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Well, to follow on from yesterday, I managed a few scribblings earlier this evening, which counts as progress of a sort. Nothing too exciting, just an attempt to lend some structure to what I do have. It makes me realise just how little I know about writing fiction. In some ways it's off putting, since I tend to focus on the journey rather than the results, but I appreciate that accomplishing anything worthwhile takes effort (a lesson I've learned surprisingly late in life).

In other news I saw several adverts on tv earlier which indicate we've reached magazine spawning season again. Yes, it's that time of the year when a hoard of new titles emerge from the murky depths to target the unwary. Not any old magazines though - these are a peculiar subset of the genre, those which contain figurines or parts which form a collection or model that can be completed only by collecting the entire set (e.g. build a life size working replica of a Boeing 747 in just 1500 easy to assemble parts - first issue only 99p). I have something of a grudge against such companies, not because I ever collected any of these, but rather because in many cases, particularly those which target children, the reality is never quite as wonderful as the television advert suggests. A line I saw advertised featured small die cast figures (in genuine lead!) of Marvel superheroes all of which have been hand painted. There's nothing wrong with that in principal, but the superbly detailed figurines shown on the television will bear little resemblance to crudely painted models on which kids spend their hard earned pocket money. Though at least the lead will be real enough. The magazine even promises to contain "genuine comic book artwork" which sounds like a suspiciously poor substitute for genuine comic books. Still, I'm sure some child out there in the land will derive some enjoyment from these things, so my cynicism, from where ever it springs, may be misplaced.

Perhaps I was simply disappointed once too often as a child...?