Revisions! Revisions! REVISIONS!

I am in the midst of revising my ghost story set on Puget Sound…

No, I'm still near the beginning. And I just had a breakthrough that dictates revising will take even longer. I've decided the whole thing needs to be present tense.

THAT makes the whole thing harder. Not because the revision will take longer. It's because I will now need to go through the novel at least twice. Fully?

Why? Because I cannot possibly revise it if I'm concentrating on changing all the verb tenses. That in itself is a HUGE task. I use lots of verbs. At least one a sentence, unless it's a fragment. Even if it is a fragment.

So now, hopefully only through the next few weeks, I need to change every verb in the entire 80,000-word document.

Only then can I start really revising. And revising. And revising.

I won't gripe about it, though, not if it works. I'm sure, some day, it will work. Some day, if I keep revising, ONE of my novels will be worth publishing.

I hope.

Lights at the End

No, I'm not approaching a white tunnel. No near death experiences here.

But, in typical Shakespeare fashion, I've taken on a whole lot of stuff... for months. Two weekends ago, I finally took a Saturday off. I did end up doing dishes that day, but pretty much nothing else, and it was the first day in months that I'd taken off.

I'm up early to finish grading some papers and prep for class, and I already have a full day of meetings, tasks, and other stuff. Last night my day went from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and I am kind of tired.

But the light at the end of the tunnel is there. Some of the stuff will just end. Other stuff will end because I say so. I'm sort of a sprinter by nature, so I get all excited about something, do it to the hilt, and then let it go when I'm ready. Now I actually have dates in mind, though, and they help me know that all this rushing around isn't permanent.

So, what's ending? Here's a list, with real dates. I know you don't really care, but makes me happy to see it in real words, to pin all this down.

Novel edit (for writer back near Seattle): DONE (finished Monday, actually)
Preparation for local women's shelter open house culminates: November 11 
Last big project for the year is finished with the Firehouse: November 18
Children's Christmas Musical is finally performed: December 12
English Class ends and I turn in grades: December 13

Don't think I'm ending everything, though. I have two classes starting up in January, but by the time they take off I plan to have other stuff finished, too. I've only listed the definite dates. Next week is already looking completely scary, but I'm not too panicked. After all, it's only a week. Thanksgiving week is looking fantastic--Zumba and choir practice are my only have-to's and they don't really count, now, do they? I might even get back to some of my own WRITING that week. Imagine that! At the very least I'll spend a bit of each day playing Christmas tunes on the piano, painting, etc.

What lights do you see at the end of your tunnel? Any definite dates?

The Persistent Voice

I have three hours of Zumba today. I have to lug kids everywhere, shake, shake, shake all over the place to earn my income, dash to the store, do dishes, cook, tend to the house, get papers signed and faxed, and the list goes on.

Why am I still happy? Why do I have a cheesy grin on my face here, at the very start of the day, when no item has yet been crossed off? Because I also have a book waiting for me, the end of a novel I've been happily editing, a few good ideas to flesh it out, to make the climax nail-biting.

And I know, once I'm showered, once I've cleaned and fed everybody, that I'm sitting down here, at my beloved Mac, and working on it. That is the most beautiful thought I can imagine at this point.

More about that later. For now, it's off to make the kids' lunches!

Mother Nature

Just when I think

I have it under control

My tasks

Manageable

Predictable

80 mile-per-hour winds

Blow through the world

And fill my yard

My pool

My life

With leaves

I sigh

Wait for the rain

To stop

Pick up my broom

And rake

And net

With heavy heart

And wonder what I did

To tick off

Mother Nature.

Summer Goals

Over the last few summers I've posted a huge list of goals. Most of you know I'm the queen of lists. Even now I'm sitting at my laptop, glancing over at my list book as I write, considering the list for today.

But I just can't make a list for this summer. I know, generally, what I want to accomplish. I want to get my fourth novel finished, revise my first, second, and third novels and get them ready for sending out to agents, and revise my most recent play (which I just finished last week).

Really, though, I just have one big goal: WRITE.

I hope to write every single day. One blog entry and one hour of writing each day minimum. Bigger goals won't be accomplished without the smaller, daily task of writing. The big goals, at this point, look too big. It's rather like weight loss. If I only set my sights on the final goal weight, then that means every single day I remind myself how far I am from that goal. But if I just concentrate on exercising and eating right today, I have a chance to eventually make it to that goal, mainly by my daily action.

So I'm off. My lofty goals drift around, yes, but they are not the plan. The plan is just for today, the last day my kids are in school. I hope to spend the afternoon writing. How about you?

Stepping

Stepping back

From the schedule

From the expectations

To pull my children in

To a snuggle for the day

Stepping out

Into the sunshine

Warming skin in

Warming air

No ties

No tasks

No cares

Stepping over

The mountain

Made molehill

Just for the day

Stepping in

Into a world

Of mermaids

Of magic

Of writing

Stepping

Stepping softly

Through a world of hope

Where cares can wait

For stepping

In the future

Good Book

I know the book

Has me by the eyes

When I cannot put it down

Not to put the trash out

Do the dishes

Grade my papers

Say hello

Or even go to sleep at night

Or if I do

Or must do

These abhorrent things

--Suddenly abhorrent when the other day

I didn't mind at all--

I sigh and bear them

Thinking only of the worlds

I long for

Where each page

Lingers underneath my hair

And quivers there

Vibrating to the shiver of my spine

Yes, I must do the tasks

Assigned to me

But I will do them quickly

Sloppily, if necessary

(Believe me, it is necessary)

For the book

Its depths

Its words

Its roughish pages

Calls.

Getting NOTHING Done

Some days are little more than frustrations. I want to get a loan option figured out so that my husband and I can buy some property from his mother. I want to figure out all this medical billing so that we can be paid back for it. I want to get all these contracts signed, want to find a notary, and want to get countless other things done, including purchasing plane tickets at a reasonable price, exercising, and even writing this blog.

What have I accomplished by the end of the day? I've written this blog. I haven't written what I intended to write--too irritated to do that--but I've written nonetheless. I wish I could just start the day over, not spending several hours online finding no flights that worked (or poring over them without a clue which one would fit my husband's needs and the needs of my sister, who will be picking me up). I wish I had found the actual means by which I can use the medical records to be reimbursed, instead of merely finding piles of medical records. The whole day was a waste. I might as well have slept in or just planned to watch movies all day. At least then I would have accomplished what I set out to do.  

I could do more, even now, but it's nearly dinner time now, and I don't think I'll get anything done today. Darn it!

Where the hell have I put my time-turner? 

Oh well.... I still have two more days to finish this stuff before I take off for vacation... perhaps tomorrow I will have better luck (maybe my wonderful hubby will set up the ticket for me tonight)... and perhaps Wednesday won't be too hectic (though I doubt that).

Wish me luck!