*Peeks out from behind computer*
"It's me... I'm alive!"
I'm beyond past due with keeping this blog up to date. In fact, I'm so far behind, I don't even know what to say. I could throw out the usual "it's been crazy" and "the kids keep us so busy" lines (which are true, of course), but that would be copping out, and I don't want to do that.
The more time that has gone by, the less I've known what to say. From a writing standpoint, I'm in a tea cup. You know, those spinning tea cup rides at amusement parks, that go round and round until you're dizzy and can barely hold down your lunch? Well that's me. I received a critique that threw me for a loop a while back (regarding the beginning of ILYU) and to put it bluntly, I shut down. I know that wasn't the right thing to do, but my survival skills took over at that point, and that's what I did.
After weeks of sulking (yes I know, that's a long time) and Lovemuffin telling me I couldn't quit (I am hanging my head telling you this right now), I went back and re-did the beginning. I'm happy with the change, and think the critique was probably something I needed to hear, but it still hurt. So after sulking and take my sweet time fixing things, I stopped working for a while. Procrastination set in, and I just. Stopped. Writing.
Looking back, I think I needed to take a break. I needed life with my family to be my life for a while, to get hold of my priorities and realize that nothing in the writing world happens in a day, which was hard, because I have no patience. (I'm working on that.) I stayed busy by keeping everything going on the home front.
After a while I got over my shock/horror, and went back over the ol' MS with a fine-toothed comb. I am happy to report that I'll be sending out a few synopsises by the beginning of June via snail mail (something I've found is more time consuming than email, because there's more to send with actual paper queries) and hopefully something will come out of it. We'll see.
A few months ago I had some strange scenes and things come to mind, in dreams and ideas that showed up pretty much out of the blue. I didn't think much of them, but made sure to write it all down so I wouldn't forget. The past few weeks those ideas have been coming at me more consistently, and it seems as though the next thing I'll be working on is a YA project, which is shocking, because I never thought I'd write anything for young adults.
My kids are my guinea pigs with this current project. The more I write, the more I want it to be something they can read, something they can enjoy, since I've been asked countless times over the past year why I wouldn't let them read ILYU. Who knows what will come out of this latest idea, or if it will ever amount to anything beyond just a story to read to my girls. But I thought I'd put everything out on the table for my readers (if you're still out there...), so there it is.
I hope everyone is doing well, and to you fellow writers out there, I wish you days filled with inspiration and dedication, because without both, nothing can be accomplished. I can't explain how much respect I have for writers, whether they write for kids, young adults, or beyond. The time and sweat involved in such projects is immense, and I feel blessed to have seen this side of it - I appreciate books so much more now than I did.
I plan on being on here more often, but am not going to let the stress of posting so often (to keep up with the expectations I set for myself) control when I do. I miss twitter and will ease back into that shortly as well, when I can manage my time a little better after the kids get out of school. Can't wait to check out all the blogs and see what's been going on with everyone.
Until next time,
Me =)
