Madness at Work by Jody Feldman

There’s a kind of madness that falls over me when I’m nearing completion of a first draft. I become obsessed with my characters and the mess I’ve put them in. I forget to belabor segues in favor of reaching the finish line. Food, yes, food becomes an afterthought for me. What? It’s 2:30pm? I suppose it may be time for breakfast or this moldy spinach casserole or something.

I can write about this so clearly because that was me last week. On Monday, I clocked in 4,169 words; Tuesday, 3,037 (slacker day, I know); Wednesday, 6,594; Thursday, 7,406 for a total of 21,206 words in four days or nearly 1/3 of my first draft.

I wrote that last chapter, drowning in a puddle of sweat, questionable fashion choices, and less-than-coherent thoughts. And for the first night in two weeks, I slept soundly. I didn’t wake at all hours of the night working on Davy’s arc or finding meaner words for Cheyenne or realizing I had Avalon doing something Bo should do.

The madness had cleared. The skies were blue; the dust bunnies, gone. I spent the weekend remembering how to talk to people instead of holding conversations in my own head.

I’m still working on this desk. I’m not certain why I bother. I start rewriting on March 17, when the madness, even though it may be a different breed, will begin again.