Spending Time in Purgatory
October 28, 2007 by Melissa
Well, I am spending part of the day with Dare, my hero of Devil’s Rise. I am hoping to finish up the novella this week, at the latest before I leave for a signing on Friday the 9th.
I have to say that the 70 Days of Sweat has really helped me refocus on my work. For the last year or so I have had a lot of personal crisis that really wreaked havoc on my ability to write. So, the title of my diary today is two-fold. The beginning of 2007 wasn’t a pleasant one for me. In the past several months, my Mom was in the hospital, both grandparents died, my five year old broke her finger, the on again, off again assignment the military kept throwing at us(which included a year in Iraq for my husband, thank God that didn’t happen but we are sitting here waiting and wondering yet again), having to put my 15 yr old dog to sleep, losing a book to a corrupted file and having to rewrite the damn thing in 10 days, and ending up in the hospital with something that could have killed me. Other than my grandma dying, that all happened by April 1st. So, I was stressed– just a bit.
It made me look at what I was doing to myself. Granted, it took one of my editors bopping me on my hard Capricorn head to let me know I couldn’t do everything perfectly. I needed a break. I needed to let myself be human. Something very hard for a Cappy to do. Now, I don’t feel so stressed about work. Two edits handed me in one week when I haven’t met my goals for that week of writing. So, what. I just steam ahead, knowing the world will not crumble if I don’t meet every goal I have for myself.
It might also be that I can now write all day long during the weekdays. Yes, today I choose to write because I do have to take three days off here soon for the signing and retreat. But also because I want to get further in the story. But I do not HAVE to write today. For the first time in three years, I can pick and choose my weekend activities without a worry of scheduling around my writing. I came home to edit yesterday after not killing anyone at the mall(that is always a possibility when I go to the mall) but didn’t feel the pressure I had felt the last several years.
So, I am off to play in the future with Dare and Talia:) It is great to be excited about writing again.
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Hey Melissa,
That’s a huge amount of stress for anyone to go through at one time. I’m happy you are feeling back on track. Cutting yourself some slack is a good thing. May your words just slide onto the page this week. Thanks for stopping by my blog cheering me on. Go Sven!
Crikey, you have had such a stressful year! I hope that the rest of 2007 is more peaceful and settled for you.
But it’s wonderful that you’re feeling excited about writing again… I’m so happy to hear that and I hope you have a great writing week ahead.
Elen- your writing totals truly inspired me. So, one week doesn’t got exactly as planned. You get back into the game and go for another round.
Portia- Thanks, Portia. Since April it hasn’t been that bad. No, wait, since May, because I had to deal with people acting like I was abandoning them because I didn’t do RT this year.