Tuesday's Child Is On Schedule

I've been neglecting social media. This year I didn't have a new novel published and decided I write too slowly. I need to be more productive without sacrificing quality so I decided to write Tuesday's Child without research, revision or edits. I wanted to finish the first draft by the end of November or December 10th at the latest. I have almost met my target. I wrote 70,000 words and then realised I should revise Tuesday's Child to make sure that I tied up all the loose ends. I have revised and edited 100 pages of the second draft and am making notes on the contents of each chapter. Next, I shall write the final 5,000 words or more. It's a new way of writing for me but, hopefully, I will be ready to submit the novel to MuseItUpPublishing by the end of March, if not before. Phew!

Writing, Gardening

The sun's shining today. It's not too hot and there's pleasant breeze. I couldn't resist cutting an hour off my writing time and getting on in the garden. I transplanted hollyhocks grown from seed. They are biennials but if they are cut back to the ground after flowering they should thrive for several years.  I've planted them against the wall in two beds in the front garden. Their spires of flowers should make a splash of colour next summer. I also transplanted alpine strawberries grown from seed in the greenhouse.. I panted a double row which form a miniature hedge. The delicious  taste of their small fruit always lingers in the mouth.  I'll catch up with my writing schedule this evening.

Priorities

Summer seems to have arrived. I love long sunny days when I get on in the garden after I write from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. with a break for breakfast.

Today the sun shone while I filled two more troughs with John Innes No.3 compost and planted 3 strawberry plants in each. My two year old strawberry plants in the front garden are fruiting well.  This morning I picked a few sun ripened ones that smelled so fragrant that they made my mouth water.

I tidied up the garden, putting odds and ends in the shed. I watered the plants in the greenhouse. I've put tomatoes outside to harden off before I plant them in the garden, and I potted up sweet Williams. By the way the flowers can be added to salads.

I always feel very peaceful when I work in the garden and also appreciate the results. At lunchtime I enjoyed a green salad made with baby lettuce, dandelion leaves, shepherds purse, and chive flowers, which I ate with new potatoes cooked with mint, and dressed with vegetarian mayonnaise and dill from the garden. Delicious with sliced tomato sprinkled with salt, pepper and a pinch or two of sugar, and brie. I really enjoy crisp, freshly picked lettuce which tastes so much better than lettuce from the supermarket.

Cooking and Writing

Yesterday I looked after my daughter's children after school and fed them - vegetarian shepherd's pie made with soya mince flavoured with leeks and Bisto, with rhubarb and apple crumble making use of rhubarb from the garden. Usually, Serena refuses to eat anything she is not familiar with, but she enjoyed watching me pick the rhubarb and prepare it that she couldn't wait to eat it.

 Deep sigh. This morning two my daughter's sons popped in to have breakfast with me. Deep in researching signs of the zodiac to strengthen Harriet, Lady Castleton's character, I gave up and fed them porridge made with organic milk, organic honey, black grapes and blueberries.

 I then tidied up the house, checked on the cauliflowers and French bean plants I put out to harden off before planting them. They are fine. Phew! They have survived. By then it was time for me to have breakfast.

 I've decided to shop for groceries and then consult my copy of The Hamlyn encyclopedia of Fortune Telling by Frances X. King.  If the sun shines I hope to do so in the garden.

 

Easter Monday

Nothing exciting on Easter Monday, but the sunshine was very welcome.

I fitted in a lot of writing and enjoyed a satisfactory day. My daughter's 13 year-old son very kindly came round to help me to finish clearing a garden shed in which son number two had stored a lot of junk, some of it too heavy for me to shift. By now, the rubbish, which included ancient tins of paint, rusted tools etc., etc., filled about ten dustbins. My grandson insisting on sweeping away all the cobwebs and the floor while muttering, 'disgusting,' at regular intervals.

After my grandson left, I moved a pot of lilies, which will be scarlet when they flower, to the front garden and then planted a rose bush, which will have red blooms, and some polyanthas  at the front of the border. I then picked curly kale from the garden and made colcannon topped with grated mature cheddar cheese for lunch.

Shopping and Writing on a Cold Day

After several balmy days snow is forecast in the north of the British Isles. Elsewhere there might be frost overnight and in the west I think there might be strong winds and rain.


Instead of working in my organic garden I did the week's shopping after the hours in the morning which I set aside every day to write.


I have to compose a letter, that will include the single sentence premise to the publisher re: Monday's Child, my most recent traditional Regency Romance. In case anyone is wishes to know what my definition means it is that as a rule I don't open the bedroom door wide in my novels.


I also have to write the 'dreaded' synopsis. Then the happy day when I can submit the novel will arrive. Hopefully, by the 15th of March.


Next week I am giving a talk on editing at the writers' group which, more often than not, I attend on Monday evenings. This evening I shall read an extract from my novel set in the reign of Edward II. It is the first of a trilogy that I began ages ago, which I have worked on intermittently in between writing other novels.

Quiet Day Today

After the Christmas and my granddaughter's birthday on Boxing Day, I enjoyed a quiet day today. Amongst other things, I added 2,000 words to my novel. After all the rich food during the last few days I decided to eat sparingly. I made soup for lunch - red lentils, leeks, fresh ginger, spice, coconut milk and lemon juice. Delicious! While cooking I looked out of the window from time to time to watch the birds enjoying seeds. A male blackbird perched in the plum tree, three wood pigeons, a sparrow and a robin fed on seeds which had fallen onto the grass, while the blue tits darted backward and forward.

Writing and Research

On Tuesday I deleted 1000 words of Chapter Thirty-Three of my work in progress, Monday's Child a traditional Regency Romance. This morning I finished the chapter. The research has been intensive and I made many notes, but in order to avoid the novel reading like a text book I could only use a few of the fascinating facts. It's a relief to have nearly finished the novel.

Writing, Revision, Cliches

This morning I edited the revised chapter of my novel Monday's Child, the follow on novel from Sunday's Child set in the Regency. When I write I try not to use certain words too frequently, some of which are 'as', 'that,' 'because', and others. I also try to minimise my use of adverbs. However, I wasn't prepared for how many clichés had slipped into the chapter. I've removed them, read the chapter aloud and am now ready to write the next one.

Writing and Rainy Days

I enjoy organic gardening as much as I enjoy writing historical fiction. Unless the weather is really bad I usually manage to do something or other in the garden. However, when it pours with rain and I don't want to dash in and out of the greenhouse, it's good to stay indoors writing or tidying up my office. On other occasions I tidy up the entire house.

Busy Morning, Writing, Gardening, Cooking

I enjoyed myself this morning working on 'writerly matters', mostly applying scribbled notes in my shorthand notepad, looking for places to let people know about my historical novels.

At ten o'clock I went into the garden where I planted out purple sprouting broccoli, which I shall enjoy next year. I did some weeding, picked runner beans to prepare for the freezer, apples, pears and tomatoes.

Next I pulled up the last of the white radishes, aka mooli aka daikon. I made spiced mung with thinly sliced mooli in it and ate it with brown rice at lunch time.

e-mails, Writing, Bean Poles

I checked my e-mails this morning. One of them brought back a memory of a truck with a trailer full of sheep. The truck had broken down on one of the hottest days of the year. Without water the animals, were in obvious distress to I phoned the RSPCA. Even worse are cases of animals left in cars with no ventilation on very hot days.

 

It's 10 a.m. I've started to tidy up a file which contains notes on marketing from my publisherr and I've written another 800 pages of my novel, Monday's Child, the sequel to my published Regency Novel, Sunday's Child.

 

I enjoyed my breakfast - porridge with a handful of blueberries, some black grapes and a few strawberries.

 

 I’m now planning to spend an hour in the garden putting up poles for my runner beans, which are trying to reach the ceiling of the greenhouse and need to be planted out as soon as they have been acclimatised to the weather. They need warmth so, hopefully, the weather will improve,

 

 

www.rosemarymorris.co.uk