Not saying outloud...

It’s the start of my new regime today; and the beginning of a period with a deadline.

I’m not meant to say what it is (because if I do, it will go poooof in a puff of smoke) but today has been good. I’ve finally (I think and hope) sorted out how to do my planning and to make sense of what I have achieved already. I’ve even sorted out how to manage the 16,000 words that I axed here. I’m a bit irritated with myself because this ‘system’ I’m using is exactly the same technique that I’ve used each time (twice) I have written a dissertation, so really I should’ve just gone straight to it. But I didn’t, after considerable pain wondering what process to use, I reinvented the wheel again. Doh.

Mine is a very technical procedure, traditionally involving a print out of the material, a pair of scissors and sellotape (I’ve got a feeling that somewhere in the world, sellotape means condoms… but I don’t know if it’s a children of the ‘70s joke? Any answers?)

So the procedure today has been to divide the 8,888 (properly written first drafty style - that is also a technical term!) words into scenes (a new page for each new scene), and to cut up the remaining information (lots of notes and ideas) and insert each separate thought into the folder where it will go. These are notes that will act as an aide-mémoire to the scenes to come, so that when I sit down to write (timetabled every day!) I will know what is required. It also means that I’m utilizing the words I worried were redundant, even if they need re-writing.

And did you spot the clever refining of the system? I don’t need the sellotape…