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Satisfied Saturday Six

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

 

  1. I have been involved with Scope’s “End The Awkward” Valentine’s Campaign which owes thanks to Mills and Boon for their agreement to pastiche their covers, and it has been great fun.
  2. In fact, I wrote a little bit about it on the Huffington Post yesterday 🙂
  3. I also wrote a couple of poems this week, which is the first time for a while. I’m not very good at sticking to one genre.
  4. The first suggestions for covers for my novel The Sisterhood came through this week. OMG, there are brilliant cover artists out there! They are very and extremely talented, and apparently all working for Bella Books. It was very exciting.
  5. Meantime, I have been writing an article on ‘Kept Men’ in the Regency: I now know more than you do about marrying for money if you’re a bloke. And other things, but I haven’t got to that part of the article yet…
  6. Oh, and the ‘probably not wildly publishable but extremely enjoyable’ fiction writing is still going on. I have managed to write a disconcertingly large amount of words in the last month and have discovered that I am vaguely in love with one of my characters, which never usually happens at all. I am quite shocked by myself!

 

(It’s fairly obvious that I haven’t had much of an actual personal life this week, given that this is all about writing related things. This is slightly embarrassing, but you know – sometimes there are weeks like that. On other weeks, I’ve done practically nothing writing-related, so you gain some, you lose some!)

Satisfied Saturday Six

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

  1. Lovely Partner and I are going to Berlin at the end of next week, which has been taking up a lot of our minds this week. We now have money and tickets sorted, and are planning all sorts of places to go (plus meeting up with old friends, which should be excellent!), which is really exciting! (No SSS next week, by the way, since I will hopefully be Far Too Busy Having Fun!)

2. I submitted another couple of stories this week, which felt terribly brave. But I prefer having lots of things out so that when the rejections start rolling in, there’s still hope that something else may get accepted 🙂

3. I’ve also been in contact with someone about taking part in a festival later in the year. Nothing more to tell about it at the moment, and it may yet come to nothing, but it’s quite an exciting thought.

4. The story I started last week seems to have managed to get itself to 20,000 words. I’m not quite sure how it’s managed that (I anticipated it finishing at about 15,000; but there’s still at least another 1000 and possibly more to go) but it seems to be going well in its own sweet way, so I’ll just go with it.

5. Splendid Son and I are going to the football this afternoon, which is always an interesting experience. Sadly, our team almost never wins and is one of the worst in the league; however, there is something special about being there and feeling like you’re involved. We sit very close to the home dugout, too, which gives us an interesting perspective on things.

6. Ooh, I went clothes shopping this week after my best friend kindly gave me money and told me to go and buy something that fitted me for my birthday. I now actually own a pair of trousers which fit, and a very pleasing blue jumper which my cats will try and nibble holes in at the first available moment.

A Story Within A Story

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There are many funny things about writing, but I think one of the strangest is what happens to stories when you’re writing them. I rarely have a fully thought-out idea of what is going to go on, as my stories are generally character-driven so it depends what it turns out that they seem to decide to do.

But it’s also interesting the curious parts of a story to which one gets attached. In my current WIP, one of the main characters, Al, is a short film director. (He also works in a wine shop, but that’s another matter.) As a minor part of the plot, his film, Welding The Night Away, gets nominated for an award in an International Film Festival. (I don’t know whether the person I know whose film did indeed get an award in such a thing wishes to be mentioned by name here; I would love to give them the publicity but always wonder whether given my very different style of writing, it would be at all appreciated. However, I have been thinking of them as I write this part of the storyline.) I realised at this point that it would probably help if I had some idea what Al’s film had, in fact, been about.

So I thought about it. With the result that I am now totally dedicated to the idea of this wonderful film that Al made and am really rather sad that I can’t see it (since, let us face it, it doesn’t actually exist), and that it can basically only get a fleeting mention in the story I’m actually writing.

So. If anyone is considering making a short  film, can I propose the following plot (as described briefly in my WIP):

“Welding The Night Away was a thought-provoking story about a young woman named Helen, who struggled with severe anxiety which made her literally shake with nerves. Unable to sleep for more than a few hours at a time, she spent the rest of her night-times in her garage, welding together amazing artworks which never saw the light of day but which, for a few, peaceful hours, stopped her limbs from trembling and allowed her to get the little rest she could.”

 

Alas. The story which never was.

 

Satisfied Saturday Six

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

 

After a few weeks off over Christmas, I’m finally getting my arse back in gear and getting back to writing my Satisfied Saturday Sixes 🙂 So here goes.

  1. I had a nice birthday on Wednesday: lots of very kind people wishing me well, and my health problems (which have been multitudinal this year, sadly) were obliging enough to give me a couple of days off from feeling ten different types of dreadful. So that was splendid.
  2. I heard back from the editor of Jane Austen’s Regency World that my article on Black Georgians is okay, which is relieving. I didn’t want to tread on anyone’s sensibilities, and I’m aware that I’m writing for an international audience where different countries have different appropriate terminology, so it was all a bit terrifying. It’ll be out in the March/April edition, so please look out for it!
  3. I managed to submit a couple of stories this week. This is slightly disconcerting because it’s been quite a while since I’ve been submitting things en spec rather than writing for specific commissions. So it’s very much a case of wait and see, and obviously the thing about being a writer is that you do have to put a brave face on rejections, so I may very well be doing that quite a lot in the foreseeable future. But it’s fun to be writing new things, and writing things which I’ve written just because that’s what I fancied writing at the time. (It’s all sex at the moment. No idea why, but it is. I’m going with it.)
  4. Talking of which, the muse is still buzzing along happily so I am still writing new things. Any good? Probably not, but that’s another matter.
  5. I went out for a meal with my parents on Thursday, which is always an enjoyable experience. I’m having a few problems eating enough at the moment (not a usual issue for me!) but nice food is still nice food.
  6. Splendid Son was invited out for a birthday treat with a friend yesterday, which was very nice for him and also very good timing for me as I had a migraine and it meant that I could spend all day in bed without needing to be anywhere at any time, which was a great (and much needed) relief. (Yes, I am scraping the barrel a bit at the moment to find any non-illness related information. Sorry.)

Satisfied Saturday Six

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

 

1. I have friends staying, and it is marvellous! So far, I have drunk too much and tried to feed them things they don’t like/aren’t able to eat, but they seem to like me anyway 🙂

2. I finished and posted a couple of knitting commissions this week, and have another commission to fulfil. Hurrah!

3. And I am still writing like someone who is writing a lot of the time. I’m still not sure what amount is publishable, but I don’t think practising writing will ever be a bad thing to be doing.

4. I’ve also got involved with a Christmas-related community online, in which people say what they would like to have for Christmas, and if you can help, you do. I am writing a couple of flash fiction stories for that, too.

5. I went out for a meal with Splendid Son and my parents on Tuesday, which was excellent. It was to celebrate my mother’s birthday, as she’d been travelling on her actual birthday, which isn’t exactly the most exciting way to spend the day. And the food was very nice.

6. I have just generally felt quite cheerful this week. The house is in chaos and there are lots of things I should have done, or haven’t done, or (quite probably) forgotten about, but it’s not bothering me in the same way just now. It’s a good feeling!

Satisfied Saturday Six

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

1. Sowley, the shop which sells my scarves in Canterbury, turns out to have sold some more of them. I originally gave them four scarves, all of which have sold, and I’ve now given them three more. But it’s delightful that they’re selling – I’m so pleased!

2. On top of that, I’ve sold all the other scarves I had on offer at Friday Yarns – and am in the middle of making arm warmers/fingerless mittens as a commission. (I have also finished a commissioned rug and now just need to find brown paper or large postage bags so that I can post it.)

3. I’m still writing a lot. I am really enjoying myself with the writing at the moment: it is lovely. I think this is the first time I’ve been whole-heartedly enjoying it for a while. I needed to have deadlines and to get things submitted on time, but I am definitely liking the freedom to write whatever I feel like at the moment. And I am finally getting round to writing some things which may actually be publishable. I’ve got a half-written story about three men which I’m currently quite pleased with.

4. Splendid Son had his horn exam on Wednesday (grade 2). He was worried in advance, which isn’t like him but he came out of it saying that he thought he’d passed, so that’s good. Also, it means that I don’t have to hassle him to do horn practice every day! I promised him a week off after he’d done the exam 🙂

5. Ooh, I ordered some things from Breila Cards for Christmas, and they arrived this week. She is so talented!

6. I have realised that my body is really not working at the moment (not good) and scaled back a bit to cope with it (good) AND am nonetheless feeling quite cheerful (very good)!

Satisfied Saturday Six

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

 

1. My sister was down for a couple of days at the beginning of the week. It was excellent to meet up and have a chat 🙂

2. I seem to have made what is to me a surprising discovery: if I take painkillers to deal with my pain issues, it greatly improves my mood as well. Other people may not find this as surprising as I do – Splendid Son clearly didn’t, as we had the following exchange (apologies to those who have read it elsewhere, but it bears repeating!):
Me: “I’m not in much pain and I’m feeling much happier than I have been lately!”

Splendid Son: “That’s like saying ‘I’ve put on trousers and now I don’t feel so naked.'”

Well, obvious or not, it’s extremely pleasing!

3. I’m still writing lots. Including some things which may well be publishable. And I’m doing lots of research into what to write for which markets next, which is quite fun.

4. I’m feeling well enough to go to the football today (Charlton Athletic), which is pleasing as I feared I might not be. I’m going with my father rather than son today – Splendid Son, Lovely Partner, my mother and a couple of SS’s friends are all going to the pantomime (all together now: “OH NO THEY AREN’T!”) so everyone will be happy. Dad and I have never liked panto very much, but we do like football 🙂

5.  The US’s Thanksgiving has meant that my Facebook has been overwhelmed with people writing about things they’re grateful for. It has been a lovely explosion of good things!

6. Splendid Son has a horn exam next Wednesday. I have promised him a week off practising afterwards. Little does he know that I have promised MYSELF a week off nagging him to practise 🙂 He’s been very good, but I can hardly wait!

Satisfied Saturday Six

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

Considering the attacks in Paris (which is closer to my home than many places in England, and any place in Scotland), it seems slightly insensitive to post an SSS. But in the theory that at bad times, recognising the good is important, I’m going ahead.

  1. After a few days of feeling “I never want to write again” after submitting The Sisterhood, my writing mojo is back. I’m avoiding anything long still, but poetry and flash fiction are singing through my brain, and I’ve been reminded that I do indeed write for the love of it. It got a bit lost in the epic battle to turn in a decently edited novel on time, so it’s nice to be feeling it again.

2. Lovely Partner and I are planning a couple of nights in Berlin sometime next year. I won accommodation there, so it’s just a case of getting there and finding food. It’s giving us something nice to look forward to – I’m not a winter person, so it’s good to be planning great things.

3. I had a medical appointment on Wednesday which went much better than anticipated, so that was a relief.

4. I am looking at getting business cards made up for Friday Yarns, which feels like a terribly grown up thing to be doing.

5. Next weekend, I have organised to go up and visit one of my sisters. Then, when I get back, my other sister will be staying locally, so I will get to spend time with her as well. This is very pleasing.

6. I efficiently managed to do much cooking of food earlier in the week, which is all portioned up in the freezer, so that is rather excellent.

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

A quick one this week as I’m on holiday, but I missed last week, so here goes.

  1. I’m on holiday in Cornwall, pretty much my favourite place, with my boys, pretty much my favourite people. This is excellent.
  2. My editor at Jane Austen’s Regency World liked my piece on toilet habits,  which should be published in November, I think.
  3. I am finding Cornish beaches incredibly inspiring for writing: I’ve written a few thousand words whilst being here, which is pretty good going. Whether any of it is any good, I’m less sure – but then, that’s always the case with me!
  4. I am compiling a list of things I need to google when I get home – when people started drinking hot chocolate is one of them, and when it became more regular. I am vaguely entertained by the things I end up needing to google.
  5. Oh, also, I discovered a massive sub-plot to The Sisterhood, which whilst it means I have a lot of research to do, explains the existence of a couple of characters who had insisted on pushing themselves into the story for no good reason. Now there’s a good reason.
  6. I’ve been enjoying watching some of the Athletics World Championships in idle moments.

Satisfied Saturday Six

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The SSS celebrates six things that have gone well, or at least okay, in the past week. It is the creation of Terry Egan, who is all things wonderful.

1. My sister and my nephew have been down staying locally this week. SO nice to spend time with them.

2. Also, my sister and I scandalously Went To The Pub. I think it’s the first time I’ve been out to do that for… um, at least six months. Probably a lot longer. It was splendid, even if I did drink too much (both wine and water).

3. I feel mean for being pleased that Lovely Partner’s fencing clubs have stopped for the summer, but it’s very jolly having him home a bit more.

4. I’m not the speediest writer ever, but the new novel is plodding along. Next week Child has a football club, so I will try and get a bit more done then – I’m going away next Saturday (YAY!) so it would be nice to go with the knowledge that I’m well on target (which in my terms means ‘definitely ahead of target so I don’t panic’) to get the first draft completed by the end of September so I have all of October for editing.

5. And, as above, I’m going away next Saturday with Child, to stay with incredibly excellent and splendid friends! Excuse me whilst I bounce a bit just thinking about it (*bounce*)

6. I like summer. I like light evenings. I like no school. I like the laid back feel. I like summer.