Diane Wordsworth: freelance writer ● novelist ● editor ● ghostwriter ● book reviewer ● member of the CWA ● world-famous nutter-magnet
I got up too late and was too tired to do any NaNo prep work on Friday and I ended up down a rabbit hole in any case. Well, I ended up down so many rabbit holes, in fact, that I did wonder at one point if I’d stumbled into a complete warren. Word progress meters I started off by looking for a word progress meter, which was actually sort-of prep work for NaNo. I used to have this wonderful […]
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Prep Day Zero is actually all of the prep work for the prep work. For me, it’s reminding myself of the steps that work when I outline a project, and this week I’ve created tasks in my Asana project file. Including Day Zero, there are actually six prep days rather than five, but the last one is Day Five. What’s the difference? Well, one to five are actually writing work. Or jotting things down. Zero is just setting up reminders, […]
Read moreWordPress was having a bit of a hissy fit today. First of all, it wouldn’t let me create or edit a post in Edge, and then it wouldn’t let me preview a post in Opera or Edge. However, as I pay for the personal plan, I was able to contact support and they seem to have fixed it for me. Or at least on Edge they have. Opera may take a while longer, but I’m not using that as much […]
Read moreImage by chezbeate from Pixabay After watching the weather, the poet decided to go fishing on Friday. So I put together an editing bag and took the work with me that came in on Thursday morning. By the end of the afternoon, I’d finished the hard-copy edits. By the time we got home, a new proofreading job had landed from the Greek client. And the plan was to finish the screen edits of the Hong Kong job on Saturday or […]
Read moreSo I’ve been reading this series about making money from home (Make Money from Home series by Sally Miller), and I’m finding it very interesting and informative. I’m trying a few things out that they suggest, and one of those is creating a logo. But do you need a logo? I’d never, ever thought about having my own logo, for the blog, for the website, for social media. I’ve had Facebook since about 2008, I’ve been blogging since 2005, and […]
Read moreAfter basking in my Camp NaNoWriMo winner glory for a moment or two, I finished work late on Friday. It was about 9pm here, so about 11pm for my client. The work was mostly late because Word had a bit of a hissy fit and took it upon itself to remove ALL of my tracked changes. It left the comments in, but everything else was gone. And I couldn’t get them back. I did some internet research, and I eventually […]
Read moreWith me finishing the revisions of Twee Tales Too on Wednesday, I already had an extra hour today. Then when I checked in to the content-editing workroom, there was no work, so that was another extra hour today. I hoped that would be enough to finish today’s work. First of all I had the last 3,106 words to write for this month’s instalment of Catch the Rainbow. Then I had about 90 pages to finish proofreading for a client. I went […]
Read moreSo this great plan of mine to be at my desk by 9am and write for 4 hours was foiled before I even got there. The poet was working from home and he had a Skype meeting (or a Team meeting) at 8am. For 4 hours. (FOUR hours!) I fannied around for a bit, doing what chores I could, making us both breakfast and cups of tea until I felt the urge to just get my earphones (earbuds), find some […]
Read moreAs well as arriving very late to my desk this morning, I then got distracted. Three times. First of all, I saw that Martin Lewis, our money saving expert, has helped produce a textbook for schools, designed to teach kids about personal finance. The pdf for this book, and the teachers’ guide, are both free to download. Hard copies of the textbook are available to purchase from Amazon. I have downloaded this book and the teachers’ guide already. I’m not […]
Read moreAlthough technically I wasn’t at my desk at quite 9am today, I was still working. I was doing my daily email declutter, responding to emails and turning down work. I had around half a dozen work invitations in my inbox this morning, and not one of them was suitable. Apart from being topics of no interest to me when an interest in the topic is a requirement (cosmetics, poetry, ninja kids …), and apart from being quite busy already, thank […]
Read moreOops, skipped a day … From this week, my 10-project writing planner has a new project attached. It’s a proofreading job, and I want it finished by the end of Friday. Next week, I add a different project to my planner. This week’s proofreading job means I’ll have 2 projects on the go at the same time for the first time since I started to properly use the planner. Next week’s proofreading job means the same, as this week’s should […]
Read moreAfter quite a bit of rigmarole (see yesterday’s post) I finally started work yesterday afternoon. I was keen to do some work for the client as well as some writing for myself. So I allocated us both at least an hour each. I wrote 1,908 words and my average speed stayed at 26 words per minute. I couldn’t spend a lot of time on any of the work because we had to go and do the shopping last night. But […]
Read moreTime was already tight this week with so many errands and deliveries booked in, so when the internet fell over – yet again – yesterday morning, I was not a happy bunny. Every time the internet crashes, which is around twice a day at the moment, it takes time out of my already busy schedule. It takes time while I wait to see if it’s going to come back up again. It takes time while I run around the house […]
Read moreOn Saturday we managed to get out for another bit of a drive. We ended up in Lincoln, as I’ve never been before. We had a lovely meal at a pavement table, as we had the dog with us, and even the slight drop of rain didn’t spoil it. We’d managed to sit at the only table that was sheltered. Everyone else dashed inside. The rest of the weekend was pretty idle, to be honest. I didn’t manage to keep […]
Read moreAfter all of my bluster about starting the day writing, on the very first day I failed spectacularly. Friday was a Very Busy Day. The poet’s car was due in for its MOT. I had a hair appointment. And it was deadline day for the Greek client, and he’d asked for an early submission if possible rather than a later one. The first thing I did was check-in with the content editing site, but once again there was no work […]
Read moreLeaving my own work until the end of the day doesn’t work. It doesn’t get done. Especially if I’m busy on client work that has a solid deadline. Soft deadlines work for other people. They don’t work for me. So I need to do my writing work first – or at least ‘my own work’, whatever that may be – and then do everyone else’s next. This is what I’ve been trying to do. But when that client has a […]
Read moreThe day started on time yesterday, but much of the morning was spent on admin. I checked in with the content editing job first thing, but there was no work waiting for me. They did this a couple of weeks ago too. I checked in at the start of my designated time, three times in the week, there was nothing for me, and then they started to post work at about 4pm on Friday. And it all had to be […]
Read moreThe poet went back to work on Wednesday 1 July, his furlough over for now. Within 7 days of him mixing with people again, we both had signs of a cold. I’m about 2 days behind him. I work from home anyway and have done for a long time. This means that I’m not mixing with many people, catching their germs, or building immunity to various seasonal bugs for most of the time. He’s susceptible to infections anyway, but this […]
Read moreAfter a weekend that didn’t feel like a weekend, I was hardly raring to go yesterday morning and I was later to my desk than I would have preferred. It wasn’t so bad, though. My Monday morning check-in didn’t have any work for me, so there was an hour saved. Before I started writing, I checked the job board and deleted all new jobs since the last time I looked. Most of them were too cheap anyway, but the ones […]
Read moreI didn’t get a lot of my own work done on Friday. In fact, I didn’t get any of my own work done on Friday. I was finishing a client edit that needed to be back by teatime as I didn’t want to be working on it until 11 o’clock on a Friday night. So as soon as I was up and at my desk. I got on with that. I totally forgot that I was supposed to be content […]
Read moreAdmin time was a little longer yesterday, 25 minutes instead of 15. I stopped when I started to get distracted again, and I closed down social media and webmail. I don’t have notifications for my webmail anymore, and I never really had notifications from social media. Sometimes, when an app is updated on my phone or if I get a new phone, I forget and have to switch them all off as they come in for the first time. But […]
Read moreYesterday I started the day with just 15 minutes of admin before hurling myself into the novel. I wrote for just over an hour, and I added 1,956 words to the mix against that daily target of 1,860. I’m really happy with the way it’s going. I added two additional scenes that weren’t in the plan, and two additional characters to the writing so far. Plus, my typing speed increased slightly … well, by one word. I found a blog […]
Read moreI say Day 5, but is it really Day 7? It was certainly Day 7 of the month, and it’s probably Day 7 for a lot of other campers. But I’m not doing a 31-day writing month. I’m doing a 23-day writing month. Because I don’t work at the weekend. Monday was a Very Busy Day. Tuesday was slightly less busy in that I don’t do the content editing job on a Tuesday. I only do that Monday, Wednesday and […]
Read moreWe had a good weekend … apart from the dog not feeling very well. He has a bit of a garbage-mouth, so we’re not surprised when he gets the runs every once in a while. We are keeping an eye on him, though. The intention was to do some work on Saturday if I could, and I did manage an hour or so. But then I was distracted (ooh, shiny …) by Canva again, and I had a play on […]
Read moreI had a good day on Friday. I wrote up several scenes, mixed them about a bit, and added some new material. It was also the first job of the day, and this time I didn’t spend all day about it. There’s a rather nifty new gadget on the NaNo website whereby you can time your writing. I gave it a go, set the timer, and typed for an hour. I was distracted by a couple of things, such as […]
Read moreYesterday started well. I was ready for my desk by 10am, after doing household chores and other faffing. I sat down with my ritual cup of tea, and I started to write … and then I got distracted. First of all I was distracted by some pictures I found online that I hadn’t seen before, and so I grabbed copies of those for my research folder. Then I got distracted when I realised I could add bigger pictures to the […]
Read moreI think I’ve made a reasonable start for Camp NaNoWriMo. It was my first job of the day and I spent longer than my designated hour on it. I also already had a few words in the bank, about 2,000. But with a daily target of 1,860, I think it’s doable. I’d already typed out the first scene and started another when I tested my compile in Scrivener the day before. Yesterday, I finished the partial scene and typed up […]
Read moreYes, it’s started. And for the first time ever, I’m joining in with a Camp NaNoWriMo. This should be a little easier than the usual NaNoWriMo, as there are 31 days in July as opposed to the 30 days in November. But this time I’m just writing on normal work days, so that’s weekdays only. If I get the urge to do more, then weekend writing will be a bonus. Yesterday morning was all about prep work. (Mornings are my time.) […]
Read more… Catch the Rainbow! I thought long and hard, I considered my current workload, and I decided that I don’t have the physical capacity at the moment to write something completely from scratch. That meant that three possibilities were automatically eliminated: The Beast Within, The Fool and Whitehorse Farm. This left Diary of a Pussycat (a writers’ guide), Mardi Gras and Catch the Rainbow. And then I had a bit of a play around in Canva and made a massive decision. I actually […]
Read moreHaving abandoned – temporarily – Catch the Rainbow, yesterday I started work on The Beast Within: a Marcie Craig mystery. Marcie Craig is the main protagonist and amateur sleuth in my first novel Night Crawler. Whereas that novel was set in a pub where she works as a rock DJ, this story is set in a nightclub, where she works for 2 nights a week. The title, The Beast Within, is a song by a band some of my old […]
Read moreToday was supposed to be the start of the new regime. I was going to have a good long look at the work I already have in and the work I already have planned and then I was going to put it into some sort of order. So far, I’ve updated the diary for the rest of this week, and I’ve completed my diary for my first week back at work next year. I’ve broken the back of it, then […]
Read moreWell, I made it. Despite taking several days off, including an unplanned additional 6 days sick, I reached the finish line once again with a total of 50,270 words. I still have a way to go. The novel isn’t finished and I’m going to keep it up. But after years and years of failing at NaNoWriMo, I’m delighted to be a winner for the past 4 years on the trot. Writertopia still isn’t working properly. Perhaps in a day or […]
Read moreWe had a very busy weekend with Monkey Dust playing both Friday and Saturday evenings. Two very late nights on the trot automatically mean two very late lie-ins the next day too. I also had a massive proofreading job I wanted to finish, and I ended up finishing it at the gig on Saturday evening so that we could drop it in by hand on the way home. Plus, we needed to do our weekly shopping and we took MiL […]
Read moreI didn’t mean to take another day off. But yesterday I did a new assignment and by the time I got home something else happened to distract me from my writing: My book was published! The book was supposed to be published next year some time, but we did so well getting it ready, publication was brought forward to 30 November. The eagle-eyed will notice that yesterday was not 30 November either. It was 20 November. Another 10 days early. […]
Read moreThe weekend just gone was planned time off. I had 2 of my 5 days off together, as I prefer to have days off at the weekend than midweek. Saturday was a shopping and housework day, and a recce for two more assignments that have come in for me this Friday. Sunday was a run out to Derwent Reservoir to get some photographs of the usually flooded village that’s currently exposed. The area was rammed and there were thousands of […]
Read moreOops-a-daisy! I seem to have had another inadvertent day off. I’m not beating myself up about it, though. I’m currently very busy and next week is looking busier. And anyway, I’m not really lagging behind either. Yesterday was spent arranging two new assignments for next week that involve (shock! horror!) leaving the house! 😱 There’s also not a lot I can say at this stage either, as it’s quite confidential. 🤫 But the two appointments will take me out of the house for most […]
Read moreI’ve not had much time again today, as I’ve been pitching for some new and different jobs as well as continuing with the existing work I have in. I only managed to add around 700 words to my running total. But I have a few more very short scenes and Act II Part II is possibly complete, with some scenes that may need editing out. I seem to have won the new work – possibly 4 jobs for next week that […]
Read moreI didn’t get around to NaNo until quite late on this afternoon. I’ve been in correspondence with various people, including editing and proofreading clients as well as the publisher of my Cadbury book. The great news is, my book has arrived on the publisher’s desk! And they’re very happy with the result. I can hardly wait until I see my own copies and can feel them in my hands! We also discussed a few other things, and I’m going to […]
Read moreI hit my weekly target by the end of Thursday evening. I’d planned to take Sunday off, but as things transpired, I had 3 days off! But as I’d hit my weekly target by the end of Thursday, I didn’t beat myself up too much over it. Friday was a sad day as one of our chickens died. We’d been nursing her for several weeks, so it wasn’t a surprise. It was just so very sad. On Friday evening until […]
Read moreSo now I’m thinking, if I can do this in November for NaNoWriMo, why can’t I do it the rest of the year as well? My daily target is 2,000 words, which means I can also have 5 days off. My usual daily target is around 1,000 words per writing day. If I upped that to 2,000 words, and still had the whole weekend off, that would give me around 40,000 words per 4-week month. NaNoWriMo advocates 30 days of […]
Read moreI was quite tired yesterday following the shenanigans of the previous evening, but by 5pm I’d completed my day’s work quota. I’d added more than 3,000 words and I reached my first 100 pages on a proofreading job. I always like to hit the first 100 pages. At 5pm, I checked on the chickens, put them away, and settled down to read a Robert Goddard, a real book, with real pages, and a real light to read it by. I was looking forward […]
Read moreIt was a long day yesterday. We visited Mom last night – she was great and in fine form – and we were set to be home at a fairly reasonable time, around 10pm. On our way down we’d seen an accident on the M42 that had just happened. One lorry had stopped, a car was on the central reservation facing the wrong way, and the traffic hadn’t started to back-up yet. By the time we were on our way […]
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