Tues. May 16, 2023: Trying To Balance The Writing Needs

View across the Clark Art Institute Reflecting Pool. Photo by Devon Ellington

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Waning Moon

Mercury Went Direct on Sunday

Pluto Retrograde

Cloudy and chilly

Busy weekend. Good busy, but still busy. So, I hope you have your favorite beverage handy for our Tuesday catch-up.

Today’s serial episode is Legerdemain.

Episode 85: Attack on Brone

Brone is attacked in the Infirmary. His rescuer is a surprise.

Legerdemain Serial Link

Legerdemain website

Friday, I wrote another episode of Legerdemain. I uploaded and scheduled this coming Thursday’s episode. I puttered on the poem.

Out the door late morning, headed for the Clark Art Institute. It was a gorgeous day, warm and sunny. On the way there, I stopped at the Milne Library in Williamstown, because the lilacs are just starting to bloom, and they have wonderful lilacs. Their lilacs were just beginning, but I got to see their reading garden (a lovely spot in which I hope to spend time this summer) and checked out their book cart, where I found a few things, including a couple of mysteries by Anna Clarke. I met a woman at the cart, an artist who uses discarded books to make collages. She’s currently working on one using prints of old circus posters. She grew up in Bridgeport, CT and used to watch the Ringling Brothers Circus train come in, when they wintered there (before they moved to Florida for winters; PT Barnum Museum is still in Bridgeport).

Anyway, after that, I headed up to the Clark, which was packed. I never even made it inside the museum; I sat in a chair under a linden tree out by the reflecting pool. I worked on the project for a bit, and just enjoyed myself. Okay, I also eavesdropped, rolling my eyes at a few things I overheard, and made notes that will be integrated into future characters.

On the way home, I stopped at Wild Oats and then Stop & Shop, to pick up a few things. In the afternoon, I read Anna Clarke’s LETTER FROM THE DEAD, which was very good, and one of the few mysteries where I didn’t get ahead of it and figure out the murderer.

In the evening, there was a special session at my yoga studio, where they hosted Lama Tashi Norbu, who is both a Tibetan monk and an acclaimed tattoo artist. He is the director of a museum of Tibetan Arts in the Netherlands. It was an interesting session and gave me a lot to ponder.

Home, dinner, and to bed early. Didn’t get much sleep, because it was the night before MCLA’s graduation ceremony, and everyone was doing one last blowout. Considering we live catty corner from the college, it’s amazing there isn’t a lot more loud partying all semester. I can deal with a day here and there. Charlotte sat in the window all night and watched them.

Just before bedtime, I got word that I did not get the August residency I hoped for in upstate New York. It was a very nice letter, but disappointing. I’d hoped to use that time to do the big revision on FALL FOREVER. However, now I can use all of August to do it instead. I still want to do another revision of it between now and then.

The alarm went off at 4:30 AM on Saturday, and we were out of the house a little after 5:30, headed to the Cape for a storage run. It was sunny, but cooler than the previous day.

The drive down wasn’t bad, and there wasn’t too much traffic over the Bourne Bridge. We got to storage, and loaded up a rather eclectic bunch of boxes. I didn’t find the family photos/scrapbooks yet (which should have been on the truck), and I forgot to bring up the blank canvases. This is the last run we can do before autumn, so what we have is what we have.

We headed along the canal to Sagamore to the big Christmas Tree Shop over by the bridge. The chain was sold to a hedge fund, who intentionally ran it into the ground (which is how they make their money; anything a hedge fund touches is destroyed for profit), and this store is closing. It’s been around a good long time; we shopped there well before we moved to the Cape. The vultures were already there, and many shelves empty. We didn’t buy much; it was too sad, and we weren’t going to buy just to buy. I took some pictures, because I bet they tear down the building, including the lovely large windmill.

Back along the canal and off Cape on the Bourne Bridge. The traffic was picking up, especially going on Cape; we missed the worst of it. It was a fairly smooth ride until Worcester, where we were caught up in 12 miles of stop & go traffic, losing the time we’d gained. But once past that, it was a decent ride home.

While driving, I pondered some of the things discussed in Friday’s session with the monk, and got an idea for a story. Not sure what I’ll do with it yet, but I made some notes, and will let it percolate.

Stopped at Adams Fresh Market for a few things, and then to get takeout. We were home just after 2:30, which was a pretty decent time frame for a roundtrip of a little over 400 miles, plus storage sorting, plus shopping. Ate first, then I unloaded the car.

Saturday was graduation day, but it had pretty much cleared out by the time we returned, and everyone was in that state of stunned exhaustion and adrenaline withdrawal.

We just rested in the afternoon and evening, and read. I read Lina Chern’s PLAY THE FOOL, which was a lot of fun, especially in the way it used tarot cards.

Slept well; up early on Sunday (because the cats figured 4:30 was better than 5:30 for breakfast, per the previous day). Baked biscuits for my mom for Mother’s Day.

We had a quiet Mother’s Day. I unpacked most of the boxes we brought up. I have to do some rearranging to integrate things. Stuff needed to be washed, so we did that. It was fun, finding things we hadn’t seen in a while. Finally found my poodle bookends. I’ve been looking for them since we moved to the Cape, much less than moved here.

Tried to make a pizza with all of my mom’s favorite toppings. Unfortunately, I used a commercial dough I hadn’t used before. I knew I wouldn’t be up to making dough from scratch after the storage run. The dough I like and usually use wasn’t available at Big Y, and I found this Birrittella’s dough in Stop & Shop. First of all, they don’t have directions on the package. They force you to their website. I shouldn’t have to watch a video; it should be printed ON THE PACKAGE. There are plenty of times I’m cooking at a residency or retreat or whatever, and there’s no internet. Second, it takes over 2 hours to prepare the dough. I mean, I might as well have made it from scratch. This was supposed to save me time. Third, once in the pan, it doesn’t bake properly. The toppings were starting to burn, but the crust wasn’t baked. It was a disaster. We ended up scraping off the topping and making impromptu garlic bread to eat with it instead. At least the topping was good: sauce, sauteed onions, mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, pancetta, pepperoni, and lots and lots of mozzarella. But at least I know what dough to avoid at all costs. Absolutely awful. Worst pizza dough experience I’ve ever had.

At least I’d gotten my mother a nice cheesecake, her favorite.

Read THE FOXGLOVE KING by Hannah Whitten, which was good.

Relieved that Mercury went direct, and completely exhausted by it at the same time. This Pluto Retrograde won’t be particularly pleasant (lots of squares with other planets, causing tension), but at least we don’t have to worry about Mercury again until August.

Noodled with next week’s poem. It’s not where I want it. I need physical and mental openness/space to make it work, and not sure how I’ll manage it this week.

I was worried I’d get my word for July’s poem while we were on the road, so I packed my poetry notebook as insurance I wouldn’t, and it worked.

Weird dreams overnight, which fled as soon as I woke up on Monday.

Drafted an episode of Legerdemain. Did this week’s episode graphics, uploaded, and scheduled. Polished, uploaded, and scheduled next week’s Legerdemain episodes. Once they were approved, I created the episode graphics and uploaded those promos. Did a temporary graphic for FALL FOREVER, mostly so I could add it to my Creative Ground profile.

Did a dropoff/pickup at the library (and scored three fantastic cookbooks from the discard cart). Picked up my mom’s prescription at the pharmacy. Swung by the bookstore to talk about autumn’s reading, but their hours have changed, and they were closed. I have to go back on Wednesday. Mailed some bills. Deposited some checks at the bank. Swung by another store to pick up a couple of things, which, of course, they did not have. I need to go over to Carr’s Hardware on the other side of town instead, probably at the end of the week.

The siren song of FlexClip was calling again, but I needed to do my work first. I really miss iMovie from my mac. And, much as I want/need to create more enticing visuals for Legerdemain and Angel Hunt, I might start with something simpler like the Topic Workbooks. We’ll see. I need uninterrupted work time for that.

Did the client work. Had time for dinner before soup class, which was fun. We’re almost at the end of our soup class journey. It’s been an amazing few months. I’ve learned a lot, and the sense of community built is fantastic.

Started working on the next draft of FALL FOREVER. Making a lot of internal cuts in the scenes, tightening beats, getting rid of repetitive information, etc. I’m reworking one of the arcs. I need to up a confrontation scene. There’s a bit near the end that I want to move earlier, and turn into a half page or so exchange, and I want the Solstice celebration scene to have more fun and energy, instead of being a little self-conscious and trite, the way it is now. I’m not combining two characters, as a Trusted Reader suggested; the two characters work better separately, because one of them is very much a fulcrum on what the two pairs of relationships balance. I tried writing a few scenes where the characters were merged, and it shifts the themes I want to explore too much. A dynamic like that would work better in a different play. When I read the play, there’s enough of one of the characters, but when I heard the play read, I felt his character should have a little more. That’s partly due to the actor, I’m sure. But I want to layer him a bit more, so his flashes of humor and insight come through the grief better.

My contract for the 2025 Llewellyn Almanac arrived. Woo-hoo! I will sign it and send it back today, and then get started on writing the 25 spells next week, doing 3 per week at minimum, to get them all done and give me time to revise them before the mid-September deadline. And, the rate went up! Very happy.

Weird dreams overnight, that fled when I woke up. I have a feeling they were tied to FALL FOREVER. I did some more work on the play first thing this morning. Worked on the poem for Sunday, too. I started wondering if maybe I was working on the wrong thing/theme. I may do some freewriting later this morning, and see where it leads.

On today’s agenda: Legerdemain, maybe some ANGEL HUNT, work on the poem, work on the flash fiction piece for the artist call. Some new grant opportunities landed on my desk yesterday, for next year. I have to look at the calendar and see what’s what, and then work on those applications. Client work in the afternoon, and then yoga. Maybe after yoga, I’ll feel like I can focus on the poem better. Social media rounds to promote today’s serial episode. One last look at tomorrow’s Process Muse post. I’d like to do some work on FALL FOREVER, REP, and the Heist Romance Script, but I don’t see that happening today.

Have a good one!

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

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Waxing Moon

Mercury and Pluto Retrograde

Rainy and chilly

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

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

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

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

Today’s serial episode is Legerdemain:

Episode 81: The Thief Named Pravin

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

Legerdemain Serial Link

Legerdemain Website Link

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It’s going to be a stressful summer.

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

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

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

Have a good one!

Fri. April 29, 2022: Extricating from Tracfone’s Harassment

image courtesy of Alexander Andrews via Unsplash.com

Friday, April 29, 2022

Dark Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Sunny and cold

The Retrogrades are starting, and Pluto goes retrograde today, and stays retrograde until October 8. Pluto’s retrograde works to reveal what’s hidden and force us to face fears, causing long-lasting transformations. Tomorrow is Beltane Eve with a new moon and a solar eclipse, so there’s a lot going on, and if you’re wondering why your emotions are all over the place, take a deep breath and a nap.

I had high hopes for yesterday, which were quickly dashed. I had trouble focusing in meditation. Charlotte had no such issues, spending most of the session quietly on my lap.

Then, Tracfone started again. First, they sent a text saying the phone number transfer was happening. Then, they began a series of phone calls in escalating harassment along the lines of “this is our number and we decide when and if it transfers.” They kept demanding a series of “press this key and that key” – which wasn’t possible, because one of the issues with that smartphone is that the dial pad was dumped and couldn’t be retrieved. Basically making the phone useless. Which has been explained to them, in detail, over a dozen times. Anything that they deemed wasn’t used “often enough” (which, by their definition, is multiple times a day) was removed from the phone. My mom is 97. She doesn’t need to dial her phone every day. So the dial pad was removed and the phone was even more useless than possible. In addition to the whole thing that she doesn’t need a smartphone and it was too difficult for her to learn. They were also trying to force another month’s payment while they ‘considered’ whether or not to release the number.

I turned off the phone, went back to Consumer Cellular, cancelled the transfer and got a new phone number. I was able to end SIX MONTHS of torment and harassment in five minutes.

Tracfone could have solved this issue six months ago in fifteen minutes and kept a customer they’d had for a decade. Instead, they chose harassment, believing if they harassed long and hard enough, we would just cave and pay them whatever they demanded and do whatever they demanded.

As much of a pain in the ass it is to let everyone know her new number, it’s better than Tracfone’s unacceptable harassment. Not to mention the literally thousands of dollars I’ve lost in billable hours/work time because of this.

The service ran out at the end of the day, and we are done with Tracfone. I am filing a formal complaint with the state’s division of public utilities, under which cellphones fall, but at least they’re not getting anymore money out of us, and can’t call anymore.

The new number needs a bit of time to settle down. In the first 12 hours, we had to block 4 scam calls.

At least they’re not like Verizon, which demanded a $4.99 charge every month for every number blocked, so one really couldn’t afford to block numbers.

I was exhausted by the end of that debacle, but also relieved that we’re done. And my mom has a simple flip phone that she can actually use, and that works.

I lost all the time blocked off for writing.

Freelance Chat was a lot of fun. It’s such a great group.

In the afternoon, I turned around a script coverage for something on which I’d been requested, and grabbed another script to read today. I’ll be a little under my nut for this pay period, but I need to focus on the contest entries over the weekend, and possibly into part of next week.

I spent some time on Ello, and put up a tarot post over on Ko-fi.

We did some Monthology brainstorming for a project logo, which we can slap around all over the place on websites and stickers and whatever. I mean, there are 50 of us, we can have an impact and get people interested and excited about the project.

Knowledge Unicorns went well. We’ve set our final virtual meeting date for late May, before Memorial Day weekend. More of an online party than anything else, to celebrate what we’ve built over the past two and a half years, and that we survived, at least so far.

I keep talking about how great Ello is, but friends are having trouble signing up. I feel bad about that, since I’ve been hawking the site. But the numbers I get on it are high – well over 100 for most posts, and over 1000 for others. In addition to cross-posting content, I also need to create specific content for that platform. Just not sure what yet.

Speaking of trouble signing up, Prime Storage, which bought the CubeSmart storage facility on Cape, is ignoring my requests for customer service and assistance setting up auto-pay. Their website will not acknowledge me as an existing customer or allow me to sign up as a new customer. It just keeps booting me out. I have no doubt this is intentional – they are trying to make sure there are late payments, so they can charge late fees. So I have to write a check and send it express mail to make sure it gets there on time. And you better believe I’m going to make them sign for it. AND send them the tracking number.

Another hateful company.

Worked on contest entries last night. I’m a little behind where I hoped I’d be, so I have to push hard this weekend. But that’s okay. Everything will get done by deadline, and it’s always exciting to read such a wide range of new work.

Going to hit the page this morning. I need to finish the first draft of the radio play by tomorrow for Dramatists Guild’s End of Play event. I have a seminar with them this afternoon, which should be interesting, on curating one’s archive.

I have to make the rounds of the library, the grocery store, the pharmacy, the post office, and the liquor store.

This afternoon, I’ll turn around another script and go back to the contest entries.

Tomorrow, we’re switching out the winter curtains to the lace panels, swapping out some early spring fabric for more summery fabric, and doing other houseworky things that have somehow become part of Saturday’s routine. I also have an online yoga session tomorrow afternoon.

I’ll have to finish the first draft of the radio play and do contest entries.

Saturday is Beltane Eve, the new moon, the eclipse; Sunday is Beltane and the start of May. Another month whizzing past.

April definitely was more chaotic and less productive than I’d hoped, but I’m looking forward to May and spring and plants and all that good stuff.

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

Tues. April 27, 2021: Die For Your Employer Day 339 — And the Retrogrades Begin

image courtesy of Kerbstone via pixabay.com

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Last Day of Full Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Partly cloudy and cool

The Retrogrades are starting, which worries me. I’d hoped to get the house hunting resolved before that happened, but no luck.

I had a good, solid writing weekend, which was necessary. I wrote an entire chapter on Sunday morning.

It took me all morning on Friday to complete the paperwork for the second category of the contest, but I did it and sent it off. I made good progress on the final category (I’d already completed about half the entries for this one, too). So I’m on track with that.

Saturday, I was up early, wrote, did laundry and housework. I’ve been craving fast food like crazy the past few weeks. I haven’t eaten beef for months, because it always made me sick. I haven’t ordered/eaten fast food in about two years. But I decided to go up to Burger King, which is about three miles from here, just off the Rt. 6 exit, and hit the drive through. I haven’t eaten from Burger King in at least 3-4 years, maybe longer. I ate at McDonald’s about two years ago, and was as sick as could be after.

But I risked it anyway. I had a Whopper, my mom had a bacon cheeseburger, we split an order of onion rings and an order of French fries, and had chocolate shakes.

I haven’t drunk cow’s milk in nearly a year, either, because it was making me sick.

Basically, I craved things that were bad for me, and I decided to take the risk.

Did the drive-through window – and realized that, in the 10 years we’ve lived here, it was the first time I’d done that. And yes, of course I wore my mask at the window, and the workers were all masked, too.

Got everything home, and we ate. And ate. It was good, hit the spot, filled the craving.

I didn’t feel as bad as I expected after, although I felt full and heavy. Everything was much saltier than when I cook, so I was thirsty as all get out, and drank a lot of tea and juice all afternoon.

Neither of us was hungry by dinner time, so we didn’t eat.

It was pretty nice outside, albeit a bit windy, so we took Willa and Charlotte out in their playpens. However, because that idiot a few streets over continues to run the woodchipper and chain saws all day every day from 7 AM to 9 PM, it was impossible to actually enjoy sitting outside. Or get much done inside, that required concentration. If you need to run a woodchipper that much, you’re either a serial killer or incompetent, and it shouldn’t be allowed.

I didn’t feel great at night, but at least I got some sleep. I felt okay Sunday morning, although it will probably be a few years before I do that again.

Baked biscuits for Sunday morning breakfast. It was rainy and raw.

I got some paperwork done, got out a few information requests on rentals, got out some LOIs. Got some writing done.

I felt pretty discouraged, all the way around.

Spent most of the day on contest entries.

Monday morning, I was up early and wrote, in spite of feeling resistance to it. Once I started, it was fine.

My mother had terrible nightmares. I realized she’d packed her dreamcatcher over the bed; I unpacked another one, hung it up, and she slept well last night.

I headed onsite to the client’s extra early, since the landlord said he and the septic people would be over to go over the plan for the replacement, which starts next week. I got everything done that needed to be done onsite in a jiffy, dropped things off at the post office, got back to the house – and they never showed up and never contacted me. Frustrating.

Got some more packing done, although I’m behind where I wanted to be at this point. I need to pack faster, purge more, and get stuff up on craigslist this week.

But I did the rest of the work I needed to do for the client remotely, so it worked out. I got out a stack of LOIs. I heard back from a couple of rentals – two very nice, one in particular is a house that might work, although it’s small. The other is bigger, but means moving back to NY State, just outside of Syracuse, to a town that has a rather high crime rate. The cost of the move itself might put it out of reach, although the space is terrific, with a garage and a deck. There was one rental, though, for a loft – they want copies of birth certificates for every member of the household. How is that even legal?

I complained to the AG’s office, and I’m having a conversation with my state senator about it. That is wrong. It also opens the door to identity theft. A landlord does not have the right to birth certificates.  That opens the door to all kinds of discrimination and identity theft.

A recruiter wanted to talk to me about an LOI I’d sent. But the “application” demanded dates of high school and college graduation, which is a workaround on the age discrimination laws, so I called him out on it and refused. I got a very nice apology from him, and that he’s taken up the issue with IT to fix it, and asked to have a conversation anyway, so I agreed to have a short one this morning.

Will probably talk to the property manager for the small house this afternoon.

Put together a LOI package for a potential local client who used to work in theatre, and was email introduced by a mutual friend. So we’ll see if that’s something we can work out. I’m always leery of local clients, because they never want to pay, but she’s a washashore and from professional theatre, and understands that work is paid.

Decent first writing session this morning, although it was hard to get started. Will do some client work, get out some more LOIs, have the talk with the recruiter. I expect it will be a waste of time. I haven’t spoken to a single recruiter in the past ten years that wasn’t a complete and utter waste of my time and energy. My experience is that they don’t actually give a damn about any potential employees. They just want names on their sheet to meet quotas. However, this guy responded and claimed he was dealing with a problem, so I feel like I should give him the benefit of the doubt.

The retrogrades have me even more on edge than I already was. I’m ready to fall off the edge.

Deep breath. Keep going. Because there’s no other choice.

By the way, my first choice for the Kentucky Derby this weekend is Midnight Bourbon. I love him. I love his personality. I still have to do some more research on the rest of the field. I think all the horses are more relaxed and have progressed better without fans in the stands.

Thurs. April 25, 2019: Evolution of the Writing Process & Internet Bullying

Thursday, April 25, 2019
Waning Moon
Jupiter Retrograde
Pluto Retrograde
Sunny and pleasant

That pressure you’re feeling? Jupiter AND Pluto are retrograde. Saturn joins them on Monday. Yuck.

Hop on over to Gratitude and Growth for the latest post on the garden.

Was with a client most of yesterday. Somehow, when I woke up I thought it was Thursday instead of Wednesday; even once I realized it, I had trouble getting into the Wednesday head space to work with the client.

Home and worked in the garden for about an hour. There’s still a lot to do, but I just have to do it one piece at a time. Eventually, it will all get done.

Worked on contest entries.

I’m playing with a new idea for a series of novellas. I want to mix genres. I want them to be short. The characters are clear; the world is taking shape. I have the beginnings of a plot, which I’ll have to explore further. I don’t want them to run longer than 25-30K, so the plot has to be precise, and a minimum of sub-plots, even though I want a couple of them to run the course of the series.

I’m not sure WHEN I can fit in the writing of them, so I have something worthwhile to show my editor. I have deadlines to meet, and re-adjusted deadlines to meet.

But it’s fun to play with the ideas.

It’s so important for process to evolve. My process is constantly evolving. I learn from each project. I work on both art and craft. Some of them wind up not working at all, and that’s okay. Disappointing, but even what doesn’t work gets me somewhere else, and gives me valuable experience.

I’ve written books as a blank-pager, not using an outline. (I don’t use the term “pantser” — to me, it sounds like an STD). While it was sometimes fun and often frustrating to figure it out as I wrote, ultimately, I had to evolve away from that. It also needed a lot more drafts to get it into the shape where I could even ask a Trusted Reader to look at it.

This is my profession, not my hobby. This is how I keep a roof over my head and food on the table. I don’t have the luxury of writer’s block or not knowing what comes next when I sit down at the page. I need to be able to drop immediately into the world of whatever I’m working on and move forward.

I’m juggling several series, along with other projects. Some are novels; some are radio plays; some are stage plays; some are articles or other writing I do for clients. I don’t have the option of telling a client I “didn’t have time” to do their project.

Outlining has helped me. I sit down and plot out the book. I free write the characters’ stories. Then I go back and work on plot points and scenes. Then I arrange and rearrange them as I best think it will serve that particular book.

I don’t like working on index cards. For scripts, especially television scripts, that’s the protocol, and if I’m working as part of a staff, or with a partner, yes, we use index cards. But I’m happier with paper and pen. My outlines are more like treatments.

This is NOT the outline I’d send with a query. Even the outlines I send my editors for series in progress are honed from these outlines, but are NOT these outlines. I call these outlines my “Writer’s Rough Outline.”

I type a copy and keep my original handwritten copy. I usually work from the handwritten (if I can read it — sometimes it’s too scrawled). The creative energy that went into the handwritten copy often serves me better than a cold, typed version.

As I complete each section of the outline, I check it off.

I adjust along the way, as the story and characters dictate and evolve.

My outline is a roadmap, not a prison. I often go in very different directions. That’s okay.

The first draft is often lean and skeletal. I don’t want to lose momentum. I want to get through it.

I like to put each draft away. The most important rest time is between the first draft and the second. Ideally, it’s two months. The reality is often far less, but I always try for at least two weeks.

I have to be able to look at it objectively, as though someone else wrote it.

Then I do as many drafts as it takes, including my multi-colored draft (where I go through with different colored markers highlighting adverbs, passive or past perfect, and qualifiers. Then I take them out and look for better ways to express what I want to say. If that word IS the best way, I negotiate with myself to put it back in).

The second draft is usually where I overwrite and follow tangents and develop ideas. The third draft if usually a combination of multi-colored draft and massive cuts.

Trusted readers usually get a third or fourth draft. I usually have at least one, sometimes two drafts after my readers see it before I consider it submission-ready. An un-contracted manuscript can take several years until it’s ready for submission.

The books on series contract have fewer drafts, since my contracted editor is in earlier in the process. Plus, the schedule is tighter.

There are always more ideas than hours in the day to write them. (I distrust those who say they “don’t have anything to write about” the same way I distrust people who get bored. Writers always have too much to write about). I recently started a notebook I call the “Whatever” notebook. I’ve had variations on this throughout the years, usually called “Fragments.”

I date every entry. I find the date provides a context for the inspiration, and sometimes it helps to go back to other elements of the day.

In it, I write whatever I want. A snippet of dialogue, an observation, ideas as characters and situations come to me. If I’m somewhere between meetings or in a waiting room or just want to get away and clear my head, I take the Whatever notebook and free write. Write about whatever’s on my mind, a combination of inspiration, what if, development, and brain dump.

It’s along the lines of Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Practice and Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages, although they happen at any time in the day, and at any place.

Morning pages work for lots of people, but not fore me. Morning is my most creative time. If I do morning pages, then I’ve used up that creative energy that should have gone into whatever is my Primary Project (the manuscript in which I write my first 1K of the day every morning). I think they’re great if they work. The concept is terrific, and it gets the person writing every day. But I need my first writing of the day to be about the work, not about me.

I’ve also started reading a few pages in one of my favorite writing books in the morning, before I start writing. Morning routine is: make coffee, feed the cats, check email/social media (sometimes I respond, while the coffee is brewing; sometimes I make a note to respond later), first cup of coffee, yoga, meditation, shower/dress, first 1K of the day.

When the weather is nice, I have my first cup of coffee out on the deck. When it’s not, I have it in my writing room. Now, I’m reading a few pages in one of my favorite books about writing (I have shelves of them, and some of them I re-read regularly as fuel).

Any other kind of book siphons energy away from my own work; in other words, I don’t read fiction first thing, or it derails my first 1K. But reading about writing and process helps. Usually it’s only 2-3 pages. But it starts building the desire.

Once I’ve written my first 1K of the day, I have breakfast. Check email, plan the day. If I can, I get a little more writing done. If it’s a day where I’m headed off to work with a client, I do it. Otherwise, I might write at home for a bit, and then head to the library for a few hours. There, I can research and put together pitches, or just sit in a corner and write. I answer emails, I send out LOIs or pitches. It’s easier for me to do that away from the writing room.

I prefer to write in the morning and edit in the afternoon. That’s flexible, depending on deadlines.

Again, weather dictates when I can work in the yard, so sometimes I have to push an editing session or add an extra writing session into the evening, when necessary.

I still go out with friends. I still spend time with family. But they can’t sabotage the writing. Anyone who sabotages the writing is removed from my life. This is my profession as well as my passion. I am the breadwinner. Writing is a priority, and those who don’t understand that, who don’t respect that, reveal a far deeper problem than time or writing. They reveal that they don’t understand or respect ME. Why would I have people in my life who don’t respect me?

That carries over to the endless bullying on the Internet. The last few days, I have received demands to stop talking about politics because the follower “only” wants writing information; to stop talking about writing because the follower “only” wants politics; to block people that person didn’t like or they would block me; if I’m even willing to listen to a different point of view, they’ll block me; if I don’t like the same thing they do, they’ll block me; they pick the “hill they want to die on” for something meaningless to most of the rest of us and demand fealty; that they’ll block anything that is retweeted without comment — really? If it’s well said, adding anything is only ego on my part; that I have to “prove” I’m a “real person” and they get to define “real” and that I “must” use pronouns in my bio– um, no. I get to decide what I share publicly and how to share it; to stop forwarding information on animals in kill shelters whose lives can be saved through adoption, fostering, and sponsorship.

All these people can go to hell, as far as I’m concerned. They don’t get to tell me what to post about, what to write about, how to live, what parts of myself I choose to share with the world.

I’m tired of people who claim they support inclusion and tolerance and are fighting for what’s right then tell me what I can and can’t say or do or think — as much as those we’re fighting dictate to us. Especially if it’s someone I’ve never met and only know for a few days on a social media platform.

Are you paying me to write something specific? No? Then you don’t have a say in what I write. YOUR right is not to buy it. Or read it. But not to tell me I can’t or shouldn’t write it.

None of these people matter in my life. I quietly unfollow or block plenty of people every week. We’re just not compatible. I don’t have to threaten them or fight with them. I either scroll past (because we are all more than one thing, and that’s beautiful) or, if it truly is something I don’t want in my life in the long term, I unfollow or block, as appropriate. I don’t have to make a big deal out of it. I’m a random person on plenty of people’s feeds, as they are on mine. We can peacefully co-exist, in most instances, without bullying each other. That doesn’t mean it’s okay to write posts that incite violence or demean people — yes, those should be called out. But if someone is happy about a show or a flavor of ice cream or whatever? Why be mean? If something matters to someone and they want to share a post to try and help? Why do YOU have the right to say THEY don’t have the right to care or to share it?

You don’t.

Also, I am not required to follow everyone who follows me, nor is everyone I follow required to follow me. There are certain red flag words in posts or bios that mean I won’t follow back. It doesn’t mean that person is expected to change; it’s just not something I want in my life. Eventually, they will probably unfollow me anyway.

And we don’t miss each other, because we never really knew each other.

Yes, social media is a marketing tool for my work. But that’s only part of the reason I’m on it. I’m on it to learn from people who know and are interested in different things than I am. I am on it for conversation and information and laughter. I don’t have to like, or even agree, with every post from every person that shows up on my feed.

Have I made poor choices, either in comments or in sharing? Of course. But I’m getting more aware of it, and am thinking twice before doing either. I am well aware how flawed I am, and I work on it. But I don’t bow to bullies, even in elementary school.

I’m happy with the way GRAVE REACH is going, and hope to get in at least one more writing session on it today. I have to make a grocery run, go to the library, take my mother to a doctor’s appointment, get some yard work in.

I also have to go over Saturday’s presentation one more time, and re-check the packing and all the stuff I’m bringing for the presentation. I have a rolling rack full of fun stuff. I leave for the conference tomorrow. I present late on Saturday. I know I’m prepared, but I always like to make sure.

I could teach a semester-long course on this. I have 50 minutes. I hope I picked the right 50 minutes of material!

Back to the page. And the yard.