7 days to go... how am I preparing?

So far with only a wing and a prayer.

But unfortunately, that’s not enough to get me though this mammoth task ahead!

Luckily, I also have the seed of an idea which I’ve pitched to my lovely editor Lucy at my new publisher Headline. It came to me months ago out of nowhere; a voice calling to me, a character called Audrey. And I knew the book had to start with her.

I’ve plotted my three main characters – what they look like, their jobs, what makes them tick. And of course, their motivations.

But that’s about it so far… (cue sleepless nights and copious amounts of caffeine).

And as I’m edging nearer to 1^st September, that voice in my head is questioning whether I can actually pull this off. Maybe I’ve been lulled into a false sense of security by listening to Eye of the Tiger too many times over the last few weeks (to spur me on and make me believe I can do anything – after all, if Rocky can take on the world heavyweight champion then surely I can write this book in a week?) Is anything we put our mind to really possible?

But I won’t listen to that voice. When I say I’ll do something, I try my best to do it, and this will be no different.

11,429 words a day. For 8 hours a day. And only 7 days.

It seems impossible, but when I break it down into roughly 1,429 words an hour (and my maths could well be wrong here – numbers are just not my thing!) it feels much more achievable. And if I aim for 2000 words an hour then that will give me some breaks to stretch my legs and eat.

This still feels like a momentous challenge when for the last 13 years my daily writing target has been 2000 words a day. And believe me, there are times when even that seems unachievable!

Will I pull it all together? Follow my journey to find out. As much as I hate cameras, this event will be live-streamed for verification purposes so you can easily keep track of how it’s going. The good, the bad and the ugly…

Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you can – it’s all new to me and apparently the more subscribers the better to ensure the livestream works as best it can. You can find it at: https://www.youtube.com/@AuthorKathrynCroft Thank you!

More soon… x