July round-up

According to my word count spreadsheet (yes, I'm sad enough to keep a daily tally of words written) I churned out 9,963 words in July. Primarily this was writing the opening chapters of my novel. Why did I finally pull out the finger and start this? A deadline, that's why! I'm off to Swanwick Writers' Summer School next week and have booked a 1:1 with author Alex Radcliffe-Hart. She's reviewing the synopsis and initial 3 chapters and will feedback in a face-to-face. We're meeting in the bar, which is good news as I will probably need several glasses of wine to recover. I HATE feedback, but know it's an essential part of the writer's life. I can hear you all groaning: why did I rush out something without polishing it to destruction? Because I leave everything to the last minute and this is how I tend to write short stories - I know I have to improve this process for the novel, but initially I just want some early feedback on the plot and characters i.e am I on the right track? or do I give up now and bin the whole thing... you'll have to wait to post Swanwick for the answers!

It did feel odd to be writing something longer than 2,000 words. This novel writing malarkey is a different beast to short fiction. I enjoyed spending time with the characters so am keen to continue, but also craved getting back to the delicious short sharp hit of writing flash or a short story. Will have to work out some strategy to continue working on all projects.

Here's the stats for July:

Write 1 Sub 1:
New - 1 x ten min play, 2 x fillers, 1 x reader's letter, 1 x pitch for feature
Total subs - 11

Income: Amazon book token (always useful!)

The Good News: Runner-up in Retreat West short story competition (read post here),
The Not-so-good News: unsuccessful in the following:
Frome, Munch the cow (children's story competition), Swanwick 5 min play, Flash 500
Have to confess not making the longlist for Flash 500 summer competition was a shock. I've consistently been reaching the shortlist so this came as a bit of a blow.

With the start of the MA looming (Sept) I'm also working through the reading list and writing exercises. This prompted me to think about what I want to achieve before the end of the year, so here goes:

• Research and write a radio play
• Complete first semester and assignment of MA (Creative Writing)
• Complete 10,000 words of novel by end October (to enter Exeter Writers Novel Competition)
• Continue to write at least one new piece a month and submit

Phew, I think that's enough for now.

Keep writing and submitting...