As I sit here working on my current WIP, I get the feeling this is my best work to date. I’m in the final stages of the third draft before sending it off to several beta readers. I’ve found they help keep my story on track, give constructive feedback, and whittle away overused words.

I won’t lie and say I have patience while they read. That would be a lie. A big, fat lie. Instead of giving into my own insanity, I have found comfort in moving onto my next project. This settles my nerves, but my mind wanders. Like idle hands, this tends to get me into trouble. So, I write, edit, drink coffee, repeat, but with a new story. That’s not entirely true. I start three stories. You may be asking why?

Am I a glutton for punishment? The jury is still out.

I start three stories, each one on a specific day until one of them takes off. There have been times when I’ll be working on one of the three when a new story captivates my attention. I’ll try to avoid the urge to stop what I’m doing but sometimes the urge is to strong. Or maybe I’m too weak. This happened with my current novel. My wife and I were watching a movie when one of the main characters said something that got my attention—sparked a fire and I knew this would be my new story. Has this ever happened to you? Surely, I’m not alone. Right?

As I wait for the beta readers to give me hope that my writing is worth publishing, I find myself writing, editing, drink coffee, repeat. But then I get to relive the insanity when I send it off to my editor.

Yikes!