Thurs. March 16, 2023: Digging Out

image courtesy of Jill Wellington via pixabay.com

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Waning Moon

Partly sunny and milder

Catch up on all things planty over on Gratitude and Growth.

There’s a post over on Ink-Dipped Advice with suggestions for an Electronic Spring Cleaning.

It kept snowing yesterday.

Power was on, and internet worked. I blogged. I did the social media rounds to promote Legerdemain, Angel Hunt, Process Muse, and the Topic Workbooks. With Twitter in its death throes, the Topic Workbook sales have gone down, and since they pay a decent amount of bills, I better come up with a good marketing plan for them.

I tried to figure out Scrivener’s Corkboard, so that I could do Character and Plot notes. I have a system of Tracking Sheets, but I wanted to see if anything in Scrivener could do it more efficiently. It’s most vital for GAMBIT COLONY, but if it works, I can do it with other projects, too.

But of course, it’s Fucking Scrivener, so the way the tutorial says it works and the way it actually works are two different things. I looked at four different tutorials raving about how “easy” it is. None of the screenshots and directions were relevant to what was on my screen, and this was AFTER I downloaded the update.

I could only use the “Character Sketch” template once, which annoyed me. The ways it claimed to create a new one did not work the way shown. I tried a workaround in the Character file because I can corkboard there, and create blanks for the other characters and do them how I would in a series bible instead of using the Scrivener template which has too much that isn’t relevant. But having to do a workaround annoys me, because I should be able to use the function in the software.

For the plot arcs, I will use the “Places” file and name the plot arcs and do it that way.

I looked at DramaQueen, but it only has list features, not index card/corkboard features, even at the Pro level. Final Draft has pretty good story boarding and index card features, so it’s more and more likely I will use some of my grant money for that. I can export from DramaQueen to Final Draft, so I won’t lose anything I’ve done so far in DramaQueen.

By the time one figures out how to workaround Scrivener’s regimented crap, there’s no creative energy left to actually DO anything.

I might just buy a few more corkboards and do it old-school, with pushpins and index cards.

And then Windows11 decided it “had” to update, so there was that. And DramaQueen “had” to update (which was painless, as pretty much everything is with DramaQueen. Which is why I love DramaQueen so much).

But man, there went my creative time. I got a little bit of work done on Legerdemain, but nowhere near what I hoped.

I went outside to dig out the car from 3 feet of snow. Only it was more than three feet, because the cars on either side of me had left, and the plow plowed the snow up against my car on both sides, all the way up to the windows.

Fortunately, a kind neighbor walked by, saw I struggled, grabbed a shovel, and helped. I am so grateful. I will have to discuss this with the landlord. There’s got to be a better way. I am the oldest person with a car in the parking lot. I shouldn’t be the one shoveling the most snow.

I came back in, and my friend Diane, over in the UK, who is a Scrivener whiz, helped me figure out how to do what I need to do to create the character board for GAMBIT. I trashed the first hot mess project file, ahem “binder”, because it was beyond salvation, and created a new one,  but now I have a rhythm. It has nothing to do with the way any of the tutorials I found explained it. I need write up notes to myself, so I don’t forget the steps. To get it in my physicality, instead of just thinking it, I set up the sketch names for everyone in the first chapter (a whole lot more people than should be in any first chapter, but necessary for a chapter auditioning actors in London). Anyway, those sketch templates are set up, so when I go back for the next revision, I can fill in details and start the plot arc board, so I can track where I’m ending arcs, and which arcs are series-long.

I mean, I oughtta be able to use Scrivener for SOMETHING, since I bought it and all, and if it works for this, great. Once I started working with the board, I enjoyed it. Whew! A tool that actually works, imagine that.

A fellow freelancer shared an article by a whiny bitch of an NYU student who hated her semester studying in Florence. FLORENCE! She whined that her SEVEN roommates travelled on weekends and she was “left alone” in the apartment to cook and walk around and go to museums (which sounds like heaven to me). She found people “hostile” toward her. Considering I wanted to bitch slap her just from reading the article, I’m not surprised. What a whiny, entitled waste of space who squandered a semester in FLORENCE. One is never alone when one is among art.

And that whole damn city is art.

She decided to be miserable, for a whole semester, and instead of making an attempt to turn the things that she found difficult into positives, she dug down deeper to be as much of an awful American as she could. She even boasted about how she embodied the Ugly American. The entitlement and cultural ignorance and lack of self-awareness in the piece, so she could justify being miserable, was appalling.

But then, most of us, especially in the arts, have a rich inner life which is further enriched by new experiences, and this individual does not.

I’ve traveled all over the world on my own, and been met almost always with kindness. Where there times when I was sad and lonely? Of course. I’m human. But then I made a choice to DO SOMETHING to make it better. In many cases, it was as simple as going to a bookstore or a museum or an historic site or a theatre production, and that cheered me right up. It allowed me to see and experience the place in new ways. And doing those things, I met with terrific people from all over the place that I might never have crossed paths with otherwise. I’ve made friends decades ago that are still my friends. I learned wonderful things and had amazing experiences. The whole point was that it was different from my life at home. Jeez, if you want it to be just like home, then STAY HOME. Don’t take a slot that someone who could have benefitted from it should have had, because you’re spoiled and entitled. What a shame this individual is an NYU alum.

Unclogged the bathroom sink because, you know, life as a writer is SO glamorous! 😉

Polished the next Process Muse post, so I can upload it today, and started the one after that.

Turned around a script, my first coverage since the end of last week. Started the novel they want me to cover.

Attended a virtual session with a chef Surbhi Sahni via NYU Alumni last night. It was a lot of fun, and the chef has a Michelin star for her restaurant down at South Street Seaport, Tagmo. It was a really interesting class, and she’s a lot of fun. Her former roommate, who’s now based in Paris, attended the virtual session to surprise her. What fun! I want to order some of their mithai.

My back hurt a bit from the shoveling, but it wasn’t too bad. I overslept, because I’m still on Standard time, not DST. Tessa Was Not Amused.

Meditation was good, as always.

I’m going to do some admin, and then head off to the library and grocery store. I’m out of coffee again, and that has to be remedied. Wild Oats was open during much of the storm, and offered themselves as a rest stop for the plow drivers. As an owner/member, I’m so glad we’re doing that.

Then, it’s back to the page. The only coverage I have for the rest of this week is finishing and writing up the analysis for the novel. Even if I finish that today, I will let that be my all for the week, and concentrate on getting ahead on Legerdemain and Angel Hunt, finishing the revisions on “Plot Bunnies”, and working on contest entries.

There’s sun, so maybe I can do some of my reading on the porch!

Episode 68 of Legerdemain drops today. I hope you enjoy it.

Have a good one, my friends.

Tues. Jan. 24, 2023: Digging Out

image courtesy of Richard Duijnstee via pixabay.com

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Waxing Moon

No Retrogrades

Snowy and cold

Whew! Finally, we are done, for a brief shining moment with retrogrades, since Uranus went direct on Sunday the 22^nd.

Which was also Chinese Lunar New Year, and we are now in the Year of the Water Rabbit.

Which is why tomorrow was chosen as the launch day for ANGEL HUNT.

Got all that?

Good. Now we can sit down for our usual Tuesday natter.

Friday seems oh, so very long away. It snowed all day. I did the section of the Heist Romance set in Kyle of Lochalsh, Scotland (yes, I’ve been there, too), back in London, and on the Eurostar to Paris. I spent about an hour and a half putting together a list of resources for a close friend of mine, who’s feeling stuck, and sent that off. Heard from a friend of a friend, who recently moved to the area and is now working at Williams College; we will get together when she feels more settled.

In the afternoon, I read both books for review, and then read for pleasure in the evening.

We got closer to 3 inches than six inches of snow overnight, but because of the constant freezing and snowing, digging out the car was not fun. But I did so, and got to the library to pick up the stack of 8 books waiting for me. So at least I have those in before the next storm.

The rest of the materials for the incomplete coverage arrived, so I read them and started the coverage. Did the usual Saturday chores, like changing the beds, etc. Made pasta with sausage for dinner.

Read Evelyn Salter’s memoir of her years working as Edith Sitwell’s secretary, which was very interesting, and relevant to one of the projects with which I’m noodling in longhand. And makes me want to read Evelyn Salter’s crime novels, which I’m having difficulty finding. Time to haul out WorldCat. Between the regional CW Mars network, the Commonwealth Catalog (all of the state), the ILL system of WorldCat, and the Gutenberg Project, I should be able to do it. I managed to finally find Alice Campbell’s JUGGERNAUT on Gutenberg, and order some of her other titles via Commonwealth Catalog. Her work was popular around the time of Agatha Christie’s work, though she was not as well known.

Speaking of Agatha Christie, I joined the reading challenge over on her website (run by her descendants). January’s title is SAD CYPRESS, which I haven’t reread in ages, so that will be fun.

Figured out how to plant a real clue and some red herrings in the section of the Heist Romance script set in Paris, and researched the neighborhood/architecture of the neighborhood where I want it to happen, so I can choreograph the action in a way that makes sense.

Up early on Sunday to make chocolate chip banana bread. The weather advisory shifted to up to 10 inches of snow falling between Sunday night and Monday evening.

So, instead of taking Sunday off, I finished the coverage and sent it off, wrote both book reviews and sent them off, and said I’d be ready for more, hoping the power would hold on Monday morning so I could download them and read them during the snow.

Wrote 16 pages on the Heist Romance screenplay, doing the Paris section, the train to Nice-Ville, and the train to Monte Carlo. Set up clues and red herrings.

Made spicy peanut noodles and dumplings for lunch, so we could celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year. I miss being included in family celebrations for this as I was during my Broadway days, working on shows like MISS SAIGON and FLOWER DRUM SONG.

Treated myself by reading the next Vicky Bliss book, TROJAN GOLD (I love that series so much), and working on contest entries.

It started snowing around dinnertime on Sunday, and snowed all day on Monday. I was glad I’d gotten everything out the door Sunday, although I got my next two books for review on Monday.

I also got a big stack of coverages to do today and tomorrow, for which I’m grateful, but it will keep me busy. Let’s hope the power holds.

I worked on The Process Muse post which drops tomorrow. I’m trying to keep the posts a little shorter than they’ve been thus far.

I polished, uploaded and scheduled the next four episodes of LEGERDEMAIN, which gets me through mid-February. I polished, uploaded, and scheduled the next eight episodes of ANGEL HUNT, which gets me through mid-April.

ANGEL HUNT goes live tomorrow, so I have to block off a few hours to promote, and to upload/schedule promotions on the first episodes, since Kindle Vella doesn’t give us the direct link to the serial until it goes live.

I have to write episode loglines for all 12 episodes, and do the graphics for the LEGERDEMAIN episodes.

Starting this week, people can read new episodes of mine Tuesdays through Fridays: LEGERDEMAIN episodes drop Tuesday and Thursday; ANGEL HUNT episodes drop Wednesday and Friday.

I went out to try and dig out the car once we hit 12 inches. It was still snowing, and I gave up after a bit; it was too difficult, and the plow had pushed large chunks of snow behind the car. I will try again today. We have another storm coming in tomorrow, although instead of the 8 inches predicted, now they’re only saying 4.

One of the few things I miss about living on Cape is the garage.

Worked on contest entries. Got some other reading done.

Chef Jeremy did a fundraising class for No Kid Hungry; I couldn’t attend the session (even though it was on Zoom), but I made a donation.

Frustrating when the premise is excellent, most of the writing is strong, and the protagonist is an idiot one wishes was the next murder victim.

Listened to the HADESTOWN cast album last night. It’s one of my favorite scores, and one of the shows I wish I’d had a chance to work on before I left working backstage.

Busy night in the Dreamscape. Nothing bad, just busy. Work up tired and grumpy. I have a feeling a good portion of the grumps is because I know I have to shovel out the car later, before the next storm hits. The very thought of it is exhausting.

And, somewhere between all the storms, I have to get the car inspected.

I plan to get some drafting done on the next LEGERDEMAIN episodes this morning, and maybe a few pages on the Heist Romance screenplay, before digging out the car and switching to script coverage. I’m grateful for the work, but I’m tired.

Have a good one! Enjoy today’s LEGERDEMAIN episode!

Mon. Oct. 1, 2018: Persistence — How Badly Do You Want It? #UpbeatAuthors

Monday, October 1, 2018
Waning Moon
Neptune Retrograde
Pluto Retrograde
Uranus Retrograde

There are five Mondays in October, which means I have to sort my thoughts on persistence into FIVE posts. Yes, that will take persistence!

When I teach, one of the first questions I ask is, “How badly do you want this?”

The students who will gain the most out of my classes are not those who prefer “having written” to writing. I am strict, and demand a high level of productivity and commitment.

Because that is what you need if you plan to have a career in the arts.

High productivity.

Ever-increasing skills.

Commitment.

Persistence.

I spent most of my professional life earning my living in the theatre. I worked my way up to Broadway, production managed some indie films, and day-played on network television shows.

I made the decision that was what I wanted to do quite young, and started working professionally when I was 18, and still in college.

Did I ever do other things? Of course. I temped all over the country. I worked at nearly 200 different companies. I worked at many non-profits. Some of them were great experiences, like the Guggenheim Museum and the Neuberger Museum. I did a three-year stint for an art book publisher during the day while working off-off Broadway at night. I did five years working for the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation part-time, as I worked shows at night, moving from off-off Broadway to off-Broadway. Eventually, I worked enough off-Broadway to just work theatre, and write, and pick up some extra cash between gigs playing the horses at Aqueduct and Belmont and as a tarot reader.

Then, I worked at the Public Theatre for some people well-established in the field, who recommended me up the ladder to Broadway because they liked my work.

I made the leap.

At the same time I transitioned to Broadway, shows I wrote were produced in London, Edinburgh, and Australia, so I took time off from the transition in order to be with those shows in those locations.

When I worked on Broadway, I wrote. I had shows produced in small theatres. I collaborated with fellow artists.

I started getting back into writing not just plays, but short stories and novels again. I took workshops. I learned how to pitch. I learned more about effective pitching from working with film acquisitions people at conferences than anywhere else, and it is what I learned from those film people that honed my skills so that my novel pitches started to hit.

I made a tough decision that much as I loved writing scripts, I did not want to relocate to LA and start at the bottom of the ladder again. I didn’t want to do what was necessary to achieve a spot in a writer’s room. I respect writer’s rooms enormously, and the collaboration that goes on there. It is not an environment where I would thrive. Do I still write and pitch scripts? Yes. But I’m not going to earn a spot in a writer’s room of a television drama in LA. My career trajectory isn’t going to go there. I’m at peace with it. Most of the time. 😉

When it was time for me to leave Broadway, because the physical demands of the backstage work were too much, and mentally, I needed to stop splitting my focus between working on other people’s shows and my own, I left New York — and moved far enough away so that I wouldn’t be tempted back.

I dug in, and through a mix and match, and a lot of pain and frustration, made it work. I shifted and expanded what I write and how I handle my business in order to make a living. Unfortunately, I live in an area that talks big about celebrating artists, but doesn’t actually support working artists. Are you a visiting artist who likes the beauty and history of the area? They’ll fall all over you. Have a summer house? They grovel. But move here, live here year round and try to work? The attitude is that you must have failed elsewhere, so the expectation is for you to work three part-time jobs at minimum wage without benefits and do your art for “fun” because “we don’t pay for that.”

So I don’t work for them. I have some local clients I enjoy and value, who value me in return. I expanded my client base beyond the bridge, and reconnected with international contacts. I network here, sure, but have redrawn my boundaries, and when the demand is made to work for free, I say no. Because this is my business, not my hobby. I’m not living off a trust fund. I’m not writing for pin money. I am not supported by a corporate husband paying the bills.

This is my profession.

I talked in earlier posts about how if you don’t respect your own work, no one else will, either.

Saying “no” has done more to expand my business than saying “yes” to the wrong situations ever did.

Is my life perfect and without struggle? Of course not. I am still building the life I’ve always wanted. I will always be building the life I want, because life changes, breath to breath. You can either insulate yourself and pretend it doesn’t, or rage that the world refuses to change to suit you. or think on your feet and make the decisions that support your choices.

I knew, when I was six years old, that I wanted to be a writer. Once I fell in love with theatre, I wanted to do that, too. I had a dual career as long as it worked. While I have a multi-pronged writing career, it is also what I want. I like doing different things, having different facets and challenges.

Years ago, I thought I wanted an ivory tower existence. I imagined something quite different from what it is.

But what “is” is better, in many ways, than the roads not taken.

And the road I hope to build in the coming years will continue to improve. Not without obstacles, pain, and tangents — but if I persist, I can build something good.

I got here because when I asked myself, “How badly do you want this?” — my answer was, “Badly enough to do what it takes.”