Friday, December 09, 2005

The Giddy Stage

I'm at the giddy stage of writing a book (as my family can attest). For me, that's the point where the book is very nearly done, but still in my possession. Nobody else has seen it (and I do mean nobody -- I'm not good with the group work, so critique groups aren't my thing). I've climbed the mountain and I'm dancing a jig on the top.

This stage comes before the "heading down the mountain" phase, which starts about an hour after the FedEx man takes my manuscript away. That's when I start second-guessing myself even more than I do while writing the book. Does this part work as I meant it to? Does this action on the part of my characters make sense? How's that pacing? I love this part -- will anybody else? Ah, the insecurity knows no bounds!

This stage also means, however, that I'm still working, and working hard. Witness the author writing her blog while eating her oatmeal. Multitasking is me. I've been out of the house precisely once this week -- had to make a run to the post office (likewise work related). I turned a corner and found myself squinting in the sun like a mole person, which is pretty much how I feel sometimes. On the other hand, today it's snowing, so I'm quite content to stay inside, with my tea and manuscript that's still all mine. And dance a little jig.

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