Trick or Treat? Definitely a
No, I haven’t died.
But I did go home on Monday morning after dropping my son off just so I could lie on the couch in a semi-coma for a few hours.
Which wasn’t nearly enough time, in retrospect.
It’s one of those pesky little writing troughs, I think; one of those times when edits come in on one book just as you’re at the “What the heck am I doing?” stage with another.
The solution to such situations is, of course, large quantities of chocolate, baths, good books and rest.
All of which I’ve done. Of course, I’ve also attended an out-of-town signing (which went great), taught a class, attended a critique group, and given a talk at my local library. Which was wonderful, incidentally, because not only did lots of people I like show up, but I met lots of new, interesting people. And signed several books as birthday presents for people. Which was lovely.
But now I’m sitting in my kitchen listening to the classical station, waiting for dinner to finish (baked Greek chicken with couscous and a spinach salad) and sniffing the orange candle I splurged on at Whole Foods this week. And drinking a nice glass of Riesling (NOT a Sam’s ‘special offer’, I’m happy to say).
I haven’t written a word this week. Not entirely because my favorite writing spot is closed for a remodel. I choose to view it as synchronicity.
And I may not do any writing, actually. Giving myself a break.
Oops! Timer’s going off. Dinner awaits…
How are you?
ime Uh-oh… time for Ten Zen Seconds. Check out Eric Maisel’s new book at http://www.tenzenseconds.com …. and comments on his blog tour. My cataract surgery has me doing nothing but incantations from the book …. I’m stuck on “I am stopping”, because I can’t do much of anything else. Thank heaven for large computer fonts.
Hi Karen,
Reading about your life makes me smile. 🙂 Oh, and I saw that R2D2 mailbox you were talking about! Hilarious!
Ashley
Karen, your honesty about not writing every single day (as most writers say we should) is very refreshing!!
I’m home after 3 days of no power. (That storm we got up north.) I did get quite a bit of writing done on my PDA, but I’m not sure it was worth all the stress!
Edit Edit Edit
I loved the class and have been devoting at least two hours each morning to getting this dang book edited. If I keep with editing a chapter a day, then I may have it finished in just a couple weeks more.
Of course, I have managed to think up a thread or seven that need to be woven back into the first third of the novel.. *falls over*
Goodmorning,
Glad to hear that you haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. LOL. It’s good to take a few days off from writing, especially when you’ve been so disciplined and you’ve done a lot of promotional work. Add that stuff to “life” and you can become exhausted and burnt out. Enjoy the few days being “off” .
I thought it finally stopped raining here in CT. Yeah, until on my drive to work raindrops hit my windshield. Will we ever see the sun? Even though I burn, I’d like to see a little sun.
I’m making headway on my synopsis and tonight I’m going to edit the last chapter. I emailed queried an editor Bt the middle of next week my ms. will be mailed to the agent who is interested in it. WooHoo.
My computer is still sick. I can’t use it but luckily I do have the laptop.
I hope that you have a nice day off. You know what, just take the rest of the week off. Call in sick. LOL.
Debra S.
I don’t think you have to feel guilty for not writing… not only do you write pretty regularly anyway, you were doing writer-related work (book signings, classes,etc) which had to have taken a lot of time. But I am glad to hear from you and know that you’re okay!
Judy
Dearest hotbutton,
I’m off to check that out.
And I hope your recovery time isn’t too long…
Good timing, actually, since I was about to try meditation again (I’ve been a bit tense lately).
Get better soon!
Ashley,
Smiling is better than screaming. 😉
And yes, that R2D2 mailbox is a riot. I still have a picture of it in my camera, because I haven’t gotten around to getting iPhoto reinstalled on my laptop and am too lazy to e-mail photos from the other computer.
One of these days I’ll just do a photo montage. 🙂
How’s the writing?
Christa,
You’re writing on a PDA?
And here I am bagging it just because they closed my coffee shop!
Honestly, though, I am starting to get that writing itch again, which I haven’t had in a while, so I think my brief sabbatical was a good idea.
And in the words of Jeff Abbott: “You know all those writers who say they write every day? Well, that’s just a big fat lie.”
🙂
Glad you’re back on the grid. And that you survived. What did you do with the kiddos?
Nicholas,
Glad you enjoyed the class; it’s actually rather tough to teach. At some point, you just have to take a leap of faith!
Good luck with the editing; if you need to take a day off now and then, don’t worry too much about it. After all, I’ve been lounging around since last Friday! Well, not lounging, really, but you know what I mean…
Keep me posted on your progress!
Debra,
I have taken your advice to heart and called in sick for the remainder of the week. After all, I have important things like hair-drying lessons to attend to!
Sounds like you’re making lots of progress. And I can’t wait to hear what the agent says. Fingers crossed!
Get that computer fixed, and in summer, when my hair catches fire every time I go out to the car, think of me.
If I could, I’d send the sun your way…
Judy,
Thanks for checking in. And you’re right, I have been doing a lot of PR work, which is always fun, but both energizing and draining.
So I’m taking a much-needed hiatus. And the delightful thing is? I don’t feel guilty.
Every few months I get kind of burned-out and tired, and ready to crawl back into my cave. I know it’s a cliche, but I really do need to refill the well — and I need lots of quiet and permission to just sit and dream without having to produce anything.
And take hair-drying lessons. 🙂
How’s your writing going?