My Week: Story and Sculptures

Louise Allan

9 years ago

I’ve interrupted the novel rewrite to show you this:

That’s how many pages I have left to edit.

It’s a thin stack, isn’t it? Only 25 pages thick. Twenty-five. That. Is. All. I’m a slow writer, and it’s given me a boost to see how close I am—now I’m striving to get to the end as soon as I can.

I want to say that rewriting this novel has been one of the most arduous, mind-consuming, brain-draining things I’ve ever done. It’s made walking the Cradle Mountain Overland Track seem like a stroll through a park. It’s made giving birth seem like a little ‘ouchie’. It’s made studying Medicine seem like—actually, studying Medicine still feels like studying Medicine. If I had a choice between rewriting this novel or studying Medicine again, I don’t know which would be worse and I’d decline both.

So that’s why I’ve been neglecting my poor blog. I’m itching to post here more often, but there are only so many hours in each day, and I’ve had to devote them to my novel. While I’ve been writing, I’ve had many ideas for future posts and essays, and I’ve also read more Australian women authors, so I have reviews I want to write, too—some from last year.

I’ll return to the novel now, but before I go, here are some photos from Sculptures By the Sea at Cottesloe Beach. It’s in its final days here in Perth, and I’ve been down with the camera a few times—some attempts were more successful than others. I haven’t been able to get a good sunset shot—always too many people! So, here are some dawn shots:

Book Cave by Juliet Lea