This post is not about writing, except that it is about something that affects everything I do (or don't do) including my writing. It's prompted by a visit to my therapist today.

I don't speak often or very much about my severe clinical depression, because I think that the topic is boring. It bores me. It's not a dramatic stick-your-head-in-the-oven sort of depression. (Anyway, suicide would take more initiative than I have most days.) It's ... drab ... and it feels so trivial....

So 12 years ago I had a draft novel at 700k words...

I've spent the past few years labouring with - not simply trying to chop it down to size, but also apply basic writing principles so it such as ... oh, POV use.

After a few years work I finally got it down to an overall word count of 250k.

I sent the first few chapters to Teresa Edgerton for editing purposes, to see how I was doing.

There were some experimental things I'd tried and wasn't sure...

So I'm working from home now. Got up this morning and came over with a panic attack thinking I was late for work. Then a voice in my head said I was already there - phew.

So I got up, had a coffee, checked emails and spent a couple of hours editing the Fourth Reich.

Picked the wife up from work at 12 then headed to the garage. Now as you know I have this as my workshop but there's a big red button on the wall. When I press it the whole room moves downward. I headed...

...to my garage.

My cunning plan to free up more writing time has come to fruition. I'm refurbishing and making shabby chic tables and chairs in my spacious 3-car garage with associated utility room and state of the art finishing shed.

It's all been fitted out with a cabinetmakers benches storage etc and the first few table sets have come off the production line.

I now spend the first 3 hours of the day writing and then do my woodwork, with coffee...

I've long had reasonably developed back story ideas for my characters, but for some time now I've been considering the possibility of perhaps writing them up as short stories.

I've been thinking more and more about this after editing and Eastercon because:

1. Writing back stories for my characters as short stories will help me define key events in their lives clearly

2. By writing these down as stories in themselves, this will help fight against my natural...