I spend a lot of my time watching comedy DVDS.
A comedy show takes time to write. It is is tested out on friends and family, then a long string of tour dates to tweak the jokes and see what sticks, until it is recorded in an extra-long version, often with extra sections, and even more time passes before the DVD is edited, packaged, marketed and put out into the world (usually around Yuletide, or the Primary Gifting Period.)
This process? It generally takes two years. Much like a story might — from the percolation of that glimpse of a seed, all the way to the book being ready.
On Tuesday night, I completed my re-write of Planes Shifter. Yet, I have a checklist of things to do even before I ‘put it in the drawer’ for our time out. Once I’ve done the quick edit, I’ll be stuck — unable to progress until enough time passes that I forget half of the plot.
And that would be fine if I had other things to fill up my time with. In a way, I do. I’m writing another project, I’m beta reading a wonderful friend’s wonderful book and I’ve got that main sekrit project to keep working on.
Except, yesterday, one of my sekrit projects reached a turning point. Which oddly means I’m stuck again — unable to progress until there’s a final decision.
~
Things are moving forward, but sometimes it can feel frustrating that the pace is so slow, and often dictated by waiting for a nod from someone else, an approval or acceptance before anything else can step forward.
So I’ve decided to watch — to crouch in my space beneath the arbour and prepare as I always do: with lists, numbers and colour-coded post-it notes.
Hopefully I’ll cover every base, so that whatever the result of my rest stops; I’ll always have a path to take forward — just like my characters do.