Hey Look... Progress

Hello World,
It's me again, but this time I'm in the guise of an actual author. That's because last night after posting my blog I managed to stay awake until almost 3 in the morning and- while I didn't actually work the whole time- I did officially succeed in getting some revision done on my second novel.

But it's nothing impressive, so save your accolades for another day.

In the 4+ hours I battled my inner demons of distraction (Facebook, T.V., a dozen or so games of computer chess), all I managed to revise were 3 lonely little paragraphs. The total was 211 words. Whoopee doo.

They were, however, really good revisions. Score!

In truth, I'm feeling ok. Not happy or proud, exactly, but ok. For the past 24 hours, this guilt-ridden author has felt... wait for it... hope. That's a lot better than in the past 24 days where I've felt little more than stabs of inadequacy. Maybe this is because for weeks now I've felt like I've been standing on a snow-covered precipice. In my hand has been a single snowball which I've been carefully and patiently shaping as I wait for the right moment to stoop, place it on the ground, and let it roll from my fingertips.

Like many authors, I write in spurts, except mine are more like gushing explosions of volcanic ash and lava. I have long- almost epically long- dry spells, but then something changes and I go on a frenzy. A year ago my first novel was sitting in the same stage its sequel is now: a long draft filled with continuity concerns, plot holes, and screams of thematic questioning. Then one day it occurred to me I had done a little bit of work for several days in a row. A week later I suddenly realized I had worked more than 5 hours a night for 8 or 9 straight days. Each session went well past midnight. I had even pulled an all-nighter and gone to work the next day, too stoked on adrenaline to let it affect me. Two months later I hadn't skipped a single day, had probably averaged 25 hours of work each weekend, and had pulled 6 more all-nighters, 3 more of which were on a school night.


Yeah, I binge-write, in other words.

It's unlikely that last night's baby steps will result in immediate snowball-like momentum, but one can hope and dream, and that's the message of tonight's blog. Of course one can also give oneself a fighting chance, so I'm going to check this for spelling errors, click 'post,' and open up that damned file before I lose the nerve. Tonight's goal: Revise a whopping 212 words. ;)

With a nudge of my snow-tipped fingers,
-K.

Ps: Yesterday's Writing Results: Revised words... 211. Paragraphs perfected... 3. Hopes and dreams reignited... Just the one, but it's all I need.