By Martha Reed
As you may know, I’ve taken the month of July off from
active writing. Yes, I am participating in Nancy Martin’s manuscript editing
boot camp, which is keeping my hand in but I’m not working on creating anything
new, just polishing up what I already have before I send it out to find a
buyer.
It’s been insightful to me how many hundreds of hours open
up when I’m not actively working on a manuscript – evidently enough to paint my
kitchen and to finally get the backyard in order again but I have to admit that
I’ve still got my creative eye on the horizon. Once boot camp is over and the
kitchen is done I’m jumping back in!
The other insight is that I’m in tune with the seasons
again. Last July I was in the middle of constructing my mss. I don’t remember
noting much about the summer – other than to make sure the air conditioning
unit was installed in my office window. This year has been different – I’ve
been getting up early to finish the outside chores before the heat settles in. Working
this way reminded me that I love hot weather. I come by it honestly; I lived in
Texas for a decade and you don’t do that unless you like it hot. Working in the heat also reminded me of some southern memories and humor and I had to look up an old favorite, Jerry Reed. No relation.
I’m only hoping that my boot camp
partners and I have as much fun working together as these two knuckleheads do! Happy
Independence Day! Enjoy the summer.
