I know, I know, It’s been a while.
This year has unfurled at the speed of a time-lapse camera, and as I’ve watched the clouds race across the sky I’m reminded it’s May already and I’ve packed a lot in.
There have been short stories written in the time between finishing the day job and going to bed, there’ve been writing competitions entered at the eleventh hour with my fingers & toes crossed, and quietly in the background gathering momentum, has been a brand new WIP quietly taking root. It’s a novel set in Italy in the early 1930s, a story that has eaten up what little time I’ve had in the best possible way.
Somewhere amongst all of that, I’ve also been working full time, and trying to write in the spaces in between. Early mornings. Late nights. Lunch breaks – you name it, I’ve written in it. I’ve gathered those strange little pockets of time together and tried to stitch them into something meaningful. I’m reminded of that poem Cats Sleep Anywhere, by Eleanor Farjeon, and translated it into Nicole Writes Anywhere, although my locations are not quite as extreme as a lap or an empty shoe, but you get the gist.
I’ve been reading constantly too, perhaps more than ever. Book club books, my tbr pile books, and my research books are all stacked precariously beside my bed and across my office . My very own leaning towers.
And life, as it always does, has threaded itself through the middle of it all.
Sadly, there has been sorrow and loss this year too, and that has been hard. Friends, family, and colleagues have all said goodbye and at times I’ve felt incredibly rudderless. Alongside it there have been pockets of laughter — the kind that arrives unexpectedly and reminds you what it’s like to feel light again. I think both have found their way into my writing.
One lovely piece of news amongst the chaos was being shortlisted in the Exeter Short Story Prize, with results due on June 1st. It still doesn’t feel real as I write it this. I’ve had previous short stories both longlisted and shortlisted in this competition, so maybe, just maybe…
I also decided, perhaps for the first time in a very long time, to do something purely for myself. I’ve enrolled on a Write Your Novel in Six Months course, which is equal parts exciting and terrifying. I must be mad right? What is it they say? Push yourself outside of your comfort zone because that’s where you find the growth…or something like that.
Writing this all down makes me realise why this year feels as though it’s been moving at an impossible speed.
So, how do I feel? Tired? Yes. Overwhelmed? Occasionally. Alive? Absolutely.
And honestly? That feels worth holding onto.