I forgot it was Thursday.
We’re going on vacation in two days. All of us, hubby and five kids. Road trip. Should be . . . interesting. So needless to say, I have a gazillion things to do to prepare:
*Finish inputting my 2006 receipts into QuickBooks.
*Get the house sitter squared away with pets and house quirks.
*Talk to kids’ teachers for make-up work
*Pack for me and three of the kids.
*Shop for necessaries. Juice, snacks, napkins (lots of them), music, car games, ear plugs (for me so I don’t have to hear “Are we there yet?” or “How much longer” every five minutes.)
*Read the last of the books for the Thrillers and the RITAs before the deadlines.
*Finish up the AAA workshop I’m giving on romantic suspense.
I also had a lot of little things to do that took a lot of time this week. I had an ad to design for FEAR NO EVIL in the April RWR (look for it in the inside cover!) I guest blogged over at The Jaunty Quills before valentine’s day about love turning to murder (would have been a GREAT blog for here!). I had several contest books to ship out, bookmarks, etc. Trying to get everything done before Saturday. AND put in at least two writing hours a day.
Oh, and I sent back the forms for the two workshops I’m doing at National. If you’re there, please check out either NO PLOTTERS ALLOWED that I’m giving solo, or BODY BAGS & TOE TAGS that I’m giving with Debra Webb and Rita Herron. I think they’ll be fun!!
I’m about 2/3 done with my paranormal novella and I’ve been tweaking more than writing. I’m at a point where I need to spend a day doing research and I haven’t been motivated to do that yet, so I’ve been putting in A LOT of XXXX XXXX in the middle of the text. But I finally figured out a story for the Killer Year anthology. This was HARD for me because I didn’t know how I was going to write ANYTHING in 5,000 words or less. My American History teacher gave me an “A-” on my final because “You so eloquently said in ten pages what could easily have been said in five.”
I realized a trick. I don’t really have to set up anything. I’m essentially writing ONE SCENE, like a climax scene, in one POV. I can do that. Once I boiled my idea down to it’s one basic plot point, everything sort of fell into place. I started writing it yesterday but only did three pages because I didn’t like the heroine’s name (well, I like the name, but not for this character.) And I can’t continue until I figure out her name. But I’m no longer worried about the story and should have no problem meeting my 3/15 deadline.
I’m in limbo. Until I know exactly which book (of the two ideas my agent gave my editor) to work on next, it’s hard to get motivated. I guess I’m more deadline driven than I thought, and I completely know why I started over 100 books and never finished them. What I’m marveling at now is how I ever convinced myself to FINISH something in the first place, let alone five books before I sold.
One of the fun things about being in limbo, though, is research. I’m watching the DVD of Criminal Minds every night, and reading a bunch of criminal psychology books. Not for any specific purpose, just more to learn and out of interest. Sometimes I’ll read something and it’ll spark a story idea or help me fix a plot problem I didn’t know I had.
Anyway, now I’m off to get a couple writing hours in before going picking the kids up. And wishing I wasn’t being so dang lazy.
Next week, after the vacation, I’m going to dig in my heels and get back to work. I could have nearly written a book in all the time I’ve wasted since Christmas. Now THAT is a depressing thought.
Oh, I almost forget, I posted the book trailer for SEE NO EVIL on my website. Click HERE for Quicktime and HERE for windows and let me know what you think!