DONIS CASEY: Write Errant

As Sandra Boynton said in one of her greeting cards, “Things are getting out of hand. Please send chocolate.”

Christmas will be here in ten days. Don finally bought a tree and got it set up last night, though it isn’t decorated yet. He also bought a poinsettia, and has managed to send out his Christmas cards. If it weren’t for him, there’d be no discernable holiday at our house. I am doing nothing but writing, these days. I’m so close to finishing the new book. Every day, I think, “this is the day,” but it hasn’t been the day yet. My plan was to have it done by the end of the year, and in truth, I don’t know if I’m going to make it.

I love the writing, but I hate the pressure of trying to get the MS in at a certain time. I often wonder, do I have to do this? I said I would have it in in January, and the publishers already have the release scheduled for fall of ’08. But really, would the world fall apart if I turned it in a couple of weeks late?

Would it?

Next week I have several things to attend to – a doctor’s appointment, some family matters, jury duty (way to the heck and gone from me in north Phoenix. I don’t mind doing my civic duty, but I really hope I don’t get picked for this one). A couple of parties to make, too, as long as I’m not sequestered somewhere. Not to mention that I really ought to do some shopping if poor Don is to have any presents at all.

Well, I shouldn’t whine, I suppose. I’m sure many of you Dear Readers have infinitely worse troubles than mine. At least I no longer live in Oklahoma, where my brother has been without electricity for over a week. My Missouri sister was powerless last I heard, as well. It would be hard to finish a book on my laptop without electricity to recharge the battery. I suppose one could spend many wintery dark hours with a pen and paper, scribbling out the manuscript by the dim yellow light of a kerosine lantern. If it’s good enough for Emile Zola, I suppose it would be good enough for me.

So at least I don’t have to contend with ice and snow and no heat, and can sit in front of my laptop in relative comfort. Next week I’ll write Christmas cards in Maricopa County Superior Court while waiting to be called, and then over the next few days Don and I will go out together and buy our own Christmas presents and have a nice lunch, and maybe I’ll finish the book before the end of the year and maybe I won’t.

On another note, we’ve been having a fun and lively discusion about writing styles on www.typem4murder.blogspot.com. And, Lesa Holstine did a very nice entry on her blog about my event in Glendale, AZ, on November 29, including pictures. That address is www.lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com. Go to her November 30 entry. I invite you to check out both links. And by the way, I’m 5’3 1/2″ tall. Is Lesa 4’2″? Is she standing in a hole? Am I standing on a box? It’s a mystery.

My best wishes to all you Dear Readers for lovely and relaxed holidays.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 15th, 2007 at 3:40 pm and is filed under Writer Rant. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.