Writing

I was expecting to feel bad for not having written every day, but I’m okay with it, and rightly so; I need a break. That said, I have struggled to get back into my writing and editing today, and I certainly don’t think that what I wrote today is my best work. I’ve realised that to attempt the ten chapters I’d like to write this week, seeing as I barely did anything on Saturday and took Sunday and Monday off while I stayed in Edinburgh, I’d need to write two chapters on two da

17. Saturday 17 January 2026 My work-in-progress novel is called Crime Writing for Beginners , which is the name of a six-week course. When one of the six students dies in a perceived accident at home, the remaining five decide not to waste an opportunity to put their investigative skills to the test so treat his death as a murder. The idea is that the reader knows almost as much as them because almost all knowledge they have of the victim is from the unconventional exercises

My main aim for today’s editing was to rewrite one version of events of the death of one of the members of the Crime Writing for Beginners course. I wrote it once, rewrote it, tried to make it work and failed; today’s plan was to rewrite it and make it work.

15. Wednesday 15 January 2026 Does it count as having rewritten two chapters that I wrote chapter 8 and deleted chapter 9? Probably not, but I have written a few paragraphs of chapter 9, which was chapter 10 and chapter 10 is double figures so sounds like a leap in progress. What's wrong with my memory? I think I might have actually written two-maybe-three chapters. I think I started with chapter 7. Go me, if I did!                 Chapter 9, which was 10, requires a proper r

I didn’t rewrite as much as I hoped today, but I did work through some problem areas in the four chapters I wrote yesterday, so I feel kind of okay about today’s progress.

Surely not? I’m trying to think how many chapters I worked on today. Three? No, can’t have been. I think it actually was. I can’t check – well, I could but it would require my getting up off the sofa to go upstairs to fetch a physical hardware key and that’s just not going to happen. I’m thinking three though. I'm mildly impressed with myself.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading a novel called There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura and translated by Polly Barton, mainly for one section, where the main character’s job is to watch covert footage of a writer. The narrator is amazed how much time he spends sitting at his desk and/or not writing. I would have been horrified to think of someone watching my attempts at writing today. I first sat at my desk at around 08:30. I turned my desktop PC, monitor, keyboar

AI instruction: Woman with pixie-cut white hair and thick black glasses, lying on a sofa with a notepad looking shocked 11. Sunday 11 January 2026 I wasn’t planning to do any editing today, and I didn’t, but I did write a few notes. The shock element of the AI picture is kind of what happened when I had an idea. I spoke to Chris, who came up with a suggestion about making my annoying know-it-all character, Eric, into a retired police officer. He, Chris, thinks amateur detecti

AI instruction: woman wearing black coat and black jeans with multi-coloured hat, short white hair, walking along road through valley with river, ice, hills, trees I didn't do any editing, didn't even open my manuscript. But I tidied my study and desk ready for Monday. However, I finally finish reading Portrait of a Murderer by Anne Meredith (first published in 1933). I enjoyed it, a locked room crime fiction story, but I lost interest a bit. I met someone once who said they

AI instruction for a sketch (hence, erm, the scribbles at the top?!): woman with white pixie-cut hair and thick black glasses, wearing grey jumper handwriting on a clipboard at a desk overlooking trees 9. 9 January 2026 I’ve impressed myself by finishing the final ten chapters of read-through and highlighting areas to work on. When I first started editing my manuscripts more thoroughly (books four, five and six), the thought of scrutinising every word seemed like an impossibl

8. 8 January 2026 Instruction to AI: Woman with white, pixie-cut hair and a black jumper talking to a friend (black bobbed hair) via laptop video call with a backdrop of snow and hills (I don't know where to begin with how much is wrong with this illustration, though cool that I have a laptop that doesn't need a table and unfortunate to be right handed but have two left hands) For the past few years, my friend Narissa and I have had regular Zoom (sometimes in-person) chats to

Instructions to AI (not verbatim): woman with white pixie-cut hair, thick black glasses, black jumper sitting at a desk looking out the window at trees and hills while writing [I definitely did not request her right hand to be at the end of her left arm! Or to have a neck that long and thin and to be looking in a strange directions] 7. Wednesday 7 January 2026 Not only did I copy, format and print out the remaining 30 chapters ready to edit, I baked my first ever loaf of sour

I’m not sure if I’m overachieving because I’m writing this and wanting to show off or whether I set my daily goal far too low or whether I’m just brilliant, but I got through another ten chapters today. Despite four hours being taken out by Chris and I driving through the snow for 45 minutes each way to buy provisions ahead of forecast snow and ice.

In fairness, I don't think I can claim to have overachieved when I say I made notes/minimally edited nine of fifty chapters because saying I’d do two a day really was aiming too low. That said, I know I can’t maintain nine chapters a day; I know it’s the later chapters that need more work. I did, however, thoroughly enjoy using erasable pens (purple and green) to write notes all over the printouts of the chapters I'm going through.

I converted the first eight of fifty chapters into Word (from my steno software, Eclipse) and printed them. I read through chapter one, marking anything that sounds a bit awkward or cringe, where there are errors or where words, a sentence or, more alarmingly, a paragraph doesn’t work for whatever reason.

This afternoon, I surprised myself by making a start on what I keep calling “the big edit”. “Start” in a very minimal sense though; I just reread the first four chapters and then felt a bit miserable, knowing it needs work but not being entirely sure how to go about making it into the masterpiece I envisage.

It’s a holiday in Scotland today. I’m in Scotland. However, I may be embracing and loving sitting-by-the-fire-and-eating-snacks time a little too much. I had thought I’d be head-down in editing by now, but I am at least writing this and thinking about a very comprehensive editing schedule (hmm).

I used AI for this illustration. I, like her, have short, bleached, pixie(ish)-cut hair, thick, squared, black glasses, I wear mostly black and I read, write and take notes. I look nothing like her other than that. Day 1. Thursday 1 January 2026 Where do I start? Better to have written that pointless question than had a blank page with a flashing cursor because, whoop, I've started my year of writing about writing on day 1, New Year's Day, as planned. Go me! For 2025 I wrote