It's about 10°C below zero outside, the coldest it has been in this otherwise mild region for ages. There's snow outside, covering most of the bike paths and some of the streets, and for once it has not turned to mud and slush. People are bundled up in thick, warm jackets, wearing gloves and scarves and hats; bicyclists slow down while their wheels dig forward through the snow.

I'm sitting in my cosily heated study again and pondering the near future. Two of my projects have ground to a halt, one lying on ice for the next four months, the other tagged with "take it easy, go slowly, evaluate thoroughly" and thus not on speed either. So this is the time to occupy myself with number three, going on with building the concept and figuring out things - mostly reading and brainstorming work. And with that phase come the worries - is it enough? is it too much? is the concept good? how long will it take? how much good, useful material can I get?

So the next week will see me stockpiling books from the library, reading, researching and brainstorming. I am confident that by the end of next week, I will have a nice concept and a better overview over the topic, since I have already done some preliminary work on this a few months ago. And probably I'll be all excited about it again and raring to write. While the phase of doubts and worries can be stressful, I'm still glad about it - after all, it is a good thing to re-evaluate and re-think a concept after a while. And a little doubt can help a lot at the right place and time.

Today's blog is later than usual, but it fits into the spirit of the last two days.

I have already learned that waiting is a very important part in the writing and publishing business, but I have yet to learn more patience. There's a wait for decisions, a wait until things can be evaluated properly, a delay because of this or that. It all takes a bit longer than planned initially, on both sides, the writing and the editing or publishing side - and I can relate so much better after having been part of the editing and proofing process for a journal once.

I know that it is necessary to wait. Still, sometimes it is hard - and at the moment, I have just found out that at least one really long one has come upon me. So it is time for me to take a deep breath, have some comfort chocolate and then accept it - and get on with some other exciting project. There was a wonderful post about the Waiting Game on Kristi Holl's blog a few weeks back, and I will try to wait productively and patiently.

But not yet. Tonight, I'm allowed to pity myself a bit. And to eat that extra piece of chocolate. And tomorrow, I'll tackle these things that lurk on the back of my desk - let's see how long it takes to get them into the Waiting Game stage!