Halfway There

Well, it’s the end of the year and I have reached the milestone that I set myself – I am now halfway through the first draft of the novel. It’s also an important moment for my protagonist. She started off rather naive and a little selfish and I’ve now put her through a number of events which have caused her to reflect and move forward. This is good as she will need some strength to get through the next few chapters. She does get a break around chapter twenty seven but there’s a way to go yet.
I’ve really enjoyed the first year of the PhD. Not only have I got fifteen chapters down but I’ve also: read thirty one novels; read numerous books and journal articles for my thesis; carried out research at the archives; attended five training events; attended one academic conference, an exhibition, seminar and two plays; had four tutorials; and visited the Somme battlefields. Next year there will more of the same. Plus my day job and training for a half marathon!
For anyone who reads my blog and who is currently engaged in a writing project or about to start – just write a little every day. It doesn’t matter what but please write. The days go by so quickly and writing is one of those things which seems to easily be displaced by other activity. Once you get something on the page or screen and it begins to grow then you feel a real commitment to it and you can no longer leave it alone. It will keep tugging at your mind and demanding attention. The key is to get started.

I'm Still Here

I'm conscious that I haven't posted anything for a while. The reason being is that I have two milestones that I want to reach before 31 December and I have been working hard to achieve them. Firstly, I want to finish Chapter 15 (and therefore the first half of the novel). Secondly, I want to finish reading and 'de-constructing' the thirty or so novels that I allocated to this year. I'm getting there but am also aware that I can't let some of the work around my thesis slip. I attended a couple of events last month - Theses and Open Access Papers (how to find them) and the 12-24 month PhD event. In my spare time (!) I have been cross referencing bibliographies and interrogating databases to ensure that the resources I use for my thesis are comprehensive. It doesn't help that the tendons in my wrists and hands are playing up and I'm waiting for physio. Anyway, I'll keep pushing and hopefully be able to start 2012 having got to where I want to. Novel writing is one of the most challenging things I have ever done but I love it for that.