Zine workshop

I had a great day on Sunday. I headed through to Glasgow, and first of all had a look around the shops. I was buying an obi belt (wanted one for ages and it was only £3 in the sale) in H&M when I got a text from my friend Aurora to say she was on her way. I met her and her boyfriend Armando at Queen St Station, and then we got the subway out to Kelvinhall.

We had lunch at Ichiban. It was the first time I'd been at this branch of Ichiban as I usually go to the one on Queen St. Then Aurora and I headed to the Zine Workshop at Welcome Home, which was just a few minutes walk away.

The workshop was run by Marceline and Jen. I'd met Marceline at her stall at a craft market before, but I hadn't really spoken to her. I had a couple of her zines already, and bought a few more. This was the first time I'd met Jen. There were about 20 people there, and they were all really interesting to talk to.

First Marceline talked for a bit about zines, and showed us how to make a little zine, then we all got on with making our own. I made two tiny zines about Japan. It was a lot of fun, and I've decided to join the challenge to create and publish a zine by the end of the year.

Afterwards I took Aurora to the huge Millers Art Store. It was the first time she had been there and I enjoyed watching the look on her face as we walked out onto the upper floor, as I remember how amazed I was the first time I went there!

Fire at Leslie House

Leslie House (about which I have been writing a local history book) caught fire at about 7pm last night. Although the fire is said to have lit up the night sky, I didn't hear about it until I arrived at work this morning. These photos were taken at lunchtime today, while firefighters were still at work. Most of the roof has been destroyed, and all five floors have been gutted, but much of the stonework has remained intact. More photos on Flickr.

NaNoWriMo

Well, my novel-writing attempt ground to a halt at just over 27,000 words. I still have one chapter to write, so I may manage to stretch it out to 30,000. Although I didn't make it to the 50,000 word goal, I'm proud of what I did achieve, which was the longest piece of fiction I've ever written. I also learned a lot about what goes into writing a novel and it makes me respect anyone who has managed to write a novel, no matter how bad. I might try again another year and see if I get any further.

NaNoWriMo

I'm taking part in NaNoWriMo, an online challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. This is my first time taking part. I'm at 5000 words so far,and I hope I can keep the pace up for the rest of the month. So I won't be posting much here!
Keep watching the counter below for an up-to-date word count.

Leslie House

A few people have asked me what progress I’m making on my book about the history of Leslie House, the former home of the Earls of Rothes. There is still some research to be done, and a lot of writing and editing. The main reason it isn’t finished yet is that I would like to be able to write about the renovation of the house by Sundial Properties, and this is only in the planning stages at the moment.