The Journal, Friday, April 13

Hey Folks,

Sometimes it feels specifically like I make plans so I’ll have something to change later.

Remember how I said a few days ago I was going to write in the early morning and then edit later in the day? Yeah. I worked on my WIP for a few minutes this morning, just enough to put my hand in.

Then I thought about the copyedit waiting on my business computer. My gut tied in a knot. The client was even good enough to prepay the balance for the edit.

Then, thankfully, I read Kris Rusch’s current Business Musings article (first item in “Of Interest” today) and decided to slow down a little.

Kris’s article is all about the wisdom of moderating the growth of a business. It’s good advice, but that isn’t my problem. The first sentence that really spoke to me (in context) was “It no longer feels chaotic.” The other one was, “The question is balance.”

I’ve been feeling the chaos lately. And does balance mean constantly walking a tightrope with a copyedit (conscious, critical mind) on one side and my WIP (creative subconscious mind) on the other?

No. Not anymore.

I thought about it.

I have no trouble putting off my writing for a couple days at a time when I go camping, right? And I put it off if I have to make an emergency trip. And sometimes I put it off for a day here and there when Mona and I want to go shopping or whatever.

The simple fact is, especially at this time of year (soon after winter), my business consists of being a writer AND a copyeditor. I have one in the computer at the moment and at least three others coming in soon.

But when I try to balance writing with completing a copyedit, the WIP becomes too important.

Working on the copyedit builds pressure to write, and I don’t want that. I want to ENJOY writing while I’m writing. I don’t want to worry about the copyedit that’s waiting for me to hurry up and finish a scene so I can get back to it.

And that goes both ways. I also don’t want to copyedit while I’m anxious to get back to the WIP.

So I’ve decided to split the two.

When I have a copyedit come in, I’m going to set my fun stuff aside and just go to work. I’m a good copyeditor. I have a talent for it. And when the work is finished, the WIP will still be there. Or another one will.

Of course, I still have all the other little things around the house to do too, but those just provide me with breaks either way, whether I’m writing or editing.

And as a writer, I’m pretty well grounded. I’ve met challenges and word counts and deadlines. I’ve written 5,000 words in a day, and I’ve written a novel in 10 days, maybe less.

At this point, at 65 years old, I have 30 novels and 5 novellas, all written in a period of 3 years and 6 months. So I’m confident the words aren’t going to go away.

I’ll continue to publish this Journal, especially if I find something good for the “Of Interest” section to pass along.

I’m just easing up on myself a little. I’d really like to still be doing all of this 20 years from now.

I didn’t add enough to the WIP today to count the words, so I’ll resume that with Day 3 when the smoke clears in a week or so.

Back soon.

Of Interest

Via The Passive Voice, see “Business Musings: Bread and Cupcakes” at https://kriswrites.com/2018/04/11/business-musings-bread-and-cupcakes/.

See J.M. Ney-Grimm’s Writing Tips category at http://jmney-grimm.com/category/behind-the-curtain/writing-tips-behind-the-curtain/. There are three tips. After you’ve read the first, scroll to the bottom and click the other two. You’ll see some things you’ve seen before, but sometimes variations help the information sink in.

I also recommend you drop by http://harveystanbrough.com/writer-resources and browse awhile. Unless you’ve visited in the past few days, there’s a lot there you haven’t seen.

Fiction Words: XXXX
Nonfiction Words: 610 (Journal)
So total words for the day: 610

Writing of Versailles (novel, tentative title)

Day 1…… 3081 words. Total words to date…… 3081
Day 2…… 2217 words. Total words to date…… 5298
Day 3…… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXXX

Total fiction words for the month……… 19254
Total fiction words for the year………… 132795
Total nonfiction words for the month… 5980
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 39740
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 214315

Calendar Year 2018 Novels to Date………………………… 3
Calenday Year 2018 Novellas to Date…………………… 1
Calendar Year 2018 Short Stories to Date……… 0
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)………………………………………… 30
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)……………………………………… 5
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……………………………… 182