I have had this entire week off from school. No, it isn't a massive snow day collection. My corner of Upstate New York has actually been just on the edge of the Polar Vortex that keeps swooping down upon the US. We have only had two days off for extreme cold. One of those days, we were the only school in the area that closed. (Perks of a private school!)
This is Presidents' Week. While most of the nation celebrates on Monday, we take off the entire week. It is also known as Winter Break. And just like every other break, I had these grandiose plans of getting the house completely cleaned and organized, and finally finishing one of my stories and/or books.
Did I achieve my goals?
Pffffft. HA! Same disappointment as every other break.
No, I take that back. I did actually accomplish some things. I have actually been ahead of schedule on most of my book blog posts, instead of rushing to get them done the night before (or really stinking early in the morning). I've gotten in some reading of choice, instead of only mandatory book reviewing for book blog tours and publishers. I racked up tons of points on all of those fun sites that let you earn Amazon gift cards. (Want to know which ones I use? Let me know and I will share links!) I even managed to clear out about a third of the bathroom. (It's huge and has a ton of built-in storage that I regularly misuse.)
Oh, and I sent out four stories to be edited and proofed.
Granted, they are all shorts, BUT I still did it. I have only ever had friends and family read them, to give me their initial feedback. One is a children's story that I wrote last summer. One is a short story based on the theme "Love Gone Wrong" that was quite possibly going to be in an anthology that fell through. Two other ones are little romantic ditties about couples finding each other.
And now I await a professional's opinion. Yes, this is someone who actually edits for a living and has been doing so for years. Yes, I have read books edited by this person. I can tell the difference between authors' works who have used her for some books, but not on others. I trust her completely.
So, now I take a deep breath and I wait. And perhaps feel a little more inspired to work on some other stuff in the meantime?
