Helpful cat

Alas, you won’t find out what yesterday’s secret is today. Maybe tomorrow.

I lost the plot some time ago, so I had to keep writing without it. I found it later, and discovered that I’d gone off-piste. I had to devise a plan to get back on track.

The way it worked out is an improvement on the original plan, which is nice, but I got into an awful pickle with the chapters and their numbering and their content.

I normally advocate finishing the first draft no matter what changes need to be made: the first draft is for getting the story out your head and onto the page/screen. You can fix all the problems in later drafts – that’s what they’re there for.

However, this pickle was so bad, that I didn’t know what to write where, so I had to go through each of the troublesome chapters and work out where they went and what they should be about.

This is where Mr Perkins comes in.

He has been insisting on being with one of us; Mr Pandammonium found him too troublesome despite the undo function of computer keyboards, so I sat on the sofa so he could sit with me.

I had my laptop on my lap, with various important bits of paper either side. I admit that one side was Mr Perkins’ cushion and that I should know better by now. After I had to make use of the undo function on my laptop keyboard, Mr Perkins sat on the papers on his cushion.

Not long after that, he got up and said I had to move my laptop. I lifted it up, and he walked across my lap to the papers on the other side, and plonked his furry self on them. I put my laptop down and tried to read through Mr Perkins’ fur; it was very difficult.

No matter: he got up again a few minutes later and asked me to move my laptop, which I did, then he plonked his furry self back on the papers on his cushion. It was very difficult to write through his fur.

No matter: he got up again a few minutes later and asked me to move my laptop, which I did, then he plonked his furry self back on the papers on the other side. It was very difficult to read through his fur.

This went on for quite some time, until he asked me to move my laptop, which I did, and he plonked his furry self on my lap.

I put my laptop on his cushion, after moving the papers a bit, then twisted to see it, only doing my back in a little bit.

Eventually, I sorted out my chapters, giving me just enough time to go to the supermarket and get back home before I had to go out again. I suppose Storm Ciarán must have hit on the way home because there was a short burst of heavy rain, although not heavy or prolonged enough to warrant putting the wipers on manic.

I did some prep for this evening’s writing group meeting, and got there early, hoping that I’d catch a particular person to ask if they’d do the podcast with me. I was delighted when they said yes.

The meeting went well, although I need to keep a better eye on the time towards the end. But it was a fun meeting, with some regulars and a new person.

I’m learning to recognise the apprehensive searching-for-who-might-be-a writing-group look so I can reassure them that they’re in the right place. I was that person once, so I know how it feels.

Sometimes, I think this writing group takes up too much of my time, but when we have a meeting, it feels worthwhile.