Good weeks

December 14, 2012December 14, 2012 / Cheryl Harper / Leave a comment

It’s been one of those weeks: busy, hard, stressful, but successful. I’m happy to have made it to Friday! Friday! Friday!

I turned in a book this week. Woo-to-the-hoo, y’all! Sure, it was the first (after two) draft. And the revisions will be hard. But I’m happy with the foundation, it hit the word count pretty darn close, and I beat the deadline. At Christmas. All the while keeping the day job chugging along. It’s been a good week! I started celebrating a little early last night…as is only appropriate. I have rock star sunglasses. I put them on.

Let’s Dance (NaNoWriMo, Part 1: Done!)

November 30, 2012November 30, 2012 / Cheryl Harper / Leave a comment

The DJ is either playing:

A) Psy’s “Gangnam Style”

B) LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out”

C) Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”

D) (Fill in the blank with the song that makes you dance around the kitchen in sock feet…I’ll wait. Also, I have mad awkward dancing skills.)

Yesterday I did two cool things.

Thing the first: I mailed a contract. The address said “HarperCollins” and “New York” and I think the postman was impressed. He was all “Does this need a return postage?” And I was all “Nope” with a pop for punctuation. And then I swanned out of there like hot stuff. Or my best attempt. This never happens so I probably looked more like a dorky Jeopardy contestant (which I would also LOVE to be).

*cough* Kiss Me, an Avon Impulse Valentine’s Day anthology, February 5, 2013 *cough* That’s not annoying, right?

Thing the second: I called the first draft of my next book (*chortle* *eating my nervous feelings*) DONE. I started November 1 with every intention of finishing NaNoWriMo. On November 9, the last day I touched that story, I had 28,000 words. On November 13, I started my next book, the one that someone wants! And yesterday, I typed the end at a little over 55,000 word. And I’m short of the goal but it’s going to be okay. I’ve only got the basics. Now I have to go in and cute it up, make it fun to read. I don’t see any problem with the goal. That could be total denial. In about two weeks, I’ll know for sure.

To celebrate, I went grocery shopping. Also, I bought People’s Sexiest Man Alive issue. Channing Tatum? I don’t think so. He does look good without a shirt. Chiseled? Totally. Charming…eh. There’s a lot more to sexy, right? (please, let the answer be yes…like humor, smarts, being really, really good at something or making a difference and did someone way dogs?) Still, as a minor celebration, looking at pretty pictures counts.

Today I am taking a break. I am doing laundry and cleaning in order to drag out my Christmas decorations. I am not writing. I am not thinking about writing. I am not thinking about my December deadline. I am stressing over Christmas and dinner at my house. I have to alternate the two at this point.

Half way to a first draft

November 23, 2012November 23, 2012 / Cheryl Harper / Leave a comment

I set ambitious goals. Always have. Sometimes I meet them. Sometimes I don’t. I’m going to finish this first draft on time even if I am currently behind behind. Unless I can get in 9,000 words, which is pretty close to a personal best of all time ever in the history of ever for me, I’ll finish today behind too. But the situation isn’t critical. Not yet.

Besides, if you believe in messages from the universe, I enjoyed the Elvis station, thanks to free XM, in the car yesterday and followed a beat-up “Elvis 1” vanity plate for many, many miles.

Stage 1-CRISIS OF FAITH. Or, OhmyGod,I’llneverbeabletodothis. I stare at the computer screen and hear a loudly ticking clock and the rising, shrieking concern that now that someone thinks I can do it, I’ve completely forgotten how. I’ve never been here. In the past, I’ve always just written as the mood moved me, hoping to sell it to the right person at some later, unspecified, and therefore fairly unimportant date. I set ambitious goals then, too, but never sweated ’em too much. No consequences.

Stage 2-Words on the Page. This has to begin at the beginning at some point. Anne Lamott’s shitty first draft and Nora’s “I can fix a bad page. I can’t fix a blank page” are pep talks as I just try. Some of it’s still pretty okay, even if I do damn myself with my own faint praise. But the story’s there.

Stage 3-Why won’t this story end? I need to fix it. I need to make it better. But I can’t. Because it’s not done! Tick tock! Tick! Tock!

Stage 4-All downhill from here. I think this is where I’m sitting. There’s only so much more story to tell (yeah, half of it but I know what has to happen from here, you know?) Now it’s just a matter of type, type, typing. And not giving up. Which is significantly helped by having someone waiting for it.

Stage 5-MAKE IT ALL BETTER NOW.

The rest is sort of fuzzy, but I think it includes “Cringe as I hit SEND” and “Eat all the chocolate in the house” and “Make it all better better” after someone who actually knows what they are doing gives me revisions. It’s all going to be okay. I’m not in this alone.