In Dreams Awake

Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.

(Henry David Thoreau)

Wednesday 4 November 2015

No Sense At All

 I'm not doing NaNoWriMo this year, which feels a bit strange. I've only done it for the past two Novembers, but already it's become a habit, and it's weird to see people chatting about it on Fb and in the forums and not be part of that. I'd like to do it again. NaNo instils good writing habits, such as just getting on with the story and not bothering about rewrites or passages which clunk a bit. You can fix those things on the edit. Just make time to write and then do so, cheerfully leaving everything else to one side.

 But I moved house last Thursday and my new flat is a mess. My wife will be joining me here in two weeks so there's a lot to do and not a huge amount of time. So, not doing NaNo. Ho hum.

 Our new home is in Yeovil, where my job is. I've been with Barnardo's for two months now and am still learning new things all the time, tricks and knacks for getting the work done faster or better. In a charity shop you always have to run very fast just to stay still, like Alice in Through the Looking Glass. We don't have volunteers yet either - the shop is still new - so all of that falls on myself and my one staff member, Teresa. It's hard work, and in this new town I hardly know anyone, which puts a dampener on evenings out.

 Tough world...

 So guess what? I stay in and write. And a good thing too, because Angry Robot publishers have an open submissions period in December and January, during which any writer can submit any novel in the genres of "SF, F, and WTF?" as  Angry Robot puts it. I'm planning to put in The Bonesmile, also Black Lord of Eagles, and perhaps The Death of Ghosts as well. The first is ready to go, the second needs work, and the third... I'm not sure. Need to ponder it awhile.

 But not too long, because 2015 has been good to me. I have a wife and a child on the way, two things about which I had lost hope. In fact everything I've done this year seems to have worked. So this old cynic finds himself, rather to his surprise, feeling a tad superstitious. I'd like to get my submissions in during December, while it's still 2015, because next year might not be so kind. Utter tosh of course, complete nonsense with not a shred of reason or sense behind it... but I'm still going to do it that way.

 Suppose I'm a bit of a hypocrite, really.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Ben, good luck with the submission! Do you use Create Space or Lulu? Keen to hear your experiences of self publishing as I am not sure which route to go down ☺ Any advice much appreciated. I hope all is going well in Yeovil !

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  2. Thanks Michelle, all's well here. How's married life?

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  3. So good to hear from you Ben. All the best with your new life, it sounds very exciting. Good luck with your book too. We are planning a workshop on self publishing next year. Not sure what month yet as our first choice of date is already booked. We have new writers joining us, on of whom will do a session on 'how not to self publish'
    Sound as though you will be very busy but if you did have time, would you think about sharing your experience? Anyway it would be good to see you all sometime and perhaps meet the new member of your family.

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  4. I'd be happy to, Sue, if the dates work out OK. Let me know as soon as you can and I'll try to book the time off. Hope all's well with you and the group, I'm sure Yeovil will be nice but I miss our meetings.

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