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. March 28, 2023: Time for the Tuesday Natter

image courtesy of Agata via pixabay.com

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Waxing Moon

Rainy and chilly

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But it was a full day’s work.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There’s a project in there.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wed. Feb. 15, 2023: Bit of a Lost Day

image courtesy of 132369 via pixabay.com

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Waning Moon

Cloudy with fluctuating temperatures

Today’s Process Muse talks about why genre matters. You can join the conversation here.

Episode 7 of Angel Hunt also drops today. I realized I did not schedule any of the Angel Hunt promotions for this week into next week, and I need to get on top of that.

The temperature fluctuations are doing a number on me. We’re getting up into the forties, even the fifties and sixties during the days this week, then diving into the twenties at night. My body is not happy. I’m trying to give it rest and stretches and whatever else it needs. Today will require a lot of chamomile tea, I think.

The computer is making funny noises, and the keyboard is glitching, so I have a feeling this baby will be headed back to the repair shop fairly soon. Told ya they hadn’t actually fixed it last time around.

Yesterday was somewhat of a lost day. I didn’t get much done on much, although I found a fun submission call for short radio plays (which I also sent to a friend), and did some background research on a couple of other residencies that interest me. I’m not sure if I should apply for one of them soon for this autumn (autumn is booking up) or wait until the next application period and try for next spring.

I worked on the article. I’m behind where I want to be on it, physically, but I like what’s actually happening with the article.

I did some work on the March newsletter. I did some admin paperwork that needed to be done on a few things. I did the social media rounds to promote Episode 59 of Legerdemain, and the latest #28Prompts. I really like yesterday’s prompt, and look forward to doing something with it, when I have a hot minute. Got the rest of the Prompts loaded and scheduled into Ko-fi, which will shave off some time.

I’m so tired of people lashing out because others like different things. Yes, people are allowed to enjoy the Super Bowl. It’s not my thing, but it’s fun to watch people get excited and see the photos of the food they prepare and the bandanas they put on their dogs. And hey, Puppy Bowl! Yes, there are plenty of people who don’t enjoy Valentine’s Day. But that doesn’t mean being nasty to those who do. Not everything is about your dissatisfaction. The ones who make the worst of the snide and cruel remarks also tend to be the ones who never do anything to make their own situations better. Well, at least I know who to block, right? No time for that crap.

I turned around two coverages, read a little in the evening, but was tired.

Slept reasonably well, although it was another working dream. Nothing bad, and the building in which I worked in the Dreamscape was a lovely old brick building, but I’d put in a full day by the time I woke up.

Charlotte woke me at 2:30, but I got back to sleep. Tessa started fussing before 5, but I refused to get up until the coffee started. She is trying to figure out which button to push on the coffeemaker to start it earlier.

Got my act together and took things to the laundromat. Got some writing done. I’ve hit a point on something I’ve been working on in longhand where I need to type up what I’ve written and then outline before I can go any further.

I also did first drafts of 3 very short radio plays, with an eye to the submission call I saw yesterday. They can only run two pages, so I will need to tweak and tighten, although the first drafts are close.  But they still need work, and that has to be done in and around everything else.

Switched the heart on the door to shamrocks, because, you know, door décor.

I didn’t plan to go to the library until Friday, but a big stack of books came in, so I’ll go today and clear the shelf.

I need to do a lot of promo today on this week’s ANGEL HUNT episodes, and do the graphics for the next set of Legerdemain episodes. And work on the article, type up the short plays, and turn around three coverages.

I better get going, huh?

Have a good one.

Wed. Feb. 8, 2023: Admin Days

image courtesy of Oliver Menyhart via pixabay.com

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Waning Moon

Snowy and sleety

Yesterday was another somewhat scattered day.

After the laundry and breakfast, I polished today’s Process Muse post and got that scheduled. I hope to work ahead a few weeks on that this weekend.

I did the social media rounds to promote yesterday’s episode of Legerdemain and 28 Prompts. Some of the Monday prompts didn’t post properly, probably due to issues with Spectrum (the internet provider). So I will repost some of those today, too. My apologies.

I managed to turn around the 5 coverages due. They all paid much less than previous coverages (but little else was available), so I’m way under for this pay period. I did get requested for a coverage, which is on my schedule for Friday, and that has a decent bonus attached. But 5 coverages (of this type) in one day burns me out, especially when the rate is so low. Transitioning to something else takes some time and planning, so I will trudge along the next bit, until that happens.

Worked on ideas for the residency proposal. I think I’m about ready to write it. It’s so helpful when they actually let you see the entire application. Too many of these “application portals” won’t let you read the entire application before starting it, or allow one to move back and forth between pages. If I can read the whole thing BEFORE I start the application, I can write the various sections up and polish them before I apply, and that’s necessary.

Found some submission calls for plays. I sent some off to a friend, because I thought they’d work for her. I’m working through the ones I’m interested in, and I think I’ve figured out which play I’m going to submit to a call I saw last week. I revised one of my short plays, and that’s ready to go. A few months ago, I caved and created an Excel tracking sheet for the plays, which contains page count (which gives me an indication of running time), number of actors, etc. That helps me position the scripts, without having to open each one and remind myself. I’m not sure if the fact I have too many plays to remember the details of all of them is a positive or a negative. I have one for radio plays, too, and I need to do one for screenplays, now that I’m stockpiling enough so that I can submit to contests.

Me. Creating Excel spreadsheets on purpose. Pigs must be flying, and hell must be freezing over.

You do what serves the work.

My mom hadn’t received the information packets for additional supplemental insurance (do NOT get me started on how much of a scam that is). The guy she spoke to on the phone last week dropped off a tote bag full of information yesterday, after she told him she hadn’t received what he sent in the mail. All the way from Springfield. That was so sweet of him, and yes, he’s getting a thank you note.

We have to do that paperwork this morning, I have to do some paperwork on my own insurance (because they sent me a letter that Makes No Sense At All).

I have to sign a contract on a big project and get that in the mail (no electronic signatures allowed for it), and then, in a few weeks, I’ll actually be able to talk about it, which will be nice.

And pay bills. There is a trip to the post office on the agenda for the this morning, no matter what the weather, because some of these have to go out as certified mail.

The SD reader card I ordered arrived yesterday, so I can take the SD cards, download the photos to the computer from the last 15 years or so, sort them, and store them on the external hard drive, since I couldn’t pull anything after 2012 off the Macbook.

The big orders I put in the other day are being shipped piecemeal, with a flurry of packages arriving this week and next. Kind of fun.

The Midnight City Tarot made it to the post office in Springfield, so I might actually get my hands on it in the not-too-distant future.

Soup class was fun. Jeremy is such an uplifting teacher, encouraging us to experiment, and use the recipe as a jumping off point. He wants to do a class where all he does is hand us a list of ingredients, and then we tell him how to create the soup, which sounds scary and fun.

Had some nightmares last night, which is always a warning sign, so I have to pick them apart, figure them out, and heed the warnings.

This morning, I have to put in new printer ink, do a lot of paperwork, and scan some research material that I have to return to the library. I have to do the social media rounds for Process Muse, the new episode of Angel Hunt that drops today, and 28 Prompts. I hope to do some more flash fiction pieces later this week. I have two scripts in today’s queue.

Have a good Wednesday, my friends!

Thurs. Feb. 2, 2023: Blessed (Cold) Imbolc

image courtesy of NoName_13 via pixabay.com

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Waxing Moon

Bitterly cold

Imbolc

Hop over to Gratitude and Growth for more on the garden.

Yesterday was kind of all over the place. I had a bunch of admin work to do in the morning. Then I did the social media rounds to promote Angel Hunt, Ink-Dipped Advice, The Process Muse posts, and the day’s #28Prompts.

I got an email from Barnes & Noble stating I had to update payment information for an upcoming order. Which I did. And they WOULDN’T – not couldn’t, but WOULDN’T, due to ‘security reasons’ —  connect the updated payment information to the order. I have never worked with a company where, once I updated payment information, the order wasn’t simply put through with the new payment info that’s now default on the account and that was that. I’ve done with every account I have, from the storage unit to Amazon to the webhost, because Greylock issued new debit cards last fall for no damned good reason, and no one has a problem. I put in the new information, it’s confirmed, it’s marked as “default” and then we’re good to go. They get their money; I get my order. Basic business. I argued back and forth with them for TWO HOURS, and they finally said the best they could do was to cancel the order and have me put It through again, with the new information. Which also meant additional shipping charges.

No, mofo. Your antiquated system that won’t update from my end and then you REFUSE to update it on your end is not my problem. Cancel the order and lose me as a customer.

I will put the order through elsewhere. It’s for books by a friend of mine, and I just told her I’d pre-ordered them ages ago (which I had). So I want the damn books.

But I won’t be ordering anything from B&N anytime soon (if ever). I’d used them as an alternative to Amazon (along with Bookshop.org), but now it’s Bookshop, even though I don’t like the shipping fees.

And there was my morning, lost, without the writing I needed to do on Legerdemain or anything else. Because they wouldn’t tie the updated credit card information on the online account to the actual order. I’d cancel the whole account, but there’s no function to do so.

I switched over to reading some pitches and scoring sheets. And then I remembered Spoutible launched today, so I went over to get that all set up. I pre-registered MONTHS ago, and don’t like that we didn’t get any immediate link launch information. Signing up/in was a pain in the butt, because the server kept crashing (people are excited to be there). Then they want to verify my phone number. Let me be very clear – NOTHING about 2-factor verification using the phone is about security. EVERYTHING is about collecting data. I resent having everything tied to the phone. I wouldn’t even have a phone if I could get away with it. And the authentication wouldn’t go through, it kept saying it “couldn’t verify” my phone number.

I was about to tell them to bite me, too, but then it went through and everything was settled.

The server is running slowly because so many people tried to sign up all at once (rolling the launch over a few weeks like Post did would probably have made things smoother).

So many people are raving about how good it is, and how similar to Twitter it is and I’m like, meh? Probably because of the initial crush, but it’s very hard to move between screens. For instance, if I search a topic, I then have to wipe it from the search bar after I’ve dealt with it, because going back to “timeline” only gives me the search results again, instead of the overall timeline feed. I’m hoping things will smooth out, but with all the hype, especially the way they were talking in the live session yesterday, I expected more.

But I’ll give it a chance. I’ve already found some old writer pals and made some new ones.

I also think it’s ballsy that Spoutible does so much of their admin on Twitter, when their goal is to get people to leave Twitter for them.

I managed to get the prompt for the day even up on Hive, although that was another way-too-much-wasted-time event.

But I’m telling you, I was In A Mood by the end of it all. Not in the mood to do the one short coverage I had, but it wasn’t due, so I put it off. I want to give the script and the writer  full focus and solid attention, not grumpy pants attention. I’ll go back to it today. Writers put their hearts and souls into the work, and I want to make sure to give every piece I read, whether it’s coverage reading or reviews or contest entries, a fair shake.

On a happier note, answers to the interview questions started to come in, and I have to make an appointment over at MassMOCA next week or so to get some background for the article.

I’m getting very excited about the article.

I found some interesting submission calls for plays that I sent off to a friend. There’s one, at a playhouse I know, that I might also send something in for. There was another one that interested me, but the deadline is today, and I’m not sure I have the right material for it. Some residency application deadlines hit my desk – and were due yesterday or today. I wish they’d let people know about them earlier.

I did a quick revision on one short play I thought would be good for one organization and got that in. So we’ll see. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I still have time for the other.

I also signed up for the Dramatists’ Guild “End of Play” event in April. I will write one of the full-lengths I started developing in the workshop sponsored by Williamstown Theatre Festival last year.

I forgot to mention that, on Tuesday, I spent some quality time with the virtual alumni book group, talking about THE READING LIST, and it was a lot of fun. And a local theatre’s moved to a new space, inviting me to their open house at the end of the month. If the weather is okay, I think I will go.

Later in spring, I think we’ll do a day trip to Hobart, NY, which has a ton of second hand bookstores. A friend sent me an article about the place. It’s about two and a half hours away, which means it could be a reasonable day trip, when the weather is nicer.

The stores sound luscious.

I considered renting a place for a few days as a change of scenery to write, but honestly, if it’s not a residency with a private studio and meals provided, I might as well stay home and work, where I have my pots and pans and magic coffeemaker. Because if I have to do my own cooking in a different space (which, I admit, can be fun), I will be taking crates of equipment with me and spending more time in the kitchen than on my work. Especially since I’m not doing indoor dining yet.

I had the Black Screen of Death on the computer this morning, but managed to get it up and running. Told ya they hadn’t fixed it properly. How much do you want to bet it will have to go out again soon for repair?

Meditation this morning, then off to pay some bills before the weather turns too brutal. Then, I’ll spend some quality time on the page, finish off the coverage, and switch over to contest entries and the books for review. I’ll also do the social media rounds promoting today’s episode of Legerdemain, #28 Prompts, etc.

The Chewy delivery didn’t get here yesterday (which is fine, I always try to order early enough so it’s not a problem). The Midnight City Tarot is supposed to arrive tomorrow, and I’m very excited. I’m hoping to do some work later today with the Rackham Tarot on recent dreams, and I plan to set out and post a tarot spread for Imbolc.

I did some candle work last night, and today I will do the first planting.

Have a good one!

Fri. Oct. 7, 2022: Cooking, Noodling, and 100 FREE Episodes/Day

Friday, October7, 2022

Waxing Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter, Uranus Retrograde

Cloudy and mild

Yesterday, the temperatures went up into the 70s, but my productivity did not soar along with it, except in terms of cooking. I noodled with some ideas (no pun intended), but didn’t get good words on paper (just mediocre words that will have to be scrapped and/or rearranged).

I made a batch of vegetable stock, I made a batch of Moosewood’s sweet potato and corn soup (which is wonderful), I roasted a chicken and later made stock from the bones, I made mashed potatoes, and my infamous carrot and parsley dish.

I created a marketing campaign for the free Kindle Vella week (which lasts until Oct. 11). You can read up to 100 episodes free per day, which means you can read all the episodes of Legerdemain that have released to date, plus a lot of other cool stuff. The link to Legerdemain is here.

Anyway, I created the campaign, and uploaded/scheduled 3 ads per day between now and the end of the 11^th. It was mostly uploading/scheduling, because I used the general ads I’ve created, and rotated them through the slots, with the information. Plus, I had to promote the episode that dropped yesterday on the channels that don’t let me schedule ahead.

I looked through some submission calls. I have one more short play to prep for a call. I don’t have anything ready to go that would fit any of the other calls, and I don’t have the time or the energy to start yet something else and get it in shape in time for any of these calls.

I set up my project on Nano. The title for the first Retro Mystery will be THE TREES WHISPERED DEATH, which takes the title my friend Lori suggested and then adds “Death” into it to make it clear in which genre it sits. I’m going to use one of my friend Chris’s suggestions for the next book in the series, a play on cocktail titles. I put up a notification on The Enchanted Wordsmiths perch on the Nano site that we would be active in November. I’m pretty sure I mentioned it in the newsletter than just went out. It looks like there’s no ML for the Berkshires, so I guess we’re on our own. Frankly, I don’t have the time or the energy to volunteer.

I’ve spent 45 years of my life doing volunteer work across different organizations, the bulk of it unappreciated, and often, no matter how many hours I put in, there was always a demand for more. Someone else can step up, and I can step back and be careful where to place my time and energy.

I managed to get through some email, and then, it was time to switch over the script coverage. I had trouble focusing, but managed to pull it together to turn around two coverages with the attention they deserved. I couldn’t do the third script justice, so I’ve pushed it off to today, which means I have to turn four scripts around today, and then I’m done until Tuesday.

But it was nearly 10 PM by the time I was done. And I was tired.

At least Charlotte was calmer last night, and we actually got some sleep. She slept curled up against my chest. As long as there’s sleep involved, I’m fine with it.

I tried to get in for an oil change appointment this morning, but they can’t see me until Monday. Fingers crossed all goes well for the storage run this weekend.

I’m going to get some writing in now, then I have to do a run to the post office and the liquor store, then switch over to script coverage. I have a gallery opening I promised to attend at 5 tonight. When I return, I’ll have to finish up whatever script coverages are still left.

So I’ll be awake as long as it takes today.

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

And don’t forget all those FREE episodes on Kindle Vella!

Thurs. Sept. 29, 2022: Choices

image courtesy of Arek Socha via pixabay.com

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Waxing Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter, Uranus, Mercury Retrograde

Partly sunny and cool

The latest on the garden is over on Gratitude and Growth.

Yesterday morning, I set up a Substack account and subscribed to some material. I will read for a few weeks/months, to get an idea of the platform and how it can be used.

Found out about some great submission calls. Hopefully, I can fulfill them.

I’m feeling overwhelmed by opportunities and having trouble prioritizing them. It shouldn’t be difficult. The opportunity needs to meet the following criteria:

–Does it pay the bills? Because writing – yes, even fiction and plays – is my BUSINESS, not my hobby.

–Does it present an opportunity for professional growth?

–Does it challenge/stretch me creatively?

–What are the long-term benefits compared to the short-term benefits?

Chasing something because it’s new and shiny and interesting does not build a career. Finishing work and making sure it pays its way, while growing in the process, builds a career.

I drafted an episode of Legerdemain (I wanted to draft two, but that didn’t happen). I stayed current on the marketing game, posted on LinkedIn, made the social media rounds, slogged through some email. In the afternoon, I turned around three script coverages and grabbed a big coverage I will do today and tomorrow, along with a couple of smaller ones, that should get me closer to where I need to be this pay period.

I started reading the next book for review (the review is due tomorrow). Good thing I read fast.

I prepped for this morning Working Artists Group session.

Watching Hurricane Ian destroy Florida is horrifying.

DeSantis, who voted against Hurricane Sandy aid to blue states, should be forced to step down as Florida gets aid. That needs to be the tradeoff. You vote against aid? When you then ask for it for your state, you have to step aside. The aid should go to the people who need it, but the politicians cannot be allowed to remain in office when they’re hypocrites.

I had two weird dreams last night. One was very personal, and I completely understand the message, but it made me very sad. It will keep me sad as I process it. The other dream had something to do with time travel in New Orleans, and I have no idea what that was about.

Online Meditation group this morning. Then, I just have time to gulp down breakfast before I head off to the Working Group, and there’s the morning gone. This afternoon, I have a lot of coverage to do, and to finish the book for review.

It is unlikely I will draft anything for Legerdemain today, which puts more pressure on tomorrow and the weekend.

Episode 20 of Legerdemain drops today. I hope you enjoy it.

Peace, friends, and I’ll catch you on the other side.

Wed. Sept. 28, 2022: Creative Overload (In a Good Way)

image courtesy of Christian Dorn via pixabay.com

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Waxing Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter, Uranus, Mercury Retrograde

Cloudy and humid

The last week of Mercury Retrograde is always crushing, but with all these other retrogrades piled on, it’s rough going.

I did admin and marketing in the morning, and did not get another episode of Legerdemain written, and that threw my day out of synch.

I left early for the meeting at the television station, in case I got lost. Of course I did, but I eventually found it. They are a very small staff, but very nice. The studio is far better equipped than I expected – even with green screen capabilities, and there’s a lot of flexibility within the space. The radio component is smaller, but also quite good.

It gave me fuel for several different projects. They need to percolate, and then I can write up proposals if any of them are viable. I also have to look into sources of funding, especially for the radio plays. Maybe that’s something I can hit up the cultural council for next year.

I made notes on Ink-Dipped Advice posts into the beginning of December. Now, to sit down and actually write them!

I meant to sit down and do the script coverage. Really, I did. But I decided to take a look at my Play Script Tracker sheet in Excel, and update it with “The Little Woman” and “Inspired By.” That led me to looking at calls for submission, which led me back to some of the earlier plays which are actually ready to go out, and I wound up submitting 5 plays. Which took much longer than it should have, mostly because I realized how few plays have synopses ready to go. I broke one of my own Submission Systems rules, and I paid for it.

Another thing to go on the list: Make sure every play has a blurb AND a synopsis. The blurbs are already up on the Pages on Stages site, but I need the synopsis ready for when it’s called.

A friend contacted me about a collaboration over the winter, which sounds like a ton of fun. I was in touch with another friend, who has both a new novel and a new screenplay he’d love some feedback on, so we’ll get that set up.

By that time, The Authors Guild Seminar on serials started. I did not realize that an author whose work both my mom and I have read extensively was the pseudonym for the chair of English at a major university (and a Board member). So, that was fun. There were two Vella authors, one Substack fiction author, and heads of Vella and Substack. 

I knew most of the information about structuring a serial, etc. I mean, I’ve written serials for decades, off and on. I was interested that Vella has more flexibility with driving readers to other sites (it says, in the guidelines, one can’t). Yet the authors are listing their websites and Facebook groups and other work in their author notes.

So I will start doing that, too. If they send it back for removal, so be it, but at least I’ll try.

The information on gaining traction was too vague for my taste. Great, success stories about tens of thousands of hits and people making the serial their day job. But what are the nuts and bolts of gaining traction? Especially if the price of Amazon ads is out of reach? That was not answered to my satisfaction.

Substack’s pitch interested me. I had not looked at it in terms of fiction. The pitch was very strong, and the author chosen to speak was a ton of fun, and I am definitely signing up for her material. I think I will poke around the site and sign up for a few things and see what it’s about. I might put EARTH BRIDE and REP serials up there, and have LEGERDEMAIN and ANGEL HUNT on Vella and do a comparison study.

The Substack people also offered more nuts-and-bolts information on growing audience, which was helpful.

Also, Substack is international. A strong portion of my readership is international, and therefore shut out of all things Vella. Having work on Substack  would give them entry.

After all that, it was time to make dinner. I did colcannon tricked out with leek, pancetta, and lots of shredded cheese on top. It was wonderful.

I should have done script coverage after, but by then, it was 9 PM, and I was too damn tired.

So today will be a long day. I have to do follow-up on yesterday, work on LEGERDEMAIN, and catch up on script coverage. There’s more I should do – maybe I’ll sneak in a post or two of Ink-Dipped – but LEGERDEMAIN and script coverage need to be the main focus.

The television/radio stuff can percolate for a few days, before I actually write up those proposals and contact those I want involved, but I will send the thank you out today.

I’m worried about my friends and colleagues in Florida, in the path of Hurricane Ian. Let’s hope the storm decreases in intensity and/or veers into the sea.

Have a good one, friends.

Wed. Feb. 2, 2022: Creativity and Imbolc

image courtesy of James DeMers via pixabay.com

Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Waxing Moon

Mercury Retrograde

Imbolc

Cloudy and a little warmer

Yesterday, it stayed around 10 degrees, so I put off my library run until today, when it’s supposed to be in the 40s, and the snow becomes slush.

I slogged through a ton of emails. There were too many stupid arguments happening on social media, and I decided not to participate. I even muted a few “conversations” which I rarely do. I’m either all in or all out, once I follow someone. But this “discussion” tagging 30+ people stuff is too much. And it wasn’t a discussion. It was moderately bright people insisting that their way was the only way. Which is not only wrong, but boring.

A call for submissions landed on my desk, and I actually have a story of which I’m fond, that I am trying to place, so I wrote the cover letter and sent it off. I’m trying to get back up to “13 In Play” where there are at least 13 pieces out for submission at any given time. I only have 6 out right now, according to my log, but I’m working up to it.

Another call for submission landed on my desk, for radio plays. I think they want something darker than I usually do. I dusted off a trio of 10-minute scripts I’d written, based on old, scary campfire stories, and wove them together. I’m going to work a little more on transitions this morning, and then send it off.

I also started working on something gothic-noir-paranormal that also might be more in the realm of what they’re looking for. I hope to get that out today, too. I’ll pitch my other radio plays, in case they’re interested in a range; if they like the writing, maybe I can be a regular contributor. The pay is decent.

But that ate most of my day. It was around 3 PM by the time I started working on script coverages, and, with a couple of breaks to deal with dinner and celebrating Chinese New Year, and Knowledge Unicorns, I worked until 10 at night.

Knowledge Unicorns was fun. In addition to their regular homework assignments, we talked about the Republicans banning books (because only stupid people vote for them, so they want to keep people stupid, as one of the kids put it), and Chinese astrology and New Year traditions and foods. It was fun. I’d made vegetable lo Mein for dinner from scratch, using the long noodles for long life.

I started reading Cynthia Kuhn’s THE ART OF DISAPPEARING, but I was too tired to get very far.

Tessa and Charlotte woke me up at 4. I moved to the sofa and dozed off again, with weird dreams. I wonder if the dreams are triggered by the television the downstairs neighbors have on twenty-four hours a day? It’s not on at a high volume, but I’m hyper-sensitive to sound, so I’m aware of it. I can’t hear it at all in my bedroom, but I can feel the hum when I’m in living room, and hear faint rises and falls in cadences.

Tessa and Charlotte were rummaging around this morning, and then Willa came with a soft paw and a serious face communicating, “Will you please get up? I’m Very Hungry.”

I told her since she asked nicely, I would. It was nearly 6:30 by then.

If they wouldn’t wake me at 4, I’d get up around 5 and they’d get their breakfast on time.

But they are cats, and live in the moment of what they want right now.

Back to the page for now, working on the radio plays. I have to do a library run later this morning (the books are piling up there – I’m getting my own hold shelf, like I had on Cape). I have to mail a few things at the post office, such as the fraud complaint against TracFone. I might put in the seed order at Kitchen Garden Seeds for the rest of the ones I want to order.

This afternoon, I have to enter scores on the contest entries I’ve read lately, work on the book for review, and read two scripts.

I’ll do my Imbolc ceremonial planting later today, and then do the ritual tonight. Bridget, the goddess closely associated with Imbolc, encourages creativity, so I’m going to ride that energy as much as possible.

The groundhog in PA says six more weeks of winter; the groundhog on Staten Island disagrees. Yesterday, I came across a story of the Cailleach winter goddess; if it’s sunny and bright, she is out gathering wood and there will be six more weeks of winter; if it’s cloudy or bad weather, she sleeps in, but then she runs out of wood and spring comes early. It’s cloudy here, and looks like it will rain any minute, so let’s hope we have an early spring.

I’m so happy the chiming clock has started up again. It’s much quieter than it was last summer, but I love the tone, and it’s comforting to have it with me throughout the day.

Peace, friends.

Wed. Jan. 12, 2022: Writing In My Head

image courtesy of Chriszwettler via pixabay.com

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Waxing Moon

Uranus & Venus Retrograde

Sunny and cold

Yesterday was another day that was kind of all over the place. But I got some good stuff done.

Plowed through a bunch of emails, got out an LOI. There were some interesting submission calls in my inbox. One, I really wanted to do, but I don’t have anything suitable. It’s for a one-act play, 30-40 minutes, 4 characters. All my plays of the correct length have more characters; the ones with four or fewer are too short. I started to adapt a short story into a stage play, but that’s going to be too short, too. I don’t have time to write a new play from scratch, and have it in anywhere near decent shape by deadline.

There’s another call for a short story that got my wheels turning. It only needs to be about 1500 words, so if I can actually sit down and do a rough draft today, and it’s strong enough, I could revise it and have it in by deadline. I started writing it in my head. If it goes on the page as well as it’s unfolding in my brain, I’ve got a shot.

We’ll see.

Wrote a little bit on The Big Project. Not as much as I wanted to, but it was a comic scene that had to be properly structured. The joke lands, so I think it will be okay.

Worked on script coverage and on contest entries.

Charlotte sat down on my keyboard, causing all kinds of chaos, but now the “Editor” function is back in Word. Go figure.

Thank goodness there are plenty of leftovers.

Put in the Chewy order for cat litter. Packed away the boxes of holiday decorations. One box was dripping. I opened it—it contained large, outdoor balls I hadn’t used this year. They were full of water. A small hole in the top, where the hanging loop was put in, meant that, being outside, they could accumulate water inside.

I drained them and have left them on the counter to thoroughly dry. Don’t want them getting moldy inside.

That was weird. Just weird.

Knowledge Unicorns was good. Because everyone’s still remote, the kids don’t have to spend most of their day worrying about active shooters and whether the person next to them will expose them to a deadly virus, they can actually learn. Let’s face it, none of this insistence about forcing in-person learning is actually for the well-being of the kids. It’s all about making sure their parents go back out to Die for Their Employers. It’s disgusting.

I woke up on my own around 5:30 this morning, no feline choir. I’m writing this morning. Then, late morning, I will bundle up, load up as many library books as I can carry, and do a drop off/pick up.

Script coverage, book reviews, and contest entries this afternoon.

Onward.