I think the 1-2-1 mentoring went okay yesterday. It’s always difficult trying to strike the right balance between honest critique and encouragement. Writing is such a personal thing, and our words can be so precious to us, that any questioning of them can feel like vicious betrayal. I know, because I’ve been there! Haven’t we all?
Experience helps; having written hundreds of thousands of words helps – but I suspect we never truly lose that defence mechanism…
Yesterday I also entered a competition or two – including a pamphlet competition which has a history of being a game-changer. The odd paragraph or two around my “C” project helped give the day some balance.
‘Life’ will take over much of today so my expectations are lowered somewhat. I might get two or three hours in if I’m lucky – but that’s ok.
I keep a daily log of what I work on, mainly to keep me ‘honest’. It also allows me to keep a track on how much time I am spending on projects – especially useful for Coverstory books‘ work. In January my writing-related effort averaged out at just under 3.5 hours per day. Is that a lot? Too little? The bald number seems a bit meagre – but living through the month, and knowing what I achieved, it doesn’t feel that way at all.
#amwriting #writing #wrtingdiary
Ian Gouge - Writer & Publisher 