THE STORY SO FAR: PART 324: TUESDAY

SORELY MISSED—THE WRITING HIGH!

My work pattern seems to consist of sustained periods of intense focus on a book, or screenplay, or similar writing-related project—followed by a period of recovery and preparation for the next major task. I won’t pretend to argue that such is the best way of working, because I tend to ignore virtually everything else when I’m “in the zone”—but it’s the one that seems to work best for me.

Ideally, I would work in a more balanced way—and many writers do—but I seem to thrive on the intensity of absolute focus much as some military characters I know seem to crave the adrenalin rush that comes from combat. Indeed, I have a sneaking suspicion they are not entirely dissimilar.

After a manuscript is completed (not that such a work is every truly finished to one’s satisfaction) there is a definite sense of loss combined with a desire to move on to the next work. However, sheer exhaustion tends to temper the creative imperative—and then there are certain practicalities of life that have to be attended to.

Right now, I’m in recovery mode and trying to figure out various ways to work more effectively—an obsession that makes me laugh at myself more often than not as I change the layout of my desk or devise yet another system that I will forget to implement—but actually I seem to be getting somewhere this time around.

Nonetheless, between you, me, and my local squirrel—I’m dying to get back to a major writing project again. 

I miss the action.

PHOTO: This is an FN F2000 bullpup rifle. The great advantage of a bullpup is that, because the magazine and firing mechanism are set way back behind the trigger, you can have a reasonably long barrel yet a short weapon overall. Short weapons are easier to handle in vehicles and in other confined spaces. However, because the ejection port is set way back as well, it can be uncomfortably close to the firer’s face—not so good when hot brass is spewing out. The FN F2000 gets around that by featuring an unusual mechanism that ejects forward.

Interesting weapon.

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 323

CONGRATULATIONS EMANUEL!

I have an amazing sister, Lucy—actually she is the youngest of twelve—who married a Ghanian and then went on to have no less than five decidedly impressive and accomplished children.

The photo shows Lucy—who seems to know the secret of eternal youth—and Emanuel on his graduation day.

And now Lucy is in Australia meeting up with our sister, Hermione.

Wonderful people!

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 322: SUNDAY

MINIMALISM—IF YOU ARE A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY WRITER—IS NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE

Sleep is a wonderful thing—especially when you are trying to recover from something. The current fashion is to use drugs—often quite a number of pills in combinations with unpredictable consequences—but my preference is to rely on sleep first and to utilize meds as little as possible. I have no idea whether I’m right or not, but I do know that a good night’s sleep sets you up for the following day like nothing else.

Having slept late into Saturday morning, today, Sunday, I woke up full of vim and vigor and worked for twelve hours straight without a break.

“Madness!” I hear you think (metaphorically speaking) and I am not even going to try to give you an argument. However, I was on a mission—akin to the search for the Holy Grail—which was to try and determine what software I have on my computer, what software I need, and to slay the balance.

After all, a writer should focus on writing, not mastering the intricacies, deficiencies, eccentricities, and peculiarities of Microsoft Access (to give but one example).

Simplicity is all. Surely all a writer needs is a word processor and little else—and can get by with ink and a quill pen at a push

What I discovered sent me screaming into the darkness (I have tolerant neighbors).

If you include utilities, I seem to be using around a hundred different programs.

No wonder writers take to drink and have nervous breakdowns.

 

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 321: SATURDAY

SUBCONCIOUS UNCHAINED!

Currently, my subconscious is doing its own thing—which can be somewhat discombobulating.

By that, I mean that instead of quietly working away according to my priority list, as determined by my conscious mind, it seems to have its own agenda. 

The cheek of it!

Now, this is scarcely a new phenomenon—the damn thing has had a mind of its own for as long as I can recall—but it normally wanders within tolerable parameters.

No longer! Instead it seems to have decided to work on a book which I have not planned to write for some time. As a consequence, I am being fed ideas—which have nothing to do with the task at hand—at  a near overwhelming rate (and they are mostly good ideas).

In fact, it looks like I’m going to be forced to write them down which rather defeats my fight to avoid being distracted. On the other hand, good ideas are rare and wonderful things, but have a habit of going walkabout if not given a home. In short, they demand to be written down. Let me stress the imperative: ideas have absolutely no manners.

As I have remarked previously, my subconscious tends to behave itself when I’m in the zone—as I was when working on the screenplay—but it seems to have a low threshold of boredom and to misbehave when I’m working on anything else.

An author’s mind can be a tough place to inhabit.

What is this book to be about? I’m a believer in the notion that books should not be talked about until written—but I’ll give you a broad hint. It will be a military novel complete with political intrigue, copious action, sex, humor, and much else besides.

I’ll probably have to share credit with my subconscious.

And yes! The tank in the illustration is an Israeli Merkeva. Is that a clue to my book—or a deception?

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 320

WAITER, THERE IS A HOLE IN MY BLOG!

For some strange reason, I stopped blogging on May 31 2013. If I have the energy, I intend to fill in the gap because I’m determined to complete a year without a break—but I feel very bad that I let it happen in the first place. I feel I have let both my readers and myself down.

My apologies to us all!

The irony is that I didn’t do it consciously. I made no decision to stop blogging temporarily. Instead, I decided the screenplay I had written could be further improved—and seem to have focused all my efforts on that task to the exclusion of virtually everything else.

Very strange! Downright obsessional, one might say—except that the saving grace was that I achieved the improvement I was after. It’s amazing what you can do with absolute focus, 70 hours a week, and nearly three months.

I also managed to put my back out a few weeks ago. After it, I could stand or lie down without too much pain—but sitting was agony. This created decided problems where writing was concerned. Clearly I shall have to learn to type standing-up just in case such a thing happens again (or would kneeling add a special intensity?). Meanwhile, I’m delighted to say, I’m recovering.

You know the irony is that I really like blogging. It seems to anchor me somehow—and it definitely stimulates creativity. I can only conclude that my imperative to do the best possible job on the screenplay overrode that pleasure.

On to a more cheerful subject: I’m truly delighted that Netflix’s HOUSE OF CARDS has been nominated for multiple Emmys. It is a singularly impressive production  – especially when shown without ads. It shows what can be done with U.S. TV, but rarely is. Good for Netflix! Praise to all concerned.

Sometimes I wonder about American free-market capitalism. Actually I wonder about it very often. So, if the polls are to be believed, is an ever increasing proportion of the rest of the population.

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 311: TUESDAY

THERE APPEAR TO BE TWO OF ME ON LINKEDIN—I AM MORTIFIED, BUT I KEEP ON FORGETTING TO KILL ONE

I grew up in the days when we still plowed with horses, we ate rabbits routinely rather than chicken, the nearest thing to a TV in most houses was a radio, and flying was in converted wartime aircraft (and a real luxury).

Dragons—needless to say—roamed the skies, and dinosaurs were a traffic hazard. What is more, it was not uncommon to need a starting handle to start a car.

I’ll bet you have never heard of, let alone seen, a starting handle. You haven’t lived.

To be fair, my grandmother was old-fashioned; and elsewhere in the world—other than on her farm—people had been using tractors for years—but I just want to make the point that I grew up in a very different time, literally decades before computers were in general use, and probably centuries before the Social Media were invented to complicate life.

Accordingly, when I was first introduced to LinkedIn, I didn’t take it seriously. I played with it a bit, didn’t take the time necessary to learn how it worked, wrote a very imperfect and unpolished profile—and forgot about it.

Years later, I did do a rather better job on a fresh site—but didn’t think to remove the first one. And, I forgot about it again.

Now, my more recent effort is doing an excellent job, and I seem to be connecting with all sorts of fascinating people, but every so often someone tries to make a connection with the old site—and all is confusion.

My earlier LinkedIn site has to go—but whenever I contemplate what is involved—my pre-tractor brain decides life is too short for this, and steers me towards something more manageable.

I’m in disgrace. I blush. I promise I will kill my doppelganger “real soon now.”

PHOTO: Yes, that aircraft is the civilian version of the wartime DC-3—the kind that dropped paratroops on D-Day—and one like it was the first aircraft I ever flew in. It had canvas seats, but no parachutes for the passengers which, at the age of three, I thought was very unfair.

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 310: MONDAY

THE SWISS HAVE A REPUTATION FOR BEING FINE ENGINEERS—AND NOW ARE TACKLING HELICOPTERS WITH THE MARENCO SKYeSH09

ONE WILL BE FLYING SOON

The above graphic is merely an illustration, of course, but the word is that the real thing will actually be flying fairly shortly—probably around October or November 2013. Note the ease of access through huge side doors and clamshell doors at the rear. It also has more internal cabin height than is normal in a helicopter of this 2.5 Metric Tonne Class.

With a fast cruise speed of 270 km/h (145 knots) it is not only one of the fastest single engine light helicopter in the category, but it also offers very long range – in excess of 800km (430 nautical miles) with standard fuel tanks. But perhaps the most noteworthy characteristic is its extremely low noise, not only inside the large cabin, but also the external noise level.

It promises to be a very neat machine which will seat 5-8 in individual crashworthy seats. Let me quote from Marenco’s own website.

COMPOSITE CONSTRUCTION A lightweight cell (fuselage) constructed of composite materials with high crash resistance (a technology utilized in the formula 1 industry), excellent aerodynamics and the high ceiling optimized cabin configuration, unsurpassed, with regards to available space, ease of loading, in flight visibility and unrivalled comfort.

GLASS COCKPIT Innovative, ergonomic and intuitive man-machine interface with a modular Glass Cockpit designed to enhance safety and situational awareness, integrating the most advanced technology in aviation including advanced flight systems that have been proven in the business-jet industry. Enabling the pilots to focus on the flight and the essentials of safety, benefiting from the natural layout of control elements, switches and adjustable seats.

The avionics suite provides all-weather operations capability, including a full digital NVG compatible cockpit with large area displays and enhanced graphics. Complying with satellite-based navigation, communication and surveillance requirements that will maximize a 24 hour operation of the helicopter.

BEARING-FREE ROTOR SYSTEM Superior manoeuvrability with an advanced bearing-free rotor system with 5-blades in full composite with the advantages of a fail-safe design and corrosion free, all of which will bring reduced maintenance requirements, low life cycle costs, low vibration levels and the highest degree of reliability and safety with absence of risk of mast bumping.



MODERN TURBINE A modern turbine with excellent fuel consumption, no hard TBO (Time Between Overhaul) and a modern FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control), reduces pilot workload especially during startup and leads to excellent hot and high performance.



SHROUDED TAIL ROTOR SKYe SH09 is fitted with a shrouded tail rotor resulting in reduced noise emission levels, low maintenance layout, high safety level as the risk of contact with obstructions or bodily harm is greatly reduced. Maestro has been designed to orchestrate a silent symphony and preserve your environment of operations.

In terms of flight characteristics, the shrouded tail rotor will circumvent the anti-torque thrust which is applied during flight and will offer high damage tolerance.