I would give you an embarrassed shrug and explain that I am currently trying to organize my year. You might choose to point out that my ‘organization’ looks very similar to ‘chaos,’ and I would wholeheartedly agree with you.

I’d clear a spot for us on the couch, and explain that I’m working on lining up conventions for 2017. The process tends to be overwhelming since there are so many options out there. I would ask you if you had any recommendations for conventions near your hometown, since I find word of mouth far less intimidating than Internet searches.

But not all of the papers are for conventions. You would also see pages of my latest manuscript, splashed with highlighting and crawling with comments and corrections.

I am starting the editing process for my next novelette (I would tell you that I have a title in mind, but I’m sitting on it at the moment because I’m not sure if I’ll be keeping it. Of course, I would have meant this figuratively, but given the state of the room, I might actually be sitting on it as well.)

I would tell you that the story is Fantasy / Experimental, and focuses on two sisters and some strange curses. I would also tell you that I have absolutely no idea how to edit it. My editing process tends to be different for every project, and I haven’t figured out the best way to tackle this one.

So, in the mean time, I would show you that I am starting with all my previous methods and waiting for a new method to grow out of one of them. I would gesture around to the post it notes on my walls, my divided notebooks, my chalkboard, my binders, and my colorful charts.

“I love this part,” I would admit to you with a smile. “The initial editing process tends to be so colorful. Color always makes me feel like I’m making progress.”

At that point, my cat would appear at the door and yowl at me for the state of my living space. I would offer many humble apologies and promises that it wouldn’t look like this for long.