End of term, beginning of summer

As of this week, I am a free woman. The college course I started last September is over. Two days ago, I attended the last session and handed in my portfolio. Most of it has been marked already, so barring any minor rewrites in the last unit, the work is done. And it has been a lot of work – I don’t think I did this much work for my degree! The completed portfolio, fat and chunky with all my writing, was very satisfying, and I have enjoyed putting my words to another subject I love. But now my words are my own again. I can use them how I choose and write only what I want write. What shall I do first?

Well, obviously, I am writing this blog first. Writing the blogs has been the one thing I have kept up, and I am very glad that I did. It provided a little recreation for my brain, a chance to play and explore away from the world of supporting leaching and learning. When the complications of school policies and the horrors of safeguarding got too much, there was always a blog to write. At a time when only one portfolio was important, it reminded me that I have another portfolio, a collection of work in its varying finished and unfinished states, and no-one can take that away from me. Whatever happens next in my future career, I will always be a writer, because I have written novels and have ideas for more. And now I can write my blog without feeling guilty or anxious – like now, sitting up in bed on a Saturday morning.

But what next? Well, there are still all the usual jobs to do. The house needs a good clean, the ironing pile is horrendous, there are berries growing in the garden that need turning into jam, the kids need new clothes for the summer, and old clothes must be cleared from drawers to make room for new clothes. That’s fine, I have plenty of time for those things now. I would even enjoy a marathon ironing session, with a DVD boxset, and the only thing I need to worry about is choosing between a Lord of the Rings film or working my way through Firefly again. That’s not a chore, that’s a privilege!

And of course, there are quite a few books I want to read. I usually have one or two books on the go, or three or four; even this year, I have not been able to resist. I read Portrait of a Lady to the end for the first time since I bought it when I was a student, and was very glad I did. I heard something by Matt Haig on the radio and just had to buy the book and read it for myself. And despite my good intentions of saving David Mitchell for the summer, I just couldn’t say no to Black Swan Green – but as a perfect rendition of how awful education was in the eighties, that counted as research! The last few weeks, I have been confining myself to The Famous Five, quick and easy escapism which wouldn’t distract me too much. But now I can think about the growing pile of books that I have been dutifully ignoring. After all, writers need to read just as much as they need to write.

And then? Will there still be time for writing? Yes of course, because the summer holidays are just two weeks away. Six whole weeks of freedom. It’s not just for children. Not only is it a break from work but it’s a break from the washing and ironing of school uniform, and making the packed lunches every morning, and having to nag the kids to do homework/get dressed for school/pack school bags etc. My kids are old enough now to entertain themselves during the holidays – in fact, they actually prefer it and moan when I suggest alternatives that drag them away from their devices. So this summer, I intend to let them have as much screen time as they want, so I can spend time at my laptop. I already have a plan. I need to do another edit on The Most Beloved Boy; I am aware of some mistakes in the edition on Kindle, and as I’m going to have to go through the whole novel to correct them, I will probably end up polishing up other bits as I go along. Not a rewrite, just a re-edit. I’m looking forward to it.

And if after all the ironing, reading, rewriting, there’s still any time left, I might just start writing a new novel. There is an idea that has been taking hold, another old idea that has been quietly waiting, dormant but not forgotten. Now its turn has come. I’ve been making notes, adding new plot lines, and falling in love with old characters again. Oh yes, I shall definitely find time to start writing again. It’s time to turn this little laptop back to its original purpose…