When the academic year ends and six empty weeks stretch temptingly ahead I am invariably filled with optimism, excitement and a plethora of plans, all of which are completed by the end of the second week, leaving me feeling more lazy and lethargic than striving and succeeding and that simply doesn't produce dynamic writing.
Along with every other writer struggling to find time to write whilst juggling work, family and an ever growing list of chores I find myself yearning for the opportunity to write full time, but would I? If I had the luxury of so much time would I really fill every hour with page upon page, screen after screen of lucid and entertaining storytelling or would I simply drift aimlessly along safe in the knowledge that there would always be later or tomorrow or next week?
I think I produce my best writing when I'm really up against it, when I know that during that hour or that afternoon I have to write something I'll want to read again because it is the only time I've got and to waste it would be unforgivable.
Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not unhappy with a long summer break (I'm not a complete idiot), but I need to ensure I have a project I can complete in that time (such as throwing down a first draft or aiming to write 6 short stories), but this year has been tricky. I thought the novel was finished, ready for a professional edit and publication and clearly it is not. There is still work to do - steady, methodical work and for me that is best completed under a bit of pressure with one eye on the clock and both hands trying to keep all balls in the air!
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