fontawsome fontawsome fontawsome fontawsome
Subscribe
Main Menu
  • Bio
  • Books
  • Blog
  • Events
  • News & Awards
  • Resources
  • Media Kit
  • Contact

Finals week(s), writer style

November 9, 2015 1 Comment

end

I take a lot of pride in treating my writing like the job it is.

In a 2014 interview with fellow Montana novelist Craig Lancaster, I announced that “I have a rule about not writing in my jammies. I have to be showered and dressed, more or less presentably, before I start work.”

Um, Craig? I lied.

Not completely. That rule holds true for most of the writing. Until the very end, when all the rules go out the window. My lovely little schedule—writing in the mornings; beta-reading, blogging, marketing stuff—in the afternoons, flies away behind it. I’ve got proofs on Book 3 (Disgraced) due Dec. 1, and the manuscript for Book 4 due Dec. 15, so it’s fingers to the keyboard all day and into the night, and damn the unnecessary niceties of grooming, etc. It’s like finals week in college. Only longer.

IMG_5838(2)See that photo? Note: Panicked expression. Uncombed hair. PJs hidden by shawl. It was taken at 4 p.m. Yes, even as the dinner hour (to hell with dinner. What about cocktail hour?) approached, I had yet to shower or get dressed. But I had clobbered another few chapters into presentable submission, littering the floor with dead darlings.

That feels good. So does the fact that, after another few weeks, this craziness will be behind me. I can get reacquainted with soap and shampoo, my hairbrush, clothing beyond flannel and sweats.

The end is near, the end is near plays in the back of my brain like a threat and a promise, a little mantra that (nearly) obliterates the fact that beyond the achievements of sending off these two projects lies the abyss of the blank page, aka Book 5.

But that’s a long way off. For now, it’s back to the keyboard.

Tags: Disgraced the novel, Writing

Comments

  1. Craig Lancaster says

    November 9, 2015 at 8:35 pm

    Well, I’m just *shocked*.

    (Not really.)

    This is why I’m glad I don’t operate on manuscript deadlines. I write ’em when I feel like writing ’em, and look for a sale when it’s done.

    On the other hand: deadlines = fear of imminent demise = productivity.

    Glad you’re making it work, jammies or not.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Archives

Categories

Newsletter

Perché Italiano?

It's like asking, 'Why Write?' With shout-outs to Sicilian pastries and books by Kate Quinn, Elena Varvello and Gerald Brooks. Read article

Frozen feet - and fingers - challenge

Making habits; one-word resolution; cider muffins, and great reads from William Kent Krueger, Marco Missiroli, S.A. Cosby and Elizabeth Strout. Read article

Looking inward

Because it's too dark out there: On fighting the darkness with humor, some Italian treats, and great reads from Viola Ardone, Giuseppe Catozzella and Amy Lin Read article

News & Announcements

Book Launch for 'A Senior Citizen's Guide to Life on the Run

Library guest wrote the book on seniors Read article

Kirkus Reviews'A Senior Citizen's Guide to Life on the Run

Dark doings at a 'planned community' for 'active adults' Read article

Five Takeaways from 5E's Office Hours Session on Small Press Publishing

"Small Presses are not on the sidelines of the book business.
Read article

fontawsome fontawsome fontawsome fontawsome
© Copyright by Gwen Florio. Designed by My House of Design.