Creative Space - updated

I have good news!
The rest of my order from the Book Depository arrived yesterday.  Only two weeks later than expected (probably due to the inclement weather and Poczta Polska)

Now I have all the tools I need to start editing my NaNo novel in January and a nice little novel to keep me going until then :)
Jola (my wife) is looking forward to using the Christmas Ideas at PreSchool, just as long as no-one else steals her ideas...

Half way through NaNoWriMo

Today is the fifteenth of November.
At the end of today I should have written 25,000 words.  A monumental achievement if ever I have seen it (but I'm not there yet).

My characters are woody, the subplot is still very 'sub' and my motivation is waning.  But not to worry!  Today is a new day and who knows what will happen in the life of Daphne and Zbigniew?  (That's what I get for using a random name generator to pick my lead character's names)

Considering converting a subplot into something worth writing about

But today the kids are back at Pre-School after a four day weekend.  We spent yesterday morning at Elim in Lwowek, which was lovely.

Also in the last few weeks we have finished watching the fifth series of Doctor Who - we love Doctor Who - even though he looks like Matt Smith.  (for you Doctor Who fans, I can also recommend this version starring Rowan Atkinson)

I should stop procrastinating now, I had planned to start typing an hour ago.  Only 2,724 words to go today!

(I would also like to make mention of the terrible carnage that occurred in the last four days on Polish roads.  My heart goes out to everyone who has been affected.)

Counting down...

As I write this, I am less than 24 hours from starting NaNoWriMo 2010.

Further evidence that I am ready for a novelling adventure

Very shortly I will be heading off to church, then we will be heading off to Jola's parents for the night.
Monday is a holiday in Poland (All Saints Day) and we will be spending the day with her parents, brother and Grandmother.

But, that does not mean that I will not find time to write.  I only have to write 1,667 words each day in order to reach my target.  Based on last year that should take an average of two hours a day.  Time that I would have otherwise spent on facebook, watching TV or faffing about.

So if YOU haven't yet signed up to write a novel in November, I don't know what's holding you back.

Cheers for now!

Getting ready for NaNoWriMo

Today is October 27

It’s approaching the end of the month, so of course I have a lot of things on my mind.  For example making sure I have recorded all of my hours at work; making sure I have paid all the bills due this month; finishing off my Australian tax return (all I have to do now is lodge it); and preparing for NaNoWriMo.

Last year my preparations for NaNoWriMo were pretty much non-existent.  I found out on the 1^st of November and managed to type up almost 2,000 words in the first day.  I had no plot, nor did I really have any characters.  All I had was an introduction to a story which didn’t fully coalesce until a few days later.

So, in order to avoid the mistakes of last year I have spent the last few weeks and months preparing.  So, here is what I have done:

1. Read some books.  In the last couple of months I have managed to read an assortment of books including:

• The Rage Against God by Peter Hitchens - read about my thoughts of that book here
• The Shack by William P Young
• Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Xenophobe’s Guide to the English and the Polish
• Noah’s Compass by Anne Tyler
• The Secret of Happy Parents by Steve Biddulph
• Eastern Standard Tribe by Corey Doctorow
• And a few eBooks including Robert Louis Stephenson’s Fables

(I would like to thank my sister for introducing me to the Book Depository, which delivers books worldwide without charging postage and handling)


2. I have updated my author profile on the NaNoWriMo website

3. I have tried to blog more regularly in order to get back into the habit of writing (not very successfully)

4. Blocked most of my Facebook applications and installed Tweetdeck so I don’t get distracted

5. I have an idea for a story and the glimmerings of a plot (I don’t know if ‘glimmering’ is the right word here, but I’ve used it anyway)

6. Asked my wife if she minded I spend two or three hours a day sitting in front of the computer every night.  Funnily enough she didn’t seem to mind too much.

7. Downloaded the latest version of Scrivener.  The software of writers.


That’s it, I’m ready now.  Only a few more days to go before I start my next novel adventure.

How Polish are you?

This is a little thing that I have stolen and modified from another Blog.  You can find it here.

I was going to use this simply as a conversation starter for my English lesson today, but apparently October is Blogtoberfest month (as heard by little birdies here and here).  I'm probably not going to join in officially, but as I am planning to do NaNoWriMo again this year, I might lift up the frequency of my blogs just so I get back into the habit of writing daily again.

So, here is the Quiz.  Tell me how you go.

How Polish are you? 

1.   do you have relatives who aren't really your relatives

a) yes

b) maybe, I'm not sure

c) no

2.    you love watching football, but can't play it very well

a) yes, unfortunately

b) I CAN play football

c) what's football?

3.    Pope John Paul II was Polish and his first name was…

a) Karol

b) Carol

c) John

4.    When do you take down your Christmas Tree?

a) February

b) January

c) 31^st December

5.    you open your Christmas presents on…

a) 24^th December

b) 25^th December

c) 26^th December

6.    The plural of PIEROGI is:

a) Pierogi

b) Pierogis

c) The plural of what?

7.    you see a girl/guy and the first thing you look at are his/her…

a) eyes

b) buttocks/chest

c) bank balance

8.    your parents make you listen to…

a) Polish disco

b) 90's pop

c) Classic Rock

9.    when you're at a stranger's house, you expect their garbage can to be…

a) under the sink

b) somewhere in the kitchen

c) in the laundry

10.   you take off your shoes as soon as you step into someone else's house…

a) every time

b) when you are asked

c) only when you have muddy boots

11.  weddings should last…


a) two or three days

b) 24 hours

c) three or four hours

12.  Marie Curie was born in…

a) Poland

b) France

c) Belgium

13.  your grandma understands you better than you understand yourself


 a) true

b) maybe, I'm not sure

c) no

14.  have you ever eaten meat on Good Friday?

a) never!

b) a couple of times

c) Friday is steak day!

15.   you dash your sevens and hat your ones

a) is there another way?

b) when I remember

c) no, what for?

16.  What do your parents do on a computer?

a) Play solitaire

b) look at photo's

c) surf the net

17.  your grandmother has a framed picture of Pope John Paul II…

a) beside your family photo

b) in the living room

c) in the attic

18.   your family considers mushroom/berry picking as 'having a good time"

a) yes

b) sometimes

c) what? Don't be ridiculous

19.  your grandma insists you wear slippers because the floor is chilly and you'll get a cold.


a) yes, even in summer

b) only in winter

c) my grandma doesn't tell me what to wear

20.  your grandma can tell if you like a girl/guy just by looking at you


a) yes

b) maybe, I'm not sure

c) no, my grandma stays out of my business

Answer Key:

Mostly A's: Yep, you are Polish.  "If you're not a Pole, you're not whole!"

Mostly B's: You wish you were Polish, but you still have a bit more work to do.

Mostly C's: You're not Polish.  Even if you think you are.

The end of NaNoWriMo

That's it.  It is finished.


I have successfully typed up a 50,000 word novel in less than 30 days.  It wasn't easy at times; and at times it was quite difficult.  But now that I have done it, I know that I can do it again.


I really cannot explain just how happy I am that I have finished this little project.  If my goal in life was just to be happy, then I would attempt seemingly impossible tasks more often. :()


I do not currently have any thoughts at the moment about publishing my novel, partly because it is poorly researched, the characters are a bit flat and the plot has far too many loose ends.  I like to think of it as Japanese Art.  And as in art, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, therefore my novel is beautiful.


I just spent the last two hours running my novel through the MS Word Grammar Checker and have discovered that Microsoft and I have different opinions on certain things...


If any of you, my dear readers, wish to have a quick read, then please send me a comment or a message or an email.  Once my novel reaches a level of quality that I am willing to share, then I will do what I can to let you have a read.

November is Novel Month

Apparently it is National Novel Writing Month.

Every other month seems to have something associated with it these days. Eg. Movember, Ocsober etc. Personally I'm looking forward to Laypril (Lazy April - I'm sure it will be a good cause)...

Anyhow in keeping with a few of my comments as published in my last Monthly Journal, I have decided to take up the challenge to write a 50,000 word by the end of the month. So far I have written over 7,000 words. I just hope that my plot doesn't dry up before the end of the month.

If you are interested, my novel is called 'Bob's Big Day' and it is about an accountant who gets caught up (reluctantly) in the fight against organised crime.