I can enjoy their company without gazing off into the distance and thinking about word counts and deadlines.

My room's come alive with Post-It notes, and I love it. I took Sara's advice of writing down the twelve stages of story, then sticking individual scenes under these headings - the joy being that you can move them around. I'm so pleased with it. It makes it all seem a lot more real, more visible in my mind and I can remember exactly what's happening and when and see where scenes will best compliment one another. Hurrah!

Anyway, the novel has kind of taken over my thinking over the last few days since I have to write a new MA proposal for tomorrow and send it to my tutor for her feedback. I've pretty much done it now and since the genre and style haven't changed dramatically, there's not much to tweak. I just need to hack my 800 word synopsis down to 500, which is a good exercise anyway.

So, aside from that, things have all been pretty good. Went out for a walk this afternoon with Jen, Kath and Tia, which was great. I've been feeling a bit guilty for staying in and working when the sun is shining and the days are gorgeous. But then, saying that, I feel equally guilty when I'm out in the sun and my work is sitting at my desk awaiting my return. Sometimes you just can't win.

Still, it's nice that Summer is here. It's weird, I always think it's funny how quickly you get used to the seasons. Like, one minute it's raining and I'm wrapped up in so many layers in my room that I can barely move, then the next it's so nice and warm that I have my windows and door open and find every excuse under the sun (since it's there) to go out and lounge around.

Right, well, I need to get on with some more work I think. Ian and my parents and down this weekend, which will be really nice and so I want to make sure I've got as much done as possible so I can enjoy their company without gazing off into the distance and thinking about word counts and deadlines.


xx