March: a change of plan

The structural edits for my Christmas book have landed on my desk. I have a deadline for completion of 5th April so, my original plan for March needs to change. Simple. My main focus for the month will be in tailoring my Christmas book forcing my 'new book' to take a back seat. I shall still work on it each day, but whether I hit my target we'll have to wait and see.

If you're following my routine as an unpublished author these are the challenges you face on a weekly basis. Your focus switches constantly between projects. Which has its advantages and disadvantages. I love that I get to 'juggle' projects and take breaks between stages of writing. I like being consumed by one set of characters and then having a break from them only for them to land in my lap again in a few weeks time. Sometimes, that distance allows me to spot traits or connections which I hadn't seen in my original writing. I don't mind switching focus, though at times you can be excited by a project which you need to step back from in order to meet another deadline. If you don't like deadlines then this job isn't going to be easy for you. I constantly have a postcard above my desk with a 'deadline date' reminder staring at me! 

My down-time continues to be filled with reading, drawing and knitting. I've added photographs to a previous blog post showing the art I've created. We're approximately halfway through Lent so I'll have produced many more pieces by Easter. My knitting continues whilst I watch TV. I've reverted back to the 'special care unit' who use traffic light colours for their prem babies so mint green is the colour.

I've finished rereading Tennessee Williams' play 'A Streetcar Named Desire' - it was weird how much more I saw in this reading compared to a previous time. Though 'Book Club' discussions sometimes create a new insight. I've made a start on 'Fathers and Sons' and so far, it's an easier read than previous Russian novels - fingers crossed, it continues to please.