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Growing Old

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We recently visited my grandmother and my extended family. They live almost seven hours from us, and there is no easy way to get there by airplane. It’s not a trip we make often, though I wish it was easier so we could. Two kids in a car for seven hours is no one’s idea of fun.

CarTripKids
We’ve all been there.

My grandmother lives in a very rural part of the country, and she has neither cable TV nor internet. It made for an interesting trip for kids whose hospital pictures we took with our iPad. They learned to appreciate Netflix a whole lot more when we got back to the hotel.

My mom made the trip as well, and she took my oldest daughter in her car with her. This allowed my husband and me time to reconnect. We had seven hours in the car with minimal distractions other than talking to each other. I was reminded how much he makes me laugh, what a good partner he is, and how supportive he is.

Sometimes in the rush of kitchen remodels, making supper, doing dishes, and running the kids to school and dance class you can lose sight of these things. Makes me realize how much we must start making time for date nights.

Babysitter
About like that.

The other thing the trip made me realize is that we’re growing old.

Yeah. Harsh.

But true.

I remember standing at the same sink my daughter was at to wash her hands when I had to stand on tiptoes to reach the faucet. She can already reach the faucet.

I remember when “the back room” seemed like this huge, cavernous space. Now, it’s like any other room.

I remember when her back yard seemed huge and to stretch on forever. It’s actually a relatively small yard.

It’s also hard for me to think of my uncle’s as grandfathers now, though they are. I remember when I was first visiting my grandmother, and my one uncle still lived at home while he was in school. Now, his kids are grown and on their own.

Time marches on.

MusicOldies
It’s an awful moment.

While our vacation wasn’t a trip to Mexico or Disney World, it did let us see family and give me time with my husband. Not exactly a Pinterest trip, but that’s okay. This gave me a chance to reflect and remember what is important, even if it also reminded me of how much has changed.

What I do with that lesson is now up to me.

Writing: The Slog

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I have gone from the euphoric high of new characters and fresh beginnings to the slog.

ImFine
Yep, just fine.

 

So I decided to procrastinate do some research, and curl up with a couple of good books.

Which may have made the situation I’m currently in with this WIP worse as now I am yelling at myself not to compare my first draft with a New York Times best-selling author’s final finished product.

Perseverance
Easier said than done.

I know this. Mentally. But the reptile brain is less easily convinced by reason.

And it doesn’t help that my characters are not behaving. They are not doing what my notes said they should do. The hero is not at all what I thought he would be like. He’s a dark and powerful mage that…likes puppies and kittens?!?

Wait, what?!?

Leikar, you are supposed to…never mind. You do you, and let’s see if that gives us a story.

PaperAirplane
What I’m doing with all my notes for this story.

And this is what happens in the middle of my stories. My characters are off doing things they weren’t supposed to do until later in the story. Acing in ways I’d never intended.

I have to slog through it and find my way to the end.

Usually, writing the ending is much more like writing the beginning. At that point, the characters have tossed my ideas aside and just run toward their own ending.

But, I have to get to where they are taking me.

Let them show me the path even though its not the path I chose.

So, yes, the writing is going much slower. I am in the soft morass of the middle where things happen that I know I’m going to have to go back and add foreshadowing for in earlier chapters. Where I know a ton of things are going to need to be tidied and cleaned up.

But that’s for later.

The middle is where I most need to silence the internal editor as every word is a struggle to get on the page anyway. The last thing I need to do is quiet the ideas that are coming because I started three sentences in a row with the same word.

Still, I am getting there. Perhaps in another few weeks, I will have another completed first draft.

To add to my pile.

books-768426_640
My editing pile isn’t this bad. Yet.

 

I need to figure out how to edit faster. But that will wait until I get through this journey.

First, Leikar has to show me how he’s going to get out of the mess that found him.

*evil author laugh*

 

 

Writing: March Goal Update

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Things are messy.

Mar2019Progress
March Progress Report

It’s the end of March. As you can tell, February and March aren’t complete, but April is. That’s because February and March involved a great many thing related to a new book release in April that is not happening in April.

Two more months’ worth of things have been added, so I really have fourteen months of work to accomplish in twelve.

Sounds like my day job.

Still, I am making progress.

I am trying to decide if I quit working on the brand new story I’m writing and go back to editing Knight of Valor, or if I should finish this fresh WIP then settle in for a long bout of editing. Not only does Knight of Valor need editing, but Pirate Captain’s Daughter is rough.

Really rough.

Even for a second draft. I need to work on the heroine in that a lot more before it goes to a beta reader.

beta-reader
I *really* want to avoid this look

And, I can’t edit and create new at the same time. I’ve tried. It doesn’t work for me.

Originally, May’s goal was to finish the WIP I started in April. I know how hard it is to drop a WIP half-way through and try to pick it back up again. I’d love to say I always finish. But I don’t.

FinishWhatYouStart

Not the kind of person I want to be, but best to know yourself

 

My current plan to finish this WIP, then I will be spending a great dal of time editing. First, Knight of Valor. That may mean pushing off the other edits as you can only spend so much time editing before you need the rush of creativity that comes from creating new.

Yeah, I know, the rainbows, unicorns and butterflies of a writer.

Alicorn-horse-3395135_640
Yep, about like that!

But if my writing journey has taught me anything, it’s to trust my own process. It might not work for Nora Roberts or Stephen King, but so far, it works for me.

Their processes may be better, and their processes certainly create best-selling books, but we all have to start somewhere.

How about you? Are there things you just can’t do together no matter what the experts tell you? Can you finish something half way, put it down, and pick it back up again?