At book club the other day, we were talking about Harper Lee’s “new” book being published when the question arose of how many other famous authors were, shall we say, “one-hit wonders.” One list (Goodreads) counts seven such marvels: Harper Lee, plus Emily Brontë, Margaret Mitchell, J.D. Salinger, Boris Pasternak, Anna Sewell, and Sylvia Plath.

Sigh. Wouldn’t it be lovely to be the kind of writer that can wait, as Lee has, fifty-five years to put out a second book? If that sounds envious, that’s because I am envious, and that’s a dangerous thing for a writer to be.

I have a confession to make, and it’s a serious one. I have come to the conclusion recently that sometime during the last few months, I’ve been afflicted with a grave, debilitating condition. I have become a slacker.

SLACKER:

noun slack·er \ˈsla-kər\

1: a person who avoids work and responsibilities.

2: a person and especially a young person who is perceived to be disaffected, apathetic, cynical, or lacking ambition. (Merriam-Webster’s)

Disaffected? Apathetic? Lacking ambition? Avoiding work? Yep. Got ‘em all.

What excuses can I give that you haven’t heard from other writers before (or that would even matter)? Deaths in the family, the holidays, extra freelance projects, depression, this crappy winter weather—blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Whatever the cause, the effect is that I have done nothing with my completed manuscript since my last post.

I set aside The Water Bearers with the best of intentions of letting it “proof” for a while, but by the time I finally picked it back up again last week, it had sat for so long past the proofing stage I had to wipe mold off the cover before I could bring myself to touch it. Ugh.

But, folks, wherever there’s life, there’s hope, right? So I am happy to say I am—or at least I think I am— back on track now and getting excited about the book again. It’s partly because 1) anticipating (remember, this is still a first read-through, no editing allowed) cutting out all the shit I’m reading is fun; and 2) now I have a deadline in the form of a writing workshop agent pitch. There’s nothing like lighting a deadline fire under a slacker’s ass to produce some results—after all, who wants to wind up a one-hit wonder like Margaret Mitchell? Wait, all of us? And isn’t that pretty difficult, when your first novel was no Gone With the Wind?

Thank you, Captain Obvious. Maybe I should think about this slacker danger a little more–right after I finish my manuscript.

P.S. Harper Lee, if you’re reading this, I don’t really think you’re a slacker. 🙂