A Little Something on the Side

I'm starting a new "day" job doing some freelance writing that is going really well. I've just started dipping into it and it's really fun and hopefully financially rewarding. I feel that I need to make some money aside from writing fiction so that hopefully the sense of urgency I always feel will back off a little bit and let me breathe. I'd so much rather sell something that is amazing and be able to wait until it is right rather than feel that I had to make a sale as soon as possible because my self-imposed financial deadline is hanging over my head. I had hoped to get my YA first draft done before the kids get out of school for the summer, but it's just not going to happen. Plus, I'm still waiting to see about Armadillo and it's hard to get all involved in the new project when I might still have to rererevise it in the next week or so.

Now I have to come up with a good, solid schedule that will allow me to tackle both. I'm allowing myself to run with the freelance stuff right now because it's new and fun but I could easily see it taking over and leaving no time for fiction. Some people might think that writers sit around waiting to be inspired and work on whatever is calling. Uh, no. If that were the case, my head would be filled with nothing but What Not to Wear reruns while I waited for inspiration to strike. What you do is, sit down at the laptop, open the appropriate file and say "okay, go!". Inspiration will then kick into gear and you're off. Well, there is actually that secret ritual involving sacrifices, candles and the secret handshake, but if I told you the details...well, you know what I'd have to do.

On this date: In 1859, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is born.