The first week of May is usually my favorite week of the year for one main reason: that's when the lilacs are in bloom. This year, since it's been unusually warm and I've barely seen a hint of winter here in Michigan, I was thinking perhaps the lilacs would come early, but it's looking like they'll hold off till next week. At least the ones in my back yard, anyway.
There's no doubt about it: Spring is here. It seems inevitable that with spring comes a sense of renewal. So I'm looking at my life right now and checking out what things are new.
One new thing: I'm not working and haven't been for the last eleven weeks or so. Not only am I not working at my day job, I'm also barely working on writing. But that, I suppose, is nothing new. This time last year, I was sure I could have the entire Naturals trilogy out by the end of the summer--September at the latest. Alas, we all know that didn't happen. And I feel as though I've made very little progress on Seeking, even though I am really excited for the climactic scene. (I'm stealing the bones of this scene from the original draft of what became Awaking--a draft so horrible it will never see the light of day again. But you could say the climax in Seeking has been about a decade in the making.) I've written perhaps a page or two in the last eleven weeks, and while I don't find that particularly good progress, I have many friends who are impressed I've been able to get even that done.
Mostly because I had a baby almost eleven weeks ago.
I remember thinking to myself that once pregnancy-brain wore off, the baby would be asleep most of the day and I'd be able to write a lot.
Ha! The naivete of someone who's spent very little time with infants!
So, in the category of all things new, this whole being-a-mom and having-a-baby thing ranks high. And while I in no way begrudge my little girl for stealing my time and brain power away from writing, I do hope that sometime soon I'll be able to start writing again.
It's kind of funny: Even though I had hoped to have published more books by this time, I've still got one published. That means that my daughter will always know her mother as an author. It's kind of a cool feeling.
Okay, I think I should finish this post and use the rest of Norah's nap time to continue working on (or, dare I say finish?) a Tesin-related scene. Though I know I'll have to do a bit of overhauling before it's satisfactory, just to get it out is a good feeling.
Perhaps I'll even skip ahead to the climax and start working on that. Goodness knows that's what I ended up doing with Awaking.
Wish me luck.
