Sunday, September 12, 2004
A Tiring Weekend
I'm knackered.
Saturday was my day for lying in but I never got past 8am. My head was buzzing with thoughts, coversations and things that Jackie (of Hunting Jack) is up to. It is an all-consuming passion this and I am becoming mindful that I should not let everything else suffer. I do after all have a novel and four short stories in WIP, as well as all my submissions.
Got much work accomplished round the house and in the garden to take my mind off it for a while. It became too much though and Gail was having second thoughts about going out for a drink with her pal so I gave her 50 quid and told her to have a good time. This meant once Laura was in bed I could write in peace with no distractions. It sounds really poor of me and almost 'hermit-like', but she needed to get out after her first stressful week in her new job. We all knew she would be in at the deep end; only nobody knew just how deep the water was going to be.
During the afternoon I received an e-mail from the editor at KIC. It was to confirm receipt of the story, and to allow a weeks review of it. This calmed me down somewhat, as a timescale should, and I stopped checking my e-mail every hour.
During the evening I wrote chapters/issues 7 and 8 and a short story into the bargain. My flow was disrupted by the hilarity on the TV; Billy Connolly was on Parksinson and the tears flowed down my cheeks for the whole interview.
When I went to sleep, I dreamt about Hunting Jack.
Sunday was Gail's lie in day (so it should - she got in after 4am), and Laura was up at 6:30am, so naturally I joined her. I was going to write but had nor the strength or frame of mind to get down to it. It was too early. After watching a couple of hours cartoons with my head drooping off my shoulders, I got round to finishing off the garden; weedkiller was sprayed everywhere in an attempt to prevent the weeds form sprouting through the concrete slabs every two days.
This left me the afternoon to write and I tidied up to chapter/issue 8 and wrote a further two. This sounds fine but I could have got through more had I not been so exhausted. Laura is demanding and through the haze of tiredness I could only concentrate in short bursts at a time. This carried on through the evening and I ended up going to bed early - I'll try to get a good start tomorrow if I can get some peace at work.
Overall, the story is going at a good speed though (I think); I have the equivalent of a month's issues should KIC accept the story, and the plot is steadily thickening. Jackie is proving to be as reliably unpredictable as I thought he would. I can't wait to get him to Edinburgh - long way to go though before that happens.
Saturday was my day for lying in but I never got past 8am. My head was buzzing with thoughts, coversations and things that Jackie (of Hunting Jack) is up to. It is an all-consuming passion this and I am becoming mindful that I should not let everything else suffer. I do after all have a novel and four short stories in WIP, as well as all my submissions.
Got much work accomplished round the house and in the garden to take my mind off it for a while. It became too much though and Gail was having second thoughts about going out for a drink with her pal so I gave her 50 quid and told her to have a good time. This meant once Laura was in bed I could write in peace with no distractions. It sounds really poor of me and almost 'hermit-like', but she needed to get out after her first stressful week in her new job. We all knew she would be in at the deep end; only nobody knew just how deep the water was going to be.
During the afternoon I received an e-mail from the editor at KIC. It was to confirm receipt of the story, and to allow a weeks review of it. This calmed me down somewhat, as a timescale should, and I stopped checking my e-mail every hour.
During the evening I wrote chapters/issues 7 and 8 and a short story into the bargain. My flow was disrupted by the hilarity on the TV; Billy Connolly was on Parksinson and the tears flowed down my cheeks for the whole interview.
When I went to sleep, I dreamt about Hunting Jack.
Sunday was Gail's lie in day (so it should - she got in after 4am), and Laura was up at 6:30am, so naturally I joined her. I was going to write but had nor the strength or frame of mind to get down to it. It was too early. After watching a couple of hours cartoons with my head drooping off my shoulders, I got round to finishing off the garden; weedkiller was sprayed everywhere in an attempt to prevent the weeds form sprouting through the concrete slabs every two days.
This left me the afternoon to write and I tidied up to chapter/issue 8 and wrote a further two. This sounds fine but I could have got through more had I not been so exhausted. Laura is demanding and through the haze of tiredness I could only concentrate in short bursts at a time. This carried on through the evening and I ended up going to bed early - I'll try to get a good start tomorrow if I can get some peace at work.
Overall, the story is going at a good speed though (I think); I have the equivalent of a month's issues should KIC accept the story, and the plot is steadily thickening. Jackie is proving to be as reliably unpredictable as I thought he would. I can't wait to get him to Edinburgh - long way to go though before that happens.
Colin 10:29 pm