I've Ground to a Halt...

Yes, I know I've been missing for weeks- sorry.

I didn't realise how tired out I was until my brain went on strike and I began sleeping late on a weekday- very unusual for me...

This year I've been able to do more concentrated writing than I have before- at least 15,000 words on the novella since mid-January. It may not seem a lot, but it's the most I've written in six months before.

(I just need to get my busy weeks organised better, so I can get a few writing sessions in...)

As soon as normality returns I'll get the last two chapters of the first draft completed, and then the really hard work starts with the 2nd draft- putting flesh on the bones of the basics that I've been concentrating on so far.

There are a few 'information needed' queries that I need to delve into, so I'm making a list to work through over the remaining summer holidays.

I'm thinking about going to this year's Festival of Romance (November) but haven't actually mentioned it to my OH yet- who will have to hold the domestic fort if I do go...:-)

As my short story writing has finally improved, I'm going to make an effort to write a few more before the year ends.

I also have to catch up on my reading- both paperback and e-books.

Serena is still lacking a website, but she does now have an e-mail address. So I have to make some decisions there too.

So I may have ground to a halt in one way, I realise that the 'to do' list is building up... :-)

Another First Place...

I mentioned in my last post Lowdham- photos and a story, that one of the

A second one...

stories I read to the Lowdham, Fringe audience was being judged for a Nottingham Writers' Club competition;  so I couldn't tell you more at the time. 

As I knew the judge lived in different part of the country, I felt I was fairly safe to read it at the Fringe event...

It's always difficult to write a story when you know the judge- even when a pseudonym is being used for entries, 

so they won't have any idea who has written the stories.

Last Wednesday evening our Prose Secretary, was able to announce the results of the Spring prose-they were waiting for her when she arrived home from work...

The important bit- I got first place.

The judge (Patsy Collins) gave each entry helpful feedback- which is always appreciated. Mine highlighted my tendency to write long sentences, which could have been broken up. 

Patsy's the second person (recently) who's mentioned I use long sentences, so I'll be watching for this when I edit...

The story had to feature a tin of treacle, a bird and the weather (mine was a bit weak on the weather, but it was used); I had my protagonist, Jenny, bake a treacle and lemon cake- which the judge said was " an unusual, quirky combination and seemed to give those characteristics to the baker."

And with a baked cake comes cake crumbs, so cue a bird... :-)

I have to admit that when I write any contemporary short story, my characters and plots do tend to be on the quirky side.

When I was putting the story together, my only concern was actually getting the three items into the story in a way that seemed natural and not contrived. Plus having it ready by the deadline for handing in.

I was probably thinking about the story for longer than it actually took to write! 

So perhaps this is the method that works for me- as the same thing occurred with my Autumn Prose win too...

The 'Ladies of the G.O.D. Club' will get revised to deal with the minimal use of the weather- it could be used more and there's word count to do so. 

Then I'll decide what its future is.

Hopefully you'll get the opportunity to read it somewhere, and if it makes the wider world, I'll let you know.

I'd basically given up on writing any new short stories, but this has reassured me that I am capable of writing them...

image courtesy of http://freedigitalphotos.net