Happy new year!
Posted by bencooper | Filed under News
Are you cold enough yet? It’s been seriously cold down my end of the world, and pretty much all over the UK, this week. What a way to start 2010. It was almost enough to make me think that maybe the idiots who think the world comes to an end in 2012 (amazing what people’s inability to read deeper than hokum books by new-agers and the odd sensationalist headline can do) might be on to something.
Of course this has led to a wonderful increase in those “So much for global warming!” comments. Anyway let’s not get in to that right now, suffice to say as humorous as that might be once (I’ve said it a couple of times, I’ll admit) they are completely wrong. Global warming is snow joke…sorry.
The weather has caused massive inconvenience across the country and I was snowed out for two days this week, and if the weather reports are right that could happen again next week. I’m the first to admit that I did enjoy the two days off, running (carefully) around in the snow and seeing all the snowmen that littered the streets within minutes was fun, but it has meant a bit more pressure in the production of the next issue of Acoustic. Ah well, I’m sure we’ll manage and I’ve been set up to work remotely now, which is good. I guess.
Of course a new year brings new resolutions: to exercise more, quit that bad habit, do that thing you’ve been meaning to do for the last ten new years and so on. I’ve never been a big one for them, as most people I know who’ve tried to undertake them end up failing in the first couple of weeks. But after reading an article on why most people fail I decided to make one.
Yes that’s right one. Apparently one of the main reasons people fail so miserably to keep their resolutions is that they make too many. “I’m gonna give up smoking (for the third time) and go to the gym three times a week, lose a stone, watch less TV, drink less and become a vegetarian.” Then 3 weeks later they find themselves watching Corrie in their underpants, cramming mouthfuls of choclate eclair down their gob in between drags on a Silk Cut and then washing it down with half a bottle of Pinot Grigio. And the bathroom scales are in the loft.
Not me though. Oh no. I made one resolution. What was it? That’s right to write everyday. Yeah I know I go on about the writing thinga fair bit. Like you, I (my girlfriend) got sick of hearing me say it and not doing it enough. So my resolution was simply that: to write everyday. No word counts, no time limit. Just write.
What’s the point without a goal? Why do I need another goal? The second reason people fail, according to the research, is that they set their targets too high, fail to hit them and then think “Why fucking bother?” and that’s that. By setting the bar so low it means I don’t get disheartened.
If all I manage is 100 words. So what? I sat down to write and that’s all I intended to do. Plus I’m 100 words closer to the end of my novel. If I get into a groove and hammer out 2,000 words then I shut my computer down with a feeling of great satisfaction.
And you know what? It’s working. I’ve written every day and got the first draft of my novel up from 8000 words to nearly 17000 in two weeks. Not bad going.
I’ve also paid heed to some advice from Ian Fleming: On the first draft, don’t look back. If you do you’re lost. Get it finished then worry about the rubbish afterwards, otherwise you’ll never finish and you’ll hate what you do write.
Wise words and absolutely true. I’m having a blast hurtling on, putting my protagonist through the wringer, letting the bad guy be a complete bastard and not worrying about every time I use an adverb…or oh was that sentence in the passive…actually now I look at it not only is it passive but it’s a bit clunky too…I just used the word slam four times on one page…shit did I just tell instead of show? Oh god the literati are knocking on the door, I better just give up now…
You get the picture.
So, whoever reads this: what were your new year resolutions and have you managed to stick to them? More importantly, do you feel any better for having stuck to them?
Oh yeah. I dedicate this post to Dan Hobday. Just because he found my website by random chance and sent me a message. See you at work Dan!
Happy Christmas…
Posted by bencooper | Filed under General, News
I have a nasty habit of becoming a bit (more) moody and introspective at this time of the year. Maybe it’s the cold weather, or the short days and long nights stopping me from exercising and keeping me inside vegetating and giving me lots of time to think. Or perhaps it’s natural to reflect on the year gone by and weigh it up with the 20/20 vision of retrospect. The problem (if it is one) isn’t helped by my natural “Grinchiness” about Christmas, stomping about complaining about the rampant commercialism and how it separates us from what is supposed to be important about this time of year. Why it’s only important for 12 days at the end of the year I’m not sure, surely we want to show goodwill to all and connect with family and friends throughout the year? But for me it seems that whatever Christmas is supposed to be about it was high-jacked long ago…anyway that’s another post entirely and in case anyone feels the need to defend Christmas I really don’t hate it or anything, it just seems all rather cynical these days. But I suppose it is what you make of it, and you can choose to have Christmas without all the rubbish that now comes with it.
Anyway, as the year comes to an end I’ve been thinking a lot about what this year has yielded, what I’ve achieved, what I didn’t and how I can change that in the new year. Looking back on it it’s actually been one hell of a year. I graduated from university as a mature student, then landed a great job out of the blue while many of my third year cohort are temping, signing on to the dole or struggling through PGCEs and the like. I’ve created (along with my amazing partner Kate) a new life that’ll be joining use kicking and screaming (hopefully not too much) in 2010, I can’t wait to meet her. I interviewed one of my favourite musicians, Kip Winger, who was an awesome dude and has just released an awesome album with the band. And there have been other minor things: getting my fiction out there, albeit to the free on-line markets; seeing my “adopted” grandma for the first time in about 8 years having said I would several times a years since my last visit and other things that aren’t of interest to you, but are to me.
And the bad?
Having stories rejected; feeling constantly knackered from May through to October thanks to the new job and all the stress that comes with it; beinig incredibly grouchy and moody because of said stress (sorry Kate x); not doing enough writing, of either fiction or my non-fiction book project; having the non-fiction book project rejected by a few publishers (in a really nice way, the book wasn’t for them but that is has potential and someone is bound to take it soon, so that wasn’t too bad); losing faith in the project because of my not-quite-thick-enough skin…and so on.
On balance it really has been a great year and as it comes to an end I’m determined to get my fiction out there, improve it and get it into some of the better markets. I’ve also got other projects that I’d like to investigate: a novel that was started and needs finishing; a story I’d like to adapt into a short film; more freelance writing for other magazines.
But the one I’m most looking forward to: my daughter. If nothing else goes right in 2010 I know she’ll be perfect!
I guess my point is that, even if this year hasn’t been great there were probably more good things than you instantly remember, and even if you’re as cynical and downbeat as me use this time to re-connect with friends, spend time with your family and think about how you can make 2010 the best year of your life (so far).
Happy Christmas!
Ben
Tags: acoustic magazine, writing
Cook n roll
Posted by bencooper | Filed under News
Rock music conjures many images: sex, drugs, alcohol…more drugs. What you don’t often think about is food. Well unless you’re thinking about apocryphal stories about removing different coloured M&Ms or that Mars Bar one with Marianne Faithful.
Let’s face it, you can’t really see Slash whipping up Eggs Benedict can you?
But it seems that a lot of musos are also rather fond of food and its epicurean delights. If you don’t believe me check out Teri Saccone’s website The Rock N Roll Cook .
Teri is the inversion of Sting’s Englishman in New York (an American lady living in London in case you don’t get the reference). She’s a freelance writer who has started doing some work for me on Acoustic and has interviewed pretty much every band I love from the 80s rock era. She also writes for Elle and other much more prestigious titles.
Anyway, check it out, you just might pick up an interesting recipe from the stars she interviews. Plus Teri’s a really nice lady. Just don’t get her started on the American healthcare system! 
Casual vs Hardcore Gaming
Posted by bencooper | Filed under News
I’ve pretty much always been a gamer. For my seventh birthday my parents bought me a NES, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles package and the rest, as they say, is history.
I’ve owned every Nintendo console to date. I’m a big fanboy who, despite owning and enjoying many other consoles by Sega, Sony and Microsoft and gaming on PC, truly believes Nintendo offer the best gaming experiences known to man and I’ll strip to my scrawny torso and go man-to-man with anyone who says otherwise! But that’s a whole other post…
I have always considered myself to be a hardcore gamer in most respects, but a discerning one. I’m not quite sure what the definition of hardcore gamer is, but seeing as I’ve just started playing World of Warcraft I’ll go with theirs: If you play more than 20 hours a week, you cease becoming a casual gamer.
In my youth I’ve played more than 20 hours in a day no problem.
One of my earliest all nighters was playing SimCity 2000 at the tender age of 12. I remember playing the game (after fucking around with config.sys and autoexec.bat files to make it run on my PC, those were the days!) straight through from 3pm until my mum went to work the next day at 8:30, turning, bleary eyed and fuelled by coffee and marmite on toast, to peer through my bedroom door in my underpants and confirm that, yes I had been up all night.
SimCity 2000!
But being hardcore isn’t just about time alone. It’s dedication. Think of any a 9-5 job you’ve had where you turn up, physically occupy a space then go home, and each month/week you get paid. That’s casual gaming. The hardcore gamer pours his life and soul into the game – these are the entrepreneurs of the gaming world, whose every waking second not filled by necessities such as school/work/eating/sleeping/defecating are dedicated to their enterprise: gaming!
A hardcore gamer is a completist – he/she has to get every achievement and if that means playing the game 5 times over taking slightly different choices then so be it. It isn’t supposed to be fun!
As I’ve aged (I’m not that old I know) I’ve noticed my hardcore gaming nature softening. Now I rarely play a game for more than a couple of hours in a go and sometimes I won’t game for most of a week, just grabbing a snatch here and there. The last game that really grabbed me was Fallout3 on the XBox-360, one of the most engrossing and amazing games I’ve played. It appeals to my love of apocalyptic anything but is just a simply amazing game with an enormous immersive world with great characters and plot-lines. It’s probably the only game I’ve played outside of the Zelda series (my all time favourite!) that I felt genuinely sad to leave behind.
Fallout 3. Look at those gibblets!
I’ve also noticed a tendency in myself to enjoy genuine casual games that I download to my iPod touch or games that I can just dip into and not dedicate my life to, like this little gem Rat on The Run which has that one more play element but can be dropped whenever without a feeling of guilt:
I wonder if this change is just part of ageing or just not finding the right games, or is it simply that my life has got a bit more going on it now…nah! I know it’s still there inside me but just needs unlocking.
I’ve recently started playing WoW with Kate, and I’m enjoying it but I haven’t yet found it as addictive as the people who’ve actually killed themselves by playing it for days on end! Now that’s hardcore.
I do miss those epic sessions where a whole Sunday would disappear in a haze of pixels, but until another game like Fallout3 comes along I’m happy being a semi-casual. After all I’m hardcore at heart!
It’s a girl!
Posted by bencooper | Filed under News
It’s been a while since my last entry here. Things have been super busy at work and I’ve hardly bothered to look at Twitter/Facebook/blog over the last month or so.
Kate and I had the 20 week scan on Friday and, because we’re terrible at keeping secrets or waiting for surprises we decided to find out the sex of our baby. Observant readers will already have tagged that it’s a girl! I’m over the moon, and couldn’t have cared what the baby turned out to be.
Now we have the issue of deciding on a name. I had a definite name for a boy (which will remain a secret until we have one) but hadn’t decided on a girl’s name. They seem to be much harder, you want something pretty, a bit unusual, with a good meaning behind it but without being something horrific like Chardonnay-Lilly…
We’ve decided that we’ll make a short list and then when she’s born pick the name then…though I’ve been known to take half an hour deciding which budget DVD to buy for Sunday evening!
Setting trends…
Posted by bencooper | Filed under General, News, Reviews
I’ve always been cynical about the media, and how it tells Joe Public what to like, what to hate and what to think. Believe me I still am…
But, I just received this clipping from a PR company. I’d been asked to write an endorsement of one of their bands for Music Week, an industry magazine for the music world. Who knew I’d be setting trends and tastes from sunny ol’ Devon.
Of course, this doesn’t mean I’m the next Simon Cowell (because I have a modicum of taste and don’t wear my trousers hiked up around my nipples), but Chasing Pandora really are quite good if you like acoustic music. So if you feel like following my recommendation, then do. You’ll probably be better off than with the latest X-Factor rejects.
CD Reviews on line
Posted by bencooper | Filed under News
My reviews of albums by BrokeNCYDE, Havok and Zero Illusions are now up on Soundshock’s website, plus my interview of Joel McIver. Enjoy!
New story is up.
Posted by bencooper | Filed under News
My short story ‘Gynoid’ is now up on Aphelion. It’s about a love trinagle between a man and two female sex androids. I quite like it, and I hope you do to. Please go and read it and let me know!
All the best!
Review online
Posted by bencooper | Filed under News
Check out my review of Shadows of The Emerald City over at Innsmouth Free Press.
The site is an H P Lovecraft themed ‘zine that offers reviews, fiction and mock-news from the Lovecraft universe. Hope you enjoy!
Interview online
Posted by bencooper | Filed under News
My interview of heavy metal journalist Joel McIver is now online over at Soundshock .
Joel is a great guy and a wonderful writer, and I’m glad to be able to give him what little exposure I can. If you like heavy metal I’d seriously recommend you check out some of his books, they are great reads and extremely well researched.
Soundshock is an online magazine devoted to heavy metal, and I’ll be doing more work for them in the future. I’ll update you as and when stuff goes online.