Since my last post, I have been writing like a demon! The tight schedule has been the perfect incentive, and with my plans all working out, I find myself three chapters ahead of where I was hoping to be by this date. My half term holiday had been particularly productive, until something else come along to disrupt my progress – Christmas!
Yes, I know it’s only November, but there are things that need to be done before December hits. I sing in a choir, and not only am I learning all the songs and carols for our Christmas concerts, I am also responsible for creating the posters and marketing materials to promote those concerts. Coming up with something new and eye-catching inevitably takes time, but is obviously necessary to get as big an audience as possible. Also, at home, I have been busy turning this year’s summer fruits into delicious winter treats – jams, liqueurs, ice creams, pies, etc. We will enjoy them very much over Christmas, but it does mean extra work now.
And then there is that other thing that keeps me busy at this time of year- reminding everyone about my Advent Stories. When I first came up with the idea many years ago, it was purely for the entertainment of my own children. But as the collection of stories grew, I wondered if there was some way I could turn the stories into something that would be of benefit to me. I didn’t think it was possible to sell the stories, but giving them away for free seemed like a good way to generate interest for the otherwise unknown author M J Schofield and bring extra traffic to my website. I’m not very confident at selling myself, but I am proud of my Advent Stories and will proudly shout about them from the rooftops in the hope that more people will adopt them for their own Advent Calendars. And every year, interest does grow. I might not have gone viral yet, but every new post like and each new click makes me feel like my hard work has been worthwhile.
So, even though I am straining at the bit to crack on with the novel (I’m up to Chapter 11 already!) I will temporarily step away from Jay and Lenor and their friends, to get on with the essential work for Christmas. And the reason I’m doing all this work is to make it super easy for everyone to share in my Advent Story idea, and enjoy the fun of a heart-warming and memorable story for Advent, all for free through my down-loadable stories. Just go to The Index of Stories, choose your adventure, and you’re good to go. And if you like my stories, please share – I would like as many people as possible to take part.
M J Schofield 