slowing down so I can speed up again

My absence has been due to the pressures of work. I handed in my essay last Friday, and then had a deadline on Monday for an article on the Star Wars saga. I watched all five films, and wrote the 1,600 word article, starting from Saturday afternoon until the wee hours on Sunday.

The resulting article is now available to read on Sigla. I’ve posted a review of the new film, Revenge of the Jedi on my other web site, babblogue, and archived the review here too.

So yes, I’ve been busy.

I spent much of the Sunday before my essay was due writing the opening half of a new short story. It had floated into my mind when I woke that morning, and even though I needed that day for research for my essay I wanted to capture the mood I was in while the story was still fresh. So the story won out. I’ll have to return to it in the coming week and finish it.

Now that the immediate pressure from College is off, I want to concentrate as much as possible on short fiction in the coming weeks. Soon, I’ll be facing deadlines on the final draft of my script, so I want to polish and complete a couple of pieces that have been simmering on the back burner.

I’m also trying to factor in some time off, because I’ve been working pretty hard lately. I find it difficult as I feel guilty about not doing something or the other if I’m “just” relaxing.

I finally splurged and bought a laptop. It’s small and shiny, with the emphasis on portability. The aim is to give myself more freedom when I want to write, but not necessarily at my desk. Even if that means I can write in the back garden or the living room. Sometimes a change of venue is a help. It also allows me to keep on top of my projects while I’m away.

To aid this I’m not loading any games or time-wasting software on the machine. It’s for writing, browsing, and email only (and the last two categories are somewhat indulgent at times). I’ve enough distractions as it stands.