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The snow blasted run is done, the animals have been attended to, and now it’s time to write. A run before writing always makes getting started easier. With a tired body, the mind is free to roam. I have to laugh. As I walk from the house to the studio where I write, hail hammers into my coffee mug, sending little brown splashes everywhere. Winter in Cumbria. Lovely.

I am just about to start editing “Act Two” of my novel. I am entering a phase where the twists and turns of the plot accelerate. A small cast of characters expands and this is where the real challenge begins.

Editing “Act One” was, looking back, a straightforward task. Many of these chapters have been well worked. My book begins with the protagonist, let’s call him Max, fighting against an insatiable need. His struggle is an unusual one, but in terms of editing, my job was simple. Introduce his story with pace and energy.

Now, the second act is a little trickier. A whole new set of people have arrived. How does Max feel about this? Well, that’s complicated…

The most surprising thing I have discovered whilst writing is that your characters, those imaginary people who you design, direct and dictate to, suddenly start developing minds of their own. How this can be still foxes me, but they do!

All of sudden they start doing and saying things you never planned. You find that you need to sit back down and get to know them all over again.

That is the task ahead of me today, and for many days to come. Getting to know a whole new set of people, who do the most surprising and extraordinary things.