HARSH EDIT 2008

Ooh, I've been a misery guts of late, but I think I've reached a turnaround. Today is the first day in what feels like months that I've actually done something constructive. It's also the first day in what feels like months that I haven't donned a headset and harrassed members of the public. Yes, there probably is a connection between the two.

So, today I have started a new file in regards to my novel. It's called KYAS HARSH EDIT 2008. I've been going over my novel once again and getting rid of so much, killing off one character, axing the beginning and am about to introduce a whole new element that I think gives the whole thing a lot more credibility and realism: a funeral. Whoopo! When in doubt, bring in a funeral. It means getting rid of the coma, but that's all okay. This whole process is killing me a little bit but, like I said to Ian last night, it's only because I have had some time 'away' from it and have been beating myself up about it. When I was back in Falmouth, I had a spell during which I felt in control of everything and was being very productive, working on my novel for six hours a day. Since I've been back I've done so little, but am going to stop that right now. I was talking with Ian the other day about making a plan for each month, kind of like people do at the end of a year, and have decided that January has pretty much been a fun month (bar the call centre) and February needs to be a month of productivity (and some call centre).

I've decided that, by the end of February, I need to have a new synopsis and plan for the whole novel. I think that I'm facing problems because I keep getting to points where I think, 'And what happens now?' I need to have a clear idea of what happens in the story so that I can just keep going rather than re-writing and re-writing the same sections which, as well as driving me a bit mad, probbaly isn't the best use of my time.

Anyway, that's that for the time being. Back to the novel I go.

xx

The scary thing is, though, that I don't know where my novel is going next in terms of plot.

Good God, was it really the first of January when I last posted on this blog? That's ridiculous. Anyway, tonight I came back from work and finished off a job application I started working on last night. Fingers crossed I get asked to interview. It sounds like a good place to work and the job sounds interesting, so we'll see.

Aside from that, today has been pretty non-eventful. I'm in the temp job for another week, this time ringing people up and letting them know there is money available for them to claim from dividends. It's certainly nicer than the last campaign

I got back home tonight and realised just how hard it's going to be to carry on working on my novel while managing full time work. But, as I read on a horrible poster in the office today, 'To get what you never had, you must do what you have never done.' Good advice. I just can't believe that I have been so busy, what with work and seeing friends etc. I guess I just need to get my time better organised. I think once I start working regular hours, I will be able to get into a new routine and that will help matters. At the moment I feel as though I'm just bouncing from place to place and not really getting much done at all. Still, like I said, it's down to me to sort myself out.

The scary thing is, though, that I don't know where my novel is going next in terms of plot. That's not a good feeling. I kind of feel as though I've got to the end of the first third of the story and am about to tackle the difficult middle. I'm sure it will be fine and I need to just take a deep breath and get on with it. Once this temp job is over, I think I'm going to take two weeks to focus just on plot of the next chunk of story and decide whether or not to keep certain parts of the narrative. The main concerns at the moment are the coma and Daniel and Robin's jobs. I feel as if there needs to be more tension that could come for the jobs they have, but I'm rambling. I don't know. Gah.

xx

I'll use all three and let the customer choose which they like best.

So, I started a new blog, you can see it here. I had been meaning to do something like this for ages, and when better than the first day of a new year? The plan is to write under three hundred words about something I have learnt that day. People always say, 'You learn something new every day,' but can this be true? I'm going to find out. I say this now, but my commitment might wane. We'll see how things pan out.

Anyway, 2008, eh? How exciting. I just read my entry at the beginning of 2007 and I was very positive about the year. And I was right to be. I had a great 2007 and I think 2008 will be just as good if not better. That's if I'm still sane after two weeks in this temp job. It's very repetitive and I've only been in training so far! The best thing from that day was being told, 'When you call someone, you can see from your script that it says Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening. You will have to decide which to use depending on the time of day.'

I don't think I'll bother. I'll use all three and let the customer choose which they like best. I might even add 'delete as appropriate.'

xx