I’m off for a lie down

We’re both exhausted, which is a little unusual for where we find ourselves. We skied today at Abondance, which is a small, independent resort down the valley (you have to drive there). Provided there’s snow, it’s lovely, with a few decent runs, a delightful cafe with terrace and great views. Today it was perfect, especially as it still remains half price in comparison to a 5-hour pass in Chatel.

on the ferry

But I slept pretty much immediately when we got back although, after a bath, I do feel a little shaper. C, on the other hand, is ok, but that’s after a really poor health day yesterday, which followed a full day’s (fabulous) skiing on Friday in Chatel. Sorry … I’m probably losing you. Backtrack, Roland. We travelled over on Tuesday after a night with R&C in Dover (for which thanks, as always). The car was pretty brill, we stayed in basic B&B hotel in Dijon that night, and then drove onto Chatel on Wednesday. Thursday was a bedding-in day. Friday was our first ski and we skied hard. And then Saturday, after a bus trip down town and back, C spent most of the afternoon asleep feeling wretched. She’s ok-ish now. 

our first day skiing. Just fab

Let’s see what happens tomorrow, which is a rest day (we don’t ski every day, you probably know that by now). My tiredness is probably down to a very minor chest infection which won’t go away. C’s might just be exertion after, let’s face it, a pretty mad month with Christmas, moving … and and and. Again, let’s see what happens. But, it is fair to say that we feel, as we always do, incredibly privileged. Who gets to go skiing for four weeks? And, this time, gets to introduce their grandson to the snow at February half term? Us. How lucky are we?

We would be feeling v smug if our house in Bristol had been let, which it hasn’t – that is it was, and now it isn’t. There doesn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason as to why. This sort of thing just happens, although it is a first for us. Fingers crossed with this, then.

Perhaps another reason I’m shattered is because I have spent every spare moment writing. I’m currently 10.5/70k words into Running on Empty, my ghostwriting book for my mate Guy. I have found it (nicely) all consuming, but not without considerable effort. I’m nine books the better and know how this thing works. But do I?

the kitchen window view

Writing a novel is pretty linear. You have some ideas, some plots and characters. You launch them from your head onto your laptop. Yes, of course you need to write in a way that entrances those who read your work. And, yes, you need to be on top of quite a lot of grammar, even if you do have a decent proofreader, which I now do. At some point the plot(s) needs to come to a conclusion, and that takes an element of nous. But, overall, it’s a linear thing. It’s hours upon hours at the keyboard, followed by hours upon hours of editing. But it’s linear. Trust me, it is.

Ghostwriting isn’t. It can’t be. Because there’s a second person who holds the story. And you need to extract that in a way which gives you the tools to write something they want written in a way which readers would want to read. There’s trust there. A relationship to be built. You have to know what to keep and what to leave behind. And then, and this is the hard part, you have to write something. And you can’t make it up. A decent length memoir is like writing four Phd theses, but in a conversational way which won’t bore your audience stupid – as most Phds do. It’s a blooming skill, let me tell you … and I have absolutely no idea if I’ve got it right.

today’s coffee stop

And that’s a bit of a thing. Because our publicist tells us she has a preferred publisher who is excited by the prospect of a book and is taking it to a board meeting in early Feb. I could have told them the story is worth telling. It’s a fabulous tale and needs to be told. But, and it’s a huge but, do they want me, with my particular style, to tell it? I dunno. I guess we’ll find out soon enough, at which time I will have probably spent close to 50 hours spilling my soul onto electronic paper.

So that’s why I might be shattered.

Anyhow. I’ve started chapter four and I’m talking with Guy tomorrow to get some stuff to finish that chapter. I hope we’re 7/20 chapters in by the time C and I get home. That’s a stretch target. Six is more workable. As you can see it’s quite a thing. 

Stay safe, all of you. We’ll do our best to keep our limbs intact.