Have you heard of the Monster of Unintentional Procrastination?
That’s who visited me yesterday when I sat down at the desk, hands poised, ready to get back into the routine I’d established before the holidays: wake up at 6 am, pat cat, put kettle on, make cup of tea, write until 7 am, get ready for work.
After dragging myself from bed (I wasn’t feeling well so it was an effort) and making a cup of orange cinnamon tea, I plonked myself in front of the computer, determined to return to the manuscript I’d reluctantly set aside for a while. I’d made peace with my inability to reach the lofty goal of 50K on my WIP by the end of my break, knowing that it was due to circumstances beyond my control.
And that’s when my unexpected visitor arrived: the Monster of Unintentional Procrastination. It arrived in the form of a twenty-minute sneezing fit that rendered me unfit to do any more than wipe my nose the entire time. And squeeze my pelvic muscles together. You know. Just in case. I have had kids …
I was going to give up, but I really wanted to get on top of the routine again. So at 6.40 am I sat myself down again for one last go. Somehow, without editing and just allowing thoughts and ideas to flow, I typed up 800 words of notes. Take that, monster! When I looked at the clock next, it was 7.15 am so I had to abandon desk, which was a shame.
I’m now at 40K and the novel is shaping up well. It’s good to be back. This morning I used my daily writing prompt to make some character notes, which will be good development for the second part of my book.
In other news, my short romance novelette, The Point of Love, which was part of the Rocky Romance anthology, will be available on Amazon from February 14 (print copies will also be available from Serenity Press). More info coming soon, but here’s the cover:
That’s my sister on the cover. Looking off into the distance, her pose lends a poignancy to the subject matter – love.
And here are some photos of a little fellow who unintentionally surprised Blue Eyes last week. Some may call him a monster, but he was really quite cute, despite me having a macro lens two centimetres from his face. The second photo shows the detail of his wings.
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0 Responses
You showed that monster who was boss! I love how your session ended up—it proves that sometimes you just have to wait. It’s so hard to force the writing when it’s not coming, but when those moments come, it can be wonderful. So, your novelette is the same as the one in Rocky Romance? Also, I thought it was you on the cover!
I was surprised by how much I squeezed out, Louise. Usually I write slowly and polish as I go. I like writing that way. But this time I thought, just get the ideas down and make it work beautifully later.
Yes, the novelette is the one in Rocky Romance. My sister and I must look quite alike from that angle – most people think it’s me. Or perhaps it’s the hat. I’m usually the hat wearer.