"It's one of the strangest attributes of this profession that when we writers get exhausted writing one thing, we relax by writing another."

This from Dan Simmons, author, and it's certainly true for me. I find it very hard to unwind from writing sometimes and how do I do it? I write something else.


I shall have to amend that statement to be truthful. I find it very hard to unwind IN THE HOUSE. I didn't find it very hard to unwind this morning when Alfie and I were galloping across the Ashdown Forest. (I suppose, in fairness, Alfie was galloping, I was merely clinging on for dear life on his back!)

Ashdown Forest, in case you don't know, is the place where A.A.Milne lived and wrote all the Winnie The Pooh books. I used to take my children to the real Poohsticks bridge to play...what else but Poohsticks? How lucky is that?


But...as soon as I get back home, my fingers are twitching, my brain's racing, wanting to write. This is an acceptable state of affairs when there's no-one here but me and the dog. I can just do it.


It isn't that popular when Pete is home and the dishwasher needs unloading and layers of dust beg to be relocated to somewhere less obvious like under the carpet...and...and...

Thing is, I'm better at doing the housework AFTER I've written.Honestly. I'm like a junkie who needs a fix otherwise.


What a very sad person I am. (Sad in the contemporary sense: sad adjective  4. ridiculous, silly, pathetic)

Now I feel perfectly calm, having written all that down. I could hoover the landing, do the ironing...


Or I could get on with the much neglected novel...