The End

I get excited about writing "The End". Usually it's because I've reached the end of my 72,000 words and the draft is finished. A very huge moment in the life of a manuscript.

In this case, though, the end is about finishing my study. I'm sticking my head up after staggering through the peak essay and exam period at the end of semester. A rather horrid time to go through, with lots of 'you must have been nuts to do this', but once it's over there's a tremendous sense of satisfaction (until the results come in, lol).

I haven't completely finished. There's still a practical assessment (over 1 day) to go. But with nothing to do beforehand, or to take away after that day, it is, for all intents and purposes, done and dusted.

Of course, everything else in my life was left in a great big pile of 'to do' lists which I am now slowly but surely making my way through. With luck, by Friday I'll have caught up and the 'to do' lists will be back to normal length.

Unconventional Writing Craft

I've enrolled in a year of tertiary study to help my writing. Not unusual, but I'm not doing a traditional "writing 101" type course. Uhuh. Not me. I'm going to be studying biometrics.

This course will provide practical training in biometric recognition. Biometrics are biological or behavioural characteristics that can be used for identification or verification purposes.

As in most cozy mysteries my protaganist has a connection with someone 'in the know' from whom she can weasel out extra information. In the case of my story, that person is a CSI. So I want to make sure I know what I am writing about.

During this course I'll learn things like face, fingerprint, iris and voice biometric technologies, court procedures and forensic digital imaging.

I can't wait to start.

Have you ever done anything to help make your writing more realistic? 

Back to Writing

This year I had to return to study. If I'd had the choice I wouldn't have, but unfortunately it was necessary to keep my job. It has been a challenge trying to juggle work, home life, writing and study - something had to give and unfortunately it was writing.

I didn't stop writing, but it slowed to a crawl. I've been plotting. In fact I tried out a few different storylines until I found the one that felt *right* for me at the moment. I haven't started writing, but that is about to change as I have just submitted my last assessment item.

It is going to be a challenge getting my head back into non-technical mode. Hopefully it won't take long. I am so very much looking forward to writing again. To try and make up for the delay in starting my new ms I am aiming for between 5k and 6k per week. We'll see. The progress bar on the side of my blog will let you know how I go.

Brain Meltdown

This year I have had to go back to uni. Not because I have any deep-seated need to study, but because if I want to keep my job I have to do this.

I'm finding it very difficult to write my assignments. Not the word count. Those piddly little numbers, eg 2000 words, are but a blink now I'm used to writing 50-70 thousand words. It's the writing style.

I'd forgotten what it was like when I started writing seriously and had to switch off my scientific brain and switch on my creative one. I think that was much easier to do than switching the other way. Possibly because I am still *trying* to keep my creative writing flowing all the while trying to write academic reports. Talk about brain meltdown.

The father of the brain dominance field is Ned Herrmann. In essence his work showed the left brain controls analytical and sequential thinking and the right brain controls interpersonal and imaginative. So to effectively write my univeristy assignments I need to activate my left brain - all the while keeping my right brain functioning for my creative writing.

My brain is at war with itself and I'm not sure what the outcome will be.