To Open or Not to Open…

A large manila envelope rests on my cluttered desk. On the envelope lies a computer CD, a recipe I got off the internet, a preschool directory, a Civil War reenactment brochure, and my latest cozy mystery brainstorm. I have starred at it for weeks, not sure if I should re-open it. You see, I know what’s inside. I browsed my Genesis contest scores and skimmed over the comments. I think I’ve memorized the scores.

92, 76 and 49. Talk about all across the board.

The 49er had lots to say, though I wonder if the person ever read suspense before.

To my disappoint middle of the road, 76er left no comments. What a bummer, a jip, a waste! I want to know how I can improve. But with middle man or most likely woman, I’ll never know.

Then there’s good old 92er! Gotta love her. She gave me top score for my dialogue which greatly contrasts 49ers lowest score for dialogue. Go figure. Guess contests are really all relative.

But this is the WIP that caused my obsession. The very WIP I had to lay aside for a season. Do I dare pick it up again? Do I submerge myself back into my main character. I really hate to leave him hanging, and I so hate to leave the WIP 1/2 finished. I’d rather it be awful and finished than hanging in limbo. That digital photo commercial comes to mind. The one where the people inside the photos inside the digital camera are begging to be developed. Sometimes that’s how I think my characters must feel.

Part of me feels like a quitter, a failure for not finishing. Another part of me feels like a hypocrite for writing on this blog. Still another part loves being free to pull away from the computer to be with my kids more. Gee, didn’t know I had multiple personalities!

So what’s this all about? I haven’t got a clue. But it makes me feel better talking about it. Now to bring it all home.

Anyone else out there have the same manila envelope sitting on their desk. Better yet, can you beat my crazy scores?