A much-belated Artdog Quote of the Week!
I've been playing a little more than I "should" this week (always with the "shoulds" [insert quiet groan here]. You'd think I'd learn).
Last week, I finished my final editing pass on Going to the XK9s. It's the (eighth draft of the) first novel in my planned "XK9 Series."
I sent it off to my editor, took a deep breath, and . . . OMG! Really wanted to get going on the next one!
I don't know if this is a good thing, or a bad thing. I've been told that one should take a vacation, or at least a nice, relaxing break, after finishing a novel manuscript--especially after finishing the kind of fine-toothed-comb, line-by-line editing process, where you sweat ALL the details.
My problem with that? I'm bubbling over with ideas and energy for the next book. My XK9s are a pack of sapient police dogs who shake things up on their adopted space station home, while sniffing out bad guys. Writing about them is a lot of fun (as I hope reading about them will be).
I've also had enough experience to know that "flow" like this doesn't happen all the time. It's wise to hop on and ride it out, when it comes, which is what I've been doing, instead of writing blog posts (sorry). Every job feels like "a job," sometimes--just not right now, for me.
So, then, am I relaxing? Am I working? Is it okay to say "yes"? If your work feels like playing, do we have to draw the line somewhere?
Gosh, I hope not.
IMAGES: Many thanks to Pinterest, via Betype, for the John Cleese quote, and to Marine L. Rot for the "creative flow" banner.
I've been playing a little more than I "should" this week (always with the "shoulds" [insert quiet groan here]. You'd think I'd learn).
Last week, I finished my final editing pass on Going to the XK9s. It's the (eighth draft of the) first novel in my planned "XK9 Series."
I sent it off to my editor, took a deep breath, and . . . OMG! Really wanted to get going on the next one!
I don't know if this is a good thing, or a bad thing. I've been told that one should take a vacation, or at least a nice, relaxing break, after finishing a novel manuscript--especially after finishing the kind of fine-toothed-comb, line-by-line editing process, where you sweat ALL the details.
My problem with that? I'm bubbling over with ideas and energy for the next book. My XK9s are a pack of sapient police dogs who shake things up on their adopted space station home, while sniffing out bad guys. Writing about them is a lot of fun (as I hope reading about them will be).
I've also had enough experience to know that "flow" like this doesn't happen all the time. It's wise to hop on and ride it out, when it comes, which is what I've been doing, instead of writing blog posts (sorry). Every job feels like "a job," sometimes--just not right now, for me.
So, then, am I relaxing? Am I working? Is it okay to say "yes"? If your work feels like playing, do we have to draw the line somewhere?
Gosh, I hope not.
IMAGES: Many thanks to Pinterest, via Betype, for the John Cleese quote, and to Marine L. Rot for the "creative flow" banner.
If the words are flowing, get them on paper. If the ideas are flowing, at least get the outline and details on paper. One cool thing about writing is that it's not nine-to-five work. If the inspiration is hot right now, go with it right now, and take that coffee break later. You know, eventually, your hands/brain/back will get tired of sitting and typing, so do what you need to do now, and when you get tired, do what you need to do then.
ReplyDelete