
See, I'm currently on deadline. This time not turning in a book, but revising based on feedback from my editor. I'm shifting scenes, creating scenes, entirely reworking dialogue and entirely rewriting scenes.
So, for the sake of time (of which I have very little because those edits are due at the same time this blog is and I really should have planned better but hahahahaha -- yeah) and to give you a glimpse at my current struggle with the Dark Side, I bring you: Typical Deadline Day....
With a massive pot of coffee burbling in the background (because those cup-at-a-time things are just plain craziness on days like this) breakfast is served:
Yes, it wouldn't look quite so bad if I had sliced a piece and placed it on a plate rather than eating from the foil liner, but this is how many clean plates I have left:
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This is my cabinet. One Hershey kiss on a cake stand. That kiss is mocking me. |
Fortified by caffeine and powdered sugar, it's time to get to work. There will be twenty to twenty-five minutes of sheer panic and the threat of tears before the daily inspiration/reminder sinks in:
Coffee mug in hand, I settle in with the laptop and the edit notes. Realizing nothing fun will happen all day, the dog goes into deep depression.
Even if I had time to take a break, I couldn't go outside and throw a ball for her. The only clean clothes I own at this point are pajama bottoms and evening gowns. My laundry bin looks like this:
But it's okay. Pajama bottoms are crazy comfortable for writing all day. And while I won't actually put on an evening gown, sometimes I can't resist wearing a tiara to cheer me.
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Disclaimer: this is not my tiara. I need to excavate my tiara from the wreckage of my office. But I'm busy, eh? So here's the first tiara that comes up on a google search. |
Eventually, I get lost in the work. With no idea time is passing, I'm surprised/annoyed/embarrassed when I realize the sun has set and the reason I'm squinting at the keyboard like a blind woman is not fatigue but total darkness. This is also the point I realize I've had nothing to eat all day but some crumb cake.
Bring on dinner!
See that diet coke with lime? That's totally Linda Gerber's fault -- she hooked me on the stuff. Now I wouldn't dream of approaching edit evenings without it. It's a special treat on a rough day, because let's face it:
And even though I have not sent my editor the first draft, or the second, still there's a whole lot of shoveling to do.
So you'll excuse me if I get back to it. I've got more words to wrangle, and then I might eat ice cream from the carton because I have just about as many clean bowls as clean plates...