I Think I've Been Here Before

Woot!

I've finished the first draft of my second novel.  I'm really happy about it, but it's not quite that same level of excitement that I had the first time around.

I think the difference is this time, I knew I could do it.  It's like the first time I raced 5 km.  I didn't know I could do it before.  I thought I might just pass out before the finish line.  But I made it to the finish line before I passed out.  And then there was this high that just followed me around the rest of the day. (I was a bit hyper...and probably annoying to the rest of my cross country team).

The next time I did it, I was still excited to finish, but not as excited as the first time.  You really never get that first time feeling back.

I'm really not surprised that the feeling was different this time.  At the same time, I'm actually a little bit proud of myself.  An author whose blog I followed once wrote about how important it is to finish that first novel.  How you can learn so much from it.

Well, he was right.

Even without trying, I learned a lot.  I learned not to freak out about word count (I freaked out about word count in my novel--I ended up with this totally random detour that has nothing to do with my novel.  It's just to make me have to revise and edit more). I learned about routine, filtering (which is bad!), and not getting caught up in scenes.

I learned a lot.  So this book has a lot more potential than my last one.  I really can't wait to see where it ends up when I finally get to revise and edit the hell out of it.

What did your first book teach you?

The Problem with Life...

Source

...is that it tends to get in the way.

But only if you let it.


I had the perfect plan for Sunday.  It was all planned out.  Nothing was going to get in my way.



I was leaving Kuwait on a Sunday morning.  I had about 20 hours of travel.  I'm not sure if any of you have ever traveled that far, but it is boring.  Wait, not just boring, it's the soul sucking, crushingly, want to stab your eyes out and have a temper tantrum kind of boring.  But I am extremely clever and had a plan!  Nothing could go wrong!  I would use my time to write!

Plane One:  I consider taking my laptop out, glance at my laptop case, but leave it in the overhead storage.  And get out the iPad.  That's ok though, since I have so many hours ahead of me.  I have lots of time to write.  Plus I do have the awesome Penultimate App if I do decide to write. (I did actually use my iPad to do some notes.  If you have an iPad and don't have a notebook app, try out penultimate or notebook +.  Both are pretty awesome for quick notes.)

And while I'm playing--I mean writing on my iPad--I've decided that the perfect plan is to write in London, waiting through my four hour layover.  It's the perfect plan.  I can sit down, grab a drink, and write for four hours when I would have been bored!  Perfect!  Nothing can go wrong! (I feel like I said this before...this must be the part where I tell you everything went perfectly).

Wait, they couldn't be making an announcement that our plane was delayed...and we would be... stuck on the tarmac... for two hours.  But it's ok, our flight time is not actually 6 hours!  It's 5 and a half.  I will still have two and a half hours to write.  Wait...they're not telling me we have to circle before we land...  And there isn't a parking spot open... And then, I had forty minutes to dash through the airport, make a quick stop at duty free, and sprint to my gate so I wouldn't miss my flight.  So much for that four hour writing block.

It could have been worse.  A ton of people on my plane actually missed their flights.  At least I only lost some writing time.

Onto plan B!  I would write on my plane ride until the jet lag took over and I passed out.  Great plan!  Wait...they're not telling me...we're stuck on the tarmac for an hour.  And  that since I was in an exit row seat, I couldn't have my laptop bag in front of me.  So writing had to wait (just like me!)

Finally, the plane takes off.  Now, if that stupid seat belt sign would just switch off, I can write.  Still on...still on...still on....Finally!  Lights flicked off.  I jump out of my seat and grab my laptop.  Success!  Now to show everyone around me that I'm a real writer.

And then the drink cart comes around.  And my table tray is only big enough for either my drink or my laptop. Sorry, laptop.

And then comes the dinner.  And I am hungry...so writing waits a little more.

But then, there is nothing.  The lights are dimmed, the flight attendants have vanished, my belly is full, my throat is wet, and I am ready.

And so I wrote...and wrote...and tried to go to the internet, but couldn't... so I wrote some more.  And then I slept.  And the flight was still boring, but for about two hours, I actually only thought about my writing and it was a nice focused setting.  Almost makes me want to fly more often...almost.

Despite all the delays, and set backs, I did manage to get a decent amount of writing done. I finished the first chapter of my new novel.  I gave myself a nice pat on the back and imagined everyone sitting around me was extremely jealous (I'm sure they were only pretending to be asleep).

I guess at the end of it all, I could have given up. I could have just said screw it I'm not going to write today.  I had tons of excuses.  But I want to be a writer!  And that means finding the time, even if life does want to get in the way and screw up all your plans.  You just can't let it.

What do you do when life gets in the way of writing?  (or whatever else you plan to do)?

By the way, I discovered the comic Will Write For Chocolate in my searches the other day.  It's really cute and all about writing.  Check it out if you have time.

All's Well that Ends Well

I have something to show everyone today.















For those of you who see nothing (which would be all of you), that's exactly what I am showing you. 

When I write, I keep a cheat sheet at the end of my manuscript.  These are point form notes from my outline of plot points in the story.  After I write something, I delete it from the list.

Which means, you are looking at an empty list.

Which means....

I finished the book! (And met my deadline!)