One of the hardest parts of a writer's life is waiting. Waiting for That Important Reply. Waiting for editor/agent/publisher or whoever to get back with a verdict on the last precious (or not so precious) offering.
Today, I have faffed about, checked my emails about a hundred times, faffed about some more, visited some blogs, bought a birthday card, chatted to daughter on the phone ( a favourite waiting activity), done a crossword puzzle, and ....waited. I'm still waiting. Will that person email after 5.30? Of course not. On the other hand, she may be so carried away by the brilliance of my work that she just has to let me know NOW, even if it's two in the morning. So I'll carry on checking my emails. Just in case....
Tomorrow, we have to go to Bristol to buy a bed. That should take my mind off the waiting, but of course, it won't. Waiting and bed-buying are, sadly, not mutually exclusive. So I shall probably just buy the wrong bed and lie awake on it worrying.
And waiting....
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Hmmm, Frances, I got so fed up of waiting, I erased the word from my vocabulary :) Since that day, my nerves are far more tuned :)
ReplyDeleteHow did you do it, Nicola? I admire you!
DeleteAnd here I was, thinking a writer's life is writing! Silly me!
ReplyDeleteBuy a bed in Bristol? Now, that sounds like something you could turn into a poem... or a limerick... or something like that.
Well, we bought the bed in Bristol, Meike. And I dashed home to check my emails....nothing.
DeleteWaiting. Perhaps one of the most common things that we humans do. We wait: for the weekend; for the summer holidays; for our children to grow up; for our retirement; for death. I gave up waiting years ago. It was so liberating. I've been waiting for the next moment of enlightenment.
ReplyDeleteGraham, if I could give it up I would, believe me. It's seems to take up so much time.
DeleteIt will be fine, good luck.
ReplyDeleteAdrian, I hope you're right.
DeleteI shall wait with you. I assume it is your next novel? I wish that I still had my copy of " Ernest" as I would love to read it again. I often tell people about it, but must have lent it to someone. I have just started to re-read " The Girl on a Train" as it is the next book club read. Amazed at how much of it I have forgotten in such a short time! Hope you get good news soon.
ReplyDeleteFrances, I'm so glad I'm not alone. I often find I've forgotten the plot of a novel within a week.
DeleteI believe there is a saying that goes: "Good things come to those who wait"...? In Swedish it has a slightly different twist to it, more like "no wait is too long, if what you're waiting for turns out to be good"
ReplyDeleteAh, if it's for good news, that's fine, DT!
DeleteI sympathise heartily, Frances, especially as I'm in the same boat at the moment. At the start, I cheerily thought no news might be good news, but I'm beginning to annoy myself now. I was expecting an email the next day or the day after, and like you, I checked every few minutes, but then I realised that while hope is a good thing, expectation only leads to disappointment. I really hope you hear good news very soon and look forward to hearing about it. And I hope the bed is supremely comfortable too. xxx
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joanna. And very good luck to you, too.
DeleteI hope you got areply - and that it was good news, Frances.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Patsy. still waiting....
DeleteI hope no news is good news Frances. Fingers crossed for you.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Maggie. I've run out of things to cross!
DeleteI hope it's good news, Frances and that you're not waiting too much longer for it :-) xx
ReplyDeleteThank you Teresa. Me too!
Delete