Tues. May 23, 2023: Unpleasant Limbo

image courtesy of Melissa G via pixabay.com

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Waxing Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Sunny and pleasant

Big announcement: You can find short videos about my work over on Tiktok. Trying it to see if that will expand the audience, especially for the serials and the Topic Workbooks.

Ready for our usual Tuesday morning catch-up? How was your weekend?

Today’s serial episode is Legerdemain:

Episode 87: Roommates

Shelley sets up a sting to catch a killer.

Legerdemain serial link

Legerdemain website link

Remember I mentioned interest in Alice Diamond’s Forty Elephants gang last Friday? Turns out there are already several novels out about it: Erin Bledsoe’s FORTY THIEVES and Beezy Marsh’s QUEEN OF THIEVES. So I don’t need to write a novel! I’m going to read their novels, though, and I’m going to read Brian McDonald’s nonfiction book on Alice. Disney’s doing a series, supposedly, which I’m likely to have mixed feelings about. (I’m glad Disney’s fighting DeSantis, but that doesn’t mean I suddenly love Disney). There might be another one of my historical women plays in there. Or I might read it just to read it.

It makes more sense to work on the script (or maybe it will be a novel) about Katharine Cornell’s tour. I have Gladys Malvern’s books (I ordered my own copies), and Gladys is quickly becoming one of my favorite people. In addition to being an actress touring with Cornell and others (also known as a “trouper”), she was an author, best known for the children’s books she wrote.

There are so many wonderful arts and culture events happening around here that it would be very easy to overload and not have any time for my own work. I need to make sure I keep a balance. I want to meet fellow artists and support their work, but I also have to keep putting my own work first. And I have to avoid unsafe situations where I might get infected.

On Friday, I finished the episode of Legerdemain I’d started writing a couple of days prior. This week, I have to upload and schedule the next batch of episodes.

I went to the library for what should have been a quick drop-off/pickup of a few books. However, I ran into a stranger and we started talking. Turns out we’re close to the same age and have both been in business all our lives. He works for MCU and was one of Stan Lee’s proteges. We’ve worked with about 30 or 40 of the same people throughout the years. Anyway, what started as a quick chat moved outside the building and wound up being a two-hour conversation. So that was fun, but I wasn’t wearing a jacket, and by the end of it, I was chilled to the bone.

Finally got the grocery shopping done, then came home and tried to warm up. Some client work came in for next week, so I didn’t worry about not having anything for Friday. And I’d missed my window to go to the Clark, plus it was clouding over, so I stayed home.

I experimented some more with FlexClip and Canva video tools. I like FlexClip much better, but there are instances where Canva does more of what I need.

I worked on the poem. I did the social media rounds ANGEL HUNT. I wrote up my review and sent it off. I continued reading THE SECRET SERVICE OF TEA AND TREASON, which is hilarious. So clever. I needed the rest.

Saturday, the cats tried to roust me out of bed and I refused to get up.

When I finally got up, I played with video again. I tried ClipChamp (urg) and Power Director (which just needed more time than I have to give it right now). Between FlexClip and Canva, I finished the Devon intro video, polished the Topic Workbooks videos, polished the ANGEL HUNT intro, and created a Legerdemain intro. I also set up video templates in Canva for AH and Legerdemain episodes, where I just have to pop out that week’s logline and/or graphic, save it, and the rest is set.

I also worked on the poem.

In the afternoon, I finished reading THE SECRET SERVICE OF TEA AND TREASON. What a delightful book.

Slept well Saturday into Sunday, although I had weird dreams, which fled as soon as I woke up.

I worked on the poem some more, adding in breath marks (I like to do that on pieces I read, so I don’t run out of air in the middle of a sentence).

I then worked on the Heist Romance Script, which has been begging for attention, doing the Corsica and Sardinia sections. They need work, but at least they’re there. About 20 script pages.  Got my characters back to Marseilles and separated them. Ben is back in London. Tara is wherever she is. I have to do some montage-y stuff and then do some research for the next bits, which are in Barcelona, and then York. I also have to write the dramaturgy on the treasure. I’ll only put bits and pieces of it in the script itself, but I need to know the whole story in order to do that well.

This draft, however, is to get characters and the main plot points in, and make sure I hit the action/team/romance bits. As I work on subsequent drafts, I will rip out what’s reading flat and build more dynamic beats that serve on multiple levels.

Which is ass-backwards, because most scriptwriters plot out the beats first and then write the script. But, since I’m not in a room with others, and it’s not on contract (nor would it be, with the strike going on), I’m doing it this way. Takes longer, but I’ll get there, even if it’s not the considered best practices.

I put on real people pants and makeup, and drove down to the Mount, in Lenox for the poetry reading. We had a stage out behind the stable, with a backdrop of trees. It was lovely. There were 11 poets, and it went well. I was second up. The piece got laughs where I hoped, and acknowledgement of the more serious beats where I hoped. I only blew one humorous line in delivery – the beds of kale line. Note to self – have full stanzas on the same page; end the page early if the stanza needs to spill over, because turning the page mid-stanza loses the rhythm.  I made a few adjustments as I read, when I realized the upcoming word wasn’t sustaining the rhythm created, but I could change those on the fly, without stumbling. Hopefully, I’ve remembered them all to fix them for the next draft. I’d printed it out in 16-point font, which made it much easier to read. I thoroughly enjoyed the other poets’ offerings. One of the things I love about the WxW events is that the audience are active listeners. They really pay attention and pick up on nuances and details.

On the way home, filled up the car with gas, and picked up a few things at Adams Fresh Market. Home, made dinner.

Read for a bit in the evening (not that thrilled with the current book, might just stop and take it back to the library).

Went back and did a few more pages on the Heist Romance Script – these scenes will need a lot of reworking in the next draft. Not happy with them.

Charlotte started bothering me at 2 AM, but I refused to get up until the coffee started at 5:30.

They’re still “painting” the library across the street, the machines making lots of beep-beep-beep all day from 6 AM onwards. It should have taken then a week to paint the building. We’re going into our third month. Ridiculous.

Instead of doing what I should have been doing all morning, I did a fix pass on the pages I wrote the previous night, so they’re better (but not where they need to be), and then wrote about 20 more pages. This will be a limited series (used to be called a mini-series), but this first draft is one big ole draft no one could ever use, and then I’ll cut and shape it. Again, not following best practices for the format, but, since I’m doing it for me at this point, not anyone else, I’ll do it my way. If I get a draft I feel is submission-worthy, I’ll make the necessary structural/format tweaks in that stronger draft.

Someday, it will actually get a title.

Also uploaded the first four videos to TikTok: the Devon Ellington intro, the Topic Workbooks, Legerdemain Intro, Angel Hunt intro. The only way I can edit sound attribution was to put the damn app on my phone, which I am not happy about. But, needs must.

I had four short client projects to turn around in the afternoon, which I did. I was assigned the next book for review. There’s not much from that editor now, and, with the strike, there’s not much coverage work. With the looming debt ceiling crisis (if my mother doesn’t get her social security check, I have to cover her expenses that it usually handles), AND the fact that I’m still waiting for the effing grant money (it’s going on three months late, which is just fucking with us at this point, just to fuck with us), it’s stressful, and I’m in a holding pattern. (Think Hanged Man Tarot card, hovering over The Tower). I can do it, even if (when) the Republicans catapult us over the debt cliff next week,  but it means reshuffling bills and other payments a bit. If I was in the usual work rhythm with the usual workload, it wouldn’t be a problem. I could take on a few days’ extra work, and it’s covered. But with the strike, a review pool slump, and Topic Workbook sales down because of the Muskrat’s algorithm changes, it all hits the squeeze point at once. Fortunately, the serials are still bringing in some cash (not a ton, but enough to make them worth continuing).

Such is the life of a full-time writer at this point in time. We’re all struggling. But we’re not giving up the fight.

Hence the expansion into TikTok, but again, none of this is instant. It all takes time, energy, focus, and work to build audience on any platform. I already have to reconfigure how I do it on the other platforms. Spending more quality time on specific platforms on specific days, while cycling through the others makes the most sense, at this point, but I have to be ready to adjust as needed.

There’s no point in building any of it if I let the actual creative work fall to the wayside. I can’t market what isn’t ready to market, or hasn’t yet been created. Well, I COULD, but it would come back to bite me in the butt.

And let’s face it, the GOP WANTS the country to default and everything to come crashing down. It’s all part of their plan. They haven’t even pretended to be anything but who they are since Reagan, but too many people are complacent. So, here we are.

Well, by the end of next week, I’ll know what needs to be shuffled where, and can actually DO something.

Anyway, once I finished the client work, I downloaded the Kindle App onto my creaky old tablet (and yet, it still works better than the Hive app ever did). I like using the tablet to read.

I also went in search of my SD card reader. Before my friends came, I put it in a Very Safe Place. You see where this is going, right? I can’t find it. Anywhere. I keep electronic stuff – extra cords, adapters, charging squares, et al – in a specific place in my office.

The SD card reader isn’t in there.

I checked ALL the bags and ALL the drawers.

Can’t find it anywhere.

I needed a specific photo, that I took way back around 2003 or 4 or something. I decided to go through the photo backups and the imports I tried to do from the Mac. It took a couple of hours, but I found the photos I needed.

I don’t have photo permissions to share them, or I would. The photos are of five women who did the specialized art painting at Playland Amusement Park from 1928-1940. I took the photos of these photos way back when, at the Playland Amusement Park’s small museum. Those five women have always fascinated me. They show so much individual personality in these photographs.

If you’re not familiar with Playland Amusement Park, it is in my hometown of Rye, New York (I grew up and went all the way through elementary and high school there). It’s an art deco amusement park with the infamous Dragon Coaster and one of the old Derby racer rides. I have a lot of pictures taken over the years (good thing, since the current owners are wrecking it). I set the novelette “That Man in Tights” there (and the big chase scene is based on The Flying Witch House Ride, which has been destroyed), and set a couple of the Christy Miller bylined short stories there.

Anyway, I’ve toyed with the idea of writing a piece in a fictional park of the era inspired by Playland for years. I want to know who these women were.

I finally found the photo and sent it to the office at Playland, asking for more information. I printed the photos out, and I also saved them in my picture file. I sent a similar email to the Westchester County Archives, asking if they had any information, or could point me in the right direction. I may have to go down and dig in there myself at some point.

On the Archive digital website, I found some cool photos of the park at that time, which I will also use as inspiration. But I didn’t find a match for these photos.

I want to know these women’s names. Their names shouldn’t be lost.

Possibly, the Archives will have employment records, and I can try to match them. Or maybe I can try looking in the census.

Anyway, that was the rabbit hole from yesterday afternoon through this morning.

On today’s agenda: draft an episode of Legerdemain. Work on the flash fiction. I’ve percolated the beginning and the end; I need to work the arc between them. Maybe work on REP or the Heist Romance script (although I have to do more research on the latter’s next section). Do the research for the first Llewellyn pieces.

I desperately need to do some filing.

Fill out the paperwork for the residency. Do the social media rounds for Legerdemain, including posting today’s episode video on TikTok. I have a client project in the afternoon. I don’t think I’ll make it to yoga this afternoon; I’ve had a fever on and off through the night and into this morning, so isolating seems like the smart choice.

I better get going, huh? The clock is running! Have a good one!

Fri. May 19, 2023: New Moon = New Focus (I Hope)

Clark Art Institute Reflecting Pool. Photo by Devon Ellington

Friday, May 19, 2023

New Moon

Partly cloudy and cold

Still in the 30s when I wake up. I prefer cool to hot, but I’m worried about the plants.

Last year, when I turned in my section of the collaborative poem, I was terrified. This year I’m giddy. Growth, I guess?

Today’s serial episode is from Angel Hunt:

Angel Hunt Serial link

Episode 34: A Castle That is Home

An oddly-built castle with a wall and a drawbridge out of amethyst and ghosts dancing in the moat. What’s inside? Lianna is determined to find out.

Angel Hunt Serial Link

I’m pleased that SAG-AFTRA authorized a strike, and stands so strongly with WGA. The writer-actor partnership can be wonderful. Let’s hope the DGA doesn’t throw us under the bus in their current negotiations. The SAG-AFTRA position might put more pressure on them to work with us, but I’ve worked with too many directors who have contempt for both writers and actors and believe they (the directors) are the only ones with vision. A good director with both a strong vision and strong collaborative ability is wonderful; the ego-centric ones are a nightmare. It takes everyone to put on a good show. The DGA is fussing about the rules that hyphenated members (belonging to both guilds) can’t make “minor” script changes during the strike. Um, when it comes to directors, there’s no such thing as a “minor” change and even non-hyphenated directors do way more script changes than is in their purview far too often. The WGA should stand firm, and the fucking DGA members should not have given up their strike clause and should not be crossing picket lines no matter what.

Neil Gaiman showed up on the picket line, which is a big deal.

I think I fixed the dishwasher. I ran some tests, and it’s the outlet, not the dishwasher itself. I got it back into the outlet so it gets power – but I knocked something that dripped. We ran sink tests and it’s not one of the pipes for the sink, which means it’s probably one. . .connected to the dishwasher. So I’ll have the maintenance guy check it when he’s here to check the smoke detectors and the fire extinguisher. I don’t want to start the dishwasher and find I’ve disrupted a pipe and cause damage. Although I checked the lines with a flashlight, and everything looks like it’s connected tightly.

Or maybe the dishwasher is just going to conk out every Mercury Retrograde, and come back to life when Merc goes direct.

Worked my July poem and worked it and worked it. Did several drafts. Read it with the stopwatch. Adjusted for time. Read it until it came in consistently at 30 seconds (our time limit). Sent it off, so today’s collaborator begins with my last word.

Still have not found the final two lines for Sunday’s poem, which needs to happen today, so I can work it some more tomorrow, time it (I have a 3-minute limit), make necessary cuts, and get comfortable with it. Because Sunday is. . .soon. It sounds like I’m hunting through the sock drawer and closets for those lines, but it’s a little more complicated than that.

The good thing about writing for radio is that I can work the material so it fits within the time limit.

Had some email discussion about the September reading and promoting it. Did the social media rounds for Legerdemain. Worked on a future post for the Process Muse.

Worked on an intro video about my work. I’d already created/updated the logo for the Coventina Circle Mysteries. Created one for the Gwen Finnegan mysteries. Eventually, I will do one for the Nautical Namaste Mysteries, but right now, it’s just listed. I may change that, and do a collage of covers instead. I’m using the Ava Dunne avatar for the pieces under that name. I should come up with a logo for the Delectable Digital Delights shorts, and I need to have an alternate Topic Workbook logo. I have to do an avatar for the Cerridwen iris Shea name, and add that in, and then do a slide of the other names that I don’t use as often.

Because I don’t go on camera, I have to come up with interesting visuals that aren’t about ME. Because none of this is about me, anyway; it’s about the work.

Did some client work in the afternoon. Finished the book for review later in the afternoon/evening, and will write up the review today and hopefully get my next assignment.

Got my paperwork for the autumn residency at MASSMoCA; will fill it out and get it back to them next week. I have to scan some materials for them.

Started reading THE SECRET SERVICE OF TEA AND TREASON by India Holton which is absolutely hilarious. Loving it, and I want to read her other books now.

Someone on Spoutible posted something about the Forty Elephants Gang and I want to write about them, especially when Alice Hill was in charge. No, I’m not worried someone will “steal” the idea; we’d do it very differently.

Dreamed about looking for parking so I could attend a loft party. Huh?

On today’s agenda: Get the last two lines of Sunday’s poem settled, finish the Legerdemain episode, do the social media rounds to promote today’s episode of ANGEL HUNT, do a drop-off/pickup at the library, do a minor grocery shop.

I don’t have any client work (although that may change). I’m not sure if I’ll stay home to work on Legerdemain/Angel Hunt/Rep (once the poem is sorted out), or if I’ll head over to the Clark, for that project. I’ll play it by ear.

Will probably do a bit of writing tomorrow morning (Legerdemain and Angel Hunt, most likely), and then household stuff in the afternoon. Sunday will be about the reading over at the Mount.

Next week, along with juggling serials and client work, I have to get back on track with “Labor Intensive”, the current revision of FALL FOREVER (so it can rest, before the next round of revisions), and work on the material for Llewellyn. I also want to rough out some promos for the reading in September. The sooner we get these materials done, the better lead time we have for promotion. Next weekend, I get to read an ARC of my friend’s new book and blurb it.

Have a good one!

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

Clark Art Institute Reflecting Pool. Photo by Devon Ellington

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Dark Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Sunny and cold

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

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

Today’s serial episode is from Legerdemain:

Episode 86: Bedpan Guy

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

Legerdemain Serial Link

Legerdemain Website Link

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It’s a very poetry-centric week!

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

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

I started reading the next book for review.

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

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

Have a good one!

Wed. May 17, 2023: Arranging Word Pebbles

Reflecting Pool at the Clark Institute. Photo by Devon Ellington

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Day Before Dark Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Cloudy and chilly

Day before dark moon is always my lowest energy day of the month, but I need to buck up and get things done.

Today’s Process Muse post is about Managing Energy, which I’m trying to get better about. You can read it here.

Today’s serial episode is from Angel Hunt:

Episode 33: Forest Dreams

Where is this astral travel journey taking Lianna?

Angel Hunt Serial Link here.

Yesterday was just kind of an all-over-the-place mess. I’m having serious Sense Memory Stress that has little to do with my current reality. Yesterday, it was almost paralyzing. Yes, there are things I’m concerned about: the continued delay in receiving the grant money, the WGA strike, the looming debt ceiling crisis, trying to find a vet so I can update the cats’ shots and get them wellness exams, the need for new glasses, etc. But it doesn’t need the extreme stress response I had yesterday.

I figured out a few things on FALL FOREVER, and, once I get the big August rewrite done, I have a submission call to aim it at on September 1. I found another submission call with a July 1 deadline for a fun piece that I should be able to whip up and hone between now and then. I found another call and submitted a short play that fits, but I’m so close to the deadline that they might have found what they want. Last week, I had a great exchange with a company in the UK who does audio dramas, and I will submit to their next open call in June.

Drafted an episode of Legerdemain. Adapted two chapters of ANGEL HUNT into a total of 9 serial episodes. I hated to stop work on it; I was in a flow. If ANGEL HUNT continues to perform well and improves (which is always the hope, get more readers), there will be a second “season.” I’m hoping it will be between 30-50 episodes, and I’ve gotten it roughed out. I even have a working title. If that does well, there will be a third season, taking place in one of the more interesting astral locations from ANGEL HUNT, and I hope that will be around 60-90 episodes. But first, I need to finish adapting all of ANGEL HUNT, polishing, and uploading, so I know what I have. Then I can plan for the other two. Those will build on ANGEL HUNT, while still being different enough that they can be read as stand-alones.

I struggled with the poem that I’m reading Sunday, and considered giving up my slot so that someone with something that works could have it.

Had trouble focusing on client work. I’m fine with their deadlines, so I just cut myself a break, and started the 4^th draft of FALL FOREVER. I got most of the first act done before I had to leave for yoga. I made a lot of internal cuts to tighten scenes, rearranged some material, and changed the approach to one of the conflicts. All in all, it’s two pages tighter, even with the new material woven into it.

Went to yoga. It was great. We were all dragging, so we did yoga Nidra, instead of what was originally planned. During Savasana, I found the poem for Sunday.

I’d been using the wrong voice. I was using Tragic Poetess Voice when it needed to be Cynical Chick Lit Voice. Once I found the voice, the rest of it clicked into place. Just because it’s personal doesn’t mean it has to sound “precious.”

Came home, scribbled most of the poem, ate (I’d made crockpot chicken fajita). Went back to work on FALL FOREVER, and did a good portion of work on the second act. I stopped at the memorial scene, because I need to completely rip that apart and restructure it, and I have to come up with short anecdotes for them to share as their celebration of Lily that arise organically from their characters and unique perspectives. The scene from the third draft runs 6 pages; I certainly don’t want it to run anymore than that. Hopefully, it will be less.

Got the heads up that my word for July’s poem will arrive within the next seven days. How much do you want to bet it shows up on Sunday, when I’ll be spending most of the day with the poets at the Mount? But I’ll still get it done. I know what I want to write about, and I’ll find a way to weave in my starting word.

Up early and out the door to the laundromat. Revised 4 episodes of Legerdemain, and about 3 of REP. I worked on Sunday’s poem a little bit. I tweaked a few things to sharpen images and improve flow. I need a Big Finish – a couple of lines to wind it all up. I’m playing with and discarding images, not yet finding the right one. I’ll get there.

On today’s agenda: type up Sunday’s poem and figure out the ending so it sticks its landing. I’ll work it for precision and rhythm the next few days, and time it so I’m within my 3-minute slot limitation.

I’m letting the memorial scene for FALL FOREVER percolate. Maybe I’ll write a couple of the anecdotes; maybe they need a few more days. I have another episode of Legerdemain to draft, and I’ll make the social media rounds to promote today’s episode of ANGEL HUNT and the day’s Process Muse post. I’d like to do some more work on AH, but not sure it will fit into this morning.

When the bookstore opens, I’ll head over and talk to them about the reading in autumn. Hopefully, the requested day will work for all of us. We’re supposed to get our residency contracts soon, which is exciting.

I didn’t get my contract back to Llewellyn yesterday, so I’ll do that today. I have some fun dates to work with, and the research will be great. For this almanac, I’m assigned 24 specific days, which I research and build the material around, and then a bonus piece that could fit in any day.

In the afternoon, I have to catch up on the client work I didn’t finish yesterday. I’m still fine on deadline, as long as I focus and get it done. I also have to read the next book for review.

That’s the plan. Let’s hope I can make it work! Have a good one, my friends!

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!

Fri. May 12, 2023: When The Idea Bulb Lights Up

image courtesy of Colin Behrens via pixabay.com

Friday, May 12, 2023

Waning Moon

Mercury and Pluto Retrograde

Early showers, then sunny and pleasant

Somehow, yesterday seems like a very long time ago.

Today’s serial episode is from Angel Hunt:

Episode 32: Beliefs & Hypocrisy

Drogo confronts Lianna regarding her beliefs in being a witch.

Angel Hunt Serial Link.

Meditation was great, and I felt much better and more focused after (which is kind of the point).

I worked on July’s poem, and made some preliminary scribblings for the one I need next weekend. A little ass-backward, but that’s the way it worked out.

Sent off an email to one of the actors in Monday’s reading who had a reading of his own play  yesterday, wishing him well.

Wrote a Process Muse post, which wound up being longer than I expected, revised, edited, polished, uploaded, scheduled. It’s for a few weeks down the road, so I can take another look at in in a couple of days, just in case I want to make cuts.

Went to the post office to mail the insurance materials via Certified mail, bought stamps, caught up with what’s going on around in town (since the Post Office is the happening place here).

Swung by a store to pick up some of the WordSeek puzzle books my mother likes.

Grocery shop. Bought more than I planned (gee, what a surprise). But actually doing some meal planning again.

Uploaded and scheduled next Tuesday’s Legerdemain post. I’ll do the rest of next week’s and the following week’s today.

Did client work in the afternoon. Completed one project; answered follow-up questions on another. Did the social media rounds for Legerdemain, and the blogs.

Started reading MURDER IN POSTSCRIPT by Mary Winters, which I’m really enjoying.

Sat on the porch, reading, and noodling on the May poem. I know what I want to say, but I’m bloviating too much, and need to distill it down into specific, clear imagery.

Because I hope to get to the Clark today, working on the big project there even though I’m still waiting for the grant money to show up, my mind turned toward the Clark, and the exhibit I saw around my birthday (which has since closed). I’m still fascinated by the sketch of a private rail car that was turned into a theatre. I started playing with some characters and an idea that blossomed into a somewhat comic-horror-mystery idea that I hope will be novella length (maybe around 200 pages). I wrote up some notes. I have to do some worldbuilding. It’s going to have more psychological terror in it than physical, although that will also play a part. It melds that sketch with the reading I did about Katharine Cornell’s touring company and mind games played by toxic bosses. Horror is not my natural wheelhouse, but that’s what best serves this piece, so I’ll take on the challenge.

We’ll see where that goes. And when I have time to work on it, although I made some more notes for it this morning.

Today’s plan is to write an episode of Legerdemain, then polish, upload, and schedule the rest of next week’s and the following week’s episodes. Then, I’ll head to the Clark for a couple of hours, then to Wild Oats to pick up a few things. I hope, this afternoon, to get in some work on both REP and ANGEL HUNT.

I dread tomorrow because we’re supposed to do another storage run to the Cape. The traffic chaos will be awful, but if we don’t do it this weekend, it would have to be next Saturday (since my reading is on Sunday), and that’s too much. Anything beyond that, and we’ll be stuck on the bridge with seasonal traffic for several hours in each direction, instead of just one hour and change, which is what tomorrow is bound to be.

Sunday is Mother’s Day; we plan to have a quiet, pleasant one, and enjoy our porch and balcony. Maybe I’ll finally finish touching up the paint on the wind chimes and get that back up. And maybe it will be warm enough to put out some plants. And plant more seeds.

I will get some writing done in there, although I’m not yet sure which projects.

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

Thurs. Aug. 11, 2022: Plans and Poetry

image courtesy of Adriano Gadini via pixabay.com

Thursday, August 11, 2022

Full Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter Retrograde

Sunny and pleasant

Garden post over on Gratitude and Growth.

Prepped for my meeting yesterday morning. The meeting ran longer than expected, and there’s a follow-up here at my place next Tuesday afternoon, so I can help my friend apply for some grants.

I was much later getting back in the afternoon than I expected, which meant a later start on the scripts. I had three to turn around, which I did, two before dinner, one after. The radio play rehearsal was moved to last night, but I didn’t find out about it until too late. This morning, I have to do some rewrites from what came up in rehearsal.

I finished and polished the poem after all that, and spent some time rehearsing. I have a three-minute slot, and the piece consistently comes in at 2:11 or 2:15, so I’m fine. Even though this is way out of my wheelhouse, I worked on story, image, and rhythm, and it’s doing what I want. So, we’ll see. Every time I get nervous, I remind myself that it is about the work, not about me. The focus is on making sure the work lands with the impact I want, not tying myself in knots about being the one to read it.

I’ll miss Chef Jeremy’s special session tonight, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. He knows he aways has my utmost respect, support, and affection.

The 6^th episode of LEGERDEMAIN drops today, so there will be all kinds of promotion.

After meditation this morning, I will do the final proofread on the Topic Workbook, so I can send it and the PDF from the class out, and move the release date of the Workbook to next week. I have to see if I made an ad for it; if not, then that’s on the agenda, because once the links go live, I need to be able to upload and schedule the marketing content calendar for it.

September’s not that far away, so I’m already playing with marketing ideas for the Topic Workbooks from October through December.

And I need to get the next 10 episodes of LEGERDEMAIN uploaded and scheduled. And cover a script.

I’m tired. I feel as though I could sleep for about a week. I’ll get a chance to rest a bit this weekend, but there’s also a lot of home-and-hearth stuff that needs to be done. I want to fix the chairs and make the new chair covers and do the curtains and the back panel for the Kitchen Island Cart from Hell. Maybe I’ll even get to unpack a few more boxes, and rearrange some stuff in the pantry and the laundry room.

But I also want and need some rest.

Have a good one!

Wed. Aug. 9, 2022: Just Chugging Along

images courtesy of Wikilimages via pixabay.com

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Waxing Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter Retrograde

Cloudy and cooler

Yesterday was another hot day, although the temperature started going down later in the day. But I hadn’t slept well, which was not a good way to start.

I had trouble getting going in the morning. I had to deal with stuff on the personal front, of course, with everything going on. I managed to get the book review written and out, and was assigned my next two books for review. I worked on catching up with emails, and handling a bunch of admin. I pushed back the release date for DEVELOPING THE SERIES so that I can finish proofreading it and make sure the students really get it well before it goes into general release. I did the promotion for Episode 5 of LEGERDEMAIN that dropped yesterday, “The Luminous Lady.” The ad I made for it is one of my favorites.

I worked on the poem a little.

I let myself grieve when I needed.

There was a thunderstorm in the late morning, which helped break some of the heat and humidity. But then, it was warm and sunny again.

We headed back to the quilt shop in Williamstown. And ran into a detour, because there was a gas leak, and a big chunk of Rt. 2 was blocked off by the fire department. So I had to take back roads. The fact I knew which backroads to take pleased me.

Anyway, we went to the quilt shop, and I picked up some fabric to make holiday-themed curtains for the Kitchen Island Cart from Hell. Because this weekend, when I’m working on seat covers and kitchen island curtains, I might as well do all of them at once.

A big guy working the lines came into the quilt shop, curious because his grandmother used to quilt, and he was interested in looking at the quilts. That, of course, triggered a story idea for me, so those characters are percolating. Now, the question becomes are they their own set of characters in their own world, or do I fold them into one of my other worlds?

On the way back, we did a stop at Wild Oats for a few things, and I paid my next year’s membership. I got to introduce my mom to the general manager, who is a sweet, smart, wonderful guy, and that was good.

Did a script coverage in the afternoon. Then, it was cool enough to prepare the rest of the Farmers’ Market vegetables as roasted vegetables, and served it over couscous. The rest of this week will be leftovers from the past few days of crockpot, primavera pasta, and roasted veggies.

Right after I finished, it was time for the cooking class with Chef Jeremy over at Kripalu (via Zoom). He’s moving into a full-time faculty position, after being the Executive Chef there for 12 years (which, as he said, is “like 187 Chef years”). He’s such a brilliant teacher, and he loves it so much, I’m glad he has the opportunity. And I’m excited to, at some point, study with him again in person.

Anyway, class was tons of fun. As usual, I learned a lot (like the difference between a tian and a gratin).

After class, I had another script to cover, but I got everything done.

It was the first night in weeks where it was cool enough to sleep, and I slept. Although I had a nightmare, and Charlotte woke me up at 3 AM. But I managed to fall back to sleep, and got up a little after six.

The damn computer took nearly an hour to do an update, and then none of the programs talked to any of the other programs, so I had to go in and wiggle things around until it worked again. I am not an IT person, and I shouldn’t have to fake being one just to get the computer up and running every morning. Especially since it’s still under warranty (although no one has any interest in honoring the warranty). And I’m only using 25% of the computer’s capacity.

I did not have these problems with my Mac.

Anyway, I have a meeting to prepare for this morning, the workbook to finish proofing, the poem to polish, and then three scripts to cover this afternoon, so it’s another busy day. But good busy.

Spiro Squirrel tried to remove the kitchen window screen again yesterday afternoon and Willa was right there, letting him know that was not an option. When I heard her scampering down the hallway early this morning, I was sure he’d somehow managed to get in and she was chasing him around the house, but she was just running up and down the hall because it was cool enough to run again. All the cats were perky this morning, because it was cool enough to feel like themselves again.

Hope you’re having a good one.

Tues. Aug. 2, 2022: Creative Busy-ness

image courtesy of Hans via pixabay.com

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

Waxing Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter Retrograde

Sunny, hazy, humid

The weekend was kind of all over the place.

The artists working group that I was told met Friday morning, of course, met Thursday morning. The organizers really need to get their communications cleaned up. Especially since I specifically contacted them to ask for clarification and they still gave me the wrong information.

I picked up a few things at Wild Oats market instead.

I spent Friday revising CREATIVE STIMULUS and THE SERIES BIBLE. I was behind where I wanted to be, but between the humidity and ongoing computer kerflamma, it was exhausting.

Attended an amazing yoga class on Friday night. It was a wonderful restorative class and I slept very, very well after.

Up early Saturday morning. Went to the market. Didn’t buy much. The lines were so long as some of the stalls, which is great for the farmers, but I didn’t have the energy to stand in the sun. Picked up my mom’s prescription at the nearby CVS and came home.

Should have done a lot of stuff, but I was hot and tired and didn’t. We did hang up some of the artwork, although we haven’t found the right spot for oh, too many things. But some digital artwork by a friend went up, and the mosaic by my uncle. I put up the sketch of Paris – which I bought on my first trip to Paris when I was 11 years old for 2 francs – but it’s not in the right spot. When I find the right spot for it, I will move it.

Read in the afternoon and just relaxed.

Up early on Sunday. Charlotte and Tessa were both being pills. Made biscuits. Sent off an LOI. Did some blog work. Finally got the materials for a magical journaling class I’m taking this week with the group with whom I did Expedition to the Soul last year.

Worked on my Llewellyn article and got it done. It took a good portion of the day, since it was 2800 words.

I’m reading the biography of Emily Mann. The first time I met her was when I was working at the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, and she’d just been named the Artistic Director for the McCarter Theatre. I always admired her, and wish I’d gotten the chance to work closely with her.

Played with ideas for my poem, and for the story for the Shakespeare horror anthology. I want to keep my poem short, between a half a page to a page (even though I have a longer slot). I’m learning how to do this, and I’d rather keep it shorter and work on technique and rhythm and performance than use up the whole slot just to use it.

Monday, I was up and at it early. I made the social media rounds to thank those who participated in #31Prompts. Ello, by far, had the highest rate of engagement, both on and offline. Counter Social was second, by quite a big gap. Then, there was another big gap, and it was Twitter and then Facebook. Trailing the pack was Tumblr.

The metrics come from both engagement on the platform, and from contact individuals made with me privately about which prompts they liked and the types of pieces those prompts inspired. Because I don’t want anyone to post the actual work online and blow first rights.

I posted the July wrap up on the GDR site, and you can read it here. I had a pretty creative month.

I rewrote my Llewellyn article pretty extensively, and got it in to my editor. I still haven’t hit the sweet spot with it, except in word count, so I’m eager for her feedback.

I did the marketing content calendar for the CREATIVE STIMULUS Topic Workbook, which dropped yesterday, and got that uploaded and scheduled through the end of September.

Then, I tackled episodes 7-10 of LEGERDEMAIN. Even though I’d done a couple of revisions on them, they needed more. The world count is a little higher than I want for these episodes, but I had to set foundations for a few things, so there we were. The text got two pretty massive revisions, and then tweaks once it was uploaded and previewed. But I got them up and scheduled.

Then, I created episode loglines and episode-specific ads for them. I uploaded and scheduled those around the episode releases. I have to do the big weekend ad schedules, but I’ll do those in a day or two.

After that, I created three more quirky general ads (well, four, because I had an idea for something coming up, but it won’t release for a few more weeks). I got those designed, uploaded, and scheduled around the relevant episodes.

I read the revision of my friend’s radio play and it is wonderful! I love what she’s done. It’s so good, and such fun!

I did some work on the grant proposal. I need photographs. I’m not sure I have photographs of the relevant work, and I’m not sure I have it up here rather than in storage so I can take new photographs. I’ll cross that bridge next week,

I did my Italian lesson. I listened to the first session of a journal workshop on journaling with intent. I was put off by the way she was so condescending to a regular journal practice. As someone who has kept up a journal practice for FIFTY YEARS, and who has found the practice helped me navigate plenty of difficult stuff, I was annoyed by the attitude that a journal practice was “meaningless” and one just writes in a book and puts it away. Nope. Not the way I do it. This after the whole “I’ll never tell you that you HAVE to do something.” Yeah, but you’ll be patronizing when someone does something differently.  I was also annoyed by the whole “Oh, a bunch of us are doing a trip to Salem, so we won’t have live sessions for the next few days, just pre-recorded ones.” I don’t mind pre-recorded sessions, I don’t need to see the running comments in the live sessions. However, it’s kind of insulting when students have put aside the time to attend the workshop to blow them off. Just set it up so it’s “work at your own pace, here are the sessions.” I’m also really irritated at the pressure to download their app. I do not run my life from apps, nor do I want to.

My path is different, especially right now.

I was very tired by the end of the day. Between 2800K in revisions on the article, nearly 8K in the episodes, and then creating the ads, yup, I was tired. I also have 9 scripts in my queue, to read by the end of the week, so I have to push today and tomorrow, so that I’m not overwhelmed at the end of the week, before I teach.

Today’s priority is uploading and scheduling the content calendar for THE SERIES BIBLE Workbook, which drops tomorrow, and finish the revisions on SETTING UP YOUR SUBMISSION SYSTEM. I also want to finish the slideshow for the class I’m teaching Saturday.

I think that’s all I can get in during the morning. In the afternoon/evening, I have to cover 3 scripts, and I’m taking a break in the evening to attend Chef Jeremy’s cooking workshop from Kripalu online. Plus the day’s Italian lesson and journal workshop. But it’s the right kind of busy.

I heard from a grant for which I’d applied that I’d made it to the next round. I’ve heard that from them before. I make it close to the end, then they give the grant to someone who never finishes anything and is never heard from again.  But they tell me to keep applying. I’d already decided that if I don’t get it this year, I’m done with them. Not worth the work putting together the grant, when all they do is string me along, and then give it to someone who doesn’t deliver. In the years I’ve applied, I went from never working in the genre to regularly publishing in it, so I guess I don’t need it. But it would sure give me some breathing room.

Anyway, back to the work that needs to be done. Hope you’re having a good start to the week.

Tues. July 26, 2022: Protocols, Performance, Persistence

garden sculputre installation at The Mount

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Day Before Dark Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron Retrograde

Sunny, cooler, less humidity

Hot, busy weekend.

Friday wasn’t quite as hot as Thursday, mostly because there was cloud cover, but the humidity was oppressive. Once the plants were watered on the front porch, we closed it off and let it be a greenhouse for the day, which helped keep the rest of the house cooler. And we kept the blinds closed on the east side of the house, and the lace curtains drawn on the south side. The lace lets in enough light, but blocks some of the heat.

I did some admin/organizational stuff, noodled on my article, and then turned around the script I had in the late morning/early afternoon. I made a pasta salad in the morning that could cool in the fridge for dinner, so we didn’t have to think about cooking or preparing anything.

I rehearsed my portion of the poem, working on rhythm and voice placement. What made me smile is that we just moved into Leo season – a season to shine, to share, to perform – and here’s the performance date.

I finished reading the next book for review.

The request for mail-in ballots arrived, and we filled them out and returned them. The mail-in option makes it easier (and safer) for this year’s voting.

I was invited to an artists’ resource meeting, but the day and the date didn’t match up. I emailed them for clarification. If the day of the week is correct, I can’t make it this month. If the date is correct, I can. At any rate, it’s a group with which I’d like to work, and if I can’t do it this month, I hope I can next month. They even are meeting outside this month, to make it safer.

It was tough to get to sleep Friday night because of the humidity, but I managed,

I should have worked on the Topic Workbooks, but I was too hot and tired and grumpy. I am very much a Winter Girl, not a Summer Girl.

Started feeling all kinds of doubt and uncertainty on Saturday morning again. Part of it was stage nerves for that afternoon’s performance. I am not a performer; I write for performers. I am a behind-the-scenes person. But there are enough of us in this event (50) that it’s about collective creation and collective experience, and there isn’t pressure on me to do more than be in the moment (and get my first & last words right, to keep the flow going).

Another part is also with the Topic Workbook and the serial launching in the upcoming weeks, there’s the whole pressure of now it’s out in the world, and no longer in my control. It’s 50-50. Some people are going to love these pieces & find them helpful or interesting; others won’t. There will always be those who are condescending and make nasty comments. Not that they ever create anything themselves; but they talk about what they’ll do some day while slam others. That’s the reality of the business.

I remind myself: They are not my target audience.

I remind myself: The previous negative reality is not my current positive reality. I am building something new here. That means taking risks, creatively and personally. Not all of them are going to work the way I want them to. But I still need to do it.

Because the alternative is a day job outside of my field, and that is the ultimate last resort.

I cut out a rant from this post about wanna-be writers who think they know more than those of us earning our living in the industry,  because I don’t feel like focusing on them today.

Saturday morning, I had to run out and get a hat. Early, when it was easy to stay ten or more feet away from anyone else in the store. There’s no way I could make it through the event without a hat. I have a whole collection of wonderful hats – in storage. So I ran out to a store that was likely to have workable hats. I couldn’t decide between two in the store, they were both affordable, so I bought both.

I did not go to the Farmers’ Market. I knew the heat would wear me out; I also didn’t want to risk exposure to anyone who might be sluffing off virus, and then bringing it to the event. I missed it, though. I missed the beautiful produce and the friendly, engaging farmers, and the other market regulars I chat with every week.

Took the rest of the morning to rest, read, rehearse. Packed my bag for the event. Took a shower, slathered on sunscreen, braided my hair that I wasn’t able to get cut in time, the whole thing.

I was proud of myself for breaking the usual pattern, which would have been to work myself into the ground all morning, and then feel frantic and unsettled when it was time to go. I gave myself time and rest. I knew it would be hot and humid and challenging, so I made sure, for once, not to sabotage myself.

I left around 2:30, to give myself time in case I hit tourist traffic. I did vocal exercises in the car, and rehearsed my little bit (all those years working musicals have application in the real world). I made decent time to get to The Mount, and got there around 3:30. Walked through the gardens to get to the house, where we were meeting. The sun dappled through the trees in nuanced light that was both beautiful and spooky. The phone’s camera made it look lighter than it was.

We assembled. They had us on chairs on either side of the path that wound down around the side of the house, odds and evens. We lobbed our parts of the poem back and forth across the path, with the audience on the path. I was number 9 (being one of the early poets to sign up and create my bit). So Number 7 was next to me. He lobbed the final word of his poem to Number 8, across the path, who started with the last word of his poem as the first word of her poem. She lobbed back across to me. The last word of her poem was the first word of my poem. I lobbed to number 10, across the path, whose first word of her poem was the last word of my poem, who lobbed it to Number 11, next to me, whose first word was the last word of the previous poem, and so forth and so on.

The audience moved through us as we spoke. They moved through us in waves, so when the first group reached the bend (about half way through), the next group started with the first poet again, so there were multiple vocals happening at any given time, and we had to be present to the poets around us, while aware of what was going on above and below us on the path.

There were a few poets who couldn’t be there. The agreement was that, if someone couldn’t be there, that individual was responsible for sending a proxy. There were several who did so, and that was great. There were a couple of people who didn’t, and a couple who didn’t show up or let anyone know, and that put unnecessary pressure on the poets who were there. Someone early in the poem couldn’t run down and cover for someone late in the poem, because by that point, the next wave of audience was coming through. So the organizers had to work out who could move a few chairs to read a missing poet’s bit, and then get back to their original chair to perform their own bit again in time.

It worked, mostly because there were enough experienced performers to flow, and the first-timers like me, who were trying to get a handle on what was going on and feel the rhythm, weren’t put under that additional pressure.

In other words, the organizers took care of the performers, instead of expecting the performers to fix things that happened at the last minute.

And the overall poem did build a flow and a rhythm. It was amazing. Somehow, even though we didn’t know anything about the poets and their poems on either side while we wrote, it all came together.

There were poets of all ages and from all over the place. I walked in with a poet from Northampton (who used to be a production coordinator for the Boston Ballet, so we had a good talk about backstage). The woman next to me and her daughter (numbers 11 & 13) were from Gloucester, MA, and each wrote a segment as something fun to do together. There was a family of six – wife, husband, two teen daughters, and their dogs – who each did a segment (they were spread out amongst everyone. And only the humans created poems, although the dogs performed with their humans). I think they’re from upstate NY. They told me they love to “poem together” and grab any opportunity to be part of public art events like this. There was a woman across and down a few who’s stage managing a show with a theatre company with whom I had contact awhile back, and I hope I get to see the show. The guy who led the playwrights’ workshop I attended a few weeks ago wasn’t in it (he’d planned to, but dropped out when he couldn’t be there, so another poet could step in and take his place with their own work, instead of someone reading as a proxy). But one of my fellow playwrights was there, and we had a good catch-up natter. There was another woman who’s a part of a poetry group that creates and performs social justice public art.

It was great to be part of a group that had NO Trumpers in it, and no both-siders and right-wing apologists. No one pursing their thin little lips claiming they “don’t do politics” when in reality, they support extremists.  In fact, a good deal of the poetry was political. Quite a few of the older poets, men and women, a few years ahead of me in age and experience, were talking about how they’d fought/marched/voted/protested for Civil Rights and Roe the first time around, and here we are again.

It was a dog, kid, family inclusive event. Several poets brought partners or family members who set up camp chairs nearby and watched/listened or read a book or worked on their own writing.

No one was told to tone down their language, and the audience was warned of the possibility of strong language. As far as I know, no one complained.

They’d put out a buffet for us up at the Terrace Café (it’s a spectacular view). They’d told us they’d have snacks for us, but there was real food to make sandwiches (and gluten free options) and salads and fruit and lemonade and raspberry tea and all that. They watered us well throughout, to make sure we were hydrated and didn’t faint. The chairs were in the shade. The audience was kept in the front courtyard until showtimes, with lemonade and cookies.

Originally, we were supposed to do the full poem 4 times through. However, so many people signed up that, for both vocal projection’s sake and safety’s sake, they split up the audience for the first couple of shows; hence the waves of audience members. So what were originally scheduled as the first two performances turned into four performances.

Each performance built a unique rhythm and flow. As the poets got more comfortable with each other, we could try different inflections with the same words, and lob the bits back and forth more easily.

We poets also kept moving our chairs back. We knew we were all fully vaccinated and had tested negative that day before showing up, but there was no way to trust that the audience was the same. Since the audience didn’t pay attention to the social distancing, we made it happen by enlarging the distance.

After the first four shows, we had a break to eat. One of the poets was bored with saying the same thing over and over, so he rewrote his poem in the break (keeping the first and last word, per the agreement). A couple of people joked that they’d never remember everyone’s name, but they could remember everyone’s content. For instance, I became “Lilac” because I had lilacs in my poem, and the image of “frothy lilacs” stuck in people’s heads. So, you know, any event I do from here on in, I’ll be “Lilac.” I can live with that.

After the break, we had two more shows. Because of time, the groups couldn’t be split up this time around. They were larger; we pulled our chairs back farther from the path and projected more. The heat and humidity were taking a toll, even with all the precautions.

During the final performance, as we completed our bits, we folded in behind the audience (at a safe distance), so that we were all together at the end and could celebrate.

We were all pretty much hurting by then (even the puppies were tired), but we celebrated each other, and were invited to a couple more of these creations, given our travel stipends, and then headed out.

The walk back to the parking lot seemed to take forever. I managed to get home in only 40 minutes (not much traffic), but as the adrenalin wore off, it was a challenge.

Dashed up the stairs, ordered Chinese food for delivery, and jumped in the shower to hose down and decontaminate. Even with some protocols in place, there were still a lot of people involved in the day. My throat was raw and everything hurt, and I knew I’d put myself at risk.

Popped the prosecco, though, and sucked down a couple of glasses along with the Chinese food. It took awhile to unwind. As a non-performer, and also as someone who’s used to writing by myself and then it either goes into the world, or, in the case of a play, it goes into rehearsal with a finite group before going out into the world, it was quite a new experience. But that sense of excitement, creating with others, trusting in them, and then INVITING the audience to experience it with us instead of PRESENTING TO the audience as pretty incredible.

Even if I don’t participate in the next couple of events (one of them, a haiku contest where content is created in the moment, is not something I could even consider doing), I might go as an audience member and support my fellow poets.

I finally collapsed into bed. I woke up around midnight and drank a bottle of water. My throat felt awful. I woke up again at 3 and did the same. Sunday, I rested. I drank tea and water. I took Slippery Elm (which I should have taken before I left, but I didn’t think of it). I’m not used to talking that much, or projecting outdoors. Of course it’s going to leave my throat and voice raw. I read.

Again, the usual pattern would have been to push myself and run myself down even more, probably winding up sick with a cold, if I managed to avoid the plague. At the very least, running myself down would give any exposure to the virus more traction.

So I rested.

I had to run out mid-day for a few errands – pick up my mother’s prescription and get her a new blood pressure monitor, get in some groceries, since I didn’t go to the market on Saturday. Just that little bit wore me out. The heat and humidity were oppressive.

I managed to do another read-through of the next chapters I have to upload for LEGERDEMAIN. I did some work on my article on Saturday morning, but didn’t do any work on Sunday. I put some hooks up in my mom’s closet, hung up some of the copper molds in the kitchen, and hung a quilt on the living room wall.

That was it.

Went to bed at the normal time. Tessa got me up early on Monday. I was still a little tired, but overall felt decent. Still just not loving the heat and humidity.

There’s a post on the GDR site about enjoying the week. There’s a lot going on, and I want to enjoy it.

THE GRAVEYARD OF ABANDONED PROJECTS released on Monday. I’m proud of all the Topic Workbooks, but I think this one will help a lot of people who get scattered among too many projects.

A ridiculous amount of email piled up over the weekend, so I slogged my way through that. Did the postings of the daily prompt on the site where I couldn’t schedule the posts. Wrote the thank-yous for the event. Signed up for a yoga class. Signed up for an online cooking class at Kripalu, with my beloved Chef Jeremy, and even received a scholarship to attend. Checked in with my friend about my upcoming visit, provided I test negative the morning I’m supposed to leave. Packed for the trip.

Kept track to see if I’m showing any symptoms, or if I felt bad. I mean, I was grumpy in the heat and humidity, and I was tired (hey, I’m not 20 anymore), but overall, I feel fine. My throat was a little raw for a couple of days, but steadily felt better. My voice is still a little scratchy, but I don’t talk much during the course of the day, so that’s to be expected.

Turned around a script and some questions on a previous script I’d covered. Grabbed some shorts to turn around today. I’ve been steadily working on the Italian every day. I’m definitely learning vocabulary, but I’m not understanding sentence construction.

Did some work on a grant proposal, and noodled around with my article and with an idea tossed out by Word X Word.

It was hot and humid when I went to bed, but much better upon getting up this morning. I feel like I can be much more productive today, and I kind of have to be. There are a slew of errands to run late this morning, after I get some work done on the article, the Topic Workbooks, and getting the next LEGERDEMAIN episodes uploaded.

This afternoon, I turn around the three shorts. In the late afternoon, I head out to Greylock Works for a 1Berkshires Entrepreneur meeting at Berkshire Cider. It’s inside, so yes, I’ll be masked.

Someone contacted me about a content writing position. I have to take a look at the details. On the surface, the money looks outstanding, but I need to know more about it.

Hope you had a good weekend, and let’s work toward a good week!