Daynote - Fri 4 Oct

I'm not entirely sure what I was talking about when this picture was taken. Pretty sure I wasn't talking about the size of a fish I once caught but it was a fairly rambling monologue at the start, so who knows.

ON DECK: This morning was a good one - I finished the sample for PROJECT SCARLET with 721 new words. I'll give it a polish on my lunchbreak today, then it will go off to a couple of very generous critique partners who have offered to read it before I send the whole package off to my editor. Once again I was surprised when I started re-reading after finishing the final scene this morning. There were several writing days when I felt like I was writing absolute garbage, and a couple when I thought the draft was pretty solid. And I have no idea which is which, after only a couple of weeks distance from the drafting. Remember, you cannot tell in the moment of composition whether what you're writing is any good. It's not possible, in either direction, good or bad.

LISTENING: Currently listening to this excellent long episode (their 200th!) of the Page One Podcast, interviewing Lee Child and his brother Andrew Child. A really great interview.

WATCHING: I was at a book event last night for Sam K Horton's new book GORSE, so I did not watch any telly. I met Sam at Worldcon this year and it was a brilliant event (including the drinks afterwards) with Hannah Kaner chairing.

READING: Obviously I dipped into GORSE on my way back from the event and it's fantastic. Prose that absolutely leaps off the page. Dripping with vibes. Highly recommended based on the opening three chapters alone. I nearly missed my train stop.

UP NEXT: Probably a day or two of editing after critique partner feedback, then SCARLET will be off my plate for an unpredictable amount of time. So I will use that time to delve into a bunch of different edits. Also to catch up on my reading because wow I have not done much reading recently.