New year New Me

Not really. Hair’s a bit longer. I’m a bit fatter. It’s only September. But apart from that.

New term at the Open University and I’ve swapped from poetry to fiction. That’s a lot more words to get on the page and a lot more editing, but the idea of reading any more poetry, well … that’s not the right kind of feeling at the beginning of a new term.

I’ve learnt a lot over the summer. I’ve learnt that other people love Henry the Hoover but actually he’s an evil bugger who enjoys impaling himself on furniture.

I’ve learnt that I am the kind of feminist who enjoys spending her husband’s wages on other women* cleaning the house. It’s spreading economic independence, after all. If you know of anyone …

*It doesn’t have to be a woman. I’m happy to promote diversity in the work place … I’ve just never met a cleaner who wasn’t a woman. Let’s discuss it another time.

I’ve learnt brevity is everything, adverbs are BAD and that I excel in passive tense writing, which is great for reports. For fiction, not so much. Also, punctuation. Is key. For effect.

Onwards. Time to stop reading about writing and do writing. Then edit it down and then edit it again.

Wish me luck. I’m going in.