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Wednesday 15 January 2014

More on the New Year

I have not consciously sat down and wrote myself a bunch of new years resolutions, or even one resolution. I'm too old to change and too old to be influenced by that old chestnut.
However, two weeks into 2014 and I haven't done badly at all.
Ephesus  is underway again. There was one transitionary point in the story that seemed to work okay in script form but I have been stuck on how to make it happen in novel/novella format. I have commenced a Creative Writing correspondence course which has increased my motivation tenfold. As part of this course it wants me to work on a current project so I picked up where I left off on Ephesus and it was as if the problem hadn't been there in the first place. Ephesus is back underway, and watch this space, it should be out soon.
My quest to have a short story winner continues, and I am attending a workshop in Cambridge on 25th of January.
Finally I have got my place at my 5th Get Writing Conference in Hatfield in March, where I will be attending four workshops, seminars and have a 5 minute pitch to a publisher/agent booked. More of that later.
If all of this had have been part of a plan stemming from New Years Resolutions, then how lucky we writers are. Most people resolve to do less of what they enjoy, like smokers giving up, foodies going on a diet etc., whilst writers resolve to do more.

Wednesday 1 January 2014

Happy New Year

Start the year with a blog post, that's what I say. Well my blogs were a bit thin on the ground during December.
Happy New Year to one and all. I looked for a suitable literary quote relating to the new year, and this was my favourite: "The only way to spend New Year's Eve is either quietly with friends or in a brothel. Otherwise when the evening ends and people pair off, someone is bound to be left in tears."
- W.H. Auden

My favourite resolution was from comedian Sean Lock who said on the 8 out of 10 Cats Christmas Special "My new year's resolution is to be more chivalrous to feminists."
On the subject of resolutions I'm with Brigdet Jones who said "I do think New Year's resolutions can't technically be expected to begin on New Year's Day, don't you? Since, because it's an extension of New Year's Eve, smokers are already on a smoking roll and cannot be expected to stop abruptly on the stroke of midnight with so much nicotine in the system. Also dieting on New Year's Day isn't a good idea as you can't eat rationally but really need to be free to consume whatever is necessary, moment by moment, in order to ease your hangover. I think it would be much more sensible if resolutions began generally on January the second."
However, after saying all of that on the resolution front mine is the same as last year, I'm going to write more and when I'm not writing I'm going to read more.
I'll just add a few hundred words to my current project then that's day one under my belt.
Enjoy the holiday :-)