Mid-Week Update: It’s Been Crazy

There is more crazy to come. But I don’t have to tell you that. 🙂

I’m hearing lots of chatter from writers finishing up their NaNo 50,000 — if that’s you, way to go!! What a major accomplishment!

My own writing has been progressing VERY slowly the past two weeks. I am about one-third of the way through my novel Queen Witch, again, incorporating beta changes and a couple of new scenes. I’m having trouble getting big blocks of time to work on it, and I don’t want to dive in with just a few minutes, because I’m afraid I’ll screw something up. I’m close enough to publication that I’m being very careful as I make changes and additions. Still, it’s going to need a final read through once I’m done. Some days this process seems endless, but after more than a year of working on this book, I am almost there. Just have to keep moving forward.

Last weekend was the one-year anniversary of my last publication — the second novella in my Children of the Sidhe series, Vessel. I certainly expected to have another book out by now, but I’ve held myself to finishing the novel before I release any more novellas. The editing portion is definitely where I have a backlog. I have two more Children of the Sidhe novellas written and ready for revision, and a complete outline for the fifth and final book in that series, whenever I get to it. With my current family situation (I have two little girls under four), it’s easy to fit in first drafts. The tough part is finding quiet time to myself to edit — the portion where I feel I have to “get it right.”

Maybe a good goal for 2013 would be incorporating a better system for making sure I’m editing and moving projects forward, instead of writing more new stuff…or at least while I’m writing more stuff. I find the first draft, free-writing part so joyful now, it gives me these lovely bursts of creative energy, without the pressure of “getting it right.” And I don’t need big blocks of quiet time for that, I can write in ten to twenty minute increments while the kids play. So I doubt I’ll give up new word count, I just need to figure out how to be working more effectively on the books I’ve already written, too.

So many goals, and so little time! I wish you all the best of luck with your writing and reading over the holidays. Here comes December!

About J.R. Pearse Nelson

J.R. Pearse Nelson is a fantasy and romance writer from Oregon, USA. She lives with her husband and two daughters among the plentiful trees and clouds of the beautiful Willamette Valley. J.R. is always searching for the magic in our world. She weaves tales rooted in mythology, bringing legend to life in modern-day and fantasy settings. J.R. is the author of the Of the Blood fantasy romance series, the Foulweather Twins fantasy series, and the Water Rites fantasy series. You can connect with J.R. and learn more about her fiction at her website. Visit jrpearsenelson.com.

2 comments on “Mid-Week Update: It’s Been Crazy

  1. Yep, the crazy is just beginning. You know it’s been crazy…and sad…for me.

    I’m really bad about not being able to work on more than one project at a time. But there are some things I want to do besides my current WIP, so I’m trying to find a way to work those things in. I guess the holidays isn’t a good time to do that. *sigh*

    Good luck on all that editing you have to do. Not the most fun part of writing.

  2. I’m just wowed by you writing that much with two little ones in the home! I didn’t start writing until my kids were older. Go you! Best wishes finding that time to edit. It does require an extra amount of concentration which can be hard to find. Hope your next week is productive! Happy ROW80!

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