Daynote - Mon 28 Jul
The dog days are over.
Last morning of minding the pup today, so I had a slow start since I was packing up and getting myself together to head home. But we had a very nice walk.
ON DECK: Well, my weekend of planned writing didn't pan out. I stared at my WIP for a while on both days, but ended up journalling instead, still processing everything that happened last week. I've been a regular journaler for about twenty years now, in both digital and physical notebooks, and it's a key part of keeping me happy and balanced as a person. So I thought it would be worthwhile writing it all down.
So I did write nearly 4,000 words over the weekend, just none of it was fiction. And this morning there was dogwalking and packing. Still, might write a bit later today.
LISTENING: Loved this episode of Balancing the Books Podcast with Alice Slater this morning - I think it's really fascinating to see how different people balance heavy-duty day jobs with writing, especially when both have unpredictable workloads prone to spikes in demand.
WATCHING: I re-watched GREYHOUND on Apple TV last night. It's a great film, but it has always struck me how incredibly light it is on backstory. There's literally one scene not on the ship, one establishing scene with the crew, then it's 70+ minutes of absolutely constant action. I think it's intended to give a sense of how brutal and unrelenting the Atlantic convoy actions were and it does that job really well.
READING: I picked up A SPY ALONE by Charles Beaumont on Audible and started listening to it on dog walks yesterday and this morning. It's really good. Proper crunchy espionage stuff.
LINK: Here's a great overview of what it's like to attend the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival at Harrogate, from book blogger Beth Reads Crime. Extremely useful if you're considering coming along next year.
UP NEXT: Back home this afternoon and back into the usual routine. Very much looking forward to sleeping in my own bed after I've spent 9 of the last 12 days in other places (hotels and my friend's house to look after the dog). And, I really hope, with some time at home, a decent amount of writing. I suspect edits on PROJECT SCARLET (which I can now confirm is actually SOLITARY AGENTS) will be landing fairly soon, so I'll also be prepping for that.
Onward!