Hiatus

Now don’t laugh, but I’m now old enough that the word ‘hiatus’ sometimes gets associated with the word ‘hernia’  in the echoing spaces of my brain. This is a shame as it’s a fine word, more suited to keeping company with words like ‘myriad’ and ‘plangent’.

Just for the record, I haven’t been unlucky enough to suffer any hernias, hiatus or otherwise. But this week has been something of a hiatus for me. I finally finished the current draft of Bringer of Light on Sunday evening, at which point I despatched a copy to my beta-readers. As I did so I felt a deep loathing for the novel. I never wanted to see it again. Ever. This is most unfair to the poor beta-readers, who I’ve cajoled into quick responses – see further, that November 30th deadline. And my sudden hatred of the book was also, going on previous experience, only a temporary phase.

Since then I have allowed myself continue to hate the novel, and got on with Other Stuff. I’ve even sent a couple of short stories out. I remember short stories; I used to like writing short stories. And now I’m heading down to the Duchy of Kernow, for a week by the sea. This hiatus will continue. It may even, depending on how much feedback I get from my readers, turn into a holiday.

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