Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.
- Napoleon

Sunday, May 6, 2007

Busy busy busy

Blink is officially finished. (With this draft anyway.) I'm not sure if it's ready for beta yet. I had hoped it would be, but I think it needs some time to marinate. I'm going to do my damnest to let it sit for at least a couple weeks so I can look at it with a fresh eye. Right now, I think I'm so wrapped up in it, I can't be objective with the story. So, if any of you were anxiously awaiting a read, you'll have to be patient.

I also managed to get all that crap shredded. Unfortunately, my husband was shredding his papers with the shredder, and unless I wanted to wait for my turn, I shredded by hand. Lucky for me, I used to have to shred documents by hand at a job and we had very strict shredding requirements (at a medical record copy service - so I think it was a government requirement) - no wider than an inch and at least 7 strips per 8x11" sheet. I didn't quite stick to that rule, but I did a good job and I can safely say I shredded a couple thousand pages worth of drafts today. If some enterprising soul wants to go through two garbage bags worth of paper strips and glue them back together, they can read my first two books for free. (Of course, there are several drafts of each, so I'm thinking there are probably 6-7 books' worth of pages in those bags - plus old outlines, synopses, short stories, poems, etc. Good luck with all that.)

I don't know when we'll be moving. Sometime before August 1st. Whenever we move, we'll be ready for it.

Now I have to get ready to have a garage/moving sale. My husband is dreading it. I, on the other hand, think it'll be fun. It brings out the old salesman in me. Sometimes I miss selling stuff for a living. There was a time when I could sell icecubes to eskimos, but those days are long passed. At this point, I'm just happy I can sell a few books online, or in this case, get someone to buy that funky futon the cat loves so much.

I got a fresh idea for a new take on AWJ the other night. My husband thinks I'm weird; my CP thinks it's a great idea. I loved it at first and now I'm trying to figure out how it could possibly work without proving my husband right. We'll see if I try it, or I just stick to the same ol' same ol'. Unfortunately, the idea has now got me stuck on where to go with AWJ. Thus, leaving me at an impasse. Can't edit; can't write new words.

Maybe this would be a perfect time to take a couple days off. Prep the house for viewing and read some of those books I've been meaning to read. And, of course, blog.

We'll see if my writing lets me have a break, or if it wiggles around in my head like a five-year-old waiting in line for the bathroom.

3 comments:

Zinnia Cyclamen said...

Very well done finishing that draft! A major milestone. I know it's hard to leave it alone for a while - I'm in the middle of doing that with mine - but it does make such a difference. And it sounds as if you have plenty else to be busy with. Hope it all goes well.

Tia Nevitt said...

Congratulations on finishing your first draft! I agree with you about letting it marinate. You will need some distance (as in time) to be able to see any flaws it might have.

B.E. Sanderson said...

Thanks guys. =o)

Actually it was the third draft. I've been editing this sucker since the beginning of the year. The end is sooooo close now.