Just pop home for a weekend, see the fam, have a chill... blah blah blah
Sounded brilliant in theory. Realistically my brain decided to have another meltdown, which as always is grand. I'm used to having my apparent 'bi-monthly burnout' where I need to walk away from any work or intense thinking and move on to doing nice things like drawing child-quality doodles and laying horizontally for many many hours. It's a good excuse to rest up and avoid work really
Its quite irritating normally because I quite like doing my law studies, in that state I am incapable of reading anything or taking in any new information. But, and there is a but, a nasty one, :( , this burnout has been an 8 on the richter scale.
I'm recovering from it now but during this episode my memory, cognition and general awareness just imploded, leaving me a lost and confused little gerbil. So what started as a weekend with the family has ended as a week at home slowly rehabilitating myself. I'd love to be able to say that I just wanted to stay home with muzza and farzar; uncz, bruvz and kitty but unfortunately I was well and truly out for the count. It has been awesome to stay home for longer but I can feel the work mounting on my mind, so I've been slowly bringing myself round to doing it and its a good sign that I can actually do it again.
My brain melted to jelly and now its starting to join back up into the little machine that it was before, we have been parted too long and I have missed it muchly. And on ze weekend when I return to the land of university I can see my beloved peeps who I have missed dearly. Thanks for your messages of support you secksy peeps :)
29 Feb 2012
18 Feb 2012
So hungry...
I need some decent food in my life. I think I have adjusted to living with five other people in a student accomodation quite well, but if there's one thing I am struggling with it has to be the fridge/freezer space for all of us. Hopefully all these problems will be gone when I'm in my house for the second year, living in a very generous space for only three people.
At the beginning of my uni term I was living quite glamorously, even cooked myself a few steaks with various tasties with it! But now with a one/two bag limit of freezer and the fridge always filled with shizzle I find it hard to go beyond pasta, sandwiches and sweets now.
Not good now that I'm actually trying to get a bit fitter, though without my beloved Dance Central 2. Oh whatever will I do.... *faints*
This is a total ice-cream eating moment, but the freezer is too full so I guess its sucking on ice cubes for me! Hopefully I will survive untill we next meet again!
Much Love
Hoping You Are Well...blud
L.H
At the beginning of my uni term I was living quite glamorously, even cooked myself a few steaks with various tasties with it! But now with a one/two bag limit of freezer and the fridge always filled with shizzle I find it hard to go beyond pasta, sandwiches and sweets now.
Not good now that I'm actually trying to get a bit fitter, though without my beloved Dance Central 2. Oh whatever will I do.... *faints*
This is a total ice-cream eating moment, but the freezer is too full so I guess its sucking on ice cubes for me! Hopefully I will survive untill we next meet again!
Much Love
Hoping You Are Well...blud
L.H
16 Feb 2012
Inspiration
I do love a bit of imagery. I love action fantasy and the most technical movements in any action scene. I can't do guns. How much creativity and skill can you show by having guns pointed at each other in a stalemate or masses of soldiers shooting from behind barricades; never hitting anything until, ta-da, the main characters come in and they suddenly turn into Clint Eastwood and shoot everything squarely between the eyes without even looking.
No, with me its all about working around them to make something much more intimate and diverse. Good ol' Neo knows what I mean, don't you? Check out The Matrix Reloaded: Vampire Chateau scene, and you will get just what I mean. F.Y.I, really wanted to use the Burly Brawl scene but it was nowhere near as relevant to what I was getting at.
Everything about that inspires me, the gravity defiance, array of weaponry, bullet stopping psychokinesis, fluid combat, physically unnatural battles, and yes even the swish of the air.
I think that in terms of physical combat that stems from a distorted interpretation of reality, Matrix really ticks the box and I will gladly label it as one of the inspirations behind my work. In fact having watched that clip for now the 5th time I notice that my Hierarchy angel characters bear a resemblence to the twins at the oppening of the scene when they 'phase-out', just my angels look more pleasant as they are not programmed dreadlocked killer stars from "Better Homes".
Shall we take a moment to appreciate Trinity's face? I think so...
Why so serious, Mrs One?
Sorry... Moving swiftly on! My next inspiration, and the reason I started the whole fiction writing shenanigans, is the Halo series. The Master Chief and the technology of Halo was a big 'yes' for me. Having a character who plays Goliath against the clearly unbeatable odds is brilliant because once you have that character established you don't even need to explain how it all happens, the mere fact that the Chief is on the scene is enough to say "Put the kettle on, we got this one in the bag".
My first book in the series owes a lot to the imagery of the technology from Halo in helping me create my own space vessels and alien gadgets. When I first started writing my mind was pretty much set upon the idea of glorious, not gorey, space battles blazing through the vacuum and eventually flattening whole cities with single shot weaponry. That stuff still interests me and I still put it in, but not nearly too as much emphasis as I did with the intimate physical combat.
By the end of the first book, beginning of the second I realised that although I had created a universe of futuristic technology and thrown in some alien creatures, it wasn't these elements that had kept me writing to the very end. It was the 'goliath' characters that made it fun. What Neo and the Chief do that is against many typical action heroes is that they not only win the good fight, they do what hundreds couldn't do together. They single-handedly save planets or people or just their own skin while defeating unending numbers of people trying to kill them. In earlier posts I have mentioned how I like the idea of 'godly' characters whose powers are limitless and unstoppable, it's brilliant to see these characters in action, constantly thrown in the corner but inevitably rising as the champion. My second book moves its attention to the powers of these 'Spartans' in war, and how much of a difference they make. The two following clips really capture the ideologies of 'one man conquers all' and the 'godly warriors' that I have incorporated into my own concept
My final main inspiration is none other than the Final Fantasy series. This series really combines fantasy and action together beautifully in my opinion. Its this series that inspired me to take the real world and add new elements and possibilites to it. Like Harry Potter with the addition of magic, or my own book with the Hierarchy and their powers of creation. But the Final Fantasy stories don't necessarily add such a blatant new dimension to their fights, sometimes the only real difference is the speed and the heights that the character can so freely leap through the air. Although Halo and The Matrix have already added similar elements in their own stories, their emphasis is so less focused upon who the character is and instead we see what they can do.
Final Fantasy is all about characters who when it comes down to it are just feeling and living in the same way that film characters do, its just they have much bigger problems and a different way to deal with them; rarely do you see characters in the series talk about a problem, they prefer to shoot into the air and clash into powerful battles. The other thing I love about the series is the colour and vibrancy that it brings to fantasy fights, which, as in the above clips, normally are filled with black, dark shades of blue and green or something similar. Here are two more clips, one being my favourite combat scene ever made (though admittedly this one is dark), the other is an example of combat with a bit more grace and colour. Hope you enjoy
So these are my inspirations, in case anyone wants to get me an early christmas present you should have an idea what I like now ;)
Only kidding!
My First book is so close to being out now, hooray, though who knows if any bookstores will actually buy it :P. Thanks for reading folks
Enjoy the video goodness!
L.H
No, with me its all about working around them to make something much more intimate and diverse. Good ol' Neo knows what I mean, don't you? Check out The Matrix Reloaded: Vampire Chateau scene, and you will get just what I mean. F.Y.I, really wanted to use the Burly Brawl scene but it was nowhere near as relevant to what I was getting at.
Everything about that inspires me, the gravity defiance, array of weaponry, bullet stopping psychokinesis, fluid combat, physically unnatural battles, and yes even the swish of the air.
I think that in terms of physical combat that stems from a distorted interpretation of reality, Matrix really ticks the box and I will gladly label it as one of the inspirations behind my work. In fact having watched that clip for now the 5th time I notice that my Hierarchy angel characters bear a resemblence to the twins at the oppening of the scene when they 'phase-out', just my angels look more pleasant as they are not programmed dreadlocked killer stars from "Better Homes".
Shall we take a moment to appreciate Trinity's face? I think so...
Sorry... Moving swiftly on! My next inspiration, and the reason I started the whole fiction writing shenanigans, is the Halo series. The Master Chief and the technology of Halo was a big 'yes' for me. Having a character who plays Goliath against the clearly unbeatable odds is brilliant because once you have that character established you don't even need to explain how it all happens, the mere fact that the Chief is on the scene is enough to say "Put the kettle on, we got this one in the bag".
My first book in the series owes a lot to the imagery of the technology from Halo in helping me create my own space vessels and alien gadgets. When I first started writing my mind was pretty much set upon the idea of glorious, not gorey, space battles blazing through the vacuum and eventually flattening whole cities with single shot weaponry. That stuff still interests me and I still put it in, but not nearly too as much emphasis as I did with the intimate physical combat.By the end of the first book, beginning of the second I realised that although I had created a universe of futuristic technology and thrown in some alien creatures, it wasn't these elements that had kept me writing to the very end. It was the 'goliath' characters that made it fun. What Neo and the Chief do that is against many typical action heroes is that they not only win the good fight, they do what hundreds couldn't do together. They single-handedly save planets or people or just their own skin while defeating unending numbers of people trying to kill them. In earlier posts I have mentioned how I like the idea of 'godly' characters whose powers are limitless and unstoppable, it's brilliant to see these characters in action, constantly thrown in the corner but inevitably rising as the champion. My second book moves its attention to the powers of these 'Spartans' in war, and how much of a difference they make. The two following clips really capture the ideologies of 'one man conquers all' and the 'godly warriors' that I have incorporated into my own concept
My final main inspiration is none other than the Final Fantasy series. This series really combines fantasy and action together beautifully in my opinion. Its this series that inspired me to take the real world and add new elements and possibilites to it. Like Harry Potter with the addition of magic, or my own book with the Hierarchy and their powers of creation. But the Final Fantasy stories don't necessarily add such a blatant new dimension to their fights, sometimes the only real difference is the speed and the heights that the character can so freely leap through the air. Although Halo and The Matrix have already added similar elements in their own stories, their emphasis is so less focused upon who the character is and instead we see what they can do.
Final Fantasy is all about characters who when it comes down to it are just feeling and living in the same way that film characters do, its just they have much bigger problems and a different way to deal with them; rarely do you see characters in the series talk about a problem, they prefer to shoot into the air and clash into powerful battles. The other thing I love about the series is the colour and vibrancy that it brings to fantasy fights, which, as in the above clips, normally are filled with black, dark shades of blue and green or something similar. Here are two more clips, one being my favourite combat scene ever made (though admittedly this one is dark), the other is an example of combat with a bit more grace and colour. Hope you enjoy
So these are my inspirations, in case anyone wants to get me an early christmas present you should have an idea what I like now ;)
Only kidding!
My First book is so close to being out now, hooray, though who knows if any bookstores will actually buy it :P. Thanks for reading folks
Enjoy the video goodness!
L.H
15 Feb 2012
Bigger and better
With a sequel now well over the halfway mark, my plans for making the second book longer than the first is going very nicely. The first book UNISON will be approximately 199 A5 pages, 199! GGRRR
The second book is only 10,000 words short of the first and there's still a lot planned for it. The original concept of the book would have been about the same length, on rough estimate, but because of my sudden idea for a third and final story in the series, or at least final in this arc of the universe's history, I am extending it to welcome in the events that occur in the third. It's exciting to think of what new characters or concepts will be in the third story.
#SPOILER ALERT# Unfortunately many of the characters have been removed from the limelight along with the focus on the futuristic technology from the first book to help the transition from UNISON's main organisation to the much smaller neo-military 'Academy' as well as a shift in focus from Sci-fi to Fantasy. #SPOILER END#
The good thing about having the first book written and out of the way is that the basic themes, characters and settings have been introduced and explained. I am feeling much more freedom with the second book so I can turn my attention to the future of the story and what would make it exciting as I write it.
Now I have more exciting characters in my second book, plus the ones that I enjoyed the most from the first, which I have really enjoyed bringing together. This sequel revolves mainly around the new military division that are being trained to master the mystical energy that the Hierarchy possess. These ARC's are under the direct command of the main character from the first book, Jason Rider, and puts humanity on a more level playing field with their enemies.
I love the action scenes of my books, though with my imagination I insist on them featuring odd and outrageous movements so its quite tricky to write it and keep the pace going. I'm not saying I have actually managed to do it effectively though. In the second book I have thrown technology to the wall and focused on the battles from a fantasy perspective and more often than not I've scaled down the scope of war to just two or three people battling in intimate locations. It's definately much better than the first book in that sense as the full potential of my characters was only revealed at the very end, whereas in this current story I can keep the quality of scenes to the standard the first book ended on but work on making it better!
Hopefully this book, when finished, will have a chance at being brought to stores like the first was, if not I can always self-publish. With me its not about literary perfection, which is just a shameful way of admitting I don't think I'm a technically gifted writer, all I care about is bringing an interesting new story to people, something that you will enjoy. Hopefully, if anyone looking at this blog comes across my first book, due for release very soon now, you will like it for that reason and want to move on the second; whatever format it is released in.
Much Love,
Hoping You Are Well :D
L.H
The second book is only 10,000 words short of the first and there's still a lot planned for it. The original concept of the book would have been about the same length, on rough estimate, but because of my sudden idea for a third and final story in the series, or at least final in this arc of the universe's history, I am extending it to welcome in the events that occur in the third. It's exciting to think of what new characters or concepts will be in the third story.
#SPOILER ALERT# Unfortunately many of the characters have been removed from the limelight along with the focus on the futuristic technology from the first book to help the transition from UNISON's main organisation to the much smaller neo-military 'Academy' as well as a shift in focus from Sci-fi to Fantasy. #SPOILER END#
Now I have more exciting characters in my second book, plus the ones that I enjoyed the most from the first, which I have really enjoyed bringing together. This sequel revolves mainly around the new military division that are being trained to master the mystical energy that the Hierarchy possess. These ARC's are under the direct command of the main character from the first book, Jason Rider, and puts humanity on a more level playing field with their enemies.
I love the action scenes of my books, though with my imagination I insist on them featuring odd and outrageous movements so its quite tricky to write it and keep the pace going. I'm not saying I have actually managed to do it effectively though. In the second book I have thrown technology to the wall and focused on the battles from a fantasy perspective and more often than not I've scaled down the scope of war to just two or three people battling in intimate locations. It's definately much better than the first book in that sense as the full potential of my characters was only revealed at the very end, whereas in this current story I can keep the quality of scenes to the standard the first book ended on but work on making it better!
Hopefully this book, when finished, will have a chance at being brought to stores like the first was, if not I can always self-publish. With me its not about literary perfection, which is just a shameful way of admitting I don't think I'm a technically gifted writer, all I care about is bringing an interesting new story to people, something that you will enjoy. Hopefully, if anyone looking at this blog comes across my first book, due for release very soon now, you will like it for that reason and want to move on the second; whatever format it is released in.
Much Love,
Hoping You Are Well :D
L.H
Carpark Catchphrase!
You know what I love about wednesdays? No timetable, that means... Carpark Catchprase, BBC Radio 1, Chris Moyles Show. Woot!
As I type this I am listening ro newsbeat with an extract of Daniel Radcliffe chatting some baff about his drinking during his younger used in Potter 'arry. Chris Moyles takes me back to when I used to stare at the TV to watch Roy Walker present Catchphrase; for those that don't know it, its an old show where popular english idioms are presented pictorially with money awarded for whoever guesses it first.
Chris Moyles Show has revived the show on the radio every weekday morning (I think) but lets people sat stationary in their cars participate by using their horn as a buzzer. It is most amusing :) There tends to be some cheeky banter and cheating but with Roy Walker's voice played as a voiceover you just can't help but appreciate it <3
I always feel a bit sad when it comes on and I miss it, but today... just waiting for one more song to finish... ahhh there it is. Tune in around 9:45 and get ready for the fun my children.
Bum bum bum bum bum-bum ba-dum ba-dum
Gotta love the intro
Much Love
Hoping You Are Well!
L.H
As I type this I am listening ro newsbeat with an extract of Daniel Radcliffe chatting some baff about his drinking during his younger used in Potter 'arry. Chris Moyles takes me back to when I used to stare at the TV to watch Roy Walker present Catchphrase; for those that don't know it, its an old show where popular english idioms are presented pictorially with money awarded for whoever guesses it first.
Chris Moyles Show has revived the show on the radio every weekday morning (I think) but lets people sat stationary in their cars participate by using their horn as a buzzer. It is most amusing :) There tends to be some cheeky banter and cheating but with Roy Walker's voice played as a voiceover you just can't help but appreciate it <3
I always feel a bit sad when it comes on and I miss it, but today... just waiting for one more song to finish... ahhh there it is. Tune in around 9:45 and get ready for the fun my children.
Gotta love the intro
Much Love
Hoping You Are Well!
L.H
14 Feb 2012
On the bright side
always look on the... no, way too cheesey
Just wanted to mention that I know so many beautiful, amazing people who I could genuinely steal and keep in my room forever. Friends are what truly make life great, and I hope you all agree on that.
I have much love for all of you goons (yes Rhiannon, 'oo' again :P) and you all know who you are :)
Where would I be without any of ye :')
Givez uz a hug :D
Just wanted to mention that I know so many beautiful, amazing people who I could genuinely steal and keep in my room forever. Friends are what truly make life great, and I hope you all agree on that.
I have much love for all of you goons (yes Rhiannon, 'oo' again :P) and you all know who you are :)
Where would I be without any of ye :')
Givez uz a hug :D
The Multiverse of fiction
Narratives are waaaaayy too linear. I know that sounds mad but I honestly think that writers restrict their imagination by sticking down the straight and narrow, so to speak.
Okay, so this is what we are used to, Linear Narrative
I've thrown in some of the funkier types of narrative just to make everything look snazz. Buuuuuttt my defective imagination tells me that that is just not enough. I want something more complicated and diverse. I often wonder what it would be like if two or more very different stories crossed over into each other because of this similar element. The characters and the locations would be merged, because this 'common element' would need, want or require it to be that way. Here's an idea of what the linear timelines of the multiple narratives could look like
How about an analogy, though I realise this is going to sound stupid because I'm basically throwing stones at a wall to give a quick idea of what madness I'm talking about, and madness (view blog title) is what I'm good at.
Okay... you have Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars (IV, V, VI). All three are epics in their own right, but people often hypothetically debate such questions as "Who would win between..." "Who was stronger..." and I think it should be explored more thoroughly in writing. What if the three Dark Lords, Voldemort, Sauron and Darth Vader were cast together by some greater being and the combined forces of the Death Eaters, Mordor and the Sith had the chance to take on the three worlds that had been somehow spliced into one hybridized universe.
Inevitably it would seem that 'LOTR' would be severely disadvantaged against the others with their fantasy and sci-fi powers but that can be part of the fun. Afterall, Gandalf could give them a run for their money and the heroes of Middle Earth are much more strategically minded when it comes to war; plus the wizards and witches fighting the good fight would more than likely prefer to protect and enhance the Middle Earth fighters than actually use their powers to kill.
Of course this is hypothetical and not fully thought out so it could be worked out that while they're universes are conjoined, they share each others' world's benefits. Magic, the force, armies and technology coming together. (Proper geek moment there)
I want to attempt to create several 'universes' that can collide together like I have explained, I already have UNISON and from there I want to make new stories that are original from UNISON but have some common element; an element crucial enough to bring them all together! That way I can bring the best parts of each story together, for me that would be epic; already I doubt whether such a book would ever be a good idea to write, but I know from the perspective of writing it it would be really fun!
Feel free to take apart the idea and tell me off for even thinking it up :)
Just a bit of madness from my head :)
Not As Much Love Today (having an emo)
Hoping You're Feeling Grand
L.H
Okay, so this is what we are used to, Linear Narrative
How about an analogy, though I realise this is going to sound stupid because I'm basically throwing stones at a wall to give a quick idea of what madness I'm talking about, and madness (view blog title) is what I'm good at.
Okay... you have Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars (IV, V, VI). All three are epics in their own right, but people often hypothetically debate such questions as "Who would win between..." "Who was stronger..." and I think it should be explored more thoroughly in writing. What if the three Dark Lords, Voldemort, Sauron and Darth Vader were cast together by some greater being and the combined forces of the Death Eaters, Mordor and the Sith had the chance to take on the three worlds that had been somehow spliced into one hybridized universe.
Inevitably it would seem that 'LOTR' would be severely disadvantaged against the others with their fantasy and sci-fi powers but that can be part of the fun. Afterall, Gandalf could give them a run for their money and the heroes of Middle Earth are much more strategically minded when it comes to war; plus the wizards and witches fighting the good fight would more than likely prefer to protect and enhance the Middle Earth fighters than actually use their powers to kill.
Of course this is hypothetical and not fully thought out so it could be worked out that while they're universes are conjoined, they share each others' world's benefits. Magic, the force, armies and technology coming together. (Proper geek moment there)
I want to attempt to create several 'universes' that can collide together like I have explained, I already have UNISON and from there I want to make new stories that are original from UNISON but have some common element; an element crucial enough to bring them all together! That way I can bring the best parts of each story together, for me that would be epic; already I doubt whether such a book would ever be a good idea to write, but I know from the perspective of writing it it would be really fun!
Feel free to take apart the idea and tell me off for even thinking it up :)
Just a bit of madness from my head :)
Not As Much Love Today (having an emo)
Hoping You're Feeling Grand
L.H
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