Patricia Stoltey

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The Return of Nagging Whisper

August 27, 2010 By: Patricia

Nagging Whisper is after me again.

She says (over and over) I need to finish revisions.

She says I need to write query letters.

She says I need to write the two blog posts I owe The Blood-Red Pencil for September.

She reminds me I need to promote the interview I did for Jean Henry Mead that will go up tomorrow at Mysterious Writers.

She tells me I need more exercise and should start going to the gym five times a week.

She pokes me hard and says don’t forget I’m teaching two classes for a mini-conference on September 18th and I still need to prepare handouts for the second class.

She says my windows are dirty.

She yells at me, “Finish the stupid revisions already.”

She slaps my hand when I reach for a square of chocolate.

She dangles my To Do List in front of my face and laughs maniacally as she points to the items I have not crossed off.

She reminds me I need a new photo for my website and blog, and, with a very snotty tone, says I should wear my glasses. She adds, “And smile this time.”

And finally, before she wanders down the hall with three of my favorite pens and a bar of my chocolate, she smacks me on the side of the head and says, “FINISH THE STUPID REVISIONS.”

So I’ll be working hard this weekend to finish revisions. I gotta get Nagging Whisper off my case.

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Comments

  1. Michelle Mach says

    August 28, 2010 at 4:24 pm

    I really liked this post–so well written and fun to read. Did She nag you to write it? If so, I suppose you’ll have to keep her around . . .

  2. Jane Kennedy Sutton says

    August 27, 2010 at 6:09 pm

    Oh my, I think her sister lives at my house!)Let me know if you find a way to keep her out of your chocolate…

  3. Patricia Stoltey says

    August 27, 2010 at 4:56 pm

    Thanks, Yvonne. You’re a good friend.

    Hi Hart. I’d go crazy if my muse/nag was a shrieker. How do you stand it?

  4. Hart Johnson says

    August 27, 2010 at 4:17 pm

    Well then I blame your Nagging Whisper for the bad habits my Whining Shrieker has picked up… (yeah, I have a similar to-do list and I am feeling SO NOT UP TO IT!) At least my children are across the country for a few more days… should help productivity (and by should, I mean, probably won’t) Good luck with your list of tasks!

  5. welcome to my world of poetry says

    August 27, 2010 at 3:55 pm

    Should you go to my blog Patricia there is a little something for you.

    Yvonne.

  6. Patricia Stoltey says

    August 27, 2010 at 3:40 pm

    Hi Amy (and by the way, congrats on your new book contract, that’s fantastic) — As for the nag, ice cream would be great (but I’d settle for just getting my chocolate bar back).

  7. Amy Kathleen Ryan says

    August 27, 2010 at 3:27 pm

    Maybe if you finish those revisions Nagging Whisper will lay off about the other stuff. She might even let you have some ice cream as a reward…

  8. Patricia Stoltey says

    August 27, 2010 at 12:09 pm

    BTW, Alex…I’m afraid to ask.

  9. Patricia Stoltey says

    August 27, 2010 at 12:08 pm

    This post generated some very entertaining comments. Sounds as if most of us have some kind of nag hovering by our ear or poking us in the shoulder. I’d like to picture mine as a cute little Tinkerbell, but she looks more like a miniature witch (not the green one, though, thank goodness).

  10. L. Diane Wolfe says

    August 27, 2010 at 11:22 am

    I think my nagging whisper finally developed laryngitis.

  11. Elspeth Antonelli says

    August 27, 2010 at 10:38 am

    My Nagging Whisper is more of a Low-Growling Teethy Creature. I can feel its scaly claws on me shoulder and its hot breath on the back of my neck even now. Mine is growling many of the same things that yours is whispering. Why do all of its sentences have to start with “Finish?” And have you noticed – the sentences never finish with fun words like “wine” or “chocolate”?

  12. Barbara Scully says

    August 27, 2010 at 10:33 am

    Hi Patricia,
    Isnt there a saying that goes something like
    “if a friend spoke to you, the way you speak to yourself, she wouldnt be your friend!”
    We are all so hard on ourselves. Grab the chocolate and relax.. It will all get done – eventually!

  13. Patti Struble says

    August 27, 2010 at 9:26 am

    Give that girl some chocolate or better yet, lots of chocolate. Then pull out the duct tape!
    Thanks for the giggles.
    Patti

  14. Alex J. Cavanaugh says

    August 27, 2010 at 9:24 am

    Smack her right back!
    There’s a trick to turning off the internal dialogue, but you’d have to be a man for me to teach it to you.

  15. Terry Odell says

    August 27, 2010 at 9:01 am

    How DARE she slap your hand for reaching for chocolate. I’m barely back in the groove after just one day away. (But I did get pictures of our Cripple Creek trip up on my blog).

    Terry
    Terry’s Place
    Romance with a Twist–of Mystery

  16. Karen Walker says

    August 27, 2010 at 8:02 am

    You just read my memoir so you know I believe whole-heartedly in listening to those whispers, whether they are nagging or lovingly spoken.
    Karen

  17. Clarissa Draper says

    August 27, 2010 at 8:01 am

    WOw, that’s a busy weekend. Well, I hope you have a productive one. And, if you don’t I hope you have a relaxing one and tell the whispers to be quiet.

    CD

  18. Jemi Fraser says

    August 27, 2010 at 7:49 am

    Yikes – better get those revisions done before she gets violent! ๐Ÿ™‚

  19. Margot Kinberg says

    August 27, 2010 at 7:25 am

    Patricia – You hear Nagging Whisper, too!? I thought I was the only one! I feel much better… Well, at least she can’t nag you about putting up terrific posts like this one : ). I hope your weekend goes smoothly.

  20. welcome to my world of poetry says

    August 27, 2010 at 6:31 am

    I get nagging whispers also.
    It would be a good title for a book don’t you think?

    Have a productive week-end.

    Yvonne.

  21. Jenny says

    August 27, 2010 at 6:27 am

    I think you need to take your Nagging Whisper out for a glass of wine ๐Ÿ™‚

    Have a great weekend. I know you’ll get a lot done.

  22. Mary says

    August 27, 2010 at 6:26 am

    It’s funny but it’s not. You shut the Nagging Whispers down unless you do what they say and then they find something else. So frustrating!
    Don’t you wish you could smack back sometimes? Even once?

Meet Patricia

I read, I write, I blog, and sometimes I do the laundry and cook. My 2014 novel, Dead Wrong, was a finalist in the thriller category of the 2015 Colorado Book Awards. Wishing Caswell Dead (Five Star/Cengage, December 20, 2017) is a historical mystery set in 1830s Illinois in the fictitious Village of Sangamon. The novel was a finalist for the 2018 Colorado Book Awards for General Fiction. My most recent release, In Defense of Delia (Five Star/Cengage, November 2022), is available in hardcover and will soon be available in ebook and trade paperback. Read Moreโ€ฆ

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