Friday, November 27, 2009



More astute readers may note that, instead of the two weeks I estimated it would take me to read my manuscript and notes, and then reappear here with something interesting to say - it has in fact been a whole month. (Even then I'm rounding it down, but cut me a break, okay?)

What have I been doing during the past five - I mean, four - weeks? A lot of internal mind-bending roller coaster rides, I must say. I can't help but think of Number One Son's progression with his swimming lessons.
  1. Prepare to dip toes into the vast expanse of manuscript yawning before me. Very unsure as to the temperature... warm? Freezing cold?
  2. Find it's generally quite icy, but with unexplained warm patches throughout
  3. Freak out manically at the sheer immenseness of it all.
I am comforted somewhat by the knowledge that Number One Son has come a long way since his first lesson, which consisted of 25 minutes of crying and pleading "I need to go to the side and have a rest", five minutes of silent defiance and then a smile and a high-five when the lesson was finished. Six lessons later and he now rushes to the edge as soon as we arrive, waiting impatiently for his turn, then spends the whole half hour grinning and waving proudly to Mummy. So I prepare to undertake my next challenge tentatively, yet with the hope that I will one day be 'high-five'ing too. That challenge is just to begin. Dip one toe in the frigid water that is my novel, and try to warm it some with a few drops of heady inspiration. Where that will be coming from, I have no idea!

On the plus side, I have now allowed myself to go out and buy that new book!