The Page is Always Whiter
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, right? Well, that's true of writing too, except we're talking about white pages rather than green grass. At the moment, I am writing one book, rewriting another one, and waiting for a third one to enter the editing phase. Oh, yes, and I have a completed novel coming out at the end of this month, a launch for it at the end of May, a school visit somewhere in the middle of the month, and another launch in Vancouver in June. So I have lots to occupy my time and my mind. I should be happy and satisfied -- and busy. And I am, but ...
But my mind keeps wandering to thoughts of books I might write down the line. Instead of focusing on the work at hand, I'm toying with projects I don't have time for at the moment. Like The Third Portal, the first book of a fantasy trilogy I've had percolating in my brain for at least four years. For that project I'm going to need to create a whole world and culture -- a humungous task, and the urge to immerse myself in it is soooooooo tempting. I also want to write a linked collection of short stories called Six Degrees of Summer. And I have two novels that I've already written, but which need tweaking before I can send them off to publishers. I have a publisher in mind for one of them, and I'm just itching to fix the flaws and send it on its way. The other one needs a couple of plot changes, but I've had this one on the back burner for 6 years, and it's time to finish it.
I shouldn't even contemplate working on my drawing and painting, because I simply don't have time. Maybe that's not completely true. If I managed my time better, I could fit lots more in, but then when would I procrastinate???