Thursday 5 January 2012

News and Goals

It never ceases to amaze me how fast Christmas goes. You seem to spend half the year anticipating it, planning for it and then it’s gone in a flash.

We had an enjoyable quiet Christmas and our annual New Year’s Day party. We are still not back to routine, but will be once little one is back at school. I took down most of the decorations and cards yesterday as it felt like time. The house feels huge and bare, but I know it won’t last long. I’m at the mourning the sparkle stage.

I had a very enjoyable time during the holiday as I started to trace a friend’s family roots. It struck me that my hobby is such a rich source of writing material. Indeed all of my manuscripts have some family history or family links in them.

Good news came before and after Christmas. Before Christmas I found out that I had been placed third in the Writer's Toolkit Flash Fiction Competition – link here.

After New Year I had the exciting news that I have a place on the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme. This last news felt as if it had crystallised my New Year goals, as I need to have a full length manuscript edited by the end of August for one of the RNA readers to take a look at. I’m lucky in that I have three novels complete at first draft stage, but having shied away from the editing process up to now, I know I have my work cut out. Also, how do you choose which book to send?

Have you had any surprising good news lately? If so please share.

12 comments:

  1. You have three complete novels to choose from? Can I have one?! Keep up the good work, Morton, I'm hoping 2012 is going to be the Big One for you. XXX

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  2. Congratulations on the New Writers scheme - enjoy the editing!

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  3. Congratulations on your place in NWS!

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  4. Congratulations! I hope we all get surprising good news soon.

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  5. Congratulations Morton, I found out about this a couple of days ago but didn't have a chance to come and say well done before now. You must be so excited!

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  6. Congratulations on your third place, Morton! Good luck with the New Writer's Scheme. :o)

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  7. Congratulations on your place on the RNA scheme, Morton! I can't wait to see your books on the shelves :)

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  8. Thank you for the congratulations girls. I've done a nose dive into fear mode after the initial euphoria. Feeling the fear and doing it anyway, I started the edits of Wickenham Court today.

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  9. No good news myself, but look at all of it that you have! Congratulations Morton!

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  10. Hi Morton *waves*

    We met at India Grey's Quarry Bank Mill workshop a while back. I'm dropping by to say congratulations on your lovely Flash Fiction success. And yay on getting an NWS place. Me too. Happy 2012.

    Catherine

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  11. Hi Gwen - hope you get good news soon!

    Catherine - waves back - it seems ages ago, but that workshop definitely changed things and the lovely India Grey keeps in touch. Are you on Facebook/Twitter? If so look me up. Congrats on New Writers' maybe we will meet again soon. Mx

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