Jeff O'Handley, Author

Jeff O'Handley

The Doubting Writer Finds His Voice

Monday Musings

In case you’re not already aware of it (and aren’t a reader of blogs belonging to Carrie Butler, Lisa Regan, or Melodie Wright, this week they are running ….

and I jumped in with an entry (Fool! What have you done?). However, I’m not ready to run mine today, so it will have to wait, probably all the way until Friday—unless I decide to break with my usual Monday-Friday posting schedule. We’ll see….

Parallel Lives drags along. I haven’t been working on it too much over the weekends lately, I’m not certain why. I have been hammering away at it during the week, however, and I think I could actually be done with this latest run through by the end of the week. And then, it’s off to a couple of readers, including my wife, who has been waiting for a long time. That may be the biggest hurdle yet for me. Maybe subconsciously I’ve been dragging my feet out of fear of giving it to her (if you’re new to this blog, we’ve covered why here).

I continue to produce what I think are interesting bits for my Writer’s Group, but they’re like the little doodles you do on a cocktail napkin. I haven’t done anything with anything I’ve written in there in who knows how long. It’s not a waste of time-it’s practice, if nothing else—but it would be nice to come out of it with something more than a collection of words and a feeling like, “this could be something; but what?”

I’ve experienced a ‘senior moment’ yesterday afternoon. I asked a question on Absolute Write in response to someone’s problem. Late last night I went to see if the ‘OP’ had answered said question…and I couldn’t find the thread. I scoured up and down, all the various subfora, nowhere to be seen. I checked into my post history, it wasn’t there. I went to bed last night wondering about my sanity.
This morning, I found the thread and the post, and realized it was there all along. I just completely ignored the particular thread title. “That’s not it,” I’d say, whenever I scrolled past it. Help!

NaNo Yes, or NaNo No? Still haven’t completely decided, but I’m leaning towards NaNo Yes (hunts down old notebook for that really good idea….)

That’s all for today. See you on Friday. Or, possibly, sooner.

10 Responses

  1. Well I hope you'll do a casting call post! But no pressure. I thought it would be fun to see what everyone is working on.

    I'm about to embark on Draft 2 of my WIP and I have absolutely zero motivation. Earlier this year I couldn't wait to get here because it would mean I had a completed draft. Now I want to watch TV all day and not think about anything. Blah! Maybe I just need a break.

    I have many "scraps" laying around that I think could really be something but I don't know what!

  2. Ha! I get those senior moments more and more often these days! Really frustrating.

    As a good friend of Lisa Regan's, I'm thinking of doing the Casting Call bloghop, but I don't have a lot of time these days. I might not make it.

    It's great that your wife wants to read your WIP. My husband, while supportive, won't read mine, at least not until it's published, he says. That hurts a little bit, but what am I gonna do? While it's important to have that support, it's other writers who have the most influence on your story and writing. There is no substitute for a great critique partner.

    As for not writing all the time, I get that. Mine comes in sporadic bursts. I can't wait until I finish my son's college app stuff so I can finally start working in earnest on my second book.

    Good luck getting it all finished!

  3. How about NaNoReviMo, yes? *grins*

    Thanks for the Casting Call shout-out. I can't wait to read your post this week! 🙂

    It's good to hear Parallel Lives is moving along, even if it's at a slower pace than you'd like. Good luck with your wife!

  4. Thanks for the comments, all. Always appreciated.

    NaNoRevMo–definitely a possibility.

    Casting Call–concept is done, though it lacks visuals (which was kind of the point, wasn't it?). I just can't quite find what I want, so I may be cheating…

    Lisa, how long has it been between draft 1 and draft 2? Maybe a break is just exactly what you need.

  5. That's really exciting, that your novel is ready to go to readers – I know you probably think of it more as terrifying (and I would understand if you did), but it is a huge milestone. Well done!

  6. I think that giving your ms to your spouse to read is the scariest! They've shown so much faith in you, and you just don't want them to think that maybe it was ill placed. 🙂

  7. nano no for me. I'm hoping to see your casting call. This one kinda snuck up on me. I've been after my hubs to read my MS for a while. He says he's not into fantasy. It's just as well. I still have to clean it up. Then I'll just read it to him myself. 🙂

  8. Peggy: I think I wrote about my irrational fear of my wife as far as reading goes; or maybe I just drafted it and never posted…Old Guy Memory strikes again…but you pretty much hit it right on the head there.

    Laila, the Casting Call is going to happen, I'm just pondering some of the details. Time's running out, though.

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