Between Books or, What I Hate the Most

Right now I am “between books,” meaning I have one manuscript that is off in beta-reader-land but I haven’t yet started my next project.

I hate this.

I know that it’s a necessary part of writing, this gap of time between books, and it’s good to have your brain relax and take in ideas and make the intellectual shift from one project to the next.

But I still hate it.

Usually I get to my desk with a defined To Do list: chapters to write, endings to tweak, edits to include. Right now my To Do list says “Think about next project.” Ugh.

Unlike my last in-between phase, I actually have an idea for my next project. And it’s fun and it’s exciting and I’m really looking forward to it. But I have always enjoyed being in the middle of things rather than starting. I love the slog, the patient and methodical work. The beginning? When I have to actually, like, make decisions about things? Not so much.

So, it’s frustrating. There have been a lot of let’s bake a pie! days. Or, that manicure style looks cool days. Or, you know, I haven’t watched Game of Thrones in a while days. But I can only do stuff like that for a few hours before I go crazy, and there is nothing worse than the husband coming home and asking how my day was and me just shrugging :/.

I know that once I get all my edits,* I can move my current project along and really focus on the next one. I know once I start on the next one, momentum will take over and I’ll be back to writing all day and feeling happy as a clam. I know that this in-between period will slowly but surely get less frustrating and less draining and then I won’t have to worry about it again for another eight months, give or take.

But, damn. Until that happens? I hate this.

*Dear wonderful beta readers: if you read this, please know it is not a passive-aggressive plea to edit faster but my neurosis manifesting itself in an unhealthy way. Take your time!