Daynote - Wed 1 Apr 2026

A really nice day in London yesterday - I had a very productive morning writing session after getting off the sleeper, then a good day with day job colleagues in Farringdon, then I met fellow DHH clients Anna St Germain and Dave Wragg for drinks and food at The Eagle Farringdon. Cracking pub with exceptional steak sandwiches. We had a good catchup/industry gossiping session, then I headed to Euston and clambered back aboard the sleeper.

ON DECK: I'm still in transit this morning, so I'll be grabbing words in lounges, cafes and trains until I'm home. Hopefully that will get me to my quota, but the rest of the week is at home and there's a long weekend coming up, so I'm not too worried if the word count is a little light today.

TOOLS AND PROCESS: I'm close enough to the end of this book now that I can feel the ending approaching, like a train coming out a dark tunnel. I've not quite outlined to the end yet, but I really need to, because the last few scenes will have a lot of moving parts and narrative threads to pull together and tie off satisfactorily. I suspect I've got a few Big Word Count days coming up - it's fairly common for me to accelerate into the final straight of the track, once I can see the finish line, so to speak. Then, of course, I need to rewrite it.

LISTENING: I enjoyed this special episode of Scriptnotes, featuring John August speaking to a group of writers about the realities of screenwriting. It's a great and very frank conversation.

LINK: Very excited to see that Capital Crime has posted its schedule. Last year's festival was where I had my first ever panel as an author, and I'm pleased to say I've been invited back. Last year I was on the debut panel, but this year I'll be on stage with fellow spy novelists James Wolff, Paul Warner and Chris Humphreys, moderated by Jane Thynne. Here's the panel summary:

Secrets and Shadows: The Many Faces of Espionage with James Wolff, Paul Warner, David Goodman and Chris Humphreys in conversation with Jane Thynne about our real-world and literary fascination with spy stories, and how political climates shape fiction.

If you've never been, Capital Crime is a fantastic event. And this year they're doing individual event tickets and site passes for the venue as well as day and weekend tickets, so there's tonnes of options to give it a try.

UP NEXT: A train home, then settling back in at home to get more words done for the rest of this week. I think I have, perhaps, 10,000 words left to go in this book? Maybe less than that. We'll see.

Onward!