The writing, which is what this blog is really all about, has taken
precedence this month, with 45% of my working time spent putting words onto
paper (metaphorically speaking, of course, since I type direct to screen!). The
third volume of the fantasy trilogy, provisionally titled ‘A Seared Sky’, is
progressing at a good pace. The month started with 24,131 words and 6 chapters completed.
It ended with 21 chapters and 81,672 words committed to the MS. That’s 57,541
words this month, or an average of 1,856 each day. Not as much as I’d like, but
a reasonable move forward. Of course, I’ve also introduced another 5 named
characters, and it takes time to develop such newcomers to the story. If you
look at the post immediately prior to this, you’ll see how I go about that
process.
The domestics have naturally played their part this month, with Valerie
still unable to use one arm. The cast was supposed to come off last Thursday,
and it did. But she’s still in some pain and they decided to replace it for
another week. The new cast is slightly shorter, lighter and a rather fetching
purple hue. We’ll both be heartily pleased to see the end of it and Valerie’s
return to normal functioning. Mind you, the break has taught me things of which
I was previously unaware; Valerie does a lot more around the house than I’d
ever suspected. So, I’ll be helping out a little more than in the past.
I’ve done 3 sessions of updates on the Writing Contests page, see the tab
above if you’re willing to try your hand at earning a bit of cash and kudos for
your writing.
I’ve written 7 posts for this blog (which, by the way, has reached a
minor milestone today, with 150,000 page views). Also read and reviewed 6
books. Naturally, I’ve spent a good deal of time in networking: engaged in
short conversations on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Goodreads, Google+ and Pinterest. I
enjoy exchanging ideas and thoughts with other people, so please do join me.
The coming month promises to be every bit as full as the last. Our
daughter, Kate, reaches the significant age of 21 during the early part of
September and we’ll be celebrating that rite of passage accordingly. Valerie
and I will reach 25 years of wedded bliss (that’s a silver wedding anniversary,
for those who are unfamiliar with such things) later in the month, and we
intend to celebrate that event in style, meaning there will be a period during
which I won’t be writing. That’s also likely to delay the report for September
by a number of days.
I’m considering introducing some of the characters from my fantasy to
readers here over the next few weeks, so look out for some character
descriptions. And, I think that’s about it for now. As ever, I welcome your
comments.
The accompanying chart is more or less self-explanatory, but here’s an
explanation anyway:
The chart, explained:
'Writing' - initial creation of stories, blog posts, reviews and longer
works.
'Editing' - polishing of all written work to make it suitable for
readers.
'Research' - discovery of info for story content, market research,
contests and blog posts.
'Reading' - books and writing magazines.
'Networking' - emails, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+,
and comments.
'Admin' - story submission, blog posting, marketing, organisation, tax,
and general admin tasks.
