Not a writing tip or review, but a mourning of a good book shop instead.
Some of you may have heard, but The Works bookshop was hit with an arson attack in Maidstone recently, in the hour before another 5 cars were also set alight. The cars survived mostly and the owners are on their way to replacing their vehicles.
But The Works, oh The Works is wrecked. There is nothing left of the shop, I've seen it for myself, just a few hours ago. All that is left of the book shop is the charred shell, reminding me far too much of the Baudelaire Mansion from A Series Of Unfortunate Events. Shops on either side of the building have also lost their roofs, leaving most of the street cordoned off for safety of the public.
Luckily nobody was hurt in this terrible attack, apart from all the book fan's hearts. Everybody loves a cheap book, and that was The Works for us, good quality, first hand, cheap books. It's probably the single biggest threat to my best friend and my Mum's bank balance, with many trips in there ending up with a new bag filled with new stories to explore.
But now we have been robbed of that, because someone decided that they wanted to set the place alight and burn it down. Countless precious books have been lost, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Sherlock Holmes, hundreds of other classics, have been destroyed by fire. This has then subsequently robbed many of the chance to buy and then read these books at a lower price to normal. Sure, we still have a Waterstones, WH Smith and Amazon to order from, but there's nowhere for those of us on a tight budget to shop. And that is a tragedy.
Not everyone can afford to buy full price books, and book lovers like myself relied on The Works to give ourselves books are a discounted rate. Sometimes places like Waterstones proved too expensive when buying an entire series of books, whereas The Works provided the same series in the same great condition for a fraction of the cost. That was a Godsend to us, it meant we could buy our books and not break the bank as much as a shop at another retailer would have.
The shop also proved useful when buying books for our education too. Not all of them (I can't say I found any of my uni course books in there) but I did find many of my A Level books in there. There was no wait time or P&P costs from Amazon, and they were generally cheaper there than at any other book store, which was useful as a 16 year old.
Book lovers aren't the only ones affected either, artists who bought their supplies at The Works now have look elsewhere, others looking for notepads and school supplies have to trek somewhere else to buy them. The people who worked in the shop are now out of a job, all because someone felt the need to set something on fire. What I'm trying to say is that the shop was a life line for many, and now it's gone for a long time.
And for what? Entertainment? A sick need to see flames? What was the point?
There wasn't one, now people have lost their jobs, others have lost a shop filled with their passions, and a building has been destroyed. It's going to take years to get that back to normal, and it's because someone likes to light things on fire. The only positive in this situation is that nobody was physically hurt in the blaze. Instead we've lost a big part of our lives.
So to whoever did this, fuck you, if you like fire so much, get your kicks by lighting candles and fireplaces. Stay away from buildings and places of enjoyment for so many, you've robbed so many from their cheap book and art outlet, and took away several people's jobs.
Wednesday, 10 June 2015
Tuesday, 9 June 2015
Tuesday, 2 June 2015
The Liebster Award
I'm horribly late doing this, but Cameron didn't tell me he'd tagged me in this until yesterday!
Thanks to him for tagging me in this, and here we go:
Thanks to him for tagging me in this, and here we go:
- What’s your favourite movie/tv series?
- Are you sure you're ready for this answer? Currently I'm loving How To Get Away With Murder and Agents Of SHIELD, but my main ones have to be BBC Sherlock, Marvel, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer!
- Do you love reading? If yes, what is your favourite book?
- Hell yes! I'm always reading! Well currently I'm loving All I Know Now by Carrie Hope Fletcher, but the book I'm REALLY loving is Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
- How would you describe yourself in 5 words?
- Writer, Vlogger, fangirl, tired and... nerdy
- Who’s your favourite band/artist?
- MCFLY! I adore McFly and McBusted! They got me into writing and I adore their music!
- If you could have 3 wishes, what would they be?
- To make a success book, to be able to own my own house, and to help people with their writing through my channel!
- If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
- Ohhhh, superspeed I think! It would save me a tonne of money in travel costs, and help me to not be late all the time!
- What’s your all-time favourite food?
- Toad in the hole (I'm eating some now) or Chinese chicken balls, I could live on either!
- Where’s your favourite place to shop?
- Anywhere that sells geeky things, like redbubble, amazon, geektown, anywhere like that!
- What’s your favourite colour?
- Black!
- What is your future plan?
- See above wishes, with added moving in with my best friend and making our super awesome house!
- Who do you admire most?
- Joss Whedon for writing, McFly for general life strength, Carrie Hope Fletcher for general life strength again, Benedict Cumberbatch for again life strength, the list goes on!
Monday, 25 May 2015
What Is The Right Word Count For Me?
Okay, okay, I know I said I'd actually going to start blogging properly and then went AWOL for eleven days, but I got busy alright? I'm here, now, that's what matters here.
So, here we go, first bit of writing advise I'm imparting in blog form - What Is The Right Word Count For Me? - following on from my last Pro Tips video.
What I mean by that is, what kind of word count should you be aiming for when you have a writing session? For some of you out there, you'll be reading this thinking 'but I just go with whatever I can manage that day and move on' and that's great, I envy you laid back people greatly. For the rest of us, we set daily word counts to either challenge ourselves every day, or to make sure we have a reasonable amount down on paper.
So what should be a good, obtainable daily word goal? The short answer is that it's different for everybody. There is no 'one word count fits all' solution, and to be honest, it is up to you to figure out how much you want to get down on a daily basis.
There are some professional writers out there who write over five thousand words a day, there are some who decide that just six hundred is enough. So really, there's a huge range you can go for here. Personally, I like to aim for somewhere between six hundred and a thousand, depending on what project I'm working on. For one story I'm working on, the six hundred is about a page worth of writing, and can get across my current ideas well without me losing momentum. For my other story, a thousand is needed to fully explain what I want to get across that day. In short, I like to reach at least six hundred words or I feel like my day has been wasted.
How did I get to this number? By trial and error mostly. I started out by making sure I wrote five paragraphs, consisting of at least five lines, every day. But that was in the days before I set things out properly and put speech on new lines (those were dark days my friends, I do not speak of those days any more). Once I did start to set things out properly, it meant my five paragraph rule went out the window, so I had to find a new system to work with. I counted how many words were in my paragraphs, and that came out at about six hundred on average, so I figured that that was a nice minimum to aim for.
Six hundred felt right as it was the number I could get out comfortably without straining myself, so I rolled with it, and has worked well for me over the years. Of course, if I go over that word count then I'm ecstatic and feel very, very proud of myself (and usually find myself some chocolatey treat to reward my wordy little brain). I regularly do go over that word count on a story whenever I write it, which brings me onto another point I want to bring up in this post.
Changing word counts for changing projects.
As I said before, everybody is different, so they have different ideas about what productivity is. And like how every person is different, every project is different too. Some are easier than others to write, which means that some projects make hitting your preferred daily word count easier. You might want to consider changing your word count goals if this happens, to keep the challenge up. If you're writing something you're struggling with but really want to continue it, try lowering your word count a bit, so you're not struggling to reach what seems like an impossible target every day. At the same time, if you're project feels easy to write and flows excellently, maybe try increasing your target, to give yourself a challenge and keep you on your toes. It's up to you though, whatever you feel like is a good productive goal you'd like to reach every day.
In summary, choose your word count wisely. Go with something you can obtain relatively easily without pushing yourself too far, and don't be afraid to change that number if your project needs it. Word goals should not feel like a chore, it should be a nice challenge to yourself, so choose wisely!
So, here we go, first bit of writing advise I'm imparting in blog form - What Is The Right Word Count For Me? - following on from my last Pro Tips video.
What I mean by that is, what kind of word count should you be aiming for when you have a writing session? For some of you out there, you'll be reading this thinking 'but I just go with whatever I can manage that day and move on' and that's great, I envy you laid back people greatly. For the rest of us, we set daily word counts to either challenge ourselves every day, or to make sure we have a reasonable amount down on paper.
So what should be a good, obtainable daily word goal? The short answer is that it's different for everybody. There is no 'one word count fits all' solution, and to be honest, it is up to you to figure out how much you want to get down on a daily basis.
There are some professional writers out there who write over five thousand words a day, there are some who decide that just six hundred is enough. So really, there's a huge range you can go for here. Personally, I like to aim for somewhere between six hundred and a thousand, depending on what project I'm working on. For one story I'm working on, the six hundred is about a page worth of writing, and can get across my current ideas well without me losing momentum. For my other story, a thousand is needed to fully explain what I want to get across that day. In short, I like to reach at least six hundred words or I feel like my day has been wasted.
How did I get to this number? By trial and error mostly. I started out by making sure I wrote five paragraphs, consisting of at least five lines, every day. But that was in the days before I set things out properly and put speech on new lines (those were dark days my friends, I do not speak of those days any more). Once I did start to set things out properly, it meant my five paragraph rule went out the window, so I had to find a new system to work with. I counted how many words were in my paragraphs, and that came out at about six hundred on average, so I figured that that was a nice minimum to aim for.
Six hundred felt right as it was the number I could get out comfortably without straining myself, so I rolled with it, and has worked well for me over the years. Of course, if I go over that word count then I'm ecstatic and feel very, very proud of myself (and usually find myself some chocolatey treat to reward my wordy little brain). I regularly do go over that word count on a story whenever I write it, which brings me onto another point I want to bring up in this post.
Changing word counts for changing projects.
As I said before, everybody is different, so they have different ideas about what productivity is. And like how every person is different, every project is different too. Some are easier than others to write, which means that some projects make hitting your preferred daily word count easier. You might want to consider changing your word count goals if this happens, to keep the challenge up. If you're writing something you're struggling with but really want to continue it, try lowering your word count a bit, so you're not struggling to reach what seems like an impossible target every day. At the same time, if you're project feels easy to write and flows excellently, maybe try increasing your target, to give yourself a challenge and keep you on your toes. It's up to you though, whatever you feel like is a good productive goal you'd like to reach every day.
In summary, choose your word count wisely. Go with something you can obtain relatively easily without pushing yourself too far, and don't be afraid to change that number if your project needs it. Word goals should not feel like a chore, it should be a nice challenge to yourself, so choose wisely!
Thursday, 14 May 2015
This blog is going through come changes!
I've neglected this blog FAR too much ever since... well, ever since I got it if I'm honest. But that's all going to change, this blog isn't just for film reviews anymore! This blog is going to be much more like my vlog channel, which is HERE if you haven't already seen it. From now on, this blog is going to be an extension of my vlog channel, where I'm going to post things about my writing, writing in general, and possibly a few reviews too.
Mainly, what I want this blog to be is a blog about writing. Good writing, bad writing, semi-reasonable writing, all of it. I want to talk in detail about amazing plot lines, beautiful dialogue, the things I wished I'd thought of in the past. Anything like that, I want to praise good writers from the rooftops and encourage others out there to start writing too. Being a writer is a lonely thing for most of us, I want to close that gap and start up discussions about the wonderful thing that is story telling.
Another thing I want to start here is a 'Things I Would Have Done Differently' because not all writing is infallible. For so long now, I've been sprouting nonsense about 'if I was the showrunner/author/writer I would have done it this way instead of like this' so I'm actually going to start doing that. If I think someone could have handled a story line, or a character, or anything like that, better, I will be pointing it out in a hopefully amusing way. Only time will tell if that's true, but for now, I'm hoping for amusement, if not agreement.
So currently that's the changes to this blog, to hopefully bring it to life and get some content on it, and add another facet to my youtube channel.
I hope you enjoy what is to come.
Mainly, what I want this blog to be is a blog about writing. Good writing, bad writing, semi-reasonable writing, all of it. I want to talk in detail about amazing plot lines, beautiful dialogue, the things I wished I'd thought of in the past. Anything like that, I want to praise good writers from the rooftops and encourage others out there to start writing too. Being a writer is a lonely thing for most of us, I want to close that gap and start up discussions about the wonderful thing that is story telling.
Another thing I want to start here is a 'Things I Would Have Done Differently' because not all writing is infallible. For so long now, I've been sprouting nonsense about 'if I was the showrunner/author/writer I would have done it this way instead of like this' so I'm actually going to start doing that. If I think someone could have handled a story line, or a character, or anything like that, better, I will be pointing it out in a hopefully amusing way. Only time will tell if that's true, but for now, I'm hoping for amusement, if not agreement.
So currently that's the changes to this blog, to hopefully bring it to life and get some content on it, and add another facet to my youtube channel.
I hope you enjoy what is to come.
Thursday, 23 April 2015
Age Of Ultron Is A Marvel
Again, long time, no see. There hasn't really been a film or TV show I've wanted to review for a while, but right now, I have to get my feelings out about Marvel's latest Avengers film - Age Of Ultron.
I was lucky enough to go to the midnight showing of the film last night, and having only just woken up, I'm still in a state of shock. Last night there were no words to describe just how incredible the Age Of Ultron is, but today, I think I can manage some at the least. Let's start with the obvious:
THIS FILM IS THE BEST THING MARVEL HAVE EVER DONE!
I'm not even overstating this either, Age Of Ultron is a masterpiece of cinema, possibly Joss Whedon's best work (and there's a lot of amazing work to compare to). This film revolves around obviously The Avengers from the original characters, and their fight against AI robot Ultron. Ultron was created by Tony, wanting to protect the world from more Chitari and other alien attacks, so New York doesn't happen again. But Ultron goes wrong in the process, deciding that The Avengers, and the entire human race, is destroying the planet, so we must all die so robots can take over. All the while fighting of the Maximoff twins, otherwise known as Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch, before they team up together, which the help of a few others.
I won't give much else about the plot away because that would be too spoilery, but my God, this film packs a powerful punch. Plot twists coming from all manner of angles, beautifully written characters, hilarious one liners, Age Of Ultron is pure Joss Whedon with a Marvel twist. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire film, clinging to my best friend's hand for half of it, giggling for the rest.
Everything is beautifully written and executed, with an incredible plot to sink your teeth into. Ultron is an incredible mix of psychotic killer and confused child (and if you watch The Blacklist, bits of James Spader's Reddington come through, though it's not obvious unless you were watching for it) Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch made you care for them despite how they are so quickly introduced and thrown into the middle of the chaos. The Hulk and Black Widow break your heart. Hawkeye swings one hell of a plot twist (while perfectly explaining where the hell he was when SHIELD went down in Captain America 2 - The Winter Soldier). Thor bumbles through social interaction in a hilariously cute way. Tony Stark is well, Tony Stark in the perfectly sarky way he is known for. Rhodey aka War Machine (or Iron Patriot, depending on who you're talking to) and Sam aka Falcon make wonderful surprise cameos. The Vision is a beautiful addition too, one I hope to continue to see in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The entire cast twists together beautifully, almost like one big, insane family, complete with in jokes and running jokes (all I'm saying right now is watch your language) emotions and clashing heads.
There is still the fights from the original Avengers Assemble, but this film makes it all seem slicker. The tone of the entire film is darker, more complex. Gone are the days of Loki causing trouble because he wants to be a king, here comes the morals and a lot more adult themes. Yet the film manages to be funnier than the original, lightening the mood without taking away from the tone. It's a beautiful film, that will make you cry and laugh, and quite possibly scream DAMN YOU JOSS WHEDON at least twice. And all in all, I'm in love with this film, my only complaint would be that it needs to be LONGER. There's so much plot and plot twist to cram in that some things have had to be shortened, there could have easily been an extra half hour added onto this film and it would not have dragged at all. I never wanted this film to end, and because it did end, I'm going to have to see it at least three more times before it comes out on DVD, just to keep my Marvel fix going.
All in all, Marvel has done it again and made an incredible film for us to enjoy. Go and watch this film as soon as you can because it is a masterpiece of superhero cinema. If Marvel continue on this path, I cannot wait to see where they will go next!
I was lucky enough to go to the midnight showing of the film last night, and having only just woken up, I'm still in a state of shock. Last night there were no words to describe just how incredible the Age Of Ultron is, but today, I think I can manage some at the least. Let's start with the obvious:
THIS FILM IS THE BEST THING MARVEL HAVE EVER DONE!
I'm not even overstating this either, Age Of Ultron is a masterpiece of cinema, possibly Joss Whedon's best work (and there's a lot of amazing work to compare to). This film revolves around obviously The Avengers from the original characters, and their fight against AI robot Ultron. Ultron was created by Tony, wanting to protect the world from more Chitari and other alien attacks, so New York doesn't happen again. But Ultron goes wrong in the process, deciding that The Avengers, and the entire human race, is destroying the planet, so we must all die so robots can take over. All the while fighting of the Maximoff twins, otherwise known as Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch, before they team up together, which the help of a few others.
I won't give much else about the plot away because that would be too spoilery, but my God, this film packs a powerful punch. Plot twists coming from all manner of angles, beautifully written characters, hilarious one liners, Age Of Ultron is pure Joss Whedon with a Marvel twist. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire film, clinging to my best friend's hand for half of it, giggling for the rest.
Everything is beautifully written and executed, with an incredible plot to sink your teeth into. Ultron is an incredible mix of psychotic killer and confused child (and if you watch The Blacklist, bits of James Spader's Reddington come through, though it's not obvious unless you were watching for it) Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch made you care for them despite how they are so quickly introduced and thrown into the middle of the chaos. The Hulk and Black Widow break your heart. Hawkeye swings one hell of a plot twist (while perfectly explaining where the hell he was when SHIELD went down in Captain America 2 - The Winter Soldier). Thor bumbles through social interaction in a hilariously cute way. Tony Stark is well, Tony Stark in the perfectly sarky way he is known for. Rhodey aka War Machine (or Iron Patriot, depending on who you're talking to) and Sam aka Falcon make wonderful surprise cameos. The Vision is a beautiful addition too, one I hope to continue to see in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The entire cast twists together beautifully, almost like one big, insane family, complete with in jokes and running jokes (all I'm saying right now is watch your language) emotions and clashing heads.
There is still the fights from the original Avengers Assemble, but this film makes it all seem slicker. The tone of the entire film is darker, more complex. Gone are the days of Loki causing trouble because he wants to be a king, here comes the morals and a lot more adult themes. Yet the film manages to be funnier than the original, lightening the mood without taking away from the tone. It's a beautiful film, that will make you cry and laugh, and quite possibly scream DAMN YOU JOSS WHEDON at least twice. And all in all, I'm in love with this film, my only complaint would be that it needs to be LONGER. There's so much plot and plot twist to cram in that some things have had to be shortened, there could have easily been an extra half hour added onto this film and it would not have dragged at all. I never wanted this film to end, and because it did end, I'm going to have to see it at least three more times before it comes out on DVD, just to keep my Marvel fix going.
All in all, Marvel has done it again and made an incredible film for us to enjoy. Go and watch this film as soon as you can because it is a masterpiece of superhero cinema. If Marvel continue on this path, I cannot wait to see where they will go next!
Wednesday, 29 October 2014
In Which I Turn Fangirl... Again.
Hello, again, long time no see. Sorry about that, uni life has gotten in the way of, well, everything. For a good cause, obviously, but still.
Anyway, onto the reviewing of McBusted - TOURPLAY.
Now, I'm an absolutely massive McBusted fan, been a huge fan of both McFly and Busted for over six years, and was ecstatic when they announced that they were forming a supergroup as McBusted. So, I obviously went to their tour, hearing songs I'd never hear live, such as Crashed The Wedding and Year 3000, nearly crying with happiness over the entire situation. I was gutted that I didn't get to go to Hyde Park, but was glad I saw them at the O2 Arena. Which I thought would be the end of my McBusted experience.
But then they announced TOURPLAY, and it was another mad dash to get tickets due to the high demand, and I got tickets, then counted down the days until I could go and see the film. It did not disappoint.
The film documents the McBusted boys preparing for their tour, and includes clips of them singing songs from said tour, and Hyde Park, with interviews with each band member, talking about their thoughts and feelings of the whole phenomenon surrounding the supergroup.
To not spoil anything, there are funny moments (all I'm saying is carrots), parts where you want to dance around in your seat to the concert clips (Thunderbirds Are Go and Star Girl comes to mind) moments where you want to cry (good tears, good, proud tears). In short, it's an emotional ride for any fan of either McBusted.
There's so much controversy around this band currently, with McFly fans worrying about McFly's future as McFly, despite how they've repeatedly said that McFly will be back. But to me, after they've seen TOURPLAY, they'll see how much this means to them all, how happy this supergroup makes them, Matt and James. They're having so much fun and achieving the most incredibly things with McBusted, and are so happy doing it, that it's clearly the most fun any of them have had in years. TOURPLAY would convert anybody to being a fan of the supergroup, just seeing the smiles and laughter the six band members are sharing together because of everything they get to do because of this.
As James Bourne says, McBusted is a huge monster, and monsters die eventually, so you just have to keep on riding it until it does, and make the most of it while you can. And that is exactly what McBusted are doing, and having the most amazing time while they're at it. Nobody should ever doubt that about them. They're still the same down to earth, talented musicians as always, they're just riding the most incredible wave of success they've ever had.
I say, good luck to them, and that everybody should watch TOURPLAY, fan or not or any of the bands involved. If this film proves anything, it's that no matter how badly your dream goes, you can get right back onto it and have the biggest amount of success with it too. Something I can support with all my heart.
Thank you McFly, Busted, McBusted, and everyone involved in the film, it was a brilliant, brilliant film. I loved every single second of it, and hope it comes out on DVD so I can watch over and over... And search for myself in the crowd shots of the O2.
Anyway, onto the reviewing of McBusted - TOURPLAY.
Now, I'm an absolutely massive McBusted fan, been a huge fan of both McFly and Busted for over six years, and was ecstatic when they announced that they were forming a supergroup as McBusted. So, I obviously went to their tour, hearing songs I'd never hear live, such as Crashed The Wedding and Year 3000, nearly crying with happiness over the entire situation. I was gutted that I didn't get to go to Hyde Park, but was glad I saw them at the O2 Arena. Which I thought would be the end of my McBusted experience.
But then they announced TOURPLAY, and it was another mad dash to get tickets due to the high demand, and I got tickets, then counted down the days until I could go and see the film. It did not disappoint.
The film documents the McBusted boys preparing for their tour, and includes clips of them singing songs from said tour, and Hyde Park, with interviews with each band member, talking about their thoughts and feelings of the whole phenomenon surrounding the supergroup.
To not spoil anything, there are funny moments (all I'm saying is carrots), parts where you want to dance around in your seat to the concert clips (Thunderbirds Are Go and Star Girl comes to mind) moments where you want to cry (good tears, good, proud tears). In short, it's an emotional ride for any fan of either McBusted.
There's so much controversy around this band currently, with McFly fans worrying about McFly's future as McFly, despite how they've repeatedly said that McFly will be back. But to me, after they've seen TOURPLAY, they'll see how much this means to them all, how happy this supergroup makes them, Matt and James. They're having so much fun and achieving the most incredibly things with McBusted, and are so happy doing it, that it's clearly the most fun any of them have had in years. TOURPLAY would convert anybody to being a fan of the supergroup, just seeing the smiles and laughter the six band members are sharing together because of everything they get to do because of this.
As James Bourne says, McBusted is a huge monster, and monsters die eventually, so you just have to keep on riding it until it does, and make the most of it while you can. And that is exactly what McBusted are doing, and having the most amazing time while they're at it. Nobody should ever doubt that about them. They're still the same down to earth, talented musicians as always, they're just riding the most incredible wave of success they've ever had.
I say, good luck to them, and that everybody should watch TOURPLAY, fan or not or any of the bands involved. If this film proves anything, it's that no matter how badly your dream goes, you can get right back onto it and have the biggest amount of success with it too. Something I can support with all my heart.
Thank you McFly, Busted, McBusted, and everyone involved in the film, it was a brilliant, brilliant film. I loved every single second of it, and hope it comes out on DVD so I can watch over and over... And search for myself in the crowd shots of the O2.
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