What I Did for the 4th of July
Word of the Week: Dayturnal — The opposite of nocturnal. Informal word for whatever it is that actually describes sleeping at night and being awake during the day.
For the same reason I didn’t get to attend this year’s RWA conference, I didn’t have much of a traditional 4th of July weekend celebration. No camping or cookouts or parades for me. Oh, no—I’m on deadline.
But for working writers, holiday weekends can be godsends. They give us the chance to hunker down for three or four days straight with no (or very few) interruptions. Everybody else is off having fun, so we’re not getting phone calls or e-mails, nobody drops in unexpectedly, & things online are kind of slow & quiet. Yay!
So I hunkered down & worked like the dickens. Waking up early, staying up late…sometimes conking out in the middle of the day without warning… :sleeping Even through the bloody fireworks three nights in a row that were enough to make my head want to explode. :bloody
But all of the stress & panic & complete wonkiness of my internal clock was worth it, because I am finished.
THE BOOK IS DONE!!!
Can I get a woot-woot?! :getdown
Oh, yeah. I meant to blog about that process…scampering toward the Finish Line 
…as I was going along, but I simply did not have the brain capacity. Seriously, it was all I could do to remember to brush my teeth in the mornings. And some days, I’m not sure I even did that! :que
To recap, though, it went something like this:
Bopping along, writing on a regular basis at a decent pace. 
Look up suddenly & realize I’m not quite as far along as I probably should be & that the book is due in five minutes! 
OMG, OMG, OMG, I’ve got to do something!
:bloody
No, not that.
No, not that, either. (Although it was tempting. *vbg*)
Maybe a bit of this, though: 
No, no. Buckling down & getting the job done seemed the better way to go. So I did. :doh
And let me just say, the book is AWESOME!!! So funny that I can plug away for so long, knowing I’m on the right track but not really feeling as though the story has that :bigwow factor.
Then I’m done & let it sit for a couple days before going back for a final polish & read-through…&—BOOM!—it’s fabulous.
I had actually forgotten a couple of earlier scene & even had myself getting a little weepy as I read over the end. That’s got to count for something.
Now to turn in “Dynasties: The Kincaids” – Book 4 to Editor C & see what he thinks. He’d better love Kara’s & Eli’s story as much as I do, though, or I may have to reconsider a couple of those earlier options like or .
Comments
30 Comments • Comments Feed
Jane says:
Congrats on finishing the book, Heidi. :jump :hippie :getdown
On July 11, 2011 at 3:34 am
Donna says:
Congratulations on finishing the book. Sounds a lot like giving birth without the mess.
On July 11, 2011 at 6:53 am
Paula R. says:
Give the girl a WOOT WOOT!!! Congrats on finishing the book, Heidi!!!
Peace and love,
Paula R.
On July 11, 2011 at 8:27 am
Hollie says:
Woot Woot!!!
I had no doubts whatsoevah!!!
and Im glad that no one got hurt in the process!! :howyoudoin
now its just one step closer to being in my hands!!
WootWoot!!!!
On July 11, 2011 at 10:14 am
Jessica Lemmon says:
Yay! I haz huge celebrashuns for you! :getdown :flag :jump
And, extra kudos for using my word of the week, WONKY! I latch onto certain words and use them ad nauseum sometimes. I’m not sure why. But it habit that is, well, a bit wonky. :lildev
On July 11, 2011 at 2:08 pm
Jessica Lemmon says:
*edit* it’s a habit.. *end edit*
On July 11, 2011 at 2:09 pm
Anne says:
Congrats!
You have a male editor….for a romance?!? Interesting. What differences have you found between male and female editors?
On July 11, 2011 at 2:14 pm
Leanne Banks says:
Congrats Sweetie Pie! Now for your time of “Jubilee”!:) Enjoy Enjoy!:) xo, Leanne
On July 11, 2011 at 2:26 pm
Laura J. says:
:chick :angrychick so seeing this today (and a couple of other things all in the last 30 mins!!) has made me :cool !!! (well except I’m getting ready to head out the door and go to work with the heat index of 113 degrees. That’s gonna make me a little —–> :knock )
On July 11, 2011 at 3:14 pm
Laura J. says:
hmmmm that didn’t post the way I typed it. Weird very weird so let me try this….
:chick = me happy dancing for you
:angrychick = me yesterday and earlier today then
:cool is because I hear you finished the book and I also got some very good/cool news all in the last 30 minutes!!!
:knock = me going to work (in a hot concession stand) in 113 degree heat index.
On July 11, 2011 at 3:17 pm
Jessica Lemmon says:
:ROFL = me laughing at your awesome explanations
:lildev = thinking what that concession stand will be like for you! ugh!
:flip = and this is simply because I want pancakes, but alas, am dining alone tonight. Is it reasonable to make a full on pancake b-fast for one?!
:eats
On July 11, 2011 at 3:44 pm
Shadow says:
Congrats Heidi!!! :claphat
Kudos to you!!! (Loved your post lol)
On July 11, 2011 at 4:05 pm
Laura J. says:
Dang it. Now I want pancakes!
Me= :eats
On July 11, 2011 at 9:07 pm