Another week! And things are starting to look up, at last. I’ve managed to get the first 2 chaps of the new book through their next edit. That may not sound like a lot to have achieved in a week, but if you skip down to the very lengthy post you’ll find here, you may understand why things have been slow.

But, on to the positives. 2 chapters ready for the next editing stage. That’s forward movement.

I also read a post by someone who commented on a post on another website that I’d previously commented on (odd how such connections can sometimes prove far more worthwhile than first imagined!). W Lance Hunt had some apposite things to say about the fiction writer and blogging; you’ll find it here. Although his advice wasn’t essentially new to me, it managed to encapsulate a few ideas and thoughts into a form that struck me. The short piece set me thinking about my own online presence.

Throughout my writing career, as with most of the employment I’ve been engaged in, I’ve generally been helping others, for no other reason than that I feel shared experience is a useful tool for improving any civilised society.

However, Lance’s post made a very useful point about the advice generally given to writers regarding blogging and social networking. In a nutshell, he pointed out that the vast majority of this advice is aimed at writers of nonfiction. Novelists, in fact all of us who write fiction in any form, face different challenges and have a different audience, or readership, to satisfy.

Timing is frequently an essential element regarding the influence of other’s thoughts on our own. I’ve been in something of a mire regarding my online presence recently. The epic fail of my iMac somehow raised this feeling of dissatisfaction to the top of the pile of things I’m considering.

Without going into too much detail, I’m examining my priorities and scrutinising my choices. There’s much I could do to play a more active role in garnering interest in my books, whilst continuing to indulge in my political and social passions.

In short, I’m exploring the possibilities of increasing the information on this blog about my writing and output. Some regular posts have proved popular, and those will continue here. But I’ll also be posting more informative pieces, of all sorts, on the background and development of my fiction.

So, if you enjoy reading, please watch this space, where I’ll endeavour to write posts without the many clichés employed here today, a day when brevity has had to replace quality.