While May wasn’t quite my worst writing month to date (at least since Morning Shift records began) it was still pretty bad. And, yet, in some other ways, it was also one of my most successful months so far.

I only managed to write on 15 of the 31 days in May. A shameful record. In my defense there were two factors in play: I entered the month in a semi-plague ridden state, which is something that contributes in no way whatsoever to one’s ability to get up early and be sufficiently functional to write. Also, the cold Perth weather arrived with a vengeance: again, something else which doesn’t encourage one to emerge from their bed in the darker hours of the morning.

However, I also managed to achieve something unparalleled in my writing career hobby to date: I finished two stories. (Strictly speaking I actually finished three stories, but only two of them were started in the same month). Coming from a place where it could take me months to finish a single story, I’m still reeling a little from this almost inexplicable accomplishment.

First off the ranks was the final completion of the umpteenth draft of There Is A Light That Never Goes Out. I’m still planning to publish this as a novella pending any feedback, corrections or amends. I’m absolutely convinced that this story is still not quite what I wanted it to be, or as good as it could be; but I’m satisfied that it’s the story that it wants to be and short of rewriting it from scratch I’m not going to be able to achieve anything significantly different with it.

Of the two new stories, one is called my friend, the monster and is based on an idea I had last month. It’s my first attempt to write a story that (possibly) has a bit of more substance to it than my usual efforts. It needs a third draft; beyond that I haven’t yet decided what to do with it.

The second story, called The Normous, is something I wrote as a potential submission for the Emby Bestiary. The name was inspired by something my three-year-old son said once, and it’s about two primary school children debating the nature of belief (without, of course, realising that’s what they’re doing). Obviously it’s another attempt to write a story with a bit of meat to it. Whether or not it proves suitable for Emby I’m still pretty pleased with it. Along with my friend, the monster it’s one of the shortest stories I’ve written. Given that my ‘short’ stories can often edge towards 10,000 words this is quite a refreshing change.

The stats

  • Number of writing sessions: 8
  • Number of editing sessions: 7
  • Days missed: 16
  • Words written: 5,161
  • Words edited: 8,643
  • Average words written: 645
  • Average words edited: 1,235