The last few weeks have not seen a great deal of progress on my novella (despite the fact that metaphorical academic asses were kicked in terms of prepwork for the class I’m teaching next semester). I feel like I’ve been sitting at Chapter 7 for…ages. I signed up for Nick Enlowe’s Novel Push Initiative: Laid Back Edition and have already blown through and exceeded the 3 days of reprieve. I blame it on end of semester madness and 2400 miles of travel in a week.
But finally, finally I finished Chapter 7, which ended in a love scene. Well, actually, it ended in a build up and fade to black that is a total cop out, but by damn, it’s time to move on. I am TIIIIIIIIRED of being stuck in the Dreaded Valley of the Shadow of the Middle. I’ll have a better handle on what that scene needs to accomplish in revisions, so I am okay with the cop out for now. It’s better than stagnation, which is what I’ve felt like the last couple of months. I’m very very ready to get this novella (first draft anyway) off my plate so that I can turn my head to Draft 2 of HiS, which is what keeps circling my brain like birds of prey lately, robbing me of what little attention span I have.
Everyone is hypothesizing that at 4:45 on Friday, we’ll get an email notice from the President of the University stating that in a bid to save energy, we’re closing early for the holidays and will be off Monday (instead of not until Tuesday). That gives me two whole weeks off (I don’t go back until Jan. 4th since the 1st is oh so conveniently on a Friday). In a perfect world, that would be a restful stretch of time. A proper vacation during which I could write like a demon, finish the novella, and catch up on my reading.
:picks self up off floor from laughing hysterically:
What it WILL be is a chance to knock out my class, catch up on my scary 2 page to do list, write, read, and catch up on sleep all without having to deal with my EDJ boss’s particular brand of crazy, which is a gift in and of itself. The good news is that I won’t be developing a new class as spring semester progresses, so I should, in theory, have more time to write. It is my hope that I will knock out the novella by end of January, right about the time I’m done fielding all the Start of Semester Stupid Questions for my assorted classes. That should put me in as good a position as I can be under the circumstances, to focus on HiS. Anyway, more about that when I talk about New Year’s Resolutions.
I gotta get back to the EDJ. Two papers to get out the door this week.