Thursday, February 9, 2012

The Breath Before the Fall

January was a stressful haze during which I had very little time or energy with which to write. My day job has been super intense and I worked at least 10 hours most days. When I did get home from work, my brain was mush. But while I can certainly use that as an excuse not to finish up the last few scenes I wanted to add to Noir after analyzing my outline, it really comes down to procrastination.

Not the usual lazy type of procrastination, but the desire to stay in this safe zone for a bit longer. Because, after I finish these scenes then I have to start line editing. And after line edits and edits from beta readers and a another read-through, then comes querying. And once I start querying, there will be the inevitable rejections. With Countless, I developed a very thick skin, and I really was barely phased by most rejections. But with Noir, I have fresh baby skin, and its so nice and warm in this cocoon of not-there-yet. For now, I can still relish in the wonder of my creation, and keep it to myself.

Of course, I realize that I'm lingering, and I'm going to stop. Work has finally slowed to a normal pace, so I have zero screens to hide behind. I'm a tough chic, and I'm going to sail this ship straight into the stormy seas of querydom. Hey, I love thunderstorms.

So, pep talk over. Got my Captain Jack hat on. And my compass. And my rum. How about you?

14 comments:

  1. Mmm, Captain Jack. Oh! Hi, yes, good luck with the last of your edits and then the querying. You deserve a cup of rum!

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  2. Ha, great Captain Jack mention there. Toughen up that baby skin! Glad you got to enjoy your cocoon for a while though. :)

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  3. I understand exactly how you feel! Querying can be exciting, though. Almost like a blind date. Could be great. . .or not. :) Good luck!

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  4. Argh, me matey... you better watch out for the giant squid in them seas:)

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  5. Oh boy, do I know how this feels.

    I've been procrastinating and procrastinating, editing and tweaking and adding new lines, doing anything to avoid declaring my latest revision 'finished' because I'm afraid my beta readers will hate it. I know it's fairly polished, I know I love the story, but I'm just afraid of taking that step forward and risking falling straight off a cliff.

    But hey, Captain Jack wouldn't be afraid of jumping off a cliff. So a hat, compass and rum sounds like a good plan.

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  6. I've always got rum at the ready! :)

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  7. I'm getting very close to querying myself, but I've been revising for so long, I have no idea what I'm going to do while the queries are out there. I'm not sure I'll be able to stop making changes.

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  8. I totally get the whole 'staying in my warm and comfy space' thing. Sometimes I don't even know I'm doing it - like now. My edits are going so slow, and now that you mention it, that's probably because I don't want to leave my safe spot. Thanks for the nudge. =o)

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  9. I'm skipping the querying and all that and going straight to self-publishing, but I know how yuo feel. First negative review I get I'll be mush.

    Stopping by from the campaign to say hi :)

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  10. I too have been procrastinating a lot. But I plan to catch up soon, else I will just get into another writing slump.

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  11. You might want to take a sip of Captain Jack as well! :) Full speed ahead!!

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  12. Wishin' you well as you navigate those stormy seas, Captain! ;)

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  13. Yay! You can do it! Captain Jack is always helpful. :) Good luck!

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