Tuesday 1 October 2024: Hello, October!

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I do love autumn. I love the fact the nights are drawing in. I love cosying up in front of the fire. My breakfast cereal starts to have hot milk on it. And I start to yearn to get my knitting needles out so I can finish the ruby red jumper I’ve been knitting for yonks. No, really. Yonks. 

This week’s blog posts will be a bit disjointed in that 2 of them are month ahead/month gone posts, there’s a book review up tomorrow, and on Thursday it will be the second part of the writing ideas for March post (this one Take One Idea). But I’m trying to remember to keep writing them up as I go along so I don’t miss anything.

Friday’s post should be a bumper read…

Hello, October!

The last working day of the month is usually when I plan the month ahead, but this time I’ve done it today! Hence the shabbily late post.  

I made an executive decision about 12 STORIES IN 12 MONTHS. Instead of waiting to see what the prompt and length is AFTER I’ve submitted the previous month’s story, I want to come up with an idea first so I can slip it into the 5-week schedule and then adapt the prompt and the length to suit.

All it means is that BRAINSTORM MONDAY will be the week the prompt is revealed, and OUTLINE TUESDAY will be the week after. WRITE WEDNESDAY will then be the week after, REVISE THURSDAY the week after that, but PROOFREAD FRIDAY and SUBMIT WEDNESDAY will both be on the same (WEDNES)DAY SUBMISSION DAY.

I can easily sneak in the prompt somewhere, and by the time I come to write the first draft, I’ll already have a target length. I’ll also try to stick to a Stevie Beck short Horvale mystery, a Marcie Craig short mystery, or a near-future story featuring my weathered and heavily flawed detective Marshall Jackson. 

October doesn’t look very full, but there’s a novel in there, a novella, 3 articles, 2 book reviews, 5 short stories, a book to proofread, a newsletter, 2 gigs, and maybe 4 days working away.

Here, then, is the plan for October:

  • new word-count spreadsheet for October
  • TAKE ONE IDEA FOR MARCH
  • WRITING PROMPTS FOR APRIL
  • TAKE ONE IDEA FOR APRIL
  • 2 book reviews
  • newsletter
  • CATCH THE RAINBOW
  • 12 STORIES IN 12 MONTHS
  • 5 stories over 5 weeks (inc. 12 STORIES)
  • client proofread: Holocaust book
  • (week) daily blog post
  • (week) daily tech declutter
  • weekly diary work
  • potential work trip to Horsham (with the poet)
  • Monkey Dust admin
  • Diane’s gig list admin every Thursday
  • 2 Monkey Dust gigs 
  • monthly schedule planning for November
  • THE SECRET OF WHITEHORSE FARM 
  • advance finances for November

How’s your October looking?

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