Editing the novel

Hello! Just a quick one here.
I've been editing the novel this week - done about 3/4 chapters so far. At the moment I'm in my bulking up phase - each time I edit a chapter, I come away with it at about 500/1000 words longer, which is great news. I think I'll have to do this phase twice - so, edit it all, bulking it up, then do the same again before I can think about properly editing it down. Phew! But it's going well :)
Been writing one or two book reviews, which are ok. I'm currently looking for somewhere to do a frequent feature, so trying to get a stock of them ready.
In July I'll be away lots - but I will indeed still be writing away. The next project is writing about my mission work in Uganda - I have a brand new notebook ready and waiting. So I'm excited to see where that takes me. So excited, only a week to go then I'm off - so trying to get lots done now so I'm not behind when I get back!

So here it is...December

Doesn't time fly? Deadlines upon us and all that jazz. I do like winter though, it's nice to be able to sit indoor reading or writing, locked up in the dark without thinking 'I really should be outside enjoying the weather'. So roll on those dark and dingy months.
What have I been up to recently? This week it's been all about the submissions. I entered a competition called Bright Young Things, which is being set up by the Eden project to showcase talent of all kinds. In the creative writing section, I entered a poem about global warming, from the perspective of a polar bear. I had most my information from watching David Attenborough's 'Life on Earth' series, but I also did a bit of specific research for it, which was good. The final project wasn't fantastic, I don't aim to win the competition, it's just good to be doing things really. Make me feel like I'm achieving. The other thing I entered this week was a competition run by the 'Writing Magazine', which was to write the text for a picture book aimed at very young children. This was a bit of a sneaky bonus (or so I thought) because I was writing one anyway for my writing for children class, but as it turned out, the competitions word limit was 200 words, whereas my piece was into 400 words. Eeep. Editing is easy...to a point. But when you have to cut out over half the material, that's pretty difficult! 200 words is nothing really. But I managed to do it and keep the main structure of the story together. So I've sent that off too. Hurrah. Looking forward to seeing what reaction I get for the full piece, as I haven't really written things for children before.
What else? Well, reading, I've been reading a lot of children's books (which I'm allowed to count on my reading list as it's not for fun, I'm technically studying them, so naaah). In January I need to write an essay on a theme or some such to do with children's writing, and I've chosen to look at books that help kids come to terms with death. So I've been looking at things like 'The Sad Book' and 'Badgers Parting Gifts', lots of lovely morbid books for my back round reading. On the whole it's fun though, and it's interesting looking at it not only from the perspective of how a child would see it, but also how adults do too.
No closer really on the completion of my next publication, though I have a fair idea of the things I want to go in it, so it's all about getting more work shopping time to fix things for it. Busy busy, as always.
Oh yes, and of course, Christmas is super soon. YAY!

Busy busy bee... BUZZ!

I haven't done any writing for pleasure in....weeks. I say weeks, it's more like... 2 or 3... which is still far too many in my opinion. I haven't really been given that much work from Uni, it's just when other things get busy it all piles up and you run out of time... hence my mad rushing to get things done. I like being busy but rushing is never good. I have DECIDED (because it IS going to happen) that things will be a lot calmer and less busy starting next week. *nods hopefully*
My editing system is in place - I have a brand new folder filled with compartments for my work to be filtered through 5 stages of drafting...so when I get the time, I shall enjoy sitting down and doing some editing!

Hang on, did I really say that? Me, enjoying editing? Wow!

What other news? Well, I'm currently reading lots of things - Terry Pratchett's Nation being one. I've only red one other Pratchett before (Jingo) and quite liked it, but I'm not one of those massive Pratchett fans, I simply don't have time to read widely of one author, I prefer to jump around. But so far Nation is impressing me. I'm also still ploughing (slowly) through In America with the fabulous Stephen Fry. I don't often get time for it (and being a massive book I can't fit it in my bag to carry around on buses etc) but when I do get the chance, it's always nice to hear from Mr Fry. I've recently been picking up the Woman's Hour 50th Anniversary Collection of Short Stories which has been a mix... the first few I red had disappointing endings that made the story a bit pointless, but I've red a few that I quite like, including my first experience of Margret Atwood, hurrah! Also...Stuart, a life backwards by Alexander Masters. I'm reading this for my life writing course at uni, as I don't usually read biographies for pleasure. It's interesting, but not my usual sort of thing.

Right...I'd better crack on with some of that darned work of mine! Currently trailing through a collection of prose poems for class tomorrow, hurrah hurrah!