I always make it a rule not to work on my current project, whatever it may be, at the weekend. With my particular attitude to work (i.e. occasionally a little towards the obsessive end of the scale), it’s always a good idea to set some time aside for not working. So Saturdays and Sundays are for other things and, as you might expect, it’s a rule I rarely stick to.
Today, however, I did — spending most of the afternoon wallowing (yes, that feels about right) in Don’t You Have Time to Think, the collected letters of Richard P. Feynman. Touching (especially in the letter he wrote to his first wife, a while after she died), funny and insightful, it’s classic Feynman and I’d recommend it to fans and Feynman newbies alike.
Returning to the subject of Children of the Resolution (yes, I know, on a Saturday, too), I’ve been flip-flopping somewhat on the question of whether or not to post the opening on this ‘ere blog o’ mine. I’m not quite ready for detailed crits, at this stage. I prefer that once the first draft is done; too much “incoming” can seriously damage my idea of what I want the novel to be. That said, a general opinion of whether the novel works on the whole (for a rough first draft) can be useful.
Now that I have 14,000 words behind me, I’m feeling more “settled” — and so, before I change my mind, again…
Any detailed comments you feel like making, please hold back until I ask for them. The question I’m largely concerned with having answered at this stage is: Bearing in mind it’s a first draft, am I largely on the right track?
Right… I have emails to write, but they may have to wait. My eyes are about done in. (If I owe you an email — Jean, Jane, Steven, Louise, Becky…. etc.! — I haven’t forgotten. ‘Onest 
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Read only the prologue, but was instantly intrigued–so yes right track (will read more later) duty calls.
Thanks, Evanne! (Good to see you over here, BTW
) The Prologue was a bit of a concern, actually, so that’s good to hear.
Finished chapters one and two and wasn’t even a little disappointed–good stuff all the way. Your competition was Anne Lamott so consider that an extra compliment!
It’s ages since I read anything other than text books Gary, so thanks for grabbing my attention. I was hooked after the first few words of The Prologue and because I am such a nosy bugger, I wanted to know about about this man. Pinching Andreas words, you were “right on the button”.
I couldn’t help but smile to myself more than a few times while reading the two Chapters you have given us to read so far. Especially the “wrong words” in the boys’ conversations. My partner David says things like that all the time e.g. “We must take the cat to the Vet to get it sprayed”.
Will now wait for your next installment.
Hi Gordon! Good to hear from you, my friend.
I’m so pleased it grabbed your attention. As I was saying to Evanne, I was concerned about the prologue (I think, primarily, because it’s such an important tool in grabbing the reader’s attention; if it fails, the reader might stick it back on the shelf in Waterstones and it won’t matter how good the rest is.) I’m now feeling a lot better about it. Thank you.
David sounds like an amusing guy to have around
My mother’s very much the same, as was her mother. I don’t invent, just listen 
Keep in touch. Always nice to hear from you.
Thanks for posting these links! I’ll be reading it in pieces when time permits.
No problem, Selena. I’ll look forward to reading whether you think they hit the mark.
Enjoy
I have to say, I’m very impressed with what you’ve done so far. You set the scene beautifully. There’s a real sense of sympathy from the start that connects with the characters on an emotional level, but at the same time there’s some wonderfully vivid descriptions that helped me connect in a very visual sense too. You’ve set tihngs up nicely, I feel, giving everything a context, a defined time setting, and real personality throughout. As I reached the end of Chapter Two, the only disappointment was that there wasn’t a chapter three to carry on with. Hopefully there will be soon. I look forward to it.
Thanks, Steven! As I may have already mentioned, I’m feeling so much more confident and settled about it, now. In general terms, it’s doing what I want it to do. A satisfying start.
Three and Four coming soon… and then future chapters will only be available to you and few others via email. Don’t want all of it up here, for obvious reasons.