So, previously, I looked at writing skills. But what resources do I need?

• Puter. Check.
• Pens, pencils, notepads, post-its and highlighters. Check.
• Desk and chair. Check.
• An Office. A room of my own. It has all my books and papers in it and a view of the garden. It is reasonably well-lit and in the process of becoming tidy.
• Books on writing and writing exercises, everything from If You Want to Write to The Writer’s Journey and the Penguin Dictionary of Symbols. Not lacking in guidance there. If I need more books, there’s Amazon or a reasonably stocked uni library not too far away.
• Internets. Well check. Obviously. For research and procrastinating. And this.
• I’m a member of the Victorian Writers thingamy. Comes in useful for links to all sorts of markets, editors, publishers, competitions and suchlike.
• Have got access to the online Australian Writers Marketplace.

And then there are more ephemeral resources, like, mental, physical and intellectual resources and ideas, in addition to mentor and support resources. And this is the bit I’m not sure on. I’ve a couple of friends I trust for their critical views of my work, and a couple of others for the kind of organisational support I know I need just getting my thoughts straight.

The problem is, I know me. The limitations I have, and in writing, my biggest enemy is my perverse nature. Should I join some sort of writer’s group? Should I actually enrol in (another) course and complete this first novel with academic support and formal mentoring? After all it worked for Nikki Gemmell, among others. How do I combat self-sabotage? Is it all a confidence game? Thousands of works get published everyday, and they’re not all Works of Art. Do I set expectations too high I wonder? I know the pitfalls, Victor Hugo self-edited his book, and it feels like the BIGGEST BOOK in the WORLD. First novels often seem packed with every idea ever thought of by the author, like Harry Potter, but then others have a mastery over their words and characters, like in To Kill a Mockingbird. Anyhoo, I guess this means I’ve more questions than answers and this is some kinda attempt to sort them out.