tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:41:03 +0000http://cgallan.blogspot.com/b_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))Blogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-7566963643210762799Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:32:00 +00002009-11-12T14:28:27.342Zabout writingday jobson other writerswriting and the WebmusicmemoriesfilmhistoryNew Stories# “But, Sean, don't get callous, I'm sure it'll be fine. I love you, I love you, Oh, brother of mine…” # - Fleet Foxes“When I was sick and lay a-bed,I had two pillows at my head,And all my toys beside me lay,To keep me happy all the day.”“And sometimes for an hour or soI watched my leaden soldiers go,With different uniforms and drills,Among the bed-clothes, through the hills.” “And sometimes senthttp://cgallan.blogspot.com/2009/10/in-search-of-counter-pain.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-3364896010432021159Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:45:00 +00002009-11-03T18:09:03.410Zabout writinggetting publishedon other writerswriting and the Web"Moon Crater" (debut novel)New Stories# “But, oh, my God, if I was somebody I’d be doing it all just fine, but I’m a real late starter so I’m making up for lost time…” # - Nerina PallotWell, the moment’s arrived for me, at long last (10 years to be exact!) and I’ve come to the oft mythical place I’ve seen in my head where I’d be in a position to send off a sample of the completed manuscript for my first novel to the potential http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2009/09/on-road-to-publishville-3-literary.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-8710050774928526768Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:54:00 +00002009-10-29T17:29:14.509Zabout writingwriting and the Websci-fi"Moon Crater" (debut novel)# "And you can't talk about it, and isn't that a kind of madness to be living by a code of silence when you've really got a lot to say?" # - Billy JoelIt’s been a little while since I last announced and launched another of The Zip Code challenges connected to my my "Moon Crater"TM novel and it’s sort of been tied up with me having to become more web-wise this year.. As regular readers will know,http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2009/08/zip-code-challenge-3-finally-arrives.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-4611740530808421094Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:54:00 +00002009-10-15T08:41:06.693+01:00"Moon Crater Adventures"memoriesfilmsci-fihistory"Moon Crater" (debut novel)New Stories# “We only stay in orbit for a moment of time, and then you’re everybody’s satellite… I wish that you were mine, I wish that you were mine… # - Counting CrowsReading my posts on here and looking across at my Official Website you could get the impression that I’m a bit obsessed with the Moon (in more ways than one!) Well, I won’t deny it – ever since I was old enough to go for a stroll with my dadhttp://cgallan.blogspot.com/2009/07/many-more-moon-musings.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-6697339516016919067Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:47:00 +00002009-10-02T18:04:44.789+01:00about writingtravelmusicmemorieshistory# "He's going the distance, he's going for speed... He's racing and pacing and plotting the course... He's going the distance..." - CakeWay back in October 2008 I blogged about how my wife and I were running the Great North Run and I mentioned at the end of that feature post how next I’d like to try that other “great north” running event, The Blaydon Race…Well, I’m saving this post on the actual http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2009/06/yshoulda-seen-uz-gannin.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-5043708382770602336Mon, 01 Jun 2009 09:33:00 +00002009-11-08T17:54:17.491Zabout writinggetting publishedwriting and the Web"Moon Crater Adventures"memoriessci-fihistory"Moon Crater" (debut novel)New Stories# "I don't wanna feel so different, but I don't wanna be insignificant, and I don't know how to see the same things different now..." # - Counting CrowsThere's a great line in a classic Laurel & Hardy two-reeler short film called The Fixer Uppers that goes "Merry Christmas, Momma... Happy Birthday Ma... Hey-nonny-nonny and a ho-cha-cha!" and sitting down to write this post that line is whirling http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2009/06/story-so-far-three-reel-epic-and-still.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-739992057852009491Tue, 26 May 2009 09:57:00 +00002009-10-29T17:59:22.966Zabout writinggetting publishedday jobswriting and the Web"Moon Crater Adventures""Moon Crater" (debut novel)New Stories# “(S)He's writing, (s)he's writing, (s)he's writing a novel. (S)He's writing, (s)he's weaving, conceiving a plot...” # - CakeSo! Your masterpiece is finished and lying in a conveniently unmissable place, either printed out on paper to encourage you and convince you that you really are a writer or instead sits quietly waiting, but nevertheless complete, on your PC hard drive… You’ve read it and http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2009/05/on-road-to-publishville-2-synopsis.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-5011496538377290895Thu, 21 May 2009 10:39:00 +00002009-06-02T08:53:45.316+01:00about writingon other writersmusicmemories# "I dreamt I saw you walking up a hillside in the snow, casting shadows on the winter sky as you stood there counting crows..." - Adam Duritz This month sees the return to my hometown of “my favourite band, Counting Crows”… - I haven't seen them play live for about six years and it's sure to be a brilliant gig... (reviews of the Newcastle, UK show are likely to appear here by the end of May)I'vehttp://cgallan.blogspot.com/2009/05/seven-for-secret-never-to-be-told.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-8340491889187229987Fri, 15 May 2009 09:33:00 +00002009-05-27T15:12:49.708+01:00about writingday jobson other writersfilmFan Fictionsci-fi# "What if I lost my direction? What if I lost sense of time? ... It feels just like I'm falling for the first time" # - Barenaked LadiesI’m afraid this post begins with a bit of a “Warning” (perhaps even a ‘red alert’?) because I’ve got a feeling that even before I begin to type it, it’s going to be one full of question marks and exclamation points… (and sometimes both at once!)It was just over http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2009/05/conning-continuity.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-1686410183392152104Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:14:00 +00002009-05-11T18:06:52.197+01:00about writingtravel"Moon Crater Adventures"memories# "I got pictures of what's in my head... They took 'em in Tokyo, and I brought 'em back with me..." # - Ben Folds"..Kansai Gaidai is the next stop!" If you’ve ever been to Osaka, Japan, and travelled out near Hirakata City, chances are you may have heard this phrase being uttered over a bus Tannoy, in English, among a lot of Japanese that just isn’t decipherable if you don't speak the native http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2009/04/next-stop-is-kansai-gaidai.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-4744020143025191293Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:03:00 +00002009-06-05T10:20:49.371+01:00about writinggetting publishedwriting and the Web"Moon Crater Adventures""Moon Crater" (debut novel)New Stories# "Today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten" # - Natasha BedingfieldI've just returned from a brilliant fortnight's holiday in country far, far away (more on that in my next post here!) and the break from my life in the UK has really helped to fire me up to do a writing "stock take" in order to re-focus my writing in general as well as my "Moon Crater" novel in particular... (http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2009/04/on-road-to-publishville-1-writing.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-2060897408135913209Tue, 17 Mar 2009 20:41:00 +00002009-03-26T17:41:22.232Zabout writingon other writersfilmhistoryNew Stories# "We are the Custard Pie Appreciation Consortium, God save the George Cross and all those who were awarded them!" # - Kate RusbyAs I continue my journey into the world of writing, I'm finding that the most inspiring things for my scribbles are ones that I just "happen upon", without actually seeking them out... and when I do come across them, I know for definite that they're worth making note ofhttp://cgallan.blogspot.com/2009/03/history-in-making.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-9045590744172710970Mon, 02 Mar 2009 07:40:00 +00002009-03-02T17:12:39.870Zwriting and the Web"Moon Crater" (debut novel)# "I must give the impression that I have the answers for everything..." # Ben FoldsI'd hoped over the last few weeks to bring you some news about how my story entry in the Invisible Ink 2 anthology turned out, but as I'm finding increasinly happens in the literary world, the cogs of the industry move frustratingly slow and I haven't heard a whisker about the results yet (I'm hoping no news is http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2009/03/2nd-zip-code-challenge-is-now-live.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-1654284013715252668Tue, 03 Feb 2009 12:10:00 +00002009-02-12T13:47:07.052Zabout writingwriting and the Webmemorieshistory"Moon Crater" (debut novel)# "This dizzy life of mine keeps hanging me up all the time..." # - Counting CrowsI'm beginning the writing of this post with mixed emotions because I'm excited to bring you the results of 2008's 3rd Moon Crater Fiction Decisions Poll but at the same time it's a melancholy event because this is the last time readers will be able to make an impact on my "Moon Crater" novel since it's the FINAL http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2009/02/results-of-3rd-and-final-moon-crater.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-2665493821703192422Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:14:00 +00002009-01-28T16:46:10.132Zday jobson other writerstravelmemoriesFan Fictionfilmsci-fi"Moon Crater" (debut novel)about writingwriting and the WebmusichistoryNew Stories# “Let's keep it together… Can we keep it together? We're singing a new song now and everything starts today” # - GusterIt's time for that annual event I like to call my "stepping back to go forward" with a review of the past year and a preview of the upcoming one... (you can check out the previous two "year round-ups" from me by clicking here for 2006/2007 and clicking here for 2007/2008. This http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2009/01/time-for-end-to-begin-2008-review-and.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-7970314267249051319Mon, 29 Dec 2008 12:55:00 +00002009-01-09T11:04:30.257Zabout writingon other writersmemorieshistory"Moon Crater" (debut novel)# “Isn’t it time you got over how fragile you are? We’re all waiting, waiting on your supernova, cos that’s who you are, and you`ve only begun to shine” # - Anna NalickI don't know what it is about winter but it definitely makes me reflect more than other times of the year - maybe it's the cold weather when all you want to do is be indoors next to a cosy fire, but actually for most of 2008 I've http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2008/12/decade-in-making.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-5306174584637084457Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:14:00 +00002008-12-24T11:31:27.080Zabout writingwriting and the Web"Moon Crater Adventures"sci-fiNew Stories# “From your red balloon you were a super hi-tech jet fighter, floating over planet Earth, come back down here...”# - GusterIt's become a bit of a November tradition now to give an update on how my first online gamebook is coming along... So by means of an early but hopefully timely Crimbo present with this post, artist Rich Windass and myself will give you some early concept designs and ideas http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2008/11/first-impressions-of-another-world.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-5889322015773669897Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:10:00 +00002008-12-12T17:24:19.701Zabout writingon other writerswriting and the WebmemoriesfilmFan Fiction# "You are lost in your own glory, you are believing your own story..." # - Cake I've been reminiscing a lot about years gone by in 2008 (the reasons for which I'll make properly clear in a couple of posts' time), but in particular this month I'm recalling an undergrad study I took on around the time I first got into serious fiction writing which looked at the idea of "obsession" being used in http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2008/10/stop-obsessing.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-2180011641927341416Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:00:00 +00002008-12-01T09:14:10.880Ztravelmemorieshistory# "I'm an anchor on the line of a clock that tells the timethat is running out on you" # - Counting CrowsI'll be recovering for most of this month I suspect from one of the greatest things I've ever done in my life so far... a 13.1 mile half-marathon called the Great North Run here in the UK... It's been one of those events in the local calendar and popular imagination that I've grown up with in http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2008/10/its-been-good-run.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-5546985121784135983Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:00:00 +00002008-12-05T17:57:25.319Zabout writingday jobson other writersmemories# "They never notice the zap gun in your handuntil you're pointing it and stunning their senses..." # - Billy JoelI've been thinking about those peculiar but interesting lists you sometimes see on the inside of book dust jackets that detail an author's biography, the one with unique and often surprising jobs they've done leading up to becoming a published writer, and in particular I've been http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2008/09/ever-catch-yourself-sleeping-with.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-9102994989189899608Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:04:00 +00002008-10-21T09:19:37.357+01:00about writing"Moon Crater Adventures"memorieshistoryNew Stories# "Anyone plain can be lovely, anyone loved can be lostWhat if I lost my direction? What if I lost sense of time?" # - the Barenaked LadiesNot too long ago now I actually lost one of my writing notebooks which I’ve not yet found and am still pretty much lamenting over - it’s the first time it’s happened to me and it’s made me kind of pause for thought as I go into the second half of 2008 with my http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2008/08/lost-words-of-cgallan.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-6726195677352838529Mon, 28 Jul 2008 07:49:00 +00002008-09-25T09:23:53.978+01:00writing and the Web"Moon Crater" (debut novel)# "Honest is easy, fiction is where genius lies..." # - Guster Ever since being around the age of seven and being bought Stratego for Christmas by my granddad, I've become obsessed with games of all kinds. From Othello to chess, Action Force to Crossbows & Catapults, to Monopoly and Scrabble, and even nowadays to the newer DVD interactive games, I really enjoy pitting my wits against others, evenhttp://cgallan.blogspot.com/2008/07/keep-to-cracking-code.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-3775116840260189949Tue, 24 Jun 2008 07:56:00 +00002008-08-28T15:33:54.185+01:00filmFan FictionUnless you’ve been on Titan for the last year or so, you’ve probably come across someone you know who’s been excited about the fact that there’s a new Indiana Jones film out this year. It’s something I’ve blogged about at numerous times before here, so it’s no secret that I’m an uber Indy geek. It would be quite an understatement to say I’ve had a passing anticipation to Indy IV because, man, http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2008/06/all-out-indy-adventure-has-name.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-3352989725721743185Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:54:00 +00002008-08-07T09:03:18.755+01:00travel"Moon Crater Adventures"sci-fi# “What if I'd been born fifty years before you, in a house on a street where you lived?Maybe I'd be outside as you passed on your bike…” # – Ben FoldsEverybody needs a rest and holiday, right? The way I tend to approach my writing is the same as I would any job – I do the actual act of scribbling and typing up my thoughts during the working week and then at weekends, where ironically most of my http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2008/06/on-yer-bike.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28721960.post-3151303475543217661Thu, 15 May 2008 09:17:00 +00002008-12-08T21:51:39.678Zday jobsmemoriesfilmsci-fi# "The only thing that ever made sense to me is the world that I saw from an American movie..." # - EverclearSince I've mentioned before on this blog journal of mine how I love going to the cinema and I've stated on my Official Homepage just how influenced by filmic writing I am, I thought it was about time I wrote a feature post explaining more about just how much a fan of "the flicks" I really http://cgallan.blogspot.com/2008/05/flicks-files.htmlb_c_carden@yahoo.co.uk (CGAllan (aka BCCarden))0