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Friday 13 March 2015

Getting Back Into Writing After a Break

Camellias at Claremont Landscape Garden
I’m a bit late with this post. This is partly due to half term, plus now I have two blogs to manage and some part-time work relating to neetsmarketing.com. I’ve been temping for the past few weeks, on and off too, helping an elderly gentleman catalogue and archive some old work documents before he moves house.

The writing of draft six of Book 2 has slipped too, unfortunately. Since my 7 Ways to Finish Writing the Book post, back in January: I have managed to send a chunk of my novel, the first part re-drafted with scenes added, to a writing friend. I missed my end of February deadline for 20K words and now have to catch up. I’ve given myself until the end of April to get the first 40K words in order-this will include rewriting some parts and expanding others, by adding new scenes. I'm currently drafting an afternoon tea scene, set in a country house library in the eighteenth century, with Sèvres cups and saucers like these ones

Sometimes life does get in the way of writing, but as long as I can find a way back into the ‘writing zone’, I know I’ll get the novel finished. The RNA's New Writers’ Scheme deadline of the end of August helps a great deal too (by the way, I’ve just booked for the RNA Conference in July again-can’t wait!-here’s my post from last year: Why Go to a Writing Conference?). The key is to sit down at my computer every day with a spreadsheet open behind Word, and to type in the word count of my latest draft when I finish.

Spring seems to have sprung in the UK. I hope it stays and that there are no more de-ice the car mornings until next winter! Best of luck to other RNA New Writers’ Scheme members who are working towards the August deadline. I recently wrote a post for the RNA blog: Getting to Know the RNA Through Social Media, a real honour.

And now I'm off to write! 

An update on my neetsmarketing blog about social media for writers (Twitter @neetsmarketing):

Latest posts:


There are some fabulous guests appearing on my neetsmarketing blog soon:

April: Talli Roland with a post on Facebook
May: The New Romantics Press, answering my questions on Marketing Books Using Social Media
June: Sue Moorcroft with a post on Balancing Writing with Social Media