Well, good people, the manuscript is done! Again.
The “last” plot board – see what I did with the push pins? See?
I say ‘again’, because if you’re a writer, or have been following this crazy journey of mine for a while now, you’ll know as well as I do that the manuscript is never really “done”. But for me, the next stage is. A while back (here) I mentioned how I met Nicola O’Shea and that we’d be working together on Shadows. And I mentioned she had a whole bunch of feedback and suggestions that required me to knuckle down and put in some pretty hard yards. Well, two weeks ago I hit send, hurling my “completed” MS through cyber space to land back in Nicola’s hands.
And now I wait. I hate waiting. Never have been patient. Never will be. I wait and I wonder. Wonder if she’s even opened it yet, wonder if she’s read it, wonder if she’s liking it, wonder if she’s disappointed, wonder if she’s going to come back and say, ‘wow, you’ve done an amazing job, you should start querying’ (unlikely), wonder if she’s going to come back say ‘wow, you’ve done an amazing job, BUT…’ (a big but and most likely). Wondering. Wondering. Wondering.
The only way to stop The Wondering is to keep busy… Oh who am I kidding? The Wondering never stops. But, keeping busy can (sometimes) take the edge off The Wondering, so I’ve spent the last two weeks packing my days with…
You thought I was going to say ‘writing’, didn’t you? Well, that is usually the case. Move on to the next story to take your mind off the one that’s ‘out there’. And I did that when querying The Point, and I will do it when I query Shadows, but I decided in this instance to have two weeks off writing! Gasp, shock, horror. I can hear all those “you-must-write-every-day-if-you-want-to-be-a-writer” devotees screaming at me. But ppfflltt to them. I took two weeks off. Sort of.
I did a lot of card making.
just some of them
A lot!
still not all of them
The Rock
And I went to the movies. Pitch Perfect 2 made me cry (can you believe that?!), and so did San Andreas (but looking at The Rock for 2 hours made up for it).
And…yep, you guessed it. Despite my best efforts, I just couldn’t stay away from the writing completely, so I scribbled down some ideas for some new stories and even when I was busy card making or staring at The Rock my mind kept wandering to which of those ideas I should follow through with. I also did some work on my synopsis, you know, just in case Nicola does come back and says I’m good to go.
So, what’s next while I’m still in The Wondering, waiting oh-so-not patiently? Well, I figure two weeks is a long enough break from writing, so I’d better get back to it today. Only trouble is I don’t know which story to pursue; which one is speaking to me loudest. When I was querying The Point I started on a story (Knowing Nora), but Alice kept talking to me (yes, we authors really do hear voices in our heads), and she just wouldn’t leave me alone, so I gave her some attention and Shadows was born. Perhaps this week I can play with Nora again and see if she takes flight, and if she doesn’t maybe one of those other ideas I sketched out will start shouting at me.
I guess this will be a week of playing with new and old friends (characters) and seeing what they have in store for me. And a lot more of The Wondering.
What do you do keep yourself distracted when you’re waiting on something important?
S
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I clean closets and drawers. Just as my closet and drawers are decluttered, so is my mind.
Yep, so true. I always feel better if my house is clean.
You make cards!! They’re so pretty!! SO pretty!!
I think I clean a lot to distract myself as well. I watch of lot of TV when I’m not writing because I tend to get super behind on all of my TV. Sometimes I pick up some of my hobbies and play with them. And, of course, I always play around with an idea or five and see who’s clamoring around the loudest for their story to be told next. So, it looks like you’re doing exactly what I do when I’m on a break. (Which you know I’m fully supportive of writing breaks!)
Congratulations on finishing up your revisions! I hope you get it out into the world soon!
Thanks K. I do love my card making. A bunch of new stamps arrived from the states today. Woohoo!
I heard today that N hasn’t got to my MS yet, so more waiting ahead. I’ll have to pick the next story soon so I can distract myself.
I can’t remember where I read it, but there’s an established theory that writers often have (or should have) another creative hobby alongside the word-smithing: yours looks ideal! My favourite distractions are reading magazines, going running, or changing something in the house.
Changing something in the house?? I thin I would deliberately be distracted for that. Thanks for popping by Pauline. S
I only wish I was the type to clean for distraction, but no. If you haven’t yet, I hope you hear back from Nicola soon. Waiting is the worst. Good luck!
No news yet. Waiting is the worst. Thanks for stopping by Shelly.
Wait. What? Hold on a second. You’re a cardmaker? I LOVE CARDMAKING! (I want to send you some photos of mine – it’s so fun to share.) Good golly we have a lot in common . . . ! 🙂
You have my email address, right? Send me some pics! It’s like we’re twins almost.
I can’t stand it when I’m not writing! Nice cards!
Thank you. I’m not sure I’m ever NOT writing. Because even when I’m not putting pen to paper, my mind is ticing over with ideas and scenes. Thanks for stopping by. S