I've just found out via Twitter the dates for next year's Cambridge Rock Festival! It'll be on August 2, 3, 4 and 5 at the same place - Haggis Polo Club Farm in Barton, just outside of Cambridge. I'd love to go for the full four days this time, with a crapload of my own food and cash for more souvenirs of awesomeness. Of course I'll be dragging people with me again this time - Jason, Holly, Sian, and they can bring as many people as they want, providing they all have their own tents and ticket money and the like. It would be groovy to go in a big posse!

Another story on my to-do list - the Open Mic UK one - is slowly coming together as people get back to me. Three St Helens contestants are doing well on it so I'm doing a piece on them, and I've e-mailed them all a set of questions tailored to how far they've progressed, their circumstances etc. Turns out we've got some high-flyers here! One's through to the regional finals of Open Mic, and another has also got through to the finals of the Miss Teen Queen modelling competition.

That's one of the things I've noticed since starting work at the St Helens Star - there are some very gifted people in town. It seems to be a hub of creative talent - there are artists, writers, musicians, models - and we're also celebrating some very good A-Levels and GCSEs this year. Then there's obviously the heavy emphasis on rugby in town - we have some very talented sportsmen and women, too. It's just a pity that my judgement of St Helens was clouded for so long by the narrow view that I had - and that was the rather inelegant view of Beth Ave.

Plus, it has to be said that everything I've achieved has been done so in the borough of St Helens. Good GCSEs, good A-Levels, the Prince's Trust and work experience at the Star... mind you, I tend to attribute my own successes to my need to rise above. I did so well because I knew I had to be better than the people who put me down. I had to do better than my parents had done, and I had to say 'no' to just staying in the same place all my life - moving along at the same level. I guess that could have happened in any town, be it Portadown or St Helens or even London.

Anyway, it's time for lunch soon! I have half a pot of soup and a baguette upstairs, as well as a Muller corner (peach and apricot - omnomnomnom) and a huge carton of orange juice. Heck yes!

Holy hell. I managed to write something yesterday! I wrote four pages (1200 words) of 'The Great Couch Happening of '69', and I'm going to aim for four pages a day minimum from now on.

It feels so good to be making steady progress again. I was starting to wonder whether it would be a year before I could get back into writing again. I was burned out completely and utterly after NaNoWriMo '10, and then along came The Prince's Trust, which takes up a lot of my time and most of my energy every day.

Yesterday and the day before, I slept over at Holly's. Typically, these sleepovers include a lot of writing banter and sometimes - on rare occasions, if we can stop gabbing enough to get our heads down - a little writing itself. So, on the second day, after sleeping in cataclysmically late, I made a pact. I was going to start on these novels again, and I was going to bloody well finish them.

So, here I am now, taking a short break for journalling purposes before getting back to 'The Great Couch Happening of '69'. That's the project I plan to tackle first, while it's sat neglected since October. So far, the whole 'getting back into it' thing has been good.

Today was yet another half-day at the Boys' & Girls' Club. The main room is used sometimes by an art club who refuse to relinquish the building so we can snazz it up. I complain because of the lack of time we have, everyone else celebrates about the gift of another lie-in.

I set my alarm for eight this morning. It went off at eight, I decided I was too tired, reset it for nine and passed out for an extra hour's kip. It went off at nine. I woke up, decided I was still too tired and set it for ten. It went off at ten... and I realised I needed to have a bath before going out, so I got up.

It was a weird feeling, going out at noon on a Monday. I'm actually used to these early mornings again, which can only be a good thing. I was one of the first to arrive.

Now for the day's work. It was all about sorting out the woodwork, finishing the coat of matt emulsion, scraping paint off anything that shouldn't be painted. Tomorrow, we're glossing it and having it finished up, as far as paint is concerned. That shouldn't take too long; if anything, we'll be able to get carpet tiles down tomorrow as well so the room's ready for furnishing.

All in all, we have two days left of our community project. The handover's actually on Friday, so that means we have Wednesday to finish everything off. I think we'll need the time - Newton Boys' & Girls' Club is a big project.

Tonight, as well as writing my three remaining pages for the day of 'The Great Couch Happening', I need to draft a letter to the St. Helens Reporter (not the Star, as a previous entry suggested) asking for a work placement. I'll handwrite it for Vicky to type up and send off. It's exciting, but nerve-wracking as well!

Today was the induction for The Prince's Trust. First day ever, and with it came some pretty gutting news.

I won't be able to work at the ExtraCare shop like I used to. Normally I'd work there every day, Monday to Friday, even though I was only down for Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I love it there that much. Dad's going in tomorrow to let them know that I'll be mostly absent for thirteen weeks. I may still be able to work on Saturdays, but that means there are a lot of people I won't see. Chris and Geraldine, Mary and the others whose names elude me. There are a lot of people there who I adore who only work during the week, and even then only limited days. This is the only reason I want my thirteen weeks of The Prince's Trust to zip past. Because the people in that shop are bloody marvellous.

But we'll put that topic to bed, now. Dad can do his thing tomorrow, and I'll go in on Saturday to chat with Dawn about it. I need to make it clear that I'm not abandoning them entirely and that once these thirteen weeks are up, I'm back in there like a shot, plus my Prince's Trust experience.

( Anyway, how did it go...? )

Before I go, I thought I'd point you all to a little community known as literaryurgency - based on Julia Cameron's 'The Artist's Way', a book which in simplest terms aims to help the reader unlock the creativity within them, shut up the doubts that say 'it isn't good enough!' and get some work done on creative pursuits. It's a twelve-week course, so when you think you have some time, scuttle over and download the PDF version of the book they have posted up there! In the meantime, I'll be keeping you all updated on my progress.

Today, I've only really written my Morning Pages. These are three pages of stream-of-consciousness writing that should ideally be done in the morning as a way of shifting all your worries before moving on to the actual creative stuff. Quality doesn't matter; it's all about exorcising your demons before the day begins. Today I did mine a tad late, I'll admit (around eight at night), but tomorrow I plan on taking full advantage of the hour-and-a-bit journey to Windlehurst Community Centre.

As for the pages? I might share them. Eventually. Depends on how personal the worries are, really.