Silenced

I wish I could tell you that I have been silent because I’ve been off doing great things or in the grip of some serious illness, but I have been silenced by a common cold. Literally in this case, as I entirely lost my voice over the weekend and have been squeaking and croaking since it returned. I feel really knocked for six by it, which surprises me. I haven’t felt like writing, or working on the house or doing anything other than lying down. Sadly that’s not been an option.

It’s been raining heavily the last few days which is wonderful for our water supply, but not for the spirits or the cold. Perhaps it’s just the influence of the illness, but I am convinced that the rain has come down more heavily whenever I have needed to go out, run errands or fetch the children from school. Where is the “Sunshine State” when you need it? I mean, I actually have that on my license plate so I should be entitled to it. Mr Blithe refused the other license plate option offered by the authorities “Queensland: the smart state”, pointing out that he had seen evidence of the sunshine. And you wonder why some people look at us askance. Or perhaps you don’t wonder.

Anyway…hopefully back to normal operation in the next few days. One of the few things I have been doing is typing up my manuscript and I am up to 20,000 words. So far I am managing to translate my scribbles in my notebook complete with arrows and stars indicating comments. I’ve used the wide-ruled margins on almost every page to write amendments, notes to myself, and plot directions. It’s been a lot of fun going back to the beginning and seeing the story develop. I do think a writing programme for the computer would be a useful way of tracking characters and developments. I’ve had to edit earlier bits so that they fit in with later plot developments. For example, one of my characters had a baby that was subsequently written out of the plot as it didn’t fit. The power of the pen is lovely. Especially when you feel so out of control in the rest of your life.