I have a deadline of the 1st of April - my dear agent negotiated an extension to have this date, thank goodness, because I doubt I would have been able to meet the 1st of March (which was yesterday, New Zealand time).
I still have about 40,000 words to write in less than three and a half weeks.
you see, I'm sure you've figured it out, I teach FULL TIME in a secondary school (which I do not begrudge - I love my job!).
This is currently my life: up at 4 or 5 am and write for an hour or two; be mummy between 7am and 8:30am; be teacher extraordinaire between 8:30 and 4pm; mummy again till after dinner and, sometimes, if I'm not knackered, I might write again.
The response to the early draft of this book has been doubled edged: it is better by far, the critics say BUT you have a lot of work to do, they add.
And, I do.
Don't get me started on the whole historical accuracy thing. I have spent hours and hours trawling through books on early medieval life. You would not believe what I have learned about these amazing people.
Anyway, the story of my man Fleance and his quest for happiness continues and, dear reader, it will all be worth the angst - this author promises.
3 comments:
Do you need eager volunteers with BAs in english :) to read proof copies??? I'm totally in if you do.
xx
amy
I don't know how you teach full-time and write at the rate you do, Tania. All my hats are off to you!! A-m-a-z-i-n-g. And congrats on the NZ Post shortlisting...
Thanks Amy but the babes stand guard over that job like ferocious lionesses.
Mary. Am I driven? Obessive? A fast typest? Yes. But, there's loads of things I DON"T do. My teaching is really efficient now (after 20 years, I've got it down to a fine art). I do not set heaps of work to be marked but the kids still thrive in my classroom.
I also don't have a house as clean as I would like. I wish I could afford a cleaner. I try to ignore the state of the girls' bedrooms. We as a family have each taken a room in the house we are responsible for. Mine is the kitchen and though I think it's the biggest job, at least I get a clean kitchen.
I don't do lots of things other people do like knit, garden, play sport, do volanteer work etc.
Also, I have a GREAT team helping keep me on the straight and narrow so that others are kindly pointing out all my typos and stupid phrases so that I can quickly fix them and keep shaping the story.
I guess I'm just high octane but I often often often spend a whole morning or afternoon with the curtains closed, sitting on the couch watching dvds with my SO and the girls.
Post a Comment