Daynote - Mon 12 May

A really wild thing (in both senses of the word) happened on my walk this morning. I was walking along the path in the woods I've walked a thousand times before, when a small brown rodent (a vole, I'm pretty sure) came bimbling out of the undergrowth, quite unconcerned and apparently unaware that I was there. I froze as it walked straight towards me, then it stopped, looked up, did the rodent equivalent of mumbling 'oh shit' and darted into the undergrowth at the side of the path.

Then, a bird landed smack on top of it. At first I thought it was a pigeon, but then it looked up at me and I realised it was a kestrel. It also did the equivalent of mumbling 'oh shit', staring up at me for half a heartbeat, then flew off. I think the kestrel missed its target, because I didn't spot anything hanging from its talons as it darted away, but it all happened in a couple of seconds, so I can't be sure. Still - that's the first time I've had a bird of prey stoop on a potential kill within half a metre of my toes.

ON DECK: I had an equally exciting morning with the writing. I've been eking out 200-300 words in line level cuts as I go chapter by chapter, but it's been quite tough and I've been worried I wasn't going to have the elbow room to add the stuff that I need to add to the draft. But after a very productive session with my critique partners last night, I came away with a really good idea that would allow me to chop six scenes and take the information in them into other scenes.

That got me nearly 5,000 words of elbow room and dropped the draft of PROJECT SCARLET to 98,000 words. I then added some new stuff, but it still got me a net cut of -3,546 words, which is fantastic. I can now continue with my line edit, still looking for cuts but not having to claw quite so much for word count. And I should be able to add the bits and pieces I need to without taking me back over my rough word limit. Very chuffed.

LISTENING: I really enjoyed this interview with debut author Remi Kone on Confessions of a Book Collector. I'm appearing with Remi on a debut panel at Capital Crime next month and currently reading a proof of her book, so this interview about how she wrote it and how her work as a TV producer informed her approach was fascinating.

WATCHING: We watched ASTEROID CITY over the weekend, which I enjoyed, though not as much as some other Wes Anderson movies. It reminded me a bit of THE LIFE AQUATIC, which is another Anderson film that seems to be more focused on Odd Vignettes than on a story. Still, it was visually gorgeous. I do wonder, though, if Anderson ever feels trapped by his own extremely recognisable style.

READING: Sent back the fantasy beta read notes, so I'm now full throttle on INNOCENT GUILT by the above-mentioned Remi Kone. It is one of those books that keeps unpacking new mysteries inside the existing mysteries, in a really quite compelling way.

LINK: Phoebe Morgan continues her run of excellent posts at the Honest Editor, with a post about how a book deal really works. It's a great newsletter, with info that's useful for novices and working authors alike.

UP NEXT: After my big cut this morning, I now have a lot of embroidering to do - adding a sentence here, a paragraph there, scene by scene and page by page, until the book is done. But I'm so, so glad I no longer have to chip away at the meaning and detail of existing scenes in the name of word count.

Nevertheless, the edit continues. Onward!