Hello everyone!

Well, its a New Year now and I hope that you enjoyed the celebrations, whatever you did, whether partying hard or having a quiet night in, or anything in between.

I also hope that everyone enjoyed their holidays too, I realise that I haven't done that yet. So, happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Yule and every other Winter celebration that I may have forgotten, I hope you all enjoyed your festivities.

I had a quiet New Year, having seen my dad earlier in the day and Christmas was quiet, having seen both my parents separately, but the main treat was the Yule dinner I had a week or so before hand. Much pork pie and many sandwiches and beers were had with friends in a Real Ale pub that is moderately famous in the city that I live in.

Now lets turn to what I intent to do this coming year.

I think in my previous post - almost three weeks ago - I was worried that I was loosing a writing spark. I was feeling very bogged down by a number of things and I was having trouble shaking it all off. I think there were a few factors in that, and I think now that a few festivities and familial pressures have been relieved, things should lighten up. Several anxieties - of which I do find troublesome and struggle sometimes - have been relieved a bit.

I feel a lot fresher now. I still have the Anglo-Saxon studies in the back of my mind for certain projects, but they aren't important now, as they once were.

I'm still to finish the fantasy novella starring an elf barbarian, a wizard and fomori. That I should hopefully start working on again soon.

In the meantime, I've started making copious notes on the Anglos-Scottish border history, particularly the Border Reivers. It really is a fascinating period of history, stretching from the Norman Conquest until the end of the Elizabethan period.

For this period, A book by George MacDonald Fraser of Flashman fame wrote a book called the Steel Bonnets, and a novel based in the period called Candlemas Road. So check those out if you'd like to learn about a version of the american Wild West that England and Scotland engaged in in the Medieval period. I keep wanting to nickname the period The Nasty North.

The Candlemass Road,
George MacDonald Fraser

The Steel Bonnets,
George MacDonald Fraser

They will be key for some fantasy stories I plan on writing, of which I'll start writing soon, just give me a week or two.

One thing I would really like to work on is my daily word count. I'd like to boost the average by a fair amount. Its almost a New Year's Resolution to improve that. So if anyone has any tips about how to do that, I'd really appreciate it.

Anyway, I think I've broken the malaise that I've been suffering from.

Over the next few days, I would also like to upload a review of a book I've recently finished. I think I mentioned it in the previous blog post, but anyway, in the previous couple of weeks, I managed to rattle through it at break neck speed. Its a book called Magick, by Judith Sonnet and I found it a very easy read. I'll tell you more about that in the review.

Magick,
Judith Sonnet

On a wargaming front, I haven't done much. I had been painting models quite a lot, but since the weather has changed, I've not managed to do much painting because it's been too cold.

I hope to rectify that soon.

It's one of the few things stopping some other plans. A friend and I are still planning on starting up a wargaming YouTube channel and having the models painted up would be great.

Otherwise, I have ordered another Bloodbowl team to go with my female dwarf team. They are some elves that I got from a third party company. A friend is soon to get my human team, so there should be a fair few games of Bloodbowl on the cards. I'll show that off once I receive it in the post and will post progress.

Female Dwarf Blood Bowl team

Also, The woods is a game that I still intend to play lots of. And I still need to finish off a few warbands for that. Its an absolutely delightful game and I think that a few videos of game play need to be up on YouTube. So I need to get that done.

I also recently found out that there had been a Border Reivers wargame. There'd been a kickstarter for it that I'd missed, only finding out about it when some folks were doing their unboxings of what they'd received. i'm still waiting for it's general release.

I'm still eyeing up getting into Baron's War by Footsore. They have some lovely models and I'm spoiled for choice before starting off. On one hand, I want the Welsh, or the Arthurian Britons, or the Early Saxons, or the Late Saxons. It's a shame I haven't got a lot more money to invest in it.

Barons' War, Footsore Miniatures

Welsh for Footsore's Barons' War

Saxons by Footsore Miniatures
for Barons' War

Lady Guinevere
Footsore Miniatures

Arthurian Briton Cavalry
by Footsore Miniatures

Also, I've still the urge - perhaps an unwise one - to get back into Warhammer 40K. I'm unsure if its a good idea or not. I've always liked the Imperial Guard, to the point that I refuse to call them by their new name. They were always my old army of choose since I first got into them twenty five years ago. But collecting them again is going to be financially ruinous, so I was thinking of the Eldar. Their starter boxes seem like a great entry point. The only real other problem is that, to put it politely, I'm really not sure about the company itself and also, some of the player base seem on the rather toxic side. But the space elves are so pretty!

Eldar Combat Patrol Boxset, Warhammer 40k,
Games Workshop,

In the mean time, I still have a couple of Warhammer Fantasy armies to finish off. I've barely even started them to be honest, but getting into Warhammer Fantasy seems a good option. I've most of an Empire army I got for playing 6th edition, which I hear is one of the more balanced editions and as a game, is perhaps one of the best editions.

I've also got the bulk of an Undead army and a Chaos army that I intend to play either forth or fifth edition with. Again, I need to complete painting them.

So that's it for this post. I've a lot to work on as of now and I hope to make this coming year a good one.

I wish you all a good, happy and prosperous year and that the ups outweigh the downs by far.

 Hello everyone!

Yes, its been a bit of a slow writing week so far. I think I even missed one of these blog posts last week.

There are a couple of reasons for that, well... one big one. That has been to do with perhaps still having the bad stomach from a couple of weeks ago, and also, for quite a while, I've been trying to organise seeing a doctor for several ailments that have developed since I last saw a doctor in 2018.

Its been a long, convoluted journey that's taken two months so far and I've still not actually seen one. In fact, I've not even managed to speak to one yet.

On the other hand, I have been booked into have blood tests, which have taken more than a fortnight to organise from the appointment's request to actually having it. That has been a bit of an adventure in itself.  I'm due to have that on Wednesday.

Its taken so long because of restrictions due to the 'good old plague' that we've been going through. I can understand, but it just feels like it takes so very long to get stuff done.

So far, that whole thing just feels like its bogged me down quite a lot and I haven't managed to get much done in the way of writing at all.

On other news, after some more of a kerfuffle because Hermes was being Hermes and being particularly difficult, I managed to get my Blood Bowl box set through the post, or rather, I had to claim a refund and order a replacement copy. I wonder if the couriers are still withholding the old box from the seller? wretched couriers.

Blood Bowl Second Season Boxset

I'm enjoying reading the rules and there's a fairly big dose of nostalgia about it from my childhood and also, I've a couple of friends interested in the teams, while I play with the dwarves from previous posts. There are even talks about starting a wargaming YouTube channel eventually. I'm not sure when. There are other things to consider.

But onto writing, I have been still planning a few stories. There are two short stories and a novella that I've be concentrating on to get down in first draft form. They'll be the Gwaeloch Irisgarth fantasy stories, like the others and once they are done, I'll work my way through editing the short stories and novellas and get them out there.

I'd been asked about my intentions with them - by someone who seems particularly forgetful - but they do seem genuinely curious, if quite irritating. They were also asking about covers, which is something that shouldn't be though about just yet.

Anyway, I'm hoping that once the blood tests are done with, things with the doctor should feel like they're progressing and I can soon start fully concentrating on things again.

Al the best to each and every one of you. Farewell.

 Hello everyone!

Well, there is a little to tell for this last week, but not too much.

That illness persisted for a while. I still have it in some regards, but I'm feeling a lot better. Darn stomach bugs... Yes, I'd really not felt right with that, and still don't feel a hundred per cent. And this was while I was waiting on the doctor to call too. They still haven't, but hat's to help sort out a few other ailments instead. Things should progress soon. I'm to go get my blood tested at some point soon. More on that another day. I know the health service is over stretched, but I'm getting a bit tetchy about a few things now.

But with writing, not much has happened. There's been a fair amount of planning going on. I've been bitting and bobbing with a new novella and a short story plan, but that stomach complaint has got in the way quite a bit.

One thing I have managed to do is to work out a better magick system, to actually formalise parts of it and come up with the ten disciplines, to at least be used in relation to the professors at the Magickal College. I'd sort of pantsed it in regards to the magick in the three stories I've got first drafts for already. Now I have a proper reference sheet for it. I want to get some background/character sheets done for the heads of those disciplines at the Magickal College soon, then I'll feel comfortable with it.

Anyway, soon I should be able to get my head around another fantasy short story and another fantasy novella. Which is nice.

But other than that, I've also been waiting on a box set of Blood Bowl. It should have already arrived, but I'm still awaiting its arrival. Sigh. I'm sort of getting into that a fair amount and am quite excited for it to actually arrive. I have a Dwarf Blood Bowl team and part of a Norsca Blood Bowl team already. I just need to learn how to play.

Blood Bowl Second Series

Anyway, farewell everybody!

 Hello everyone!

Well, that was a good writing week. I'm really quite pleased with progress so far. To be honest, I had planned on making a post on Monday, but to be honest, I'd lost track of time. So, here we go.

I still feel a bit awkward about how life had got in the way before with writing and to be honest, I'm not really sure how to think about it, it still feels a bit of a weird two or three weeks having to divert my attention so whole-heartedly.

But needless to say, I'm back writing and have managed to dedicate much of every day over the last nine days to writing, though I did have to start the novella over again, which is a shame.

Looking back, I wasn't too happy about the way that the original draft was going, so starting again was probably for the best. The previous draft had taken three weeks to get half way through - about ten thousand words - and though its looking to be a shorter story than expected, not by much but after nine days, I'm at the same word count and I think the first draft could total around seventeen thousand words.

I seem to be averaging about one thousand one hundred words a day. Its not much, but its manageable for me. I think I could have the rest of the story finished by next Tuesday. Its the day after I normally do a blog post, but I may hold off on the next post until then so that I can fully update folks on things and plans. I think I know what I'll be doing next, but I'll wait until then to write about it.

Anyway, you may be asking what this novella is about. Well, in short, its about an elf barbarian called Gwaeloch Irisgarth who gets employed by a wizard apprentice called Yasmina Bruhns - who is actually based on a friend who gave me permission to do so - to help find her mistress, a fully qualified wizard who lives deep in an ancient forest that covers a vast area. They think the wizard had gone after something called the Royal Star, and on the way, they get involved with evil satyrs and also find a ruined elven city, dead for centuries, filled with the undead. And things culminate there.

Its a story that I've been trying to get my head around for a few months and its been a bit difficult. I've not really been used to writing something so long and its been hard planning to get the level of content suitable for a story two or three times the length of what I'm used to. To be honest, its wound me up quite a lot on occasion and I had originally planned to have this ready for publication with another novella by Christmas and that hasn't happened. Its sort of something that's really got to me, even if I don't always like to admit it.

Its one of those things, sometimes and for some reasons that I'm not sure I fully understand, I sometimes have great anxiety over projects. I think it stems from a time when I was basically anorexic and a workoholic and had to give up writing for a while to recover. I even ended up in hospital a couple of times with a suspected heart attack.

I think some of my anxiety around trying to get fully back into writing is down to that. If anyone has any tips to help, that would be great as I do feel that I still pressurize myself with it a lot and I want to get passed that. I keep remembering the days where I used to be able to do seventeen thousand words a day - a word count I've only heard of Michael Moorcock rivalling when he was on cocaine.

I realise that's not practical in the slightest, but improving my daily word count would be great too. I'd sort of like to average about four to five thousand words a day, but at best, I manage half that and it sort of feels a bit disappointing. Anyway, if anyone has any times about that too - improving word count, please let me know.

Anyway, that's enough from me. To be honest, I can't really think of anything else that's particularly bloggable at this time, other than me ordering an all female dwarf Blood Bowl team, but that's still to arrive. I still want to get the main box set to learn the game. I miss it. I may even do a write up of some games or some videos or something once that's sorted.

All Female Dwarf Blood Bowl Team

With that all out of the way and with part of that getting a lot deeper than I thought it would, I just want to wish everyone good health and prosperity.

Bye bye everyone!