Wednesday 12th April 2017

Today was a complete waste of a day.
It started well.  Given the phone call I had with my boss yesterday evening I never got time to write.  It’s rare I do any extracurricular work but with a few things going on I thought it would probably be best to make the call.  However, it ate up valuable time.
So my first task this morning was to write.  And I’m glad I did as it went downhill from there.  I got about 2000 words done so I was super-pleased about that.
I’ve actually been buzzing about the novel all day.  I’ve talked about how the act changes always feeling like treacle for me.  But the last act is always the complete opposite.  The threads of plots get pulled together, those secrets I’ve been sitting on for the entire book get resolved, and the novel goes from a chore to a lot of fun.
Perhaps it’s because I can see the end in sight.  Maybe I am better at writing endings.  Either way, I’ve been feeling pretty pumped about the book.  Weirdly I had Facebook adverts recommend a really great album to me (Binary by Mark Petrie) and its epic soundtrack has perfectly matched my mood.
I realise that I’m now very close to writing what will be the greatest swordfight ever written and I’ve not done any prep work.  I’d wanted to choreograph it at Sunday sparring.  It had seemed so far off and yet it’s the next chapter.  I have a long drive tomorrow, so perhaps that’s one I can think about on the way.
I was at a different office for the day job today, and that should have been a warning to me that things were going to go wrong.  The person I was meeting was stuck in a meeting for three hours, and because I don’t have access to the secure room, I was left sitting outside feeling pretty pissed off.  Then when I did finally get in, I find things seem to have been decided that I haven’t finished discussing.  And to cap it off the person I was meeting had to dash off to a parent’s evening when I’d planned to be there until 7pm.  Because I didn’t have access to the secure room, I couldn’t just stay.
So I vowed I will never go back to that location again.  They think I’m joking.  I’m deadly serious.
I ended up going and visiting my folks as they live a short drive away.  It was nice to see them but they both are recovering from colds and so were more interested in the TV than talking (although I haven’t really done much to talk about, so there’s that).
I got changed for swordfighting and for a laugh put on my mask.  My brother was also there and thought it would be funny to get me to flinch by punching at my mask.  Except the idiot didn’t realise it’s made of firm steel mesh and doesn’t flex.  Neither do I flinch when I’m wearing it.  So he ended up busting up his hand.  I laughed.
Swordfighting went fairly well tonight.  Some people are struggling with the analytical approach we’re taking but it’s a case of them not realising it as one of them complained that they didn’t know what to do and so did X instead, which was a completely valid counter.
I got home just before 1am which meant that after I’d written up The Climb there really wasn’t time to do more work on the novel, which I now desperately want to do.
I’m off to Eastercon tomorrow and am really looking forward to it.  I usually get to these cons a day early so I have chance to relax before everyone starts to arrive and I get social overload.  Alone in a hotel room usually results in me doing a load of writing and now I can taste the end of Shade Knight book 2, I want to get it done.
This potentially has the chance of aligning perfectly with the editorial comments on Black as Knight.  However, I suspect that come Friday, I’ll be hanging out rather than finding a couple of hours to get some writing in, so we’ll have to wait and see.
I also plan to vlog it.  But given that the call with my boss also stopped me doing the vlog 001 edit,  I feel I’m already behind on this vlogging malarkey.
I usually find I come away from events like Eastercon suitably recharged.  Two years ago I came away with a promise that I would submit Black as Knight to agents.  Who knows what I’ll come away with this year?  Probably con crud.
I’ve not got any panels but it would be nice to network with a few people, especially as I’m currently feeling good about Black as Knight and its sequel.
But most of all, given how much today was a shitty waste of a day, I’m so, so glad I have tomorrow booked off.
Hope to see some of you in Birmingham!
If you want to follow more of my journey, then be sure to check me on my social channels.  Likewise, if you’d like me to expand on any point mentioned above, please say so in the comments.

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