I haven’t been completely idle since 10 June when I last updated the novel-writing diary. Aside from completing three large editing projects for a client, I’ve also started work on a pocket novel and joined a new writers’ group. Yesterday a short editing job arrived all the way from Hong Kong, from a new client….
Diary of a pocket novel – 1 step forward, 2 steps back
The murder board is really helping with the structure of the pocket novel. But I’ve been working recently on screen for my editing jobs and when I sat down to write the pocket novel by hand, I kept on hitting a brick wall. I need to get into my writing rhythm again for this one….
My (new) fat year: weeks 3 & 4 = ¾lb loss (5¾lb)
In truth, I lost ¼lb last week, and ½lb this week, but I skipped last week’s weekly update as I was busy working (again!). Regardless, though, I still have a 5¾lb weight-loss, which is pretty good going. I say pretty good going, because I really am not starving myself at all. Yes, I’m eating foods…
Diary of a pocket novel – getting organised
I’ve been working on the pocket novel for the past couple of days. I’m trying to write it by the seat of my pants, but I am a natural planner. So I went in to Scrivener to add a new file … and I already had one! There’s even some writing on it. So I’m…
My writing day
I think I’m getting back into the writing groove. I’ve designed a schedule intended to allow me to work on my own material for part of the day as well as edit for clients for the rest of the day. It’s taken quite a few years to get here, but it seems to be working….
Goldthorpe Writers: “steam trains”
Last week I joined a new writers’ group over in Barnsley. Goldthorpe is about 25 minutes away by car, even if I do have to wait on two level crossings for trains. The library is really nice and one of my favourites. When I lived in Barnsley, I used to go there quite often. There…
Diary of a pocket novel – and an oxymoron …
I’ve always wanted to write a pocket novel. There are two of our weekly magazines who publish pocket novels (PNs) – or apx. 39,000-word novellas – and as far as I know they both publish something like two PNs a month. The word-count requirement fluctuates, but they’re roughly 35,000 – 45,000 words long at one…
I joined a writers’ group …
I seem to be juggling several balls in the air at the moment, and on Monday I added another. I joined a new writers’ group. I’ve been looking for a writers’ group ever since I moved to Yorkshire from Birmingham in 2004. Back home I had been a member of the now defunct Birmingham Writers’…
Diary of a Novel: advance character work done
Over the past two weeks, including the weekend, I’ve been quite busy doing a client edit that turned into a major rewrite. Writing uses up most of my creative energy. I gave up teaching because that depleted my supplies too. I try to just copy edit rather than development edit or rewrite so that I…
My (new) fat year: week 2 = 1¼lb loss (4¼lb)
The second week was going very well, with me taking the dog for a walk every day. Walking him every day makes me a lot more active than sitting on my bum all week, and it therefore gives me more calories to spend. However, on Monday evening the dog had a bit of a turn, and…
