Oh, goodie. I’ve been tagged. – If you didn’t catch that – there was an intentional little snark there. Part of me grins with glee when people think of me. Honestly, I usually thank the person, and move on. [She hangs her head in shame] because there are just not enough hours is a day to do EVERYTHING I need to do. Nor are there enough days in a week to post all the stuff that bubbles out of my brain.
But this one caught my attention. This particular tag, I believe, adds value for my readers, and also for myself.
Here’s why:
Recently I started doing interviews in preparation for the Blog Tour for the release of the “Make Believe” Anthology. (by the way –shameless self-promotion warning—I’m doing interviews now if anyone would like a guest-post – [Wink] 🙂 )
Anyway… I found myself looking at some of the questions and thinking. “Duh… I have no idea” and moving on to something simpler. The problem is, when you have five interviews in front of you, and dinner burning in the kitchen, and laundry piling up, and a kid crying with a skinned knee (you get the point) you just want to finish FAST and not think too hard. So I didn’t answer the hard- hitting questions that more accomplished authors tackle all the time.
What the Work in Progress Challenge is… is a list of questions very similar to many that I came across during the interviews. Some of them are hard. Some questions like this I skipped over because I was embarrassed of the answer, and I was afraid to admit it. Here, (among my 600 or so best friends) I will force myself to answer them honestly.
For one thing—so when you guys get to that point, you don’t feel alone and stupid. Secondly, so you can think about this for your own works, because you might have to answer these questions yourself someday.
I’m going to post this “introduction” now, and then go back and answer the questions. This is mostly a prod to myself to make sure I don’t skip any because “I don’t wanna” answer them. This is me… putting it out there and forcing myself to do it.
Hopefully, going through this exercise will help me be better prepared for the harder questions coming up this tour, and for the next round of interviews when my novel hits the world.
Stay tuned tomorrow. 🙂
Jennifer M Eaton 
Pingback: Work In Progress Challenge | Claire Gillian
Golly, you are so brave!
Pingback: Work in Progress Challenge Part two. And I Promise to be honest | Jennifer M Eaton
Since you’re doing so many interviews would you prefer just to do a ‘blog take-over’ kind of thing for me instead of an interview?
I’ve actually done both and I’m kind of enjoying the interviews. But if you’d like to do a takeover that’s always fun too!
Once I’ve had a chance to read the ARC, I will decide what I think is best. I hope to get to it this weekend after my Writers Festival stuff is over. 🙂
I was caught up by one thing: are you interviewing people or are you being interviewed? Because I would love to help you promote by interviewing you on my blog (if you’d, you know, want to be interviewed on such a small blog.)
Ha! Not so small for just starting a few months ago. You’re doing great.
Yes I am doing interviews and I’d be more than happy to come and hang out on your blog for a day. It’d be fun!
It’s scary to make yourself accountable to someone, let alone hundreds of people. Your vulnerability is trés sexy. 😉
[wink]
I was just tagged as well. I’m on a deadline to finish book two by the end of the month so I’m putting it off until I finish up, but I have to admit some of the questions are very intimidating. I admire your moxie!
Congrats on the second book!
It takes a healthy helping of chutzpah to put yourself out there like this — good job. The honesty (with us and with yourself) and the act of accepting the challenge rather than dodging it (because, really, who but you would know?) is admirable. 🙂
Yeah but some of these stinking questions I just don’t get!
in that case, quote TS Eliot or James Joyce. No one will know what you’re talking about — but you’ll sound super smart. ;p
Hmmm that just might work