You wouldn’t know it from my lack of participation around here.
I’m still in Between Projects Mode. My massive To-Do list exploded when I suddenly discovered myself taking on far more of the Nobody Writes It Better blog launch than I’d expected. It couldn’t be helped. One of those life circumstances that happens along, and the majority of the work shouldn’t fall to one person (I’m not talking about me here), anyway. I was happy to lend a hand to get the blog up and running. I still have a task to accomplish there—getting the Gallery page packed with more than placeholder images. But I also need to continue tackling The Office so I can move from Between Projects Mode to Brainstorming New Projects Mode. So that’s what I’m 
doing. Digging my office out from under several years’ worth of manuscripts. Which mainly means storing them somewhere else. I’m one of those packrats who likes to keep ALL the evidence of agents and editors to whom I’ve submitted a particular project as well as at least one copy of every draft I’ve printed out. Until I sell a project, those files remain in my office. However, I just found a ton of files for BORROWING ALEX, which was published two years ago. Time for the files to move! I also found a bunch of files for Penny’s next release, this coming December. I’ve done everything for that release aside from getting to see the cover and promotion, so, yep, I can pack her files away, too.
I’ve discovered great little binders I put together the last time I did one of these The Office checks. They’re full of notes from Kiss of Death classes I’ve taken. I’d forgotten where they were, because they were on top of a plastic pseudo-file cabinet (which held pieces of BORROWING ALEX, among other things), underneath two cat blankets. Yes, The Evil Entity has been sleeping on mystery/suspense notes. Explains her personality.
The notes don’t do me much good if I don’t know where they are, so I’m trying—note that, trying—to reorganize the office with a tad of a semblance of order.
What’s up in your writing world?
Cindy, I don’t even have a hard copy for my last couple mss. I probably should, but I keep changing things. Good luck reorganizing! It will feel good when you’re done.
As for me, I’m revising my wip on a hard copy, then I’ll type in the changes. I hope I’ll be able to send out when I’m done, though a few are more extensive than I planned, and I’ll probably send to my CPs.
Hi Edie,
I keep hard copies of everything. Haven’t been able to train myself not to. But guess what? Somewhere along the line, I realized I don’t have a hard copy of the partial of my latest ms. I must have accidentally shredded it. 🙂 Will need to print it out again, because I revise/edit/polish on hard copy.
Ah, filing – always so much fun. Isn’t it amazing the notes that turn up when we clean our offices?
As for my writing world, my poor characters are taking a back seat to my school work right now and they’re not happy. For a while they were content to stay quiet, but lately, they’ve been rather more vocal, so I’m squeezing them in where and when I can.
Hi Teresa,
I don’t blame your characters for wanting some of your time. Good for you for squeezing them in. It’s very hard to keep up the writing when you’re involved in school. I don’t think I wrote fiction at all while I was in university. Tons of essays, yes, but not fiction. Just in first year Creative Writing. I tried taking a short story writing class as an extra class in 2nd year, but it was too hard to keep up my GPA with an extra class and I had to drop it. I stopped writing fiction of any sort, including poetry, until I graduated. Then I began again.
Hi Cindy,
I’ve been moved in to our new house for 6 wks now and still have files to purge and load into “file boxes” to disappear in to the basement. 🙂 I’ve got hard copies of my (unpubbed) MS’s too and find it’s easier to edit that way – plus it makes it all seem more “real” if it’s printed out, doesn’t it? This time I’m being ruthless and boxing them except for the partials. And I found a ton of KOD course notes too. Moving is a great way to find things you thought were long gone. This time, I must be more organized!
Still have to get my character board up, but everything else is in place.
Good luck with the Brainstorming New Projects Mode!
Thanks, Laurie. I shudder when I think of purging files for the book I wrote before Borrowing Alex (and, by an odd turn of fate, am marketing again in a new incarnation). I have copies of every critique, every draft of that book. And there were plenty of drafts! But I don’t like to shred until I’ve sold the project and it’s well on the way to appearing on a B&M or cyber bookshelf. I can’t bear to dig out those files now and shred. Shredding old Borrowing Alex docs is time-consuming enough.
I totally agree with you that seeing a manu on hard copy makes it feel more “real.” That’s why I’m a printer hound.
This looks eerily familiar to my own blog post!
I’m editing Hot Ghost Man until my eyes hurt. I want that book contracted BADLY and I aim to submit it this weekend. Now, because I love it so much, watch my editor hate it. lol
She won’t hate it, Avery! Is that really the title? (hopping over to your blog now).
No, LOL. It’s called Last Call. It’s the one that finaled in the Lories (haven’t heard the results of that yet)
Ooh, when are the results announced?