Helo Pawb
I arrived back at Stiwdio Maelor in Corris two weeks ago. Apart from a few days over Christmas, when I catch up with Jo in Germany when she travels there with our good friend Soni, I will be here till the end of January working on the third draft of my novel. I plan to write blogs about my progress and anything else of interest, and will also continue to record my research findings during the five weeks I spent travelling around Britain. I hope this mixture of past and present events isn’t too confusing.
As for the novel, some of my research meant I had to go back to the start of the draft and tidy up settings and events in some of the scenes. At the end of my first five weeks at Maelor the third draft stood at 30,556 words. In these last two weeks, I have edited those words and added more than 10,000 words, so that as of yesterday the draft stands at 42,000 words. For me to finish the third draft, which keeps growing, I will need to edit/write approximately 3,000 words per residency day. This is a little harder than it sounds, as I’m a slow writer and I am also trying to fit in my Welsh language and landscape activities, which themselves feed ideas, tone and atmosphere into the book. On top of these tasks, I help out with some Stiwdio Maelor activities, such as the Open Day next Saturday (3 December), at which I’ll be reading a short story and poems written during my time here. Anyone in the area is welcome to come. The Facebook link is here.
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| Open Day Invitation |
Below are some photos of a walk I took early yesterday morning, with the first frost on the ground.
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| Frost glueing a leaf to the slate banister of the ‘zig-zag’ steps that start near the Corris Institute |
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| Crunchy frost underfoot |
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| Shadow self-portraint with frost and late autumn birch trees |
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| Walking back to Corris, facing east |
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| Wood smoke drifting over the village |
As always, I hope you enjoy this post and I welcome your comments.
Cofion Cynnes
Earl
As one who has failed NaNoWriMo for various reasons, most of which feel – in hindsight – relatively under my control, rather than out of it, I can confidently say 3000 words a day is quite an amount, particularly if you are taking care with them! Good luck with your schedule – but keep on enjoying the landscape and the language. A word count is, after all, only a word count. Beautiful photos, Earl – love the frost!
Great to have goals but don't become their slave. Enjoy the process. I am jealous of the frost. I had quite a warm winter.
Great to hear your updates and about how your writing is going. That is a magnificent photo of the chimney smoke over the village. Most evocative of your stay. Stay warm.
Thank you for the images of frosty Corris, I really enjoyed them. Good luck with you your writing.
Looks lovely there at Corris – good luck with the writing 🙂
Hi Everyone, As always, thanks for your appreciation of my blogs and your support.
Catherine, You're right about being realistic about the word count. I will continue to enjoy my time and do what writing I can without spoilinng anything else.
Liz, Thanks, too, for reminding me not to be a slave to goals. As for the frost, once winter really hits, I might look at your 'warm winter' with envy 🙂 In the meantime, I an enjoying the magic of frost on trees and fields.
Nadine, I like that photo, too. As for staying warm, thermals during the day and a hot water bottle at night are helping.
Cath, Thanks for the best wishes.
Lee, Thanks, too, for the best wishes. All the best.