Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Rewrites and Catch-ups

When the writing conference was over and done with, I had two weeks to get my Manti book rewrite done and turned back in to my editor. (The illustrious and rockin Kirk, seen below during his workshop at the conference. The man is my new best friend.)



It was going pretty well . . . until a cold smacked me upside the head and laid me out, well . . . cold. I bought an extra two days, recovered (for the most part), and turned it in late last night.

What I should have done was buy three extra days, see, because when I got the extension until Tuesday, I didn't look at the calendar. Therefore, I didn't realize that yesterday was not only the day I help in my third grader's classroom, but I had a dentist appointment for a crown (and I'd already rescheduled with my dentist several times) AND a birthday lunch with one of my bestest friends ever. And my daughter's choir concert was that night.

Hahahahahaaa!

To make my promised deadline, on both Monday and Tuesday I woke up at 5:30 am to get some work in before the kidlets woke up. This all by itself is monumental. I should get an award. Seriously.

I value my sleep higher than even chocolate. Leaving early the warmth of the covers and the softness of my pillow is just not an option for me. Heather has gone weeks at a time waking up in the wee sma's to get writing done, and I've envied that. I just cannot wake up that early and still function.

The fact that I walk around like a zombie on less than 8 hours of sleep also factors into the equation. I could easily sleep 9+ hours every night if I had the time.

Whether I behaved like a normal human being for the last two days is in question, but I did get up early, and I did turn in the book on Tuesday, as promised. (Granted, it was hours past the time Kirk had left for home . . .)

The one great thing: I'm really loving the way the book is shaping up. There were elements that were okay before, but with Kirk's guidance, I was able to knock them up several notches. From characterization to plot to pacing, the whole thing just feels stronger and better. YES!

Now that the rewrite is done, I have other projects and deadlines looming ahead of me. Of course. That's the crazy kind of person I am.

But before I delve into those, I thought I'd do a few other things I've missed out on lately:

  • Get a way overdue and much-needed hair cut.
  • Cut the kids' hair. (If my son doesn't get a cut soon, he's going to start looking like a sheep dog.)
  • Make a decent dinner (one that doesn't involve something frozen that's baked on a cookie sheet).
  • Do the laundry. (I fear my children are running out of anything to wear to school.)
  • Go grocery shopping. (Alas, I had to miss out on my Grocery Game list and sales for this week. There just weren't enough hours in my days. I think it's time I visit Costco.)
  • Clean a few toilets. (And touch up the guest bath for when critique group members descend tonight. I'll pretend it's been clean all week.)
  • Make the bed every day.
  • Get dressed before noon.
  • Go to the library (renew the book I've had for four weeks and haven't had time to read).
  • Mop.
  • Sleep. (At night. But also get naps during the day. Fine. Who am I kidding? Like that's ever going to happen.)
  • Run miscellaneous errands (make an exchange of a defective product, get milk money quarters from the bank, yada yada).

Some of those will happen today. Most will happen over the course of the next week or so. It takes me a while to play catch-up. Okay, so I'm frequently in catch-up mode and a bit frazzled.

I'm a writer. We're an eccentric lot, right? Right?

6 comments:

Stephanie Black said...

Congrats on finishing your rewrite, Annette! I love it when I can see a book getting better and better.

Michele Holmes said...

Annette,
Your post has me laughing, crying, and shaking my head going, uh huh. Our lists could be the same, only I've got a few more sleep-deprived days to make it through. I envy you your nap and resubmitted manuscript. How awesome you made your deadline! Best of luck :)

Josi said...

Toilets? You mean they don't clean themselves?

If I just let them go, won't one of the kids or my husband do it for me?

I haven't even thought of cleaning them for weeks, maybe that means they don't need it :-)

I'm so glad you got your rewrite in and can sleep again. It's a dang good feeling. I'm also surprised how many of us have been doing rewrites these last few weeks, sounds like a lot of came home from the conference and starting hitting the delete button.

Luisa Perkins said...

You did it, you did it! Catch-up will happen.

Julie Wright said...

YAY on the rewrite completion. And I'm laughing cause I am a life of catch up games. Kirk does rock doesn't he?

Jenna said...

Whoa! Congratulations on that Herculean effort! It will pay off, I'm sure. I'm the same as you though---NEED lots of sleep and envy those who don't.

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