Are you a "fresh school supplies" person?
Does your heart sing at the thought of a newly sharpened No. 2 pencil? Can an unblemished notebook evoke pure possibility?
Do you fondly recall the Trapper Keeper you once loved?
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Today is Monday, July 31...but I feel like it is already fall. (My apologies to those who would rather not jump ahead so soon.)
After two full months up north in beautiful Wisconsin, my family is back to reality and getting everything in order for the upcoming school year.
Our house looks like it has absolutely exploded as we reorganize our belongings, purge what we no longer need, and work to put it all back together in a way that makes more sense now that we're about to be parents of a tween instead of a little kid.
It reminds me, of course, of that point in a book's journey to fruition where you have a draft, and it is time to think critically about it.
1. What do we have here that is working?
2. What do we have here that is NOT working?
3. How can we tighten up and improve the material?
4. What feeling does the reader get from this story?
5. How has writing it changed me and refined my thinking?
I enjoy the natural cycles of life, just as I enjoy the natural cycles of book creation. There's both a patience AND an urgency to it. I like the push and pull of action and rest.
If the back-to-school-season still gives you an energizing zing, reach out to me about the book you've been thinking about writing. Perhaps I can be of assistance.
Please tell me your favorite school supply!
Mine is a fresh notebook, of course.
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