Daynote - Tue 4 Mar

Hello! Missed my daynote yesterday as I didn't get any actual writing done, breaking my streak from the start of the year, then was too busy during the day to write one. More on that below.

Fellow author Nadine Matheson had posted our episode of her brilliant podcast 'The Conversation'. It was a really fun conversation a few weeks back when we recorded it and I've really enjoyed listening back to it. It's a long episode, and we really got into it, so if you're curious about how I figured out my writing process, found an agent and got A RELUCTANT SPY published, give it a listen.

I also got out this morning for a lovely walk and saw a woodpecker that's been evading me in the woods for weeks - I've been able to hear it but hadn't managed to actually spot it. But this morning, for whatever reason, I was able to narrow it down to a specific tree, then watched for a moment and finally caught sight of it. Very cool, and I think tomorrow I'll take my binoculars with me and see if I can get a closer look.

Uh-oh, this is how you acquire new hobbies, isn't it?

ON DECK: Yesterday I was a bit distracted and couldn't get started with the writing. I've learned over the years that this is not some kind of moral failing on my part, it's my subconscious sending up flares that there's something I need to figure out or fix before I go any further. And I realised that I was close enough to the end of this book and the very complex set of overlapping POVs and minute-by-minute events that I really needed to bite the bullet and micro-outline all the way to the end.

So I spent all of my writing time yesterday doing that, and then some, including some outlining in front of the telly last night and the very last few scenes this morning. But now it's done, all the way to the very end.

That paid off, and even with only 45 minutes left in the session this morning, I managed 1,577 words. Nice.

LISTENING: Obviously you'll all be listening to the above podcast, but if you finish that, I can also recommend the latest season of 'The Spy Who...' podcast, a fantastic dramatised podcast from Wondery. This season is about Soviet/Russian 'illegals' - the sleeper agents in the US and UK who inspired 'The Americans' among other things. Really well made and fascinating as usual.

WATCHING: We're re-watching ANDOR in preparation for Season 2, because a) it's really, really good and b) the episodes are fairly short. I'd forgotten just how good it is. It also occurred to me that Rupert Vansittart, who plays the worldly-wise Chief Hyne in the show (and also played Yohn Royce in GAME OF THRONES) would make an excellent Winston Bascomb, the MI6 desk chief from the opening scenes of A RELUCTANT SPY. He has a fantastic couple of monologues in the first few episodes that absolutely nailed the tone I'd want for Bascomb.

READING: I'm now reading GOGMAGOG by Jeff Noon and Steve Beard, which is really great. I remember reading Noon's VURT as a teenager and it absolutely blowing my mind as a kind of organic, character-focused SF that I'd never read before, and this collaboration has many of the same notes, but with decades more experience and practice. And the cover art is a joy every time I pick it up.

LINK: A year or so ago, my wife and I travelled to Budapest (one of our favourite destinations) overland, using ferries and sleeper trains, for a wonderful holiday. I've loved train travel since I backpacked around Europe in my late teens and I loved planning that trip using the amazing Seat61.

Yesterday, though, I came across a travel agency (courtesy of the chap that runs Seat61) that has built an amazing travel planning tool that will thread together trains, buses, hotels, sleepers and ferries and work everything out for you. It's absolutely amazing and I will 100% be using it to plan my next flight-free holiday.

UP NEXT: Now that the current book draft is micro-outlined right to the end, I've got a clear run at the final block of words, which I suspect is going to be about 15,000 words or so. I usually speed up in this last push to the end, so I suspect I will get through that and finish this draft by the middle of next week or so. But it feels great to have a complete plan. Lots to write still, but I can see how I'm going to get there.

Onward!