It’s like this. I have two current book projects and I need to make some decisions I’ve already made them. The Ooning has been through its beta got feedback from three people and I have enough to create the final rewrite. I know what’s wrong with it now. Beta was interesting as you’re always looking…

Probably not die, but pre-order anyway. A final proof of Ficta Fabula, the magazine carrying my first published short story, arrived this morning. I’m on page 63. The best page. My writing’s been illustrated. And I got paid. Serious business. There’s no specific date as yet, but I’m assured it’ll release “very soon”. There are…

I finished the fourth draft of the book today. It’s now ready for beta reading. Looking forward to getting some feedback. The publication of Mouse has been delayed a little as it’s in the first issue of a relaunch, but it should be ready soon. The Next Book is shaping up, and there’s no question…

I sold a story. Canadian magazine Ficta Fabula will publish Mouse in July. This is my first acceptance. Someone will give me money for my fiction. I’m extremely happy. The Ooning’s rattling along. I’ve completed a third draft and finished all the rewriting I planned after reading the second version, some 15,000 words in the…

I was supposed to go back into Ooning editing on March 12, but I decided to leave it the full, King-recommended six weeks. I’ll start again tomorrow. You just know, I think, whether or not you’re ready to move onto a new draft, and I definitely wasn’t. I’m glad I waited. I’ve put three short…

Hope you enjoyed Chicken. Writing short stories is a great way of passing the time before I get back into editing the Ooning, which I’m not allowed to touch until March 12. You’re supposed to try to completely forget the ups and downs of your draft before you retackle, and I’m finally starting to feel…

I finished the second draft of the Ooning today. It came in at nearly 53,000 words. While the length is too short (it’s roughly equatable to the previous draft), the structure’s complete. Slotting in more chapters should be simple as it’s been rewritten in a modular style. The focus of this stage was to block…

I bought patrickgarratt.com. It was time I owned myself. Importing from Blogger to WordPress took a few minutes. It’s like living in the future. I’ve written a third of the next Ooning draft (some 25,000 words), so it won’t be finished this year. I’m very confident of this version being vastly superior to the previous.…

I doubt Meredith could have been happier when I handed over her first penknife. All I could see were beaming teeth. I told her to be careful with it, and she promised. She’s a big girl. She’s six. I showed her how to break it apart so she could use it to eat – it’s…

I love to toast,I love to toast.Toast’s when I like bread the most.There’s nothing betterWhen you’re a host,Than to give your guestsSome lovely toast.