The Gentleman of Leisure... and work

Let me just say this; being a full-time author just has to be The Bomb.

I had a wonderful week off, last week, in which I pretended I was one and I can't stress enough how much I want that to be my actual working life.

I got up at eight (not seven!), mooched around the flat eating toast and drinking tea (Wow! Actual breakfast!) until nine, then wrote for a couple of hours (Two hours or more on a school day morning!).

Then there was lunch.

Then more writing. Then I read a book in the afternoon sun, cooked food of an evening and awaited the Lady of my Life to return from work. Then I had several hours of hanging out with her, uninterrupted by writing, until it was time to go to bed.

I even tackled multiple problems a day.

Normally, when I write for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening, I start writing, hit a problem that takes roughly twenty minutes thinking time to solve (why it always seems to be twenty, I have no idea) by which time it's time to stop and go to work. Then, when I get back, I write the solution I had that morning. Repeat.

On Saturdays, I write for four hours but sometimes I'm so intent on having Free Time that they're just as productive as a two-hour shift on a workday.

But with all the day ahead of me, I'm more relaxed. I think through my problem, then write the solution. Right then! Until I hit the next problem. Then I solve that! It's wonderful.

That’s a way to earn a living. It’s not flash, it’s not swish but I want it and the holiday underlined my need to work hard during non-holiday time to get these novels done and bring that dream closer to reality.

On another note, I received my shiny certificate from Writer's of the Future a couple of weeks ago. It was very nice and may go on a wall somewhere, possibly. I haven't decided yet. That's another thing to look forward to; an office I can call my own. Though that may not be as far off as full-time authorship...

More next time.

Thanks for reading.

Grey Freeman - Honourable Writer of the Future

It took a few moments to realise that the first word in the email I received this morning was 'Congratulations!'

The Writers of the Future award have given my short story Earworm Turns an Honourable Mention. This means that while I didn't make it to the quarter-finalist stage the judges considered it good enough to be worthy of a mention for being well-written.

I've been told the certificate is in the post. Now I need to send it somewhere else to see if I can get it published!

If you need further proof you can find my name here.

Right, now I really need to get back to work.

Life has its way

House hunting is a pain.

Suffice to say that due to the stress of house hunting, being sick (I'm not sure if these two things were entirely disconnected) and recovering from those two things, I've done very little writing this week.

I suppose life just has its own way sometimes and you have to stand back and let it. Hopefully, when I get back into it, it'll be with a clearer head and some fresh perspective.

I didn't win this quarter's Writer of the Future competition but that's alright, I didn't reall expect to. But I've heard that Murky Depths will be having a writing competition in a few monthsy judged by Mike Carey, so I'm going to hold back Promises until then. I'm sure it's the winning story.

Kids didn't get taken by Escape Clause, though I was told that it was given serious consideration, which was nice. Other than that, things are ticking along nicely.

Thanks for reading.