snips and snails and puppy dog tails
Right. So.
I've been holed up in a room with my laptop for a few weeks now. I mean, for the most part - aside from that whole "raising a kid" thing. And whatnot.
I put my nose to the grindstone to get this novel finished, even pulling night shifts, so I wouldn't have it hanging over me when we started homeschooling. Then I finished, and lo, the Kinglet was actually doing WELL at school.
So I forged ahead. It took a week to write a chapter-by-chapter outline that reduced 530+ pages to a slim 87, then another handful of head-desk days whittling that to a 3-page synopsis. An exercise in torture, that, and, depending on which guidelines you follow, it might not even be enough. Some pundits say 2 pages top. So. You know. Gah.
Anyway, it's done. The manuscript is in good shape -- I'm going to let it age a little, wait for feedback from some beta readers. Reconsider the prologue, which some have told me is too slow or too vague and others tell me is just peachy. Whatever the end result, I expect "To the Touch" will pop her query cherry sometime in November.
But, see, that's not even the best part. Or, it's PART of the best part. See, cuz, here we are in the middle of October, and WE'RE NOT HOMESCHOOLING!!! I'm sitting in my office with Erykah Badu chillin' on my WMP, a cat purring against my thigh and sun shining through my pretty lacy curtains. No Time-Outs, no chattering little ODD voice. No untouchable writing projects shadowing my heart.
We are blessed and very, very proud of our boy. From about the same time that I decided to finish Touch, come hell or high water, the Kinglet had a turn around at school. It's not perfect, but the lapses he does have are more like normal little-kid hiccups than monster child disasters. He comes home with more good reports than bad, he spends the majority of his time in class with the other children, and he has made friends. HE HAS MADE FRIENDS.
We're not really sure where the credit lies for the change. It's probably a combination of things: one, the new teacher. A younger, fresher, won't-be-flustered by a five-year-old teacher who accepted him into her class, and it's like night and day. I'm thrilled. During the first week of school I noticed this woman outside with the pick-up kids and I was impressed by her without even realizing she was a kindergarten teacher. She had that no-nonsense yet likeable manner that a teacher should have.
Two, the Kinglet has a hands-on aide, which is what we asked for in the first place but were told the school could not afford. By some stroke of luck (and a little bit of nepotism, but it's working, so we're not complaining), the district agreed to pay for another paraprofessional to join the Kinglet's school's staff. It's a young dude, quite young to the eye, actually, but after talking to him in person and hearing him report on our son, the God-King and I have put our reservations aside. He's been instrumental in putting the Kinglet through the paces -- disciplining him when he needs it, giving gentle reminders to keep him out of trouble, analyzing the situation to make judgments about what is going on and what he needs... I have to write someone a thank you letter. Seriously, some administrative big wig made a decision to send some money that they didn't have to send, and it has made all the difference to our child.
Lastly, we have to give the Kinglet some credit too. I'm not sure what clicked for him, but it did. He's been trying. He's been internalizing. He doesn't always hit the mark, but he's seen that he can succeed and he's motivated to keep at it. He talks to us about school, and he's figured out that there is stuff there that is actually FUN. He loves music class. He likes the games they play in gym. He likes math. He likes having other little kids to goof around with. I mean... damn. He's living the dream!
So, we've been at this for going on a month now, and though we're not letting our hopes get too too high, we are "cautiously optimistic" that the Kinglet will stay in school for good.
Which means I don't have to think of everything in triage mode: it's really possible that I have months and months of coffee office days ahead of me. Days that I can fill doing whatever I want to do, because To the Touch is done. It's done, baby. I can spread me around. I can let my muse run free, roll in the grass, chase cats - whatever she wants to do.
Apparently right now she wants to be a dog. LOL.
So.
Yeah.
That's where we're at.
I've been holed up in a room with my laptop for a few weeks now. I mean, for the most part - aside from that whole "raising a kid" thing. And whatnot.
I put my nose to the grindstone to get this novel finished, even pulling night shifts, so I wouldn't have it hanging over me when we started homeschooling. Then I finished, and lo, the Kinglet was actually doing WELL at school.
So I forged ahead. It took a week to write a chapter-by-chapter outline that reduced 530+ pages to a slim 87, then another handful of head-desk days whittling that to a 3-page synopsis. An exercise in torture, that, and, depending on which guidelines you follow, it might not even be enough. Some pundits say 2 pages top. So. You know. Gah.
Anyway, it's done. The manuscript is in good shape -- I'm going to let it age a little, wait for feedback from some beta readers. Reconsider the prologue, which some have told me is too slow or too vague and others tell me is just peachy. Whatever the end result, I expect "To the Touch" will pop her query cherry sometime in November.
But, see, that's not even the best part. Or, it's PART of the best part. See, cuz, here we are in the middle of October, and WE'RE NOT HOMESCHOOLING!!! I'm sitting in my office with Erykah Badu chillin' on my WMP, a cat purring against my thigh and sun shining through my pretty lacy curtains. No Time-Outs, no chattering little ODD voice. No untouchable writing projects shadowing my heart.
We are blessed and very, very proud of our boy. From about the same time that I decided to finish Touch, come hell or high water, the Kinglet had a turn around at school. It's not perfect, but the lapses he does have are more like normal little-kid hiccups than monster child disasters. He comes home with more good reports than bad, he spends the majority of his time in class with the other children, and he has made friends. HE HAS MADE FRIENDS.
We're not really sure where the credit lies for the change. It's probably a combination of things: one, the new teacher. A younger, fresher, won't-be-flustered by a five-year-old teacher who accepted him into her class, and it's like night and day. I'm thrilled. During the first week of school I noticed this woman outside with the pick-up kids and I was impressed by her without even realizing she was a kindergarten teacher. She had that no-nonsense yet likeable manner that a teacher should have.
Two, the Kinglet has a hands-on aide, which is what we asked for in the first place but were told the school could not afford. By some stroke of luck (and a little bit of nepotism, but it's working, so we're not complaining), the district agreed to pay for another paraprofessional to join the Kinglet's school's staff. It's a young dude, quite young to the eye, actually, but after talking to him in person and hearing him report on our son, the God-King and I have put our reservations aside. He's been instrumental in putting the Kinglet through the paces -- disciplining him when he needs it, giving gentle reminders to keep him out of trouble, analyzing the situation to make judgments about what is going on and what he needs... I have to write someone a thank you letter. Seriously, some administrative big wig made a decision to send some money that they didn't have to send, and it has made all the difference to our child.
Lastly, we have to give the Kinglet some credit too. I'm not sure what clicked for him, but it did. He's been trying. He's been internalizing. He doesn't always hit the mark, but he's seen that he can succeed and he's motivated to keep at it. He talks to us about school, and he's figured out that there is stuff there that is actually FUN. He loves music class. He likes the games they play in gym. He likes math. He likes having other little kids to goof around with. I mean... damn. He's living the dream!
So, we've been at this for going on a month now, and though we're not letting our hopes get too too high, we are "cautiously optimistic" that the Kinglet will stay in school for good.
Which means I don't have to think of everything in triage mode: it's really possible that I have months and months of coffee office days ahead of me. Days that I can fill doing whatever I want to do, because To the Touch is done. It's done, baby. I can spread me around. I can let my muse run free, roll in the grass, chase cats - whatever she wants to do.
Apparently right now she wants to be a dog. LOL.
So.
Yeah.
That's where we're at.