Best laid plans of...

So which am I, mouse or man? (Man as a stand in for humanity, of course.) This isn't a whine, at least I'm trying to keep myself from flinging full body into the self-starring drama a whine perpetrates. I want to focus my brain instead of jumping willy-nilly. Besides, whining always makes you feel worse about a situation.

The situation: Last night, I pulled most of my various office piles back into the office for later sorting and then settled to find what I considered worthy to mail out. The great-everything-goes mail out has to be delayed due to lack of funds for postage, but I would have everything ready by payday.

I listed ten stories (8 short stories, 1 script, and one the idea for Night Storm). Only two of the ten are ready to mail--as in I can't conceive of changing the story at all. As for the rest, some have been worked on and the rest need something badly.

More often than not, the true story is found in the editing. I know this, and I'm okay with it. What concerns me is the rewrites of material from the last decade. Am I doing it to the detriment of writing anything new? Not to even mention the 18 things on the writing burner. Gah, it's no wonder I've felt guilty about the little down time at the paying job that has been spenting reading.

And I'm not trying to buy into the busy drug. Most likely, I'm reading too much into this. Easiest solution is to dive into the story folder and find something that seizes my fancy, start working on it slow and steady, while working projects off my list.

I'm always preaching about finishing what you started and not let yourself get distracted by the muse. Am I just trying to justify a distraction? Does it really matter with an itching need to write instead of editing? And not writing nonfiction like the resource guide.

I'm off to find an idea I can percolate. Next will be doing my mailing homework. I need 40 potential markets for the types of stories I write and know them well. I like the idea in Page After Page to dedicate a day of the week for marketing endeavors. Marketing Monday then.

Having reviewed Page After Page, I've probably wasted my time worrying about it. Concentrate on the writing, not on the publishing. But it's also a matter of being fresh and true and growing as a writer. Which I won't do unless I get some new material.

Regardless, I will be concentrating more on fiction.

P.S. Does Night Storm really work as a superhero name?

P.S.S. To Jazz and any other Brits that stumble upon this blog: We Are Not Afraid.

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The BookWorm