This June we're talking about the bliss of summer. Now, I know some of you do not enjoy summer. Maybe you live in an area where the middle months are brutal? Well, here in the midwest, summers rock!
I live in an area with four distinct seasons. Winters bluster cold and snowy. Spring is a toss-up--either non-existent or cool and rainy. Fall makes my heart skip a beat. Michigan displays the most gorgeous harvest colors. But summer...
Summer can hardly be described. Three short months of warmth, swimming, campfires, bike rides, and gardening. The temperatures can get high and the humidity soars, but most days can happily be spent outdoors.
We planted our garden this weekend. After a few hours of shopping for plants, fertilizer, and what-not, we turned the dirt over and colonized (interesting word, eh?) everything. Do I love the shoulder straining work of shoveling? Not really, but I love tip-toeing out mid-July for a basket of cucumbers, peppers, and zucchini. My filthy fingernails are worth it.
My current manuscript is almost ripe. It's getting a few final rays of water and sunshine from my critique partners, and then it will be plucked and shopped to editors and agents. My shoulders ached as I honed the plot and weeded the repetitive words, and my fingernails got dirty during the process.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
If you're a writer, do you find the hard work of writing and revising your pages worthwhile? Is it worth getting your fingernails dirty?
I will be in and out all week. Although I won't be able to respond to each comment, I look forward to reading them all!
Yep. I find it satisfying. :-) As for real gardening, not so much. lol
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful summer!
I find all that rewriting totally worthwhile. Just like gardening.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting my fingers very dirty right now! Boy is it hard work weeding and cultivating the WIP! And I know I can't catch everything and do it all myself. It's better to have a team effort!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. It is a dirty business, but I'm loving my ms all the more b/c of my edits and the help I've received from kick-A critique partners!
ReplyDelete~ Wendy
Our snow just melted after another spring snow fall. So, my fingers are still thawing, and so are my revisions. It's time to get cultivating again though, and planting something new.
ReplyDeleteWe planted our garden a couple weeks ago ... tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, several lettuces. There's nothing like fresh veggies straight from the plant to the table! Enjoy your gardening :)
ReplyDeleteI do find it worthwhile - challenging, but worthwhile:)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. In Oklahoma, our spring and fall are too short. Always seems like we skip right to summer and winter.
ReplyDeleteHi Jill -
ReplyDeleteOh, those fresh veggies look so good! I hope my garden produces a bounty this year.
My WIP needs some serious tweaking. Hopefully, it will be ready for Conference time. :)
Blessings,
Susan
Great analogy, Jill! Michigan summers are great! Hoping to make it up there sometime this season! Looking forward to hearing exciting news about your book being published! Great to be back in the world of blogging! God bless!:)
ReplyDeleteThis is the post that I wish I could write right now, instead of staring at an empty blogger page.
ReplyDeleteCan I repost it as a guest post on my blog?
Good afternoon everyone! I knew you all don't mind getting your hands dirty to make your work shine. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I love getting my nails dirty :) That's the best part. Perfecting it!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! We have to get dirty to get things done.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great week, Jill.
I admit--never liked to get dirty. But have learned it's the only way to go with writing!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely worth it for the joy of the finished product. :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your garden!
I think its worth it, sure. I find it surprising how often I read something and don't remember writing it that way. I actually like the revision process.
ReplyDeleteI do like to get my hands dirty, whether with writing or gardening! The whole process is very rewarding (for both:))
ReplyDeleteI kill EVERY green thing I put in the ground. Hopefully, I will do better with the writing :P It is definitely dirty work - and I LOVE it :) Those veggies look DIVINE!
ReplyDeleteWouldn't you love to get your hands on literary weed killer? Hmmm...
ReplyDeleteI'd love to zap the problems easily!
Thank you all for stopping by!
Definitely worth it. I welcome summer!
ReplyDeleteI love both--gardening and weeding a WIP. The "ahhhhhh..." at the end is so worth all the dirt and sweat.
ReplyDeleteI love both--gardening and weeding a WIP. The "ahhhhhh..." at the end is so worth all the dirt and sweat.
ReplyDeleteTotally worth it. That feeling of "My fingernails are dirty and I don't care" is the best feeling in the world--a job well done!
ReplyDeleteOh how exciting!! I can't wait till you start shopping your manuscript with agents! The harvest cometh!
ReplyDelete