A long time ago, in the Land of Story...

I am delighted to announce that , in collaboration with film director Ann Marie Brennan, I will be submitting an entry to Storyland III, RTE's internet-based drama series competition.

The show will be in the form of four 6-minutes episodes (I refuse to call them 'webisodes') and after each episode airs, the public vote on whether the show should continue on to the next episode and vote on who wins the competition of the entries who are left at the end.

As we are in the verrrry early stages of development, I won't go into to detail as to what the show is about. Suffice to say it will be fabulous.

Lots more details to follow...

The importance of a title? (Part 2)

So does a blog where I tell you that I have nothing to blog about count as a blog? No, not really. If I'm honest, I am actually working on something at the moment which, as much as I'd love to be going on about it, I'm sworn to secrecy...for the time being anyway.

Not to worry, if and when it all becomes official, you'll be sick of me talking about it.

On a completely different subject (I can't even think how to segway to it), I might actually go and see 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid'. I'm sure it's brutal, but it's a great title.

I'm a criminal!

..or a pathological blunderer at least.

Writers' Digest has just shared with us the '8 Basic Writing Blunders' and, yes, over the course of the novel, I have pretty much committed them all. Most, thankfully, have been washed out in the course of re-writing but I can still see one or two sitting in there, getting nice and comfortable within the non-cliched chapters. But hey, I think I've managed to make them work.

But however paradoxical my book might be, at least my blog is gaining in popularity. It's even got an honorable mention from my fellow blogger and all-round-fabulous-person Eva (www.writeinberlin.com) . What can I say, I'm blushing over here. Thank you daaahling!

Well where would I find such a man? Why am I asking you?

(That, by the way, is a quote from Blazing Saddles, not my subtle and original way of coming out of the closet.)

What it does refer to is one of the many sanity-retaining exercises I adopted during the last few weeks when I was holed up in my apartment and cabin-fever was setting in - and that is...Talking To Myself In The Mirror (or any reflective surface).

On more than one occasion, I found myself with a plot-hole to fill, an unrealistic piece of dialogue that needed fixing, or even an entire chapter which was possibly not needed at all. (I was looking at myself in the under-side of a biscuit-tin lid for that one - and yes, I ended up deleting the chapter.)

I'm not quite sure what the moral of this blog is...maybe that it's okay, on occasion, to go off the deep end. As long as no-one else sees it, you have completely regained all sanity by the time you leave the house and you don't end up as crazy and dysfunctional as the characters you have created.

And now back to swatting imaginary flies.

One hundred and four thousand, eight hundred and twenty five.

Those of you who know me on a certain social networking website will understand the significance of that number. Yes indeed, after eight weeks of what can only be called a marathon, 'the buke' is finally finished, printed and delivered to the aforementioned lit agent. And now we play the waiting game...

A big thanks to MSD for all her help/emotional support/ferrero-rocher, definitely getting top billings in the acknowledgements!

And now I'm off to Tipperary to drink champagne...or beer...or whatever alcoholic beverage I can get my hands on basically. Gotta love christenings.

Can't talk now, I've got a book to write!

Okay yes, I admit, I have been milking it a little bit the last few weeks, the whole 'Yeah-I-suppose-I-can-meet-you-for-a-coffee-but-only-a-quick-one-I-really-should-get-back-to-the-book' thing. But, hey, what's the point of being a struggling writer if you can't rub your hands together in angst and give out about your unobtainable deadline.

And on that note....two weeks? two weeks! i can't possible do it in two weeks, have you any idea how many lunches in Avoca I'd have to miss to achieve that?

Into the groove...

Yes, I have to admit, I actually find myself enjoying the rewriting process at the moment. Don't get me wrong, it's slow (daaaamn slow) and I wonder how I'm going to have the first 35 chapters done by Saturday as promised, but from a Oh-my-god-is-it-any-good? point of view, I would have to say that yes, yes it is.

And what are you doing writing the blog at prime-chapter-writing-time? I hear you ask...Okay, I'm going, I'm going!