Posts Tagged ‘conference’
I have a confession to make: I have story ADD.
Raise your hand if, like me, you have trouble concentrating on one story at a time. … If characters start talking to you, demanding you tell their story now — even when you’re in the middle of another one. … If you have a bunch of half- or two-thirds-finished manuscripts moldering under your bed.
They all get finished eventually, but I’ve always had a little trouble focusing on one story from start to finish.
Since March’s call notifying me that I’d finaled in the RWA Golden Heart®, the affliction has intensified. Reasoning that if “Beauty and the Ballplayer” was going to be the successful MS, I ought to have a companion, I decided to start a new story related to it. So I started working on Dave & Melinda’s story while actively writing Beth & Cody’s and trying to edit Kenny & Kristi’s.
That left poor Drew & Lainy waiting waiting in the wings. I’d planned to finish writing their story after I started querying with Kenny & Kristi.
Nearly three months later and I still haven’t even written the query/synopsis on Kenny & Kristi. I’ve written only a handful of pages on Beth & Cody’s story and am just five chapters into Dave & Melinda’s.
Every time I get any momentum, I end up coming to a dead stop to do something else entirely. “Beauty and the Ballplayer” needs revising … or I need to shop for stuff to wear at Nationals … or I need to do other conference prep (business cards, pitches, schedule planning). The list goes on and on.
I’m not complaining, mind you. As far as problems go, this is one a lot people would love to have — me included. I’m thrilled to be a GH finalist — and going to Nationals in NYC is a fantastic opportunity that I hadn’t counted on getting.
I’m just saying all this planning/panic does nothing to help my story-related ADD.
Please tell me I’m not the only one with this problem.
How do you cope with conference prep while still managing to get any writing done?
Okay, not really famous … but my name is listed in the latest issue of RWA’s Romance Writers Report.
That’s right. I got the issue that lists all the Golden Heart® and Rita® finalists.
Blurry, but it's there — I promise!
There I am, right at the top of the Contemporary Series list. (Note to self: Continue entering MSs with titles at the beginning of the alphabet.)
Seriously, it’s a thrill to see my name printed alongside of all the other finalists’. Even though, as a reporter, I see my byline in print often (no longer every day, because I do more page design than writing), it’s different when my name is attached to my fiction. Don’t ask me why — I just know it is.
The countdown is on: In less than 20 days, I’ll be on a plane on my way to NYC. I can’t wait to get there and meet everyone! Win or lose, we’re all going to have a great time in the Big Apple.
Although not much writing got done this week, I’ve been busy doing all the other little things that need to be done before I leave for New York in — gulp — less than a month.
Thursday night after work, I designed the business card I’ll be handing out at RWA Nationals. (That’s it on the left. I like how it matches the blog.) I still need to have it printed, but that may or may not happen this payday. I’m having it done through my office to save on shipping — one of the perks of having a company called “Direct Impressions Business Services” in the back shop.
Friday morning, I went shopping. No, I still don’t have a bra or shoes for my Golden Heart awards ceremony gown — but I now own a nice pair of dress pants (on sale for about $10 at Kohl’s), a casual dress ($26-ish) and a cardigan ($9 — love those 80% off sales!) for the meeting rooms I’ve been assured are C-O-L-D. Tops, along with the shoes and bra, might have to wait until next payday, too.
Friday night, I ordered the address label sticker for the back of the business card — the one that lists my manuscript’s title, “Beauty and the Ballplayer,” and its status as a 2011 Golden Heart finalist. (They were fairly cheap, at just a little more than $5 total for 140 labels and shipping.)
I also did some research on transportation from the airport to the conference hotel. Turns out that a cab ($45 one way) is not the way to go. A van is less than $40 round-trip. I found out it’ll take more than an hour to travel 15 miles, though. The hotel website says JFK is 15 miles away, but the shuttle service leaves from the airport just before 7 a.m. and doesn’t arrive until 8:20.
So my travel preparation is going swimmingly. If only my revisions were going along half as well. My balky computer has thrown me for a loop … and me with about 50 pages left to get through in my first revised draft.
Then again, maybe I’m just using my poor, ailing Mac as an excuse to avoid revising. I’d rather be working on a new story.
Just saw a blog post on the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood pointing out that RWA Nationals is only 39 days away.
Eeek. Guess I’d better get back to my revisions, eh? And fast!
I also need to figure out which workshops I’m attending, and get those pitches polished to a shine.
Wow. Is it time to panic yet?
Popular Posts
Reading Alley
