We're going to do a little exercise today. "Top 10 Reasons I wish I was . . . " Fill the blank:
- Done with this synopsis!
- Finished with edits!
- NOT going to nationals!
- Done with this project!
- In Hawaii right now!
- In Italy!
- On a deserted Island!
- Childless!
- An orphan!
Top 10 reasons I wish I was at Nationals
- "Speaker with Lunch" implies more than "Mum-Mum-Mum-Mum" and strained peas.
- The chance to stalk . . .er . . .SEE Suzanne Brockmann
- Books, books, books, and more BOOKS!
- Inventive freebies
- All my favorite authors under one roof for the literacy signing
- The amazing, incredible, energy of 1,000s of crazed writers under one roof
- The Russian roulette of finding great workshops and chancing upon the one workshop that changes your direction
- Meeting others who "get" you
- Books, books, and more BOOKS!
- The chance you might share an elevator with your personal heroine
Safe travels to everyone heading to nationals! Any room in that suitcase? Remember, Bethany happily pays COD for packages of books, books, books, BOOKS should you find yourself overflowing :) :) :)
13 comments:
The Top Ten Reasons I Wish I were done with this Synopsis:
10. I could go outside
9. I would have met my first deadline
8. Which means I wouldn't have called my editor
7. which means I wouldn't have babbled incoherently
6. I could take a deep breath
5. I could not feel guilty for doing things like this
4. I could go visit my friend.
3. I could be happy the contract came today instead of seeing it as the harbinger of doom
2. I could stop rewriting the first 65 pages again and again and again and again
1. I could stop chasing my dh around the house, pinning him down and saying things like, "Okay, let's start at the beginning ONE MORE TIME. Who's dead in the garage?"
(And I wish I were going to Nationals, too Wavy, though for slightly different reasons than you. Sniff...)
LOL, Bethany! Fun post. I'm glad I'm NOT at Nationals, so I don't need to wish I'm not going. I'll probably go someday, when I have a reason to.
Top 10 reasons why I wish I was done with this project (the project being the design project from hell):
1. I could write the synopsis for my WIP, which needs to mail to a crit workshop in Denver before August 4th.
2. I could actually WRITE the WIP
3. I could enjoy my birthday (I'm 51 years young today)
4. I could ride my bike to Soba Noodle for dinner with DH
5. I could sleep through the night without worrying about the project from hell not getting done in time.
6. I could do fun research for the WIP
7. I could go shopping at Barnes & Noble with the gift cards I got for my birthday.
8. I could spend the day with my husband, who has today off.
I could only come up with 8, but I think they're all great reasons. 8^)
Alright, Alice and Karen, now I challenge you to do ONE thing on your list. (Alice, perhaps the deep breath? :) :) :)) Karen, maybe you could go for dinner, but drive instead of bike as a compromise? You might sleep better if you biked, and then you could work more efficently on the project . . . .
Thanks for playing along ladies!
Top Ten Reasons I wish I were done with edits.
10. I wouldn't feel like I let my editor down.
9. I could concentrate on my pitches without second thoughts.
8. I could concentrate on the WIP.
7. I wouldn't be using up all my ink to take the edits with me on the plane. ( I wish I hadn't finished Alice's book this weekend.)
6. The pressure to get more projects done wouldn't suffocate me.
5. I wouldn't need therapy after nationals.
4. I could happily move on to the next Halsey book.
3. I could stop second guessing everything I write.
2. I could enjoy the fact this book is on it's way to production.
1. And I could feel I'd nipped a nemesis in the butt!
Wavy, one of mu suitcases only has 30 pounds in it. I can take 20 pounds of you to San Fran!
Alice, I really thought the chasing the dh was going to be steamier. "Come here dear, I need to see if this position works." LOL
Karen, Now why wouldn't you want to go to a place with 3000 women talking about romance! Yeesh, I'm already hyperventilating from the crush of bodies!!!
Off to finish packing!
Paty, you said: "Karen, Now why wouldn't you want to go to a place with 3000 women talking about romance! Yeesh, I'm already hyperventilating from the crush of bodies!!!"
Ahem. Dearie, now, the 3000 women are only going to be TALKING about romance, not actually committing romantic acts upon one another all at once! Tsk.
Alice, now you know why I'm having edits woes. I don't articulate well what I mean! I'm not looking forward to the crush of bodies in the hallways between workshops, and in some cases, crowded into rooms for workshops. That's what I meant! Makes you wonder how I could be published- Me too!
Oh, Paty, I was just having fun. I've been sitting here for eleven hours and I laughed when I read what you wrote, it gave me a much needed giggle. We all make those kind of mistakes. You, girl, are suffering a crisis of confidence brought upon by nasty edits and too much stress. I hope you can remember to go to Nationals and accomplish all that stuff but also, have fun, relax a little, the rest will follow.
You're published because people love your stories and judging from your reviews, they understand exactly how you express yourself.
Thanks Alice, I'm reading through the edits and either kicking myself because I should have caught things or wondering when I'm going to stop writing backwards. Yeesh! Well, I'm shutting down now. Have to make dinner and finish the packing.
I'll try to get on here sometime during the week and let you all know what is going on.
How fun, Bethany! I didn't play today because I was working on a graphics job that -- TA-DA!! -- is now drafted and off to the contact person. Unlike Karen's job from hell, this one only drove me crazy for one day -- my own creative block. These are folks I've worked with before in child welfare, which still owns a piece of my heart, so it really is a delight to do this job.
Paty, I agree with Alice (as usual): you are on overwhelm. You have worked long and hard to be published. You deserve to be published, you earned it, you are an awesome writer! Have FUN at Nationals, pamper yourself, maybe steal away for a few hours and enjoy San Francisco, pamper yourself, have fun. This can be a time to refill the creative well. Maybe we need to have a play day for our chapter to counteract the stress -- after deadlines are met, of course!
Out with the stress! In with the fun! Cyberhugs to all of you!
Karen, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
Soba Noodle? What kind of food? And you couldn't even take a break for a birthday dinner? That stinks.
Alice, congrats on the new harbinger contract. Ha! You need to go outside, hon, even if it's just to catch your breath.
Paty, what Alice said. Don't be so hard on yourself. Your stories are fun and steamy and I love your characters. So quit already with the being down on yourself. Got it?
Wavy, this was a fun blog for those of us left behind. I am playing late, but here it is:
Top 10 reasons I wished I hadn't spent my evening at the emergency room:
10. Staying home would have saved gas.
9. Going to a movie would've been less stressful.
8. I had to lug a two year old and a baby from the parking lot to the waiting room.
7. I wouldn't be second guessing myself over how I could've prevented the fall.
6. I wouldn't have ruined one of my good dishtowels with blood stains.
5. I would be tired and in bed instead of replaying the last two hours over and over in my head.
4. I wouldn't be thinking of hauling the coffee table out of the house and storing it in the garage until the kids quit running in the house. Wait a minute. Kids never stop running in the house.
3. Rick wouldn't have missed some of his precious overtime hours at work to meet us at the emergency room.
2. I wouldn't be thinking so much about my son's eyebrow.
and the number one reason I wished I hadn't spent my evening in the emergency room:
1. I wouldn't be concerned about Dalton sporting a facial scar for the rest of his life.
Actually, Dalton was a champ. He didn't even whimper while they put on the glue and steri strips. And chances are good he won't scar. But aye, yi, yi. What a night.
Danita, sorry to hear about Dalton's meeting with the coffee table. Ay-yi-yi is right! My Brandon had the same kind of meeting with a metal bed frame and a concrete and plank park bench--but with his nose. I still shudder to think about it and it's been over 20 years.
Give your little guy an extra hug from me. Hope he, you and Rick are doing better. I think it's harder on parents than the kids.
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