and the big round blue boat drifts around in the dark

[devi]

So I did manage to send the comics out on Monday. Barely. I think I must have looked odd standing at the postbox at the edge of my estate shortly before midnight, posting bundle after bundle of envelopes with something that was clearly a nightgown showing below my long coat. Then I got back home, picked up one of the left-over copies and flipped through it, and found that it had been photocopied all wrong, sideways and out of place with curled-up pages and chunks missing. I'd stopped checking the copies after the first few. Hmph. Let me know if you've got a broken comic and I'll send you a proper one.

(addedentry, I'd be thrilled to hand-deliver over a pint. slovobooks and cardinalsin, I still need addresses for both of you.)

Last night was a gig at the Zodiac with Dan and jinty. The barmaids were dressed like zombie dolls. The bands were in the spirit of things as well. Mary Bendytoy were shrieky goth-rock and had a song about vacuuming up spiders with a Dyson. The Mules were like Nick Cave doing klezmer and made us caper like fools. Suitable Case For Treatment were like Tom Waits doing thrash metal. It was their last ever gig; they came on stage in a sort of funeral procession from the back of the crowd, beating drums as they walked. Later on I did some tarot reading; it is traditionally the best night of the year for it, after all.

And today is the first day of NaNoWriMo. I spent a lot of October feeling a bit fretful and confused, with too many things on the go at once, but now... I've wrapped up the comic, nearly finished the essay. I have ideas and frameworks for both the stories I'm working on. I've cleared my desk and squeegeed my third eye and I'm ready to go. There are double-decker buses on the 15 route now, letting me see things from a whole new angle, and a proper chill in the air, and I know that all I have to do is pull out the cork and the words will start flowing. I love this time of year.

Comments

[mzdt.livejournal.com]

Suitable Case for Treatment have done how many last ever gigs now? I was at one too, I'm sure.

It'll be the comeback tour before we know it. ;-)

[shewho.livejournal.com]

i was thinking of attempting the old nanowrimo thing this year, for the first time, but i haven't done anything about it yet. maybe next year......

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

You could just wing it...

[shewho.livejournal.com]

i could invent the nonsense novel! nothing makes sense or ties in! a statement on modern living!

heh :)

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Sense is an antiquated notion! Life doesn't have a sensible plot! Etc.

[shewho.livejournal.com]

hmmmm. if i manage to write up whitby i shall sign up. if i fail miserably, next year is a definite. except it'll be whitby again, won't it? doh.

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

That is a highly *traditional* approach to NaNoWriMo as far as I can tell...

[shewho.livejournal.com]

gah, stop spoiling all my fun, dad. ;P

[sparktastic.livejournal.com]

I think I'm going to use NaNo illegally this year--just as a push to get 50k of teh novel out. God, sometimes it's like pulling teeth, innit? Especially when it's all down to one's own motivation and drive to get something done. No external anyone standing about holding the whip saying 'c'mon, get it out.'

/random rant

It'd be nice to see you again... you ever down London-ways? Am skint and unemployed, and not forecast to head to Oxford anytime in the near future, sadly...

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

I'm cheating too - working on two projects, both already started. I figure whatever gets the words out is justifiable. But I so know how you feel.

(I was trying to explain to the BF last night why I was making a spreadsheet to keep track of my word count. I think I must have sounded like a complete weirdo.)

I'm pondering some Londoning in the near future. No definite plans yet, but I'll let you know.

[sparktastic.livejournal.com]

I love spreadsheets. It's a great way to procrastinate on noveling without seeming like you're just being frivolous and silly, like you would do if you were, for example, just hitting refresh on eljay and randomly commenting on things...

:P

I have not yet written a word. It's getting so I fear no words will come out again ever.

[sparktastic.livejournal.com]

Oh! And I got your comic today! Thanks so much, it's really sweet, and very lovely.

♥

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Thank *you*. You understand the importance of feedback :)

Hmm, how's next weekend for you? I might be down on Saturday 11th, but I'm not sure yet.

[sparktastic.livejournal.com]

In theory, that sounds just shiny, yes! Keep me posted if anything changes, but yep, I'll be in town!

How goes your non-NaNo-but-really-NaNo wordcount?

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Pretty good. Today was a 3k day. I like those days.

In the last few hours I've caught myself thinking that maybe 50k is too easy and I should go for 75k. This is surely a sign of delirium and encroaching madness.

You written any words yet? (If not, I think you should open a file and write 'the' or something, and that'll still put you above the vast majority of participants ;) )

[sparktastic.livejournal.com]

Hah, I'm going for 50k of quality. I don't think I can do 75k. But you, sistah, you go it!

I have... some words. In the neighborhood of 5k? A start, anyway!

could be worse

[cheerfulcynic.livejournal.com]

You could be compulsively typing "wc -w nanowrimo06-*" and giggling.

[al-fruitbat.livejournal.com]

Sqeegeeing the third eye! Squee!
All hail Hicks [may he rest in peace]!

*squeak squeak* *squeak squeak*

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

What show was that part of, anyway? I seem to remember seeing it on one of the videos, but it's not in my supposedly complete script book.

[slovobooks.livejournal.com]

Anything sent to me at:

Pádraig Ó Méalóid
C/O Yellow Brick Road
8 Bachelor's Walk
Dublin 1

... will arrive safely into my hands. I'm going to do a few more copies of Puny Earthling #1 on Friday, Deo Gracia, so will need an address for your good self to send one to.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Great stuff - I'll put my address on the back of the envelope.

[parallelgirl.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks for the comic, I really enjoyed it! I'm definitely going to get my arse into gear and prod you and mzdt about meeting for that pint soon!

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Thank you, and yeah, pints etc! ultraruby was also suggesting meeting for a drink - would you mind if she came along too? (First there are two people. Then it snowballs...)

[parallelgirl.livejournal.com]

Sounds great! How does the evening of Fri 8th December look? (yup, ages away I know....I'm in London then, so I'm trying to save on schlep/trainfare!)

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Looks pretty good to me. I'll check with the others!

[mollydot.livejournal.com]

Got the comic today, thank you! Love it, especially the polar bear and farming stories.
My colleagues are a bit bemused.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Heh! My work here is done. Cheers.

[shermarama]

Comic arrived today, thankyou! First exciting post I've had at this house. It isn't squint or anything, apart from that I can't read the last three or four words of the villanelle, though I'd guess they're "stranger than you'd think".

Every year I toy vaguely with the idea of doing NaNoWriMo but I know at the minute I'd never get through it. *shrug* The older I get, the less I mind not being able to do some things, though not being able to do *everything* used to make me hopping mad, in my childhood. Being able to accept that I'm crap at something actually makes it easier to start learning how to, though, so maybe some other year...

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they're all squint like that, but thankfully as it's a villanelle the missing words can be inferred easily.

Actually I like the way it tails off with "And take you somewhere...". It reminds me of the end of that Lewis Carroll poem "The Owl and the Panther".

("While the Panther received knife and fork with a growl,
And concluded the banquet by - ")

[cardinalsin.livejournal.com]

23 Dane Rd
Ashford
Middlesex
TW15 1QJ

Thanks! :)

[dryad-wombat.livejournal.com]

Hello :) - I love your zine! It's so cheerful and whimsical! (I live with grahamb, and he showed me his copy).

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And it's nice to hear of people passing it on.