The seasons are turning - which means I have a cold. Only pointing that out because i've logged on and seen I was also ill when I wrote my last post. I think it was A L Kennedy's book that talked about the writers life where she spent 80% of the time talking about being in a constant state of mild illness. I'm not sure if thats me grabbing onto whatever i can to validate calling myself a writer when I've done very little else to qualify as one recently.
I've been absent since the start of Spring and there has been no writing since then. I've more recently started wanting to come back to it. I've been taking the approach I mentioned a few posts back of going topic by topic and focusing on craft. I'm currently focused on something that feels very basic, but I honestly cannot remember ever being taught it despite having a degree in English: basic grammar.
I can tell you about how theories of masculinity intersect with the works of modern writers like Ian McEwan, but ask me what the difference between an adverb and an adjective is, what a subordinate clause requires to work, or what rule is used to determine whether we pair an or a with a noun - I'm lost. A serious gap in my education that I'm working to correct. There are a lot of foundational components I think I'm missing which feels like a nice thing to actually focus on. It gives an obvious sense of progression which can often be lacking when just writing fiction without an objective beyond creation.
Ramping back up to action with a focus on craft. Gonna get myself some flash cards.