Update

Man, this taking a break from the novel thing is hard. I have been good though and haven't so much as looked at the manuscript. I have tried my best not to think about it either but some days that has been impossible.

I did start a short story immediately after I finished the first draft but I've found that I wasn't quite ready to delve into it too deeply. I don't want to be consumed by a short story and then come March not be ready to edit. Still I made good head way on it and will park the idea for now.

Instead, I have been doing lots of research on editing and reading up on Medieval history. I am about to edit two other short stories I produced whilst writing a Ritual of the Stones, well one was a piece of flash fiction. This will be good practice in editing and I may even submit them to magazines.

I have also had a great idea for a thriller. It basically stemmed from a conversation I was having with my wife and brother-in-law. You know the kind of "What would you do if..." type conversations. They are usually outlandish conversations along the lines of "Would you rather your penis drop off, but marry the girl of your dreams or for it to stay on but never have sex again." This one however, was quite a good question. I won't pose it because the more I've been thinking about it, the more a story is starting to evolve from it.

On another note, I am getting more and more excited with how frequently GRRM is starting to post updates on ADWD. Maybe it is not too far away now from completion. I find it fascinating to see the thought process of George and how he works.

Will let you know how the editing goes.