I have no idea why I woke up with the R.E.M song ‘Orange Crush’ going around in my head. Earworms are a normal start to my day but this one was particularly loud and insistent.
Once the first sip of tea was consumed, it dawned on me once again that I had finished my first draft of current WIP. A milestone I’ve been trying to reach for months and finally, I’ve got there.
The pile of paper sitting in its brand new folder, waiting to be read out loud before heading to my favourite in-house geek for tense and grammar scrutiny, smiled back at me from the lever arch file on my desk aka the dining room table.
I tend to think of my work in a traffic light system.
Red – means I am still writing it. Still fighting with characters and chapter headings as I work through the story in my head and when I sprinkle my thoughts onto the page, I hope they resemble something tangible.
Orange – the amber nectar of the sequence is the best part. It’s when THE END has been written for the first time after editing. It’s just full stops and verbal reasoning from now on. A rush of excitement gets me every time I reach this part. Mantra repetition also begins – Do not send it out just yet, it’s not quite ready. Do not send it out just yet, it’s not quite ready.
Green – the pressing of the send button. Sometimes the queasiness felt outweighs this amazing part of the journey. Most of the time I need a wee nap and a cry. There, there my keyboard says. We can have a break and listen to some music.
At the moment, I’m on orange but turning into green shortly. Only when it’s ready. Who knows what the song in my head will be when I press the Button of Destiny.
I can’t wait to find out.
It may be ‘A day like this’ by Elbow and maybe the reason I can’t get this out of my head these days.
(Well, I suppose it could be that it’s my message warning on my phone).
xxx Huge Hugs Sarah xxx
Mighty fine choice, David.
Give yourself a reward, Sarah! Brilliant. x