It happens, from time to time. Writer’s block, that is. Of course, I’m actually supposed to be editing, so maybe it should be ‘Editor’s block’ perhaps? At any rate, even at the best of times editing is a hated task of mine. I really do loathe it and find it so dull doing it on my own work. That’s why usually I have an editor to do these things for me. But in the case of ‘Orb of Arawaan’ I have to do it, because I need to write the last two parts of the trilogy, and that means being refamiliarised with the plot and charectors. So that means I have to do the edit myself, as I think just rereading it would be not enough (I tend to speed read my own material far too much).

I’ve managed a couple of pages, and whilst what I’ve done so far hasn’t needed too much, I’ve changed the odd word here and a little bit of sentance structure to make it flow better. It is just not enthusing me though; I want to get on and actually write something else. But then of course I would be worried about having multiple projects on the go at the same time; I never like to do that. It becomes far too easy to have a project or two fall by the wayside. One of my top tips when people ask me about the ‘secret of writing’ (if indeed there is such a thing) is to stick a project through and get it finished. I’ve seen too many people who start something, get to a difficult bit, then start something else and let the first project fall by the wayside. A lot of people are great starters but not good at finishing. You have to make yourself deal with one project to completion at a time.

I’m still developing that horror idea though in my head – that is allowed. I’m unlikely to commit anything other than the occasional note to paper for now though. Some of my ideas in development took years to reach the point where I ever wrote a word, or at least more than a page. ‘Orb of Arawaan’ is, incidentally, one such example. Just a short story of around a thousand words and a few odd ideas in my head in 1997, and finally written in 2004. All the time in between was development in my mind. Remember kids: daydreaming whilst lying back on your bed with a cup of tea at your side is valid work for a writer. Honest.