Procrastinations and Excuses

Fiction Can be Fun! Real Life Can Be Funnier.

Ten Reasons I’m Not Writing Right Now
Supported by Instagram Evidence

1.   The dog is scratching at the door to go out, and I’m the only one here with  thumbs to make it happen.

2.    The cat has stolen my pen, or chewed through the cord of my laptop. (Proof.)

3.   The kids are here to let the dog out, but they're also begging for a snack, asking to play a game with me, and wanting to know where they last put the charger for their tablet – or the actual tablet. (How do I know this?! I do not know this.) This happens right next to my ‘office’ – the dining room table.

4.   The dog is scratching to come back in. (And then, within seconds, to go back out. Yes, immediately.) But who can be mad at this face?!

 5.    It’s possible it’s Saturday morning, and I am still sleeping. (Read:
        Yesterday was Friday, a/k/a Too Much Tanqueray)

6.   The Sonos won’t connect, because sometimes the Internet Gods in my house hate me. (Music a must for this girl to write. Silence can be disrupting.)

7.   I’ve fallen into time-sucking twilight zones. Facebook. Instagram. Pinterest. Real estate listings. Another author’s book that’s too good to put down. Yet another episode of Fixer Upper (because that Chip is so damn funny). 

8.   I’m traveling to research an upcoming release. (Or to see someone in my extended family get married. Those parties are freaking nuts. Justified FOMO if you’re the only one not going.)

9.   The internet is still not working = No answers available to my research question on Google. Since my encyclopedias are hiding in some dark corner of my parents’ basement, Happy Hour is an acceptable alternative. If before noon, more COFFEE. (Side Bar: Angered Internet Gods again. Remember to beg ‘IT’ for help, and put out a cold beer for said ‘IT’ as payment.)

10. See numbers one and four. Seriously. This never ends.

Bonus Points if you know the name of the movie "Fiction Can Be Fun!" is quoted from.

Don't bother with the encyclopedia. The movie didn't exist then.

Update (Or, Lost On a Monday)

The Amped Series is a complete trilogy!

The first read with my editor is done, and we'll be in the thick of it for the next couple weeks as we get this baby ready to accompany her sisters, "Balance" and "Sway".

I've never been so happy with a first draft.

I even received a compliment on comma placement this time around. (See? You can teach an old dog new tricks.)

My main characters have been on another crazy ride, and their last stop is (finally) an HEA that could not be more fitting for them.

The cover design came to me during conversation with hubs on Saturday, so of course I left him hanging mid-sentence so I could search stock photos. We collaborated yesterday, and after being sucked into it for a few hours (I'm not sure my kids ever had lunch...), we have a cover (though also in its infancy, with a lot of prep before it's final).

I felt such a weight lifted having the book draft done, and with the cover concept finally showing up on the doorstep of my brain. (Took you long enough. I was definitely sweating.)

Book Three release is anticipated for November, which means I will have released three full length novels in one year's time. Not written, mind you - because "Balance" started its journey onto paper in 2012. It was shoved into a drawer until my infant daughter no longer needed diapers.

It was only then I was ready to listen to myself and stop procrastinating.

I'm still shocked I'm capable of any of this.

I'm proud of all the work, and the amazing people that helped me accomplish my goals.

The Downside

Last night I wandered around my kitchen at ten p.m. with nothing pressing.

There was no urgency.

The story is written. The cover is well on its way. The editing will begin this week.

And without the writing process, I am lost.

I need this to be my work.

I need this because I'm not me without it.

Without the process, I am lost.

I need...

                            ...to write another book.

But not a trilogy. No thanks.

(Not yet, anyway. Because holy shit is that exhausting.)

I just need to listen, and see which set of characters screams the loudest for their story to be heard.

While that's going on, I'll be wrapping Book Three up in a pretty package to head out into the world, and I'll be signing Books One and Two at Barnes and Noble in my home city next week.

With all the madness of reality (especially these days when I cringe every time I see or hear about current events), I'm so thankful for the life I have, and the opportunity to get lost in creating books. I'm so grateful for any of you that have read them, and I hope you take away more than just the story. There are underlying themes that matter to me in there, and one of them is very simple.

The greater good, always.

Play nice out there.

xo
MJ