{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreia6yjm7yeusdfpc7zwwutppwu4fvpbwkexcv5a5xtpqrfd2oehzxq",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:pkyebuhk75r62rrzotiabohh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mldjbjiy7gf2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreifgxylw6ok7rveawl642ipyxdh55lh3md56a7a65civcttbi2o4vi"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
    "size": 173588
  },
  "description": "A day of cutting words.",
  "path": "/daynote-fri-8-may-2026/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-08T10:24:53.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.davidgoodman.net",
  "tags": [
    "going part-time in January",
    "this time with John Connolly and Zoë Rankin",
    "Bookshop",
    "Waterstones",
    "Amazon",
    "this interview with The Honest Editor and Katie Clapham"
  ],
  "textContent": "Not my desk, above (I don't really use sticky notes), but visually representative of the Desk Vibe for today, which is _editing_.\n\nI did get out for a walk, buying a copy of a UK newspaper for a pal so they could have a paper copy of a really good review. If you're a writer, I highly recommend a physical scrapbook for such things - it's good to be able to look back and have these physical reminders of incredible days.\n\n**ON DECK:** Today is a Writing Friday, at home, and I'm _really_ excited, because it's my first ever Full Editing Day. I've done days where I edited before, of course, but they were weird, panicky, exceptional days (as in, exceptions to the rule, not exceptional editing days), usually before a deadline.\n\nThis is my first regular Writing Friday (since going part-time in January) where the primary (and only) objective is to get a bunch of editing done, and I'm very excited for both how much I'll be able to do and _also_ how much data this will give me for my overall work planning.\n\n**TOOLS AND PROCESS:** What do I mean by work planning? Well, here's the thing. Editing is a weird thing that I find to be quite distinct, behaviourally, from drafting. I've written enough novels now that I kinda know, day by day, week by week, how many words I can pile up in a given time period. And while I might get a bit frustrated when I reach the end of a 90 minute weekday writing period, I also know I'll be able to pick up the thread pretty happily the next day.\n\nEditing is different. When I'm editing, I'm holding _basically_ an entire book in my head; character arcs, things I want to emphasise, stuff I want to cut, continuity (oh lord the continuity), locations, backstory, flashbacks, motivations, all of it. And when my timer goes off at the end of a usual workday session, I always sigh very loudly, because that whole thing kind of goes 'pop' and I know I'll need to spend some time getting back into the 'whole book' headspace the following day. It makes progress feel very slow and fragmented.\n\nSo I'm super curious what a dedicated day feels like, how my working velocity will vary over the course of the day and if it will give me a good sense of how quickly I might be able to get through an edit, now that I have this extra time available. Tune in on Monday to find out!\n\n**LISTENING:** Another cracking episode of the Bloody Scotland Podcast, this time with John Connolly and Zoë Rankin. I've said before I love this paired structure and every episode proves why.\n\n**WATCHING:** Well, PROJECT HAIL MARY was fantastic, and I'm very glad that I caught it at the cinema. A note-perfect adaptation (which I think actually deepened many of the emotional beats through excellent dialogue and stellar acting), didn't shy away from the bravest narrative choice of the book and was absolutely _stunning_ to look at.\n\n**READING:** A tiny bit of CHILDREN OF STRIFE by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Bookshop, Waterstones, Amazon) before falling asleep last night. Still wild. Hopefully a bit more of this today, depending on how the editing goes.\n\n**LINK:** I enjoyed this interview with The Honest Editor and Katie Clapham, an author who also runs an independent bookshop.\n\n**UP NEXT:** Editing editing editing. Then this weekend I expect I'll be trimming hedges again, if the rain holds off. I'm girding my loins for next week, when I have two in-person evening events and a podcast interview to do, as well as prepping for an event I'm chairing the following week.\n\nOnward!\n\n🔗\n\nSome purchase links on this page are affiliate links, which help support this website and my work.",
  "title": "Daynote - Fri 8 May 2026",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-08T10:24:54.300Z"
}