Current location:	An 'abode' in Southern Remgarde
Current mood:	rejuvenated
Current music:	Nightwish - "Sahara"

Thunderheads

Progress so far:

26,355 / 120,000 (22.0%)

 For some reason that word count looks disappointing. I think it was because I was hoping to hit the 30,000 word mark, but given that I was only on around 21k at the last count that was a pretty unrealistic target. Still, 22% is not far from 25%. By next week, Barring some sort of disaster, I should hit the 1/4 way mark. Given that I only started writing the novel on 17 September, reaching the 25% point after only 6/7 weeks is pretty good. 

Writing has been good this week. I didn't manage to write every day, but I wrote enough on the other days to make up for it. I shoot for about 5k a week, which was achieved this time around. I've found myself concentrating purely on Lukan and Rat's plotline, rather than writing the chapters in order. The reason for this is twofold: firstly I have not sketched out how the 'Ember' storyline is going to go, and have not really developed the characters of Channa and Osuran enough. Secondly, at this stage I prefer to just concentrate on a select group of characters. By writing from Lukan's perspective all the time, I'm learning more about him at a faster rate than I would otherwise. It makes the writing easier too, as I'm not constantly flitting between POVs. The finished novel will be totally different, as the first third of the book with alternate between the 'Lukan' and 'Ember' chapters, with the 'Magnus' chapters joining the mix later on. The Magnus chapters will focus on Magnus (obviously) who is the garrison commander at Longhorn Watch. As things are going down in Ember and Lukan is gallavanting across the frozen landscape, we'll see Magnus attempt to thwart the invasion of the northmen with the meagre resources at his disposal. Magnus is a character that intrigues me: all strength and honour on the outside, but all pain and regret on the inside. Can he lead his men to victory despite the demons that hound him? We'll see...but not yet. 

Things are not looking good for Lukan and Rat. After settling in at Longhorn Watch, they discover on a scouting mission that the skath are moving south in a mass exodus. After a rather hairy (literally) run-in with a skath tracker, they return to the Watch, where they discover their scouting companions have yet to return from an assignment. Scouring the wilderness for their friends (and to find the reason for the skath migration) they find Glissek, one of their missing companions. Trouble is, he's missing three of the fingers on one hand and all the nails from the rest of his remaining ones. He's also dangerously close to insanity at the horrors that have been visited upon him. Lukan and friends hope they can coax what information they can from him before his inevitable death. They'll get their information, but will they be any better off for it? Would you rather know that a 50,000 strong army of hairy northmen is about to 'liberate' your land, or would you rather remain ignorant? One thing is for sure: there will be dark days ahead. 

In other news, I managed to get back most of the music I lost when my pc died on me a few months back. If I'd known I could just import the tunes from my ipod, back to my pc, I could have done it ages ago. Sigh. Oh well, better late than never. And it'll save me £150, as well as the boredom of having to buy all the music again. 

My fiancee brought home a little furry mouse toy that squeaks when you shake it. Not for me, but for our cats. Nyla, who normally sits on her chair looking thoroughly bored with everything, went absolutely beserk and spent the next hour carrying the damned thing around in her mouth. The electronic screeching from the mouse almost drove me insane. At one point I managed to wrench it from her grasp, only for her to squeal and launch herself at me like a little demon from the burning pits. I beat a hasty retreat to the bathroom, to wash the kitten drool from my hands...

I stopped reading Bitterwood. I made it about halfway through and just couldn't manage the rest. The story and characters just completely failed to grab me, and some of the dialogue I just felt was painfully juvenile. The only thing I liked was the little piglet called Poocher. The rest is already a dim memory. Instead, I've started re-reading The Lies of Locke Lamora, in preperation for reading Red Seas Under Red Skies. Damn but I forgot what a great novel it is. I'm only about 40 pages in and already I'm hooked, just like I was the first time. Lynch can write, but more than that he writes some of the funniest dialogue I've ever read. Yeah, sure, so it is unrealistic because 'real people don't talk like that.' Who gives a shit, when it's so funny. In any case, why should the people of Camorr speak like us? It's a different world, where they have wolf sharks and Jereshti jellyfish. Why the hell would they speak like us, when our worlds are so different?