Monday, October 25, 2010

Superstitious?

Boo! Yes, Halloween is creeping up on us. All the decorations and costumes floating about have me thinking about superstitions (in addition to ghosts and goblins, tricks and treats). I don’t consider myself superstitious, but in honor of Halloween, I thought I’d share some confessions that might prove me wrong.

To begin with, I rarely discuss what my work in progress is about. Okay, a few people close to me know what I am writing, mostly because they have to listen to me rant about the snags and tangles that I encounter. In general, though, I keep the subject matter hush-hush, especially while the first draft is under construction. I suppose I am superstitious that I will jinx the work if I blab about the topic.

Also, I won’t revisit a manuscript once it is in my agent’s hands. Partially because I know that I will want to tweak and rework the thing. Also, though, I wonder if fussing with a work being submitted is bad mojo.

And, I don’t read my novels cover to cover once they make their debut into the world. I live in fear of finding a mistake that I can no longer fix. This may be more paranoia than superstition.

Finally, I always carry a flash drive with me. Mostly because I back up my work every time I type more than five words. I have never lost a manuscript (knock on wood), but there’s always the potential. And I’m pretty sure that this potential for catastrophe quadruples if I don’t have my trusty flash drive with me. Call it my good luck charm.

Enough about me. How about you? Do you have any superstitions?

Happy Halloween!

5 comments:

  1. I don't talk about my WIP with anyone either. It's not superstition so much as people like to give imput and imput from other people confuses things and makes it more difficult for me figure out what I want/need to do. So until that first draft is written...I don't say much of anything at all.

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  2. Superstition and paranoia go hand in hand -- at least in my world, they do :D

    I'm waaay more superstitious than I care to admit. I have a thing with pennies on the ground. If they are heads up or tails up ... seriously, why give so much power to a blasted penny on the pavement?

    silly me.

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  3. Good point, Bish. I can see how too much input at the wrong time can be troublesome. And I'm impressed that you're not superstitious. Very impressed. : )

    LOL, Tess! I get the whole penny thing. And it's kind of hilarious. Thank you for that.

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  4. awesome post! NO matter how much we "think" we aren't superstitious, we all have our "things"

    I'm having a hard time thinking of my "things" right now, but I know that I have them. I just don't focus on them so they're hard to recall at this moment.

    Great post! I love your honesty.

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  5. Thanks! It does seem like everyone is at least a little superstitious now and again, doesn't it? Especially around Halloween when we all get in the spirit of things. : )

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