Obligatory end of year post
2010 has been a frustrating year for me. It’s been the year when my frozen shoulders went from annoying to “I’ve been in debilitating agony for months” and then back again to merely annoying (thank God!) It’s been a year where I’ve felt as if I was in transition, but I haven’t known from what or to what. Writing time has been sporadic and constantly interrupted, and as a result I lost quite a lot of my enthusiasm.
Nevertheless, despite that, I’ve written the first draft of a 140K novel, and most of the first draft of a novella (give me three uninterrupted days and I’ll finish that too.) So it can’t be counted as a complete fail. I’ve also learned to play the pennywhistle, thus fulfilling a lifetime’s ambition to play something that could carry a tune. But that’s another story.
There’s nothing any resolution of mine can do to ensure that this year my family are all in better health and thus go about their own lives, leaving me to have some regularity in mine which will allow me to plan for this year. So any plans will have to be more like guidelines. However, starting off with a lack of crippling pain already makes it a better year than 2010.
The easy bit is this:
In 2011 I intend (God willing)
To edit and submit “Under the Hill.”
To finish, edit and submit “Forced.”
To write a good chunk of the first draft of “Whirlwind Lads.”
And anything other than that will be a bonus. Hopefully by the time I’ve finished “Whirlwind Lads” I’ll have a better idea of where I’m going and what to do next.
I also resolve not to pressurize myself to turn out writing as if I was on a factory production line. I don’t want to write production line books. I am a naturally slow writer who needs lots of pondering time, so this year I give myself the time to make sure I do things well.
And on that note it’s about time I figured out a better way of doing research than just “reading lots of stuff and hoping to remember it for long enough to get the book written.” I need some way of keeping it organized and available in case I need it again. My memory is definitely not the thing for that!
Happy New Year to everyone! And I hope that 2011 is better for us all than 2010.
Hi Alex,
Sounds as though you have had quite the holiday season. I hope that 2011 goes smoothly (for us all!). You know I look forward to reading your work but please please no factory products ;-).
I thought of you this past fall when I visited Beaufort, a seaside town in North Carolina. My friends and I took a “ghost walk” after dark that was led and narrated (in a highly entertaining fashion) by a pirate. We saw the real (haunted) home that Blackbeard once occupied and also a cemetery that has graves going back to the 1600s (hey, in America, that’s old!).
I saw on your Christmas post that you enjoyed “Driftwood” by Harper Fox. I love all she has written so far, including the most recent “A Midwinter Prince” – very gripping style and great characterizations. Ick on the Narnia movies……I loved those books so much as a teen and was completely disappointed and a disgusted with the interpretation of the first book that I haven’t even wanted to try the next two. Most books just cannot be done justice by a 2 hour movie, especially classic books like those. On a good note, I was able to acquire and watch the DVD of “Sherlock” from Amazon UK and I adored every minute of all three episodes. Are there to be more? What a shame if not. OK, I’ve rambled on………. I’ll be sending good vibes to you and your writing muse.
Happy New Year 🙂
Thank you! I have to say that the temptation to bash out some stuff quickly in order to have something to sell is terribly strong, but I’ve put my foot down and am determined not to give in to it. I’m not saying that I’m great or anything, but I am going to do the best I possibly can and let the rest of it sort itself out.
Ooh, Beaufort sounds fascinating. And the 1600s is pretty old to anyone. Even here it would be considered old – and the ideal sort of age for ghosts.
I’ve just finished reading “Blackout” and “All Clear” by Connie Willis, which were excellent, but that means that I’m without a book to read on the journey up North to see my MIL. So I will get “A Midwinter Prince” on your recommendation. I wanted to try some more of her stuff, and that sounds like a good place to start.
I actually quite liked the first Narnia film, but thought they went downhill from there. Certainly if you didn’t like the first one, you’ll not want to see the third.
Hee! I’m glad you enjoyed the new Sherlock series. I did too. The second episode a bit less than the other two, but then the other two were sheer brilliance so that’s not saying much. I think that there’s definitely going to be another series, but probably only of another 3 episodes, so it’s good news but not the best.
Thanks again, and Happy New Year to you too 🙂