So I blinked and a quarter of the year whizzed by – did it happen to you too? I cannot believe on Sunday it is the longest day of the year for those of us in the northern hemisphere and the shortest for you southern guys. Here in Britain our summer has generally only just about got going by the time we reach 21st of June so seems all wrong that as we finally have warm enough temperatures to go out without wearing a jumper, the nights start drawing in but that's food for thought for another blog post.
Since I last blogged I have been busy, busy with edits which explains why the world has been passing me by. During March I spent a lot of time reading – all research, you understand, and not just an excuse to buy more books, but of course I did that too! It was fabulous reading like I did when I was a teenager, all the time, and I read five books in a week. Since then I have done editing, editing, editing. This is my favourite part of the writing process: first draft is like putting clay on a potter's wheel and editing is like moulding the clay into something beautiful that you want to look at – first draft is for no one's eyes but mine! It's where I get to lament "I really wrote that?" and also to be amazed that "I really wrote that!" For me, it's a long and extremely messy process and that's when I forget what colour my desk is as it becomes progressively buried in heaps of paper. There's something daunting in writing a number one on the first page when I know I have another 300+ to go but it's also fun because that's where I can really make it shine.
My work in progress is off with my lovely test readers and I'm back editing the book I'm working on concurrently. It's a good job I like this part of the process, although it's clearly showing that I'm not so keen on clearing up my desk – I really must get to that as I'm currently working in a space the size of an A4 sheet of paper!
