What a difference a month makes

 

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Previously in the exciting life of Martin Horton... 

Last month, you may recall that I was delighted that some of my writing had been selected to be read out by professional actors. No, more than delighted. I was over the moon, and slightly stunned. As we move into August, away from the heady delights of the Lionesses victory, and deeper into summer holiday mode, you find me deflated and contemplative. 

Why is this, you may cry? 

Because it all feels rather like a mirage. Let me explain...

At first, everything seemed delightful. I was thrilled when I read about the actor who would be playing Mother, shared my writer bio, and read the other scripts, but then I received the message that due to low ticket sales, the production would be postponed, and now won't be happening till Jan 2023. 

Maybe I shouldn't be so down. It's still happening, and the event may be even more successful if the company are awarded the funding that they've applied for. So it's not so much that the bubble has burst, more that it's floated far away. 

So what am I doing in the meantime? 

I've started again at turning Mother's murders into a novel. I'm 3002 words in, and I'm using a program called Zoho which I'm finding useful. As for the quality of those words, well that's a different story, but as writer friend wisely said, I should try and not think about that as it could sabotage me moving ahead, I just need to remind myself that this is a first draft and keep going. So that's what I'm going to do. I'll keep you updated in Sept.

I've recently finished reading Different Seasons by Stephen King. A collection of novellas, of which The body, was the inspiration for Stand by Me, and Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption was, yes you've guessed it, made into The Shawshank Redemption. Both well worth reading, especially the Body. Now I'm reading the sequel to the Penguin book I wrote a recent blog post about. A lovely contrast to Horror.

Let me know in the comments or on Facebook how situations changed for you in ways that you didn't expect. I'd love to hear them or what you are reading. 

Martin is a writer, baker, photographer and storyteller. He's been published in the ACW Christmas anthology and Lent devotional. He's currently honing his craft at flash fiction and you can find him on Twitter here.