writing – Page 13 – EXCUSES AND HALF TRUTHS

The Swipe Volume 1 Chapter 38

Hello from Whitstable, where TLC and I have retreated for a long weekend and a bit of a reset. A day trip to Margate (the Essex kid in me still pronounces it ‘Margit’ like Chas And Dave) to convene with some art and that incredible light seems like a good idea. Also seafood. Lots and lots of seafood.

Of course, the short break lands bang in the middle of Nanowrimo, which means, I suspect, some early mornings to crank out the necessary wordage. Next week I seem to have organised social events over four out of the available five days. No, I do not believe in making life easy for myself. Hopefully the sea air will spark up some creativity because I’m going to need every last scrap.

Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.

The Swipe Volume 1 Chapter 37

Nanowrimo is go! Authors across the globe watched Halloween slip past in a pumpkin-spice scented fog and readied themselves for the task ahead. Come November 1st, we planted ourselves in front of the keyboard, took a deep breath and howled out the traditional Nanowrimo refrain—‘why am I doing this to myself again?’

Why indeed? Well, as the old saw states, a writer writes. If you don’t have words on a page, you don’t have jack. It’s AICKO time (Arse In Chair, Keyboard Out). However painful and difficult the effort will prove to be, how tough it is to slot writing space into your packed schedule, the result is something you can work on, refine and most importantly show people. A story is one thing spoken out loud. Don’t get me wrong, there’s value in that. But it can transform once it becomes the written word. It gains an extra kind of power.

For me, Nanowrimo is a month filled with surprises. The story takes turns you didn’t see coming. The characters do things you didn’t expect or plan for. Like falling in love, or standing firm instead of running away, or dying at the most inconvenient time for the plot. I live for moments like that, when the story begins to tell itself and you’re just along for the ride.

Apologies in advance for the poor state of the newsletter over the next few weeks, as I plow away in the word-mines, but I’ll try to keep a presence here as usual. Worst case scenario, you might get an extract of the work in progress.

Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Nanowrimo Swipe.

The Swipe Volume 1 Spooky Season Special

It’s the most wonderful week of the year! Tuesday marks the day when ghosts and ghouls and goblins and ghastlies come out to play. Not down our street so much, but then we do have an honest-to-goodness cemetery at one end. It may be a little too real for the tinies in bedsheets. Even more terrifying, November 1st marks the starting gun for 2023’s Nanowrimo! As ever I will be banging out the word count, although this year’s attempt aims to finish off a previous project than starting something fresh. I’d love to hear from you if you’re up for the challenge. This chapter of the newsletter is dedicated to the wild-eyed rebels who choose November to let their inner novelist out. I salute you, and welcome you as a friend and fellow traveller.

Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.

The Swipe Volume 1 Chapter 36

Two weeks before Halloween, and it feels like there is a curse on the House Of Wickings. Two family members have been in hospital, one leaving yesterday with a brand new shoulder. Another is in Poland, his luggage at Heathrow. One more fell in a fishing lake. I’ve been slapped with a cut in hours as the SAG-ACTRA strike rolls on into the autumn. It’s annoying, but at least I get an extra day off a week in November—handy with Nanowrimo coming up.

You take the little victories where you can. Hope you’re all having a better time of it than me and mine.

Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.

The Swipe Volume 1 Chapter 35

I used to live on Twitter. It was a place to hang, chat with friends, grab the latest news. It was the main way I’d shout about new drops on Excuses And Half Truths, then The Cut, then The Swipe. I was no power user with millions of followers, but it always felt a little bit like home.

Now, not so much. Xwitter or whatever it’s called now (I notice almost no-one uses the new name The Belligerent Landlord has given it) is increasingly broken. The loss of third-party apps, the inability to autopost from WordPress, all the tweaks and wrinkles which, in the search for profit, have tanked the platform’s usability and friendliness. I barely look at it now. I’m not sure I’ll ever shut down my presence there completely, but I’m a ghostly presence, looming out of the darkness at unexpected moments. If the rumours are true and a pay-gate is coming, I’ll be out.

I’ll always be here, of course. You can also find me on Threads and Insta as @conojito, on the fediverse as @wickings. In an exciting new move from my pals at WordPress, this here blog is now available on federated services as (deep breath) @excusesandhalftruths.com@excusesandhalftruths.com. Hope to see you there.

Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.

The Swipe Volume 1 Chapter 34

This time last week I was stressing hard over a social event—specifically Reading Writers’ Novelist’s Day. It’s one of the group’s weekend events, where writers get to meet for a full day of discussion, critique and chat. Why was I stressed? Because I had, completely against my nature, agreed to host it at our house. Normally Casa Conojito is a refuge, a place TLC and I retreat to after the world is done with us. We don’t normally invite people we don’t know into the gaff. Let’s put it this way—party animals we ain’t.

However, the day went well. I think. I hope. It all flew past in a bit of a blur. But the five novelists and I were able to show our work, chat about the particular challenges inherent in writing a long-form project. There was even room for pastries and sausage rolls, so I’m calling it. A victory. I know I’m making a big deal out of a comparatively simple thing—Rob hosted a soirée, big whoop, hardly the Royal court at Versailles, is it?—but I felt proud and happy to have done something nice for my peers, share the garden I’m always banging on about and ultimately, spend time with people who get me. That really is worth shouting about.

Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.

The Swipe Volume 1 Chapter 33

The Writer’s Strike is over. It was won with a stunning set of concessions from studios who had sought to belittle, gaslight and bully the people who provide them with their content. This is incredibly good news for the creative community as a whole, and brings back to life a heartening and essential truth—unions work. I hope to see a swift resolution to the Actor’s dispute, which will get everyone back to work—properly compensated and with fewer fears for the future.

However, as writer Gerry Duggan notes, there’s more to do yet, especially around the vexed question of AI. I’ll be interested to see if his tweak to the standard copyright notice has legs…

The battle is won, the war continues.

Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.

The Swipe Volume 1 Chapter 32

Lincolnshire was a revelation to us, a sign that this country is still full of beautiful surprises. The return to work was harsh, accompanied by strange weather, autumnal vibes mixed with summer sunshine. But the nights are definitely starting to draw in. I’m getting up in the dark again, which never ceases to be a struggle. The last of the tomatoes are harvested, stubbornly refusing to ripen. Green chutney it is, then. We’ll spend the weekend getting our little greenhouse prepped for autumn seed planting while tidying and cutting back ready for the cold times to come. Nearly spooky season.

Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.

The Swipe Volume 1 Chapter 31

At what point, when you know a holiday is coming up, do you crack and get the cases down from the loft? At what point do you find yourself slowing down at work, losing focus on the task in front of you in anticipation the pleasures which await a little ways down the road? A couple of days? A week?

Oh, Readership, I am in that agreeable state. The back room is a mess of half-sorted packing. The day job is nothing but an irritation, each shift a ticking clock, a countdown, one more cross on the calendar. I swear, I might pitch up to the office on Friday in shorts and shades. I set the auto-response on email on Wednesday.

I have no idea what you’re getting next week. If it’s just a bunch of holiday snaps, I apologise in advance.

Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The pre-holiday Swipe.

To Cook You A Song

I have reached the point in my long and storied existence on this hurtling rock to have properly learnt an important lesson. It is simple, but takes a long time to sink in and resonate with your lived experience.