Diving back in

[olmue]

It's day 2 of having my 7YO home sick. She's not horribly sick--her eyes are droopy and she has a low grade fever, but she can still play checkers with her little brother. So it's not a bad sort of thing, although she is going to get bored at some point. I was impressed that the 4YO was able to play two checkers games this morning, giving them each a chance to win. (Checkers is not a hard game. Learning to lose IS hard.) Right now, Little Sweetie is on the couch next to me, happily engrossed in Adam Rex's fine book, The True Meaning of Smekday.

I am not sick, but after two nights of wakey children, my head is still a bit sludgy. Since I finished one book draft (that's currently out for critique), it's time to get back to the other book. Uh. Yeah. People have read bits of this one, and like it, so I feel a bit more pressure on this one. (I wrote the other one without anyone reading it.) But there are some things I need to thread into there, which means going back to the beginning. Plus, this is MG and the other was YA, this is a summery book, and there is at least 12" of snow on the ground outside. And of course, the voice and tone are all different. Just a lot of gear-switching to do. I'm sure this is something like what it's like to have a book under contract that you haven't written yet--you just have to suck it up and write it. Still. I find revising easier than drafting! (Um...which is why I'm sitting here writing this rather than the other...)

Yesterday I was a lot more tired than today, though--I don't know if I could have even written my name yesterday. So while I was home with all the other sickies, I just read. Total book candy--Kerstin Gier's Ruby Red series. The last one isn't out in English yet, which means the scratchy, unfinished feeling. But until that point, it was good. If you're looking for a fun time travel story with intrigue and London and dressups and likable characters, this is a good one. A similar feel to what I was going for in the first book I wrote, only with a different setting. I will still probably spend some time just reading today, but I'd like to get at least partway into the draft.

What do you do? How do you get back into a book after working on something else for a while?

Comments

[robinellen.livejournal.com]

I have a horrible time getting back to someone I've left...I have a WIP like that, and although I still like the premise (and I think it could fill a niche), I can't make myself actually write it. So I'm not. *sigh* Instead, I'll work on the revision. Maybe once I finish revising and have it out with betas, then I'll be willing to sludge through the other.

[olmue.livejournal.com]

Yeah...it's a lot of work to get back in. I have 25K on it, so I don't want to just leave it...but yeah. I have a feeling that sleeping all the way through the night is the first step...I need an awake brain! And maybe reading a pile of MGs, just to get back in the mood. Once I get to revisions, it just seems a lot easier to manage. Good luck with yours!

[lorrainemt.livejournal.com]

I haven't been back to my YA novel in quite some time, and I think it would be tough to jump right back in. I have a lot easier time jumping back into the short stories...but I guess that makes sense! Hope the sickies get well soon.

[olmue.livejournal.com]

I sure hope they get well soon, too! And yeah...it's tough to jump back in. Maybe while everyone is sick (and I am sleep-deprived), I'll read a pile of MG novels to get myself back in the mood. I wish I wrote short stories--they sound like they'd be a good way to cleanse the palate between books!