I’m leaving Sunday morning to go to the RWA (Romance Writers of America) National Conference in San Francisco, which probably wouldn’t be nearly a big a deal if I was flying out… fly out, go to conference, fly back… but I’m taking the train, which means three days out, go to conference, three days back, and swear to god! I’m going to actually edit each way, which means I have to get everything ready for that.

So, my to-do list includes things like cleaning off my desk so I can find all my notes for the book’s revisions. Then typing in all those notes, so I have a firm basis to start things. Then typing in all my other notes and bits and scraps, so I can squeeze my reference notebook into a smaller notebook. Then doing something with the three marked-up copies of the manuscript, so I have the notes and don’t have to lug the three manuscripts with me. And so on, and so on.

Plus laundry and everything else I need to get me ready to be gone for two weeks and kids ready to go to their father’s.

I’ve also been busy running plot ideas around my head for the 2nd book of the series. I’ve got a major personality issue to work out the “why” of, before I can go too much further with the plot, so I’ve been pondering that over the last few days.

The only problem is that I’m so stressed that I can’t seem to put my thoughts together long enough to get anything done (the backspace key has really gotten a work-out on this post). I printed off the handouts for the conference yesterday morning, and here they sit waiting for me to punch and bind them… but it seems like soooo much effort.

How the hell am I going to get everything ready to go when I can’t rub two brain cells together long enough to form a coherent thought?

The good news is that I’m really looking forward to this break from kids and stress, and I should be able to think much more coherently by the time I get back.