It’s been roughly ten months since I started writing Duality. There wasn’t much about the day itself that stands out for me now, except the feeling I had that things were going pretty well overall. I was at work removing things one at a time from my task list when a call came in.
I’ve mentioned that call here before: an irate woman by the name of Marjorie decided that it was her job to tell me how to do mine. Never mind that she was upset with the wrong person and the ball was dropped by a member of her staff. It somehow made her feel better, as it does for some others as well, to try to ruin as much of my day as possible. She didn’t ruin anything, though. In fact, quite the opposite. It was the ire resulting from that conversation that brought Duality to life.
The plot of Duality quickly formed in my head and the goal was to have it finished and ready for the beta readers by the New Year. That became an impossible task because of increasing work commitments that kept me busy through March, as I often worked six days a week and longer shifts to assist with demand. And, once those commitments lessened, I spent six more weeks away from my novel as I studied for and then passed my certification exam.
Now, here we are! It’s now mid-June and the edits are finally just about done. Do I wish that I’d been able to follow through with having this taken care of six months ago? Honestly, no. I feel that the story has grown richer with the additional time, and having to reintroduce myself to my own novel after a six-week hiatus gave me a fresh perspective that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. For a time, I briefly served as my own beta reader; starting over from the beginning to get to know the characters and see them in a way I wouldn’t have otherwise.
Of course, I listened to music while about 80% of Duality was written. I was thinking of presenting the beta readers with a soundtrack of the songs that helped to inspire me. I also wish I could send flowers to the hag that started this whole thing…
Anyway, I digress a bit. I’m narrowing down a release date for Duality – keeping in mind that I have to adhere to some semblance of a schedule. I do have a date in mind but will hold that a bit closer to the vest until I decide for sure that it’s feasible. I’m actually toying with the idea of releasing a novel a year on the same date…but, let’s get the first one done, shall we?
I’m also bumping up my freelance writing efforts as well. I’ve been hired on with a company to write articles from time to time, and plan to use it to build my portfolio. I just might be a few steps closer to being able to write on my own schedule for a living.
Which brings me to one last thing, since I’m talking about things that I love doing. One thing that my friends and family know about me is that I love to cook. I often try out new recipes and refine old ones, tormenting those who don’t live close by with pictures of the finished work. I was asked a few days ago if I ever planned to post those pictures to the blog. I’ve decided that I will – twice a month – starting tomorrow. While I don’t by any means pretend to be anything even remotely close to a personal or professional chef, my presentation isn’t ALL bad.
Until next time…
-me
