Friday, December 30, 2011

Happy New Year!

I got my wish for Christmas. I sat out in my backyard in my pajamas, enjoying my morning coffee and the warm sun. Goldy and the cats were out there with me. It was quiet and wonderful. Other than that Christmas went by in a flash this year. I’m embarrassed to admit I still haven’t sent out any holiday cards. I was hoping to make them New Year’s cards, now I’m not so sure.

Even with the extra time I got for If Hooks Could Kill, I am still in a crunch. Last week it was finishing the rewrite which was much more extensive than I’d thought it would be. I’d forgotten that instead of writing some scenes, I’d merely written a sentence describing what was supposed to happen.

There were a few scenes I had struggled with and wrote a bunch of different versions of. It was hard to pick pieces out of each variation and make something that made sense.

Now I’m proof reading. I thought that would just be correcting a word here and there. Ha! Not quite. So instead of whizzing through the pages, I’m going slowly. On top of it, somehow I screwed up the paragraph indentations after a few pages. When I finally figured what I’d done and undid it, almost all the indentations disappeared.

And there are still the recipes to be tried and the crochet patterns to be written before Tuesday.

At the same time, the beginning of the next book showed up. The plot started appearing, too and I can’t wait to start writing it.

As soon as I finish If Hooks Could Kill, I need to start on the first book for the new series.

I’m not complaining. I love every minute of this. Sometimes I want to pinch myself to make sure it is real. How many people are lucky enough to live their dream?

Happy New Year!

7 comments:

Dru said...

Happy New Year! May 2012 be a successful year for all of you.

Linda O. Johnston said...

Isn't it fun when a new book starts to form in our minds even as we're finishing another one? Have a very Happy New Year, Betty and our other fellow Killer Hobbyists, Dru and everyone else who reads this!!

Betty Hechtman said...

Happy New Year, Dru. Thank you for letting me guest on your blog.

Betty Hechtman said...

Linda, it is so nice when the next book shows up in my head as I'm finishing the previous one. It takes away the pressure.

Monica Ferris said...

I agree that one of the best things about writing is getting that fresh new idea. It's almost as good as bringing a story to a rousing finish. And when you get both together, that's heaven!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Betty Hechtman said...

You are absolutely right, Monica. It's great when you're finishing one book and already thinking about the one in the wing.

JanG said...

Happy New Year! Even if you take your book another direction entirely, just having that great idea makes the whole process a little easier. Enjoy the writing, the year as a mother-in-law, and all the good stuff you can imagine with a fresh, shiny year ahead of you.