Daynote - Tue 29 Jul

No nice forest picture this morning because my cat Olaf snuggled into me this morning and I fell back asleep and didn't get out for my walk. But I used the little bit of extra time well to get a decent writing session done.

ON DECK: 1,230 words this morning and a decent bit of plot progression. Having a lot of fun with the worldbuilding on DRIFT.

TOOLS AND PROCESS: As I've noted before, DRIFT is a bit unusual because it's a very high level outline for me and I'm not doing a huge amount of outlining ahead either. I know the very broad beats of the plot and I am maybe one or two scenes ahead with more detailed bullet point outlines, but I'm enjoying letting the story unfold on its own a bit. I will never be a 'zero plan, let's just see what happens' writer (I've tried it and hated every second of the drafting process) but it is fun to allow a little more serendipity and spontaneity into the work. Just to see what happens.

LISTENING: I really enjoyed this interview with Simon McCleave from CrimeTime FM - what a fascinating journey he's had as a writer, from TV writer to teacher in rural Wales and now novelist (and back to TV as an exec producer of his novels).

WATCHING: A bit of BOB'S BURGERS and RICK AND MORTY last night. Daft as a brush but a lot of fun.

READING: More of the spy novel for blurbs last night. And a bit of A SPY ALONE on Audible as well.

LINK: The Honest Editor continues to be a fantastic resource for learning the ins-and-outs of publishing. Here's her latest post, an interview with Alison Barrow, PR Director for Penguin Random House.

UP NEXT: More writing and more reading and more walking. It's so nice to be home though. Slept like a log last night.

Onward!