The prevailing wisdom is that as soon as you finish writing a book and send it away to your editor, you should start your next one. I’ve always taken this to mean that the second you hit “send” on your email, you should then open a fresh Word document and get busy. Which is what I totally intended on doing last week, except, somehow, I couldn’t decide which idea to work on next. It’s left me at a bit of a dead end, to be honest. Usually I’ve got a few projects on the go at the same time, in various states of writing or editing, but right now I’m in an unaccustomed lull. Or, to throw in a nautical term, I’m becalmed.

It’s healthy, I guess, to take time off once in a while. But the thing is, writing has always been my time off from my day job. I’m not used to the idea that it’s okay to take a break from it as well.

I have one book currently with an editor, so I’m waiting for her notes on that. And I’ve got another one under submission, waiting to hear back. It’s Darker Space, BTW, so yay me for finally finishing it!

I like being busy, when it comes to writing. I have to add that clarifier, because generally I’m an incredibly disorganised person and I hate having to do two things in one day. Work and do the grocery shopping? Go to a movie and get the washing done on the same day? No. That’s not going to happen. One everyday task per day is enough for me, thanks. Except when it comes to writing. When it’s writing, I like being so incredibly busy that I’m almost overwhelmed. Deadlines only make me work harder and faster. More pressure! Give me more pressure!

So this week, I’ve kind of been adrift a little. I’ve picked at a few different ideas, waiting for one of them to jump out and grab me, but, so far, I’m not feeling it. It’s not writer’s block exactly, it’s just that because I’m not feeling any pressure, I’m not feeling any excitement either.

I like writing. I don’t like it when I’m not writing. I panicked enough a few days ago that I bashed out a short piece of fan fiction, just to remind myself that I could still totally do this. And that was all it took to get the gears grinding again.

So this time next week, hopefully I’ll be back into the swing of things. Whether it’s the story of the guy who ends up working in an beachside café and falls for his boss’s son, or the story of the guy who is tracked down by his family’s ex-bodyguard, ten years after the bodyguard failed to prevent his father’s assassination, I don’t know yet. I’ll just have to figure out if I’m in the mood to write something sweet, or something snarky.

In the meantime, I’ll actually try and enjoy this lull and catch up on important things like TV and celebrity gossip, before my inbox is once again overwhelmed with edits, and the crazy train gets back on the track!

Have a great month, everyone!