It surely can’t be this long since I reported on my WIP, can it? But it appears my last post was way back on 23^rd November 2024. How can that be?

Well, I’ve some excuses. It’s possible some of you may consider them reasons, which would be better for my conscience.

First excuse: I’m suffering from an undiagnosed medical issue that’s robbing me of energy, interrupting my sleep, causing instability in my movement (the instability in my mind’s a feature I’ve accepted as normal, of course), and is conspiring to make my use of the thesaurus far more frequent due to the effect it’s having on my memory. While most adults whose first language is English have around 25,000 words at their disposal, I’ve a working vocabulary of more than 40,000 words, so it’s both irritating and frustrating that I can no longer recall words that once tripped off my tongue in an instant. (I’m due to visit the wonderfully titled ‘Geriatric Medicine Unit’ at my local hospital a week on Monday, so may have answers to some questions after that, hopefully!)

Second excuse: our daughter visited us for Xmas (she’s concerned we’re getting doddery now we’re in our seventies). Naturally, when one’s beloved offspring travels half the world to spend time with you, the tendency is to reciprocate and devote as much time to them as possible. It was also, of course, a delight to do this.

Third and final excuse: I have, as is necessary for every writer, been reading. Two books in particular have had a remarkable impact on me as an author. The first, ‘Orbital’ by Samantha Harvey, presents the lives of half a dozen astronauts orbiting the Earth in a way that set me thinking about the presentation of the story in my current work of genius (you can stop laughing now, thank you!). My review of that book is here. The second is a book I came across through an item on the idiot’s lantern. I can’t recall the name of the programme, but it introduced me to a book and author I’d not previously encountered. The book is by the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Annie Ernaux, and is titled, ‘The Years’. I’ve yet to finish this one, so no review just yet, but it will appear here when I do write it. This book has also influenced my intentions regarding the WIP. I’m not suggesting that either of these brilliant pieces of work are encouraging me to emulate them, it’s merely that their different styles of presentation of a story have given me cause to reconsider the way I was constructing the current book.

I’ve done a good deal of research for it already but will now need to do more. I’ve no problem with research as such, but it’s time consuming, and my current health issues mean I’ve less time each day to devote to such activity. And, of course, restructuring a novel initially written through my usual method as a pantster means a good deal of re-writing. Fortunately, the characters and locations remain unchanged, which is a relief, especially since my characters have a habit of defying my initial intentions for them!

So, that’s why I’ve been absent for a while. Sorry. I’ll try to keep you more fully informed over the coming weeks.

I’ve not been entirely idle as a writer, however. I’ve posted a couple of previously published short stories here, and more book reviews, as well as a few short pieces on the Medium blogsite, including the #ScenicSaturday posts that used to appear here. There will be more to follow.