Tuesday 21 July 2009

Writerly bites

It has been an odd couple of days. Lost a client - careless I know, but sometimes you find you're just not suited and the relationship has to end. It is sad, but essential. Meanwhile, my own book is making slow but steady progress. I am keeping up with the running and trying to ignore the pain in my knee - which is strapped as tight as I can get it. And I have discovered Gu bites - delicious pieces of heavenly reward for each chapter edited.
Writers when writing are basically selfish people. No let me rephrase that, we make selfish people look good. The problem is that you are trying to live two lives. The life of the book and your own normal every day life. The latter becomes a bit dull, you can't control people the way you can in the fictional life and that becomes frustrating and depressing. So you get snappy with loved ones and turn inwards in a slightly obsessive unhealthy way.
Or is it just me?
And the boyfriend?
No wonder we will do anything to procrastinate and not write - in some dark deep place, we know that the process will take over and the Hyde (or was it Jekyll) side of our nature will come out.
I finished reworking chapter 5 today. It needs another look through, but it is ready to be left for a second mulch. So onwards with chapter 6 which is lying around looking sloppy and unstructured at the moment - a bit like younger daughter bedroom at the end of term, when the dirty washing and unpacking have merged into an amorphous mass - you know there are outfits she is fit to be seen in for work experience in there somewhere, you just have to dig around patiently for a bit.
Tomorrow I'm off for an Awayday. This, apparently, is where you go along to a hotel with all your work colleagues and discuss what we did wrong last year and what to do about it for next year. I think we get lunch and I hope to get paid. It is a 2 hour drive there and back and I have organised a dinner party for tomorrow night back in London. Do I sound less than enthusiastic? See, told you, writers are selfish. Now where are those Gu bites? Boyfriend is coming over, I need to hide them.

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