So, Spring is just around the corner (despite the freezing rain outside telling me otherwise), and I am emerging from the cold, dark funk of Winter. What have I accomplished with all of those days indoors, avoiding the outside? I’ve got a lot of things started, but nothing really finished. Sure, a few short stories are done and I’m subbing them, but nothing “book” length that’s ready to go. This has never happened to me before.

I know, I’ve got books coming out, but I like to think long term. It’s always more satisfying to know you’ve got a few things laying around for the next year, just in case. I do, but then what about the year after that?

Wait, I’ve got two… but those don’t count, because reasons.

Oh, poor me, right? But I really get anxious about these things. I usually finish at least one novel or a couple of novellas over the winter months, and I do have some pretty cool projects at the half-way point, but I’ve been having a hard time focusing on them for long enough periods to make any significant progress.

What’s different? Well, puppies, basically. Just when Quinn was starting to be the best boy ever, we decided to get Teddy. He’s taking a little longer to get to best boy status.

I’m hoping that Spring and all the fresh air and better behaved dogs (Teddy is in that awesome adolescent “I’m gonna be a dick all the damn time” stage, but he’ll come out of it soon, I’m almost certain) will inspire me to buckle down and get to work on these WIP’s, but then, it’s also got me thinking about the numerous drafts I wrote last year and didn’t do anything with…

What I need is a plan. Something to force me to sit down and just get at it. I used to write very early in the morning before anyone else was awake or late at night, but now the dogs are up at 4am. Every. Fucking. Day. I’d have to get up at 2am to do that, but I’m willing to bet Teddy (who wasn’t intentionally named after Ted Bundy, but man, he’s showing some real similarities) would decide that’s the new wake up time and I’d still be here, not really getting anything done and being really fucking tired. I could stay up later, but there’s no sleeping in, no naps, so that could be bad for everyone. Like, crime scene bad, so maybe not the best solution.

Writers out there, what do you do to focus yourselves? I can’t do the quiet space without any distractions, so I need alternatives.

For now, I’m just going to keep stealing time here and there and I’ll play the waiting game. Eventually, these new family members will behave as the old ones did and won’t require 24-hour supervision.  And eventually, I’ll get my shit together and magic will happen.

Also, there will be no more dogs. Not even really cute, fluffy ones that make my heart melt.

PS: There are limited copies available, so don’t forget to pre-order my Midnight Snacks chapbook, HIGHER LEARNING from Unnerving before May 6th!

 

 

A new school and a new principal has everyone in Maisie Davis’s small town excited. The thrill fades as their children start acting like studious, obedient robots who would rather kill than miss a single day of class.