Editing My Book is Taking Much Longer Than Anticipated.

In case you missed my earlier announcement, I finished writing my book last weekend. I’m really proud and have a huge sense accomplishment for completing such a project. I’d planned to dive right into the editing and have the book to my beta readers this week. Plans changed.

I felt horrible, but let’s not forget how bad I looked. I was at the pharmacy waiting for my medicine when I heard a little girl ask, “Mommy, what’s wrong with that lady’s face?” I looked up, and the kid was pointing right at me. Young children have no filter. I completely understand that. Her question made me realize that everyone who saw me knew that something was horribly wrong.

I’ve had a week of antibiotics, steroids, and decongestant. I’m finally back to my old self and hitting the keyboard hard today. I’ve already gone through my manuscript once and corrected small things. Unfortunately, I’ve discovered some major problems with my timeline. For example, I have my main character meeting her love interest one weekend and then making a commitment to him the next. This is a problem.

I knew it was a mistake a few days later. I checked my trash bin when I came to my senses, but it had already been emptied. I shared my computer with husband back then, and he liked emptying the trash. He knows better now.

I went to that month’s Joplin Writers’ Guild meeting and confessed what I had done. My friend and author of Voodoo Butterfly and Emergence, Camille Faye, was appropriately appalled. She kindly advised me to cut pages and paste them into another document next time I feel the need to gut my work. That way I will have them if I ever change my mind. She is wise. I wish I had spoken with her before I highlighted all of that work and threw it away. Lesson learned.

I’ve been mulling over my missing chapters, and I’m on the cusp of forming a plan. My creativity works best when I’m doing something monotonous and letting my mind wander. To feed my imagination, I’ve been shredding old mail and political ads for a good portion of the day. My shredder is begging for a break, but I have a direction now. As a bonus, my desk looks a whole lot better.

What do you do to stoke up the fires of your creativity?

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