Apparently I’m not supposed to write about how I had a bad writing day or how I didn’t write as much as I’d like. Apparently, I can only write about writing if it’s about technique or for recompense. Well, since when did that become a thing?
This is MY blog, it’s on MY website, it’s got MY name on it, and I’ll write what *I* want to write. If you don’t want to read it, then jog on. I’ve been in this writing business since 1985 and I’ve been blogging since 2005. I have thousands of views each month. I also write a helluva lot of words each week. If I want to lament the fact that they’re not necessarily MY words, surely that’s up to me?
Honestly, Friday was not a good day for me to see such a comment on one of the platforms I’m thinking of closing down anyway. In fact, if anything, it’s brought the closure closer. (Hey, do you see what I did there?)
Anyway, there was still no sign of the cat on Friday and so I ramped up the social media posts, registered her on a lost cats website, and the poet put up a reward. Rufus and I went for a walk around the lanes because he picked up her scent at the back gate, on both sides, but then he lost it along the track that runs at the back of our house.
I chatted with two neighbours, who promised to look out for her, and we walked as far as the fields because she always used to love fields before she went deaf. Another neighbour said his wife had seen my post in the local group and he’d been to check his outbuildings, so Facebook does work. I also rang up the two closest vets, who sadly said no cats had been brought in, let alone any matching Holly’s description.
All of that took up most of the morning and when I was ready to start work, the poet came home and jumped onto two video meetings one after the other. So while he did that, I did some daily competitions.
Once he’d finished his meetings, I did some more work on The Fool. I’ve started a plotting journal for this and am using that in conjunction with the Save the Cat method. At the moment, I’ve done basic plot notes, world building, started some of the character work, and written up a double-page spread blank outline with the steps written against each chapter.
Saturday was a day of visiting and shopping. We went to see my mom, which took up a lot of the day, and when we got back, I wrote a meal plan and a shopping list, and we went and did the shopping. I settled down to spend 10 minutes on The Fool and 30 minutes later I’d got a new opening and the basic idea for the first five chapters.
There was no sign of the cat.
On Sunday morning we were just getting up when the doorbell went. It was someone who lived on a bungalow estate at the back of us and he had a photograph of Holly on his phone, taken a few minutes earlier! She’d been in his garden. So we threw some clothes on and dashed around there, but she’d gone by the time we got there. The man’s partner had put some food down for her but then their own cat had hissed at Holly and Holly ran away. We spent some time in their garden, in the hope that Holly would pick up our scent, but there was no sign of her.
We went back home, had breakfast, and I created some posters. I gave her litter a good shake and moved it closer to the gate, we hung up some dirty washing on the line and another one of Holly’s cushions, and I put two dishes of food out, one with salmon gravy on and the other filled with smelly tuna chunks. Then we went around to the estate again and leafletted every house on the same side of the road so that they have our numbers if anyone else saw her. When we got back, we cracked the patio door open so she could come in if we didn’t see her.
Then I settled down to do some ghostwriting and the poet started to master a track for his son’s band. We can see the garden from the office, so could keep an eye out for Holly. I read the last part I’d ghostwritten to refresh my memory and corrected a few typos. Then I went through the Scrivener file identifying the male, female and both viewpoints, colour coding them blue, lilac and yellow respectively. I also rejigged some of the outline around so that the remaining 9 chapters all have the same weight to them.
It took me a long time to write the first chapter as I kept looking outside for the cat. Also, people were sending me messages on Facebook or responding to our posts and I kept breaking off to acknowledge and thank them. In the past few days I’ve had more interaction with our immediate next-door neighbours than in the six months since we’ve been here!
Before the light went, we went for another walk around the block, our third of the day, in the hope of laying down a scent for Holly to follow home. We still didn’t see her but we’re hoping she makes her way back eventually. In the meantime, we’ve started to make tentative arrangements with someone who offered to catch her for us. We were just delighted to know that she was still alive.
I managed a chapter of the ghostwriting before tea in the end. Then I wrote another right after tea. And I wrote another before a reasonable bedtime.
I’m going to be working on the ghostwriting all day today.
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So much to respond to here.
First and most important, I’m sorry Holly’s missing, and hope you get her back soon. That has to be causing all kinds of awful stress on all of you. It’s great that the neighbors are all willling to pitch in.
Second, you are gosh darn right you can write about anything you want. Writing about tough days helps us process them, and it helps fellow writers who are struggling. I’ve gotten criticism, on and off, when I write about bad days, and you know what? it’s an important part of the process. Bad days exist and need to be acknowledged. If someone never admits to a bad day, I wonder what other dark stuff they get up to that they won’t admit.
Anyway, hope things settle down soon, across multiple fronts.
I was so cross with this person! I almost had a right rant back, but chose instead polite and cutting.