Jolly good writing week

As you may gather from the title of this post this week has been a jolly good writing week. There are not one but two (yes TWO) exciting developments, allow me to enlighten you...

1. Novel progress.

Novel as in 'a fictional prose narrative of considerable length, typically having a plot that is unfolded by the actions, speech, and thoughts of the characters' rather than novel, 'strikingly new, unusual, or different'. Though I do hope the Novel is novel.

Anyway, yes I have progressed the Novel! Some three months after I packed in the day job I have found myself with a completely free day with no imminent deadlines for non fiction pieces or church work to do that I couldn't shirk and so, hurrah, I got to spend the day making up stories! Hip, hip, horray!

The first exciting development was that re reading what I have already written of the novel revealed that it is not totally hideous! I can't tell you what a surprise this is. I was convinced it was writing of the very worst order destined to die along with my literary ambitions but alas I even laughed in parts! Yes! And was moved! I also cringed a fair bit and noticed the steady decline in my ability to care about it as it went along (that's 7am writing slots for you!) but there is certainly something to work with. Hurrah indeed!

This has really given me the push to get it finished, mostly because I want to graduate from the masses of people who have half written a novel to the slightly more elite 'have finished a novel but can't get in published and I am very bitter about it' gang. Can't wait!

2. Super magazine opportunity

For about six years now I've had my beady little eye on a certain publication that I have wanted to write for. I have been writing for their B to D list publications for the last six years or so and have been pummelling at the door or the flagship magazine for ages until this week when I will be penning my first commissioned article for them! A List baby!

Now I just have to face the crippling fear that over night I have forgotten how to write. I don't know why writing becomes such a superstitious business. It's not like I wake up in a cold sweat wondering if I'm going to get to work and forget how to unlock the door or the alphabet will magically slip from my head and I'll no longer be able to shelve books. Yet there is always the lingering fear that I actually can't string together a coherent idea or even words that make sense, let along affect people in a meaningful way. Either way I have two days to get this article together so no time to be a winger.

And so concludes my jolly good writing week!