It was two weeks ago yesterday that I wound up the rough of the murder book. In the ensuing time, I've worked some on revising the novel (about half finished with that) and that's about it. I had planned to start revision on the non-fiction yesterday but decided to let that slide a few more days.
The big problem with taking time off between (or during) projects is the loss of momentum. It's bound to happen, although one can't go at break-neck speed constantly. You get into a rhythm and a routine and the words flow day after day. You can break that routine for a day or so without too much impact. But let a week go by and you're an inert object, sitting there wondering what you will do next. And when.
Of course, the good news is that the fire can be found again. It's not an immediate process, however. It takes several days of bumbling along to find the real groove, the place where you can slip back in and start to make sense of things. You get to the place where the big picture, the end game, comes back to mind again.
Getting fired up to do revision is worse for me, because I hate it. And I probably have less of it to do than some folks, because, as a former news writer, I know how to "edit on the fly" somewhat. I didn't utilize that skill to its fullest with this murder book, however, because I was more interested in getting the basic framework of it down as quickly as I could. And now I have to suffer for that decision -- which is justice, I suppose.
If I can work on it a couple hours a day I can knock it out soon enough. I've got a visitor coming in a couple weeks, so that will have an impact on what I do. And I have the trip coming up next month, which will also have a bearing on things.
Ah, what the hell. I'll get it done when I can. I'm not punching a time card or on a railroad schedule. That's a damned good thing, too.
The big problem with taking time off between (or during) projects is the loss of momentum. It's bound to happen, although one can't go at break-neck speed constantly. You get into a rhythm and a routine and the words flow day after day. You can break that routine for a day or so without too much impact. But let a week go by and you're an inert object, sitting there wondering what you will do next. And when.
Of course, the good news is that the fire can be found again. It's not an immediate process, however. It takes several days of bumbling along to find the real groove, the place where you can slip back in and start to make sense of things. You get to the place where the big picture, the end game, comes back to mind again.
Getting fired up to do revision is worse for me, because I hate it. And I probably have less of it to do than some folks, because, as a former news writer, I know how to "edit on the fly" somewhat. I didn't utilize that skill to its fullest with this murder book, however, because I was more interested in getting the basic framework of it down as quickly as I could. And now I have to suffer for that decision -- which is justice, I suppose.
If I can work on it a couple hours a day I can knock it out soon enough. I've got a visitor coming in a couple weeks, so that will have an impact on what I do. And I have the trip coming up next month, which will also have a bearing on things.
Ah, what the hell. I'll get it done when I can. I'm not punching a time card or on a railroad schedule. That's a damned good thing, too.
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