Back to novelling

Hatfield Moor. (© Ian Wordsworth, 2020)

I am such a tease, knowing that the title will irk at least a couple of my friends when they see it! I can hear them now complaining about the “novelling” verb.  😱

The above picture is yet another view of Hatfield Moor. We couldn’t get across to this part as there’s a massive dyke along most of the path and there was no crossing place nearby. 

In the distance, along the top of the picture, you can just about see evidence of the fires that burned here back in May. Once you get alongside the bog land, there are signs as you get nearer to where the fire was, warning that the land ahead is unstable. Some trees were damaged too.

Indexing

I hate writing the index for my books. Mostly because I’m peering at the screen and have to look away every so often to fix my eyesight again.

My most favourite part of writing is the planning part. My next favourite is the editing part. I always thought the writing part was the worst part, but with non-fiction, I think it’s definitely the indexing part.

I do have a program for indexing. But as I only use it once in a blue moon, I have to spend some time learning how to use it again.

Once I’m off, though, there’s no stopping me – apart from eye breaks, comfort breaks, food breaks, etc. And I carried on going until I’d finished it … at 11:30 last night. 

I sent it off straight away so I could concentrate on other stuff today and hopefully take the whole weekend off. But that’s it, now. I have done all I can for The Life of Richard Cadbury.

Ghostwriting

On Wednesday I sent what I had to the client to, (a) show him that I had indeed done quite a lot of it, and (b) give him this chance to yell “NO! STOP! You’re doing it wrong!”

It was just over 16.500 words, but I had to do that indexing yesterday. And I said he could have the remaining 3,500 words on Friday afternoon if he didn’t want to go without it.

He came back to me yesterday morning and said it was fine, he’d wait until today for the rest of the first 20,000-word instalment. At least he didn’t tell me to stop writing, right now!

This morning I played around with a couple of inconsistencies and a continuity thing. And I already added another 200-odd words to the mix. I think Chapter 9 will be around the 2,000-word mark, and Chapter 10 will be shorter. It’s the end of the first Act, so I think I can get away with that there.

Jobs to do today

  • blog post = 500 words ✅
  • diary for next week
  • ghostwrite 3,263 words

Word meters as at 11am today

Ghostwriting Gig #1

 

16,737/63,000 words. 27% done!

(Word meters from Language is a Virus.)

The weekend

I don’t know what we intend to do this weekend. With the latest tier 2 lockdown, we certainly won’t be visiting anyone or socialising with anyone.

Last weekend, the poet rebuilt the shed and made it weather-tight. This weekend, weather permitting, he may be painting it or he may be drying out the inside with a blow-air heater. (It was stacked up in the corner and has been rained on a few times.)

We also still have a gate and a small fence to put up to dog-proof the garden, but that depends on the weather as well.

And we have “L is for …” to do for the Alphabet Adventurers. (L is for … Lockdown?)

I may catch up with household chores. Or … I may read.

Whatever you’re up to, have a good un.

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