Wednesday 1 April 2015

Redundant.

redundant
rɪˈdʌnd(ə)nt/
adjective
  1. not or no longer needed or useful; superfluous.
    "an appropriate use for a redundant church"
    synonyms:unnecessary, not required, inessentialunessentialneedlessunneeded,uncalled for, dispensabledisposableexpendableunwanteduseless;More
    • BRITISH
      no longer in employment because there is no more work available.
      "eight permanent staff were made redundant"
      synonyms:sacked, dismissed, laid off, discharged; More
    • ENGINEERING
      (of a component) not strictly necessary to functioning but included in case of failure in another component.



Writers try to avoid redundancy, whether it be across the length of a sentence, eg:

She lowered herself down. (are you going to lower yourself up? no, so the 'down' is redundant)

He sat on a chair. (the 'on a chair' is generally redundant, only worth noting if unusual)


Or in their day job, eg:

Today I no longer work for the aerospace giant that has employed me for the past 11 years.

Department of Redundancy Department.


Whilst I've succeeded in the former (I hope), I've not been so successful in the latter. I am, as of April Fools' Day, a full time writer, by virtue of no longer having a day-job.

The advanced research centre I worked for has been closed (with ~150 scientists losing their jobs).

Having a very disabled child to look after (born 1 month after I joined the company) makes me too unreliable time and travel-wise to secure a new job, so I'm going to do the writing thing all day!


Now I no longer have to cycle ten miles a day getting to and from work I shall probably grow fat. I've bought myself a PS4 to help burn the spare calories!

Today did bring good news too - it looks as if I will have a publisher for my books for some years to come.

I will miss the science ... but I've been doing this writing thing a while now:


                      ... the boy I'm holding there is now 21!

So really it's something good, something new, and I'm going to enjoy it.







6 comments:

  1. Grats, Mark. I know that's an insomnia-inducing step, but it sounds like the right one.

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  2. You know, I think you might just have a chance at this writing gig. :)

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  3. I'm pretty happy for you. While it's terrible that the other people lost their jobs, it's awesome that you get to pursue something you love all day everyday. It also helps you become more reliable for your son. A blessing in disguise of a blight!

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  4. Although it's never easy to lose a job and sad that there isn't more funding for scientific research, I'm guessing you'll end up loving life as a full-time writer. :)

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  5. I gather from the tone of this, you are not about to turn around and say, April Fool!!! No, this is real is it? Well, I guess I'll have to start buying your books instead of reading them for free then. You'll be fine. You'll do great! Enjoy your time. Live your life. :)

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  6. I'd give suggestions on other ways to pursue having a day job, but a), I'm familiar only with the broad strokes of your situation and it's personal enough that asking more would feel like prying, and b), more fiction from Mark Lawrence sounds damn fine to me. I'd wish you success in being a writer except as far as I can tell you already have it, so... I'll wish you extra super bonus success, instead. Because that's a thing, right?

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