<p><span style="font-size: small;">Widows and mistresses had the most fun in the Regency, but gosh is the late husband in my WIP causing me problems. This is the WIP I set aside to enter M&amp;B's first chapter competition.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">The chapter went up and one or two of you were kind enough to drop by - thank you. Sadly, it didn't catch the selectors' eyes but I enjoyed the characters and the premise of Beloved Bluestocking (still on the M&amp;B site <em>romanceisnotdead</em>&nbsp;for anyone interested). I think it will be my next project if I can finally get through the character problems I'm having in the current one.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">EWC held a character workshop last night ably led by <strong>Louise Ironside</strong> who many tv fans may recognise as a prolific writer for River City and now Waterloo Road. I came away with good ideas about character creation but, unsurprisingly, none about how to de-construct a muddle already in existence.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">You'll all have been there and I know many folk would say if a character is taking over to kill him off. As mine is already dead that option isn't available. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;">So, having done the ironing, some domestic admin and let off steam to you long sufferring readers, I'll get on with it.</span></p>

<p>I cannot bear not to be in...</p> <p>I so much enjoyed the New Voices competition last year but it is a bit time consuming and time is precious. However, I hate to watch something like this from the side-lines and I have always got an idea for the next novel in the brain somewhere. I'm working on a first chapter that's a little darker than the one I put up in 2010. If I get to uploading stage, I may let you know, Dear Readers, and ask for some voting help with the roses. if not, I may just take this post down.</p>

<p>How easy it is to convince yourself that a month must have passed when in fact you sent out the inquiry two days ago (and thirteen hours, three minutes and 45 seconds).</p> <p>I have of course, after all these years trying, got used to competition judging periods and critiquing periods but now that I've got a novel I think is of publishable standard, the waiting for an editor to agree or turn it down seems interminable. It fills the brain with longing when I should be actively crafting the next one. It makes the family nervous as I 'just check my e-mail' for the seventh time in the morning (don't have one of those pinging alerts).</p> <p>So I thought I'd take action and I sent out an enquiry letter about my newest unperformed play.</p> <p>Was this a good plan, substituting one baby out in the world for two?</p>