Monday, September 29, 2008

I have a cold

Ugh.

It's not too bad yet, but it promises to be a doozy. I have that awful, sore scratch in the back of my throat that always bodes ill. So I'm downing enough liquid echinacea to give me a buzz and hoping that takes care of it. (Hey, it's worked before.)

And meanwhile, I'm not doing much else. Editing, mainly. Trying to decide how I feel about a book. Researching for a new book. I hate being sick; it's very difficult to write when I'm sick. It's like the writing part is all used up in fighting off the cold, do you know what I mean? It just *poof* disappears. And all I want to do is sit and watch Nip/Tuck on DVD or something (of course I can't, because, you know, kids and stuff. Princess is home from school today too, she has a horrible cough.)

But I'm also doing some research, and thinking about some things, and making some decisions about my next projects and in what order they will be done and all of that, which is fun. It would be more fun if I could muster a single drop of enthusiasm for any of it, groan. I hate being sick! (And you see how dull I am when sick, too. Sorry, I know this is a terrifically boring post.)

This has been a weird year for me, writing-wise. You know how many books I've written this year? One. ONE. When this time last year I'd written three or four, plus some assorted novellas and stuff. I don't know why this has been such a terribly unproductive year, but it seems I'm not the only one having issues either.

And I'm reading my Booker Prize book, which isn't great. Well, it's okay, but I'm not loving it. I'm trying to find the greatness in it but no matter how hard I look I can't seem to. Maybe it's all in the end? I've only got like 50 pages to go.

How are you feeling? Anyone else finding this to be a weird, off year for new projects?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Unproductive" is a relative term. It's isn't necessarily how much you've accomplished but what you've accomplished.

I hope you and the Princess get better soon.

Now, I'm outta here before I get busted. -V95

BernardL said...

Your time was probably taken up with editing all the production from last year. Get well soon!

Seeley deBorn said...

Totally.

All I've done this year is work on things that were started long times ago. I'm editing that damn novel that will never end, rewriting and rearranging huge portions of it. I'm wondering if it's even worth doing since I'm going back to school. Even if I get all this editing, rewriting and writing of the synopsis done, and submitted somewhere, am I going to have time to promote it? I probably won't have time to write the followups that are planned and I'll fade into obscurity as a one-release wonder.

Can't write something new, can't submit til it's done.

Editing really does feel a bit like purgatory.

Charles Gramlich said...

Hope you feel better soon.

kirsten saell said...

I have a cold, too. It bites. I managed to avoid the back-to-school plague for a whole three weeks. Now I'm drowning in snot.

I'm feeling unproductive, as well. I have three releases this year, but one was entirely written last year and the other two were started last year. The one book I started this year stalled over the summer and I haven't put more than 5k on it since June. Bluh. I did begin another project this summer--a prequel to my first book--but I'm not sure I'll take it anywhere. Very annoying. Almost depressing.

Need to get off my ass, here.

Hope you feel better soon, D. :)

Angie said...

but it seems I'm not the only one having issues either

Nope, not at all. The first story I finished this year was earlier this month. :/ I just couldn't find the words, couldn't settle down to writing, couldn't make anything come, couldn't anything, for the first 7-8 months of this year. No clue why. Whatever it was, it seems to've gone away and I'm hoping it stays away. [crossed fingers]

I hope you're feeling better soon, hon, you and the kidlet both. [hugz]

Angie

Robyn said...

Feel better soon!

You may feel unproductive, but you've made a lot more announcements about agents and sales and reviews and stuff than you did last year.