With Apologies to a Few Trees

+ Two reams of paper
+ Two black printer cartridges
+ One inkjet printer
+ Me
+ All day Tuesday
= Five copies of a 195-page manuscript

It took me one month to write the novel and three and a half to revise it (made it by my deadline of March 20, thank you very much). Yesterday I printed out copies for my writers' group, while doing laundry and posting a blog and … not much else. I really had to watch that printer.

From today until I make the huckleberry pie with which I bribed my writers' group, I'm not allowed to think about that book -- unless Beth or Briana finishes it before then and wants to talk about it, in which case I shall not say them nay. My mind has gotten saturated in the story, in the mythology and the people until I can hardly even see the words any more, though I'm apparently capable of getting caught up in reading my favorite parts when I ought to be printing out further copies.

Look for a post or series of posts on novel revision, coming soon. I'll try to do that without letting my head slip too much into the story.

I'm also going headfirst into a nonfiction piece, as well as judging two writing contests, more editing for the project some friends and I are working on, and then -- if I have time before the pie party -- there's the other novel I have in progress. Here goes. But … yeesh … I'm going to miss my characters. A lot.

I love you, A.D., and your loved ones too. I'll see you in a month.