A work in progress...34

I feel like devoting all my time to the book, but it's just not possible. It's been a busy month/year and I'm beginning to feel exhausted.

I tell everyone that I've finished the first draft of my novel and proudly proclaim that I've written 80,000 words. In truth I abandoned it, but the new version is really taking shape, written in the first person and it seems so fluid. I'm using most of the material in the first draft and re-writing it in the new style.

I'm going to aim to keep it short, the book I have in mind is Kerouac's The Subtarraneans, which I read many years ago. It's about his brief, intense relationship with a girl. I'm still reading Joyce and revisiting The Wasteland.

I've written 6,000 words of the new draft, I wanted to spend the weekend wrtiting, but I was exhausted and the children were all poorly, as well as my wife. I ended up baking Denis The Menace buns and a groovy chick cake on Sunday, such is life.

Got a very busy December then I have two weeks off over Christmas. The kids are getting a desktop computer for Christmas, which I hope will free up my laptop on a weekend.

I'm trying to get a second draft of 60,000 words written by Jan 19, the day I started the book.

I have also edited a collection of poetry which I'm going to publish in the new year.

I want to write more, but I'm feeling drained. It's been a tough year.