Friday, March 23, 2012

A Fresh Coat of Ideas

Last weekend, I pitched The Pirate's Wraith to four different editors at the Liberty States Fiction Writers conference. Each of them asked for either a partial or the full manuscript. By Monday, one of the editors sent a rejection. However, it didn't sting too much for two reasons. First of all, she warned me that she did not know if there was a place for a time travel in her company. Secondly, we were going to have the living room and dining room painted.

Distraction is a great way to deal with rejection.

Monday was a busy day at our house. We had to eliminate all the clutter in the two rooms that were going to be painted. We have a surprising amount of clutter after living in this house for 33 years.

The painter arrived on Tuesday. He worked non-stop and finished the job. The rooms look so much better. I love my clean walls. However, I could not bear to put all the clutter back.

Wednesday, we brought a whole bunch of clutter to Goodwill. I tossed out the old curtains in the dining room. I simply could not hang them up again. Daughter #1 went online and ordered a new pair.

Thursday, hubby and I took a break and went to the Columbus Flea Market. The weather was glorious. We drove along Route 537, past farms with green grass and flowering trees. Hubby found another musical instrument at the flea market that he could not pass up. (More clutter--I can't win.) I got dried pineapple slices and sesame sticks.

Once we were home, I decided to start another book. There's no point in waiting for an editor to make a decision on my manuscript. I'm still waiting for a decision on Daddy Wanted, which I handed in last year to an editor. So I pulled out my idea file.

My idea file is messy. There are sticky notes, little scraps of memo paper, and newspaper articles. Some of the ideas are no more than a title. Some are character sketches. Some are whole outlines. It's wonderful.

And I found something I meant to expand and finish a long time ago. :^) I opened up a new file in the computer. It's like an empty wall waiting for a fresh coat of ideas. This is going to be fun!

6 comments:

jenny milchman said...

Love the analogy. You're so right--a blank wall to make dazzling with color. Have a great time with the new book--and I also hope one of the three comes through!

Irene said...

I needed a push, got it at the conference. I sent out one full but am still deliberating on sending out the two partials I was asked for. I didn't "feel" the two people really wanted it...just humoring me.

But, you never know. Eventually, like next week, I'll either paint some walls or send out those partials. You can sort of tell whether they care or not, can't you?
You'll be fine, Penny!

Leann said...

What a fun post to read! I too, love the analogy. An idea file..I really like that as well. I try to remember them.......doesn't really work so well for me. :-)

Penelope Marzec said...

jenny: Thanks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Irene: Yes, it is easy to tell if they care or not. It isn't always a surprise. :^(

Leann: I know I will not remember if I don't write it down, but a few scribbles on a sticky note can jog my memory.

MarkD60 said...

All I can think from this post is your clutter and my wife. I suspect a conspiracy...

Penelope Marzec said...

Mark,

We went to another flea market this morning and hubby found a music stand for $4. We have PLENTY of music stands. We do not need another one.

To me, it's clutter. Sigh.

I can't win.