I think I curse myself inadvertently. Every time I say "Pheww, I'm glad we got through that. Now I can get back to work," the universe literally laughs itself silly. It's been another year. How is that even possible? It's because I keep telling myself, I'll write a new post as soon as X, Y, and Z are over. The problem is that A, B, and C always follow.
I need to stop waiting for things to calm down, get easier, be normal, etc. This is the normal and I just have to figure out how to keep writing in the middle of the storm.
I'm still writing. I have been all along. Book number one has been completed for what seems like forever now. I queried a few people, entered some contests, made some changes here and there, but let's be honest, I stalled. Why? Who knows. Maybe deep down I know that if I don't actually send anything out, then I can't really be rejected. It makes complete sense when I step back and analyze it, but it's still a little bit insane. I'm doing my best to push through this.
In the meantime, I have been working on my next WIP (the idea that created itself a couple of years ago while on vacation. (See Patrick Swayze). It's a YA, completely different than my first book, other than the ghost idea. Yeah, I never actually told you about book number one, did I? Well, of course not. I'm hoping/wishing/praying, that someday you'll be able to find it on a store shelf somewhere.
In the meantime, I've been rolling right along with book two. I love the characters, and the story makes me smile to myself just thinking about it. It also breaks my heart just a little....and I hope it will break yours someday, in the best possible way.
So, as I said it has been a year. You know what that means - Pennwriter's annual conference. The time when I'm surrounded by people who get me, who motivate me, and who remind me of why I love writing. Sure enough, the magic happened again and I came back twice as motivated.
And, good news -I pitched to two agents, who BOTH requested to see part of my story!
Bad news - one of them has asked that I try to lower the word count before sending it.
Good news - I have a three day weekend ahead of me, and a house all to myself. The plan is to stock up on essentials (Food, coffee, snacks, vodka(?)) and barricade myself at my desk until Tuesday morning. I'm a little overwhelmed, a lot nervous, and a whole lot of looking forward to the challenge. Wish me luck.....
If I don't answer your call/text/email, you'll know why.
~ Adrienne
PS - Writer friends - what do you have to have in order to be productive? Specific snacks, fancy pens, particular music, lucky socks.....?
You know, I've been grappling with that "what do you have to have in order to be productive?" question for...well, forever. My self-motivation gets so easily quashed by the day-to-day stuff. It doesn't help when your partner is a word-churning machine, either. Sometimes I think we need an in-person support group just to encourage each other. Someone to stand over us with a whip (literal or figurative, your choice), glaring, until our chosen word count is met. Hmmm...
ReplyDeleteCongrats at the win (and the agent pitch successes) at Pennwriters, though! See, you got something done. :)
The day to day is what does it for me - it's so much easier when we're at the conference to feel motivated and in that zone. Being surrounded by people who get it makes it so much easier, even if you're just meeting for an hour to write. I've seriously had to barricade myself this weekend (and put blinders on for all the domestic chores that need to be done....sigghhh)
ReplyDeleteWe can do this! Stay motivated!