*NOTE: Please disregard the short, choppy sentences. And rambling. And not making sense. My brain isn't working and I don't see it returning to it's semi-efficient self any time soon
My publisher had an call for submissions. It is due in March. But I was busy for the first few months getting Feudlings ready to be published, and then we had NaNo, which I thought, at the time, was hard. And then we had Christmas.
So January hit and I said to hubs, "If I'm gonna write this thing, I've gotta get started. And I'm gonna have to work my tail off."
"K."
He's so enthusiastic.
So we worked out a schedule. He would work until 5 pm and I would have dinner ready (a feat all by itself) and then I would work and he would watch the kids.
Somehow, it didn't work like that. I had dinner ready, cleaned the kitchen, and then it was time to put the kids to bed so I didn't actually get started writing until after 8. Which meant I was staying up til 3 or so in the morning, and getting up at 6.
But, I worked all weekend - Friday from about 9 til Sunday about 3, without really sleeping in between.
It took me almost a month, but I finished the dang thing. And I thought NaNo was bad!
But the deadline is looming, so I also had to edit it and send it to beta readers so I'd have time to fix it after I got their feedback.
Which meant another week of not sleeping and abandoning my family and forgetting to eat. Or shower. Hmmm. I should shower...
So what did I learn from all this? Now my brain is on a forced vacation (thanks for the term, Lauren!) I can't think. Can't write. Can't edit. But maybe it's good. I have some fun story ideas I'm excited to start, but I also haven't had a chance to read a book since June. And my kids miss me. So basically I learned that maybe some people can write and edit a book in a month, but I'm not one of them. And I also learned that when my brain has had enough, it's done. It's like a mule that way, instead of a horse. Which is good, I guess. At least I won't have to shoot it.
I look forward to reading this masterpiece. Let's hope it'll be a bestsellerafter all the efforts :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Iris! Did I ever mention I absolutely love your name? It was my grandmother's name and I think it's beautiful!
DeleteAwwww .... thank you :-) It's not pronounced the English way though, because of my non-English background. It's like the 'I' in irr-esponsible. Or Irrisistable. I prefer that one more ;-)
DeleteOooh I LOVE that! I want a cool way to say my name!
DeleteWendy... shew. You've made me tired. Take a well deserved rest! Lots of luck with this book. <3
ReplyDeleteThat was my whole intention from the start - write all this down so I could share my exhaustion :) Thank you!
ReplyDeleteWow that sounds crazy. I was reading this post and kept thinking--I couldn't do that. I couldn't do that. It's not that I don't have the will power. It would just end up with me writing a bunch of crap and getting frustrated. Haha. I can't function well without sleep. And I totally understand brains having a forced vacation. So enjoy your nice vacation.
ReplyDeleteYeah, everything I wrote is basically crap. It's gonna take a LOT of editing before it's ready to submit. I like sleep.
DeleteThat melted-brain-pudding feeling... I visit that state quite often, but mainly because I'm mule-minded in the fact that I refuse to learn the first time :) Good luck on your book, and hope all goes well!
ReplyDeleteHaha! I'm glad I'm not alone. Thank you!
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