Wait, where are my holidays gone?

[oloriel]

It's back to school tomorrow. I had two weeks of fall break (much needed, I must shamefully confess) and they went by in the blink of an eye.

Well, not really. The first week was hot (!) and sunny and I got some necessary gardening done (not enough, but still). The second week was cool, wet and autumnal, which was a pity as far as the gardening is concerned, but also very necessary - especially the wet part. Due to the extremely dry spring and summer and - so far - autumn, most bodies of water have lost a lot of, well, water. Even the local reservoirs are down to 29% of their proper level, which is lower even than the lowest recorded level from back in the late 70s. Back then, the spire of the church of the village at the bottom of the reservoir was visible again, but by now, it apparently has broken down. The Rhine is so empty by now that gas is becoming (even) more expensive because it can no longer be transported by ship, and it's more expensive to use road tankers.

This year was so untypical that the figs on my little fig tree actually ripened (normally, I pick them hard small and green in October, and then boil them in syrup to make them edible). But at what price? :P

THEN, of course, I meant to write lots of LJ entries to catch up with Life, the Universe and Everything - the kids, stuff we did as a family, the house, and - most especially - the job. But early in the month I got hit by... what's the opposite of Writer's Block? Writer's Bug? Whatever it's called, I got it bad. And because I was afraid that it would abandon me again, I spent most of my spare time writing. It was like NaNoWriMo come early! I've produced 6 (!) new chapters for The Embalmer's Apprentice. I hope I'll finally be able to kill off the old king in the next (unwritten) chapter or the one after that, and then things get really exciting. *rubs hands* But of course, I should know better than to make predictions! I still remember the times when I thought it was going to be a short little 5-or so-chapter one-shot for Akallabêth in August 2009. *hollow laughter* Now it's at 24 (published) chapters and 174,654 words. When do stories ever behave as planned?
I won't be able to participate in the actual NaNoWriMo in November, so I'm glad I got at least this much done.

I'll write about my teaching experience and the rest of real life some other time. Probably. Back to school tomorrow, anyway. My students were very difficult in the last week before the holidays, and I hope that they could blow off some steam so we can all behave like civilised human beings in the class room again. Fingers crossed.

Comments

[heartofoshun]

I've produced 6 (!) new chapters for The Embalmer's Apprentice.

OMG! That is wonderful. I had noticed you had posted again on this, but not SIX chapters. OK. I will have to set aside an evening to catch up (it's been so long, I probably will backtrack before going forward). Congratulations.

I really want to post a few chapters soon of some of my long-standing WIPs. I have a lot of partially finished chapters of different novels/novellas on my hard drive. I don't even feel bad anymore how much I have unfinished. I do still intend to finish them all and if I start new things and add to my WIP list, I don't even care anymore. I refuse to feel guilty. The point for me is to write.

entries to catch up with Life, the Universe and Everything - the kids, stuff we did as a family, the house, and - most especially - the job

I do love to read that kind of thing. It does not have to be a work of art. I just like to know what my online friends are doing!

[oloriel]

I only posted four of them so far. Still have to revise the other two (and I have to admit I also like posting them a week apart so the story stays in the Most Recent list >_>).

I hear you on the WiPs! I have too many of those, too. So I'm absolutely thrilled to have made some headway on that one. Even if I don't manage to finish it this year. You're right, the important thing is to write at all.

I didn't even know TEA was your cuppa (if you'll forgive the pun)! It's such a weird niche thing. So I'm really excited that you're interested in it! Some of it has been so long for me that I've been backtracking, too. I really ought to revise some of the earlier chapters, because not all of them are congruent with things that happen later. The risk of publishing at intervals and before you're even done... >_>

I love reading that kind of thing, too, but sadly I've become really bad at writing it. I'll try!

[heartofoshun]

I didn't even know TEA was your cuppa (if you'll forgive the pun)!

I have to admit I was not one of the early followers of this story. It was a little on the dark side for me and I had not written Numenor much back at the beginning. (I'm such a wimp!) But it started to grow on me when I knew the context better. At first, I was reading without commenting because I was not sure I had the right to comment--wasn't my genre and I was no expert at the canon sources. I am a better reader now than I was a few years ago. (I am certainly not less fragile! Anyway, I probably should re-read most of it to get back into the flow.)

I rarely go back and edit to meet newer expectations. But posting so far in advance of the end does sometimes trap me into a storyline I might have altered if I had not already been posting the damned thing for years. (I laugh at some wherein my style changes dramatically, although the original narrative and plot outline remain on-track.) I am so lazy. I have had a few complaints! I laugh at those too! (Pay me and I will go back and edit! Yay!) I should be ashamed.

[oloriel]

Aww, that makes me so happy! ^^ Yeah, it is... darkish? But not grimdark (I hope! Not for long, at any rate!). Not the kind of grimdark I can't stomach, anyway. I definitely am a wimp!

I do plan to go back and edit at some point, simply because I want the story to read more... consistent? But right now, I'm afraid that if I start editing, I won't manage to move on. So the first priority is getting the story finished. And then, maybe, work it over again before maybe publishing it on AO3 (or else filing off the serial numbers and selling it as o-fic - it's hanging onto Tolkien canon by its fingernails, anyway)? Unless, of course, something else comes along!

Nah, I don't think you need to be ashamed. It's OK to call it a day when you're done. I haven't been able to arse myself into editing The Tempered Steel, either, and I probably should. If the differences aren't too glaring, I'll ignore them. (If I re-read a chapter and detect a typo, OTOH... I'm hitting that edit button!) It's absolutely a matter of personal preferences and working style.

[la_samtyr]

I've produced 6 (!) new chapters for The Embalmer's Apprentice.

[oloriel]

Aww, thank you!

[independence1776]

I suppose the village was flooded when the reservoir was made? Because I'm imagining something more apoctalypic… :P

Congrats on writing six chapters! I suspect I need to start over from beginning because it's been so long since I read it.

Please do write about all of that stuff! I love reading it.

[oloriel]

Exactly. There were lots of protests and some sabotage at the time, but eventually, the dam was built and the villagers were resettled. We saw some footage back in school about how some of them had to be forcibly removed from their houses because they refused to leave even as the water began rising, and that definitely had an apocalyptic feel to it! But not, it was all planned and prepared. No surprising sudden deluge or anything. ^^

*winces* Oh dear! I'm not sure the earlier chapters still fit well with where the story has drifted at this point. If you do re-read, please have mercy on my inconsistencies. It's been nine years! Good grief! I'm trying to make it all match up, but some of the first chapters are in urgent need of revision. >_> But still, thank you so much!

I know I should! I love reading the accounts of other people's life, but I'm so bad at producing them myself. (Especially when 3/4 of my brain insist on exploring Númenor! :P)

[cowboy_r]

Wait, what? I missed a major chunk of life, here... you're teaching? At what level?

[oloriel]

Yes! I've managed to exploit the desperate situation of the German educational system and slipped sideways into secondary-level teaching. Currently I'm teaching two classes (grade 5 and grade 9) in English and one class (grade 5 - different kids) in geography, at a Secondary School (experimental!) 40 minutes from home. It's an adventure. I mostly enjoy it, but it's taking a lot of energy at the moment!

[cowboy_r]

That you would teach English (or Japanese) does not surprise me. But I am a teensy bit surprised at geography. My first high school German teacher had the kind of passion for language you do, and she was wonderful. My second one? Not so much. If I'd had her first, I doubt I would have gone to Germany as an exchange student. Which is a self-centered and awkward way of saying "I'm sure you're an excellent teacher, and I envy your students."

[oloriel]

I'm not! But I hope to be, once I've grown a little more accustomed to the classroom situation and stop being constantly surprised by some of the ideas these kids get. XD

Hey, I also studied Cultural Anthropology! And since I need two subjects to teach at a German school AND need to be formally qualified for them in some manner (so I can't just teach, say, art or PE or German in spite of some prior experience in these fields), and Cultural Anthropology points towards either geography or social studies, geography it is.