Halfway through the year, and my current WIP is finally starting to talk to its component bibs and bobs. I just wrote a scene that made sense of something that I knew was important, but wasn’t sure why. I’m also rediscovering how messy my first drafts are, particularly if a book is a bit complicated, and this book is the most complicated thing I’ve ever attempted. That said, it’s teaching me a lot of stuff, and it might be complicated but it isn’t dry, and you need to be a bit ambitious from time to time.
The book is also finding itself another name, which is odd, after many years of thinking about it as one thing, then coming across something else that completely illuminates what I’m trying to do.
I reckon by the end of the year I should have something whole(ish) and a book that has sat in the back of my head for so long will actually have a shape.
A lot of writing going on, which means not much else (parenting/cooking/cleaning etc fills the rest of my time), but that's my happy space. I hope the year has been treating you kindly, we all need a bit of pause I think, there's some bumpy times ahead.
News
I’ve a new short story out in the Saturday Paper (my second story published there, which thrills me!). You can find it here*. Thanks to Alison Croggon for taking it, and for pushing me to make it better. It’s a tiny offshoot from the WIP, so that gives me a little faith that I’m heading part ways right. Also, very pleased that they chose a Richard Dadd picture to illustrate it.
*And here's the first one if you're interested.
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