Workshops and Website

Completed the first of several workshops for the Bath Literature Festival yesterday. Met some great people and students, loved the train journey, can't wait to do the rest. All info available on the website...

...which now has a new look as I start to work in earnest towards completing the next book. Some clues as to the subject matter are in the pics and quotations. I'm 35k words in and hoping for 50k - 60k so some hard writing and editing is coming my way. Love it.

Writing

Susan Hill made some interesting observations about writing angst on her blog the other day and I've been thinking about what she said. Effectively she was encouraging writers to enjoy what they do and to not put pressure on themselves to reach quotas etc (I won't repeat what she had to say, you can read it yourselves...)

She's right, of course. There's no argument to the contrary really...but it got me thinking about why I sometimes feel frustrated about the whole process and I thought I'd share my thoughts.

For me, the frustration comes in two distinct guises. The first is at my situation. I'm certain I share this with most writers who have had just a little success and many writers who have had no success (I'm talking financially here...not aesthectically...that's another thing altogether) at all. It's about making time to write. I'll always make the time (because I love it so much and because I have ambitions) but there is the day job to do (I'm a teacher) and the family committments, so there are times when I'm at work wishing I was at home sat at the computer working on my writing. The desire to write full-time is my driving force and so it goes on. Yes, I love the act of writing, so much that sometimes I hate being kept away from doing it!

The second frustration is at myself when the time is there to write and I find myself wasting it. I don't think I'll ever change there though. If I get 300 words done in a session I can't help thinking 'why didn't I manage a 1000?' Perhaps age will mellow me...not that I'm suggesting Susan is old...

Pretty good year

Not the best way to start a year but looking back, 2006 was a good one with the birth of a son and the birth of a novel...

I forgot to mention my 'Read of the Year'. It was 'What I'm going to do, I think' by L. Wiowode. It was first published in 1969. I think I discovered it in a second-hand book shop somewhere. It tells the story of a young couple who are learning to love. Time Magazine described it as 'the best three way confrontation between a young man, life and the Michigan woods since Hemingway's Nick Adam's stories'. If you can find it, I recommend it!

Bring on 2007!