Tues. May 2, 2023: WGA Strike (And Other Weekend News)

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Waxing Moon

Mercury and Pluto Retrograde

Rainy and chilly

The WGA Strike began as of 12:01 this morning.

I blocked 47 anti-WGA trolls on Twitter. Before 8 AM. Those who called themselves “writers” are on a list, so I know never to read or purchase anything they do. A lot of those posting anti-WGA material know nothing about how the industry works and thinks all writers are rich and deserve to be denied a living wage because they should go out and get a “real job.” Singing the block song as I block.

There is no “agree to disagree” on this issue. Either you support my right to make a living at my profession, or you don’t and I want you out of my life for good.

Pluto went retrograde yesterday, and will remain so until October 10 of this year. Yup, it’s a long one. This is supposed to be a tough one, with all the squares it goes through with other planets during that time. Pluto is about what’s hidden, so when it’s retrograde, things are exposed, deceit is revealed, etc.

Today’s serial episode is Legerdemain:

Episode 81: The Thief Named Pravin

Pravin’s known for sharing false information. Maybe putting him in a cell with a murderer will get truth out of him.

Legerdemain Serial Link

Legerdemain Website Link

Friday, I swung by Big Y to pick up the last few things, including fresh ciabatta and fresh flowers. Picked up the wrapping paper and gift bag. Went to the liquor store to get Rose Grenadine, prosecco, and beer. Went to Ocean State looking for a baby gate; they didn’t have one, but I found two rugs. A nice blue one to appease Tessa in my room, and one with wine glasses that was just fun. I got a baby gate at another store.

Unpacked, put the flowers in vases, made the pistachio mousse and the devilled eggs.

I thought they were flying into Albany and driving from there, but they flew into LaGuardia and drove up.

They arrived a little before 7 at night. I should have done quite a bit in the afternoon, but I didn’t. I rested and read.

Anyway, they came in, and I met the baby. She’s one, and walking quite well. She handled a long day and a long trip well. Willa was really good with all the company, including the baby. Charlotte was horrified and being a drama queen at first, but got friendlier as the weekend continued. Tessa just stayed in my room.

We had a good dinner and a good catch up. The baby likes her new book (she loves books) and the stuffed dog that went with it.

Slept pretty well. The baby only woke up a few times, and went back to sleep pretty quickly each time. Tessa slept on the bed. I don’t know where Charlotte was, but she came in the morning to wake me up. Tessa didn’t want to eat in her usual spot, so Charlotte ate Tessa’s food and Tessa ate Charlotte’s food and it all worked out.

I got almost a whole episode of REP written on Saturday morning before everyone woke up.

I made Eggs Benedict for breakfast. We had an easygoing morning, and, after lunch (black bean soup and bread), we took a drive around the area to show them Windsor Lake, downtown, The Spruces. We stopped at the alpaca farm to see the alpaca. The dog there fell in love with the baby and it was mutual, so they played together. We all bought stuff (I got a gorgeous all seasons scarf). We drove around Williamstown, and went walking on the acreage behind the Clark.

Pasta with mushrooms and pancetta in a cream sauce for dinner. Plenty of desserts.

Lazy morning on Sunday. I baked chocolate chip banana muffins. We drove over to Hadley – with their GPS, we actually found Trader Joe’s. I wrote out the directions so that I could find it again. Definitely not a quick trip if one has forgotten something! Then went to Holyoke for another store, which was a disappointment. But at least I know how to get there now.

Make chicken enchiladas for a late lunch/early dinner. I went to restorative yoga. We had snacks when I came back. The baby loved playing with potatoes, the cat toys, and the yoga blocks. She loves books. She’s an adventurous eater and had a little bit of almost everything I cooked. She learns really fast – one could see the progress just in a few days, and she adapted well to a new environment.

Monday morning, they had to drive back to New York to fly out of LaGuardia, so we fed them pancakes.

Once they were on the road, we finished stripping the bed and put everything in the laundry bag (I’ll go tomorrow morning). We switched out the red winter curtains with the lace panels.

I hung out on the couch with the cats and read. I read a book that was a lot of fun, but was too easy to get ahead of the characters, plot wise. I worked on contest entries.

In the evening, the Dramatists Guild held an “End of Play” event, which was fun. I’m glad I went, although I couldn’t stay for the whole thing. I have been invited to virtual “silent writing” sessions with the Guild throughout the year, so I’ll check into that schedule and see what I can do.

It was Beltane, but I was too tired to do much.

Didn’t feel well and had a bad night. Was up too often and too long on social media following the WGA negotiations.

Of course there’s a strike. Because producers like to forget that without a script, there is no show. Even “reality” shows have script needs. Having been a negotiator for my union’s Broadway contract, I’ve heard the producers go on about how everyone in the industry is “privileged” to work there – and they basically want US to pay THEM to work. Now, let’s remember that there isn’t a reason for a producer’s job to exist without writers, directors, actors, designers, and crew.

And so many people who don’t know the first fucking thing about working in the business are chiming in, anti-writer, of course. I blocked 47 people on Twitter before 8 AM. Those who call themselves “writers” and boast about scabbing are going on a special list so I know not to ever purchase or read their work. I mean, the Guild will block them from ever joining, but should they write in any other medium, I want to make sure they don’t get a penny from me.

What this means for me personally is no new commissions for radio work during the strike; no rewriters on any film, television, or radio material already under contract; no script doctoring or revision jobs. No pitching scripts.

The whole fellowship/competition arena is somewhat of a gray area and there’s a lot of conflilcting information. Many WGA writers are not applying to contests or fellowships; other committee members are saying, well, the decisions take months to reach, so submit, but if you get it and the strike is still on, you can’t accept/sign/work on anything. I’m still working on a few scripts that I planned to submit in the late autumn/over winter cycle; I’ll keep working (none of it is contracted, so I’m not scabbing). If the strike is over when the cycle comes around, I’ll submit; if not, I won’t (because I won’t submit during the strike), and wait until the next cycle. I can keep submitting stage plays, because those contracts are in good standing with a diffeent union, Serials and novels are not affected, although I would check with the Guild if anything was offered an option, since no one can be hired to do an adaptation until after the strike is over. If anything comes up I’m not sure about, I will contact the WGAE rep and ask.

The other union contracts are coming up soon; the producers are hoping to divide and conquer. Too many of the unions gave up a strike clause (NO union should EVER give up a strike clause, in my opinion), but that’s a different conversation.

People who don’t work in the industry can support writers by cancelling streaming services for the length of the strike AND TELLING THE COMPANIES WHY. Get DVDs from the library instead. Don’t rely on a single form of technology, because it will always fail you.

It’s going to be a stressful summer.

I had some other stuff I hoped to yap about, but the strike is more important, and the other stuff can wait.

On today’s agenda: writing on Legerdemain and REP. Social media rounds for Legerdemain. Work on contest entries. Client work.

The bulk of this week’s focus is finishing up the contest entries.

Have a good one!

Tues. April 4, 2023: Ups, Downs, and “Plot Bunnies” Re-Release

image courtesy of Connor Johnson via pixabay.com

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Waxing Moon

Rainy and chilly

Lots to catch up on, so curl up with a beverage and we’ll get to it.

Friday morning was all about getting ready for the grant reception. I did a home test – I felt fine, but I wanted to be sure. All good. Made an executive decision to use a more forgiving shapewear, because the really good one didn’t let me sit down, and that would not work for me. I know we were in an art museum and all, but being a living sculpture is not my jam.

I forgot to mention in Friday morning’s post how happy I am that the Narcissistic Sociopath has finally been indicted. About damn time. Having served on a Grand Jury, I have some idea of how the evidence was presented, and what kinds of conversations the jury might have had, and the instructions. Personally, I won’t be satisfied until he’s up on accounts of treason and sedition, but at least SOMEBODY is trying to do SOMETHING about all that public criming in real time.

As far as school shootings, nothing will get better until the NRA loses their nonprofit status, is declared a terrorist organization, and any politician bought by them removed from office. Any politician wearing an NRA pin should be banned from office for life. At minimum.

Anyway, back to the goings on.

The grant reception was amazing. I met so many people (and I have so much follow up to do). The new executive director, Michael Bobbitt, for the Council is a theatre person, filled with exuberance and passion to support working artists. He believes in us collectively, and also takes the time to meet and know us as individuals. I was surprised that the state level senators and reps were there, not just talking passionately about how deeply they believe in us. Instead of the usual appearance, where they nod, smile, say a few words and are whisked off to the next event, they were there early, they stayed through all the speeches and performances, and they stayed after to talk to the individual recipients. Since the auditorium was packed with several hundred of us (yes, I stayed masked the whole time), that was both unusual and appreciated. Several Council board members were there, and again, the passion and belief in us is astounding.

Because there were so many of us in attendance, I didn’t have to worry about being put on the spot for anything (a nice change). There was a planned, scheduled performance by one of the artists, poet Lyrical Faith, which was terrific. And organized, and took the pressure off of us. The whole event was beautifully organized.

The director of the museum was even there to kick this off, welcome us, and encourage us to stay and enjoy the museum.

I also met Emily Ruddock, of Mass Creative, who I’ve known and worked with for the past couple of years via email, and it was such fun to finally meet in person. Her husband is a theatrical lighting designer. And Brian Boyles, the head of Mass Humanities, and I also had an excellent conversation.

The auditorium is in the same building as the library, so now I know where I’ll go for my research project on the Bibiena family of stage designers (this family and the Canalettos were the big opera designers in Italy, and the painter Canaletto started painting scenery for his father).

The ceremony was filled with passion and emotion and enthusiasm and belief. Even better, the state’s Committee on Tourism and Culture is co-chaired by Berkshire politicians – both of whom were at the event.

It was a wonderful event, but also a little overwhelming, especially after being in various stages of pandemic isolation for three years. Like I said, I need to be re-socialized slowly, like a feral cat.

Thank goodness I’d made business cards.

As I said, I have a LOT of follow-up to do this week.

After the reception (which, of course, ran late, but no one cared because we were having fun, and after, because all the people who were on the podium were actually interested in staying and talking one-on-one), I got my little museum admission sticker and wandered the museum.

I’d decided to dovetail being at the Clark with Essay Camp’s Day 5 assignments, and the start of the big nonfiction project. I spent a big chunk of time with Renoir’s “A Box At The Theatre (at a Concert).” Of course I was drawn to a theatre painting. I also spent some time with some Sargent paintings in Venice. “A Venetian Interior” has this hint of light through a door at the back that just fascinated me.

My feet hurt by then. Even though I’d worn flat boots, because I knew I wasn’t up for heels, I’m not used to wearing shoes for more than quick errands, and my feet damn hurt.

Limped back to the car and headed for Chapter Two Books on Spring Street in Williamstown. What a great bookstore! And the people running it are so nice. I wound up buying eight books, a mix of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc.

Wanted to stop at another store on the way, but couldn’t figure out where I was allowed to park, so skipped it and went to Wild Oats to pick up a few things.

Headed home, limped up the stairs, took off the boots, and stripped off the clothes (especially the shapewear). Phew!

It was after 3 by the time I got home (and I’d left the house at 10 AM), so it was a long day. A good one, but long.

At 7 was the Dramatists Guild End of Play virtual kickoff, which was a lot of fun. In addition to the great DG staff members, playwrights Dominic D’Andrea, Kevin Free, Caridad Svich, Deborah Zoe Laufer, Bernardo Cubria, Christine Toy Johnson, Jacqueline E. Lawton, Migdalia Cruz, and Eric Pfeffinger were there to offer prompts and conversation.

Several of the prompts were relevant to my play; others started seeds of new plays.

It was a lot of fun, but I was thoroughly wiped out by the end of it. I read one of the books I bought at Chapter Two, a book called AIRMAIL, which is a collection of letters between Pam Houston and Amy Irving early in the pandemic, until I staggered off to bed.

Slept pretty well, although I woke up at 2:30 fretting, and managed to get back to sleep eventually. Then Charlotte woke me around 4, and I told her I wasn’t getting up until the coffee started.

After breakfast, I sat down to start FALL FOREVER for End of Play, and wrote eight pages, the whole first scene. My outline is much looser than usual, and I’m trusting the characters. Even though I know there will be a lot of revision involved, I like what’s happening for this draft.

Took a break, and switched over to draft Legerdemain. Had trouble getting into the headspace.

Had to dash out for a few errands in the rain, got those done, came back. Settled in to work on contest entries, which I did for the rest of the day and into the evening. I’m almost done with two out of three genres, and should have both finished this week, which means I can then concentrate on the final genre (I’ve done a little over a third of the entries in that one). I need to catch up on entering the scores online, or it will be too much to do all at once.

Actually slept well Saturday into Sunday, slept all the way through the night. What a big difference. We originally were supposed to go on a storage run, but because of the wonky weather and the fact I have only one working windshield wiper, we didn’t. Neither of us felt up to it mentally or physically.

I was at the desk fairly early, and wrote the next scene of FALL FOREVER (3 ½ pages). I’d been thinking of it since I woke up, and also figured out how to utilize the few scene shifts I have in the piece to drive the plot.

Although it was a struggle to settle into Legerdemain, I managed to do it, and draft a new episode. I also created the episode graphics for this week’s episodes.

I worked on contest entries. I’m having trouble with the Kindle. Send -to-Kindle material shows up, but doesn’t open, even when it’s downloaded.

Amazon’s been trying to force me to buy a new kindle for the past few years, so they’re just turning off more and more features, thinking that’ll make me do it.

What it’s making me is angry, and I’m more likely to invest in a tablet on which I can do more with more flexibility and just use the Kindle reader app.

We also did our taxes. They should be simpler this year, but changes in the forms meant they were more difficult. But if we made a mistake, they will let us know. I mean, I’m not MAILING them until next week, but at least they’re done. And then, of course, I also have to do/mail my quarterly taxes next weekend, but that’s not as much of a big deal.

I had a very intense yoga class in the evening. As my teacher pointed out “restorative doesn’t mean EASY.” Yup. And Saturn in Pisces means when you do deep work, there’s an additional level of intensity.

My mom was coughing a lot this weekend. It didn’t sound good. We tried over the counter cough syrup and liquid Tylenol, which works for a little while, but it’s solving the problem. We both took home Covid tests (since I was going to yoga, and I’d been to the grant reception, I planned to test anyway). Both negative. I planned to call the doctor on Monday morning and get her in.

But my mom woke me up at 4:30 on Monday, because she couldn’t stop coughing and couldn’t get the childproof cap off the cough syrup. I gave her some syrup and she went back to sleep for a couple of hours, but felt dizzy when she woke up, so I packed her into the car and drove her over to Urgent Care. They were very nice and ran a bunch of tests to eliminate things. Since her only symptoms were a racking cough and dizziness, and the COVID test was negative, the heart rate good and the lungs clear, it removed a bunch of the worst options. They decided to do a flu swab, and that came back positive. She was skeptical, since she has no fever or body aches or nausea or any of the usual symptoms, but this year’s flu is weird, so, and it was a positive result, so that’s the first line of treatment.

I loaded her back in the car. Conveniently, Urgent Care is next to Stop & Shop, so I picked up the recommended bone broth and chicken soup (and I have homemade chicken soup) and a baguette to make it all more palatable. Got her settled at home, then set back out to mail bills (yay boxes that let you toss in the mail), and pick up her prescription at CVS. While I was there, I got the additional home COVID tests her insurance covers. I dashed next door to Big Y to get lemons, crackers, and iced fruit bars, which I thought she might enjoy.

We finally got home to eat breakfast around 11 AM. And I had to cancel the appointment to get the windshield wipers replaced. Got her settled in bed. We are trying to figure out how she could have caught flu germs. The only place she’s been out of the house was, the day before my birthday, when she went to the Clark with me, and we were masked the whole time. Unless the germs came in on a library book, or on me. I’m usually the one who always goes down with the first flu germ.

I’d written my three and a half pages for End of Play very early this morning, while my mom was asleep, so at least I didn’t feel like I’d lost the whole day.

I’d run out of time to work on Legerdemain, and to get the promos up  for “Plot Bunnies” which re-releases with some upgrades (especially to technology) today. This is a fun little story, set in the town of Twinkle, Vermont, and I hope you enjoy it. I need to dig in the rest of this week on promotion, especially since, toward the end of next week, I will most likely lock my Twitter account.

I was exhausted and felt like I’d been run over by a truck, but I managed to turn around both script coverages due in between making sure my mom had hot tea with honey and lemon, bone broth, water, and her medication on time. The medication’s definitely helping (although heaven forbid either her insurance or her supplemental insurance pay for it – what’s the point of forcing us to have supplemental insurance when it doesn’t actually cover what it’s supposed to)?

She had appetite for dinner (and she can smell and taste, which was another reason to be confident in the negative COVID test). Willa wouldn’t let my mom out of her sight, following her everywhere and staying with her on the bed. She takes her job as feline nurse very seriously.

Friends of ours are coming to visit for the last weekend of April into the beginning of May. We haven’t seen them since before the pandemic started, and they’ve never visited us in the Berkshires, so it will be fun. It means I have to kick into high gear with the spring cleaning!

I finished the book for review and got confirmation that the contest entries which didn’t fit my genre were moved to the appropriate one.

Fell into bed early and slept fairly well, dreaming that one of my plays was in rehearsal. Woke up around 2 to find Charlotte had snuck onto the bed with Tessa and me. Fell asleep again until about 6.

My mom seems better today. I have to catch up on everything I didn’t get done yesterday, write my 3-4 pages on the play, get the windshield wiper replaced, write and send off the review, get all the promos up and out, and turn around two script coverages.

I’m going to cancel out of yoga tonight (much as I want/need it) because I don’t want to risk getting anyone in the studio sick.

Let’s hope this is a productive week. I have to get started on the follow-up from Friday’s events, too. Focus on one thing at a time, and it’ll all get done, right?

Tues. March 28, 2023: Time for the Tuesday Natter

image courtesy of Agata via pixabay.com

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Waxing Moon

Rainy and chilly

Hope you had a grand weekend and are ready for our Tuesday natter.

A slew of submission calls hit my desk on Friday morning. I submitted two ten-minute plays to one of them. Another call was interested in radio scripts, but the guidelines made my eyes cross, so I skipped it. Maybe I’ll go back and re-read them some day when I’m not jugging sixteen kajillion things. I saw a call that a friend’s work would fit, so I sent that off to her.

I lost way too much time dealing with my mother’s health insurance. Again. Which meant I lost the writing time I’d put aside for Legerdemain, and that put me in an unsettled mood.

I picked up a big stack of books at the library, got in some groceries from Big Y (another snowstorm predicted for the weekend), mailed some stuff and bought stamps at the Post Office (and chatted, because, around here, the Post Office is the happening place), and swung by the liquor store to replenish.

I read some more in the Katharine Cornell biography – it’s good background on Jessie Bonstelle, Rachel Crothers, and, of course, inspiration for the serial in development, REP. It’s a little on the fawning side, but if one digs past that, there’s some good theatrical history in there.

In the afternoon, I turned around two script coverages, and then went back to the Cornell bio. In the evening (and late into the night), I read a book getting a lot of attention. It’s billed as a thriller, but it’s also a horror novel. It’s very well-written, a page turner. But, at the end, it didn’t give me a feeling of catharsis, just sadness, because of the unnecessary brutality. I mean, the brutality was necessary on the author’s part, but I felt sadness for the deaths of those brutally murdered in the book. It’s well done, and I’m glad I read it, but saying I “enjoyed” it would be a stretch.

Tessa and Charlotte are now BOTH sleeping on the bed with me. Tessa is on one side, down near my feet, and Charlotte is on the other side, curled up against my chest. Charlotte always considers being a pill to Tessa when she jumps up, and I tell her that if she’s not nice to Tessa, she will be kicked out; we’re here to sleep. She considers it, decides sleeping on the bed is more important than being a brat, curls up, and goes to sleep.

I figured out how much I need to write each day on FALL FOREVER for End Of Play in April. A full-length play is 90-120 pages (with the sweet spot being a little less). Over the course of 30 days, that’s 3-4 pages, and do-able. In fact, that’s a reasonable, stable pace, although there may be some days where I write more, in order to capture the entire scene.

I also came up with a large, nonfiction project made possible by the grant (once the money ever gets here). The initial phase of it would take an entire year of a block of time devoted to it each week, and polishing it after would take a few months. But it would be a good way to show gratitude for the grant, and have a tangible project by the end of it. Well, the first draft of a tangible project. I made some notes on it, and will set up the files for it once the grant money arrives, and I can actually take action on it. Because it’s non-fiction, I can write a proposal before the draft is finished, once I have a better idea of how the idea actually works as a real piece. It’s also something I could work on in residencies, if I didn’t want to apply to residencies next year with a fiction project.

The project has a nice resonance in the heart, which indicates it’s on the right track. The right thing at the right time is like a tuning fork. You can feel when it matches the tone.

Saturday morning, I woke with the pre-storm headache, which was just not fun. Once the storm started, it eased a bit, but the weather cycled from snow to sleet to rain and back again, and it was yucky.

I drafted another episode of Legerdemain. I uploaded the next couple of episodes. It wouldn’t let me schedule today’s episode, so both of this week’s episodes are dropping on Thursday, and I have an apology graphic making the rounds. I’ll get next week’s episodes uploaded and scheduled by tomorrow, to make sure there are no glitches. I did the log lines and the episode graphics.

A friend sent me a submission call, and I had a short play that might fit, so that went out the door.

I rewrote the opening of “Labor Intensive” and then did another pass on “Plot Bunnies.” I put the opening of “Labor Intensive” in as a teaser, and added in teasers for “Just Jump in and Fly” and SAVASANA AT SEA, along with information about the serials. I kept finding little copy edit glitches, so I proofed it a few more times – and KEPT finding little niggly things. But I think it’s finally clean, and that’s uploaded and scheduled for April 4 release. I’ll be doing graphics and pre-order information and updating websites and doing a big push for the next couple of weeks on that.

But it was a full day’s work.

I did a bunch of work on contest entries, too, along with a bunch of admin work that needed to be done on them.

I dug through some books I’d ordered from the library as background for the Heist Romance. I scanned some information, and I also ordered a copy of one of the books, because I can use it as research on more than one project, and it will be useful to have on hand.

I went back to the Katharine Cornell biography and learned about Minnie Madden Fiske and the company she ran with her second husband, Harrison Grey Fiske. She’s listed in the book of American Women Theatre Directors of the 20^th century, so I can do more digging on her, too.

I need to start putting together a timeline of some of these interesting women and see where they intersect. Because there’s a project in there, even if I don’t yet know what it is.

But I was tired by the end of Saturday. Really tired.

Tessa was the only one who slept on the bed on Saturday night, and I overslept on Sunday. But the cats got breakfast and I baked biscuits.

I drafted an episode of Legerdemain, and started the next episode. I finished, polished, uploaded and scheduled this week’s Process Muse, and then went ahead and wrote, polished, uploaded, and scheduled next week’s Process Muse. I’d like to get all of April’s posts written, polished, uploaded and scheduled this week to take the pressure off me in April.

I watched/listened to the prep video for the April yoga/eco challenge, and a lot of it resonated with me, which is a good thing.

Worked my way through a stack of contest entries in the afternoon. In the evening, I went back to the Cornell bio and made some notes for several different projects. I love it when one resource has multiple uses.

Had weird dreams Sunday into Monday. First, I was driving along a highway and had to keep stopping because people crossed in front of me. Pulled myself out of that dream, and was in the midst of fretting. Then, I realized I’m slipping back into the sense memory from before the move. I kept reminding myself that the feelings are real, but the reality has shifted to something more positive.

I hope, as I mentioned in yesterday’s “Intent” post, that I can use the pillars of End of Play and the yoga practice to ease that and prevent me from sliding back into that physical and mental state. It made April-May-June and even into July last year tough.

Finally fell asleep again and fell into more weird dreams, which fled as soon as I woke up.

Instagram no longer lets me cross post to Twitter and Tumblr. I can only post to IG & FB. Urgh.

I need ONE scheduling tool that lets me schedule unlimited posts to ALL my social media channels. But that doesn’t exist. Most tools only integrate with FB, IG, and Twitter. Some add Tumblr or Pinterest. That’s not good enough.

Did some admin, drafted an episode of Legerdemain, wrote a 3-page insert for GAMBIT COLONY. Scheduled the promos for this week’s episodes of Legerdemain and Angel Hunt.

Turned around three script coverages. I started them on the front porch, but it was too chilly. However, our yellow tulips are starting to bloom! So that’s lovely.

Completely forgot I’d signed up for Summer Brennan’s Essay Camp workshop, which started yesterday. Thank goodness for emails. I managed to get in both the writing assignment and the reading assignment.

Soup class was a lot of fun. Poor Jeremy. It’s gotten a little bit like herding cats for him.

After soup class, I had another idea for the Essay Camp assignment, so I did it. I think this one might be a stronger choice, but it’s always good to have options.

I went back to the Cornell bio. The chapter on the year-long rep tour by train (ROMEO & JULIET, THE BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET, CANDIDA) was amazing and funny and difficult (among her co-stars were Basil Rathbone and a young Orson Welles). Maude Howell, the first female stage manager on Broadway, helped general manager Gert Macy set things up, before heading out to California to direct films. Minnie Fiske’s niece, Merle Maddern, was an actress in the company and a skilled tarot reader. They traveled with their own train cars with 50 actors, a crew, pets, spouses, scenery, props,  and costumes. The Christmas performance in Seattle, where the train was delayed by storms, but the audience waited, watched them set up, and then they performed until 4 AM is a wonderful story in itself.

There’s a project in there.

What and when, I don’t know, but I’m gathering information. The research will be tons of fun. I can also use some of this as inspiration for the REP serial, even though REP’s premise is very different. I’m not sure when it can fit into the schedule (probably next year), but it is very much my kind of project.

Dreamed I was part of a very busy writers’ group overnight, which was fun, but I felt like I’d put in a full day before I woke up.

FALL FOREVER is definitely ready to be written. I’m feeling that pull of “come on, now, tell my story” and I’m looking forward to April 1. I’m attending the virtual kick-off party on Friday night. I can’t attend Sunday’s virtual New England event because it conflicts with yoga AND with Sunday supposed to be my day of not going online, and, in this case, the yoga needs to come first.

Twitter’s only putting those who pay for blue checks in the “For You” feed (which is where the people I follow show up, rather than in the “Following” feed). That starts April 15. I think, that week before, I will lock my account. I need to shift my focus to building community on other platforms, and remind myself that it took years. But I need to put attention there, because, although Twitter used to fuel sales (especially for the Topic Workbooks) and reads and other things, it hasn’t the last few months. I need to figure out where my audience has shifted, and establish myself there.

The “Plot Bunnies” launch will end just as that’s happening, so I’ll be able to get some good metrics about the shift in a couple of months.

Speaking of “Plot Bunnies” it’s starting to go live for pre-order. I will post more info when I get relevant information up on the website, in the next few days. It re-releases on April 4, which is next Tuesday.

On today’s agenda: working on Legerdemain, working on tomorrow’s Ink-Dipped Advice post, prepping the launch info for the re-release of “Plot Bunnies,” turning around two scripts (one of for which I was requested), and then, tonight, yoga.

There’s no episode of Legerdemain going live today because of the glitch; again, my apologies. Have a good one!

Fri. March 24, 2023: Of Forgotten Women and Dubious “Journalists”

image courtesy of pixabay.com

Friday, March 24, 2023

Waxing Moon

Cloudy and chilly

Meditation was good yesterday (it always is) and gave the day a cheerful start, in spite of the weather.

My Llewellyn editor got in touch yesterday morning and offered me a slot in the 2025 SPELL-A-DAY. Yay! I’m happy to be a part of any of their almanacs, but that one is my favorite. I’m in this year’s (under the Cerridwen Iris Shea byline), and they like to give different authors on their roster a chance to participate, so I didn’t think I could do it again for a few years. I’m so happy. I’ll get the contract and the assigned dates in a month or so. And I don’t have to worry about saying anything before signing the contract, because they’re good about this stuff. I mean, I’ve been writing for them since 1994!

That means I’ll get started writing/working on material toward the end of April/beginning of May, just as I’m finishing up Dramatists’ Guild End of Play and finalizing the contest entries/winners. So that dovetails well.

I drafted an episode of Legerdemain. I did a revision on “Plot Bunnies” which included updating technology, along with general tightening up and making it read better. I created the Series Bible for the Twinkle Tavern stories and entered in the information from this tale. It’s a novelette, just over 7K. I found the opening of “Labor Intensive” – the second TT story — I’d written a few years back, and can tweak that. I have to decide which other teasers to put in. Definitely something from “Just Jump in and Fly” and probably something from SAVASANA AT SEA, since they are both under the Ava Dunne name. I might put in blurbs for Legerdemain and Angel Hunt.

Wrote and submitted my book review; got my next two books for review. Did the social media rounds to promote yesterday’s episode of Legerdemain.

The last expected box of office supplies arrived, and also the kitty litter. Nothing like hauling 45 pounds of cat litter up the stairs to make one feel old.

There was a 4000-word hit piece on author Brad Sanderson in WIRED magazine that made the rounds. It said more about the so-called “journalist” than it did about its subject, and was nothing more than a badly-written, bitter word salad. The guy spent five months visiting the author, talking with him, meeting his friends and family, attending conferences – and all he could say was the guy is boring, makes a lot of money and he’s Mormon? First of all, it’s not the interview subject’s job to entertain the journalist (although many subjects, especially performers, feel that need). It’s the journalist’s job to come up with interesting, engaging questions to make the subject think, and then take whatever comes out of it and use the writing craft to MAKE it interesting. The “journalist” came in already disliking Sanderson’s work (so why accept the assignment?), resenting the money the VERY POLIFIC AND DEDICATED writer EARNS (nothing is handed to Sanderson, he puts butt in chair and does the work), hating the guy’s religion, and says the guy and his fans are “boring.”

First of all, in my years of doing this (and I’ve probably been interviewing subjects since before Bitter Boo was born), almost everyone has something interesting about them if you just give them a chance. That’s why interviewing is so much fun. You find the key and unlock what they’re passionate about. And then you get out of the way and let them shine.

In addition to just being a mean piece, it meandered, it whined for 4000 words (4000 repetitive, whiny, BORING words that were about the author instead of the subject, not a feature piece), and it was simply badly written, which is one of the most unforgiveable things about it (along with many of the other unforgiveable things about it). Any self-respecting editor would have killed the piece, or reassigned it, or demanded massive rewrites. And the editor should have handed Bitter Boo a stack of NEW YORKER magazines so he could see how a good profile is put together.

That’s the best you can do after FIVE MONTHS with your subject? Says a lot about the lack of skills and craft on the part of Bitter Boo.

It also dunks on the SFF fan community, which is ridiculous and uncalled for. Stop ridiculing people for finding joy in their lives, because they like something you don’t.

Now, I’ve been doing the conference circuit for more years than I like to admit, at least I was, pre-plague. There’s plenty of inappropriate and/or predatory behavior, no matter what the genre. There’s also a lot of kindness, laughter, and people finding joy. You learn to set boundaries, you learn to mash down those who won’t respect your boundaries, and you gravitate toward the joy.

Sanderson posted a gracious, kind, and classy response over on Reddit. I’m not a Reddit user, but writer Garth Powell was kind enough to post the link for us to follow. Sanderson defended Bitter Boo, calling him a “colleague” and “sincere.” I disagree with that – the only thing Bitter Boo was sincere about was his jealousy. Sanderson was as bewildered as many of the readers of the article as why loving one’s work and one’s friends and family is boring. Bitter Boo probably wanted dysfunctional family drama, with screaming and thrown drinks; in other words, the way Bitter Boo would behave if he had money. It was a very smart move on Sanderson’s part, because it made Bitter Boo look even worse by using kindness as a weapon. AND it was well-written, which showed the lack of skill in Bitter Boo’s writing in even sharper contrast.

There’s a reason Sanderson makes a fuckton of money. He’s smart, as well as prolific.

Good for him.

By the time I finished reading the response, I was laughing my ass off, because he was so darn clever about it.

With all of that going on, I only got about half a coverage done yesterday, which means I have a script and a half’s worth of coverage to turn around today.

I continued reading the biography of Katharine Cornell, and got so frustrated. Why weren’t we given information on Jessie Bonstelle, Rachel Crothers, Clemence Dane, et al, as part of our history? When we work shows, the history of what the theatre held before us is part of our story, and we become part of the theatre’s story. So why didn’t I know about these women?

Well, I know now, and will make up for lost time.

When I started reading Susanna Centlivre’s plays (as one of the most popular and produced 18^th Century playwrights) in order to write “By Her Pointed Quill” I was delighted with her skill and humor and angry that I hadn’t come across her before.

Too much of mediore white men’s work is passed down and celebrated through history, while more talented women and POC are pushed to the side. I’m sick of it. Imagine how much richer our arts and humanities would be if that wasn’t the case? I have no problem with good work living on, and even lesser work remembered and enjoyed. But I do have a problem with work being shoved aside and buried under the mediocre because it wasn’t created by a white dude.

I’m going to work on Legerdemain this morning, and then give “Plot Bunnies” a final polish. I’ll upload, then give it a proof in the correct format probably tomorrow, before scheduling it. I’ll add “Labor Intensive” to May’s writing schedule, so I can draft it in May/June, let it sit in June/July, then revise, upload, and schedule in August. While percolating the third story, which will be built around President’s Day and need to release next February and be written this autumn.

I also have to do a library run. Nothing to drop off, but plenty to pick up. Grocery run, too, and then it’s back to script coverage.

Episode 18 of Angel Hunt drops today. I hope you enjoy it.

I have a busy weekend of serial work, “Plot Bunnies” polish, and, sadly, taxes. Urgh.

Have a good one!

Wed. March 22, 2023: Feeling Spring-y

image courtesy of Jill Wellington via pixabay.com

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Waxing Moon

Cloudy and cold

The latest Process Muse, about physical space, dropped this morning. You can read it here.

I had trouble settling into the page yesterday morning. I thought doing the dishes would help focus me, but I sat down and there were a million little fidgety things demanding my attention. Since I was in that kind of headspace, I did the social media rounds for yesterday’s episode of Legerdemain. I answered emails. I’ve got all but one email account down to manageable levels, and I’m working on that last one, while doing upkeep on the others. That one’s a little rough because I got on an email list for a “media company” that bulk sends sales emails, and every time I “unsubscribe all” they just send it from a different “publication.” I think I’m going to start reporting them as spam. I’ve put in multiple requests to take me off everything, and they ignore it. And they’re mucking up the email.

It’s not where I get my main business/writing email, thank goodness.

Hoopla is finally distributing The Topic Workbooks et al; I have so many links to add to my various pages. I need to block in time to get on top of that.

I’m getting another bonus for the serials, which is nice. I’m working on some paid advertising for them this spring.

I have Process Muse topics planned into next January! I managed to do a little bit of work on an upcoming post, but I need to fact check a few things. I will finish it up tomorrow or Friday and schedule it.

Put in a request to have maintenance come and take a look at the dishwasher. I’m pretty sure it needs a new power board; hopefully they’re willing to do that, and not just switch it out with whatever subpar dishwasher they have on hand. The guy was going to stop by either yesterday afternoon or this morning; it wasn’t yesterday afternoon, so I hope it’s this morning.

Turned around a coverage in the afternoon. It was warm enough to work out on the porch, with hyacinths and cats.

I’m looking forward to April, with the DG’s End of Play providing the emotional space to write FALL FOREVER, and then I’m doing an eco/wellness challenge with the yoga studio. I mean, daily life and script coverage and the rest is in there as well, but I’m really looking forward to those two pillars of the month’s structure.

Yoga was great last night. The woman behind me grew up on the street where I currently live, so we had a lot to talk about. Her daughter is opening a vintage clothing shop within walking distance, so I look forward to checking it out when it opens. I had some good conversations with several people there. The studio draws a really interesting, eclectic group. I’m looking forward to spending more time there.

Picked up takeout on the way home (I need to stop doing that). And someone was in my parking spot. I moved over two slots, to a space that’s usually free, because I didn’t want to take anyone else’s.

Slept well, although I had busy dreams. I was in an office I remembered in the dream from another dream. It had to do with horse racing. It was something about jockeys being drugged without their knowledge/against their will. I need to make a few notes, because there’s the seed of something there (and I haven’t written about horse racing in a long time).

Up early. Off to the laundromat (believe me, it was necessary). I was the only one there, which was glorious.

While the laundry went through the machine, I started the first read-through of THE TREES WHISPERED DEATH since I finished the first draft in December. When I finished the draft, I was relieved that it was finished, but I was discouraged. However, starting the read, there’s a lot I really like, especially when it comes to voice, dialogue, and character. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty to do on it, PLENTY, before it’s submission-ready, but there’s a good foundation. Both this and CAST IRON MURDER, I think, are suitable for agent/traditional submissions rather than small publisher submissions, as long as I don’t get boxed in to “cozy.” TREES is definitely historical mystery (1957) with an older, amateur female sleuth AND deals with the issues of the day, so it would be difficult to try to push it into a cozy box. CAST IRON deals with contemporary social issues; it could be heavily revised to be a cozy, but that would destroy the book, in my opinion. Both have strong, older female protagonists at the center. Both have long-term series potential.

I will sit down and write a series overview for each as I work on revisions, and have that ready, in case it’s requested. I have thumbnails of the first three books in each series. I have publishers in mind that I think would work for each of them, but I will probably query agents first, although I don’t think that will happen until autumn for CAST IRON and probably not until next spring for TREES.

But both are stronger, overall, than I thought they were when I finished the original drafts. They definitely need both a developmental edit and a multi-colored draft edit to clean up sloppy writing, but they are nowhere near the hot messes I thought they were when I finished them, and that’s a good feeling.

I’m waiting for the maintenance guy to come and take a look at the dishwasher; I don’t want to get caught up in writing Legerdemain and then get interrupted; at the same time, if he doesn’t show up on time, or is hours late, I don’t want to lose that writing time.  I guess I could fold laundry first, right? And then, if he’s not here by the time it’s folded and put away, I’ll sit down to write and hope he doesn’t show up until afternoon!

I have one script in my queue today and two tomorrow, so I’m in decent shape.

Episode 17 of Angel Hunt drops today. I hope you enjoy it.

Have a good one!

Fri. Feb. 24, 2023: More Bad Weather

image courtesy of Nile via pixabay.com

Friday, February 24, 2023

Waxing Moon

Snowy and cold

I baked bread yesterday, and, to my delight, it turned out well. It’s one of my favorite recipes, but sometimes it doesn’t work. This time it did, and it was wonderful. The yeast bloomed well, the crumb is good, the taste is delightful.

Worked on Legerdemain. Revised the next set of episodes to be uploaded. They need some more work. Too much passive voice. Some of it is necessary; the rest is sloppy writing that needs fixing.

Wrote the two book reviews, submitted them, got my next two assignments. Did a stack of coverage scoring sheets, and turned around two scripts.

I have an opportunity to put PLAYING THE ANGLES, SAVASANA AT SEA, and TRACKING MEDUSA into a special promotion. Normally, I’d jump at it. But since those series are in limbo at this point, I’m wondering if I should. I have another day or two to think about it, although I’d like to get more attention on all three books.

Did the social media rounds to promote Legerdemain and #28Prompts. As far as writing conversations go, I’m having the best ones over on Mastodon at this point.

The weather was too awful to make it to Open Studios, so I didn’t go. Soup class was moved to last night, from its usual Monday slot, and that was fun.

Ice storm came through last night, and it’s snowing again this morning. I suppose, at some point, I have to go out and dig out the car. I’m not doing errands today; I’ll do them tomorrow morning.

Disturbing, sometimes violent dreams last night. Charlotte pulled me out of them several times, but we are both exhausted this morning.

One year anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine. The West has not done enough.

Today’s agenda: Working on Legerdemain, working on the short radio plays, doing the social media rounds to promote today’s episode of Angel Hunt and #28Prompts, turning around a treatment coverage, starting the next book for review, working on contest entries.

This weekend, I’ll work on both Legerdemain and Angel Hunt, along with doing household chores. I’m hoping to put some time into “Plot Bunnies” to get that prepped for re-release the week or so before Easter. Which means I have to commit to finishing “Labor Intensive” and getting that out by the end of summer, and figuring out the third one (maybe something built around President’s Day) to release in early 2024. I need to do some more prep work on the outline of FALL FOREVER, the script I plan to write for the Dramatists’ Guild END OF PLAY in April. I have the basic idea of it, but I need more specifics, so that when I sit down to write on April 1, it’s there. I also need to work on another piece in March, that experiments a little in format, structure, and the way it’s released, that I hope to have ready for April, but I don’t want to overcommit myself.

Next week, I also need to go through the short stories that are ready to go out, and get them submitted. I want to get back to “13 in Play” where there are always at least 13 pieces out on submission. Because if they’re not out there, they can’t find their best match and earn their keep. I have 7 pieces out on submission now, all plays. I need to mix it up a bit.

Along with re-reading Anne Truitt’s DAYBOOK, I’m also dipping into Doris Grumbach’s FIFTY DAYS OF SOLITUDE (for the umpteenth time). I always learn something new from it.

The weekend is supposed to be pretty nasty, as far as weather goes. I have to dig out the car by tomorrow morning and do a grocery run (and maybe a library run) before the next storm comes in. And I have yoga on Sunday evening, something I am not willing to give up.

Have a good one.