Did you think I'd forgotten my writing check-in this month due to the abundance of poppies about the place? Well, I can tell you, I've been keeping up my writing too and it's hard work fitting everything in! I have now written over 45,000 words - this is 12,458 words ahead of target at this time. This time last month, I was about 8000 words ahead of target. I've added another 4500 words to that which is fantastic. Sorry if you're not mathematicians - just nod and pretend you understand! I'm too tired to explain!
It is so hard trying to write with everything else going on. The poppies have been very time-consuming and will continue to be a commitment as we promote our commemoration. I have other work commitments to undertake as well. I'm looking forward to the long weekend and hope that this gives me a chance to catch up a bit. None of this particularly fits in the doing less theme I'm trying to achieve, but what that really means is to try and do less other stuff with Jono around during the day and when Tom and Soph are home in the afternoon. Anyways...
Now I know some of you are wondering what my manuscript is about. I said I'd try to condense a brief sentence for you, so here goes:
First time parents struggle with undiagnosed postnatal depression: a story of love, friendship and healing.
Hmmm.... that's a start! That was harder than I thought! Mainly due to the subject matter: I don't want people to think it's just all terribly depressing because it's about
depression as such and I'm hoping it will appeal to a wide audience due to its broader themes. There are characters in there I'd love to meet - a wonderful doctor who appeared this month and I think he is a gem. He wasn't planned at all - well there had to be a health professional, of course, but this man is far different to anyone I thought would appear.
I haven't suffered from post-natal depression myself, however this story has become important to me due to seeing and hearing about it happen to so many women. There are so many pressures on new parents regardless of what else is going on and it often strikes just as parents are hitting their strides career-wise - a theme occurring in my manuscript. This is at odds with the needs of new parents who are suffering with lack of sleep or parents who travel for work and have to be away from their very young babies and children.
So, there you go - a little peek at what I'm doing. As everything unfolds I will fill you in on more... until next month!