Writing, Magical Friends and Other Tales

“You talk a lot about reading these days Nicole, but what about writing, what’s happening with your writing?”

This is one of the regular conversations that is on repeat in my head these days. I am constantly on my own case! This is usually how the conversation goes:

Me 1: “I need to write down my ideas before my brain explodes…. maybe I can jiggle a few things around tomorrow evening….”  Stares longingly from window…

Me 2: “You don’t have time tomorrow, you’re full with back to back meerkats..” (for meerkats please read meetings…yes I know, but I have to do something to make me smile when I have a day full of them. Cue cute photo……

Me 1:“Oh crap, it will have to be Wednesday, surely I can find a few hours on Wednesday?”

Me 2: “Er … no Wednesday you’re going to meet other authors at the library….”

You get the picture, and so it goes….on, and on…. UNTIL….

Once upon a time, in a city not very far away, there lived a girl who loved to write. Most of the time she was clever, but recently she had begun to be a bit stupid. The clever/stupid girl or ‘clupid‘ girl, realised that the more she was asked to do, the more she nodded her head. The more she nodded her head, the less time she had to write. The clupid girl did not want to be rude to her friends or work colleagues. She did not want to add rudeness to her portfolio of special powers. What she needed to do was run away quickly to her writing room and bolt the door. Instead, she continued to nod. Her kindly friend thought the clupid girl may benefit from something called a ‘retreat’. The clupid girl thought her friend was made of magic because suddenly the ‘retreat’ was booked and paid for. The clupid girl was looking forward to her next adventure which she dubbed ‘the procrastination of days’… THE END…

I realise this tongue in cheek take on my life may not be the deep, thought-provoking editorial you were expecting, but it is my reality at the moment. I can not seem to shake my head from side to side, only up and down which leads to everything becoming a rather tight squeeze. Of course, I have no one else to blame but myself. However, when you see life as I do, the thought of not ‘doing’ or not being ‘helpful’ doesn’t come easily. I am lucky enough to be off on that writing retreat soon and can not wait. It will be a very special time, in a very special place, with some amazing writers. There may even be a murder or two if I’m lucky! So, back to the question that started this post. What has happened to my writing?

So glad you asked! I am now onto the second draft of my historical fiction novel, all 85,000 words of it,  I’m aiming to have it polished to perfection during my retreat. It has a few curves that need to be ironed out but, so far, so good. I have begun another contemporary thriller, this time set in Russia and the US. I am awaiting feedback on my short story collection from a publisher and I have been filling my spare time (LOL) with entering short story competitions. So as you can see not too much!

Right then I’d better crack on ….