09/05/2024
by Karen Shughart
All authors feel a certain amount of pressure, regardless of how we’re published, to complete our books within a certain timeframe. For those of us who are traditionally published, there’s the added tension of sending a completed draft to our publisher at an agreed upon deadline.
With the first few books in my Edmund DeCleryk cozy mystery series, I wrote mostly every day. I didn’t set a specific number of hours; instead spent time at my computer until I was pleased with trajectory of the story or the number of chapters I’d written. For most of the year writing daily is an attainable goal; at times, it’s not.
Let me explain. Sodus Point is a bustling hive of activity during summer months. Our beautiful scenery plus a multitude of events centered around what we call Summerfest, means, for us, a flurry of activity that includes an uptick in visits from friends and relatives who love the resort vibe of our charming village.
This year we also traveled for family celebrations, and to the Chautauqua Institution southwest of here, where for several days we immersed ourselves in cultural activities, lectures, discussion groups, and self-guided nature tours with beautiful lakeside scenery. I also restarted a book group that had disbanded during Covid. As such, my writing was placed on the back burner to simmer, not yet ready to serve.
I must admit initially I fretted about my inability to carve out time to advance the plot of book four in my series, Murder at Chimney Bluffs, after making good headway during previous seasons. Then I took a deep breath. I thought, it will be done, and isn’t a big part of life enjoying experiences that could help your writing be even better? I decided to stop obsessing, to let it go.
That’s what I did. When my publisher emailed me to get a sense of when I planned to submit the book, I wrote back asking for an extension; she gave me one. When we attended concerts or festivals, met friends at restaurants with outdoor decks overlooking the water, sat around a fire pit watching a full moon or on the beach reading a bestseller, I didn’t have a tad bit of anxiety about not pounding away at the keys on my keyboard.
At the entrance to Webster, a town a little west of us, there’s a huge sign that announces, “Where Life is Worth Living”. That’s certainly true about this place we call home. I’ve relaxed, enjoyed every minute of every day this summer, not worrying at all about not keeping to a writing schedule. I’ll get it done; I know.
Karen Shughart is the author of the Edmund DeCleryk cozy mystery series, published by Cozy Cat Press. She has also co-written two additional mysteries with Cozy Cat authors, two non-fiction books, and is a blogger at Ladies of Mystery, 
We all need to “let go”!!
I actually was wondering when a new book from you would be forthcoming!! Now I know that you have taken time to “smell the roses”
A good personal testimony to the appeal and value of the cultural and recreational richness of the Finger Lakes.