I realise I am on track to achieve the 15K in May writing challenge. But I’m pondering a question. What am I hoping to achieve?
Total = 10,842 words Continue reading “15K in May: word count, 2/3 of the way in.”
Here is my latest progress meter. This one is courtesy of Word Meter on Critique Circle.
Wayne Kelly
Maria Smith
Dee Kirkby
Ileandra Young
Ruth Livingstone (me, of course)
Lynne Collins
Rinelle Grey
Alison Wells
Lisa Redmond
Occasionally I write non-fiction, often of a medical variety or about a health service topic. I had a short piece published recently in Pulse Magazine, a weekly publication for doctors. The topic was Burnout. The question I had to answer, in 200 words, was this:
One of my salaried GPs seems to be suffering from burnout. How should I approach the issue, what advice should I give and what are my duties as his/her employer?
I compared the life of my 7th Century Tang scholar to my life in the 21st Century today. It led me to ponder on the effort of being a writer in that era, how hard to become proficient in calligraphy, how expensive the basic implements and how time-consuming the process. As modern writers, aren’t our lives incomparably easier?
This week, I had a couple of busy days due to work commitments. Friday was set aside as a writing day, but I am afraid it just went by in a blur. I didn’t do any serious writing. I did, however, do hours and hours of research for my next story assignment.
My latest Birkbeck writing task is another exercise in genre fiction. Our assignment is to construct a 1,000 word excerpt from a historical novel and post it up on our Birkbeck intranet site.
The first big decision I had to make was to choose a place and era to set my excerpt in. I felt horribly out of my depth. I did science subjects at school, not history. What if I got some historical details incorrect? Or the wrong geographical details? So, somewhat tongue in cheek, I decided to Continue reading “15K in May: writing in the Tang Dynasty”
Ruth Livingstone 