This week should really be called In-Between Week, as I'm in the midst of my first round revision AND it's the middle of the holidays with Christmas behind us but the new year just ahead. There's A LOT going on these days: rewriting and revising, traveling around the Carolinas, and spending time with family.
I'm in the home stretch of my first round revision! I should be done with Act 2 before the new year. Act 3 will almost be entirely new material, but I'm looking forward to being done with the first pass.
About half of the PW mentees have completed their first-pass revisions, so I'm admittedly feeling a bit behind and along with it a good deal of pressure. I'm not going to lie, the stress of PW has impacted all aspects of my life -- none of which is a positive thing. I had an argument with my partner last night. I spend less time with baby. I've lost weight. I feel disappointed every day because my progress seems slower than others.
An illustration of this past week: We were staying with my partner G's brother in their 3-bedroom house. In total, there are 5 adults, 3 yo twins, and our 8-month-old baby. G's brother and wife let us sleep in their bedroom, and they were in the living room. I felt so bad! We moved to a hotel for the next 5 nights, which helped give everyone space, but G and baby have been sick, and G has had a terrible cough that made it hard for me to sleep well at night. Sleep deprivation leads to little writing progress, which leads to me being in a crappy mood. Repeat.
The only way to handle stress like this is to step away and take care of myself, but that creates more stress because I feel like I have more to catch up on the following day. Still, I have to stick to my priorities -- my health and happiness being primary ones. Today is our last day with G's family, so we're all spending time together. I've found decent success doing writing at night, when baby is sleeping, so even though we'll be flying to Seattle early tomorrow morning, I plan on writing until I can't anymore.
I'm starting to see the light at the end of the revision tunnel though. It's faint, but it's there!