The Week Is Looking Up

*Yawn!* Goodness. Last night was a late one, but for entirely good reasons. Since I started this temp job, piece after piece of All Fall Down has clicked soundly into place. Scribbling notes on my lunch break, jotting down ideas between assignments; it's good to have the creative part of the brain going on all cylinders. It's been a while since that's been the case.

Last night, I was in the zone. I'd planned a scene for the start of issue seven (of twelve), and my fingers had barely touched the keys when I realized the same scene would be dramatically stronger at the start of issue six.

This led to issue six getting an overhaul; trimming a scene that can wait until later; as well as sharpening up a formerly-okay-but-now-quite-good exchange between my heroine and her best friend.

I don't know how it is for other writers; but that moment of clarity where the rest of the room disappears and it's just you and your hands and the keyboard and the screen... last night was the first time I've been able to develop material that wasn't just plodding along, one page after another. This stuff was practically pounding on the inside of my head to get out and onto a page where it could do some good. And it will, boy howdy.

I'm looking forward to what my friend Bill has to say about the new issue six. He's a fair and honest editor, and he 'gets' this stuff implicitly. I think he's gonna be pleased.

I have to attribute this new surge in productivity to finding a (temporary) day job. Having a set schedule, having my time sliced neatly up into compartments between work and home and whatever else has redefined my week. The last month, scrambling around looking for work; I hardly got any writing of substance done. And even when I did, it didn't flow anything like what came out last night.

I'm still looking for permanent work; but this will do fine for now. I'm not saying everything is fine and dandy; but at least my creative juices aren't going to waste. So there's that.

Ciao for now, folks.