Random stuff
First of all, I would like to wish everyone a very happy S&BJ day. (Although there seems to be some doubt amongst the on-line community as to whether it should be 14th or 20th of March, I think that the 14th is better).
My new story is currently 8,374 words long, and growing apace. That is now over one tenth of the minimum length for a novel, and I still have tonnes more to write, so this one could end up being novel sized. (If I need to, I can go back and pad it in places - in fact I already am doing that from time to time when I feel something requires more description).
One of the things I've noticed about writing a novel as opposed to a short story is that I don't have to trim out my descriptions. If I want to describe someone at great length, explain exactly how something works, I can - as long as I keep it interesting to the reader. 75,000-100,000 words means I can pad as much as I want, meander as much as I want...
The thing is, guys, if I'm going to try and get this published - which I am, that means I won't be putting it up on LJ. Obviously if it doesn't get published, then I will, but at the moment I'm hopeful. I always wanted to be a published author. This is my dream. If I do manage to get this one published, then I assume I will have some "courtesy" or discount copies to give away. That's a way in the future yet, though. Let's not go counting chickens... The rest of you would have to buy a copy from Amazon, or your local book shop.
Other random thoughts....
Have you ever wondered about the origins of certain common phrases? I have. Well, last night I was wondering about the expression "Loose cannon". Obviously, I could do a Google search and find out what the origin of the phrase is, but I figured I'd try and work it out myself, then post my thoughts and see what you guys think - assuming anyone actually reads this...
So... A cannon is one of those big bronze things that they used to use to lob heavy lead balls around on a battlefield. They also used them on ships, to lob cannon balls at other ships. Now, a cannon is very heavy, being made entirely of cast metal. So, they were usually mounted on wooden structures called gun-mounts. These mounts had wheels on, for two reasons - firstly so that the guns could be moved into position, aimed, etc, and secondly so that they could absorb the recoil.
Now, on a ship, the gun mounts were secured by ropes, and the cannon were secured to the mounts by big wooden blocks and bolts. If a cannon broke loose from it's mount or a mount broke loose from it's tethers, it became a loose cannon. Now, first of all, imagine firing a loose cannon: Newton's second law states that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, so as the cannon ball flies one way, the cannon flies the other - recoil. The tethers prevented the cannon flying right across the deck, doing damage and injury to anyone or anything standing behind it.
Worse that that, though, imagine a loose cannon on the deck of a ship sailing through a storm? The ship rolls, yaws and pitches, and the cannon goes flying around inside the hull, smashing up anything in it's path - including the hull (gun decks were often lower decks).
Hence the term, a loose cannon, meaning someone who is out of control in a normally controlled situation.
Another random thought that struck me this morning as I was parking my car....
If someone asks you "Do you want your asphalt?", is the correct response "Tar, Mac!"?????
Hee hee
My new story is currently 8,374 words long, and growing apace. That is now over one tenth of the minimum length for a novel, and I still have tonnes more to write, so this one could end up being novel sized. (If I need to, I can go back and pad it in places - in fact I already am doing that from time to time when I feel something requires more description).
One of the things I've noticed about writing a novel as opposed to a short story is that I don't have to trim out my descriptions. If I want to describe someone at great length, explain exactly how something works, I can - as long as I keep it interesting to the reader. 75,000-100,000 words means I can pad as much as I want, meander as much as I want...
The thing is, guys, if I'm going to try and get this published - which I am, that means I won't be putting it up on LJ. Obviously if it doesn't get published, then I will, but at the moment I'm hopeful. I always wanted to be a published author. This is my dream. If I do manage to get this one published, then I assume I will have some "courtesy" or discount copies to give away. That's a way in the future yet, though. Let's not go counting chickens... The rest of you would have to buy a copy from Amazon, or your local book shop.
Other random thoughts....
Have you ever wondered about the origins of certain common phrases? I have. Well, last night I was wondering about the expression "Loose cannon". Obviously, I could do a Google search and find out what the origin of the phrase is, but I figured I'd try and work it out myself, then post my thoughts and see what you guys think - assuming anyone actually reads this...
So... A cannon is one of those big bronze things that they used to use to lob heavy lead balls around on a battlefield. They also used them on ships, to lob cannon balls at other ships. Now, a cannon is very heavy, being made entirely of cast metal. So, they were usually mounted on wooden structures called gun-mounts. These mounts had wheels on, for two reasons - firstly so that the guns could be moved into position, aimed, etc, and secondly so that they could absorb the recoil.
Now, on a ship, the gun mounts were secured by ropes, and the cannon were secured to the mounts by big wooden blocks and bolts. If a cannon broke loose from it's mount or a mount broke loose from it's tethers, it became a loose cannon. Now, first of all, imagine firing a loose cannon: Newton's second law states that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, so as the cannon ball flies one way, the cannon flies the other - recoil. The tethers prevented the cannon flying right across the deck, doing damage and injury to anyone or anything standing behind it.
Worse that that, though, imagine a loose cannon on the deck of a ship sailing through a storm? The ship rolls, yaws and pitches, and the cannon goes flying around inside the hull, smashing up anything in it's path - including the hull (gun decks were often lower decks).
Hence the term, a loose cannon, meaning someone who is out of control in a normally controlled situation.
Another random thought that struck me this morning as I was parking my car....
If someone asks you "Do you want your asphalt?", is the correct response "Tar, Mac!"?????
Hee hee