Tuesday, July 21, 2015

New York City Bound - RWA 2015


This is it. The week I've been looking forward to since RWA ended last year and I learned the next conference would be in New York City. You'll have no trouble finding me. I'll be the one gawking at every turn.

Well, last week I mentioned that I was on deadline, but hoping to turn my manuscript in early.

I am pleased to say, that I was able to do just that. Though my target had originally been Friday, I didn't complete things until Saturday. You see, long about Wednesday night, I had gone through my first round of revisions/edits and was feeling very angsty. But I had to keep going, right?

Then this quiet voice inside of me said, "Step away from the story."

But, I--

"Step away from the story. Take a day to do all those things you need to catch up on and then come back to it."

So I did. And boy, what a difference. 

God is so good. He knows what we need even when we're too stubborn to recognize it. Knowing some of those things that had been hanging over me were finally off of my plate was such a relief. Then, when I went back for my final read-thru on Friday, the angst was gone, replaced with this wonderful sense of clarity. And I finished it Saturday morning.

I am curious about something, though. When y'all finish a manuscript, do you find yourself kind of twiddling your thumbs for a while, wondering, "What do I do now?" I mean, I've invested 3-4 months of my life into these people and suddenly I don't have to worry about them anymore.

So what did I do? 

Cleaned my kitchen and did laundry. Yeah, no rest for the weary.

But now, perhaps as you're reading this, I'm on my way to New York. Hopefully I'll remember to take lots of pictures so I can share them with you next week.

Until then...

6 comments:

  1. Oooohhhh, lots of people heading to RWA. Hoping for lots of picture sharing for sure. Safe trip and enjoy your week.

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    1. Trying to remember to take those pix, Kav. This place is crazy.

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  2. Replies
    1. Thanks, Preslaysa. I can already tell that it's going to be an interesting week.

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  3. Have fun at RWA!

    And I love your meeting-the-deadline story. I've heard that voice, too, telling me to step away from the manuscript - I call it "letting the ideas simmer on the back of the stove for a while."

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