Further Progress on the #WIP.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, opinion, Progress
One of three notebooks, gift of my daughter’s mother-in-law, Chris. For which, many thanks!

It is a long time since I reported on my WIP. 19th January, to be precise.
So, how’s it going?

Inevitably, a touch of illness, advancing years, the state of the world since the orange clown was placed in a position of power way beyond his capacity, the frequent disappointments of a supposedly socialist UK government too close in philosophy to the appalling Tories they were elected to counter, and some slight, but time-consuming issues with hardware and software could all be blamed.

The reality is, I had a series of fairly serious epiphanies that resulted from some reading I’ve recently done. They caused me to restructure the book I’m writing. I’ve also needed to do more research on topics on which I have insufficient knowledge to tackle the issues in any competent way. The two books I bought for that are currently under examination, which will also require some online examination for aspects not immediately accessible on the printed page.

My notebooks, used to take note of thoughts and ideas I encounter in moments of relaxation, are filling rapidly with small items and notions I need to instal in the text.

I would love to blame situations beyond my control, and, let’s be honest, all of us who are conscious of the state of the world have been deeply affected by the frankly moronic antics across the pond. The world stands in a dangerous place while those supposedly in charge hover idly by, too frightened of the lunatics to deal with them as they deserve. Appease an unsuitable man in power and we all know the outcome, as Neville Chamberlain discovered in his attempt to divert the ambitions of the multi-murdering monster, Hitler.

But, as a writer, I must find the means to push these concerns to the back of my mind so I may concentrate on the work I’m trying to create. The online world is such a trap, especially for those of us who care about what’s happening outside our sphere of influence. In reality, of course, our ability to influence those who make decisions, make or break the laws under which we all must bend, is so small as to be effectively non-existent.

So, that’s where I am at present. Today, I’ve reached the point where I need to stop and rest. But tomorrow will find me concentrating where I must in order to achieve completion of the book I need to get out of me.

I’ll try to give you progress reports as work progresses. It’s unlikely to be a quick task, as it requires a deal of depth to reach the result I envisaged at the very start of its creation.

19 thoughts on “Further Progress on the #WIP.”

    1. Thanks, Noelle. Our heating ‘should’ be fixed today, which will make a lot of difference. But I’m keeping warm in my study with a fan heater for now. And, today, I’m continuing the edit process.

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        1. The fix to the system didn’t work. Now waiting until next Tuesday for a more ‘specialist’ engineer to have a look. But the work goes on!

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  2. Hi Stuart,
    I tried to leave a comment on WordPress but it tells me comments are now closed on this item. Anyway, here it is, for what it’s worth!
    I can also empathise with the problem of world politics stymying progress both on my WIP, and in writing anything new. Waking in the night overwhelmed by feelings of impending doom, which get mixed together with my own little fears and anxieties resulting in a soup of paralysis, where anything I do (or write) seems pointless. However, I do tell myself that succumbing to doom and gloom helps no-one, and I try to seek out positive accounts of resistance, wherever that may be, however small. The least we can do is to keep informed, stay resilient, and keep on keepin’ on, so good luck to you, and everyone else, with doing so.

    I’m actually trying to write a blog on this subject, but the paralysis sets in for that as well! But hopefully I will get it out before too long
    Cheers
    Penny

    Penny Frances, Writer
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    1. I think there must’ve been a glitch on this attempt, Penny. Your original comment got through. WordPress has recently changed some aspects of comments on the websites, and I suspect the one above fell into some digital chasm.
      Goodluck with the blog post.

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  3. I can also empathise with the problem of world politics stymying progress both on my WIP, and in writing anything new. Waking in the night overwhelmed by feelings of impending doom, which get mixed together with my own little fears and anxieties resulting in a soup of paralysis, where anything I do (or write) seems pointless. However, I do tell myself that succumbing to doom and gloom helps no-one, and I try to seek out positive accounts of resistance, wherever that may be, however small. The least we can do is to keep informed, stay resilient, and keep on keepin’ on, so good luck to you, and everyone else, with doing so.

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  4. Good luck going forward, Stuart. The world situation is indeed very worrying. I’m finding myself awakening at night with DT on my mind and wondering what he and Russia might try to carry out against us. Ugh. All the best with your work.

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    1. Thank you, Lynette. DT is a disaster for the whole world, of course, and Putin has always been a bully, of course. Now you have a new PM, let’s hope the message sent to DT is definitely ‘Hands off Canada!’. And let’s hope the other democracies can find some unity in opposing this coalition of the terrible twin destroying bullies.

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      1. Our new PM, Mark Carney, so far doesn’t seem to have a problem with calling out Trump, and it’s clear that Canadians want someone who’s going to deal with him head-on.

        We will have a general election pretty soon and fingers crossed Carney wins. On the other side we have an ultra conservative Trump mini-me who has Trump supporters in the grassroots of his party. Up until recently he was favoured to win but Trump’s behaviour has caused his numbers to drop significantly. We’ll see what happens.

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        1. Agreed, Lynette. Let’s hope Trump’s idiotic antics will convince his supporters in Canada that he is an irresponsible, self-serving, bankrupt clown.
          We had some experience of Mark Carney here when he was head of the Bank of England. He seemed to do a good job of that, and at least it means he has some idea of the financial world.

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          1. The Trump supporters in Canada are a very small number but they are part of the Conservative Party base and wield outsized influence over the leadership. Some of them are completely bonkers, so they are unlikely to shift their position. The party leader, Pierre Poilievre, has been trying to hide this poisonous element but their active participation in the party is becoming more and more evident as a result of Trump’s behaviour. It’s imperative that we keep him out of the PMO.

            Yes, he was head of the Bank of Canada during the 2008-09 recession and handled that well, also. He’s a very well qualified economist who has a reputation as a troubleshooter – he advised your government during Brexit – so I think he’s exactly what we need right now to handle that sociopathic narcissist to the south of us.

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  5. Don’t blame all of us here! Many of us are confused and ashamed about our country’s miserable condition! I am still writing but have slowed down a little due to a Christmas present: a Stroke. I am on the mend and will write more if my fingers cooperate. Good Luck with your new books.

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    1. I don’t blame the whole of the USA for the actions of what was actually a minority (suggests the voting system needs to be brought up to date), Brenda. We have similar problems here with our antiquated FPTP system that results in the pendulum swinging from right to left to right, etc. There’s a small chance that might change in the future.
      As for your stroke, I sincerely hope you recover quickly and completely from that. My sister had a stroke a few years ago, unfortunately it is of a type that is known to recur and she has had several more since.
      Concentrate first on getting well again. Good physiotherapists and counsellors can be a real help in that.
      And thank you for you kind wishes.

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