Back to myself

Today's 100 words:

Last night, for the first time since the holiday season began--and we all know it seems to begin earlier and earlier each year--I was able to sit down and really concentrate on my writing. It felt wonderful to be back at my computer working, editing some poetry I hope to submit in the next couple of days. I get frustrated when my writing times are interrupted; it's like a piece of me is taken away, leaving me empty. Being able to write again--really write--was like coming home. I was finally my true self.

Done!

I completed the edit of my sister-in-law's book last night and e-mailed the manuscript back to her. The best part was that I managed to finished relatively early--around 7 p.m.--so I was finally able to do what I've wanted to do for about a week: watch the Sex and the City DVDs I ordered from Netflix! I know they're frivolous, and truthfully, I've already seen most of the episodes, but, crazily enough, I felt like I'd been out of touch with some good friends, and I definitely needed the downtime. Anyway, I watched a couple of episodes last night, and now I feel better.

The rest of this weekend I plan to get back to my WIP. I'm excited to work with it again and to see what my characters are planning to do next.

No time to say hello, good-bye...

This will be a short post, as today has thus far been the day from hell, and I still have so much to do. I promised my sister-in-law that I would have her manuscript back to her by the end of the week, which is, well, today. I've read through it twice now and am working on my final comments, and I would be fine timewise if I didn't also have to make lunch, serve lunch, chase the kids, make dinner, serve dinner, go grocery shopping, etc. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night, and I'll be spending most of it with my metaphorical red pen.

Red pen, don't fail me now

I'm about halfway through the second pass of my sister-in-law's novel, and I'm hoping to have it done and e-mailed back to her by the end of the week. Then I'll finally have time to get back to my own novel. I love editing--Developmental English was my favorite class to teach--but I love writing too, and sometimes (as I've blathered on about before) there just aren't enough hours in the day to do both.

Keep the ball rolling

I haven't had time to work on my WIP for several days. With the hours of editing I'm doing for my sister-in-law, I haven't even had time to think about my own novel, and I'm concerned that if I don't find time for it soon, I'll start to lose momentum. This all goes back to my previous lament that, no matter how early I get up or how late I go to bed, I just can't do everything that needs to be done in a day. It's such a hard beam to balance, this line between what has to be done and what I want to do. I feel like I'm spending my life trying to juggle everything, and most days I drop the pins.

Back in the Dark Ages

Before I had children, I was a college English and journalism instructor. I left that job when my then-husband and I moved to another state. A couple of years later, after my divorce, I moved to yet another state and started working from home as a freelance editor. I enjoy editing, but unfortunately, after my second child was born, I no longer had the time to take on as much work. I miss it.

Recently, however, my sister-in-law asked me to take a look at a novel she's written, and I feel like I'm finally back in my element, the world of language and words, punctuation and grammar. I'm looking forward to hanging out my shingle again years from now when the kids are in school.