Thurs. May 18, 2023: A Poetry-Centric Week

Clark Art Institute Reflecting Pool. Photo by Devon Ellington

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Dark Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Sunny and cold

It was 29 degrees F when I woke up this morning, and then dropped to 27. Brrrrr.

The latest on the garden is over on Gratitude and Growth. Once again, Twitter is no longer letting WP post the link. I’m back on it a lot for the WGA Strike news, but then, I need to be done with it.

Today’s serial episode is from Legerdemain:

Episode 86: Bedpan Guy

Brone’s rescuer recognized Brone’s attacker. Sort of.

Legerdemain Serial Link

Legerdemain Website Link

I have to sit down with my long range plan (which is, as always, somewhat of a work in progress) and make some business decisions over the next couple of weeks. This is a good thing, not a bad thing, but it takes time and mental space, and needs to be done. I’d like to walk a labyrinth as I ponder it, but I won’t get to do that until I get to Kripalu later in the season.

Of course, once I make the decisions, I then have to build the schedule to implement them.

Worked on the poem for Sunday. Still need those last two lines to give it a big finish.

Only got about half of a Legerdemain episode written. Had trouble concentrating.

Did the social media rounds for Angel Hunt and for Process Muse.

Headed down to Bear & Bee Bookshop, They are delighted to host the Boiler House Poets Collective reading in September, and we set it for the 30^th. So happy about it. Love that place.

Now we can figure out the graphics for the marketing and get that prepped, so it’s ready to go when we need it.

Created a couple of video pieces in the afternoon, two on FlexClip, one on Canva, as a comparison/contrast. I did a promo video for the Topic Workbooks on both. I have to edit out some text on the FlexClip one that I didn’t see when I was putting it together. I did a video promo for ANGEL HUNT on FlexClip with I love. I will let them sit for a few days before I start uploading them.

Of the two, FlexClip is easier for me, and reminds me more of the tools I learned in film school and then used in iMovie. If/when I have to buy a subscription, I’m more likely to do so on FlexClip. I should do both, since I use Canva for promotional materials for the serials, but if I can only afford one, it’s more likely to be FlexClip at this point. Although I bet Canva will change its policies and I’ll be forced to pay for both.

Creating the videos for Legerdemain will be a challenge, because I don’t want to do one per episode.

When I get my new camera, I’ll be able to do photo/video shoots specific to projects, and that will be an improvement, too. I mean, my degree is in film production, FFS.

I did some client work in the afternoon (reluctantly), but it was done and out on time.

I got my word for July’s poem, and am thrilled with it. It aligns with the ideas I’ve been playing with, so I don’t have to start from scratch.  I will work on that today. I have to turn in my segment of the poem by 3 PM.

It’s a very poetry-centric week!

Got the contract back to Llewellyn. I love my editor there so much. We work well together.

Maintenance is coming around late this week/early next week to test smoke alarms, etc. I need to tidy up a bit from the chaos of multiple projects, turning over the apartment into summer fabrics, and the storage run.

I started reading the next book for review.

I had a bad night of stress dreams. I’m so grateful for all the good that’s in my life right now, and annoyed that I’m still having sense memory stress.

On today’s agenda: meditation, for the start. The priority today is the poem due by 3 PM. If possible, I will also finish the episode of Legerdemain. I’d like to finish Sunday’s poem, too. And I have some client work to do this afternoon. That’s probably as far as I will get, along with doing the social media rounds for today’s episode of Legerdemain. The episode graphic is kind of fun, and this is one of the more comic episodes.

Have a good one!

Tues. Feb. 7, 2023: Variety as Spice and Obstacle

image courtesy of Reimund Bertrams via pixabay.com

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Last Day of Full Moon

Sunny and cold

Well, that was quite the weekend. Let’s sit down and have a catch-up, shall we?

Friday, I did the blogging. I drafted two episodes of Legerdemain. That felt good, and the arcs I have intersecting and weaving in this second big arc are coming together. I’ve adjusted the outline slightly. I know where I’m headed; I’m just not sure how many episodes it will take to get there. I’m also using Legerdemain in the Writing Wonders game over on Mastodon, which is fun.

I took care of a bunch of admin. I finished a script coverage and did a scoring sheet on another project. I did some research on some residencies, and there’s one for which I’d like to pitch, but I have to decide which of my projects makes the most sense to apply there.

I finished reading a book in the late afternoon/evening that was recommended, but I lost patience with the self-sabotaging protagonist who wasn’t very bright and didn’t grow. She wasn’t someone I wanted to spend that much time with, and she wasn’t interesting enough to hold my attention once she lost my respect.

Started re-reading Anne Truitt’s DAYBOOK. If you’re not familiar with Anne Truitt’s work, she was a visual artist/sculptor/painter/writer. I was first introduced to her work through her books, published diaries and musings about her relationship to her art in the 1990s, when working on a collaborative theatre piece about women’s diaries. I re-read her books DAYBOOK, TURN, and PROSPECT regularly. If you do any type of creative work or enjoy others’ creative work, I recommend these books. They will give you a lot of insight into process.

On a trip to Washington, DC, a few years before moving to Cape Cod, there just happened to be a retrospective of her work at one of the museums along the Mall, and I was thrilled to spend quality time within the physical pieces about which I’d read over the years.

It was -10 when I went to bed on Friday night and -17 when I got up. The power held overnight, but the internet fluctuated (which was fine, because I slept through the whole thing).

I made vegetable stock on Saturday morning. I did the rounds putting up the day’s prompt, and then I sat down and drafted a couple of first drafts of short stories inspired by the prompts. Most under a thousand words.

I had three ideas for the first one, at the airport bar. The first two worked pretty well (especially the second one, set in the TWA Sunken Lounge). The third, I literally lost the plot. I had an idea Friday night, and lost it, although I remember the opening. The story for the second prompt used a character from one of the first stories, and had a unique twist, but I haven’t yet decided where I want to do with it. The third prompt was a lot of fun, kind of a sweet story, and the 4^th is okay, but needs more of a climax. But that’s what first drafts are for, for me. To figure out what I’m trying to say.

I don’t know if I’ll use all the prompts, but these were fun. If I can take the character in the middle story I wrote for Prompt 1 and used in Prompt 2 and come up with fun interlinked stories all month (aside from whatever else I do), that would be a good challenge.

A lot of paying markets now want speculative and horror, and, of course, none of these so far are that. Oh, well, it just means looking at the markets. The linked stories are action/thriller; the others are contemporary women’s fiction.  They’re under three different bylines, at this point, because the tones of the pieces fit those bylines.

I’m writing all month, then going back to rewriting, and not even thinking about submitting until later in the spring. I doubt I’ll do something for every prompt, but it’s a nice warmup.

Turned around three coverages on Saturday. Read one of the books for review.

Went to bed early, because I was tired. Slept decently, and up at the usual time on Sunday. I went out a did a big grocery shop in the morning, restocking staples we’ve used up, and getting stuff for recipes I want to try this week. Five overflowing bags. That should keep us going for a while.

I read up on Corsica, which is where the next section of the Heist Romance script takes place, with the focus on the romance portion, rather than the heist portion. I realized  that they can’t take the ferry out of Nice, it has to be Toulon. Researching Toulon, I found out about Mont Faron and the cable car ride, and used that as a setting for a couple of scenes. Wrote 8 pages, and they’re on the ferry to Corsica now.

I have more research to do on Corsica (and I watched a bunch of great videos) before I can write this section. I came up with a way to tie it in to the main plot at two points, too, and I might even send them across to Sardinia for a day or two.

Obviously, I am doing this script as high-concept, big budget and not limiting my parameters at all. Which is kind of fun.

Turned around three coverages. Spent some time on Spoutible. When it runs, I have to say I enjoy it. It’s like Twitter without all the screaming and trolling, although I suspect that will change when it opens up to the general public this week. There are still some glitches, and it’s clunky moving between screens, but they fix problems and listen when people bring something up. So we’ll see. And I’m having a lot of fun on the Writing Wonders game over on Mastodon.

As I’ve said before, Twitter mostly makes me sad now. The algorithm hides followers from each other, unless they pay the monthly fee. There are a few people I regularly interact with, and I just go to their feed and see what they’re up to, but it’s even making that more difficult. Of the “writers” that are still there, most of them are posting either faux engagement questions they got off a clickbait list,  or expecting other writers to do their work for them. I’ll have the data by May or June to see if the promotional posts are even driving traffic anymore (I doubt they are), and then I’ll make my decision.

Because, for me, social media can’t just be about hanging out. It’s part of my business. It needs to drive traffic back to the websites, and translate into purchases or other forms of mutual support. Sites that don’t do that need to fall off the daily rounds, because my time and energy needs to be spent elsewhere. I love hanging out and chatting with people on a wide variety of topics, but when it’s all one-sided (as in chatting, and I’m supporting their projects, but they’re not supporting mine), it becomes an unbalanced relationship. Since I”m being far more careful to avoid those in real life, I also need to avoid them virtually.

Started reading the next book for review.

Honored the full moon.

Slept reasonably well, was up earlier than usual on Monday, and had to override the automatic start time on the coffeemaker because I couldn’t wait that long.

Drafted an episode of Legerdemain.

Revised/edited the next four episodes of Legerdemain, with the multi-colored draft, followed by two more rounds of revision and a polish. Uploaded those four episodes, which gets me to the beginning of March. Now I can draft a bigger batch of episodes, and that will help, if, in revisions, I have to plant something earlier than I thought.

Put in a couple of big orders for things I need (cleaning supplies, etc.) shipped. Still waiting for the Midnight City Tarot that should have arrived last week, but the “tracking” doesn’t show where it is; just says “moving through network.”

I hate DeJoy and he should be in prison, not running the post office.

Picked up the stack of books waiting for me at the library.

I got a coverage turned around and was almost through the second when I was hit with a bunch of admin stuff that had to be done immediately. Some of it is tax-focused (a company for whom I’ve freelanced a lot this past year is screwing me on the 1099 – I really need to find a replacement for that client). And there’s other paperwork that’s come through for a big project, and I’ll share details as soon as I’m allowed and everything is signed.

Of course, the printer ran out of ink during all of this.

I was too out of sorts to go back to coverage. I made Eggplant Mykonos for dinner (from Moosewood, of course), using graffiti eggplant rather than the usual dark eggplant, because that’s all that was in the store. I really liked it.

I read more of the book for review in the evening. I couldn’t settle back into coverage, and I’ll pay for that today. It means I have 5 coverages that HAVE to be turned around today, AND I have soup class tonight.

The Goddess Provisions box arrived, and it’s wonderful.

Slept well until Charlotte woke me at 1, then had trouble getting back to sleep, and had stress dreams until the coffee started. Hauled the laundry over to the laundromat and got that done. I did some work in longhand on a project – I’m a little over 50 pages in to that one. I need to type it up and then outline, because I’m flailing, and it needs an outline. Also read some of Victoria Glendenning’s biography of Edith Sitwell.

I have to give tomorrow’s Process Muse post a polish and get it up, work on Legerdemain, and do the social media rounds. Then, I’ll spend the rest of the day on script coverage, and finish the admin work tomorrow.

Hope you had a good weekend, and are having a good start to the week.

Newest episode of Legerdemain drops today. I hope you enjoy it.

Fri. Feb. 3, 2023: Brrrrrrr!

image courtesy of HANSUAN FABREGAS via pixabay.com

Friday, February 3, 2023

Waxing Moon

Bitterly cold

It is brutally cold out there, and an advisory went out, asking people to stay in unless absolutely necessary. I plan to heed that warning. Power outages are also rolling through, so it could be a cold, difficult weekend. The internet and phone keep going in and out, too.

Meditation didn’t happen yesterday. The leader was away; she’s very organized, but the person who organizes the group at the library doesn’t communicate well enough with the rest of us. This happens too often: we all show up, and then it’s canceled ten minutes in. It’s definitely easier because it’s virtual than if we all drove in and showed up, but it still gets frustrating.

The fourth episode of Angel Hunt drops today.

Yesterday was somewhat of a fractured, fiddly day. I did the social media rounds to promote Legerdemain and to drop the #28Prompts. Spoutible is still having issues, although, by the end of the day, they were claiming (on Twitter) to have fixed them and run faster than Twitter. Like I said yesterday, ballsy of them to openly do their admin on Twitter when they are a competitor, and Yegads Muskrat has worked so hard to prevent people from posting their links to Post or Mastodon. I guess I’ll find out today, when I do today’s rounds, how it’s running.

In the live Q&A pre-launch, they claim they want to support working artists who promote and share information about their work, so we’ll see if that’s the case.

I have to keep reminding myself that Twitter didn’t start paying off in engagement or in boosting sales right off the bat. I grew the audience over years, and continued to grow it. However, in that time lag it takes to grow new audiences and support on other platforms, my income takes a hit. So I have to come up with an interim marketing strategy as I grow on various platforms, and pull back from those who aren’t fulfilling any need (because it’s not all about boosting sales, but there’s no point in continuing to post on sites with zero interaction even on non-marketing posts).

I managed to get through a lot of email and deal with it, but the amount that remains across several inboxes is depressing. However, reading newsletters as palate-cleansers between tasks is working for me better than saving them to batch-read later.

Did some work on the article. Got part of what I needed from MassMOCA very fast, and we’ll see if I need to contact them for more information.

Having conversations about the possibility of a week-long residency in the fall. There are a bunch of pieces that need to fall into place (some of which have nothing to do with me), but if it works out, I’d really like to do it. I have the idea for a project I’d work on during that time, and it would shake up my process and stretch me, so I hope it comes to pass.

One of the handlers at an agency with which I’m signed is pitching me for a 3-month, 20-hour/week gig to a company. The money’s right, and 20 hours works with balancing the rest of what I do. It’s more big corporate than I usually do, but I’m definitely qualified for the work AND would learn a lot AND it’s only three months, which is the kind of thing I’m looking for. I updated my remote cover letter, did a project-specific blurb about my qualifications, updated the marketing portfolio and sent it off. We’ll see where it goes from there. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, and I’m pleased that she thought of me for the slot.

I managed to plant a pot of butterfly-friendly plants (Shasta daisy, Black-eyed Susan, Coneflower) and some of the Bergamot seeds from the local botanical garden, in honor of Imbolc. I have to update this year’s plant journal, and move some of the pages to the big, multi-year binder.

All those little dribs and drabs prevented me from any deep dive writing, and that’s part of what left me feeling unsettled all day. I’m taking note of that, so I can fix it for today and moving forward. A reminder that “oh, it’ll only take 10 minutes” putting a task before the first major writing session of the day often means I lose the day’s writing – because it NEVER takes just 10 minutes.

I’m trying to figure out how to set up my bedroom as more of a sanctuary. The space is fine (I’ll never have a bedroom as big as the one on Cape again, that was an anomaly), the furniture is fine, there’s a limited way to arrange things, but I can do more (on a budget) to make it feel more sanctuary-ish. I just have to figure out what that is. I am not one for a Spartan aesthetic. That stresses me out. I want cozy, warm, texture, books, crystals, soft lighting, etc. Getting a rug in there will help, and I know what I want, but haven’t yet found it (in my price range). Putting up curtains will also help. I have no issue with the blinds up there, but I’m more of a curtain person. Figuring out how to put something on the big wall behind the bed that feels elegant and cozy and doesn’t cause me to lose my deposit will help a lot, too. I have ideas on what I want it to look like; now I have to apply my theatre skills on how to pull it off.

Never let anyone tell you that skills you learn working in theatre are irrelevant in life. It’s simply not true. My theatre training in various aspects has done more to add value to the rest of my life than anything else.

I also need to do some work on my office again, organizing and straightening things out. Juggling projects has gotten a little messy, and I like the office to be tidier.

None of it has to happen all at once; I keep my eyes open for what will work in my price range and keep adjusting.

The weekend is about staying in, writing, reading, working on reviews and contest entries. If scripts come in, I’ll do them, since it was so light this week. Sunday should be warm enough to venture out and go grocery shopping. Next weekend, I might actually go out and do a few things – I’m signed up for a meditation session at my yoga studio, and I’m invited to an artist talk. The risk assessments and safety measures in place seem to work for both.

Have a good one!

Fri. Nov. 5, 2021: Hands On Keyboard

image courtesy of Pexels.com

Friday, November 5, 2021

Waxing Moon

Neptune, Chiron, Uranus Retrograde

Sunny and cold

The nights are getting cold here, into the twenties. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that we’ll get snow next week. I’m excited!

I also have to find my gloves. I have enough of them, and they’re up here, not down in storage.

Did my Nano quota yesterday, did the rounds of the buddies, etc. to check in on everyone and make sure they’re okay.

Got through some email. Did some script coverage (not as much as I hoped), and read two more scripts. I have two more to read tonight, and to write everything up over the next couple of days, and I’m done for this week, then start back up Sunday night. Got out a couple of LOIs.

Took down the rest of the lights from the front porch. Put the lights away, and all the spider web curtains away. I still have a little bit of fabric to switch out. Damn lot of laundry to haul to the laundromat next week.

Knowledge Unicorns was fun last night. The kids are actually excited that they can get vaccinated, even though they’re not happy about the whole needle thing.

Wrote Chapter 5 of CAST IRON MURDER this morning, 2439 words. Broke 10K the first 5 days, so I’m on track. I’m hitting my 2K minimum for my own purposes, but not the 2.5K I hoped. But it’s getting done.

Out on errands most of the day, then back to write up script coverage. I’ll write CAST IRON MURDER throughout the weekend, so that I stay on track to hit 50K by Thanksgiving, and then take Thanksgiving weekend off, or at least have a lower daily quota, so I can enjoy the holiday.

I also want to finish “A Rare Medium” this weekend, and finish the research for the Marie Collier play, so I can start it next week.

I’m back in touch with an old friend from Broadway days, with whom I’d like to collaborate on an international project, and write a proposal to develop it at an artists’ colony in France in a year or to. So I need to find my original notes and improve them this weekend, too.

Have a good weekend, and I’ll catch you on the other side.

Fri. Jan. 29, 2021: Die For Your Employer Day 254 — Work at a Steady Pace

image by Karl Eggers via pixabay.com

Friday, January 29, 2021

Last Day of Full Moon

Bitterly Cold

Yesterday’s Zoom meditation group was great yesterday. The leader always introduces us to wonderful techniques and possibilities.

Got an ad done for a client.

Worked on the article, finished it, checked quotes with one source, sent it off. The editor has a few suggestions, so I will turn those around today. I’m glad for them – there were a few problem spots I wasn’t sure how to tackle, and her guidance is a big help.

She also suggested another article, so I’m going to look for some sources and put together a pitch to send her next week.

The first part of the article, “In the Company of (Historical) Women Part I” is up. I want to put together the PDF for the contributors and send them the link, and then I will be promoting the heck out of it!

The landlord and the contractor roamed around the outside of the house in the snow, which seemed counter-intuitive to me, but whatever. The cats did not like it; usually they take a look out the window and then go back to sleep, but they didn’t like this guy.

Got out a bunch of LOIs. Finished reading WICKED AUTUMN, the first of G.M. Malliet’s Max Tudor series and really liked it. I’ve ordered the rest of the series.

Still trying to get my mom her vaccine appointments. One site is still down; the other claims all the appointments are booked. Governor Baker shrugs it off, saying the lack of doses aren’t his fault. Interesting, when the Sociopath from his own party was destroying everything, Baker at least put up the façade of fighting for us. Now that the other party is in charge, he’s happy to pass the buck. Unacceptable.

The short story about the ghost pirate ship was rejected, which made me sad. The letter was very nice – they got over 1400 submissions, and could only take 20. Still, I really love that story. I’ll take a look to see what needs tweaking and improving, and then look for another paying market.

Knowledge Unicorns was good; steady work on assignments. There’s a lot of pressure for the kids to go back to in-person learning, in the places where it’s being done. The parents and I are all united that’s not going to happen until they’re all vaccinated. Some of the kids will remain home-schooled, even when it’s safe to go back. They are doing better in this environment: fewer distractions, less bullying. They’re smart and love to learn, and they CAN do well remotely. The education system was failing them even before the pandemic, because it didn’t have room for their individuality and their intelligence. What I also love is how they have made friends with each other, and are in touch outside of the homework sessions, even though we’re all scattered around the country. And their parents now have each other as a support system, too.

I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get a piece ready for that February 1 submission deadline. I don’t think I’ll have enough time to polish. We’ll see how I feel later today.

It’s bitterly, bitterly cold. I was going to do a library run for curbside pickup; now I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll wait until tomorrow? I’ll see how I feel in a few hours. That pushes a lot onto tomorrow, as far as the dump run and the grocery run. Plus, I need to get more ice melt. I’ll clean ash out of the fireplace later, so we can have the fire going all weekend. Maybe I’ll do some baking, too.

I’m going to do a couple of hours’ worth of work on a client’s website, and turn around the edits on the article. Then, I’ll work on the next article pitch, so I can send it to my editor early next week.

I HAVE to catch up on all the box purging that didn’t get done this week. Most of the weekend will focus on that, along with housework and errands, the book for review, contest entries, and maybe some work on a play.

Have a great weekend, my friends. Stay cozy!

Thurs. March 9, 2019: Need for Time Management

Thursday, March 7, 2019
Waxing Moon
Mercury Retrograde
Sunny and cold

If you didn’t see it yesterday, hop on over to Ink-Dipped Advice to see how guidelines can be beautiful and liberating.

With a client yesterday; exhausted by the time I got home. Read and worked on contest entries. The second shipment arrived. I have my work cut out for me over the next two months, but every time I pick up one of the books, I’m excited.

It’s very, very cold and the heating bill is very, very high.

Got a card from an old friend I hadn’t heard from in about four years. Good to hear from him again.

Working on the pitches for the trade journals, and the monologues, and the workshop for NECRWA. Have to upload information into Twuffer for the next month’s worth of scheduled tweets about this, that, and the other.

Woke up just before 3 AM, due to a nightmare. Then fretted about a client issue. Then worked out some plot points on a few stories. Finally fell back asleep for about an hour around 5. I should have gotten up and either sat zazen or written. It would have been a better use of the time.

So I’m unfocused and out of sorts today.

I have a lot to get done this weekend, and even the thought of it is overwhelming.

Back to the page.

 

Tues. Jan. 3: Imp in the House!

Tuesday, January 3, 2011
Waxing Moon
Sunny and cold

The cold front’s come in, and it’s living up to its name. Brrr!

Got a lot of work done yesterday morning, thank goodness. Left around 1 to drive to Providence to pick up Costume Imp. Lovely day for driving, not much traffic. Unfortunately, both Google Maps AND Mapquest gave me incorrect directions to find the drop-off point, and I drove in circles for awhile (one way streets) and was late. I was always about two blocks away — I just couldn’t get there from here. Argh.

But we found each other, and got back on the highway and back to the Cape quickly.

Dinner was a lot of fun, and so was the evening. Because Tessa is so naturally friendly, the twins, who usually hide the whole time Costume Imp is here, came out and demanded their share of attention. It was pretty funny. Much nicer when everyone’s participating.

Imp brought up the Iron Druid books by Kevin Hearne. I read HOUNDED last night — really well done. Liked it a lot. The humor, the action, and the character development meld really well. Looking forward to the other two, and anything else this guy writes. The books came out within a month of each other this summer — that would be ideal for the Harpy trilogy, I think.

Back to work on the book this morning, spend time with my students (5 in 10 students, so far, seem excited about the class), take my mom to acupuncture, see what Imp wants to do, start tackling my office clean-up, and we have to sit down and create the grocery list for the party.

I’m clipping articles for the first exercise along with my class in 5 in 10 — the “found inspirations”. Yesterday’s was “Dead Blackbirds Fall from ARK Skies — Again.” The possibilities for that one are delicious. I can think of a half a dozen directions for stories right off the bat.

Devon

Thursday, March 24, 2011

One of the Alberta Spruces by the front door

Thursday, March 24, 2011
Waning Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Snowing – a lot

I’ll be off line most of the day, hurtling through the snow to take Costume Imp home.

My back’s been crippling me, unfortunately. Tuesday, we didn’t go out and about much, because I couldn’t do much; same with Wednesday. I have an appointment on April 5, but that seems very far away right now. AND I’m coming down with a cold. I haven’t had a cold in ages — I forgot how inconvenient they are. I don’t feel that bad — it’s at the annoying stage, and I’m at the whiny stage, so I know I’m pretty much okay.

Finished the layout for the course ebook; it still needs final proofing and page numbers, and then it’s ready for participants. I’m looking forward to Saturday — it will be a really fun day. I hope lots of you will join us! Hop on over to The Confident Freelancer page to register.

Got some correspondence done. Have to fight with Comcast yet again — the only bill that was correct was the very first one.

Most of the day was spent on conference work; the rest was spent on student work. And laundry. I find the homework for the class I’m taking a little puzzling, but I’m in someone else’s playground and it’s their rules. I’m rolling with it and seeing what I can learn.

Started reading a book that looked interesting in the library. It lost me by page 8.

Finished Allan Lacy’s THE INVITING GARDEN. I like most of it, but his contemptuous disdain for the meanings of plants and their folk uses offended me, so it’s not a book I’m looking to add to my permanent shelf. Plants DO have meaning; yes, they are imposed by humans (duh), but usually it has a relevance to something a human has learned from or about a plant. And there’s a reason herbal remedies have been used for thousands of years — when used correctly and respectfully, they work.

Take, for instance, my cough concoction — it’s a tea that includes horehound and coltsfoot and a few other things. When Imp arrived, he had a bad cough. I whipped some up, made him down a great, big cup, and he’s fine. I had a cup myself last night, to prevent the cough from migrating down into my chest. I forgot how vile it tastes (extra honey helps), but the cough is staying out of my chest, just tickling my throat. If the throat tickle continues, I’ll do some more with horehound and probably slippery elm. It won’t mask the symptoms, the way a prescription or over-the counter drug would (and, yes, sometimes even I just want it masked, especially at night to get some sleep), but this remedy will actually get to the cause of the problem and remove it. I have a six hour drive in a snowstorm ahead of me — cold medicine that’s going to make me drowsy is not an option.

When we went to bed after last night’s news, the weatherman said that the storm lost its bite and we’d just have a coating. It’s coming down pretty heavily, and it’s a good deal more than a coating, so it will be interesting to see what happens by the time we have to leave.

In the meantime, I hope you’ll join us for The Confident Freelancer on Saturday for a full day of motivation and inspiration and just plain writing fun. Information and registration here.

Devon

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Craigville Beach, about a 5 minute drive from me.

Saturday, January 15, 2011
Waxing Moon
Sunny and c-c-cold

Bitterly cold out. Hopefully, it will warm up a bit before I have to venture out later.

Yesterday was pretty quiet. Got the papers, mailed the taxes, etc. Vacuumed the whole house, put away some more stuff, scrubbed down the kitchen, did two loads of laundry.

Got some writing done (but not enough),commented on the classes, got in some reading. The library book I thought was a mystery (because of its cover and the fact that it was shelved with “new mystery”) is actually a wonderfully-written non-fiction, something I must have on my shelf, so I went and ordered it.

And hop on over to Gratitude and Growth to see why I nearly tossed back a book specific to area gardens because of the kind of typo that makes me froth at the mouth.

I have to have a moratorium on book-buying until my birthday — except for Yasmine Galenorn’s new release at the beginning of February. I have stacks of books I bought at the book barn, and stacks of stuff I got with gift cards, etc. I need to catch up before I buy any more!

Tried really, really hard to watch HUMAN TARGET last night. The writing, the concept, the everything is all over the place. The show is struggling, but one of the reasons it continues to struggle is that it feels like they’re getting too many notes and trying to incorporate them all instead of sticking to a solid vision. There were some great character moments, and Jackie Earle Haley manages to find his way with beats and details no matter what, but I think they’re even diluting his character, and it hurts to watch the show struggle so much.

Did a good chunk of work on the Samantha Light piece. A little over 1300 words, which is good for the first writing session of the day. I’m struggling with the other one, and I have to get it together. That’s the one on deadline.

Did some work on some proposals, and will have to do some more work so I can get them out. I’ve also got some proposals to get out to local places for in-person classes rather than online ones.

Later today, I’m off to see a raptor release at Long Pasture Sanctuary. It sounds fascinating, and I’m looking forward to it.

So, I need as much productive time at the page as I can.

Devon

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Saturday, January 30, 2010
Full Moon
Mars Retrograde
Really darned cold!

Minus four degrees F this morning — and I’ll have to go out in it later to run some errands. Ick From what I hear, it’s snowing farther south. It smells like snow here, too, in spite of the predictions, so I think I’ll head out earlier rather than later.

Yesterday was okay, but frustrating. I had focus problems, and felt I was getting bogged down in the logistics of the WIP. I pushed through, and it’s getting better.

Had fun at my friend’s place. Always good to unwind.

Knock me over with a feather! Verizon actually sent a check for some of the money they owe me from the provider switch over. Imagine that!

Watched the series finale of DOLLHOUSE. Wow. Not what I expected, but in a good way. And no neat little bows to wrap things up without any ambiguity. What impressed me the most was the actors’ total commitment to the work, and how they went for it fearlessly. You could tell how much they cared about this project, no matter how badly Fox treated them. Alan Tudyk had some great moments, some casually delivered lines that could have been throwaways in the midst of a tense scene, and the way he delivered them was just brilliant. Whedon’s great at being true to the vision of his created worlds, rather than giving the audience (or the network) what they expect. It’s one reason I respect his work so much. Whereas I stopped watching LOST in spite of good writing and scenework because I felt the creators were messing with me (meaning the audience) just to mess with me and broke my trust, I never feel that way with Whedon’s work, even when it takes unexpected or disturbing turns. He never breaks the pact with me as an audience member, and I know I can trust him to take me on an unusual journey and not be left twisting in the wind or disappointed at the end.

Tried to watch CAPRICA. I want to like it, and I like parts of it, but I’m not sold on it as a whole yet.

Pitched for two script writing jobs last week. Because of where they were listed, I’m pretty sure they’ll go with someone cheaper and less experienced, but they sounded like interesting projects, so I at least wanted to try.

Got my next assignment from Confidential Job #1, and it looks interesting. Will start tackling that probably on Monday. This weekend, I want to write, and maybe catch up on some DVDs I’ve got stacked up. I’ve got iN BRUGES to watch, and the full season of LIFE ON MARS. A friend’s encouraging me to see WATCHMEN, saying I’ll either love it or froth at the mouth in fury.

What I watch tonight depends what kind of mood I’m in after a day of writing.

Back to the page, and then braving the cold to get things done.

Have a great weekend!

Devon

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Elsa

Thursday, January 7, 2010
Waning Moon
Mars Retrograde
Mercury Retrograde
Sunny and cold

Gee, we’re supposed to get all the way up to 30 degrees (F) today! Shall I put on my shorts? 😉 And then we get snow tonight and it stays in the teens for the forseeable future.

Which means I have to get off my ass and get to Target today if I expect to get enough bins ton finish packing up the decorations.

I packed decorations for 10 hours yesterday, and I’m still not done. The hallway is almost impassible with the boxes I’m going to take to storage and I need more bins to re-organized some stuff like ribbons and wrapping paper and the special fabrics that come out for the holidays. I have a bin with seasonal fabric, so I can change things out every few weeks, but during the Yutetide season pretty much everything is draped and swagged (Violet keeps moving because she’s afraid I’ll swag HER if she sits still), so that fabric needs its own bin.

One would think everything would look clean and shiny with the bulk of the decorations packed, but it looks lonely and chaotic! Well, when everything’s put away and I rearrange a few things. . .

I finished the snowflake wreath (with Elsa’s help), and hung it up, taking down the evergreen spray. Taking down the spray and the bark basket with the evergreen display on the coffee table reminded me why I switched to an artificial tree. Although the little one I’ve got (the one in storage that’s eight feet tall and eight feet wide doesn’t fit in this apartment) has just about had it. It served well for 18 years, but it is falling apart, so next year, I might have to get another one.

I spent quite a a bit of time vacuuming up needles. Everything smells great and piney and fresh, though, from it.

The little live Spruce I’ve got in the bedroom window’s doing well, though, and I hope to keep it alive so that I can plant it in my garden once I move!

Elsa’s doing better. The antibiotics are helping. She’s had this respiratory problem on and off for about a year. I’m pretty sure it’s tied in with the various projects the scumbag landlords keep doing around the place – -the stuff that’s turned a charming, 1920’s building into a place that looks like it rents by the hour, instead of doing things like giving us regular hot water and enough recycling bins. To their credit, though, during this arctic snap, they’ve given us steady heat. The hot water’s still hit and miss, but the heat’s been on.

The bloodwork results basically don’t tell them anything. Elsa’s in good shape, but with a slightly elevated white blood count, which could mean infection, allergy, or asthma. It doesn’t seem to be high enough to warrant anything scary.

Tired, tired, tired, but I’m going to spend a few hours at the page this morning, then head out. I’ve got to take a load of stuff to storage, get to Target (and maybe Home Goods, since they’re in the same direction), and then circle back and go to my friend’s place to do laundry. Or maybe I’ll just to to White Plains first and then come back to pick up the laundry and my computer, so I don’t have all that sitting in my trunk while I shop. I was too tired to do my evening yoga last night (I’m being good about the morning practice, though, every day), but I’m going to try to do my weights workout tonight. Monday’s felt really good (yes, I’m still a little sore), so I want to keep the momentum.

It’s against the law around here to text while driving, AND to talk on a cell phone while driving, but it’s not enforced nearly harshly enough.

Back to the page — I don’t want to lose the momentum with the steampunk.

Devon

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Saturday, October 17, 2009
Dark Moon
Neptune Retrograde
Uranus Retrograde
Cloudy and cold

The storm didn’t hit us too badly yesterday; today’s is supposed to be worse, so I’ll keep an eye on the brook. I didn’t even have to move the car yesterday because the brook was several feet LOWER than usual, not higher.

We had heat, although I wound up being locked out of the building, and walked right through the construction, scaring the heck of the workers when they tried to stop me and I went off. Heaven forbid the locks work properly — oh, and there’s NO lock on the front door now for nearly a week. AND, when I went to the parking lot to run my errands, the workmen are pissing in the parking lot between the cars. In addition to being inappropriate, isn’t the employer required to provide adequate sanitary facilities for the workmen?

Yesterday was all about the conference. I spent most of my time commenting on exercises and answering questions. I put up a really hard exercise for them today — hardest I’ve ever thrown at a group of students. I warned them I’d be sending material back to them for multiple rewrites, and this was the one exercise on which I could read multiple rewrites (with 81 people signed up, I had to set a boundary of reading ONE rewrite per person per exercise, or I’d never catch up).

I’m not taking many workshops in this go-round. For one thing, I don’t want to be pulled into the tangent of new material. I’ve got stuff on deadline, I’ve got outlines stacked up. I tried to participate in some of the more business-oriented and practical workshops, but a lot of the information was stuff I already figured out, or stuff I’d tried and knew doesn’t work for me. Because I usually take workshops that involve more actual writing than I have this year, I feel less engagement from the instructors in the workshops I’m taking than usual, and it could be simply because it’s not as necessary as in this kind of workshop. Also, because I’m at a different place in my work this year, my needs are a little different, and it’s harder to find a workshop that meets them.

I’m sort of in that weird limbo of earning my living doing this, without being a recognizable bookstore name. My needs are different from someone starting out and trying to get published, and also different from someone with a multi-book contract. For over 20 years, I was in the Tribe of Theatre Professionals (and, thanks to the plays, I still am, in spite of the withdrawal from the wardrobe union). I was in the Tribe of Writers Starting Out. I don’t really fit into the Tribe of Secure Lit Fiction Writers (but then, is that ever really secure?). I’m a Working Writer, but it’s hard to find others doing what I do in physical proximity — they’re either only doing business writing or only working on their Great Novel while working a day job. That’s not a judgment, but it’s a different set of challenges and issues. I’ve got great writing friends as all levels of their careers via the internet, but I’d also like more in-person contact. A Nano group’s not going to give it to me; there’s no Meet-up Group around here that can — and I’m not sure I have the energy and commitment to start one.

I’m pretty sure I need to just sit tight until I relocate — in the areas I’m looking, they are more oriented to freelancing and flexible time management than they are around here. I’m in a typical suburb — it’s very rigid. In addition to missing the cultural diversity I had living in the city, I miss the emotional and artistic diversity. I feel more of that multi-levelled diversity when I go farther into New England.

One of the issues we face in the upcoming local elections is whether we keep in the current administration (of which I’m very supportive) that is working on the practicalities of infrastructure issues while meeting the needs of a growing, changing population. The opponents are running on a platform of union-busting (they’re saying our police, firefighters, and teachers aren’t worth the money, when, in reality, we get a return on our investment several hundred times over) and keeping the city affordable for those they deem worthy of living here, while cutting out others — a rise in economic snobbery and segregation that’s been on the rise in the community for the past few years. There’s a segment of the population that wants to run the whole town kind of like a co-op apartment complex, where you have to get permission that you’re “the right sort” to live here, which breaks all kinds of laws.

Honestly, I’d rather live next door to a small organic farmer than a slimy hedge fund manager any day.

Since “Be the Monster” is too big to be an anthology story, I’m plugging along on that while starting the story that’s due, “Lake Justice” — which is going to be both scary and funny.

Working on the grant applications, defining and redefining the work I’d do if I got the grant.

I want to go back to New Mexico to write for awhile, so I looked into residencies. One I found charges a grand to attend. AND expects the visiting artist to lecture. Uh, no. If I’m going to pay, I’ll just rent an apartment for about a third of what this particular organization charges (I found a really sweet one I bookmarked for the future) and be completely on my own schedule. And if I’m going to do work FOR the organization instead of just working ON the grounds — the organization will pay ME, not the other way around. I could have sworn there were a couple of others out there, but haven’t yet tracked them down.

Back to work. Elsa was on medication again for most of the week, but she seems much better. The twins are running around, playing. They just turned nine, but they still act like kittens.

Devon

Friday, October 16, 2009

Friday, October 16, 2009
Day before dark moon
Neptune Retrograde
Uranus Retrograde
Rainy and cold

Slow start this morning, because I did a longer morning yoga practice, meditation practice, and then baked apple muffins. The muffins are based on a recipe in Marion Cunningham’s THE BREAKFAST BOOK. However, her recipe only calls for cinnamon; I put in cinnamon,nutmeg, cloves, mace, and allspice. It gives the batter a beautiful harvest brown color and deepens the taste a bit.

Yesterday was all about the conference and storm prep. We didn’t flood yesterday, but there’s snow a little farther upcounty and certainly upstate. We had heat all day — guess the Health Department had a little chat with the landlords. We’ll see if they actually toe the line, or if it was just a one-day pretension of following the law.

I’ve got some errands to do today and then I’ll put the car up on the hill this evening, just in case — tides are about three feet higher than normal. We’ll see what the weekend brings.

The conference will wind up this weekend. I had a good time, but I’m ready to put more focus back on my own work again. I had one of those “Duh!” moments yesterday when I realized that I could make the artist statement for one of the residency applications do double duty on the grant application.

I’m re-reading the May Sarton biography by Margot Peters. Peters, along with Claire Tomalin and Hermione Lee, ranks as one of my favorite biographers. I use Sarton’s journals as fuel when I get tired, and I appreciate her poetry, but she always struck me as someone who was a bit of an energetic vampire with a martyr complex. She’s someone whose work I can enjoy and appreciate from a distance, but I made sure not to know her when she was alive. I had contacted her once, during some research for a project on Susan Glaspell, but her response didn’t make sense and I chose not to follow up.

Better get going, although today is the type of cold, rainy day where all I want to do is curl up in the big chair with the cats, a good book, and a cup of cocoa.

By the way, it wouldn’t surprise me to discover that Violet had her own Twitter and Facebook accounts and a blog. She’s that kind of cat. She does, after all, chew on Shakespeare. Literally.

Devon