Summer Heat & Writing Revisions

The weather is driving me crazy. It swings from sudden, strong thunderstorms to blazing, hot days. Today, however, turned into a pretty good day. Mild temps and lack of humidity feels like a brief relief before we are back to the summer swelter. It feels good, but as I said to my Dad, “August has a way of reminding you that summer is still here.”

Between summerween, football on TV (American football that is), and back to school everywhere, you would think we are in fall already. But no, 100 degree temps will pull you out of that daydream. Good thing too, my writing goals are no where near finished.

My revision has slowed. I still have a month left until my self-imposed deadline of Sept 1 for Draft 2, but I will have to step it up if I want to make that goal. One thing that has been slowing me down is the realization that I have to write two new chapters. I’m not too overwhelmed by this, but it is more work that I have to get to.

Add to that, one of my favorite journals is opening for submissions in Sept. I need to write something for them to be ready for submission. I also got two other short stories that I want to write.

Full docket.

Sometimes I wonder why, when I am in the middle of another project, I get new ideas. It is frustrating, because it does slow down my progress. However, I think there is some merit to my method.

Finishing a story, and then submitting it, gives me a burst of accomplishment. One of the reasons I had such a hard time from March 2020 -March 2022, is because I only focused on writing my disastrous book. All the focus was on that work and there was no room for anything else. Day after day, my only project carried the weight of my writing.

Now, it’s spread out. Some days, I’ll work on my novel. Some, I’ll work on other projects. Yes, it makes the work slower, but I also realize that I stay engaged. The past few weeks have been hard because of pressure to get this draft done, but I also have submitted 3 pieces and am about to write three new ones. Brand new stories that 3 months ago I had no inkling of existing. I think my mind actually likes switching from project to project.

A few days from now, I’ll be off my day job and spend a few proper days only writing. I hope to finish some of these stories and make a dent in the novel revision. Summer heat makes me want to stay inside. I had hoped to take a day trip, but the weather looks bad and I don’t really want to drive in possible flooding. Instead, I’ll enjoy sleeping in a bit, taking a library run to get some new summer reads, and maybe a bit of thrifting to round things out.

Also the summer TV shows do not dissappoint. Loving that both Foundation and Star Trek are back and entertaining me in this summer heat. I’ve been a fan of Star Trek since I was a kid and have a vivid memory of watching Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in the movie theater. Did I ever write about how much of a scifi fan my mom and dad are? Probably not. In short, my love of scifi comes from them.

Well, we are two thirds of the way through summer. Here’s to those that are surviving. Life is hard for many right now and sometimes I feel so helpless. But I remember that me, writing and making it day after day is something. Giving up and doomscrolling, or burying my head and not paying attention to the world is not how I want to live my life. Creating art is important, especially if it presents a better world than the one we are in.

Happy writing!