The report of the day out in Towcester is published in Twist & Go magazine - see my Scratchypen blog for more details.
Still no news of a winner, but watch this space, as soon as I know, you'll know.
Showing posts with label writer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writer. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Sunday, March 06, 2011
The Devil Rides Out
OK, not the Devil. Two other winners of the first part of the Twist and Go prize rode out with me.
After a two hour, 110 mile ride with the temperature around freezing, I got to Jacks Hill Cafe (watch out for the 'Ton-up day' in July) on the A5 around 7.45 am, just enough time to thaw out, down a big mug of tea, and get ready for the assessment.
We were under the watchful eyes of Mark and Graham from Rapid Training and spent nearly three hours riding around the Northamptonshire countryside. It was about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on! We took turns to lead the group on a varied selection of motorcycles; me on my GS500F, a 1982 BMW R80 and a Honda 300 scooter. The instructors were on a Honda 600 Hornet and Suzuki GSX-R 750. Just having the opportunity to follow those guys was an education; their observation on my abilities - even more of an education.
We were treated to lunch, or in my case the 'bigger' all day breakfast which was a damned good prize on its own, and then the long ride home.
As yet, we still don't know the result, but just getting to the assessment day was great - When the result is known, you will be (almost) the first to know... watch this space!
After a two hour, 110 mile ride with the temperature around freezing, I got to Jacks Hill Cafe (watch out for the 'Ton-up day' in July) on the A5 around 7.45 am, just enough time to thaw out, down a big mug of tea, and get ready for the assessment.
We were under the watchful eyes of Mark and Graham from Rapid Training and spent nearly three hours riding around the Northamptonshire countryside. It was about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on! We took turns to lead the group on a varied selection of motorcycles; me on my GS500F, a 1982 BMW R80 and a Honda 300 scooter. The instructors were on a Honda 600 Hornet and Suzuki GSX-R 750. Just having the opportunity to follow those guys was an education; their observation on my abilities - even more of an education.
We were treated to lunch, or in my case the 'bigger' all day breakfast which was a damned good prize on its own, and then the long ride home.
As yet, we still don't know the result, but just getting to the assessment day was great - When the result is known, you will be (almost) the first to know... watch this space!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
NaNoWriMo - Winner!
Well, I did it! 51376 words in 26 days!
I've impressed myself. I started with a couple characters and a vague start to a story. My technique was to sit alone in the kitchen, away from TV and family and write for a couple of hours. This produced around 2000 words at a sitting. I managed to sneak a whole day while Julie was out, and managed over 5000. That gave me a buffer and took the pressure off.
My word processor counted the words as over 52000, but the NaNo site reduced the count by around 1000, but still sufficient to qualify as 'Winner'.
Each time the story stalled or lost direction, I used the 'what if' approach to think what would happen next. What started as a blend of Hogwarts and St Trinians, ended as a sci-fi murder mystery.
The completed novel (sounds good!) needs editing and a lot of sorting, but there is no urgency so I can get back to that after I've had a break.
I started a new job on the 17th and that added to the things I had to achieve, and then on 25th my daughter gave birth to a baby boy. Now I have to complete the Spiritualist church Autumn newsletter and get started on the UNISON winter edition!
Phew! I shall take a break for a while.
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