I have set myself a goal of finishing a(nother) draft of the sequel to Beckoning Blood by the end of the first week of July. That means writing 80,000 to 90,000 words in about five weeks. It’s doable, and for the first couple of weeks of June I’ve been keeping up with my targets. Unfortunately, taking a week’s holiday to Salzburg, Austria, this week has put me back.

I had good intentions of writing a couple of thousands words each day while away but it seems good intentions aren’t worth the computer screen they’re typed on. I did manage to write about 1,000 words while on the train from Munich to Salzburg so I’m not totally disappointed.

And while on holiday I’ve had time to think about characters and plot, turning them around and over and inside out (ouch!) to see where to take them next, so the week hasn’t been entirely without benefit (from a writing point of view). And I do feel better and more refreshed for it.

So while I didn’t write every day, I have, in a sense, still been working.

Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

From a different perspective entirely, how could I go to Salzburg and not try to do and see as much as possible? So, here’s a run down of what I got up to:

  • a Sound of Music cycling tour where we visited various locations used in the movie. Yes, there was singing involved.
  • dinner in the oldest restaurant in Europe, which included a bit of a Mozart concert
  • lots of sightseeing, including the fortress, the cathedral, the trick fountains at Hellbrunn Palace and the zoo
  • ascending Untersberg mountain and going deep into a salt mine
  • having an absurdist moment watching puppets perform Alice in Wonderland in German.

All that in three days. I’d never really thought of going to Salzburg before but now I’m so glad my partner and I went (he was there for a conference).

Now we’re back in Toronto and it’s time to get back to work. Another 40,000 words to go.

Wish me, as they say in the salt mines, glück auf!