Friday, January 4, 2008
Waning Moon
Mars Retrograde
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and cold
First and foremost, Happy Birthday to Chaz Brenchley! Not only is he a brilliant writer, he’s a wonderful friend. Many happy returns of the day and the year for you.
Lyd, all is good between us. I think where we got our wires crossed is that you assumed I was blogging and making lists INSTEAD of writing, when I do it in ADDITION to writing. When I get tired (because the creative energy does flag after awhile), the blogs and the lists help me get back on track. Also, because of the amount of projects I have to juggle as a freelancer, if I didn’t track them with lists and spread sheets, I wouldn’t be able to stay on top of deadlines, outgoing invoices, and know when the chase down the money from clients that are slow payers and won’t be getting my services again!
My printer died yesterday morning, right as I’m in the midst of trying to get out all my work. The “ink waste tank” is nearly full. It will cost me $100 to fix it, which does me no good between now and the time I have to leave; it costs $279 to get a new printer that seems to do everything I need it to do. I contacted Canon – I’ve had trouble with this printer since the first week I had it, and for four years, they promised to replace it and never did. I at least want a partial credit towards a new printer.
And I’m not sure how or where I can get my printing done, but maybe I can run downstairs to my friend’s place once a day or once every few days and print.
According to one of my forums, where they’d know this kind of thing, it’s good to have a small, inexpensive printer just to print manuscripts AND the all-in-one. I used to do that – you could drop-kick my Baby Bubble and drive a truck over it and it would still churn out the pages – but I’ve stuck to one printer for the last few years. Maybe I should go back to using two. I wonder if I can keep both plugged in all the time.
I just cried. It always, ALWAYS happens when I’m on deadline. I HATE technology. It’s built to fail, especially when you need it not to, and it’s created that way on purpose to get the maximum amount of money out of the consumer.
I’m telling you, I’m ready to go back to quill pens and ink, and keep a couple of pigeons around to transport manuscripts. Okay, maybe I need a bird that‘s a little bigger than a PIGEON to carry a 400 page manuscript, but you get my drift . . .
Instead of doing what I was supposed to do, I worked on Hex Breaker all day, finishing the second draft in the late afternoon. I’m going to let it sit today, and not look at it, as much as I want to, and then revise it, print it at my friend’s place, and get it out before I leave. I love these characters, even though I know the piece needs more work. Hopefully, my editor will love them, too!
Exhausted, and still trying to figure out a way to make the last bit of this assignment with Problem Client work so it doesn’t cost me, literally, hundreds of dollars in wasted time for which they won’t compensate me. Yes, the Saturn retrograde is kicking my ass, and I damned well better learn this time around. I learned the show stuff since last time, but this go-round I’ve got a whole new set of life lessons to face, gosh darn it!
I was lousy company last evening for one of the men in my life (yes, there are more than one; one just can’t keep up at this point), but, fortunately, it all worked out and my, ahem, mood improved as the evening wore on. He knows how to distract me! 😉
So, the insurance company who’s dumped me sent me a letter offering me a $100 gift card if I had a mastectomy last year. WTF????? That is just twisted. Not only is it sick that they’re trying to make it a game to publicize the results of one’s mammogram (isn’t that illegal?), they’re offering a chance to win a gift card if you have a mastectomy. It is so inappropriate and so twisted. I’m furious. I’m calling the union today with a few choice words, let me tell you! I think I also might file a protest with the state.
It felt odd this morning to wake up and not jump into fiction right after my morning yoga. I still need to do the cheat sheet before I can get back to EARTH BRIDE. I’ve got the characters worked out for the time travel novella, but the plot is still too shaky to start. It would be nice to get that in well ahead of the deadline. Last night, I worked on a short story for a bit.
But, of course, I’m chomping at the bit to get back to Hex Breaker. I did some tweaks last night, but I’m determined to let it rest for at least a day so I can come back to it with fresh eyes.
Off to work on articles and run my Friday errands – which, today, unfortunately, includes printer shopping!
Devon
Devon’s Bookstore:
5 in 10: Create 5 Short Stories in Ten Weeks by Devon Ellington. This ebooklet takes you from inspiration to writing to revision to marketing. By the end of ten weeks, you will have either 5 short stories or a good chunk of a novella complete. And it’s only 50 cents, USD. Here.
Writing Rituals: Ideas to Support Creativity by Cerridwen Iris Shea. This ebooklet contains several rituals to help you start writing, get you through writer’s block, and help send your work on its way. It’s only 39 cents USD. (Note: Cerridwen Iris Shea is one of the six names under which I publish). Here.
Full Circle: An Ars Concordia Anthology. Edited by Colin Galbraith. This is a collection of short stories, poems, and other pieces by a writers’ group of which I am a member. My story is “Pauvre Bob”, set at Arlington Race Track in Illinois. You can download it free here: