Summary:

I have a schedule now for completing Colours by my deadline. Two scenes per writing session. Every session so far, I have started by rewriting my schedule to see if I can give myself the excuse of not doing that day’s scenes. Then I have taken myself to task, knuckled down, and actually produced them with very little problem in a very short amount of time. Sometimes, you need a stick.

 

Monday:

I booked an early osteo appointment for the morning and some theatre tickets for the evening, hoping to inspire myself to work hard on various writing projects during the intervening eight hours.

After departing Hounslow at 11am, I spent an hour on the tube, another hour having lunch, an hour wandering central London in search of a mythical ‘perfect cafe’ (I finally landed in Starbucks!), and then another hour clearing email and scouring my calendar for other writing opportunities to give myself the excuse for not actually getting any writing done today.

At 3pm, I finally opened Part Two of Colours, dragged two more scenes out into the light of day and made a start on a third.

I also wrote a review of a book I finished later in the day.

 

Tuesday:

I set my subconscious crew the task of working on what was supposed to happen next in Colours, giving them the deadline of when I sat down in Ole & Steen near Victoria after work. They came through like champions and I wrote the next two scenes with no trouble.

 

Wednesday:

I wrote a couple of reviews.

 

Thursday:

I got confirmation that one of my articles about writing had been accepted for publication, which was a good start to the day. I read through the proofs they sent me and went back with a minor correction and my bio information.

It was back to Cafe Piazza with Ann today and I got straight to work with the next two scenes of Colours – feels like I’m on a roll!

Then I went for something completely different and wrote some more 100-word drabbles for an upcoming submission opportunity. I really enjoy doing these and it seems like I’m quite good at them.

To continue with the more relaxing side of writing, I went back to my WIP Big Bang story and worked on that for a bit.

I brainstormed ideas for another submission opportunity, digging out some old flash fiction that could be turned into linked stories within the same fictional universe. I also amended another couple of old pieces to fit other submissions.

 

Sunday:

I consolidated my projects list and rewrote my Colours schedule, considered taking the day off and then pointed out to myself that I do want to finish the first draft and there was no reason not to do my allocated scenes for the day. I had primed the subconscious crew earlier in the week and once again they did not let me down. Two more scenes done.

I also reviewed a book I finished earlier in the week, did some submissions and started looking at Dave’s comments on Artisan.