Daynote - Fri 31 Jan
End of the week, end of the month.
A quick daynote today, because a) my very long January newsletter comes out at midday and b) I'm very tired after a late one at Tom Hindle's Edinburgh event last night. The event itself (which was great) was done by eight thirty, but there's an annoying gap in the trains back to where I live, so if I stay out later than half past nine, I don't really have a way to get home much before half past eleven at night.
But! It was fully worth it, because after Tom's event we went for pizza and had a good old natter about writing, the business and a dozen other topics. The real joy of this writing racket is meeting other people who love it as much as you do.
I also got a very exciting cover-shaped thing in my inbox that I can't tell you about yet, but trust me, it's very cool.
ON DECK: Very late up this morning and a slooooow start, so word count was low at 804. That's under my target for the day, so I suspect I will get the rest on my lunchbreak or after work. I don't have to do that, since I'm still slightly ahead of my overall target thanks to overages on previous days, but I'd love to just keep that baseline solid. And getting three or four hundred words at lunch and a couple of hundred after work will get me there.
I also like to practice getting in little bits of words outside of my writing time occasionally, because it's very easy to get habituated to your routine to the point you start to feel like you need the darkened room, big monitor, quiet music and all the other things that are part of my routine. So it's nice to remind yourself that actually, all you really need is a writing tool and a spare ten minutes to get something down, even if it's only fifty words.
LISTENING: Loved this interview with Anna Mazzola/Sharp on The Conversation with Nadine Matheson. If it feels like I'm posting a lot of The Conversation links, it's because a) I am, since she's got an absolute run of amazing guests right now and b) I've been listening a lot because my own episode is in the works. But if you're a writer or reader and love crime and thriller books, I recommend it.
WATCHING: Eight hours of Blade Runner ambience? Don't mind if I do.
READING: A little bit more of Eve Smith's THE CURE on the train to and from Edinburgh last night. Terrific.
LINK: I had never heard of the Butser Book Festival until yesterday, but now I have and it looks amazing. Two days of historical fiction, nature writing, folklore and crafts? On a cool historical farm? Sign me up. I'm not sure if they need a spy/SF novelist but I can live in hope.
UP NEXT: A very much needed weekend off with my wife, then back into PROJECT SCARLET at full tilt next week. Plus dinner with an old friend I'm looking forward to, and a day teaching at Napier University on Friday. Can't wait! (edit: wait, no, that's the week after. Getting ahead of myself)