Happy Endings

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Dead Frog Lane: Kangaroos everywhere

Dead Frog Lane: Kangaroos everywhere

I’m scooching.

Jul 22, 2023
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Happy Endings
Happy Endings
Dead Frog Lane: Kangaroos everywhere
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These weekend posts, a glimpse behind the scenes as I write a new novel, are for paid subscribers. If you are a paid subscriber - thank you! I appreciate it. If not, I would love it if you would consider upgrading. It costs just over £1 a week (less if you go for an annual subscription!)

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SUNDAY

Seven hundred words on a Sunday? Who am I? But I hate to be behind, particularly when I’m documenting it here. And I am also enjoying the writing, so why not keep going while I have the momentum?

Words today: 704

Total wordcount: 7223

Added to the playlist: Robert de Niro’s Waiting by Bananarama

MONDAY

Late to writing today because I had to go over to Liverpool with my eldest, but while we were there, we did see a Merseybeat exhibition and while it was obviously super male, there was a copy of a programme for a play call Girls Don’t Play Guitars: The Untold Story of The Liverbirds.

Which reminded me that I saved an article about The Liverbirds ages - probably years - ago, because I thought someone should write a novel about them. Someone probably has, I haven’t looked yet, but it’s more research for the Aunty Bea storyline.

Words today: 400.

Total wordcount: 7623

Added to the playlist: Every Night - Paul McCartney

TUESDAY

Late to write again, so I started a new scene because I wanted to write it fast. Sam’s daughter is travelling in Australia so I cribbed some stuff from my visit there in February. Kangaroos everywhere.

Kangaroos lying down on red ground with grass in the background.
Draw me like one of your French girls

Words today: 500

Total wordcount: 8123

Added to the playlist: Where Are Your Kids Tonight? by CMAT

WEDNESDAY

Wasn’t sure I’d get a chance to write today because I need to work on the other thing, due (again) tomorrow. But I woke up at 5 so… result, I guess.

Realised yesterday that I hadn’t written any Aunty Bea yet, so I did that today (see extract below) and it was fun and easy, so I might carry on with the same scene for the rest of this week.

Love this typo in the other thing, when one character first comes onto another

"It's fine," I tell her. I can't quite meet her yes. "Thank you."

Words today: 639

Total wordcount: 8762

Added to the playlist: Band on the Run by Wings.

Aunty Bea is in part inspired by my own Aunty B - Aunty Barb - and one of my favourite memories is being in the car with her and one of her sons, my cousin (much older than me), and Band on the Run coming on the radio. She said “Oh I love this!” and turned it up and they both sang along as we sped down the motorway.

THURSDAY

Sent off the other thing and want to take a few days off once I’ve done my frog words. But I’m finding I’m happy to do them. I keep thinking of more things I want to write about. Stuff from my life, yes, but it fits the book.

I started thinking about the novels I fell in love with as a teen. Danielle Steel. Jackie Collins. Judith Krantz. One of my happiest memories is of reading a Jackie Collins in one go at Aunty Barb’s house. I’m giving this - and the books - to Sam. So of course I went down a research rabbit hole.

I need to read one of each. And probably a Jilly Cooper. Sam can read those too, even though I didn’t until much later.

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I’m mildly concerned that I’m just writing a lot of random scenes, not even full scenes, with no thought of plot, but maybe that’s okay at this point.

I love this quote from the post linked below:

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