Pajama Party

It’s 7:47 PM here in the UK, and I am sitting on the couch with the laptop while Marcus plays Call of Duty 3 (again!).

I’m still in my pajamas.

Surprisingly, though, I’ve accomplished so much today, and I am really excited to share it all with everyone.

First of all, I have finished the third draft of my book.  As I get more and more attached to my characters and their story, each consecutive draft has been harder for me to work on.  However, this draft is the big one–I anticipate it being my last major edit, with future editing for timeline verification and grammar.  I am really excited about this accomplishment!

In addition, after I decided this morning that I was getting antsy and a bit bored with just three projects on the needles, I let loose and cast on two new projects.  I’m now working on Eleanor socks by Monkey Toes in Lorna’s Laces Green Valley:

I also cast on for a felted bag called the Two Hour Handbag that’s featured in 101 Designer One Skein Wonders in Rowan Big Wool Fusion:

I feel alive again!  Plus, with Marcus’ help, the house is vacuumed, the washing is spinning and drying, the kitchen is clean, and we can finally see the floor in the girls’ bedroom!

I guess there is a lot to be said for staying in your pajamas all day, huh?

Writing in the Backseat

When it comes to works in progress, it seems like my life is filled with them lately. Knitting aside (I have four projects on the needles as I type this…gasp!), my writing has taken a backseat lately to life, and it’s time to get back on track.

Last night, I sent out the halfway completed third draft of my novel to 5 people. I’m hoping that by getting some fresh eyes on it, I might be motivated to continue working. I don’t know what’s happened, but suddenly, I sit down to work on it and am just so unmotivated. I think that I’ve become too self critical…reading every word dozens and dozens of time will do that to you, I suppose. I realize that as I get more and more sample readers, I’m sure to encounter more people that aren’t as in love with my book (the horrors…!) as my husband and I are. Still though…I suppose I’ll need to get ready for the big bad world of writers–criticism is unavoidable.

I continue to write for Associated Content, mostly claiming news related and evergreen material Calls for Content. My recent piece about Lauren Cleri and The Moment of Truth really got me thinking about what I’d do for money, and I hope it got other people to contemplate the same things. I know I’ve been blessed with a wonderful family–Marcus and the girls are everything to me. I don’t think I’d ever do anything that would risk that. I like that the piece was thought provoking for me, and hope it was for others, as well. At any rate, I love the writing for Associated Content, but just haven’t seemed as motivated by it lately. I think I need something big to come along and get me back on track…though I don’t know what it is…

The blog has been encouraging for me, though. I suppose this is something I should have been doing for years, since I love chatting and writing more than anything. Maybe this will be what I need as a writer.