Learner bloggers are often advised not to write about their pets. No one’s interested in your cat or dog unless you’re Neil Gaiman or (insert famous author name),* though I guess if you have a pet crocodile or armadillo, that makes a good post.

Apologies then, as in my case, Bertie serves as a living canine reminder of how long I’ve been writing. He was there at the very beginning, making him roughly the same age as my manuscript.

 Back then, he was a messy little distraction, dashing about all over the place and constantly craving attention; meanwhile, on the computer, my children’s novel was much the same.

But unlike the manuscript, Bertie grew up quickly.

He now looks like this…..

And if my manuscript was a canine….

….

….

it would look like this.

Serious editing required!

If your current manuscript was a dog, what would it look like?

* (worth clicking on the link, lovely black and white photos of famous authors and their dogs)