Musing: Big Bangs - Crossover and AU updates

The crossover Big Bang is now at 5k words, about five scenes (and the start of another). I've started working the two canons into each other -- spent a good bit of time yesterday researching the Enochian and Welsh I needed, and then ended up deciding that I wasn't really going to use either, just describe it being used (as in "he swore in Welsh" -- or whatever). Although, if anyone has links to really good sources for Enochian and Welsh, let me have them! Mostly, I need the words for "sorrow", "sword" and "sun", in Enochian: I found them, I think, but they were in situ with other words which may have modified them, and Anglo-Saxon has made me terrified of the effects of things like case...

For a while, I pondered abusing my knowledge of Anglo-Saxon, but I couldn't really fit it in. Anglo-Saxon can't be the Old Speech, though I suppose it could come from it. Enochian would be a better fit for the Old Speech, in this 'verse, but I decided that angels and Old Ones are not that closely linked.

So far, fitting the two canons together is a little bit of a headache, but not too much. When I come to proofreading it, I might want to kill myself slightly.

Will and Bran are continuing to act up and steal the show, somewhat. I'm not arguing with that, I think it's good: it'll make for a stronger fic, since originally I wasn't planning to use them that much. Now they're getting whole scenes to themselves -- or, well, at least one.

The other thing I did was finally make a full plan. I think I know what I'm doing a bit better now. And I think I'm actually going to get to 15k quite easily, even without adding any more scenes than the fifteen I have in mind. I might be hoping for too much, knowing myself.

The first check-in for the AU Big Bang approaches. It's not compulsory, but people are flailing about it a bit, which makes me feel guilty for the fact I haven't done much work on it. I don't expect the crossover Big Bang to take me too much longer, and then I can focus on the AU Big Bang for a while, so my strategy still works, but... Maybe tomorrow I'll actually start writing the AU Big Bang and see if I can work on both at once.

Reviews - Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler

A Murder is Announced (Agatha Christie)

A Murder is Announced was, as I'm finding usual with Agatha Christie, quite fun and reasonably absorbing. One could tire of it very easily, since the writing isn't anything special -- although I generally like the characters in the background quite a lot. When I like them a lot, it's a three-star read; when no one particularly caught my attention, only two-star. (The difference between "it was ok" and "liked it".)

The plot of this one is very torturous, and very... unlikely. Okay, okay, most of these books are, but the way that two imposters show up, but neither of them are actually doing anything wrong, although both keep their identity hidden, and then suddenly at the end a third imposter is revealed...

Still, fun and easy, which is what I expect from these books.

The Long Goodbye (Raymond Chandler)

...And now I'm fresh out of Chandler.

Everyone's been telling me that The Long Goodbye is the best. I think they're right. Several people told me I should read it first. I think they're wrong. I think it's best when you know and love Philip Marlowe, and you know and love Chandler's writing, and he can come along and punch you in the gut and bowl you over all over again. Or shoot you in the head.

I loved this one the best. I loved Terry Lennox and I loved Marlowe for helping him and I kind of followed the whole plot and thought it was clever and probably the best. I love the last two chapters and wanted to punch Chandler for them at the same time. I love the way it finishes up, and I hate the way that Marlowe is just as alone, just as bitter, just as poor, at the end. Except, I hate it in a good way.

Probably the best plotted and the most emotional of the lot. If you're only going to read one, read this.