hoo! And now, back to writing!

Frankly, My Dear, I Don't Give A Damn...

I'm a terrible person. I'm a terrible person and a reckless procrastinator. I'm a terrible person because I'm a reckless procrastinator, and right now, frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

Yes, I stole that last line. Couldn't help it really. Clark Gable was pretty much begging me to say that. It's like the time when I was studying for a test while sitting at my dad's table. When he came and told me that he wanted his table back, I stubbornly refused to budge until he said 'Get out of my chair!' like Prairie Dawn did to Grover when they were shooting 'Singing in the Rain' on Sesame Street.

Anyhoo, exams are almost up and I've been taking some time to do a wee bit more short story writing, mostly because I seem to have contracted a minor case of writer's block with my bigger writing project. Most of the said short stories have been elaborated responses to the prompts from Alice Kuipers's workshop on Wattpad. Delightful, really. I'm also looking forward to the Saarang Writing Awards in my own area soon enough. John and Rose have been on a bit of a lag, but I will get back to them soon.

Besides that, I've got half a shoe to finish painting. I've finished the left half of van Gogh's 'Starry Night'; I've just got the town part of the right half.

Moving on and drabbling me aside...

This one's an idea I got from one of the prompts. I love 'Great Expectations'; fantastic classic. And for the record, there really is a village in the Yorkshire Dales called Malham, a bit near Skipton. I did my research. And the story was submitted for the Saarang Writing Awards 2013.