Writers: beware the 3 deadly itches

Everyone knows the seven deadly sins, right?

But only writers know the three deadly itches.

Behold...

I. QUERY ITCH

a. Premature A- I'm not really finished my manuscript, but it I'll probably get rejected anyway. OR if I don't, I'll just bang out the last chapter. Just getting my feet wet, you know?

b. Premature B- I'm bad at editing by myself. You know what I'm going to do? Get the agent to edit with me!


II. SHINY NEW IDEA ITCH

a. The Detour- Hello idea-that-I-abandoned-a-while-back aren't you looking fine and fresh?

b. The Tangent- I better just jot down some ideas about the SEQUEL because I'm definitely going to sell a multi-book deal and people are definitely going to beg me to continue the story.

Dreaming is allowed in moderation :D

III. MANUSCRIPTUS PERFECTUS ITCH

Sounds like a Harry Potter spell. Oh, how I wish it were.

a. I'm Sure Not Everyone Has To Edit: This particular one gets to me right after I finish the first draft (I spent half a year on this story and now I'm going to spend that same amount of time editing--what if the world ends by then?) AND when I should be editing but try to amuse myself in other ways ;)

b. Celebrate With Chocolate: Self explanatory. Many, many premature chocolate fests.

Disclaimer: Personal experience does not necessarily apply to the above. Writer may or may not have been affected by one or more of the itches.

That was part 1 of the post. Part 2 is here, where I confess that I DID succumb to evil itch 2a, the tangent. Here's how it happened. I was surfing the writer community last week when I realized that I had missed out on Cupid's Valentine* contest. Darn it! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE writing romance, LOVE writing kiss scenes, LOVE...

I'll wait for next year.

*contest was to submit a 300 word or less kiss scene

Anyway, I must have been sulking over this in the back of my mind as I was editing, which was not a good thing because I couldn't concentrate and I ended up writing this:

[Some background: This is me dabbling in book 2. The current MS is set from Sibyl's POV. Ashely (it can be a boy's name and yes, I will forever defend him :) ) is her love interest. I'm toying with the idea of making book 2 from Ashely's POV, if there will ever be a book 2 that is. This would not be a trilogy, just a two book package at most, so a second POV from the second most important character might work. Also, this is really short and not actually a kiss scene, so please forgive me.]


(make up whatever contest you so desire.)

The snow drifts around us in soft billows, flakes catching on her dark head. I blink away the ones that land on my lashes. “What is love, then?”

            Sibyl takes my hand. Her fingers tickle as they trace my palm.

            “A line,” she says, one finger stopping at the uppermost crease.

            “How is mine?”

            “Let’s see.” She brings my hand to her face and studies it. “You’ll love twice in your life,” she starts. “The first time, a pet. The second time, a human.”

            Her lips part to continue, but all that escapes is a puff of vapor.  “Maybe not a line,” Sibyl says at last. “Maybe a sound.”

            “What sort of sound?”

            She shrugs. “A note. A bird call. A laugh.”

           When I speak, my words also float on a cloud of white. “I know the sound.”

Her lips curl in a curious smile. “Tell me.”

I gesture for her to come closer, then whisper into her ear.

            “I love you.”

~

 Lalalalala let me know what you think! And excuse the horrendous tabs and formatting. And tell me what itches you the most when YOU write :)