Revision Vision

I finished the second book in the Desperately Ever After series over the holidays, and now it's on to those wonderful weeks of revising.

Luckily, while I sometimes want to throw my computer at the wall, I do in some sick and twisted way love revising. This is when the layers really start to emerge.

For me, the first draft puts me at JFK airport on a two-hour layover. The second, third, and come-what-may drafts get me out onto the streets, strolling Riverside Park at sunset, smelling the chestnuts at the corner of 43rd and Madison, soaking in the lights at Times Square, riding the glass elevators in the Marriott... you get the idea.

The hard part is staying sane while your mind wanders to other worlds and your body stays agonizingly still. Forcing yourself out of the chair every once in a while is key. And for writers, it usually does take FORCE. We could get lost in our manuscripts for days. It's our nature.

SO pretend it's New Year's Day again and make a list of things you can do to let loose for an hour at a time. This isn't a one-and-done sort of list that you just want to rush through and cross off. It's a bit-by-bit list. Chores, grocery shopping, and lunch don't count.

My go-to distractions this time:
- Planning a kick-ass vacation (or at least daydreaming about one)
- Learning to take (and edit) better pictures
- Working out (I want to do an obstacle race this year!)
- Adorning my house with sewing projects (a couch cover, a dog bed, 2-4 throw pillows, and a bench cushion as of now)
- Taking Shadow for a walk or throwing the ball for him in the back yard**


** I found the best thing ever for avoiding those slobber-drenched tennis balls that always cut our fetch sessions short... usually right before I'll need to go vomit. It's called Chuckit! and it has seriously has increased the quality of my dog-rearing life. I was GIDDY for days telling people about it. Then I left it outside and Shadow tore it to shreds... but I got more. And I'm guarding them with my life!