Surreal

October 14, 2016 by Julie Holmes, author 16 Comments

Merriam-Webster: Surreal: very strange or unusual : having the quality of a dream

Dictonary.com: having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream; unreal; fantastic:

I can’t help staring out the window of my writing office at the autumn colors now in full force. Blazing pinks, bold reds, glowing oranges, and brilliant golds create a mosaic of natural beauty, a symphony for the eyes.

Surreal. Dream-like.

“Julie.”

Aaaand, there it goes. I turn to find my Muse restocking the small fridge with New Glarus Brewery’s Spotted Cow. “No Moon Man?”

He looks at me like he’s bored. “Variety is good, love.” He finishes, closes the fridge, and makes his way around the recliners. “You’re doing great. Why aren’t you writing?” He points at the calendar on the wall. “Two weeks. You need to have your draft out to your betas before the end of the month.”

“I know.”

“Sooo, why are you staring out the window instead of writing? You only have a couple scenes left.”

“Is this even real?” It doesn’t feel real. It just doesn’t. “Am I going to wake up and this will all be some sort of practical joke dream?”

My Muse wraps an arm around my shoulders and we stare out the window together. My Night Fury conscience chases a leaf across our view. “You didn’t expect this.”

“No, I didn’t. Not even close.” It didn’t even seem entirely real until last night.

“Patience, love. These things take time, just like revisions. Which, by the way, you’re supposed to be working on.”

“I know, I know. I need to work through the hangar scene. It still doesn’t feel right.”

“It will. You’ll get it.” He heads to the wall-sized white board and starts a list complete with dates. “Does this help?”

One line stands out to me. One I can’t do anything about. “I wish I could compress that one into weeks instead of months.”

“It’s out of your control, love. You know that. Besides, there’s no obligation.”

“Yet.” Hoping. Crossing my fingers. “Is this going to bite me in the butt?” That’s my biggest worry, I suppose. I’ve got an opportunity, but the timing is not ideal. I’m not talking my schedule, but schedules outside my control.

“You’ve done what you are supposed to do. Now you wait. Get used to it. Get your revisions done.” He hands me a dark chocolate and sea salt caramel Ghirardelli square. “Here. Enjoy this, then back to work. You can have a beer later, after you revise the scenes.”

Persistence and patience. One is akin to stubbornness, which I have in spades (why spades? Why not diamonds or hearts or clubs?), the other … not so much. My dad used to chastise me whenever we went fishing because I could never leave my line out for more than five minutes. Usually less. I think I lost more worms by reeling and casting than fish ever stole.

For those of you prepping for NaNo this year, you should be halfway through your outline. Unless you’re a pantser. Then you’re probably lining up all the snacks and coffee or tea you’ll need to fuel your writing marathon. Get psyched up, y’all! It’s gonna be a good NaNo year.

Also, lots of blog tours and raffles and giveaways going on. Check out the Story Empire blog. There’s a scavenger hunt going on with their writers. Stop by their Paranormal Bar & Grille and have some fun!

And here’s another cat pic (because I know someone who LOVES cat pics 😀 )

Have a great weekend! Write well, write on!