Decompressing

Geeze, it was like being back in college again, when I'd put off a paper until the last moment and then have to pull an allnighter to get it done. (Not that I can pull off an allnighter anymore; just staying up post midnight feels about the same these days. Can't sleep past 7am, either, which surely impacts the too-old-for-allnighters equation in some way.)

Anyway, got my novel submission draft off to the post office last Saturday morning at about 9:40, less than three hours before mailing deadline. And then, after a week of 14-16 hour write/edit days, I decompressed. Spent most of Sat. afternoon sprawled on a lounge chair on the upstairs deck, staring into space and enjoying a leisurely brain melt.

Then, an overdue and very lowkey turkey dinner on Sunday for me and hubbie, for whose support and patience I am eternally grateful.

Now catch up on everything else has begun. I'm creeping toward getting all holiday packages in the mail, aim to do cards/calendars over the weekend, then make one more PO run on Monday. Have also made something that in the right light almost looks almost like a dent in the backlog of bookkeeping for our online businesses. Would like to be as caught up as possible on all that by 12/31.

Next week I'll look at the novel again: clean up my draft-in-progress files; start the next list of tweaks and edits to be done. I wish I'd had another week before sending it in, but such is the Slacker-Novelist way. At least three chapters are still too long, and I wanted to add in a few more details to set up, clarify, and/or wrap up various themes, character arcs, and plot threads. Next draft will have 'em.

Then I get to dig out NaNovels '05-'06, for which this recent effort started out as a pre-quel, and see what's in there that will work as the sequel to what is now Baking with Intent. Pulled that title out of a piece of dialogue near the end at the last minute, as I was still desperately in need of a title -- couldn't print out my submission draft without one. Not sure I love it, but it will do.