My Current WIP is a Crazy Quilt

The past few days have been crazy! Nuts! Actually, the past few months have been brutal, but I’m trying to concentrate on recent history.

As a result of the chaos, my writing schedule and modus operandi for finding time to write have taken a distinctly  weird turn.

I used to schedule a set period in the afternoon for writing, which worked out great…until my #1 girl in the office became ill in March. Thanks to a decent staff, I used to be able to carve out a couple of hours several days a week; suddenly one key person short and I was working early mornings and staying late to close to make up.

I really, really have to finish this manuscript. Acorns and Oaks has been percolating way too long. Plus, I figure if I finish this one, I will be somehow motivated to finish Oaks and Acorns, the companion novel. That one, too, has been in various states of disrepair since 2008.

Talk about procrastination. Hand me my diamond tiara, as I am the Queen.

🙂

But motivation is high. The words “The End” are so close I can taste them. (I’m thinking they taste like lemon meringue pie, but I could be wrong.)

Herein lies my new attempt at scheduling time to write: If I have a minute, I’ll jot something down. It’s better if I have a longer period of free time. An hour is great, two to three hours optimum, but twenty minutes? If that’s all I have, I’ll use it.

Sometimes I rewrite dialogue. Sometimes I straighten out my tenses (A&O is written in present tense – very difficult to stick to.) And other times, like today, I’ll actually assemble my notes and scribbles and finish a chapter. Writing this way is like piecing together a quilt. It can take hours, or years, of painstaking work. Does it matter which path you choose, as long as the job gets done and you have something warm to wrap your arms around?

It will help that this weekend I’m going out of town. You wouldn’t believe how much I can accomplish on an airplane, or in the wee hours of the morning when everyone else is asleep.

I’m thinking in seven short days, I’ll reach those magic words, diamonds glittering, and with a face full of pie.