It feels like a long time since I was last here. That’s what having a holiday does, plus coming back to two days of solid work on one job.
We had a great time in Whitby. I don’t have the photographs yet, but as soon as I do I’ll send out a newsletter. Ideally the newsletter needs to be for July and August, but at this rate, it might also include September!
We got back at the weekend and it’s been a bit of a whirlwind ever since, with Monkey Dust doing a garden party gig for friends of ours on Sunday as well as the post-holiday + usual weekly shopping as well. We’ve been baking too, and trying to catch up in the garden.
This week has been busy, though. Monday was a bank holiday. Tuesday and Wednesday I worked solidly on the proofreading job that came away with us on holiday. I did do a lot of work on it while we were away, completing my own proof-read and consolidating that with the proofreader’s report. That, at least, was pretty straightforward.
I can’t really say very much more about the rest of the proofreading job as it’s client work and I shouldn’t really go into detail here. But I have been working on it solidly all week, as well as spending time on it on holiday. (Not down to me or the client, but the author.)
August wrap-up
August didn’t pan out as well as I hoped it would.
The dog was very, very poorly, and that took up quite a lot of time, mostly catching up on sleepless nights but also various trips to the vets. He’s all right now, much better, and the holiday seems to have done him the world of good. He seems to have settled into a consistent routine and he seems to be working with his legs a lot better.
The proofreading job took up a lot of time and still isn’t finished.
We had a lovely holiday, but we cancelled our Charlatans gig because it was the day between coming home from holiday and doing the day-long garden party gig, and we didn’t want to leave the dog with anyone overnight given his current condition.
Here, then, is how the plan went:
- monthly schedule planning ✔️
- new month wordcount & progress spreadsheets ✔️
- write the next short story for 12 Stories in 12 Months ✔️
- attend 2 medical appointments ✔️
- weekly tech scan & backup ✔️
- weekly diary work ✔️
- attend PF Writing Hour on Twitter every Tuesday ✔️✖️✔️✔️
- revise Fireworks at Killiecrankie and send it to market ✖️
- revise Killer Queen and send it off as a workshop assignment ✖️
- take car in for service ✔️
- brainstorm, outline and write a story for Hidden Villains: Betrayal ✖️
- read set books for Romance Ghosts workshop ✖️
- continue to proofread the Vietnam book and consolidate proofreader and author amendments with mine ✔️
- Monkey Dust admin every Monday ✔️
- Diane’s gig list admin every Monday and Thursday ✔️
- continue typing Catch the Rainbow ✖️
- continue writing Project Management for Writers: Gate 3 – How? ✖️
- revise the last remaining online workshops I’ve already watched and made notes on thus far ✔️
- continue watching the motivational Monday workshops ✔️
- watch archived study along romance writing workshop ✖️
- go on holiday (yay!) ✔️
- attend a Charlatans gig ✖️
- write A Death in the Night and send it to market (today?)
- continue planning The (new) Fool ✖️
- continue planning The Beast Within ✖️
- July/August newsletter (today?)
- finances for September (today?)
Much will be carried over to September, but I also have probate and house sale work to do today. And I have to renew my membership to the Crime Writers’ Association.
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For some reason, I thought you were going to be away for an entire month. I have scrambled brains lately, I’m sorry. In spite of the challenges, you had a busy August, and I have no doubt you will have a spectacular September.
It was a short month, and September will be too, but we won’t be going away this time. We’re just having a week off to hopefully kickstart our next project.