The two minute countdown

Those of you who know Joanne Fedler, writer, mentor and now ocean swimming instructor, will know that she is both fearless and forthright. Adopting a dollop of her fearlessness, I swam in the ocean this winter's morning, Jo's advice ringing in my ears: you will feel cold for two minutes but then you will warm up; wearing a double swimming cap or a thermal cap will insulate you and make you feel warmer. To this advice, I added a piece of my own: wear a wetsuit.

As it transpired, wearing a double swimming cap did help - as does a wetsuit - and by the time I'd counted down my first two minutes in the ocean, I did feel warmer. 

Counting down can be helpful in writing too, I've found.  Now that I'm ploughing my way through the second draft of my new novel, I've taken to counting the words i've reworked and the number I have left to go. This has given my writing an unexpected momentum such that the task ahead no longer seems quite so daunting.  Fingers crossed it continues.