I’m working on editing Hiro, and I’m falling in. Not only do I need to edit this manuscript, but I need to fill in the holes in my worldbuilding and make sure what I come up with won’t trip me up in my plan for the later books. Because it’s a fantasy world, I’ve had to create much of it from whole cloth, and the whole process is pretty immersive.
So while my head is elsewhere, I still have to take care of life. Luckily I’m used to it–for twelve years I had at least a month off every summer and I generally used the time to do some marathon editing. So I know how it is when my entire focus is on another world. If you’re lucky enough to be able to spend days or even weeks on editing, here are some of my best survival tips.
Eating
- Bologna sandwiches are not a good option. I’ve done this, and I promise if you do this for long, you’ll start feeling yucky.
- Spaghetti. Spaghetti is good sometimes, but you don’t want to live on it.
- Frozen food doesn’t cut it. Lean Cuisine, Healthy Gourmet, Hungry Man, Michelina’s…some taste better and some cost less, but in the end they’re all pretty much the same. Low on nutrition, high in salt. You can live on it, but take it from someone who’s tried it–no. Make a different plan.
- Cook more food at once, especially protein. This is your best option. If you don’t mind eating the same thing meal after meal, cook up a pound of hamburger, or several chicken breasts, or whatever, and turn it into food. Hamburger can be put into spaghetti, can be eaten in tacos, can be made into gravy, or just eaten between a couple slices of bread. Chicken is similarly versatile.
- Think ahead. Make a few servings of overnight oatmeal–five minutes and you’re prepped with a delicious and nutritious breakfast for days. Set up your crockpot, and you’ve got dinner for a couple days.
- Don’t forget the green things. Frozen veggies are pretty nutritious. Toss some in the microwave with your prepared protein and you’ve got a meal!
- Caffeinate if you like, but do it in moderation. You’re not going to get much done if you’re too antsy to stay in your chair.
- Water. While you’re going easy on the caffeine, be sure to hydrate. It’s good for you, and it’ll help you stay awake when you need to. If nothing else, by forcing you to get up for potty runs.
Cleaning
You don’t want to live in a pigsty, and a mess can quickly become distracting. Here are a few ways to keep things under control.
- Wash dishes as you cook. You’re standing in the kitchen anyway, so why not? Get pre-emptive on that mess. You don’t need to be smelling yesterday’s eggs when you’re trying to work.
- Clean the microwave with steam. You’ll be using it to reheat your protein, so you don’t want it yucky. When you’re done washing your dishes, nuke that dish cloth. It kills germs too!
- Swish and swipe the bathroom. You really don’t want the bathroom getting yucky.
- Laundry is easy, and it’s way easier if you deal with it as soon as you take it out of the dryer. Hang everything you can, fold stuff that you don’t want wrinkled, and just toss those undies in a drawer. No one cares if they look nice in there.
- Shower. You’ll feel sooooo much better if you’re not grubby. Worried about inspiration striking while you’re not near your computer? Get some tub crayons to keep handy.
Reality Checking
- Take breaks for perspective. Touch base with the real world. Talk to people. You don’t need to talk to a lot of people, but talk to some people.
- Exercise. Even if you’re just waving your arms while you try to think, move around a bit. (Caveat–don’t be like me. I’ll exhaust myself running up my step count, just to avoid editing.)
Obviously you’re going to feed your cats, walk your dog, clean the litterbox. I don’t really have any tips for those things, though. So I’m going to get back to my edit. You should get back to yours. Good luck! And if you have any survival tips, drop them in the comments. Deep in an exhaustive edit, we can all use all the help we can get.