Wednesday 16 July 2008

just a little drivel

Is it really 3 weeks since I last wrote here? I can't believe how fast the time has flown. I've been working on the final final edits of Cut Short. I should have kept a copy of all the versions... no, on second thoughts, that might have been an environmental disaster. What a difference computers make! I still like to print out and correct on hard copy once in a while, but most of the work takes place on my trusty computer. Today, I stored all my documents on a CD for the first time, so I now have 3 memory sticks (plus 2 more in reserve) and a CD for back up. 21st century, here I come!
In between editing, I've been writing some short stories. It's very different to writing a whole novel. I might try my hand at a play script one day. So far, I've restricted my efforts largely to crime stories, because that's what I do, but I might try a different genre, just for the fun of it. Perhaps the pressure of having to produce for my publisher has made me appreciate writing for myself again. (But I'll let you know if I ever manage to get any of my short stories published...)

I fluctuate between feeling amazingly brilliant, and thinking that my writing is absolute rubbish. Is that a common ambivalence among writers? How do other people feel about their writing? Can you judge your own work?