This "Month on the Shelf" Business

One month. One single, solitary month. What to do, what to do...

Let me tell you what there is to do. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I was going to use this period of time when my book is finished and sitting "on the shelf" for a month (a sort of self-imposed break I take, which, when it is over, allows me to read the work again with fresh eyes) to start work on the art for the interior and cover of said book. 

And that I have done! For the cover piece, I've hammered out a few dozen thumbnails, decided on one, arranged my models, and even started my sketch. I would show you what I've got so far in that department, but the cover is supposed to be this cool surprise, you know, there's usually this big "cover reveal" day where the cover is displayed and people "ooh and ah" over it, or mostly just shrug and then click on a video where some cute puppy falls asleep next to some equally cute baby.  

Such is life.

But what about writing? I've heard that writers need to write every day. Since I am fairly new to this writing business, I of course hear things like this and immediately start to feel inadequate, thinking, "Oh my God, I haven't written a friggin' thing all day! I'm fooling myself. I suck." So to alleviate this feeling of incompetence, I've decided to start writing short stories in the morning. At first, I thought it would be difficult to come up with ideas for stories, but it actually didn't take long. I just sat in my living room with the kids playing upstairs, sipped coffee, and stared out the picture window. It was nice. Relaxing. And lo! I now have five ideas for short stories that I'll be hammering out over the next month! 

I'll keep you posted as to how they're coming along. Right now, I'm doing research on the first one. I haven't decided on a title yet, but it takes place in 1920's America. There's a milkman, his daughter, and a crow. Weird combination, but there it is.