Slowly getting back up to speed

My right thumb remains swathed in bandages so it's double the normal size, but I'm adjusting. Alas, my accidental wound came at exactly the wrong time, as such injuries are liable to do. The slicing, blood, bandage and pain combo meant I got little useful work done on Tuesday, when I'd hoped to make significant progress on a major rewrite for a project that's got to be locked off by the end of this month. Unable to type much, I opted for thinking.

Rushing a rewrite is not usually a great idea. If the notes are relatively minor, you can give a project the required spit and polish in short order. But if there are fundamental changes to be made or clarifications to be found, you need time away from the project to short those out in your head [at least, I always do]. So my comedy wound provided a little distance, along with a chance to invent new methods for previously simple bathroom functions.

Yesterday I bit the bullet and got typing again. Progress was slow and fumbling, but I'm getting back up to speed. I don't need to stare at the keyboard while I'm writing, which makes touch typing far more efficient. Digression: the DVD release of a Channel 4 drama called Dockers is worth getting just for its special feature - a documentary that shows writer Jimmy McGovern developing the script with Liverpool dockers whose story the drama told.

It's a fascinating insight to the creative process, with McGovern challenging the dockers' preconceptions about scabs workers. You get to see people who've never written before blossom, their stories coming alive through words and fiction. But one image stuck in my mind: McGovern tapping out his scripts with two fingers, pecking away at the keyboard with hands like a pair of chickens. Wonder if he's considered taking a touch typing class?

Anyway, back to my rewrite today. Also got two extra jobs on, the combination of which are liable to consume most of a day for little financial or creative reward. Wishing I hadn't taken them on now, but bills don't pay themselves and every little helps. October is turning into a helter skelter month, and I can't see November being much better. Two day trips to Brighton, another day running writing workshops in Ayr and grud knows what else. Onwards!