Hell hath no fury like a South Australian Summer.
This past week South Australia has sweltered through a record length heatwave (over four days above 40 degrees Celcius – making it to over 45.) We only just missed out on a record high temperature of 46.1, on Thursday.
I have lived here for over 25 years. Each year I enjoy the winters more. Each summer I melt into a puddle, praying for some relief (or to win the lottery so I could relocate for the summer. Tuscany would be perfect!) At least we did not get the predicted blackouts due to overloading on the power station.
All week I sat imprisoned in the house trying to avoid the weather. What better time to do some writing. It was a pity my brain was turning slowly to slush, parboiling inside my skull. It was time for some stream of consciousness – just writing whatever came to mind. I managed over 1000 words over those five scorching days. I am quite happy with that. If I had just ‘splodged’ in front of the television I would not have achieved anything.
Next on my schedule is to finish off the chapter (possibly only 500 odd words to go) and then assess the feedback from my writers’ group. I am trying new ways of handling dialogue. The best advice I got was: Only read the dialogue (ignore all other words) and see if I can still follow the scene. Hmm… Some revisions to be done there. Such a simple tactic, that makes so much sense. Thank you ladies!
Manuscript Word Progress:
Total Words:
Revised Words:
At 1st draft only: