Revising is a slog, y’all. When I can’t see the wordcount piling up, when some days I actually cut words, when I look at the same passages over and over again, it feels like I’m going nowhere. But looking back to where I was only a month ago, I can see progress.

I finished drafting my short story, tentatively titled “Seduce Me” but still “New Workplace” below.

Then I started revising Tempt Me. Not gonna lie, revising NaNoWriMo drafts is…challenging. NaNo is all about getting words on the page and moving forward. No time to think, no time to second-guess my outline. Drive to the end. What I end up with is a lot of words that can be repetitive or even downright unnecessary. Plus, I tend to focus on plot, and the emotional beats are secondary if they make it onto the page at all. So I’m still slogging through my revision. I’ll revise at least once more before I send the draft off to my beta readers.

And why, you might ask, is Frenemies still on the list? Hasn’t it gone off to do its work on submission? Sadly, no. It needs another revision, too.

To sum up, I won’t see the light outside the revision cave for a while. It’s a good thing I enjoy revising. I love the process of problem-solving, seeing something that doesn’t work and figuring out how to make it better.

I just need to get over the frustration of not being able to call a thing finished, of not being able to check it off my list.

Revising forces me to spend more time in the moment. Make things better today instead of looking ahead to next month or next summer or next year. I’d like to carry that mindset into my daily life, too. Spend time with my dog, scratching that spot on his back right above his tail. Linger for a moment in the sunshine. Give my kid an extra hug.

Enjoy today, y’all.

Writing progress as of Feb 19, 2023