Well, I've finally completed chapter 42 of my 'real time' Universal Credit story, leaving the keen few following it with the thought that perhaps what they had been reading wasn't a story in its own right but the subplots behind a totally different character's odyssey through UC.
I'm drawn to that idea by the timescale and the chance to show how even a UC claim which goes to plan and is paid on time still means weeks with no money. If my new character had family responsibilities, perhaps as a carer, it would bring into sharp focus what that really means. I'm inclined to let Deepak take the lead as their principal adviser at the Solent Welfare Rights Project, as he needs more development as a character. There are also, however, compelling arguments for letting this story unfold over a subsequent six weeks.
The problem with revisiting the Solent Welfare Rights Project, even for a Christmas short story or similar, is that I'm reminded how fond I am of the old characters and how I enjoy writing them. I could easily keep adding episodes to the blogged story with no final destination in mind at all. There are plenty of loose ends left. Will Ashley find a place of her own or, with her experience as a care worker and Lyn's wish for a surrogate daughter, will the Walkers want to keep her around? Will Catherine pay her rent before Christmas, in full and on time and, if so, will her ill-tempered landlord keep his word about letting her stay? Will Hilary's latest bid for funding work out or will the Project really have to close this autumn? How will the dynamics of the whole place change with the new cohort of staff and many of the old guard moving on, cutting their hours and taking a back seat?
The Catherine/Ralph romance also has scope for endless twists and turns, both family-focussed and financial, as anyone familiar with the rules on Widowed Parent's Allowance will appreciate. So, perhaps instead of rewriting this story with a new protagonist, I'll leave it as it is and we'll have a new series for the spring or summer, picking up some of these threads and weaving them into a fresh narrative.
Before I start that, I have a Daphne Randall boat-based murder mystery in need of rereading, redrafting and turning into a manuscript ready for proof-reading, plus plotlines sketched out for several more. I enjoy writing these stories as much as the SWRP ones and, I have to admit, they are slightly more successful commercially, although my self-employed tax return is unlikely to appear in the Paradise Papers any time soon. (It looks like HMRC owe me seven quid).
The other fun writing exercise has been a new blog for Sonning the Boat Bear, the little chap rescued from an elderberry bush near Uri Geller's mansion during our summer narrowboat journey. Sonning aspires to be like Paddington - to do good deeds and to help poor people and their furry friends - although he isn't a political animal at all. Sonning's blog is here: https://bearonaboat.blogspot.co.uk/
Whether it becomes a book for anyone other than 'Grizzly's Grandcubs' remains to be seen.
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