Prosperous soul in the making

savingholmes

MovingForwards said:

How are the seals looking where the window frames meets the walls? Some of mine have perished as they don't last anywhere near the lifespan of windows. Also it's cheaper to replace the sealed units than the entire frame and window; 'MIL' had some local guys come out and she only needed a few changing.
Fingers crossed BTEC cancel.
Keep writing, doing art and anything else wholly different to work and use your creativity to release pent up stresses.

Good idea re glass replacement only. There's just a general draught. Our previous cat also liked to scrape out the black draft excluder so I suppose that may not have helped!! School have had no official guidance re BTEC so currently going ahead. DD adamant doesn't want to. I am still writing - and hope to do some painting soon too.

Grogged said:

Curious really (as I don't have the writing gene) - do you plan out your series at the start or does it evolve as you go?
I know different writers have their own style, just wondered what yours was?

Thanks for asking Grogged. I do a mix of what they call 'pantsing' and 'outlining.' Pure pantsers just start writing and see where it takes them while outliners tend to want to plan upfront. I have a rough outline for the series that Book 1 is part of. I am at least 25% way through Book 2 and I know how I want it to end and the kind of things I want to happen in Book 3. There is a formula you can apply to books that is similar to what is used in movies - a 15 step process (beats) - and I tried to ensure that Book 1 met that. (JK's book do LOL). I was probably at least half way through the first book though before I started imposing 'structure' on it. It improved the book no end - as it helped me see where I needed plot twists and turns and how to raise the ante and excitement level. As well as a story arc - there needs to be a character arc - how the character changes (hopefully for the better) during the book. That too makes it more satisfying for readers. I've outlined that for the series.

The other book (a standalone or different series) I started on Boxing Day - I've written about 10,000 words. So far I've been telling myself the story... It flowed easily. I think to progress much further though I need to write an outline. Again because of the problem I've given the characters to solve - I've a rough idea of how the book should end and they're currently on a journey towards that (quest). One of the ways to get unstuck when writing can be to write out of sequence. Sometimes moving scenes around can improve flow or make it more exciting. I switch between writing on a computer to hand writing it sometimes to break out of any kind of block.

hugglemonster

Great news that the writing is flowing, I still haven't finished your book yet too much going on but will dip in again today x

Lovely to send the postcards as a little bit of sunshine, I sent a small box of posh biscuits and a note to some family members and my friend during the summer - they really appreciated a little thought. 

H x

savingholmes

Thanks HM. I hope you enjoy it. Some of my contacts on l1nked 1n said they are buying / bought it too which is encouraging. I can see total book sales and I can see pages read for those borrowed on KU. 

No-one has said they've got the cards yet despite posting first class so will be interesting to see when they arrive.

Went with DH for him to have a hearing test today. They said he was borderline and then suggested a top of the range hearing aid for £5.3K!!! I think we will pass for now. We will get another hearing test done at some point and see what they think. Not only was the hearing aid expensive - they went on to say the APR was only 9%+ and it could be done in easy payments of around £178pcm... I was angry about the latter... It felt good to know that if we did want to do something later in the year we'd potentially be in a position to buy it outright. Still I was very shocked at the pricing (and APR) and the recommendation given he was borderline!

My next CC payment is due next Monday. Ticking along until then trying not to spend anything. Payday a week on Friday. I did bring my clothing allowance into this month and splashed out on a long sleeve top and some slipper socks. DH and I took pooch for a walk in the daylight yesterday. Hope to do that again more frequently. DH is shattered from rising at 8 LOL he's just gone for a nap!!

mark55man

so - I know you don't want to burden the NHS at this time, but they do provide them free at the point of need.  Unless you really need the additional features that you can get with the upmarket hearing aids, you should definitely investigate those

Plus - if you have hearing aids you can get a disabled persons rail card - which (when its safe) would get your DH + yourself (as carer) 1/3 off all trains even at peak time 

Grogged

Thanks @savingholmes,
I think I have a new favourite word of the month "pantsing"! 😆

MovingForwards

How much for the hearing aid 😯 
Slipper socks are so comfy and cosy!

savingholmes

Grogged said:

Thanks @savingholmes,
I think I have a new favourite word of the month "pantsing"! 😆

It is a fun word. I can think of quite a few people in the news that it could be applied to but then that would ruin the word!!

mark55man said:

so - I know you don't want to burden the NHS at this time, but they do provide them free at the point of need.  Unless you really need the additional features that you can get with the upmarket hearing aids, you should definitely investigate those

Plus - if you have hearing aids you can get a disabled persons rail card - which (when its safe) would get your DH + yourself (as carer) 1/3 off all trains even at peak time 

Hi Mark - we are trying to alleviate the burden on the NHS - but not to the tune of £5K LOL. The test today was free (loss leader). The tester said DH had scarring on the inside of one of his ears and he's writing to our GP to let them know that and the results. I am over-sensitive to noise and I wonder if he is under-sensitive. If that is the case - it would explain why he struggles despite the hearing test being okay. It could also point towards ASD which I would like him to pursue a diagnosis for along with ADHD. Again though the NHS have enough to deal with right now...

Good to know about the rail cards... One day life will become more normal... although.... It's hard to keep the faith sometimes. I've found out today another couple of people I know are ill with the virus. Just hope they all recover okay. In better news - DD's BTEC exams have now been cancelled by the college. Given that exams full stop are a major source of stress and anxiety for her - I think that is one of the few positive outcomes from this crisis. I've also put some fun positive affirmation art cards in my eye-line so I don't get too sucked into negativity.

The rest of the family all bought McDs with their personal spends... I had home made soup and grilled chicken... Somehow not the same. I hope to do some more writing today. FB stopped my book ad for some reason and want me to prove my ID. Sent it to them but for a £10 spend (and only £2.96 so far) it feels like an OTT reaction. Still figuring out other ways of marketing my book... I don't have the energy for finishing website set up right now - but I could design some social media posts... 

savingholmes

So I've done some social media designs today and started to get them out - and then shared by friends on friends feeds so hopefully that will boost sales of my book. I'm a member of an indie authors group - and it is under £50 to be an associate but £89 for an author.. spending lots at the moment - but using Christmas and personal spends so far...  Hopefully will get to pay myself back at some point. I have to remember everyone needs a marketing budget of some sort when they launch a product...

SandyShores

savingholmes said:

@SandyShores presumably if the worst came to the worst - you could downsize - so you also have other options you could explore if you needed to.

Hi savingholmes, I missed your response in December (I thought the @ was supposed to notify us - I'll have to check my settings).  Yes, downsizing is one of the options I have thought about, just in case - or even if we just wanted to move somewhere smaller/different.  The house is a bit oversized for two, but we're glad of the room in lockdown, we didn't expect to be more than two again (or wfh).

Thanks for the pointer re. pension drawdown as well, we need to take some advice on that.  I would like to keep the pension where it is if possible, but I'd like to know exactly what would be available to us e.g. if we needed a lump sum to bring down the LTV when we remortgage.  At the moment my plan is to pay off the mortgage asap, but I am warming to the idea of mortgage neutral.  

I was just reading about your draughty windows too.  I think sometimes over the years they sag slightly (don't we all) and a bit of adjusting could help whilst you save for your new ones.  If you can't do it yourselves you might be able to find a local repairer.  Warm curtains, linings or an additional roman blind could help too.  (I've lived with a lot of draughty windows ).

savingholmes

Thanks MF - I didn't see your post sorry. Thanks Sandy Shores.
Really tired today. 10am meeting so I need to get my head in gear. (Early for me). Good news my cleaner is due to come Sunday (so her DH can do the childcare). Just hope she's clear of the virus. She's not been for nearly a month though and it shows... Just having someone visit the house - makes you tidy a little... Anyway, need to eat breakfast ready for my call. Money-wise we are doing okay. Other than groceries (online and therefore price relatively fixed) and direct debits I have about £3.5 to get me to next Friday.  Should be fine... although I still have savings... trying to do better.