STORIES FROM MY DESK | January 2025: A Monthly Update on Writing, Reading & Watching
What I've been up to in the last month.
I’m probably one of the minority who is shocked that January is almost over. I know many think January has been going on for weeks and weeks - but I think it’s gone quite fast. Which probably means I might be panicking a little because I haven’t achieved everything I wanted to achieve this month!
Just what have I been up to in the last month? That’s a good question because I don’t feel like I’ve done much. And then I remember THAT WAS THE WHOLE IDEA behind January. I knew I wanted to start writing and creating again this month, but I also knew I didn’t just want to go straight back to burnout. So I was going to tickle my toes in the shallow end.
My first priority was to try to get myself into some sort of routine with my writing and creativity. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn’t. But the good news is I’ve been back into my office. I’ve sat at my desk and switched my big computer on which is where I used to do most of my writing. For the past few months I’ve been typing on my very old laptop whilst sitting on the settee, hoping I don’t get an electric shock from the charging cable that’s beginning to fray.
So I am thrilled I’m back where I belong and more than thrilled that I look forward to being up there. It is my favourite place in the house (other than my bed) but when I’m struggling I’d rather be anywhere but. Which is often how I realise that I am struggling.
Father Christmas gifted me an A4 Portfolio from Paper Republic and, after I’d ordered the notebook inserts for it I’ve finally been using it. It’s petrol blue and I am obsessed. At the moment I’m using it as my project planner - because I have finally set goals and project tasks - but I’m also using the other A4 notebook I have in there as a place to work out my novel, Burnt Chocolate.
Unboxing my A4 Portfolio
Setting up my A4 Portfolio with a planner and notebook
CREATIVE UPDATE
A new subheading for 2025 because I’ve finally decided to fully embrace social media again and to use it in a way that suits me as a creative. If you’ve followed me for a long time you’ll know I adored filming my chickens and ducks when we lived at our old house. I love creating videos and I’ve decided to continue with that to document my writing journey. At the moment my primary platform is TikTok but I also upload them to YouTube (as a YouTube Short) too. I’ve debated on and off with Instagram but it just makes me feel icky and pressured there. I might change my mind but at the moment I’m sticking to TikTok and YouTube.
One of the reasons for this is because they both have a creator fund. I have been a YouTube Partner since 2020 and even though what I earn from there isn’t huge, it’s nice to have another income stream. On TikTok the barriers to their creator fund are higher. You need 10,000 followers for a start. On YouTube you only need 1000. And on TikTok I currently have 452 followers. I’ve some way to go but I’m starting the only way I know. One bite at a time. Posting consistently every day. Sometimes twice or thrice a day.
WRITING UPDATE
But Helen, I can hear the voices say. If you’re posting on social media isn’t that just a form of procrastinating on your writing?
You could look at it like that. Or you could see it as me working on my platform to make me and my work more ‘interesting’ to literary agents and publishers. And as a way of creating another income stream. And, probably most importantly, as a way of creating in a way that feels good for me.
However, I have been writing. Two Substack newsletters a week on a Monday and Thursday. I’ve uploaded onto Medium for the first time in a couple of years with this article, I’ve dug out my novel and I’m preparing to work on draft nine (nine!) and I’m almost ready to start emailing literary agents again or my non-fiction book proposal.
READING UPDATE
I am currently reading my fifth novel this month. Hopefully I’ll finish it tomorrow so it counts towards my January tally!
These were:
Murder at Holly House by Denzil Meyrick
The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie
The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
A Storybook Wedding by KJ Micciche
The Story Collector by Evie Woods
Murder at Holly House was, what I call, violently cosy. Set in 1952 in Yorkshire a dead body falls out of a chimney at Holly House. Inspector Grasby is the protagonist and I enjoyed the book and his character. I gave this four stars.
The Secret of Chimneys was definitely not my favourite Agatha Christie book so far. The plot was confusing, with many similarities to other books and it felt like she was writing it begrudgingly. I gave it two stars.
The Mystery Guest is the second in a trilogy of murder mysteries based around Molly the hotel maid. I thought the first one (The Maid) was fresh and had a unique main character, this one was okay but, I felt, not as good as the first. Three stars.
A Storybook Wedding is a romance. One of those I classify as a ‘palette cleanser’ from all the murders. What I enjoyed about this one was it was based around two writers and one of them was starting to submit her work. It was motivating and also made me feel better about receiving rejections!
The Story Collector is by the same author as The Lost Bookshop which I read last year and gave five stars. Based in Ireland it has magic, books and stories. What’s not to love? I’ll report back once I’ve finished it.
WATCHING UPDATE
I watched Running on Empty (1988) with my daughter at the beginning of the year. It was one of those films that I’d heard of but never seen. It’s about a family where the parents had set fire to a weapons lab and were now constantly on the run. The film examines how this affects their two children. I loved the scene with the James Taylor song, Fire and Rain. Worth a watch.
MY RECENT ARTIST DATE
My artist date was also a watching update. We went to see the Bob Dylan film, A Complete Unknown, at the cinema and I loved it. It’s based upon Bob Dylan’s first few years as a performer and how he came to fame, alongside how he was influenced by folk music and pioneered the folk-rock genre. Apparently the film is full of things that didn’t happen but I simply enjoyed the story and the music.
WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED FROM ME
My essay about my Agatha Christie reading project…
My Agatha Christie Project
At the end of last year I asked you, my supportive readers, what sort of things I could write about. As I’m recovering from burnout one of the hardest things for me, at the moment, is generating idea…
Exploring my creative mindset/procrastination around submitting my work…
WHY HAVE I...only submitted to three literary agents since finishing my book proposal in 2024?
Full disclosure: I wrote the title for this article and then picked my phone up to scroll for a good ten minutes because I was so reluctant to deep dive into it. This is a hard one for me to admit to and a hard one for me to delve into. After all, what does it say about me and my faith in my writing, my idea and the finished proposal if I can’t find the nerve to submit it?
Writing my novel alongside the addition of the very first chapter…
A Return to Writing My Novel
Well, It’s been seven years since I last properly worked on my novel. Seven years. I know I’ve written a book proposal since then. Moved house, lived through a Covid pandemic, raised my children and waved one off to university, started a Substack newsletter and a YouTube channel, mentored lots of female writers and creatives from all over the world - plus edited little bits of the novel. But even so.
Plus:
Setting my writing goals for the first quarter of 2025
And an essay about the fear of offending people with our writing and creativity.
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I’m inspired by all you’ve accomplished. It shows persistence as well as self-care. And it’s got me thinking about tracking what I actually accomplish in a month. I’m going to start in February.
Loved the creative update, thanks for sharing.