Saturday, May 19, 2007

It's A Lot Of Work!!

I've been thinking about how much work writing can be this week and now, to top off my little thought pie, Miss Snark has apparently been working pro bono for long enough. She's announced that she is retiring and I, for one, don't think it's a joke. And who can blame her? She'll be sorely missed (especially by me!!) but she'd put in an awful lot of work. I think it's ironic, because even though Miss Snark is an agent who makes money off of the publishing industry, in terms of her alter ego, she is doing the same thing the rest of us are; spending years working and cultivating our babies without getting a paycheck.

Are we such masochists?

Maybe.

But let me tell you about the last two weeks. My hubby finally got all his loose ends tied up for his second semester of law school and our summer officially began. Our schedule is this. We get up, feed and dress the kids, and then I go into the office, lock the door, and work for four hours straight. Then I come out and switch places with my husband who works from home. He comes out for dinner. You know what I've learned from this? It is a ton of work to write for four hours straight every day. I come out of that office totally fried every afternoon and sometimes feel like I could not have written another word.

But you know what else?

I LOVE it!!!! On top of that, I feel like the last two weeks have lasted about three days. And that's saying something for a woman who is approaching eight months pregnant AND has had her book out on submission for ten weeks. Time has been dragging for me.

But not the last two weeks. The last two weeks have flown by so quickly I can hardly believe it's true.

Also, *ahem* I finished my first draft yesterday. *ahem*

I wake up every morning to either my son demanding a bottle of milk or my daughter crawling into my bed to cuddle. Then I wait for my husband to wake up. That is usually the longest hour of my day because I want so badly to get in the office and start working again! (sometimes I cheat and take my son into the office with me and get some work done ahead of time.;))

Maybe the novelty will wear off and by the end of the summer I'll be ready to catch an hour here and there . . . but I kinda doubt it.

So I am working really, really hard, but loving every minute of it. I get to start editing next week and have some rather strict goals set for myself so you'll have to excuse the light blogging. But every time you check this blog and there's nothing new up, just think of how many new pages that means for me and my new book!;)

Ciao!

9 comments:

Michelle Zink said...

Congrats on the draft, Aprilynne!

That was fast!

I know what you mean. Writing is the only thing that keeps me sane during the long wait. Every time I spend a lot of time doing it I'm reminded again of the simple joy I find in it.

Have fun!

David L. McAfee said...

Wow. I wish I had your work ethic. I'm lucky to get two hours of BIC per day.

Congrats on finishing your first draft. :) I'm a long way away from finishing the first of my WIP, but I just started on it.

Aprilynne Pike said...

Thanks Michelle, I'm a little astounded myself. But I've been getting about 4,500 words per day and after 10 days of doing that plus some nights and the 15,000 I had to begin with, I', finished at 64,000 words. It's been crazy fast though!

And David, if you knew you had about twelve weeks of serious writing time and then you were done, you'd find a way to work those four hours too.;)

Michelle Zink said...

Good for you! Funny how those 4500-word days add up, eh?

I thought mine would be done at about 65,000 words, but I'm at 70,000 and the story says it's not over yet.

I think I'll be plugging away for another 20,000 words or so. :(

David L. McAfee said...

True enough. I'd probably stay up till 2 am writing if that were the case. :)

Tyhitia Green said...

Aprilynne,
Sounds like a great system. Wish I could stick to mine! I cannot believe Miss Snark is leaving us.

Anonymous said...

Yeah! Congrats! The anticipation is swelling.....

KC

Kari Pike said...

Congratulations to you, Aprilynne! I, too, admire your tenacity. I can't wait to read your work!

hugs to all!

John Robison said...

That's great, the dedication and speed. I wish I was moving along that well on my next works. It just seems like so much happens now, it's hard to just sit down and write.