All over the world, bloggers, (with the exception of the indefatigable Bransford – but hey, he’s at least 7 hours behind) are shutting up shop and I should be too, but when writing gets pushed to one side a quick post reminds me I’m still a writer (and is a damned sight easier than a chapter of edits!)
It’s a bit early for New Year resolutions, but if there’s something you’ve decided to do, why wait for a particular moment to let it be known? On the desktop of my new(ish) laptop I’m actually provided with gadget that sits at the top of the screen which is probably the best aide memoir I have, so instead of any grand pronouncements here’s what’s on my writing to do list for the first month or so of 2010.
- Finish off those edits and get v2 of The Water’s Edge ( first 20,000 on) up on to Authonomy and out to a few other critics who will tell me how they find Ailsa now told in the third person (and with a few significant plot tweaks).
- Revamp an old piece of memoir (stripping it of self-conscious verbiage) for Leaf Books next competition
- Maybe even write up my joke piece for same
- Find a home – any home – for a short short story completed months ago that’s still sitting around waiting to be read.
Lastly, but most excitingly, to send in an entry for the South West Writers Mentoring project run by Exeter Uni. Ten places are available to authors currently living permanently in the SW region who are writing ‘a novel, a collection of short stories, or a work of memoir, biography or autobiography’.
Why the excitement? It just feels like the right time to get going on the idea I’ve been researching and generally mulling over for quite some time. But there’s apprehension too. Aside from the ‘new book jitters’ I still have to decide which of these genres my new project falls into! Sorting that out by Feb 5th should be more than enough to see in the New Year.
Ali Bacon / Books and Other Things 