Thanks to everyone who offered me some advice on my little dilemma. I’m happy to say that my critique partner responded to my confused email with some very specific, helpful advice, so I think next week, I’ll be ready to hit it again. Yay!

Until then, I’m busy. This week has been crazy! It’s like I’ve crammed my entire social calendar for November into one single week. Kindergarten Pumpkin Fest party, trick-or-treating, working (I consider that social), teacher stuff (which I didn’t find out about until recently–there are actual lesson plans, a bulletin board contest, etc…), the quilt show, which was today, my sons’ school carnival, which is tomorrow and for which I’m setting up the fishing booth, company at my parents house and my dad’s birthday tomorrow… Yikes! But after tomorrow, I’m relatively free.

So today, I’m just going to post a few of the fabulous quilts we saw today at the largest quilt festival in the world–and trust me, it’s VERY large. We were there for six hours and still didn’t see everything.

I’m sort of in a writing lull. I’m actually a little exasperated. And again it all comes back to the time spent in my heroine’s head. I can’t tell anymore how much time is too much time. I’m not sure if my critique partner and I will ever see eye to eye on this point, and I don’t really know what to do about it. Other than this little difference, I think things between us are going really well, but I think that this is sort of a big problem, being that it’s the way I write. I don’t write action/adventure or suspense. My story is character driven and concerns a big issue in the heroine’s life–so she has plenty to think about. I definitely don’t want to get bogged down with internal thoughts, but hey, everyone’s different. Some people (like myself) write and like to read with a peppering of introspection. So I’m kind of an impasse. I’ve taken a mini break from my manuscript. I think I needed some time away to reflect so that I can come back with a decision on how I’m going to proceed. I. Need. To. Finish. This. Book. If just to get people off my back.

I think it makes no sense to anyone that it’s taken me this long to write a second book. But as I’ve said before, this time, I have some writerly knowledge up my sleeve, and I’m trying to use what works and ignore what doesn’t. And then there’s the fact that I didn’t plot this book well enough before I started writing it–big surprise there–so I’ve had to go back…and go back…and go back. And then I got a critique partner, a new set of eyes, a fresh take, new opinions, and I went back and back again. And now I’m tweaking the plot, building up the external conflict, so… Anyone? Anyone? That’s right: I have to go back again to early in the book.

But not for a few more days yet. I’ve been cleaning, and my house has NEVER looked this good. Usually I give myself a job for the day before I go in to write. Well for the past few days, I haven’t gone in to write, so I just kept finding things that needed a little scrub. I like this break from writing, knowing I don’t have to rush to get my time in everyday. But I also miss it. I’m hoping I’ll come back raring to go, with confidence and efficiency.

Blech–I’ve been cleaning. And now my hands smell of cleaning supplies. And not the green apple or citrus stuff–I’m talking hard core. Ick! I considered wearing gloves, but I’ve never done that, so I didn’t. Guess there’s a first time for everything….

So yesterday a friend of mine told me that after Wednesday (Halloween), it’ll be Christmas. I wasn’t quite sure how to take that, whether she was complaining, excited, or what. And while it is weird to see the Chrismas stuff out in stores, in my mind, it’s still way far off in the distant future. If for no other reason than that Thanksgiving is a big deal for me.

Autumn is my favorite time of year–it has the trifecta of holidays, and all of them are suitable for decorations of some sort. The rest of the year, barring Easter, our house remains unadorned. But in the first few weeks in October, Halloween decorations come down from the attic, then after Halloween they’re paired down to include just the plain pumpkin, berry, and autumnal leaves selection. And then it all gets replaced at the beginning of December.

As kids we never did anything for Thanksgiving. We only had Thursday-Sunday off of school, so we had the big Turkey Day and then we had left-overs and a long weekend. These days my boys have the entire week off, so we’ve traveled often during that time in recent years. It’s nice because it’s the cusp of Christmas. Decorations are going up, it’s a festive holiday, and yet you don’t have the worries over transporting presents or interfering with holiday parties and other committments. And I’ve decided I actually like to shop on Black Friday. My mom had me brainwashed–Worst Shopping Day of the Year!–STAY AWAY FROM THE MALL!–but then I went on my own, and it was great. Bustling, certainly, but I steered clear of some major stores, and it was fine. Many a good deal was found and taken advantage of.

So while I’m already Internet browsing for Christmas gifts, that holiday is still months away. I have no doubt that those months will fly by very quickly though.

****UPDATE**** Halloween is officially over. Target had their Halloween stuff (except candy) cleared out today, replaced by Christmas stuff. I should just have my boys dress as Santa and an elf next year: get us all in the spirit.