Friday 13 June 2008

Let’s face the music and dance

Why do worries seem to loom that much larger at night? I awoke at 4am and promptly spent the next two hours stressing over everything I could think of, and then made up a few non-existent troubles to ice the worry-cake. There are no solutions in the darkness; every route your troubled mind follows slams a door closed with an unfriendly ‘No Exit!’ sign glaring at you. So I decided to get up instead.

I made a cup of tea and sat staring out of the window, watching the dawn rise and sun lick across the sky. And, amazingly, a few answers did spring to mind – little things I can do that may help. I can try and get an invoice paid early, no harm to ask. I can try and contact a few places I have worked at before, and see if there are any copywriting jobs on offer. I can cancel a payment and put it on hold for a month. There are definitely things I can do, rather than lying in bed and going through the mental equivalent of ‘eek’. Or perhaps ‘squeak’…

That decided, it seemed so much easier to start editing – yes, slightly over the Wednesday self-imposed deadline, but the three chapters are nearly done. I hope I have improved them rather than over-complicating them, but I have tried to approach this as if I was subbing for someone else, and that does help to see things more clearly.  I also need to crack on with the synopsis – which I will share with you when it’s completed. Then I need to think about the perfect introductory letter – luckily The Writers’ and Artists’ Handbook is very good for tips about that. Oh blimey! Lots to do…

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