November - Writing

This month I've been on a magical holiday, hence the photo, and otherwise, mostly in the in-between, awaiting feedback on my second draft.

With this draft, my aim was to tie down the plot so that subsequent edits can focus on emotion and character. Once submitted to my agent, I gave the story to my mam, she's usually my first reader. She got a little lost (not in a good way), so now I'm biting my nails, hoping my agent won't have the same feedback.

These last few weeks, I'm doubting everything I've ever written, before reminding myself that this always happens when I'm moulding a new story. The first book in a series is the set-up for all to follow, and so must work very hard. I relax for a moment whenever I remember this before returning to my nails - they receive all my angst.

On a more positive note, I had a virtual meeting on Sunday night with Kathy Rose, an esteemed astrologer. I wanted to run the astrology in this book past her to see if it stacks up. I have a somewhat vague understanding of how the stars align, but because I respect this science of patterns and therefore don't want to fictionalise the actual astrology used, I needed professional help.

Kathy kindly sat with me for almost an hour, where we went through the Prophesy chart and all the charts relating to it. As I've mentioned before, when it comes to writing, sometimes things magically fall into place when you hadn't exactly planned for it. Kathy gave an overview of how each character might behave based on their charts - this lined up with how they actually behave and, hence, gave me goosebumps. At least it seems I've been getting something right.

As I wait, I'm also writing a play (or trying to) and met my scriptwriting group on Monday. I come from a design background, which thrives on collaboration and teamwork. Theatre and film have this same sense, at least looking in from the outside, and so I'd love to be a part of that. Watch this space (or maybe don't - my nails can't take the pressure!)