Lead work

Where has the month gone? I promised my editor a partial by mid month and yelp it is nearly here! Although I know they will read the full when it is submitted, the hope is that by submitting a partial plus a more detailed synopsis, I will avoid some of the revision stages. However, I do think the books have been far stronger for the revisions so it is swings and roundabouts.

I do however think the process is valuable as it is forcing me to focus on what is going to work rather than what I think might work and the why. Anyway, it is all about trying to work smarter.

The puppies are starting to be trained with a lead. Or rather they would be but they both appear to be frightened of the lead. Tess jumps like a jack in the box and Hardy assumes that the lead is there to tug. I spent some time with each of them separately yesterday, simply sitting on the lawn, holding the lead lightly so they could used to it. In the end, Hardy was better, and stopped attacking it, if only because he was told to sit and given treats. And Tess seemed to accept it. She came and curled up next to me. Hopefully I can build on that.

In the main, I have decided that Chile is at times a Grumpy Old Man. He is quite content to have Hardy curled up next to him. I always feel that if two animals voluntarily sleep in the same room, they are friends. Hardy worships Chile, but he is not quite big enough yet to properly greet Chile and it irritates Chile to have this creature jumping at him, trying to lick him. Chile is far more tolerant of Tess. Chile should be careful though because little people grow. And Hardy may be small but he is one determined puppy.

My daughter has finished her exams. Her first act on entering the house was to toss her uniform in the bin. She has cleaned her room and tossed her notes etc, chanting about various subjects as she did it. I have taken repossession of my bulletin board as I do find it useful when constructing a synopsis. She did use most of my note cards though...