Revisions are tough!
After embracing the flippancy and adolescent carelessness of first drafting, my writing suddenly needs to grow up and get a job.
These are my piteous excuses for hideously slow progress of late:
1. Time. Lack of.
So unique. I feel semi justified in using this because I have genuinely sat down to write a number of times over the last month only to be called away after 10 minutes by teething/puking/poorly children.
2. Technical dexterity. Lack of.
I can write on my phone and tablet, but I have yet to find a way to edit without accidently deleting large chunks of text. I would gain so much time and capacity if I could work this one out.
3. Confidence. Lack also thereof.
Some of my writing time recently has been used for applying to a local writing support scheme. This entailed submitting a small sample of my work, which involved polishing and editing some of the horrific mess that I’ve been trying to ignore in the process of sorting out the actual story. It took me far longer than it should, because (on more than one occasion) I ended up in tears at the hopelessness of my case. Where is that mythical voice? Frolicking on an airy mountain between the slippery slope of stark facts and the alluring meadows of purple prose. I submitted in the end, but phew, the stress!
Despite my chronic deficiencies, there have been some positives:
i. Craft swatting. Blogs, vlogs and pubtalk. Multitasking to learn like I never did at uni. Also been watching some vlogs on reading which gives a really interesting perspective.
(Thanks to Ava Jae for helping me work out that my ms is probably NA, and all the things that has helped to clarify.)
2. Physio has helped me get out and about a bit more or walks etc. which has helped with location inspiration, technicalities and general mulling.
3. My brain is still ticking, and every day or so some little puzzle works itself out. Backstory here, links there…puzzles are a-slotting together…
Uhoh, the baby cries. Back to excuse #1 again…
L. K. Howl Writes 