‘Believe in your story absolutely as you tell it’ Michael Morpurgo (I
Believe in Unicorns)
Well, what another positive month and I feel so happy to be saying that.
As before, I have spent the month continuing to type up from my notebooks and
learning as I go along. The month started well with a snow day allowing me to
find extra time to write as well as working on research notes and using
inspiration from my holiday pictures. And very much as the above quote states
from the master storyteller himself, I feel that I really believe in the story
that I’m trying to tell, and becoming lost within the world that I am creating.
And there have been moments of new writing too, as I either scribble or type
new parts around those I’ve already written. It’s just so exciting to see my story coming to life and just how I
want it to be told. As always I am inspired by others, but putting the words in
my own way, telling my story and really feeling it all come together.
The biggest achievement this month, and quite a milestone to mark is
reaching the 100,000 word mark!!! It’s something I wasn’t sure I would be able
to say, but am extremely proud to have reached such a significant point in my
writing journey. And yet there is still more to do. Out of the nine notebooks
that I have currently scribbled in, I’m now typing from number 8 and so the
point is getting nearer when I can see just how much I already have. Only then
will I be able to work out how much more is needed, and I’m hopeful that I have
more than I actually think and the elusive first draft will be closer to
completion. And I’m excited to read it all, to see all my threads finally come
together.
Back to some of the new scribbles that have arisen whilst I’ve been
typing, it has certainly been a good curve ball in that I already have thoughts
on how to expand what’s already there. Besides that, there was the feeling of
doing some actual writing, new words on the page. It has certainly been a
little while. But saying that, I know that my typing exercise is very important
in moving forwards and knowing where I am, seeing where the story maybe no
longer works in places or fits in the overall plot, and adapting things as I
go. And so my time has certainly not been wasted. It has been extremely
valuable , to take a step back and think, as see already where there are still
things to work on. But as the month ends and another is on the horizon, I can
report that another 18,940 words have been typed this month, as well as more
scribbled, so I’m taking that as another achievement to add to the list, as
well as building on what I managed last month.
Talking of having targets to work towards, it’s been something very much
on my mind. There have been a few days where I don’t feel that I’ve done as
much as I could have done, and momentarily that has frustrated me. But then I
got to thinking. What about giving myself a small daily target? 500 words maybe, something to work towards
whether typing or writing. Okay so 500 may not seem like a lot, but better to
start realistically, and then exceed on the good days when I can. I realise I’m
a bit late to the game in this sense, but all in my own time, you know me!
But other than writing, I want to share a few other things that have
also been on my mind. Firstly, how do you prioritise what to read?? There are
just not enough hours in the day! I have a whole list of galleys on my kindle
as well as writing books and my psychology magazines to read. They are all important
in their own right, and as the quote says’ If you want to be a writer, you must
to two things above all others, read a lot and write a lot’ – Stephen King. But
just what order do you decide to read things, that’s where my struggle
lies. With both work and writing, I am
feeling that there is never the time to catch up without dropping something
else. There is so much I want to read and I want to do it all now, but I can’t
and therefore it features lower down on the list of priorities, and books or articles
are started but not quite finished. Just something else to work on!
A whole weekend at home, quite a rare thing for me I have to say. And
yet I loved every minute when I did have one, just a couple of weeks ago. Even
the job of cleaning and how it made me feel after I’d finished, that I’d
achieved something, however small. The time to indulge in other hobbies too-
cross stitch, music, films that inspire, reading and spending time with good
friends. Its all so important, to get the balance right. But also managing to
fit in some writing. It felt good to have some kind of loose plan and
succeeding at ticking a few things off that I’ve been meaning to do for a
while. It makes me more determined to enjoy the spare time more often, instead
of always trying to fill it. Although this is not a bad thing either, but
sometimes it’s good to just stop for a little while and do the little things
that can also bring so much pleasure.
And so we’re at the end of another month, and I’m looking forward to
what the next may bring. Small steps….
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