A Festive cure for Literary Frustration!

There are times throughout the course of writing a novel and juggling the day job that I, and I'm sure I'm not alone here, find particularly frustrating. I hit one of these frustrating phases bang on last Monday morning as I prepared myself for the rigors of yet another hectic work week and it has been steadily growing ever since.

Nothing beats that euphoric feeling of writing that first draft, getting it out of my head and on to the screen, notebook, kindle or any random piece of paper that happens to come to hand. Writing a first draft can happen anywhere and at any time but editing, well, that's a totally different ballgame. I edit on the screen, in my writing space, predominantly on my 'days off' and I freely admit that as much as I love honing, improving and polishing I miss that heady outpouring and swept along feeling as the skeleton become flesh and substance.

In complete contrast to editing, the planning, plotting and first draft frenzy can happen anywhere at any time. I write before work, during my lunch hour, on the bus, even in the wee small hours when, if I'm lucky, I wake with the gem of an idea or a crafty plot twist demanding my attention. So what has all this got to do with a Festive cure for Literary Frustration I hear you cry.

Well, for a few months now I've had the seed of an idea for a festive novel rattling around in my head and now the Christmas ads have been officially  launched and my Festive Reads post is due to appear on the wonderful blog of Jennifer Joyce I can't help thinking that now is as good a time as any to make a start. I have at least three days out of seven at the moment that, because of the confines of editing, I'm not writing anything and it is driving me nuts. This little festive beauty couldn't have arrived at a better time and by the time you read this post I'll be deep in planning and note making and my sanity will have been saved!

Juggling editing and beginning a brand new novel might not be everyone's cup of tea, but for me, until that elusive publishing deal is secured and I no longer have to split my time between Real Life and The Writing Life this clever compromise will suit me just fine!