September 6th, 2009 | by Bonnie Edwards |
September is a month of renewal for many people. Renewed routine, renewed dedication to work, renewed gym memberships. After all, outdoor sports may be curtailed in the coming winter. Summer’s end brings routine back into our lives and turns our thoughts to cozy evenings.
For me, this month will mean a flurry of working to deadline on my next book for Aphrodisia. We’re tossing around titles at the moment, flitting from one to another as they come to me. I don’t know as yet, whether the marketing folks have considered a short list my editor likes or not.
I’m also looking forward to meeting my editor in person for the first time at a conference in early October. Maybe we’ll share a drink and a few chuckles and find the perfect title for my story about three log home builders. Ahhh! Those O’Banion men have stolen my heart. I hope they steal the hearts of readers, too.
I’m also deep into revisions on another book. So, two at once, using the same kind of energy. I’m looking forward to the challenge.
Another thing I need to prepare for are the classes I teach in the fall. For eight weeks, I teach writing for two hours one evening a week.
Still a few weeks away, the course is beginning to take up space in my mind. Not the course so much as the unknown students. Will I have a couple of earnest and talented romance writers? A scriptwriter who wants to try his hand at novels, perhaps. Some “almost there” literary and Science Fiction or Fantasy writers who want to find the push to complete their first or third manuscript. A poet or two who wants some creative energy to spark a new direction?
Or will I have another writer who doesn’t actually write, but who has the entire story in her head… and loves to talk about it endlessly. (I got points last time for not letting her go on for too long and not looking bored when I stopped her.) Please folks, if you’re going to take a writing class, write. Otherwise, it’s a lot of hot air. Honest.
One of the things I’ve done lately to prepare myself for my upcoming challenging weeks, is get a new pup. Pup, you say? How can the added work of training a pup prepare you for the challenge of finishing your 4th draft of one book, your 3rd set of revisions on another book, and prep for a teaching gig?
Easy. My days are now spent with a smile on my face. I’m happier, more active, and more productive because of this pup than I’ve been in a year. He makes me laugh, he makes me move. He lessens the time at my computer, thereby making me work differently while I’m there. He brightens every moment of my day. 
And wouldn’t you be a more cheerful, productive person if you had this little guy hanging on your every word?
Bonnie, what a little doll! What is he? I didn’t know you taught–I envy you the confidence in that. I can do the occasional panel or workshop, but sometimes I feel like such a fraud. I know how I write, but I’ve not really mastered the ability to take my knowledge and share it. Have fun at your October conference!
by Kate Douglas · September 6th, 2009 at 12:06 pmYou are so right about September being a month of renewal–always seems so much more of a beginning month than January. (It’s the ghost of Septembers past, surely–so powerful he makes us truly smell the fresh paper and pencil lead that signalled the the start of a new school year.)
Gawd, did I have big plans for all that fresh paper!
Love your pup!
by EC Sheedy · September 6th, 2009 at 12:13 pmKate, he’s a standard poodle and we’ve had him for a couple weeks. He’s now chasing the dh for attention, leaving me to write. When I checked to see if this blog posted this morning, he discovered the cord to my laptop. Luckily his baby teeth hadn’t quite snagged it. It was sort of wedged between a couple. Sheesh!
He’s going to be big…and eventually brave…or so he tells me. He’s still nervous around traffic and must stare at every bike / skateboard he sees, and is quite offended when people walk by and don’t talk to him. LOL
And I haven’t stopped smiling since we brought him home.
And the teaching, it’s a wonderful way to figure out how I do things. And to refresh myself on the basics…which a writer needs to do. (well, this writer needs it!)
Writing’s so solitary, that it’s wonderful to share…and like a vampire, I suck up all their fresh enthusiasm for the craft. It rejuvenates me.
by Bonnie Edwards · September 6th, 2009 at 12:56 pmHe’s so cute. He would definitely put a smile on my face everyday.
by Jane · September 6th, 2009 at 4:31 pm