So it's really and truly the last Friday before Christmas. Despite the fact that I am an avowed summer person (as in, lead me to the beach and let me stay there), this is truly my favorite time of year. Once the holidays are over, of course, I am absolutely done with winter. This is unfortunate for winter, since it has WAY TOO MUCH TIME LEFT after the first of the year.
But why get ahead of myself? I'm reveling in the season.
One thing that's been particularly difficult is drafting this dang novel. It finally hit me the other day that the reason I'm struggling is because this isn't my normal drafting time (as if anything in a writer's life is "normal"). My usual habit is to draft from January through April, or February through May. Getting it out of the way early in the year frees up the rest of the months for revisions and editing, which you all know are my preferred tasks.
This year, though, I had no story in me during that season. Well, I did have the seed of a story--an unusual YA dystopian that began to slowly drag me into an odd world with lots of potential. Of course, having a world without a plot is pretty frustrating after a while--not to mention that it would have been supremely stupid for me to put my time into yet another unsellable dystopian novel. So I set it aside in favor of rewriting an older manuscript that needed fresh love. It was a good decision--the new version of the old story is WORLDS better (helped along by the sharp editorial eyes of Josh and Danielle).
The downside, of course, is now having to draft during the holidays. The amount of energy it takes for me to create a story from scratch is more than I really want to give right now. So much to do! My parents are arriving on Monday (a special gift--they rarely come for Christmas!), and my sister and her family are arriving on Christmas Day (driving 7 1/2 hours to be here in time for dinner. WHO COULD ASK FOR A BETTER SISTER?). So, yeah, I've had lots to do, and still have more to do. And when it's time to sit down and write, I'm a little bit "UGH" right now.
That, and I'm pretty burned out with my Writing Journey in general. Yanno? Life outside the Industry sounds appealing to me.
Still, I've got 73,000 words under my belt, and I have every intention of finishing the draft. It's killing me, knowing I won't finish on my self-proclaimed end date of January 1, only because my projected 80,000 words is not enough to complete the story. I never miss my self-imposed deadlines. Seriously never. So, yeah, I'm a bit miffed at myself. (A glass of Chardonnay and some freshly baked Christmas cookies will make it all better, though.)
So, where does this leave the blog? I've got a HAPPY ANNOUNCEMENT on Monday (no, it's not about me), and then we're pretty much going dark for the holidays. I'll pop in before New Year's Eve to recap the year or something schmoopy like that. But mostly, it's time for jingles and mistletoe.
Oh, and for some reason, blog traffic was especially light on Wednesday when I posted my HOLIDAY GIFT FOR YOU. If you missed it, please click over and enjoy!
Happy weekend, happy writing, happy holidays!