2026 has started...

...with me editing my second grown-up memoir for JanNo and I'm gonna put it through it's second edit in February and hopefully kick it into good enough to self-publish again in time for the changing of the seasons, then maybe a Picture Book or, if I've got an idea by then, another Early or Easy reader then back to a MG/YA book for NaNo26.

I've decided...

...that I'll still write in November and edit in January and reward myself with a J2O for every 5k I write/significantly edit as if NaNo and JanNo were still going but I won't pressure myself to complete the manuscript/edit or feel bad if I don't manage the whole thing within the month.

I'm also still a SCBWI member, it's just being moved about a bit in the British Isles and there will be more RAs and ARAs as well as people with specific roles within that so it'll hopefully still be the same as it was, just in smaller groups instead of for the entire country.

I think I've realised that I'm still not alone, I've just gotta reorganise my head for a while.

Aaand...

...the manuscript and synopsis are finished, so it's time to celebrate with J2Os and chocolate for the rest of this evening now.

4 down, only 1 final chapter to go

I've just finished the penultimate chapter and been for yet another wee, so I'm gonna have my penultimate single chapter reward choccie and make a start on the last chapter of JanNo.

It'll be weird waking up and coming downstairs, knowing that I've finished writing the entire novel in only nine days!  Not sure what I'm gonna do with myself for the entire day lol

One of my deliveries has turned up, just before lunch, so I'm just waiting for my weekly groceries and the other delivery to turn up now, then I can finish off the three J2O's, the tub of chocolates and a mocktail, then seriously regret it for the rest of the day and evening lol

3 down, 2 to go

Just finished my third chapter of the morning and I've only got two more to go, so I've had my single chapter choccie reward and been for yet another wee (not been having a good time with my bladder recently), so I'm gonna make a start on the penultimate chapter now, while I keep my ear out for the door and my lunchtime carer, then my groceries and the two deliveries.

2 down, 3 to go...

I'm starting to pick up speed ready for the sprint down the finishing straight... the end is in sight now and I can pretty much guarantee that I'll finish it hopefully before my groceries arrive - I can do this!!

Time for my single chapter choccie, another hot drink and a wee now I reckon, then I can hopefully get another chapter under my belt before my lunchtime carer arrives.

1 down, only 4 to go now

I've rounded the final corner of the marathon and can see the finish line in sight.  I'm so close now!

Time for one of my last single chapter choccies and then I'll get on with the second chapter of the day... the J2O tops will definitely be popping soon but I'm not going to rush it and I've still got my lunchtime carer, groceries and 2 deliveries due, so will have to stop mid-sentence for each of those, but I can do this... I just hope that the last chapter doesn't make me cry lol

 

5 down, 0 to go

I've just finished today's five chapters and I'm gonna stop there so that I can have my two rewards and leave the last 5 for tomorrow so that I can have my 5 chapter reward tomorrow too, as well as the celebratory things to celebrate finishing it in under 10 days without cancelling anything.

4 down, 1 to go

Just finished my penultimate chapter of the day, less than a minute before my carer arrived, so I've had my lunch and single chapter treat, so I'm gonna go and take my plate out, put the heater on and write my last chapter of the day.

3 down, 2 to go

I'm impressed with my speed this morning!  I've written two chapters in just over the time that it took me to write the first chapter of the day so that's pretty good.

My lunchtime carer could turn up any time soon, so I'm gonna have my single chapter choccie reward and make a start on the penultimate chapter of the day... the finish line is drawing closer and closer now and it's starting to feel real that I'll have written my second novel as a young Yule widow in under 2 weeks again.  I can do this motivating myself and living alone lark!

2 down, 3 to go

Not too bad for a morning's writing... 2 chapters written in about 4 hours, including the time I was with my carer and the ssllooww start to the first chapter.

I'm gonna have my single chapter choccie reward then get cracking on the third chapter of the morning.  If I keep cracking on like this I'll hopefully have made a start on the fourth chapter by lunchtime and the last chapter of the day finished by mid-afternoon then I can stop writing until tomorrow when I'll hopefully finish the entire manuscript and be able to indulge in the rest of the tub of chocolates, and the rest of the J2O's and be finished in under 10 days without putting any kind of halt on my life, like I have for the previous years.  I just hope I don't start crying when I put the final full stop of the story into the manuscript tomorrow otherwise I'll potentially have to answer the door to my groceries with a tear-stained face which would be soo embarrassing lol

1 down, 4 to go

Just got my first chapter of the day written and I'm gonna stop at 5 chapters today so that I can have my 5 chapter reward tomorrow too.

My morning carer could turn up at any time so I'm gonna go for a wee and make a start on the second chapter while I'm waiting for her.

5 down, 0 to go

I totally forgot about my weekly bath this morning, so I've only been able to write 5 chapters instead of the 7 or 8 that I'd hoped, but that's OK 'cos it leaves exactly 10 chapters left to write, so I'll have the day off tomorrow to refresh my muse (the bath gave me a second wind) then do 5 chapters on Monday and the final 5 on Tuesday, around my groceries being delivered, then I'll have the last can to officially finish JanNo for another year.

Gonna crack open my 5 chapter J2O reward and my last chapter choccie of the day, then veg out until bedtime I reckon.

4 down, 1 to go

I've just written my fourth chapter of the morning and my lunchtime carer could turn up at any point, so I'm gonna enjoy my fourth chapter choccie of the day while I wait for her.

I'll definitely be getting my 5 chapter reward today, but how many more than that will I achieve I wonder?

3 down, 2 to go

Just finished my third chapter of the morning, so hopefully 7 chapters should be pretty easy and I might even be able to sneak in another day with 8 chapters would be awesome!

Gonna have my chapter choccie and see what the time is doing after that before I decide on having another hot drink or not.

2 down, 3 to go

Just finished my second chapter of the morning and I'm shivering 'cos I'm so cold, but can't put the heater on until my lunchtime carer has been and gone otherwise I'll lose it all while the door is open.  I've earnt my second chapter choccie reward though, so I'm gonna devour that now and get cracking with chapter 3 I reckon.

1 down, 4 to go

I was awake and down here before 5am, so I've already cranked out my first chapter of the day and I haven't got any visitors (other than the carers) coming today, so I might be able to get another 8 chapters written today, with any luck... just four more to go before I get my 5 chapter reward though!

Time for my first chapter choccie of the day now, then make a start on the second one while I wait for my first carer to turn up.

8 chapters...

...in one day have just been achieved for the first time in JanNo24 with enough time to scoff my single chapter chocolate and check my emails for the first time in 24 hours, before I take my last two pills of the day and climb into bed.

I'm seriously impressed with myself now and I'm gonna enjoy ever last taste of that chocolate and go to bed with a smile on my face.

7 down, 15 to go now

I've cracked it with the 7th chapter of the day so I'm gonna have my single chapter choccie reward then get cracking straight on with chapter 8 so that I don't have to either rush it or have a late night tonight.  It wasn't an early start either so to hopefully get 8 chapters written as well as the two carers and the assessment has really impressed me today.

6 down, 16 to go

I might just about be able to sneak in 8 chapters before I hit the sack, but it all depends on how fast I type this next chapter.  I've written 6 today though and I'm well into the teens left to write now, so unless something goes seriously wrong that I need to sort out straight away, I'm right on track to finish on Tuesday now that my bathroom refitting has been put back by a week to it's original date so I don't have to worry about my bladder as well as my writing next week, thankfully.

I've got potentially my last cuppa on the go and my single chapter chocolate reward, so I'm gonna devour that and crack on with chapter 7 now I reckon.