12,045

But still no parcel.

Damn Parcelforce. I can't go anywhere until the bloody thing arrives - its my Mum's birthday present, and this is the only day I'll be here to sign for it!

7640

And cheese toasties for lunch

Revision Timetable

So I'm home alone, with the next twelve hours stretching ahead of me.

I've got some errands to run in town at some point, and I'm waiting for a parcel to be delivered. I want to wrap presents this evening, preferably while watching some bad tv. Same sort of schedule for the next couple of days. I need to go down to London, and I need to do some house sorting, but they're only half day errands.

The rest of the time? I'm revising.

It's midday, and I'm starting at 5132 words. It's a novel for 8-12 year olds, so it doesn't run long. Ideal length is 30k.

How far do you think I can get today?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Only ten more Christmas Cards to go! The last ten are for the people in my immedate department, and I need to make the cranberry shortbread to take in with them tonight.

I stayed up last night to finish writing the family and friends ones, while watching the Royal Variety Performance. They had the cast of Wicked! on doing a few songs from the show - it looks really good. Also they had Spamalot, so I suspect I'll have to take Simon soon.

I'm working on goals for next year. They're still nebulous, and keep being spoiled by certain items in the shiny new idea box being shiner than usual, when they're supposed to stay dull for the time being, while I do other stuff. So. Possibly a slight rejig of next year's schedule.

Of course, first I need to finish 2006's goals. For example, the Saving the Unicorns rewrite etc. I have Friday off work, as it's Simon's birthday, but as he's going to London for his work's Christmas do at lunchtime, I'll have all afternoon to work on it. And wrap some presents.

Right. Off to work!

The Close of the Year

We're heading into the dregs of 2006 now, and the Christmas rain is setting in here in the South East of England.

It's been a pretty huge year so far, what with the changing of jobs, doing up of house, oh, and the getting married. I finished the first drafts of two novels - one romantic/mystery fiction, one children's - and a few articles and bits here and there.

But I still have things to do before 2007, and the new progress bars will be going up very shortly:

1. Write Christmas cards
2. Buy and wrap Christmas presents
3. Finish type in edit of Saving the Unicorns, write synopsis and query letter and send out to selected agents

Not much, then, really. How many days do I have left?

Normal Service Will Resume Eventually

For the last few months, all I seem to have been saying is 'After the wedding, things will get back to normal, and we'll have time to actually do things again.'

Now the wedding is over? Not so much. Guess I forgot about Christmas.

I love Christmas - mostly because I have the most fantastic family to spend it with, and we always have such great fun.

As a rule, my Christmas preparations are ready by early December at the latest, allowing me to enjoy the last few weeks of anticipation without worrying.

This year, I've done nothing.

On the plus side, the thank you notes are finally finished, just in time to start on the Christmas cards.

And believe it or not, I've actually been getting some writing work done, too - mostly on a very long train trip to York this weekend, but it still counts!

More on this next post...

In the meantime, I expect Normal Service to resume for 2007.

Mrs Lydia Wickham

Or: The strangeness of being married, Part One

I’m still getting used to this marriage thing, it seems. Today I identified myself by my maiden name on the phone to a very confused gentleman that I had previously contacted under my married name.

But more that the surname, it’s the ‘Mrs’ that throws me. When people address me as Mrs, I start looking around for someone older and eminently more sensible than myself.

I feel a bit like a small girl playing at being a proper grown up.

In fact, I feel like Lydia Bennett, newly become Mrs Lydia Wickham, telling her eldest sisters that they must walk behind her now, because she is married and they are not.

Just as well that I always liked Lydia. 

Alternative Nano

Due to spending most of November in Wedding Frenzy, I've had to forgoe Nano this year.
Actually, I had to skip it last year too, although that was due to an entire month of conference frenzy, so a lot less fun.

I do, however, have my own, special, alternative Nano running.

83 thank you letters to write and post before the end of November, when it's time to start writing the Christmas cards instead.

It's not that I actually mind writing the letters; people were so very, very kind to us in all sorts of ways, and I really want to acknowledge that and show my gratitude in well written, personal notes with good handwriting.

It's just that it might take forever.

As we all know, progress tracking is always a good motivator for me, so there's a new progress bar on the right. Don't laugh. It's making me feel better.

Still Here

Okay, so I really, really meant to post before this. I just can't understand how the world can continue to be this crazy busy when the wedding is over, already.Part of the problem is that I wanted to write a nice long post telling you all about the wedding and Rome and everything, and because I haven't had time to write that, I haven't written anything.So, I'll get round to the proper thing eventually. In the meantime, I'm still here, and here are the photos to prove it:





Me and Dad outside the church


My new husband and I pretend to sign the register




















Me after the ceremony




















From left to right: My brother Kip, my Dad, my husband Simon, me, my Mum, my brother Mike

So much wedding, so little time

So, Bonnie nagged me, and so I am updating. Kinda.

The wedding is a week on Saturday. The favours have gone missing in the hands of the courier service. I'm still not sure I can fit into my dress. I spent seven hours on Saturday shopping for cufflinks. My world is askew.

Family start arriving this weekend (my cousin flies in from Toronto with her husband on Saturday - my Dad's staying with us on Friday night then picking them up from Heathrow to drive them up to Wales) and we head up North on Saturday. There is much packing to be done.

Still, there are fab plans in place! Chinese takeaway at my Aunt and Uncle's on Saturday night. Church on Sunday to hear the banns (now the vicar is assigning Simon to the correct parish, and the wedding is no longer illegal). Make up trial and pub quiz on Monday. Haircut and lunch with the cousins on Tuesday. Pre-wedding celebratory meal on Wednesday (it is not a hen night). Jo Malone facial on Thursday, courtesy of the aforementioned fantastic cousins. Manicure and pedicure on Friday, and then Lockdown.

Lockdown is my father. He's locking my entire family in the house from late afternoon Friday until the wedding. He says he can't risk any of us wondering off and being late. We're not allowed visitors, either. But, he's promised to cook, so that's okay.

Saturday is the wedding - plenty of canapes, Kir Royale, Leek and Potato Soup, Welsh Roast Lamb, Sticky Toffee Pudding (with sparklers) and cheese plates. Proper 30s Jazz band and then guitars and singing in the bar in the wee hours. My family. Huh.

Sunday, we have a family fireworks thing for Bonfire Night at my Aunt and Uncle's house.

Sunday, Simon and I fly off to Rome for the week! We're staying right by the Coliseum!

Anyway, I'm getting irrationally excited by the whole thing, and am totally unable to concentrate on edits. Instead I've been using my daily half hour to develop my next story idea, as only bright shiny objects can hold my attention at the moment! Once I'm back I'll do edits. I promise.

Other things

For some reason, it's been a really hard couple of weeks.

Partly, this may be down to autumnal health issues - Simon's been sick all this week with a cold/throat/head bug which I'm now suffering from (and complaining at least twice as much as he did).

Also, the wedding planning is kicking into high speed now, with only five more weeks to go (oh God).

Add in the new job, which inevitably involves a lot of concentration if I even want to remember people's names (something I am very bad at) let alone what I'm actually supposed to be doing.

All this is by way of saying, "The writing's not going so well."

On the other hand, I have my half hour agreement with Bonnie. This, at least, has enabled me to keep moving with stuff. I've actually used the time mostly to finish up loose ends, get some short stuff written, and plan and plot away quietly, which is more inkeeping with my limited attention span right now.

I'm also very aware that it is nearly October. It seems kind of pointless setting lofty goals for the next month, when I know that so much of it will be filled with table plans and place cards. But as long as I can keep my 1/2 hour a day, I should be okay.

Now that most of the loose ends and smaller things are finished, I need to commit to using my half hour to edit Saving the Unicorns. I'm going through the hard copy, very slowly, at the moment, although I've barely started. I also haven't brought it to Wales this weekend, so it'll have to wait until Monday. Instead, today and tomorrow will be spent getting over this stinking cold, and thinking and noting my way through a few writing issues I know I have to deal with next month.

It's frustrating to have everything moving so slowly at the moment, but at least it is still moving.

Things that are happening to me right now.

Right now, I am about to be late for work. However, I'm not going anywhere until my fiance has managed to saw his way out of the bathroom.

Seriously.

A couple of weeks ago the mechanism in the door handle broke on the door to my study, while Simon and I were outside. With the aid of a screwdriver, Simon managed to jimmy the door so we could get in, and has dismantled the mechanism so that, while we can't shut the door properly, we can't get stuck in or outside the room.

Same thing just happened to the bathroom door, except this time, Simon's inside.

Because of the way the door is set up, you need to be inside the room to do anything about it. And there isn't enough space under the door to pass a screwdriver.

I managed to get a saw blade underneath, though, and he's currently sawing through the mechanism. He thinks he's nearly there.

I'd better go give some more encouragement...

New Job

First day at the new job went well, but I was so exhausted at the end of it I went to bed before nine.

Of course, some of that may have been to do with the trek up to Wales, going out partying with my brother on Friday, shopping for wedding shoes all day Saturday (still don't have any), and shopping for clothes all day Sunday. Add in a few wedding related in-law issues, along with general wedding planning, and a four and half hour drive back on Sunday night, and I was just whacked.

On the plus side, it means I'm up early this morning and already have my half hour done.

Okay, off to the day job!

New Start

As one door closes, yada yada.

As I may have mentioned, I'm starting a new job on Monday. They sent me a stack of forms to fill in (if I go missing, my fiance mayhave bumped me off for the life assurance) one of which was a New Starter form.

The more I thought about it, the more appropriate it seemed.

I've spent the last four and a half years organising conferences, all around the globe. I worked damn hard, for long hours, many weekends, and I was very good at my job.

But you can only do that for so long. So I don't any more.

The last month has been a limbo period. I've temped, written, decluttered, thought and slept a lot. But now it's time for my life to begin. A new life, with a new start.

Other signs that my world is starting over, whether I like it or not - I need to renew my passport, as it runs out on November 6th. So I need to renew it in a new name, with a new picture, and a signature from my vicar that I will be becoming this different person in a month and a bit.

I'm heading up to Wales this weekend (luckily, as that's where the vicar is) and my mother and I are going to visit the personal shopper at Debenhams - something we booked ages ago, and that coincidentally falls now, just when I need a new wardrobe, in order to be this new person.

But it's not all coincidence. I'm making some active changes too.

One reason (among many) for leaving my previous job was that I wanted more time to write.
And I know that my stories progress if I write on them everyday, however little. Bonnie reminded me of this, and we set ourselves a challenge.

We will write for half an hour, every day. No matter what.

How hard can that be?

New regime, people.

September

It's all change over here in Katy's Wonderland.

I've just finished my temp contact at the council, and on the 18th I start my new real job, right here in town, with ordinary hours and everything.

It has a pension, health care, free Alta Rica coffee on tap, and free lunch in the restaurant!
My old job had none of these things.

I'm very excited.

The darling fiance has just disappeared in a taxi for the airport - he's off to a conference in Vermont for the week, while I sit here at home and pine.

Well, not exactly.

Lots to do today, before my cousin comes to stay tonight. There are plans for Red Dwarf dvds and Chicken Pad Thai. I do make damn good Pad Thai. And then I'll probably live on ready meals until Simon gets home.

Then I've got until Thursday to get the house / my life / everything in order. I'm up in Wales over the weekend, going to a personal shopper with my mum, and probably meeting with the florist again, I think.

And, of course, the writing.

I want to get Saving the Unicorns revised this month. And, potentially, sent out.

I've also accidentally started in on something new over the last week, which appears to be running faster than I can keep up with. I said I wanted 20k on it this month, and I'm at 14k now, so hopefully that should be achieveable too.

Oh, yeah. And I need to finish planning the wedding, as it is now less than two months away.

Right, must get dressed and go to the cash machine to get money to pay the nice man who's coming to clear out our gutters in about 45mins. It's a wild, wild life I'm living.

Very Nearly There

So, I just finished my week of unemployment. It's a weird time when I'm the slacker in the family.

Still, I have been using my time profitably. I've just finished the first draft of Saving the Unicorns, more or less. I want to go back and add in a couple of obvious scenes over the weekend, then I'll leave it alone for a little while before beginning a redraft. I'd like it to hit 30k when it's finished; I suspect it'll be around 25k by the end of Sunday, so we'll see what the read through throws up in a couple of weeks. My research tells me that anything between 20k and 40k is fine for books aimed at 8 to 12 year olds. Hopefully. It's only recently that they've started running a lot longer.

Monday, I start an ongoing temp job for the council, which will mostly involve photocopying, apparently. I've got a couple of interviews for permanent work coming up, which is good. Everything's slow at the moment because every company has vital people on holiday, I guess.
Anyway, at least we can pay the mortgage this month.

I need to get stuck back into the Snow Child rewrite. It's kind of fallen by the wayside while I got caught up with unicorns in South Wales. I also have a couple of non-fiction articles I need to work on.

But just for now, I think I'll take a break. Maybe have a cup of tea and a crumpet.
It is Friday, after all.

London

No work done at all this morning, as I've been glued to BBC News 24 watching the coverage of the foiled terrorist attacks on UK to US planes.

My Dad flew into Heathrow from Cairo around midday, and obviously his connecting flight to Manchester has been cancelled. Mum and I have been on the phone all morning trying to figure out how to get him home quickest; he's been away working for a month, and just wants to get back!

I've found him a coach to Watford that should be quicker that taking the train into the city then across to Euston and back out again. He should be able to pick up a train to Crewe from Watford, and if they're too packed, I can go pick him up from there and he can stay with us tonight and try again tomorrow.

I was all set to drive down to Heathrow, but looking at the traffic, this should be quicker for him, I hope.

I've seen a few people complaining that the security measures regarding hand luggage are too strong, but personally, I think that anything that keeps people safe has to be done, no matter how inconvenient.

In other news, I spent yesterday in London with my cousin who's down from Birmingham, having afternoon tea at Selfridges and doing some shopping. Then we met up with her brother and went to see the stage musical of Footloose. It may have been the wine in the bar beforehand, but we thought it was fantastic! My cousin Phil bought each of us a Footloose bear, complete with logo tshirt. Mine's called Kevin.

May have to watch the dvd of the film this afternoon...

Snow Child Revision

2000 words on Saving the Unicorns this morning, so now a short break, then onto the Snow Child revision.

Snow Child is a YA novel I wrote a couple of years ago, and have never got around to revising. Partly, I think, because I don't believe I could sell it anywhere. Still, I need the practice at the process of revision, and who knows what I might end up with.

I do love the story, and the characters, and the whole tone of the piece. Hopefully the revision won't be too much of a chore.

I've already been through the manuscript, over the last couple of weeks, making extensive notes of what needs changing/rewriting/tightening or just editing a bit. The first sections need quite extensive rewriting, which is what's making it so hard to start.

Still, I'm working on it this afternoon. Definitely.

Saving the Unicorns

This is a story I began last summer, that got derailed by a number of events that upset my life for a while.

It's aimed at the 8-12 year old reading group, so it's short. I'd already done about 8k on it last year, plus all the required planning, so now I just want to steam ahead and finish the thing.

I really like the story, the characters and the setting; I'm even fond of the plot. It should be a lot of fun to write.

I've just hit 10k on it, so that's 2k since I restarted it, and I'm already engrossed. Hopefully this will go quite quickly.

It can't possibly go as slowly as the Snow Child revision, but more on that next time.

August

A whole new month, and my write-on novel off my back. What joyous days!

Except, of course, that I now have a new list of things to get done in the next 31 days:

1. Finish the revisions for Snow Child
2. Write 20k on Saving the Unicorns
3. Get a job I like

I expect that somehow 1 and 2 will be much easier than 3.

Other things happening this month:

• Family weekend in Porthmadog, with a lunch at Portmeirion (Italianate village where The Prisoner was filmed) on the bank holiday
• Dinner with the cousins in London tonight
• My mum and brother to visit on Thursday for a long weekend
• Weekend with friends in London sometime soon
• Trip to John Lewis to pick out items for the wedding gift list
• Probably lots of other stuff I've forgotten about.

I think I like August. Except that now I have to go get ready to head into the office to wrangle with financial reconciliations with the boss. Only technically employed there for another 13 days...