Well, I have been gone a while.
Time is precious and always stretched a little more than we like it to be, especially if you are also a full time carer. What time I call my own is often needed for a bit of peace and head clearing. A good walk usually does the trick. Sometimes when ‘caree’ is out of the house, I need to sleep a while as it is the only sleep I get when I am not subconsciously listening out for him. (Did I mention he is deaf as well as having Aspergers?) For those of you who’ve had the experience – remember listening for your young baby in the night? Still doing it 23 years later).
In the time since I last wrote, my son applied for and got a place at University, from a local campus, so he stays at home. I am hugely proud of him. And we are on another crazy journey. He is perfectly capable of understanding the level of work (phew!) but try explaining ‘academic writing’ to that mind. We were discussing research and referencing: ‘Why should I write an essay about what everyone else has already said? Read their book.’ As ever, logical and right!! I finally got around it by getting him to tell me what he knew about the topic, then asking, ‘where’s your evidence?’ The essay, all 2000 words, was finished yesterday.
Being his PA is not all I’ve been managing to do though. I am some 12000 words into my latest novel and finding the journey very different from my previous work. It is set in two geographical locations, so I am having to do a lot of research. There are historical and political factors that I have to get right, while keeping the timeline of my story working. And I’ve been devouring other writers who have touched on those countries and stories to enrich my understanding and check the story hasn’t already been written by someone else! It is a mammoth task, and I hope I’m up to it. Still, there’s a long winter ahead…always a good time to knock a story out.
