Although it was not that long ago I reflected on the challenge of having ‘too much free time’ to work on literary projects (see my ‘dreams‘ post), it has been a while since I offered any kind of update on what I’m actually writing.
It’s odd how your perspective can change week-to-week; how one day you feel you’re in the doldrums, and the next your sails are wind-filled (if you’ll excuse the metaphor).
I’m currently working on a number of things:
- A collection of short stories which, although started almost casually, is now about half-way to becoming the first draft of what might be regarded as ‘book length’. More importantly, there are one of two of the stories already drafted that I’m particularly pleased with. And I already have a title and a potential cover image – which is usually an indication that I’ll see something through.
- I’m also drafting some initial pages (a few thousand words) to tease at an idea for a novel. I think the premise is sound, but my initial notion for its structure may not be, and it is only by getting something down on the page that I can make a decision one way or another.
- The plan of a few months ago to ‘take a break from poetry’ hasn’t exactly been executed upon – not that I’m particularly surprised by that. These days my efforts are more ad-hoc than structured, though I still tease at my ‘sonnets’ project from time to time with the occasional success. And, having told myself I wouldn’t, I may well enter the National Poetry Competition again this year…
One of the things I did during Covid lockdowns was to review the various notebooks I have been keeping since 1983. After lots of work over the last year or so, I have now collected the vast majority of these ruminations into a single volume, as well as adding a commentary of sorts. Although this is a self-indulgent non-fiction project – and may only be of interest to me! – it could well be that at some point next year I throw the book onto the mercy of potential readers.
And outside of all that, there’s Coverstory books. Excluding my own work, I have published seven other books under that imprint since the beginning of 2020. Currently I am working on an individual poetry collection for a friend, and have submissions open for a short story / novella collection plus an initiative to publish an e-anthology of poetry.
All of which – when you stand back and consider it in the round – isn’t bad going..!
Ian Gouge - Writer 