Writing Wednesdays: Inertia

I've heard many people say that the best way to get through the query trenches is to be working on something else. It's true, I know, but it's not easy. After you get through the bliss of writing that first draft, then spend several months editing, then prepare your query letter and your list of agents, it's tempting to just sit back and relax for a little while, letting the queries do their thing and praying that any second you're going to get an offer.

Of course, except for the most fortunate of writers, even if things are going well they tend to move at a glacial pace. I had somehow forgotten this between querying my last novel and my current novel. Not to mention that I have a zillion other things going on right now, including my Russian lessons, getting ready for our move, and taking care of a toddler full time. But one of my CPs, who is not only amazingly talented but also amazingly productive, started sending me pages from her current WIP, and it was sort of the kick in the butt I needed to start working on something new.

The trouble now, unfortunately, is that I'm on a roll. And I don't want to stop. Which is a problem, because now is probably the worst time in my life to decide to write a novel. I should be using any spare time I have to learn more Russian, organize things here, and purchase whatever I need for the move. Then again, I'm a journalist, and I do love a deadline. And I think it's true in life that the more you have to do, the more productive you are. At least, that's the theory I'm working with right now.

So wish me luck as I try to write my newest novel in exactly two months. And bear with me if my posts are short in the coming weeks.