This was the strangest book. It started out repetitive but kept my attention, then the pace increased so much I hated having to put the book down. Then…at a major turning point (I won’t say a word) it flipped into repetition again.

It was a really good book. I read all 700 odd pages, so that accounts for something but after that major turning point I spoke of a second ago, there were elements that really, really flattened me. And I don’t mean this in a good way. The author picked the reader up and took them along but then she went too far. Instead of stopping, and letting the reader marvel in what a great author she is, she kept going and going and going and spoiled it. I was disappointed.

The ending was meant to have a reason and everything, and I didn’t miss what it was or anything, I just thought she killed her own book. I learned a lesson here, when a story is over – it’s OVER!!!

Finished! Chapter 3 changed a fair bit in the end. Things were deleted, new things were added and I continued to make Nikki a stronger person all round. The key points for the chapter have all been addressed and it’s time to move on to the next chapter.

However, I have another project that I must take time out to work on before that happens – my collaboration novel. I have the new chapters and I’ve already printed them out, so… I just have to read them then write my chapters. Easy! More on this over the next few days.

Today’s wordcount = 1729

Wordcount to date = 10,209

Work continues on chapter 3. My main character is growing a bit of an attitude, which makes for a nice change to her original crying. My main male character is finding Nikki’s presence a pain…and I mean that literally!

So, yes, they have started off on the wrong foot and now Nikki is bugging him because she asks too many questions. She’ll get her answers though, one way or another – most of them anyway.

Today’s wordcount = 1166

Chapter 3’s total wordcount to date = 3132

The thinking of the Ancient Egyptian people was not logical and rational, but image-symbolic. The magical principle applied that all powerful and great things are portrayed in small, apparently invisible things. On this basis, for example, the scarab was a symbol of the rising sun, and the sky could be represented as a cow. Because large things are portrayed in small things, one could influence the important processes in the world of the gods and the otherworld through symbolic ceremonies and portrayals. An inherent power, a kind of being or soul, is attributed to the symbols.

But what of colours. They also had symbolic importance:

With the word “colour”, the essence of an object or creature is described at the same time. The colouring always related to characteristics of the persons represented. In classical Egyptian art, male bodies were painted in strong brown colours, while women received a lighter, yellowish shade of colour. Men received an orange colour only when age and failty were to be represented.

Black represented a kind of opposite to white, embodying the underworld. A black pelt was also given to the Anubis, the god of death. The colour was a symbol of the original ground to which all life must return in order to be reborn from it. On this basis, pictures of the fertility goddess Min were mostly painted with black colours, as a sign of rebirth.

In ancient Egypt, red had a dual meaning. On the one hand, this colour was valued for its stimulating, life-affirming radiation; on the other, it was associated with blood and rage, which was reminiscent of the ceremonies of sacrifice and death. Since the god Set had red hair and eyes, the colour red came to express danger as this god was increasingly moved into the camp of the Evil One.

Green stand for “good”, in general. The colour of vegetation and emerging new life promosed protection and happiness. The green-skinned Osiris was also worshipped as the “green green one”, a symbol of rebirth.

Blue indicated the divine aspect of being. The original god Amun was given the skin colour blue as an expression of the endless cosmos. The other gods wore wigs and beards of blue as an indication of their divine origin.

When combined, blue and green were considered a symbol of maturity. This is also the double crown, which was composed of the white crown (it actually consisted of a green reed) of Upper Egypt and the red crown of Lower Egypt, was seen as a sign of union and completeness.

After multiply replies to my questions on the judo forum, I went back to that scene in chapter 2 that needed work and made the necessary changes.

Already my main character is looking more gutsy! She didn’t escape but she made her presence known.

I didn’t do any work on chapter 3 tonight. It’s nearing the end of the week and I’m feeling tired tonight. Bad excuse, I know, but that’s the way it is.

Today’s wordcount: Not worth mentioning.

Chapter 2’s revised wordcount: 3672

During 2004 I organised a project for the members of my message board and we wrote fantasy and science fiction stories with the intent on trying to get them published.

There were 24 participants to start with, but by the end of the project we had 11 people still struggling to produce the best story they could. The ten finalists came in with fabulous stories and, before Christmas, I posted them to a publisher in Canberra – Ginninderra Press.

Today, I received a reply. It wasn’t a rejection but it wasn’t the acceptance we had planned either. The publisher wants to publish the stories but he’ll only do so if we pay for the printing costs. He insists this is NOT vanity printing, and ensures us that the authors will receive 12.5% royalties and will also be paid extra until the publishing costs are reimbursed.

Decision time. What are we going to do?

My original plan was to get as many writers as possible publishered – by this I mean they are paid for their story and have it in print – and this doesn’t quite fit that scenario. However, could this be the beginning of something great for us? This might be the opportunity to get our name out there? But will it be? Who will be doing the marketing?

I don’t know. My instinct is that if I have to pay money out, then I’m not really being published. Yet, there are successful authors out there who started with vanity press (which this is not – or, so I’m told). Oh, it’s confusing. I wish I could look into a crystal ball and know what to expect in the future.

There are ten authors, so hopefully someone will say something that will ring true with me and help me make the decision and feel comfortable with it, but at the moment, I’m swaying towards “no”.

Now I’m getting into the guts of the story and I find my pace has slowed down. That’s OK, I expected this to happen. I have a way to go before I’ve finished Chapter 3 (and several points yet to cover) but it’s shaping up alright. My character will be asking lots of questions now that she’s over the initial shock of finding herself in a fantasy world.

Also, I’ve been doing research for that scene at the end of chapter 2 but haven’t been able to find the answer by myself. So…I’ve joined a judo forum and have left a post (explaining that it’s research for a novel) and hopefully someone will be able to point me in the right direction.

Today’s wordcount: 1966

This page – Judo Terms – is part of a link I left a few days ago, but I might want to find this link in a hurry, so I’ll put it here. It might be useful.

You may have noticed in the right hand column that I’m currently reading Passage by Connie Willis.

It’s a thick book, over 700 pages, and it’s hard to put into words my thoughts on how this book started. The first 300 pages was a series of events that repeated themselves over and over again. Now, normally I would have given up on a book that did this because I find it boring but there’s no way I can say this book is boring. I kept reading because it grabbed my interest. I won’t give reasons why because that would spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read the book yet, but there are definite reasons for why I continued to read on.

Then…I remember saying to myself that I was beginning to grow tired of the repetition and if nothing happens … and soon … then I’d have to give up. The next chapter changed roads, and there’s no way I could put the book down after that. No way!

Each chapter drew me further into the web. Each chapter ended at a crucial part of the story, making me turn the page and continue to read. When I did put the book down, I couldn’t stop thinking about where I was up to and what might happen next. This book has me captivated 100%.

I’m currently around page 580. Last night I thought I’d read a chapter before going to bed but I couldn’t stop, and then something happened that caught me completely off guard and to put the book down after that was unthinkable. It was almost 2am when I *had* to put the book down and go to sleep – or risk having a migraine today. I couldn’t sleep because the images wouldn’t leave me alone. This morning, I got up early and continued reading.

This is truly a remarkable book and as an author I would be proud to have my own writing affect a person to the degree Passage has affected me. There are still quite a few pages to go before I reach the end and I have no idea where it’s going to end up but I’m going to enjoy the journey – I know that for a fact.

If you haven’t read the book…do so! The subject matter is morbid – near death experiences – but the storyline and characters are fantastic. Connie Willis must be a great writer because of the two books I’ve read by her, both have had me wanting more.

Chapter 2 was also an easy chapter to edit. This is good because it means I’ve got something done and that will inspire me on. This second chapter is basically setting up my fantasy world and introducing the characters.

There is one section that I need to redo, but I have to look up my Judo research and find something that will be impressive but won’t allow my main character to win. Should be interesting, and I’ll do that tomorrow. (It’s Australia Day, so I’ve got the day off work.)

Today’s wordcount: 3554