It’s been a strange day. My goal this year was to get DEMON HUNT off my plate and onto my editor’s plate by 1-15-12 – and I did it, as of about 9:20pm last night. The book that has been haunting me for the past year is out of my hands for the moment, and boy does that feel GOOD!
Today, I’ve been (between work projects, of course) wandering through my various and sundry flash drives, going through my writing history. I’ve got two pages of one book I’m DYING to read but, unfortunately, I haven’t written it. Bits and pieces of story ideas for Harlequin which haven’t been written. A high fantasy trilogy, also not written (but I’ve got TERRIFIC titles for those 3 books).
Then, I crossed paths with two books that were finished and had undergone extensive revision. Of course, that was before I knew what “extensive revision” really meant, but anyway. Two books. Finished. They need polishing; one is more of a romantic suspense (not too heavy on the suspense, though), with a young rock n’ roll heroine and an older hero; the other is – well, back in the day I’d call it chick lit, but not any longer. So I’ll just say it’s a humorous coming-of-age story about a 30-something female radio personality who trains for and runs a marathon for a reality TV show in the hopes of winning 2 million dollars.
They both have promise. They both need work. They were both, surprisingly, written in 2006. So, I think while I’m digging through Justin and Maggie’s story for DEMON LUST (title not in stone), I’ll take breaks and work on these other two books just for kicks. Though I really need to get back to that two-pager – wow, it was fascinating. I have a lot of world-building to do for that one, but that’s okay.
It is so cool to realize I’ve been doing this for eleven years. To realize that yes, I’m a writer. These stories have merit. They may not be ready for the big time yet, but they work. It’s thrilling, exciting, and so damned satisfying!!!
What fun stuff you can find when you go trolling through your flash drives (or closets, bookcases, dresser-drawers, boxes in your garage…can you tell I’m thinking about spring cleaning?!).
What have you found, lately, that you hadn’t seen in a very long time?
~ Have you read DEMON SOUL yet? If you have, drop me a line and let me know what you thought! ~
I recently encountered the same thing! Completed a project and found two already finished projects that need ‘extensive revision.’ I too just figured out what those two words mean (thank you Margie Lawson). At first extensive revision was painful and now I am finding it is simply freeing–and explains the lump of time when rejections were such a huge part of my writing life. Rejections Be Gone! Congratulations on making your deadline and finishing your book! Can’t wait to red it!!
xoMaggie
Uhm…READ it….can’t wait to READ it. Ack–a writer’s work is never done.
LOL Maggie – you know, I didn’t even catch the typo until you mentioned it! Some proofreader I am, huh?
I love when I finish a project. I go through my office and straighten it up. Finish little things I hadn’t done. All looks great and then, back to work.
Congratulations!
This must be the year of reviving books originally written in 2006… Good luck with yours, Christine 🙂
You too, Amanda? I guess there was something in the water in 2006…
Oh Vicki -I sorely need to clean out my office. I barely have enough floorspace to twirl my chair in, and I’m not kidding!
I turned mine in yesterday so I know the feeling. My problem is I’ve got so much to do I don’t know where to start… Congrats on getting it off your plate (for a few minutes. )
Good job, woman! And enjoy the problem of having too much to do, lol! Yeah, I’m just waiting for those edits to come slapping back at me…
I don’t think you should do anything else until Maggie & Justin’s story is finished, but I’m selfish like that 😉
Oh I probably will. Need to get it written – they are SO bugging me to do it!
Good for you, Christine. Enjoy a rare moment of peace, and then let the story that keeps speaking to you be the one you tackle next.
Thanks, Robena – I’ll probably go with Book 3…but Lord knows there’s no time for peace! No, wait – I got that yesterday, lol…
I’m going with Christine’s comments because I, too, am selfish like that. Of course you already know that as I became so excited thinking Demon Hunt was out in March when it hadn’t even been sent back in. (sigh) As for stories that I’ve found finished? Well not so much, but there are stories that I want to get back to and as soon as I am finished with revisions on this one, I am doing it.
LOL Maria…just remember to keep every scrap of writing, even if you think it’s not “good enough”. You never know when it’ll spark something new!
Congrats on meeting your deadline, Christine! And wow, all your next projects sound great! You’ve got so much writing and revising to do – enjoy! Demon Soul is on my Kindle – at the top of the very long list – and I’m very much looking forward to reading it when I finally manage some reading time.
Robin, you are my new best friend! I hope you enjoy!!
Since I am both publisher (amethyst publications) and author, I have books scheduled out for the next year – one of the drawbacks of being an indie-pubbed writer is that you’re closely involved in what you do. On December 26th, the day I finished pushing the content up onto Amazon and B&N, I dropped back into revision hell on the next one…
My office looks just as messy as it did before. I envy you the time you have to decompress… maybe next year 🙂
Tom
Decompress? Who has time to decompress? LOL! You do have your work cut out for you though, Tom. Remember to give yourself a day off now and then!
Congrats, Christine, on the meeting the deadline and completing the book/revisions! I wrote a horror story for a contest. (Came in 2nd) Liked it so much I plan to make it into a full length novel one day. I have one chapter of a suspense started. Wrote it when I was angry with someone. LOL However, I really like how it starts, so will probably change it up a little and complete it one day. I have another suspense started and have about 4 chapters of that one written. It’s next after I finish my current romantic suspense and my non-fiction. I recently ran across a handwritten manuscript I started in my early twenties. Wow! Am I embarrassed. LOL But I see potential and may eventually re-write and finish it. Or maybe not. I kind of like seeing my naivete and perspective from way back when. It’s like an old friend I haven’t seen in a long time. I think you’ve given me an idea for Wednesday’s Blog. Thanks, Christine!
Rhonda, I love reading stuff I wrote years ago. It always surprises me! Looking forward to reading your blog post!
Thanks! But it’ll be Thursday. Just remembered the Strike Against SOPA tomorrow. 🙂
I’m too new at this to have anything that I can go back to, but I do have some great stories in my head that I really need to get written before too many senior moments take them away. Before I can do that I need to finish the project I have been working on. Back to edit land so I can also say, I’m done, some day. :}
Lynda
Lynda, when you take a break from editing, just start jotting down those ideas so you don’t lose them. Or, take a day and just write down as many story ideas as you can. You’ll be amazed – and when this book is done, you’ll have a bunch of projects you can browse through before you start the next one! Good luck!
I’m in the position of waiting, too. I’m my case, I am waiting for my WIP to come back with notes from my beta readers. Trying to flesh out in my head some short stories, Christmas theme, I can write using these characters, so I can both keep writing and be ready to jump back into revisions,
Congratulations! Can’t wait to read your next book (though clearly, I must.)
Hi Christine!
Sorry I’m a day late. Congratulations on making that deadline. I’m big on breathers. Yeah. I like to take a breather inbetween projects. I need time to adjust to new directions etc. Time to think things through for new characters. I do have one book I plan to self-publish (hopefully before the year is out) and I look forward to that new adventure. In the meantime – it’s back to WIP due 2/15. Looking forward to feeling like you do today, in a month.