Revisions and Remodels

I’d hoped to have pictures of my newly remodeled kitchen by the time this post published. I’d hoped to type this post from my new island; you know, the one that would be complete with nice, smooth, dreamy granite and cute little pendant lights that dangle just so.

But, alas, my kitchen is still draped in plastic. The floor is smothered in hardiebacker (the pre-tile cement stuff). The air is thick with sheetrock dust. (Pardon me, while I hack.)

Although things are progressing slower than I’d originally planned in my “real world”, things are moving right along in my fictional one! Remember those edits on Vamped Up, Book #2 in the Vampires of Crimson Bay Series, that I’ve been working on during the massive remodel? They’re almost finished! When I first read the Revision Letter (oh, that dreaded thing), I took a deep breath, then didn’t look at it for a few days. I honestly didn’t know how the revisions were going to play out. There were some suggestions I was totally on-board with, and others I was more than hesitant about. After a majority of the edits have been made and a few key chunks of the novel have been shifted or deleted all together, I have to say I like this story better than Rough Draft #1235. Had I not torn the novel apart and moved scenes all around, I wouldn’t have been able to sit back and appreciate the bigger picture. (And what a pretty picture it’s turned out to be.) 😉

As I sit here amid dust and swatches of paint and lights tucked away in boxes, I’m struggling to remember that sometimes it’s difficult to picture the end result. I have to take deep breaths when the paint on my kitchen wall doesn’t dry the right shade. (Did I really pick baby blue? Thank you, paint man, I guess I did.) I have to be patient and smile when the cabinet workers are an hour late. I have to remember that this is a process. Kitchens, much like novels, aren’t built singlehandedly overnight. What feels like an enormous project sometimes is…and sometimes once you start breaking things down, the pieces fall right into place.

Here’s hoping the coming week shows more progress in the kitchen and just as much on the word doc. Have any words of wisdom on how to brave through a slow-going kitchen remodel? I’d welcome the advice!