And I’ve done it! 50008 words, and counting, because the novel isn’t finished yet. But the goal has been met, and it feels like a huge accomplishment. I now have secret dreams about becoming a J.K. Rowling-like phenomenon – but maybe that can wait until after I’ve finished the ironing…

A great inspiration, as well as a great distraction, was the Writers’ Rooms series on the website of the Guardian. I secretly thought up the piece that would be my contribution, which would be something in the line of: ‘I write at night in the living room, comfortably settled in a big chair with the iPad on my lap and a snoring dog at my feet.’
Oh well, not all writing can be romantic…