Keeping on with the keeping on

Those of you who check in periodically with my blog may have noticed how I’ve really been fighting to get the current Work in Progress finished.

This is different from the fight with the previous book. That fight began because I was trying to put two books’ worth of plot into one, and because I had 50 bazillion relatives (okay, only 25) show up in town the month I was trying to get the book finished. I think I may have mentioned on this blog that I wondered whether it was more of a psychological struggle than an actual “work time” struggle. That I’ve had this book living in the background of my life for so long (years) that I’m ambivalent about actually finishing it and sending it out into the cold cruel world. That doesn’t mean it’s any less frustrating.

Anyway, over the weekend, I went to a workshop/writer’s retreat event. I had planned to go with my best buddy Belinda, but she had to stay home and take care of grandbabies while their mama was in the hospital. I thought about canceling when she couldn’t come, but decided no, I really needed to go, even though the grandboys were in town all week, and I went to Slitherbahn on Thursday and wore myself out and had to get up really early on Friday to get all the way across Houston to the event… Yes, that is a long-ass sentence. Deal. End result is, I went, and I was glad.

It was structured with workshops in the morning, and writing time in the afternoon, and yes, I did have to lie down on the sofa where I was writing and take a little naplet so I didn’t fall asleep over the writing. Afternoons are not my best writing time. But I wrote. And I listened. And I took an appointment with the creativity coach person, Kathryn Lorenzen. Her reaction was that–yes, you may be resisting the end of this book. Because I’m dealing with an awful lot of transitions and things right now, including my youngest graduating from college. It may be easier to send him out into the world if I hang onto the book I’ve been “raising.” Basically, I need to be nicer to myself, while still showing up to work as close to every weekday as I can.

And, even though I had my naplet every afternoon I was there, I got about 3 pages written every day I was there. Maybe a little more. I pushed through a lot of the “buildup” stuff, and started getting excited about reaching the ending. And in my writing this week, I think I’m there. My hero has had his plane shot down. He’s been captured. The heroine is sailing her little sailboat closer. She’s had a fight with her dead husband. Things are happening, and I’m hoping I can get this all wrapped up, 100-plus words at a time, before the daughter, son-in-law and grandson come to visit in August.

Wish me luck.