Sidebar updated

Following a link from Kate's blog, I've added a weatherpixie to my sidebar. It shows the current weather for Mildenhall RAF Base, which is actually over thirty miles to the north (I would have chosen Woodbridge RAF Base, which is only 5 miles away, but it's inactive at the moment). Still, Mildenhall was the closest I could find.

Weekly pics--round 5

I was going to post some nice snowy pictures this week, but I'm up to my ears in snow and have had enough of it. Instead, here's a couple of shots of Orford (the town near the Cold Witness facility).

Firstly, a dramatic-type picture taken during the storm last October (the boat in the foreground is actually called October Storm, believe it of not). Note the massive plumes of spray rising off the river, and the darkness--this picture was actually taken at pretty much midday. Heh. That was one hell of a storm. (Note--the bar of land just across the river is actually Orfordness. The Atomic Weapons establishment is just left of the frame, including the Pagoda labs where Johnny Campbell was shooting at Russians in Cold Witness.)



And this is a photo of Orford Quay, taken from our boat, Tern. For anyone who has read (or will read) Project Cold Witness, this is the jetty where Colonel Foyle and Major Pike jump into the ferry during the "first encounter" UFO incident.



Photos Copyright (C) James Roddie 2003

Ups, downs, and in-betweens

Okay, so here's a major drawback of largely working in a small summerhosue (hell, that's a contradiction of terms) at the bottom of the garden. In winter, it gets absolutely, gnawingly, bitingly, numbingly freezing. I'm practically sitting on top of a massive great electric heater, and my breath is hanging in frosted plumes in the air. Dammit. Only a few days ago I was saying that Spring was on its way. Well, winter's come back to show us what he can do. I ended up going back into the house to try and raise my blood temperature back above zero. It was so cold I literally couldn't feel my fingers (and that resulted in some weird typing mistakes, let me tell you).

So, with only four days left until I'm meant to start writing White Light, I don't think I'm going to finish the prewriting in time. Not that it matters, of course; I just don't want to get into the habit of breaking deadlines. To tell the truth, I'm really in two minds about this project. One part of me is bouncing up and down in childish excitement: 'Whoopee!' it says, 'Another Cold Witness novel about to begin!' The other part of my mind is saying this, however: 'Alex, are you sure you want to do this? Why not write something safe, like Twilight 2?'

I decided long ago, though, that I don't want to play it safe. Okay, so White Light is ambitious. I like ambitious. I think I'm experienced enough to start playing around with both 1st and 3rd person POV in one novel; I've always loved the way some authors put in snippets of journal entries here and there to spice things up. I also think I'm ready to deal with some of the darker issues this novel will address. Technology unchained; the darkness in the human mind; the cold, calculating ruthlessness of the NSA Board of Special Research (that's one of my inventions, by the way). It's also time to start testing the boundaries of my own writing ability. How far can I really push myself? Can I make something worth remembering, something the like of which I've never written before?

Let's hope so. The next step of the journey is just ahead.

Solid progress

I did some work on possible subplots for White Light yesterday evening. Three come to mind, the most promising being a web of cause-and-effect connected with the press and a small gang of hard-core UFO freaks. They could do an awful lot of damage to a covert operation if they were so inclined. I've also got ideas connected with characters and events from Cold Witness, largely revolving around Corporal Campbell (now RAF Pilot Officer Campbell of RAF Marham, Norfolk). I also have to integrate the Orfordness theme in there somewhere, preferably by involving the Cold Witness installation itself (which is still on the go, but on a much smaller scale, and is renamed as Project Grey Sky). In any case, it shouldn't be long before the plot's finished. I've already got over 12K of prewriting done to date. In fact, I realise that with every new novel I write, the amount of planning I do beforehand gets larger. I must be evolving.

Things are going kind of slow at school right now. We're in the null period between two sets of exams; the syllabus is pretty much finished in Chemistry, and in ICT and DT we're just plodding on with coursework. I've got hardly any homework at the moment, which means I've got loads of time on my hand for writing and other stuff. It won't last forever, though. In just a few short months I'll be taking my A2 Finals, then it's the terrifying freedom that lies Beyond. One year of working to save up some money, then off to Norwich to start my BSc course. *sighs* It seems only yesterday that I was collecting my GCSE grades.

Where did the time go?

iBook's back!

Wow, that's what I call quick service. I sent the thing off on Thursday, and it got back yesterday afternoon. And, I'm glad to say, I lost nothing but general preferences (alert sound, date+time, speech preferences etc). All my data is intact, and the screen works as well as it has ever done! w00t!

Following up on comments further back, I have to say that I can never work as well with pen+paper. I had to write by hand quite a lot a while back, but I always found that I could never get ideas down quickly enough (fast as I write by hand, I always type far, far faster), and the writing was usually totally illegible afterwards. I also find that the very act of writing by hand distorts the idea I'm trying to get across. Don't ask me to explain this; it's one of my personal mysteries. When I'm using a computer (with the notable exception of a Windows machine), it feels more direct, somehow. To be honest with you, it's annoying. It means I'm totally useless for writing whenever I haven't got a computer to hand.

Anyway, Project White Light is now coming along well. I put in masses of research time yesterday, so I now have a complete set of maps, photos and other relevant data for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the initial settings for the book. I've also got a huge range of information covering various emerging branches of psychoelectronic science, not to mention about five hundred pages of data about Bawdsey Manor, the proposed facility where the characters will be conducting their research. The plot's coming along nicely, too. I reckon I'm on target to start writing it by the beginning of March.

Revision for Cold Witness is also progressing well; I'm already starting to get responses from some of my proofreaders, and I've noticed some stupid (okay, downright embarrassing) mistakes. It should be ready in second draft form before very long, and then I'll be ready to start the really intensive revision.

Oh, I nearly forgot. The Travellers have been given an ultimatum by the police: clear out of Tunstall Forest by a set date, or we send in the heavy gang to force you out. The Forestry Commission has already dug up the entrances to all the other open spaces in the forest, so they won't be back here again in a hurry. They'll probably settle in the northern reaches of Rendlesham Forest with the other lot. Grrr. And then, once they're gone, they'll invariably leave their campsite strewn with trash, burned, chewed-up and totally uninhabitable for decades. They're a menace.

Weekly pics--belated round 4

Here they are. Two of the places that, right now, I'd like to be more than anywhere else in the world. I'm getting the trekking itch again; it's February, and although we've got snow on the ground, Spring's approaching. And I'm really, really missing the lonely trails of the Pennines and the Cumbrian Mountains. I can take short day-hikes in the Sandlings, but the mud and the freezing wind and the fact that I've trodden the frickin' paths a thousand times takes the edge of excitement off it. Still, I must be patient ... it's still a good fifteen months before my expedition up North.

Firstly, a shot of Upper Wharfedale. This shows the flank of Buckden Pike, a fell to the west of the village of Kettlewell (God, what would I give to be there now?) The hills aren't spectacularly high, even compared with the Lake District, but I love the place all the same.



Secondly, the waterfall of Janet's Foss, near Malham. The village of Malham, on the Craven faultline, is world-famous for its limestone rock formations (especially Goredale Scar and Malham Cove, a cliff several hundred metres high). The cave at Janet's Foss is said to be the home of a band of faeries, but I've yet to see them.



Photos Copyright (C) James Roddie 2003

Very little progress

iBook's still in Apple's repair workshops. The status thingy on their webpage says that repair is in progress, so let's hope it won't be long until it gets sent back. In any case, I'm getting zero work done; I simply can't go back to writing on the old iMac (which my brother now owns). I realise now that my entire way of working revolves around having a laptop--I came up with it last November, during NaNo, to work out a way of getting more work done. Well, I sure can't haul the iMac up to the summerhouse twice a day. Grrr. Grrrrrr.

Anyway, we've got snow here. The third time this winter! I was always told that the Sandlings had its own weather (ie. blisteringly hot), but for the past two winters running we've had quite a bit of snow. The forest's beautiful, but unfortunately I'm at school right now and the snow's melting, so I won't have any chances to take any photos.

(Edit: I had put a rant up here about anti-American xenophobia, a way of thinking which I personally loathe, but I've decided I don't want to wreck the atmosphere. Instead, I've posted a couple of pics from last holidays above. -AR)

Damn, damn, damn!

Quick update: iBook died yesterday. Seems to be some kind of major problem with the logic board, so it has to be sent back to Apple in Ireland to be fixed. Thank God it's still under the garruantee, or I'd have to fork out up to $800 to get it fixed. Bugger.

Project White Light is coming along nicely, though. I've finished characterisation and have started working on the plot, so I should be on track to start writing it in a couple of weeks (if my computer's fixed by then of course). I may not be able to post pics this week--I'm borrowing my brother's computer to post this--but they'll be back next week as usual.

Weekly pics--round 3

I'm following a writing-type theme this week. Just to prove that the Cold Witness facility really did exist, here are two photos of it.

This was taken sometime in the 1970's, when Cobra Mist was operational. Note the large steel blockhouse in the foreground (which features prominently in my book), plus the huge array of radar masts. The array actually covers an area approximately the size of the nearby town of Aldeburgh. This photo was taken from the top of Orford Castle. I found it on a Google search, and I haven't a clue where it comes from, so if anyone owns the copyright of it, I apologise in advance.



And this is a photo of the facility taken a couple of months ago, by me, on one of my treks through the Sudbourne Marshes just the other side of the river from Orfordness. The radar array is no longer there, but the BBC World Service took over the site in about 1992, using the blockhouse as their headquarters. A number of radio masts were erected on the foundations of the old AN/FPS-95 site.



Okay, time for a little more info on Project White Light. Basically, it'll be set in 1989; Christina Elmwood will be the main character, and she'll be conducting research into artificial intelligence and human/computer interface at the secret research facility of Bawdsey Manor (mentioned in Cold Witness). I'll be using many settings, characters and themes from the first Cold Witness book. In essence, Christina left Cold Witness after the catastrophic disaster of 1980, and went to the University of East Anglia to study Computing Science. She then transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to work towards her PhD. In the course of this research, she made some astonishing breakthroughs that attracted the attention of the NSA, who already have their eye on her due to her involvement with Cold Witness. She is transferred to the rotting underground facility of Bawdsey Manor with a small research team, and ordered to finish her research ... but along lines she doesn't like very much. Her experiences have made her a dedicated pacifist, firmly against PsyTron weaponry. Now the NSA want her to contribute towards the very technology she wants to see obliterated once and for all.

In essence, things will go wrong. Very wrong.



Muahahahahaha!

(Edit--I might not be in much next week, as it's the Half Term hols. I'll turn up for a quick update whenever I can get online. If not, I'll see you in a week or so! -AR)

Second photo (C) Alex Roddie 2003

Change of plan

I'm back from my open day at the University of East Anglia now. Having toured not only the Computer Science department but the entire university, I'm now definitely going to put UEA down as my firm choice on my UCAS form. And the great news is that my predicted grades are several notches higher than their minimum entry requirements (actually, they're several notches higher than what I expected, too :) ). So everything looks set for my journey into the Great Unknown beyond Year 13.

Things are changing with regards to writing, though. My last post was largely concerned with Part II of The Twilight Trilogy, with just a little endnote regarding a possible sequel to Cold Witness. Well, the tables have turned! At the moment, I see more promise in the Cold Witness novels. Let's face it; Twilight isn't terribly original. It's a reasonably generic fantasy quest, even if it is set in an unusual fantasy world with unusual races. I like the book, but I honestly don't think it has as much potential as the other side of my writing 'career'. But the important thing is that I'm looking ahead, seeing two more books left in the trilogy, and all the time my mind is gnawing on that golden little gem of promise that the next Cold Witness book offers.

Here's the truth of the matter: I've been converted by the experience of writing PCW. I realise now that, for the short-term at least, I really want to write science fiction with a strong military/technothriller aspect. Fantasy is still one of my favourite genres, but I'm not sure whether I want to be writing it right now. It's not that I'm moving away from The Twilight Trilogy; I love the story and characters, and I definitely want to see it through to completion. It's just that I don't want to start work on the second book now. I want to work on the next Cold Witness book, maybe leaving Twilight II until next time.

I've done a surprising amount of planning for the next C.W book, too. I have a plot involving some of the characters from PCW, set in 1989, and involving a project that's similar to some of the things that went on at Cold Witness, but not the same. It's going to be distinct, not just a re-tread of ground I've already covered.

Anyway, enough preamble. Ladies and gentlemen, Kate, Joel and whoever else may be watching, allow me to proudly present the second novel in the Cold Witness series ...
(fade to black. Cut to moving starfield)
(2001: A Space Oddessey-type music, followed by overture from Blue Danube)

Project White Light!

*Alex bows at nervous applause and uneasy laughter* Don't worry, the title isn't fixed yet. But I need to have a decent title before I start working on it; the format has to be Project [adjective][noun], preferably reasonably metaphorical. Let me know if you come up with any ideas.

Rolling steadily on

Am getting solid progress done on Twilight II, which is v.g. The characters are all pretty much sorted; may add some more later, but for now they're done. Next stage is to pick out open threads from the previous book to be developed. I've got a huge list of things that this book must do/be/have, not to mention those things it must NOT do/be/have. This part is never fun; it feels like I'm tearing my old book apart and laying its flaws open to the outside world (which is precisely what I'm doing). Will read through Twilight I during the next couple of days and note down places where it needs improving.

Variety it, of course, the most important thing. Lots of material in Twilight I was involved with traveling around, questing, hunting for the Book of Dakas and dodging arrows/bullets/thunderbolts/fireballs/battles/bloody revolutions. Which is all good stuff in a Lord-of-the-Rings-type way, but I need something new for the next book in the trilogy. Need to focus more on inter-character relationships. Most importantly of all, Selni (who happens to be a goddess) helped the characters out of too many tough spots in the last book. I must indroduce a serious weakness for her in this novel--aha! I have it! The Dakasian sorcerers have developed a form of blood magic that is harmful for her. Yes, I think that will work.

The plot still evades me, but not for long. Two nice little threads that could develop into a plot are already starting to form, one connected with Rhys's runaway brother (Oren Kelding, private investigator and all-round good guy), and another connected with Vilara Akudan (beautiful half Deroan slightly mysterious-type female assassin). Won't be long now before I have something solid.

Oh yes, and I won't be in tommorrow, either. I'm going to Norwich to the open day for the University of East Anglia--the Post Application Open Day! The event dedicated to those lucky, talented few who have stood out from the slush pile of UCAS applications. Now let's just hope my A2 results (when they come) can stand out from the slush pile as well, or I won't be a Post Application student any more. See you Thursday!

(Edit: I just remembered. Another prisoner escaped from Hollesley Bay the day before yesterday. The helicopters are already out looking for him! -AR)

Oh wow!

Take a look at this.

INFJ - "Author". Strong drive and enjoyment to help others. Complex personality. 1.5% of total population.

Take Free Myers-Briggs Personality Test

And I answered the questions honestly, too. Pretty cool, eh?

And the cycle begins all over again

Gah. I'm right back at the beginning of another book--novel number 6, part II of The Twilight Trilogy. It's currently entitled The Setting of the Sun.

The first stage is always characterisation. Obviously I'm using most of the characters from Part I (Rhys, Cathany, Hadrin and the rest of them), but some of my original cast have died, and I want at least a couple of new people in this story. Although I've only got the vaguest ideas imaginable for the plot, I always find that conflicts emerge from the characterisation process, so that's the way I work. For example, in Part I, a character named Chorin Akudan was killed by Rhys; this time round, I find myself thinking along the lines of a neice of his coming back to participate in the story. She's going to be called Vilara Akudan (a.k.a Vi Felken). It's extraordinary how quickly these people come to life--I can already imagine Vi, and she's started to suggest ways in which she could take part in the book. This is always a fun section of the process!

I'm also continuing my revisions of Cold Witness. I've already read through the book once, and I've corrected most of the major plot, continuity and plausibility problems. I picked up some typos, too, but the line edits will come last. I reckon I'll have finished the initial revision in a couple of days.

The story of Project Cold Witness is over now. After finishing Darkness in the Forest I felt relief; after finishing Twilight I I felt elation ... but I'm feeling sad now I've come to the end of PCW. It's going to be difficult for me to sink back into fantasy mode ... but I'll manage. I'm dedicated to both science fiction and fantasy.

Hehe ... an idea for another Cold Witness novel is coming along, too. Maybe I can make a series of them? The name needs a bit of work, though--at the moment, all I can come up with is The Bawdsey Project. Gah. It's going to be a good four months until I start working on it, so I've got plenty of time.

Weekly pics--round 2

I promised Kate mountains, so here they are. :)

This is a photograph of Wastwater in Cumbria, with Kirk Fell (centre), Great Gable (just right of centre) and the flank of Lingmell visible. The Scafell massif is just off to the right of the photograph. This was taken this summer, when we were on holiday in the Lake District.



And here's a picture of me fighting my way through the wilderness of Staverton Forest, a small patch of oak woodland left over from the last Ice Age. The Wuffinga kings in the 6th Century used to hunt boar and deer here ... and we've actually heard wild boar in this forest. Scary.



Photos copyright (C) James Roddie 2003

Project Cold Witness is ... COMPLETED!

I can't believe it. After a total of 48 working days, PCW is finally done in first draft format. It's longer than I wanted it (just over 122K), but as I'll probably be cutting scenes further back, that's no problem.

Here are the statistics:

596 ms. pages
122,434 words

Wow! Time for a celebration! There's no rest for me, though--I need to get into the revisions right away if I'm to get it finished any time soon. I'm going to be concentrating on getting this book published this year. I honestly think it's worth it.

(Edit: I just posted the last scene from Cold Witness on the Roving Crits board at Forward Motion. It isn't long; go and take a look if you want to see how the novel ends. -AR)

A snippet from Cold Witness

At the risk of violating my First Publication Rights, here's a short scene from the last chapter of Project Cold Witness. Enjoy.

THE DOMINO EFFECT, scene 7
December 31st, 1980

Wheatley hummed as he typed. Linear amplifiers online: check. Beam switching matrix responding: check. Strings set to phase automatically in accordance with target data: check. He smiled.

'Everything's ready for the big showdown,' he said to himself. He checked his watch; twenty minutes until midnight, the start of the new year.

He selected one of the items on the main computer screen. A sequence of options presented themselves, including "FIRE AFTER INTERVAL", "RAPID BURST DISCHARGE (RBD)", "FIRE THEN HUNT FOR NEW TARGET", and "CONCATENATE TARGET DATA". He chose the first option, then typed a sequence of commands that would cause the computer to destroy its initial target via Rapid Burst Discharge, hunt for a new target, destroy it, then search again. The Cold Witness computer had quite a large library of American SDI satellites. He had selected all of them.

Major Wheatley reached for an open briefcase that lay on the control desk. He pulled out a shiny black radio of Russian design, and switched it on. 'Dark Knight to all units. Operation Spearhead is underway. Dark Knight is standing by and waiting for further orders. Over.'

The radio gave a whole series of responses, each voice either with a distinctly Russian, British or American accent.

'White Hart standing by, over.'
'Lancelot standing by, over.'
'Red Sun standing by, over.'
'Galahad standing by, over.'
'Hornet Swarm standing by, over.'

There was a pause.

'Camelot Command to all units. Dark Knight is to proceed with the Spearhead operation at 00:01 hours. Operation Marathon will commence pending the completion of Spearhead. Operation Hornet will commence following the successful disruption of ground installations. The blessing of the Soviet Union is with you all. Camelot Command out.'

Wheatley smiled again; a private smile, a smile of victory, but also a faintly regretful smile. He didn't let Lieutenant Brown or Major Pike see that smile. They would never understand.

He sighed. Britain, it was nice knowing you, he thought. May you rest in peace.

Outside, hundreds of dancing green lights began to congregate over the array. A soft note, rising and falling like the sighing of the wind, reached Wheatley's ears through the thick blockhouse walls. The song of the unknown. The song of the future.

Wheatley walked over to the window and offered a salute to the visitors. Thank you, he told them silently. You will be remembered.

Looking back over his shoulder, he saw Major Pike's eyes burning into his own, the gaze full of hate.

'I knew it,' said Richard. 'The UFOs! You were controlling them, weren't you? Every time they came, they brought misfortune and disaster with them. A taste of the world to come.'

Wheatley shook his head, still smiling faintly. 'You couldn't be more wrong, Richard. But you're starting to understand. You really are.'

The ghostly song of the UFOs continued, growing and swelling as countless more joined the ranks of green lights dancing their haunting dance over the Cold Witness array.

(C) Alex Roddie 2004. Copying of this material is prohibited.

And it just keeps on growing ...

Project Cold Witness is now over 116K in length. I ended up adding an extra chapter after NIGHT TERRORS, mostly because by the time I'd got to the end of the chapter, I still had about 30 pages of story left to write. I think I'm within 4,000 words of the ending now, which is just as well; I really don't want it to be longer than 120,000 words.

My brother's currently reading through the first draft, and he's already noted some important things I need to sort out in the revision. Oliver Elmwood's subplot needs to be drawn to a satisfactory closure, seeing as he kind of ... vanishes half way through. A few other minor things have also been picked up, largely to do with consistency and plausibility. I'll try to sort them all out before I send it off to my various proofreaders. As far as I can make out, the issues are all to do with plot; the characters are (I hope) pretty much sorted.

I should be finished in a couple of days. I'm feeling kind of lost; this has been my longest novel ever, and certainly the most enjoyable to write. Mind you, I always feel like this when I finish a book. The feeling never lasts long, though--the pull of the next project, tugging me on, is an inexorable call.

(Edit: I'm using a new commenting template. Tell me how you like it. Black seems to be my style, but it might be harder to use. Should I go back to the old one?)