Much better this week:ROW80

 

Been a much better week for creativity this week including good enough weather some days to get into the garden. There was an afternoon when the guide dog trainer came back but it was an afternoon appointment and I managed to get some work done in the morning – there was an emergency dash to the hearing aid department at the local hospital one day to fix one of my sister’s hearing aid which had packed up.

I have been pruning and tiding shrubs in between the wind. With the unnatural warmth there is so much coming into flower now and while I don’t approve of spring flowers in the winter, I’m a seasonal old bird me, they do help to cheer one up. The are not brash like the summer plants, they peep around corners and tuck themselves shyly into nooks and crannies, keeping their heads low from the wind. They tempt out insects and birds as well, so there is a low hum of life emerging out there. With the promise of spring nearly here. Of course February and March can be colder than January and February. We’ll see:)

Anyway ROW80 THIS WEEK

Writing: The Children’s Tale progresses I wrote four new chapters and passed them through the first two corrections

Then

Editing: I also did some more serious scarlet pen editing and reduced part one by 11,000 words and part two by 9,800 words, This meant that the writing probably being kept stood at 65,135. So have discarded over half of the original as well as the duplicates.

The new chapters add a further 6,862.

So am well pleased. There are still more words to come out as I tighten every thing on subsequent editing

Blogging: Although the unexpected trip to hospital put me a bit behind on blogging I managed quite well this week with my first something new every day, a writers quote and a post about Rizzling my new word. Over among my books I struggle with too many books and confess to buying some more!!

Networking: yes holding my own there:)

Reading:Good with The Bees by Laline Paull, A Man Called Ove byFredik Backman and The Lighthouse by Alison Moore

Other: been trying to tidy up blog sites and check that connections that should be connected are. Fell a bit behind on stuff like that last year.

Pleased with week’s tally and hopeful for next week

Next week I have three groups coming up as well as a quiz so may slow down a bit.

Hope all was well this last week for everyone, keep smiling :)

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Think in straight lines!: ROW80

It was going to be a fairly open week for me, with so much time to write.
It was going to be.
It wasn’t.

People kept coming. Don’t get me wrong I like people but really! there is a time and place:)

The most important in reality was the trainer from Guide Dogs. She came to see if we can tweak my sister and the dog to enable ease, on the longer walks. I offered to draw the trainer a map of my sister’s routes.

Easy I thought.
It turned out to be a small nightmare.

I hadn’t realised just how much one can think in straight lines. I drive down the road turn left or right at the end ( mind’s eye, a straight road!) My sister cannot tell if she is following a curve or turning left so we refer to the same lines – follow the pavement until you get to a kerb (more straight lines!)

Until one has to produce a detailed walking map.

We are not good at grid systems in the UK and as I found out even this newer part of the village couldn’t bring itself to even try.
Nothing straight.

Many sweeping curves.

Imaginative maze of cul de sacs and green lanes.
Yes, well!

That took me a long time and many sheets of paper before I had produced a good copy – so proud of it:)
The other visitors were friends, one of whom came to pick up some wood for his heating. Which served to remind me I have some felling and sawing to do this winter. Must get on with it.

ROW80

WRITING: Better week, writing wise.The Children’s Tale It is difficult to keep track of words at moment as I am still ditching large amounts of old work, however, I did write two new chapters this week which was very satisfactory.

EDITING: All the remaining words have gone through autocrit for overused words, adverbs etc – I bring the underlined mistakes back down to Scrivener to work on off line, so now comes the painstaking work of removing the words and re-writing scenes. But now at least many of the first mistakes can be seen.

IDEAS: I was watching a local artist on TV this afternoon and he said something about framed hung art which set of a tumbling cascade of idea for a weird short story – smashing:)

BLOGS: Managed three only not so good.A Musing Monday, Set up Something New Every Day, Let the Mind be a Thoroughfare for Ideas
NETWORKING: Not too bad – managed most days.

READING: Not so much but did read The Maze Run by James Dashner by which was a page turner surprising me somewhat ( why should it?)Now I’m well ensconced in The Bees by Laline Paull.

OTHER: Well now, I began a bullet journal which may or may not work!

I had a crazy idea end of last year to paint a mural on the shower wall I am determined to try this coming month – I have doodled a plan – bought some sample paints and all raring to go.

I have also sewn together individual scrumbles into larger pieces so can now work out what to do with them all.

I also managed a little time in the garden, between the cold and wind.

NEXT WEEK:

If I can keep it clear! I should like to add at least three more chapters of The Children’s Tale.
Get as near as possible to half way through 2nd draft rewrites.
Begin planning a-z blogs for April.

I hope everyone had a satisfactory week and all the best for this coming one – keep smiling:)

Parcels, texture and editing

Have had a good week for receiving parcels – I do like a parcel:) I have been on e-bay buying more plants for Year Two of reconstructing my garden from labour intensive edible to less work wilderness er no wild garden:)The clement weather I was hoping for has come and gone so nothing has been planted yet but, they are smashing plants – I do like e-bay – my entire garden for 15 years has come from this place and hardly a dud amongst them. They sit in a cool light place awaiting their time in the sun.

There have also been some new clothes from there as well. I do like parcels not sure the bank manager does!

I have begun baking again, having discovered melted cake mixtures. I had struggled for a long time now with wrist and hand joints that just don’t like rubbing, mixing or creaming ingredients. As cakes and biscuits are not essential, I had given up the struggle. Now – well fortunately I do not have so much spare time we will be gorging ourselves, but it is nice to eat homemade again:)

Had two day workshop last week on textured embroidery which left said wrists quite swollen but I had such fun and learnt so much it was worth it. Now I can settle back with Dragon and give wrists a rest.

ROW80

All behind due to connection with Internet coming adrift for a couple of days!

Editing:

So the whole of this month is still abut editing – I am with NaNoEdMo again this year and am on track for the 50 hours. Finally, I believe I have worked out The Children’s Tale – it has taken so long but maybe I’m there.

Those who have been around these past few years may remember I ended with two stories instead of one and had to separate them and begin again, then I was ill and had to struggle to meld different pieces together when I recovered – it has never been an easy tale to write and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. After a long spell last year not touching it and re-reading it afresh I saw the problem. I had strayed over time from the normal structure of the series. I had strayed from the archival backbone of the Chronicles.

This round of editing will be long. I had 80,00 already written and now have to go through it all and change the structure, the personal pronouns and the tense of all those words. Separate chapters into one person narratives. Different view points on a scene!

I have begun this year and although it is amazingly hard work it progresses satisfactorily and begins to sound better. The concentration required leaves me flattened but am managing at least 2 – 3 hours a day. I can see a lot more will be needed after this sweep, as even now I am finding the wrong tense /pronoun hiding away. I had autocritted everything before I had discovered the fatal flaw so that continues alongside the changes. In finding different ways of eliminating repeated words and phrases I am also managing to change the flawed bits.

I don’t think this exercise will make me like editing, but this time the process is fascinating. Watching how whole pages change as I change just one or two words.

Blogs: have managed to keep up with these however, still haven’t moved all blog from blogger to wordpress. Must get those last few transferred.Have two blogs on kissafrog – When Spaghetti Grew on Trees and Great Aunts and the Danger of Exposed Flesh. Have written up two books for Literary Movement Reading Challenge Milton’s Areopagitica and Christopher Marlow’s Doctor Faustus.
The usual Musing Mondays and Writer’s Quote.

The A-Z planning is going well, most are drafted now but a deal of polish still needed. If I can get them done in time I may take some time off blogging in April and concentrate on new garden. One can have dreams:)

Networking: so-so not helped by connection going. Playing catch up on commenting

Reading is going well am now 12 ahead on the Goodreads Challenge total standing at 27 books this year.Gives me lots of wriggle room later in the year.

Life: not so bad especially now I can see spring around every corner. Still a little cold for my lungs but oh the sunshine and life rustling outside is making me very restless to be there. Have sorted some fabric out from stash of clothes that no longer fit which I have plans to combine into something which will fit! Made a dozen more scrumbles in blues, yellows and orange to celebrate the sunshine.

Next week: more of more of.

I hope everyone has had a good week and best of luck for the coming days.

This week or more has been mainly editing editing and yet more editing