Right Where I Left Off

There it was.

93 pages, stapled into four parts, carefully packed into one of the totes I’d brought from home.

I’d both forgotten about it and knew exactly where it was–one of the magical powers of an unfinished manuscript.

Draft one, completed March 2020. Draft two, a false start in January 2021.

Draft now.

I tried to get to it for a couple days (even packing it up in a tote bag for a “field trip”) until Saturday when I made myself a little nest with snacks and tea and red and purple pens, and let myself disappear.

In.

Into the world I’d been unconsciously still working on for two years.

Into the psyche of characters who need much more emotional depth.

Into themes that mean more and more to me with each passing day.

Have you ever seen something so delightfully messy?!

I took it to my parents’ house the next day, and by extension to church and grocery shopping, though it stayed in the car.

I pulled some more long hours, and brought the story to over halfway edited with some notes for draft three.

I’ve also been a little researching fiend about hardbacks, and I talked to my cover designer yesterday about plans for this year.

With each page, I’m growing more and more excited, and I can’t wait to share this all with you.

That face when you have a breakthrough idea.