Thurs. March 9, 2023: Headed for The Book Sale

image courtesy of Lynn Greyling via pixabay.com

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Waning Moon

Cloudy and cold

The latest garden post is up over here.

Yesterday, the skies were grey and there was a sense of waiting. For what, I don’t know. Just waiting.

I slogged through way too much email and dealt with a bunch of stuff. I still have some unpleasant admin to get through today. One of those companies where they know they’re in the wrong, so they try to bombard me with meaningless paper, and yet, I have chapter and verse and law number of the laws they broke, so they can bite me. But it takes time and attention to put together the documentation, both of which would be better served elsewhere. I have a feeling I’ll have to get the AG and the regulators involved, but these asshats need a good smack.

They get away with it because too many people WON’T take the time to put together the documentation and tell them to fuck off.

Someone with whom I’ve lost patience online talked the other day about the importance of boxing oneself in a niche, writing-wise. As an example, they said if they were asked for a reference, they’d refer the person with the niche. Which made me laugh, because there’s nothing this individual could recommend me for that I’d accept. What’s the point of freelancing if you’re going to remain in a corporate mindset? But hey, it works for thee, not for me, and more power to them.

Did the social media rounds to promote Angel Hunt and The Process Muse. Played with some ideas. I’m looking for notes on a project that I put in a Very Safe Place and can’t find right now. I had some ideas to make it more viable, and want to write them down before I forget.

Did the library run – lots of books, yay. Swung by the liquor store to pick up Prosecco for the weekend.

Afternoon was all about script coverage. I finished the coverage I started and turned around the two coverages for which I’d been requested.

And then, technically, my weekend started!

These first few days of the week definitely felt out of balance, because I focused so much on client work and not enough on my own. But it got done, and now I have the next four days to do the fun stuff I have planned (and do some of my own work, too, but I’m not On A Schedule).

I was invited to participate in the gigantic collaborative poem experience again this year with Word X Word. I sent in my interest, and hopefully will get a confirmation back that I can participate. This year, it will be done in multiple languages, so once I get my starting word (which is the last word of the previous poem), I will see if I can create a piece that incorporates French and German as well as English, because those are the languages to which I’m most closely connected. Of course, I will only have 24 hours to write my section, so I might not be able to pull it off. It depends on my catalyst word. But, should I be a participant, it will be fun. And I have the date down, in ink, in my calendar.

I started reading the next book for review, and also worked on contest entries.

Tessa and Charlotte started bothering me at 2:30. By the time I got up at 5:30, I was a wreck.

Meditation this morning, then writing and some admin work. Social media rounds to promote Episode 66 of Legerdemain, which drops today. This afternoon, I’m headed to the Berkshire Atheneum in Pittsfield, for their big book sale. I’m joining as a member of the Friends of the Library, and going to the Member preview. They have 55,000 books at this sale, specializing in detective fiction, cookbooks, art books, and Berkshire history. My kind of sale.

Have a good one, my friends!

Thurs. March 2, 2023: Decisions, Seeds, and Prepping for More Snow

image courtesy of Roman Grac via pixabay.com

Thursday, March 2, 2023

Waxing Moon

Rainy, icy, cold

The latest Gratitude and Growth post about the garden is live here.

I had a realization about process today. Bear with me.

I sat down yesterday morning to work on a project I’ve been noodling with and have had resistance to work on. I sat there, staring at the screen, and thought, “I don’t want to work on this.”

Then I had to ask myself WHY I didn’t want to work on it? The project has merit; it’s fun and plays with ideas and form.

I didn’t want to work on it because the only reason I was doing it was to create content for a particular site, not because it was an idea that took fire for me. I had gone in search of the idea because I needed to create content, instead of getting zapped by an idea and trying to figure out where it fit best.

Now, I make my living writing. There’s nothing wrong with creating a piece with a specific target in mind. But this project is kind of my last Hail Mary for this particular site, so I’m feeling pressure to, well, not do genuine work but mimic the voice of similar content.

Which is not the right reason to do something. Not for me, anyway.

Working for money is part of the deal. All those “I wouldn’t do art for MONEY. I don’t care if I get PAID” people  — I have all kinds of issues with them and how they intentionally sabotage those of us who make a living at it, often because they can’t do it as a living, and resent that anyone else can. It’s fine to create for oneself and not monetize it. That’s a choice. But don’t get in the way of those of us who do.

I need to step away from this particular project for a few weeks or months and try to figure out if it’s something that I think will be fun to work on while having an eye on the market, or if it’s a clinical market experiment. Both of those are valid choices. But I have to be honest with myself about the reason I’m doing it, and take responsibility for those choices. Originally, I figured I’d start it today, and have a first draft done by March 15 (it’s only 15K in length, and has to hit that pretty exactly on the word count (maybe about 20-30 words of wiggle room). It needs to be created on the computer, not in longhand, because the word count on each section must be precise. That would give me two weeks to revise, and then it would start running in 500-word segments for the month of April (while I’m busy involved with the DG End of Play project), let it sit for 3 months, disappear it, and possibly reappear in novella form (revised) in fall or winter.

I don’t like to squash the revisions in that fast, or have that short a time before the first revision. Then I figured, well, I’ll write it this month and have it run in June.

But I still met with resistance when I sat down to work on it.

It hasn’t had enough percolation time, and I’m trying to push it into being before it’s ready. Now, some projects drop into my head nearly fully formed and take off immediately (such as the Heist Romance script). This one, I was searching for ideas to work in the format/market/experiment. If I had landed an advance for it, well, then I’d have to suck it up and get it done. But this is an experiment, to see if this type of piece will work in this particular market. There are no guarantees at all it will hit, even if it’s good. And it doesn’t have the chance to be good if I force it before it germinates. Because it’s not under contract and advance, I have the luxury to push it back and to germinate/percolate/grow organically a little more. Even though, by the time I’m ready for it, the market may well have shifted, and then I’ll have to deal with that reality.

The central character is there. The basics of the premise are there (but not the hook). But the muse hasn’t smacked me upside the head with the Frying Pan of Creativity, and in this instance, I need it. It’s not already contracted, so I can let it grow organically. It’s a hard decision, but it’s a case where I need to put the work first, and because it doesn’t affect anyone else’s schedule or income, I have that flexibility.

Back to our regular daily musings.

I felt better after the decision, but still couldn’t settle and focus. I was agitated and unsettled. I found another grant to which to apply, and will do so when I can focus. I tried researching novels set in artist or writers’ colonies, and the search engines were useless. They are getting worse and worse every day with all this faux SEO and AI crap. I’ve read TC Boyle’s EAST IS EAST multiple times. I have THE ARTIST COLONY and THE ECLIPTIC on my list. But there must be more. I found THE WRITING RETREAT by Julia Bartz, which also sounds good, and some other novels, which aren’t set in that location, which sound interesting. A fellow reader on Mastodon suggested A THEATRE FOR DREAMERS by Polly Samson, so that’s on the list.

I navigated through the day with a growing sense of doom, as though I waited for something awful to happen. Then I worried that I would draw it to me by worrying about it. One of THOSE spirals.

I did the social media rounds for Ink-Dipped Advice, The Process Muse, and yesterday’s episode of Angel Hunt. I turned around two script coverages, both of which were more complicated than expected.

I read for pleasure in the evening, until about midnight.

Had an intense time in the Dreamscape. Positive, but intense, and woke up with an idea that’s formed as far as beginning and end and needs some figuring out in the middle. I made notes and added it to the percolation pile.

A piece that’s been percolating waved at me and said, “think about taking another look at me. I might be what you want for that market you stepped away from yesterday. But you can’t rush it.” We’ll see.

I have meditation this morning, then it’s off to the post office, the library, and the liquor store. This afternoon, I’m attending a virtual author talk, and I also have to turn around two scripts. I hope to get some work done on Legerdemain and on a grant application where the application portal opened yesterday. One of those where they won’t let you read the whole thing ahead of time, which is Very Annoying.

Tessa and Charlotte negotiated sharing my bed all day yesterday. Each made her own blanket fort on a different part of the bed and pretended the other wasn’t there. Tessa slept with me on the bed all night until the coffee started this morning, and then Tessa went to check on the coffee while Charlotte concentrated on waking me up.

Episode 64 of Legerdemain drops today. I hope you enjoy it.

Off to meditation. Have a good day!

Tues. Jan. 31, 2023: Starting With More Snow

image courtesy of StockSnap via pixabay.com

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Waxing Moon

Snowy and cold

This won’t be as long as our usual Tuesday morning chat, because I just don’t have that much to say.

The month wrap up is over on the GDR site.

I wrote two book reviews on Friday morning, sent them in, invoiced, was paid, did a library run, came home. The weather was yucky. I had some scoring sheets and some pitches for coverage, that was it.

I have to say, these scoring sheets where the instructions are only to read the first page of the screenplay and score on that are teaching me a lot about how to open my own scripts.

I was done by mid-afternoon. My back hurt a lot, so I moved to the couch with the heating pad, and stayed there, reading for pleasure, pretty much all weekend. The weather was gray and icky.

Saturday’s reading was re-reading the 4^th book of my own GAMBIT COLONY project and what I have of the 5th, on which I wanted to figure out and rework a few bits. I made some notes and did an insert scene. It’s not traditionally viable, so I’ll have to pitch it to a small publisher, and I have to make sure I have all the ducks in the row for the series. There’s a lot that works in it, and there’s also a lot that pushes boundaries. And there are cuts that need to be made, or information integrated differently, in order to let the focus remain on the large and ever-growing ensemble.

But in the late afternoon/evening, I switched over to reading for pleasure, and basically read all day Sunday.

There were some books that I started and went back in the return stack for the library after a few chapters because they just didn’t do it for me. But I read LAST TRAIN TO MEMPHIS by Elizabeth Peters (another Vicky Bliss), Lana Harper’s BACK IN A SPELL (which is really good), and AN UNKINDNESS OF RAVENS by M.E. Hilliard, which I think I’ve read before, but it was a pleasure to re-read (and order the next books in the series), and an early book by an author whose work I’ve read a lot of under various names; this one was a little on the cutesy side for me.

I should have dived into the books on Malta’s history for the Heist Romance screenplay. I did look through the travel guides and watched some local videos, and decide where I’m putting some of the key scenes, though. I should have worked on contest entries.

But I was in pain and feeling grumpy and unsettled, so I didn’t. I did, early on Saturday morning, dash out to get more ink. Getting in and out of the car was hard. But it had to be done.

Monday I had to get up and actually function, so I did some prep for Imbolcc, blogged, worked on Process Muse posts, and took the car in for inspection in the morning – new-to-me place, in and out in 12 minutes, which is less time than it took to drive there. But I’m all set until next year.

I only had a stack of scoring sheets to do in the script coverage, so I did that, and started working ahead on the Process Muse posts.

I have an idea tickling at the back of my brain. I thought it was going to be historical alt-fantasy or epic fantasy, but the characters have decided it is urban fantasy romance, so that’s what it will be. If I ever figure it out. Because some key scenes basically dropped into my head, and I have the story with the emotional arcs for the two protagonists, but not the plot. So I’ll make notes on the scenes (or maybe write them, there are not many of them), and let it percolate on the back burner of my brain to see if a plot evolves. All of last night’s dreams were in the world of that story, and through those characters’ experiences (rather than me being myself in one of my Dreamscapes), so there’s obviously something in there my subconscious believes is viable.

I ordered the Midnight City Pocket Tarot and am very excited to get it. The artwork is based on NYC locations, so it will have a resonance for me.

Soup class was fun – we did mulligatawny soup, and it was great. I missed the last couple of weeks of class, and missed the camaraderie, as well as the skills I’m learning. Once the food is created, everyone just hangs out and chats, and it’s fun. The best of Zoom (and makes Charlotte so happy).

I did a reading with the Spirit Allies Oracle deck, which came in the Goddess Provisions box a couple of months back. I don’t know why I’m surprised when it’s so accurate. It’s a terrific deck, by the way.

Anthony Lemke talked about a book he read that he really loved. It’s been on my TBR list for awhile, but I’m moving it up, because he’s never steered me wrong when it comes to books or good work!

We had a little snow overnight, maybe just over an inch. We have an ice warning out, and it’s kind of flurrying. I’ll wait until mid-day to do my library-grocery-liquor store run. I need more coffee. And I have to put in a Chewy order for cat litter.

The cats have adjusted to the whole not-being-fed-until-coffee. But the second the coffeemaker starts (it’s set for a specific time the night before) and the smell wafts through the house, all of them are making demands that I Get Up and Feed Them. It’s kind of hilarious.

I need to get my act together and focus today. There’s writing to do, interview questions to create and send off, contest entries to read, a book to start reading for review. No scripts in the queue, at least so far. I’m not in terrible shape this pay period, but I’m under what I hoped, and I’m very, very frustrated at the pressure to “double volume” when there aren’t enough scripts at a decent rate in the queue. So I need to add in other options.

#28Prompts starts tomorrow. I hope you have fun with it. I had fun coming up with the prompts. It will drop on Twitter at noon EST every day, and on the other social media channels (where I can’t schedule ahead of time) whenever I can get on them.

The next episode of Legerdemain drops today. I hope you enjoy it. Be well, my friends.

Fri. Jan. 13, 2022: A Slow, Rainy Start

image courtesy of ini kvaratskhelia via pixabay.com

Friday, January 13, 2023

Waning Moon

Uranus and Mercury Retrograde

Chilly rain

I love Friday the 13^th, so I’m looking forward to the day.

And my friend Paula’s play is being read tonight by a theatre company down in Florida. Woo-hoo! It’s a terrific play, and I’m delighted for her.

Yesterday wound up being more of a practical day than a creative day. I got some blogging done. I attended the online meditation group. I did some tidying up on the desk. I worked drafting some future blog posts.

I did the rounds promoting Episode 50 of LEGERDEMAIN, and uploading/scheduling the graphics for next week’s episodes. The teasers for ANGEL HUNT are also starting to drop, so I dealt with those, too. I cleaned up the additional pages on this blog, did some cleanup on the Legerdemain website, and polished the #28Prompts, which will run in February.

I also did a media kit for LEGERDEMAIN, and I’m happy with the way it came out. I got to use some of my favorite general graphics along with a set of thumbnails from episode-specific graphics, and present the information about the series. I kept the bio very simple and might beef that up a bit. I did not put in an excerpt from the first episode, because the first three episodes are free and available to everyone. I’m wondering if I should at least put in the opening paragraphs, which carry the hook.

I made some notes on an idea. It needs to percolate more. I have the characters and the basic situation, but that’s not enough. That’s been pushed into another section of the brain to work on a low boil.

A box came from a friend, with knitted lovelies, a citrine, tea, lip balm, and chocolate truffles. The perfect care package for a snowy winter day.

I finished reading a colleague’s book, and I finished reading the book for review. I have two reviews to get out later today, and tell my editor I’m ready for the next assignment.

I started reading THE READING LIST by Sara Nisha Adams, for the NYU Alumni Book Club. It’s quite wonderful. It’s even more fun, because it lets me revisit books I’ve read and enjoyed (I’ve read all the books mentioned in the novel).

Both of us were up sick most of the night. Not ordering takeout from THAT place again anytime soon, are we? The cats were good little nurses. I feel rather hollow and tired this morning.

Another idea started bubbling up. I’m making some notes, but there are some obstacles to the story, so once I make the notes, they need to go to an even further back burner.

I have a script in today’s queue, which I will read this afternoon. I hope some more will come in over the weekend; even though I try not to do script coverage on weekends, there’s been so little coming in lately that if it shows up, I’ll read it. I also have to start on the contest entries. I don’t want to get behind. I know I have a stack of blank scoring sheets left over from last year. Somewhere.

I need to get to the library. A stack of books has finally come in. Some of them are research books that will serve two projects on the boil. I also have to mail some bills, and get in a few groceries. We’ll do some easy things this weekend, until we get back on our feet. I’m hoping I can find a decent chicken, and do a gentle roast chicken.

The weather is supposed to be nasty, on and off, next week, so I’m glad I work at home. I’m going to try to get some writing in on LEGERDEMAIN and ANGEL HUNT today, but I have a feeling I might put it off until tomorrow. By the end of the weekend or first thing Monday, I’ll be able to upload and schedule another two weeks’ worth of LEGERDEMAIN and another month’s worth of ANGEL HUNT.

 The next section of LEGERDEMAIN going up is in decent shape, it’s mostly cleaning up sloppy writing. But the logic and the narraive drive of the story are there. The following section is a more intimate and sadder one that I want to take another look at before I upload it. The piece I’m working on now is driving the main arc forward, and I need to get way ahead on that before I can go back to polish and upload it, because there are things later on I might need to plant in episodes coming up soon.

This next section of ANGEL HUNT needs a good bit of revision, but I figured it out, tossing and turning in discomfort last night. But I have to be on my game to actually write it. Knowing what needs to be done is a good half the battle.

It’s already late, and I need to head out soon. I’m just going to take it slow today, and listen to what my body needs.

Have a good weekend, my friends, and I’ll catch up with you on the other side of it.

Wed. Nov. 2, 2022: Let’s Skip It All and Have Pie

(image courtesy of Hansuan Fabregas via pixabay.com)

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Waxing Moon

Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter, Uranus, Mars Retrograde

Sunny and warm

We’re supposed to have a stretch of unseasonably warm days the rest of this week, so I don’t have to worry about bringing the plants in. I am worried that it’s too warm to plant the bulbs, though.

While I was pleased with a quick-off-the-mark start to Nano yesterday, 2552 words on THE TREES WHISPERED DEATH, it was hard to get my head back in the game afterwards.

I slogged through some email. I did the rounds of social media to promote Episode 29 of Legerdemain. I’m back on Ello, which is good, since I have over 265K eyes on my work over there.

I dug in and managed another episode of Legerdemain, which actually went well, once I got going with it.

I started the 30 Days of Gratitude practice with my yoga studio.

The second half of “Won if By Sea” went up on Ko-Fi yesterday afternoon. I hope you enjoy it! If you didn’t want to read the first part without the second part going up, now both are up, and you can read them together.

I turned around two scripts. I signed up with Cohost and with WT. Social. I want to do a comparison/contrast of all these platforms over the next couple of months and then post my experiences and data, probably over on Ink-Dipped Advice in January. By then, I should have enough information. Even early on, it’s fascinating to see which things resonate on different platforms.

All of this social media kerflamma underlines the need for creatives and businesses to have their own WEBSITES, not just social media.

I was invited back to judge the book contest again that I’ve judged for the past few years. The pay is decent, and I enjoy the work, so I said yes.

Did my rituals last night. During these days of tending the dead, I am a cauldron for a lot of grief, and it’s exhausting. But necessary.

Today’s issue of THE PROCESS MUSE is about “Different Structures for Different Mediums.” If you’re not yet subscribed, you can click the link to read it. You can also subscribe (it’s free).

I was up early this morning, with the alarm, which I couldn’t figure out how to turn off. I think I will go back to a traditional alarm clock, and not my phone. Every time it updates, everything goes bonkers.

Out the door just before 6 to the laundromat, got everything done and back a little after 7. Got a few chapters of the multi-colored draft done on CAST IRON MURDER.

No one’s allowed to park on the street from Nov. 1 – March 31, so, at least the first few days of November, I try to keep my car in my spot as much as possible, so no one grabs it. People are pretty good, but there are always a few who don’t believe boundaries and space applies to them.

Wrote the second chapter of THE TREES WHISPERED DEATH, which came in at 1997 words. Less than yesterday, but better words, and I’m starting to feel the innate rhythm of this piece.

Unfortunately (?) I got an idea at the laundromat, when a couple of characters started yapping at me, so I will make some notes and make it clear that they MUST WAIT THEIR TURN. I have enough going on this month.

Today I have to start taking down the Samhain decorations, along with everything else that has to get done. That includes taking down all the spiderweb curtains, and putting up the red and gold paisley curtains that will be up until we put the lace panels back up in spring. It will take a few days to get everything down and put away, because I also have to get the writing and script coverage done.

But we should have some nice weather these next few days, and Tessa, in particular, will enjoy being out on the porch.

Have a good one!

Tues. June 21, 2022: Creativity in Multiple Directions

image courtesy of Chris Martin via pixabay.com

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Waning Moon

Pluto & Saturn Retrograde

Summer Solstice (Northern Hemisphere)

Cloudy and pleasant

Friday turned out to be an up and down workday. I spent some time working the class I’m teaching in August, preparing both the Topic Workbook for it and the PowerPoint. Some of my examples have not aged well over the past couple of years, so I’m switching them out.

I hopped onto Pages on Stages to do some updates, and it was an absolute mess. The posts page had somehow detached from News & Updates. Most of the time, I got the white screen of death when I tried to get on or switch pages.

I was lucky to land some excellent techs at A2Hosting, and together, we spent a couple of hours sorting it out. I am very grateful, and told them directly, and on social media. Hey, if I’m going to moan on social media when a company is awful, I have the obligation to praise when a company comes through.

I need to put up a media room page on that site eventually, with links to productions.

I did a library run to drop off/pick up books. It started raining when I left (on foot). I almost turned back, but it stopped within two minutes, so I continued.

Turned around a script in the afternoon. My Llewellyn contract came through, so I’m good to go on that article after 4^th of July weekend.

I’m playing with a very dark idea for an anthology call edited by a friend. I don’t know if I can pull it off within word count by deadline, but I will try.

Reading an article in THE NEW YORKER about a new production of HAMLET spawned an idea for a new project that mashes up two genres that seem weird, but just might work. I have to finish what I’m working on first, though, before I hie off on anything else. I made some notes, to capture characters and energy, and now that project has to wait its turn.

Tessa started howling at 3:30 in the morning on Saturday. I moved to the sewing room, but she was not mollified. We no longer leave her food down at night for her 2 AM snack, because the others are eating it, and Willa is putting on too much weight. However, Madame Tessa Is Not Amused. She wants her 2 AM snack.

Got the proof done on “Personal Revolution”, fixed a couple of formatting things, and it is out. The re-release happens June 28. Once I get links and stuff, there will be a push for it.

Now, I have to decide what’s the next Digital Delight to come off Smashwords and switch over to D2D. Probably “Severance.” I want a new cover for that, too. Or maybe I’ll take down “Plot Bunnies” and put it up with the next Twinkle Tavern piece that hasn’t yet released, “Labor Intensive.”

Headed to the Farmers’ Market. I didn’t need much, but made the rounds to chat with the vendors; ran into people I knew from other spaces, such as the library, and we were chatting as to how it’s often hard to place people out of context. You know that you know them from somewhere. . .

Quick grocery shop from the store. Didn’t need much. Home, put it all away, lugged 66 pounds of cat litter up the stairs (Chewy delivery).

Then, I spent the rest of the day trying to put together the kitchen island cart I ordered. I wasn’t even close to finishing after 6 hours (it’s supposed to take 2 people 70 minutes). The directions were incomplete, so I had to hunt for another set online. The drawings aren’t detailed enough with some of the pieces, so then I had to find various videos of similar pieces to figure out the details, so I wouldn’t put something on incorrectly and have to take it apart again.  And the design is so poor that, by following the directions, I had no room to maneuver the tools needed to tighten the next thing in the directions. Very frustrating.

If I ever get it put together, I think it will be a decent piece, though.

Used bounty from the Farmers’ Market to make a pasta primavera in Alfredo sauce (and used our own basil for it).

Started reading a biography of Balzac, before I go and re-read some of the novels.

By evening, every damn thing hurt and I went to bed ridiculously early. I slept well, dreaming of various gardens, which was rather nice.

Worked on an ad and other promotional materials for the re-release of “Personal Revolution” on Sunday. Started getting the pre-order buy links. I’m adding them onto the various websites as I get them. The release is holding to June 28.

Played with some other graphic tools to try to get comfortable. Since I can’t seem to do all of what I need with any single tool, I’m learning how to mix and match bits of what I want to do in different programs to get to the whole. It’s actually less irritating that trying to figure out a single program.

Made a logo for the project inspired by the article yesterday. If THAT’s not putting the cart before the horse and all, right? But it gave me an excuse to play with learning something new.

Worked on the newsletter. If you haven’t yet signed up for it, you can do so here. It will go out later this week. And, hint – in the newsletter, I reveal what The Big Project is really all about! So if you’re interested in finding out what I’ve been yapping about for months, calling it “the Big Project” you will find out before the hoi-polloi.

I created a bunch of ads for the Big Project, too, and they are really cool. I’m having way too much fun creating these ads. I’m trying to capture the voice of the piece in the ads.

One of the best things I started doing is opening a new document for the upcoming newsletter and adding information on projects over the course of the quarter. That way, I don’t have to scramble to remember what I did, and what I want to talk about.

Made more vegetable stock. Because buying all these vegetables from the market means I have lots of bits and bobs left over for stock. Not at a zero waste kitchen yet, but working on it.

Most of the day was spent on working on things around The Big Project, which will save me time and effort once it launches in July. It was a lot of fun.

I couldn’t face the kitchen island cart on Sunday. I needed the time away.

Slept well Sunday into Monday. Got caught up on some blogging, and blogged ahead. There’s a post on healing over on the GDR site, if you’re interested.

Planted some of the borage seeds and more cat grass. Got through nearly 400 emails. Sent out two LOIs. Worked on an anthology story.

The Authors Guild is doing a Words, Ideas, and Thinkers Festival this September over in Lenox, which is close by. Well, okay, about an hour, but just about everything is at least an hour away. They sent me an invite to attend, and I accepted. It’s in the calendar. I mean, if the COVID numbers are way up again at that point, I’ll cancel, but I know the venue, and they have good protocols in place. I’m hoping it will be safe to attend. I’m sure I’ll be masked, no matter what.

Since I didn’t have any scripts in my queue, I spent the afternoon on the porch, reading the next book for review. This morning, I will send off the review, and hopefully get assigned the next book before my editor goes on vacation.

Made a sausage pasta for dinner, and it was yummy. We have plenty of leftovers for the week (most of them pasta).

The B plotline has switched with the A plotline in the anthology story. It makes it a quieter story, and I hope the editor doesn’t feel it no longer fits the tone of the overall anthology. We’ll see. It’s for a created world, so it’s not like I could use it anywhere else if it’s rejected, not without major, major re-envisioning. But trying to force it the other way wasn’t working. All I can do is send in the best piece I can to this point, and then get notes on it, and apply them.

The other anthology story I need to get out by the end of the month is percolating in the back of my brain. I’ll be making the bed or chopping onions, sorting through plot possibilities: If I do A, with D work, or should I go with E? That type of thing. Hopefully, once the shared world story is out, I will have figured out enough of the other piece to just sit down and draft.

Slept well last night, although I woke up about every two hours (similar to what I was doing last year at this time). By 3 AM, Charlotte and Tessa were fussing. They woke me from a dream where I was temping at a company. I’d brought in blueberry muffins. Their kitchen/breakroom was stacked high with empty/used takeout containers and dirty dishes. They told me to clean the kitchen. I told them I was there to type, not be the maid. They laughed and said they couldn’t get any of the wives to come in and clean. I told them maybe they should stop being sexist and  learn to clean up after their own damn selves.

That definitely happened to me more than once in my temping years, but I didn’t recognize this company or these people. Something about the dream made me think it took place in Chicago, and I never temped in Chicago. New York, Westchester, San Francisco, Seattle, yeah. Chicago, no.

I moved to the couch. Charlotte settled on top of me, Tessa rummaged. I dozed off and dreamed about more boxes (echoes of the move, no doubt). Willa woke me around 5:30, telling me she was Very Hungry, so I got up and fed them.

Plenty to do today, even without scripts in the queue, although I hope some more show up, so I can make my goal this pay period.

Last year today was the day the movers were supposed to show up and did not. I am glad we are where we are (and that it isn’t as hot as it was at this point last year, either).

I have every intention of enjoying the Summer Solstice, even though it’s supposed to rain.

Have a good one.

Tues. Nov. 23, 2021: Goals Create New Goals

image courtesy of Carla Luca de Tena via Unsplash.com

Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Waning Moon

Neptune, Chiron, Uranus Retrograde

Sunny and cold

It was a good weekend. I wrote about most of Friday on Friday, because the post went up so late. The afternoon was about client work, following up on information I had promised, etc.

I did some percolating on this, that, and many others while on the acupressure mat, and spent a good bit of time on the script coverages.

I was annoyed when an email landed in my inbox around 7 PM from the CEO of a company with whom I had less than pleasant pre-interview experience a few months back. I had refused to write project-specific samples or take “assessments” without being paid, and had sent my contract. These tests were a requirement to even be considered for an interview, which is a waste of my time, since the initial conversation either backs up or negates the initial research I did on the company, and I certainly won’t take a test to have a preliminary conversation. The CEO had gotten nasty in response to me sending my contract for tests and samples, and I’d said we weren’t a good fit, bye.

So he emails me on Friday about an open position to which he thinks I should apply. I reminded him about our previous, less-than-pleasant exchanges, and asked if he needed my contract for tests/samples again.

His reply was that he figured I’d be over that “conceit” by now and need the work. He also wanted the tests/samples turned around that night. After contacting me at 7 PM on a Friday.

Nope.

I told him we were not a good fit, and not to contact me again.

Up early on Saturday. 2512 words on CAST IRON MURDER, which got me just over the 50K mark.

I did it. I wrote 50K focused on one project. In 20 days. Without feeling like it would kill me. It’s done a lot to help me regain my confidence in my ability to sustain on a long project, which is what I need for some projects coming up.

Once I was done with those words, and got a script coverage out, we got in the car in search of holiday gifts, down Pittsfield way. We got almost everything – we have one more gift to get one of my mother’s friends, and I have two more gifts to get for my friends, but I know where I can get one of them, so that’s all good. It was another beautiful, sunny day, although a bit chilly.

We did hit up Target on the way down, to stock up on cleaning supplies to get us through the winter. More because we don’t know what the weather will be like than being worried about “supply chain shortages” which only the big box stores seem to have. Target was an absolute zoo. But we got everything we needed.

Everywhere we went, it was busy. But people were in a good mood, polite, and followed masking/distancing protocols. Several people mentioned how happy they were that the weather was good, and they could get their shopping done now, and not worry about it on Black Friday and into December.

It was a good day.

I turned around another script coverage in the late afternoon/early evening, so that I could have all of Sunday off script coverage. I read a monologue written by a friend, which she’d asked me to critique, and I loved it. It’s such a strong piece.

Sunday was a day of rest. Well, once I did my 2161 words on CAST IRON MURDER.

I stayed off email. Other than posting two photos, I stayed off social media. I need to get back to having Sunday as my “day of disconnect” for both mental and physical health.

I did dash out, early in the morning, to pick up the turkey. I also got some raspberry rugelach, from a bakery out of Brooklyn. Since Chanukah starts Thanksgiving weekend, all those goodies are available, too.

Played with the cats a lot. Made my favorite orange rye bread recipe. Instead of making half the batch as rolls and half as a loaf, I made all rolls. We like that recipe better as rolls. They came out perfectly. Also made chocolate mousse.

We’re trying to finish off all the leftovers, so there’s room in the fridge for the Thanksgiving leftovers.

Finished reading BURY ME WHEN I’M DEAD by Cheryl A. Head, part of her mystery series set in Detroit (although this had a good chunk of it also in Alabama). It is an excellent book, plot-wise, character-wise, pace-wise, setting, all of it.

Read the fifth book in a mystery series I’d enjoyed enormously up to this point. This book was still fun. However, the jokes repeat from book to book, and are getting stale. And the lack of character growth is beginning to bug me.

I didn’t get any of the domestic holiday cards done over the weekend, which made me disappointed in myself, but I was wiped out. I just don’t have the energy I had even ten years ago.

Tessa got me up early on Monday morning. I got in 2495 words on CAST IRON MURDER.

My mom wrapped gifts for overseas and to send friends in time for their Chanukah celebrations. Tessa decided to “help” with the wrapping paper and the ribbons and the craft paper used to pack the packages.

So, of course, it took much longer than it would have otherwise.

By the time the three of us were finished, the weather had turned, and I decided I wasn’t going out.

I tried to catch up on email, worked on script coverage.

I’m playing with an idea for a new project. It came together out of some ideas that have rattled around for a bit, looking for a home; instead of separate homes, some of them can fit into the same created world, in a format in which I used to write a lot, and miss terribly. The characters are coming fast and furiously, the world is creating itself in my head. I took some ideas I heard from people about “I wish I could find a story with this” and incorporated those in. I started jotting “a few” notes, and am up to seven pages. They’re coming out in a mishmash, all over the place. I’m going to start typing them up soon, so I can start focusing them. The initial draft should take me about three months to do, if I apply what I gained from this Nano period.

I did some research on the markets and the outlet I have my eye on, and I like what I found. I don’t want to keep all my eggs in one basket, publishing-wise. It’s too risky.

I need to be working to revive an old project that’s getting new life in it, too, but I will let that percolate over the holiday weekend.

Started reading Jenn McKinlay’s new book, KILLER RESEARCH. I’ve read that whole series, and I like Jenn a lot. I’ve interviewed her for articles here and there.

Charlotte woke me a little after one a.m., because she wanted attention. She got some, and we went back to sleep. Tessa started in at 4:33. I moved to the bed in the sewing room, and she settled down. Then Charlotte joined me for more attention; after a few minutes, she left and started crinkling paper in one of the Chewy boxes.

I gave up and got out of bed.

2431 words on CAST IRON MURDER. I think I have two to three more chapters, and I’m done with this draft. It’ll be too short for what I want, but it’s a good foundation, and it gives me room to layer on some details without getting overblown.

Made French toast this morning, and it came out well. From a recipe I brought back from one of my New Orleans trips.

I have to run all the errands I didn’t do yesterday, then get back and finish some script coverage.

I think a lot of the college kids already left for the holiday. Quieter and emptier than usual.

I’m glad I’m not travelling this weekend. I don’t have either the physical or emotional energy to travel in company like that, and, no doubt, the COVID numbers will spike again in two weeks.

I’m glad we’re staying home, and I’m glad I’m getting my booster next Monday.

Fri. April 16, 2021: Die For Your Employer day 328 — Pen To Paper

image courtesy of Stock Snap via pixabay.com

Friday, April 16, 2021

Waxing Moon

Bucketing down rain

I’m so grateful for the rain. We need it. A good, all-day soak would be a boon for this area.

I didn’t do the grocery run yesterday. I had a really, really bad feeling I shouldn’t go, as I got ready to leave. So, I trusted my instincts and didn’t. I don’t know why; there wasn’t news of a serious crash down the street until later in the day. But I trusted my instincts.

Meditation was fine, although I had trouble focusing and staying in with it.

Did some client work, looked at rental listings, heard back from a place that they didn’t have the unit available we’d need, noodled with a couple of pitches I hope to get out today.  I want to get something to my Llewellyn editor for the 2023 almanacs.

Freelance Chat was interesting, although it was about working with agencies as a freelancer. While I’m poking into that, I really didn’t have much to contribute to the actual conversation. It was about listening and learning yesterday for me, which is a good thing.

Got a response from an LOI, and we are having a conversation next week. The company interests me, and if the parameters and the way they treat people are as well as they claim, we’d be a good fit. I might, actually, visit their calendar and try to move the conversation earlier in the week.

Did some work on the Topic Workbook revision of THE GRAVEYARD OF ABANDONED PROJECTS. I need to get the Topic Workbooks revised and out again. When they are available and I promote them properly, they are steady sellers. I keep them affordable, but not so cheap I resent it. Once we move, I might look into getting some print copies of them, too, not just digital.

Worked on contest entries.

I’ve read two books in the past few weeks (not contest entries) that are different – from each other and from what’s out there – and enjoyable. WHO IS MAUD DIXON? by Alexandra Andrews is twisty and fun (although I did figure it out ahead of time, but was interested enough to find out how the characters would navigate). BEACH READ by Emily Henry was also fun, a nice twist on the standard romantic comedy formula. Hits all the points, but goes beyond, with a lot of heart. I recommend both.

I also, finally, got back to some writing, working on three ideas that have been playing in my head. I had hoped to find a way to combine them, but they are three definitive sets of characters on different projects.

One is contemporary, slightly alt-reality, with elements of romance and paranormal. I have the characters and the catalyst, and part of the setting (the house in which most of it happens is very clear, but I don’t yet know where that house IS). I’m looking for a one-word title for it, a word that encompasses self-confidant solitude. I threw out the request on Twitter yesterday, and got some interesting responses, but nothing with quite the right shade of meaning yet.

The second idea is something I’ve been playing with, off and on for years, inspired by the breakfasts at Cole’s Farms in Maine, and some of the other wonderful breakfast-only places in Maine that are so well-loved. I want to start in the 1970’s, in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, and have one section in each decade for about five decades. Built around a breakfast-only restaurant in Maine. Cole’s Farms closed this past January, after 68 years in Maine. I’d been eating there, when I visited my family up there, since I was 10.

The third idea I suspect will grow into a mystery series, and needs the most research. It will start in the aftermath of WWII, a former ferry girl pilot and the shattered soldier with whom she had an affair during the war. I don’t want to say too much about it until I know where it’s headed. There are a few scenes very strong in my head that I will get down as a foundation, and then develop.

And yes, I’m aware that I still need to write the stand-alone suspense novel about the former ferry girl who becomes a barnstorming pilot just after the war, the one I started developing in a workshop during the Cape Cod Writers Conference a few years back. That’s in the queue.

Once we’ve moved, I can look at the queue of books that need to be written, sort them, and get back to it. But for now, under all this stress, I will work on what pulls me.

I’m going to take a look at THE GHOST IN THE BREAD MACHINE and see if that’s viable, or needs to be put into stasis. I’ve been thinking about it the last few days.

Because writing even for a couple of hours made a huge positive difference in my psyche and coping skills. I need to stop the self-flagellation about not knowing where we will move, and keep writing so I have the energy to move.

Knowledge Unicorns was fine. We’re taking another break next week — many of them have next week as the spring break. Everyone is burned out. We all need a massive month-long vacation. But too many companies have learned NOTHING from the pandemic, and are trying to force the same old crap. No. Just no. All the way around no.

Staying in today in this mucky weather, to work on articles, pitches, LOIs, client work, contest entries, the Topic Workbooks, story ideas, and, of course, pack and look at rental listings. I have another book to read for review, and I hope to finish the next category of contest entries this weekend.

At least I slept through the night for the first time in a bit.

Another mass shooting, this time in Indiana. More murdered black children. The cops need to stop murdering people based on skin color, while letting white domestic terrorists roam free. And, in general, American society needs to stop murdering its children.

Have a good weekend.

Thurs. April 1, 2021: Die For Your Employer Day 314 — The Mountain Looks Unconquerable From Here

image courtesy of David Mark via pixabay.com

Thursday, April 1, 2021

Waning Moon

Rainy and cool

April Fool’s Day

There’s a post over on Gratitude and Growth about the garden.

I’m not a fan of April Fool’s Day. Too often, the humor is about cruelty instead of playfulness. We’ve had enough cruelty the past few years.

Yesterday was stressful at the client’s, and that’s all that’s appropriate to say about it. Got a lot done, though.

Got out some LOIs, had fun in Remote Chat, worked on contest entries.

My editor sent me the edits on the article – again, the wrong version of it. The drafts are clearly titled. So, what I did was address the edits, then mark what I wanted/had cut in my final draft, and added in the new quote. All to this draft. Saved it, pointed out the changes, and sent it back. Now, she thinks maybe she sent me the wrong file. But at least I’ve got the material in the draft she keeps lobbing back at me, with the possibilities for revisions. Fortunately, none of them are a huge deal. It’s mostly tweaks and tightening language, and deciding if we want to keep or cut a paragraph. We’ll get there. I got my edits turned around by the end of the workday, which is what she needed, although I suspect we will have another round of edits today. Which I will also turn around immediately.

Rental listings were depressing. I’ve got another set of scam contacts to send off to the Attorneys Generals here in New England.

Too exhausted to pack, so I will have to make up for it today.

This morning is the online meditation group, to which I’m looking forward. More LOIs. Work on the other article, since I have enough quotes now to make it fly. I’d like to get one more set of quotes, but not sure I can by deadline. Still, I might give it a go, while I’m writing with what I have.

Playing with some ideas. Although I’m personally feeling overwhelmed and in despair, I want to read/write something more upbeat and hopeful. Not long. Something short, but that helps. Not sure what it is yet, because I don’t know who will be central. I need the character in order to build the story – I like starting from character And I’m not writing enough to stay in balance, so I need to start on something, anything.

I’m a big believer in writing my way to a better reality. On multiple levels.

We’re paying April’s rent and begging for an additional month (the lease runs out April 30). Meanwhile, I’m still spending hours a day trying to find something pet friendly in our budget. I had talked to the landlord a couple of weeks ago about the possibility of another month, but I want to put it formally in writing.

I woke up around 3, worrying, and couldn’t get back to sleep. Tried to let the sound of the rain soothe me back down, but no luck.

Just keep at it, that’s all I can do.

Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2019: Idea Cookies

Tuesday, January 7, 2019
Waxing Moon
Uranus Retrograde

I’m delighted to have Scott Dawson as my guest on A Biblio Paradise today, talking about his book, The Art of Working Remotely. Scott hosts the Remote Chat every Wednesday, which is one of the highlights of my week.

Friday afternoon’s get-together for my work colleagues went well, although I was tired by the end of it. Too much food, which is always better than not enough, and it didn’t go to waste, so all good. The rum cake even turned out well.

Saturday, up early. Wrote a bit on the Winter Solstice romance. Most of the day was spent taking down the holiday decorations. We got everything down in my writing room, the backroom, the upstairs. Packed away the Santas, the deer, the nutcrackers, the carolers. Switched out most of the fabric. Eight hours, and it still wasn’t done. Managed to get four loads of laundry in, though.

Weird dreams into both Saturday and Sunday, so I guess October and November will be. . .unusual. Which is kind of what I expected.

Saturday night, watched the movie THREE LITTLE WORDS, with Fred Astaire, Vera-Ellen, and Red Skeleton. It gave me an idea for a mystery set against Vaudeville. I’ve been playing with ideas like that, set against Vaudeville or Burlesque, on and off for awhile now. But I made some notes, just in case. Ordered some research material. Had a glimmer of an idea for a fantasy YA piece.

Had trouble getting going on Sunday, and really didn’t feel like dealing with the decorations. However, they weren’t going to pack themselves. Wrote a bit on the Winter Solstice romance (which is taking some turns). Made a quick grocery run, and got to work. Got the outside decorations in and up on mats to dry before I could pack them. Packed the ornaments from the tree (I’d set up tables with all the specialized boxes, which made it easier). Got the lights down in the living room and off the tree. Took apart the tree and wrestled it back into the back. Got almost everything packed into the Christmas Closet. Even though we have 7 more boxes then we had last year, it fits better, because I packed better and the boxes are more complementary to each other.

7 hours later, and I treated myself for a large Sidecar. I earned it!

Tessa hated all the upheaval, but Willa and Charlotte handled it pretty well. As long as they are around us when things change, they are fine.

Annoyed with the landlord. He had yet a third furnace guy over for a quote yesterday — but didn’t let me know until Sunday afternoon. Has he forgotten that I work for a living? I can’t just take off at the last minute. He said he has to get three quotes for the loan for which he’s applying. Why didn’t he tell me that in the first place? Plus, he doesn’t NEED the loan. I researched the furnaces. Our rent more than pays for the replacement.

The YA fantasy idea spun a bit, and I took notes.

Made ham pot pie for dinner, with extra cheese mixed into the crust. It was good.

Watched the documentary Soundies on Sunday night. Excellent. I wish I had watched it earlier — I would have pitched to write about fan dancer Faith Bacon for 365 Women. And write about the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. Maybe next year. I made some notes and ordered some research material.

Did NOT want to get up and go to my client’s on Monday morning, but I did. Put in a batch of ham, navy bean, and kale soup into the Crockpot to cook while I was gone. I was grumpy, though, on several fronts. I didn’t get as much as I wanted to done over the break, mostly because of exhaustion. That means I have to push harder this week.

Client work was okay, but I was glad to get out of there, even though it was into the snow.

Meditation was good. I needed it.

Ideas come in batches. My writer pal Paula said, “Like cookies.” From now on, I’m going to call them Idea Cookies!

With a client today and then some other appointments. Decent first writing session. One word after another, that’s all I can do.

 

Wednesday, January 2, 2019: Hit The Ground Running and Hitting Back at Those Who Denigrate Artists

Wednesday, January 2, 2019
Waning Moon
Uranus Retrograde

Time to hit the ground running. I have a few thoughts on that, over on Ink-Dipped Advice.

Friday wore me out. I had to take the car in (which wasn’t as bad as I feared). I spent time with a client, then had some running around to do.

I was also still spinning ideas for the online brainstorming session I had with Jackie Kessler, Deanna Rayburn, and Erin Cronican on new material for WOMEN WITH AN EDGE RESIST.

WOMEN WITH AN EDGE is a show with legs. Some of the material is evergreen; some is dated. It’s time for another show along the same lines that deal with topics relevant now. I have a few places I can test material, although there’s not a theatre on Cape who’d have the guts to produce the piece. Too right-wing around here.

But we brainstormed pages of notes, and I’ve taken it further. I threw some ideas into the Women Write Change forum as well on Monday, so I’m sure that will generate more ideas.

I want to write the first couple of monologues this week.

Saturday was unseasonably warm. I had another run to the store (because there’s always one more thing). We got the garbage to the dump (and the guys got their cookies).

I started playing with some more ideas. Because ideas come in batches. So it’s important to take notes, date the notes, and then figure what’s pulling hardest and where to put what.

Sunday I managed fourteen pages on an idea with which I’m playing — I think it will work. My two main protagonists are deliciously more complicated and manipulative than I originally envisioned. It will be interesting to see how they play off each other. A missing music composition is a big part of the story, too.

Worked on the proposal for the play set in Renaissance Venice. With that, and the anti-gun violence play, and the two women authors play, and WOMEN WITH AN EDGE RESIST, that’s four stage plays and three novels releasing this year. Minimum.

We’re pushing the Jain Lazarus re-release back to 2020. It doesn’t make sense to do it this year. That way, in 2020, the third Gwen-Justin book releases, the third Nautical Namaste releases, the fifth Coventina Circle releases — along with the first three Jain Lazarus. Those are all outlined — it’s a case of writing/revising.

This year, I’m scrambling to get BALTHAZAAR and DHARMA out on schedule — last year was just too much. GRAVE REACH will be in good shape in a few months, and ready for edits. And we’re still trying to figure out if the Justice by Harpy trilogy can come out this year.

Plus, I want to make room to have at least one stand-alone a year.

I’m posting this on Monday, so I have no idea what my Eve and Day will be. I’m determined to make them good. I’m determined not to teeter at the edge of the abyss I usually find myself on every New Year’s Eve.

I have worlds to build.

Social media has just been depressing lately. I know I need it for the books and the writing. I enjoy genuine interaction, and I’ve met some great people.

But there’s too much viciousness. And too much whining.

You want to be a full time artist? Then you have to rearrange your life and put the work first. You can’t do it all and have it all. If you want to be a part-time artist in order to have a more balanced life, fine, go ahead. But don’t whine at those of us who made the choices and put in the work about “not having time to write.” You are CHOOSING not to write. You are CHOOSING other elements in your life over the writing. And they are your choices. So own them.

I’m also tired of being attacked for earning money from my work. Loving my work does not forfeit my right to earn a living at it — provided I’m willing to put in the work. I am. I do.

Those who aren’t willing to put in the work or believe getting paid for art and craft is “selling out” can go to hell. Because I have stuff to do and can’t be bothered.

And all these attacks on artists as not being smart or who shouldn’t have opinions or participate in political activism? Those who make their living in the arts tend to be smarter and more committed than those around them, or they couldn’t do it.

If you think artists are stupid, if you attack them for being intelligent, articulate, and committed to building a better world, yeah, you can go to hell, too.

I have no time for these jealous, petty morons. People who attack artists generally do so out of spite, because they hate that artists have the talent and the skills and the work ethic, and, most importantly, the COURAGE to put it all on the line.

I’m not arguing with them. I’m not “debating” with them. Let those who are only in it to cause trouble and spread spite twist in the wind.

I have art to create. I have work to do. I have a world to change, one story at a time.

 

Tues. Dec. 5, 2017: And We’re Definitely in Mercury Retrograde

Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Waning Moon
Uranus Retrograde
Mercury Retrograde

Yeah, Mercury’s Retrograde — AGAIN, and it looks like it’ll be a rough one.

Hop over to the GDR site for the November wrap-up.

Hop on over to the Kemmyrk site for some background on today, one of my favorite days, St. Nicholas Day.

I’m still recovering from the events of Friday and the car. I contacted my regular garage, and they’re putting together an estimate for me. I contacted a friend who knows the best places to get tires around here, and he gave me some suggestions.

Got a bunch of admin stuff done Friday, and then I went off to Nirvana in Barnstable to meet a friend for coffee. And was stood up. I had to dig deep — I don’t like that type of disrespect, and it’s a pattern between this individual and me.

But instead of sitting there feeling angry and hurt, I acknowledged I was both of those things, and I sat and enjoyed my mocha latte for a half hour. It was quiet, it was pretty, it was a nice atmosphere. Why shouldn’t I enjoy myself, since I was there? So I did.

Then, I went next door to Barnstable Market, and I found the plum pudding, Dresden stollen, and leibkuchen I wanted for the holidays.

I let the person know I’d waited for a half hour and then left. I didn’t hear anything until mid-morning on Saturday (since I know this person is intimately connected to mobile devices at all times, that didn’t help my attitude). She claimed she’d sent me an email, because a crisis at work came up, and she hopes to reschedule. Well, I never got it (Mercury Retrograde), and it is what it is. These things happen, and things get mixed up. Later in the afternoon, she forwarded the missing email — it had never left the Inbox. If she’s serious, she can contact me after the holidays.

This is huge progress for me, acting like a grown-up in this situation. I’m not striking out in anger. I’m also not committing to putting myself into a situation again that’s bad for me. I’m being polite, and giving the benefit of the doubt to a point, adding it to the balance sheet.

It builds on removing myself from a work relationship that had been toxic last year, where I’d done the equivalent of $150,000 of pro bono work over several years for an organization that repeatedly refused my professional suggestions because they were “too New York” (um, no, they’re “professional” which is why they WORK in New York) and then turned around and paid someone else to do the exact same thing I’d been doing for free. Truly a case of “why buy the cow when you get the milk for free?” And yet, without that client, my life contains much less stress and unhappiness, although there are aspects of the work with them that I miss.

But aren’t balance sheets in relationships always uneven? To a point, yes. Relationships, friendships, the like, all go through cycles where one party tends to do more of the heavy lifting. If and when it gets out of balance, that’s when the relationship has to be reassessed. Either there are ways to get it back in balance, or it needs to end. And only the individuals within the relationship understand its unique balance.

In January of 2016, my promise to myself was “reciprocity” — because I feel that in this area of the country, most interactions lack reciprocity. One party demands everything and gives nothing in return. In New York, believe it or not, there was far more reciprocity, especially among professionals. Cape Cod is the epitome of how and why the “Trickle Down” fantasy the GOP keeps pushing DOESN’T WORK. It doesn’t let people break the cycle of poverty (on either financial or emotional levels), and, after awhile, people start living a “gimme” life. What the GOP claims is created by social services (such as SNAP and Medicare) — laziness, refusal to work, grabbiness, expecting handouts — is actually CREATED by THEIR policies when they remove those safety nets. But, because they’re being paid off to push the policies, they don’t care.

It’s been hard work these last two years to put the Reciprocity Model into action in my life. I often fail. But I’m more aware of it now, I’m better at saying “no” upfront when an unequal demand is made, or, once I realize it’s getting way out of whack, trying to rebalance and/or make the decision that is best for ME and walk away.

There’s definitely more work to do, but I’m making progress. Not the least of that progress is not letting the hurts and anger fester and dwell on them, rather than letting go and moving on. I remember, and I use what I’ve learned to make better choices.

Anyway, Saturday was about finishing up both a review and an article. I also raked another 270 gallons of leaves — still in the front. I haven’t made any progress anywhere else yet! Got a bit of decorating done, but there’s still so much more to do.

Thought about SERENE AND DETERMINED, but didn’t get anything written on it. I tried to make up for it yesterday and today. I don’t know why I’ve had such a difficult time getting the play on paper this year.

Thought about a few other things I want to create next year — long-term business plans.

I sent out a bunch of questionnaires to potential web hosts. My current web host 1&1, did nothing but insult me and give me the runaround instead of taking 15 minutes to answer my questions. I need a new web host!

Behind on TRACKING MEDUSA, too. Behind on “Miss Winston Apologizes” — release date moved back on that. Although the new cover is pretty cool.

My mom’s foot is taking a long time to heal. We still have a lot of post-op care.

Outlined two new ideas. Don’t know when I’ll get a chance to work on them, but the premises intrigue me.

Over the past month, my mom and I have read all of Jenn McKinlay’s Hat Shop Mysteries and her Cupcake Bakery Mysteries. They’re fun, and I like the way she grows the character relationships from book to book, so they’re all of a piece. That’s what I’m trying to do in the Nautical Namaste and the Picaroon Island mysteries.

Tessa loves the Christmas Tree. She’s very gentle with it, but she loves to spend time under it — especially when it’s lit.

Session with the client went well yesterday. Hopefully today will also be great, and forward progress.

A lot of deal with this week. During Mercury Retrograde. I’d rather hide in my bed, but I guess that’s not an option!

 

Wed. Oct. 4, 2017: Reasons I Should Not Do Nano

Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Waxing Moon
Neptune Retrograde
Uranus Retrograde
Sunny and pleasant

Thank you to everyone who has purchased PLAYING THE ANGLES. I hope you’re loving it. I’m getting some wonderful feedback. If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, a variety of digital links are here and the website is here.

Busy day — pitches, promo for PLAYING THE ANGLES, updating sites, research for articles, etc.

Finished writing a weird little short story — for me, very weird and out of my wheelhouse. But I like it. Have to type it up and polish it.

Got in the two reviews, and requested two more books to review.

Heard back from a pitch and have a meeting about it tomorrow afternoon, which will be fun. Looking forward to it.

Playing with an idea for a story, a way to channel current rage and frustrations. I started playing with it last night. Not only did I enjoy working the idea, but I felt better about things in general. It’s evolving away from the original inspiration into something much more complex and interesting, which is what a good bit of imagination partnered with craft does. I like even the unlikable characters, and it has a weird humor to it. It’s also out of my usual wheelhouse, which makes it an interesting challenge.

Added a challenging yoga sequence before last night’s meditation. I’m sore this morning, but slept better. Upped this morning’s yoga practice, too. Important to keep it fresh.

Of course, the Nano debate is coming up again, for me and for most writers I know. To Nano or not to Nano? Everyone, of course, has different reasons for doing or not doing Nano. I need to separate my ego at writing 50K in 30 days away from what’s on my schedule.

First and foremost, I know I can write 50K in 30 days. I proved that over 5 bouts of Nano, and, at this point, that’s basically a normal month, although usually spread over several projects.

Second, the Lavinia Fontana play has to take center stage as far as drafting, since it’s due to the producer by the end of the year.

Third, I’m promoting PLAYING THE ANGLES, and by November, will have to get back into finishing THE SPIRIT REPOSITORY, so it can release in May.

Fourth, SAVASANA AT SEA releases on November 15, so I’ll be working on pre-release and release material for that WHILE still promoting PLAYING THE ANGLES.
Fifth, I’ll be working on the research and finishing the outline for DAVY JONES DHARMA, so I can start writing it after the first of the year, since it releases in November of 2018.

Sixth, “Miss Winston Apologizes”, the next Cornelia True/Roman Gray story is set to release in November. Which means writing the opening of the following story to go in the back matter.

Seventh, we still have to re-schedule the release of “Labor Intensive”, the next Twinkle Tavern short.

Eighth, the galleys for the re-release of TRACKING MEDUSA will be in full swing by then (since it releases in January) — which also means I’ll have to reshape the material for the opening of MYTH & INTERPRETATION (which drops next July) and the opening of THE BALTHAZAAR TREASURE (which releases in January of 2019).

Ninth, I have article and review deadlines to keep the bills paid and a roof over my head.

Tenth, my mother will just have had surgery, and we don’t yet know the next steps.

Eleventh, FIX-IT GIRL has to go out on submission.

Twelfth, I have other original novels that got derailed with this new writing/release schedule that have to get back on track.

Those reasons are all in the “don’t do it this year” column.

In the “gosh I’m tempted column”:

I like riding the wave of creative energy. The air tingles with excitement;

The new novel I’m playing with wants attention; it would give me a chance to write a bit over 1600 words/day to see if it’s actually viable, or just a release valve for the moment;

I love the space where the local Nano group is meeting, and I’m tempted to go and write in community.

The Nano definition has gotten much looser in the last few years, but I still stick to the original definition.

“Doing” Nano means you start a new project on Nov. 1 and you write 50K in 30 days. If you’re not done with your first draft then, you keep going until you’re done, using the Nano momentum.

“Writing Along With” Nano means you’re working on something in progress. Some people use it to work on revisions. Personally, I find the first-draft energy generated by millions of people scribbling for a month too intense for anything but first-draft work.

So why not “Write With” on more than one project?

Technically, one isn’t supposed to work on a script — this NOVEL writing month. The Lavinia Fontana script must take priority. There used to be Script Frenzy in the spring, but I think that petered out. Plus, I can’t be held to a daily word count with Lavinia. She is bound and determined to do things her way, just like she did in life — serene and determined (which I’m seriously thinking of using as the title).

First-draft energy would mean either finishing THE SPIRIT REPOSITORY or using it to push DAVY JONES DHARMA (since I’m already immersed in the world of that series).

Or, it could be used to get NOT BY THE BOOK back on track. Since that’s only got a 55K word limit, it’s do-able.

Or I could use it to keep working on MARRIAGE GARDEN, but that’s developed a solid, innate rhythm, sometimes as much as 3K/day, and I don’t want to disrupt it.

Or, I could work on the first 50K of the new piece I’m noodling with — but DOING Nano would mean I can’t work on it between now and November 1, which just isn’t going to happen. I’m pretty sure this book will run to just under 100K.

Last time I “wrote along with” Nano, about two years ago, I was already working on TIE-CUTTER, but then I wanted to “do” Nano, too, so I started DEATH OF A CHOLERIC — and wrote the whole damn thing while writing daily on TIE-CUTTER, doing what I called “Tandem Nano.” CHOLERIC is out on submission; TIE-CUTTER was put aside to work on other projects, and will go back in the queue late next year.

On an emotional/ego level, I want to do it. On a practical level, it is going to work against me instead of for me. Which should make the decision easy.

We’ll see what happens come November 1.

Lots of fiddly things to do today, and then it’s back to the SAVASANA galleys, polishing the short story, and working on articles.

Back to the page.

I’m glad so many of you are loving PLAYING THE ANGLES! It means a lot to me.