Two Thirds of Alice's Adventures at the Poles Completed

 What a week for my Alice project. Up to now it has been taking anything up to three weeks to make a chapter of the story, text and illustrations. Well, I have written and illustrated chapter 8 in 6 days. Putting this into perspective, I have tried to keep each chapter to between 3500 and 4500 words. Chapter 8 is roughly 3750 words. I am trying to keep to an average of four illustrations for each chapter. I produced 3 completely new illustrations for chapter 8 and adapted one of my own sketches.

One thing I’m very happy about is that this means that 2/3 of the books planned 12 chapters are complete. When I have written the next chapter, then that will become ¾.

I explained in a earlier post how I am often writing before going to work in the morning. Well, working on it a couple of evenings this week when I had the oomph to do it made a big difference.

Well, here’s the illustrations made since my last post:-

Another chapter written and illustrated

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. A fortnight ago I wrote that I’d finished writing chapter 6 and making illustrations for it. On average it has taken about 3 weeks to write and illustrate a whole chapter. Now with chapter 7 the writing came rather easily, and it was completed within a week. However, despite having by my reckoning anything up to five decent opportunities for illustration, I just couldn’t get going with it. My first attempt during the week just wasn’t good enough.

The trickiest thing about this is that I’d started writing Chapter VIII. You see the thing is that in my old job as a teacher I used to get into work about 7 am to have an hour and a half to do things before the children I taught came in. It was absolutely golden time which I’d say was worth about 2 hours at any other time of the day. Well, I don’t go into work in my new job now until 8 am, so that gives me a little bit of time after breakfast but before leaving the house. I don’t write every day, but it’s not that uncommon for me to dash off anything up to five hundred words in a morning. I’ve already written more than a quarter of the chapter.

So, this weekend I girded my metaphorical loins and got down to business. Thus far I’ve only made three illustrations to chapter VII. However, at least this means that I’ve now completed 28 so I’m on target for an average of four per chapter. So without further ado – here’s the pictures – as usual no explanations I’m sorry.

An Arctic Hare and a Baronet

A ewe in a welsh shawl. Would ewe believe it?

Despite the expression he's a very happypotamus

Half of my Alice Illustrations are now complete

Okay, so this time last week I posted that I’ve finished writing chapter 6 of “Alice’s Adventures at the Poles, which means that I’ve finished writing the first half of the text. Now, when I’m writing a chapter of the story, I can’t help mentally noting where I have opportunities for illustrations that I’d like to make. Now, by the end of chapter five I’d included 21 illustrations. My self-imposed target is an average of four illustrations per chapter. 21 by this point meant that I was 1 ahead of target. And as I was writing the chapter I reckoned that there were five clear cut opportunities for illustration.

So, here’s the three I made that completed the twenty four that I needed for the first half of the book.

This is a mynah bird and a snail. Look, you will just have to accept that this all fits in the story.

This is a billy goat working the ticket counter in a station. No, sorry, I’m not giving any more explanation than this at this point in time.

Finally this is a railway carriage on the back of a blue whale, surfacing in a railway station that is rather reminiscent of London’s Paddington Station.

I haven’t scanned it yet but there is a twenty fifth illustration as well. Well, I don’t have a problem doing more than required to meet the average, and if it turns out that I end up with more than the forty eight planned illustration for the novel, then so much the better.