Tues. April 4, 2023: Ups, Downs, and “Plot Bunnies” Re-Release

image courtesy of Connor Johnson via pixabay.com

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Waxing Moon

Rainy and chilly

Lots to catch up on, so curl up with a beverage and we’ll get to it.

Friday morning was all about getting ready for the grant reception. I did a home test – I felt fine, but I wanted to be sure. All good. Made an executive decision to use a more forgiving shapewear, because the really good one didn’t let me sit down, and that would not work for me. I know we were in an art museum and all, but being a living sculpture is not my jam.

I forgot to mention in Friday morning’s post how happy I am that the Narcissistic Sociopath has finally been indicted. About damn time. Having served on a Grand Jury, I have some idea of how the evidence was presented, and what kinds of conversations the jury might have had, and the instructions. Personally, I won’t be satisfied until he’s up on accounts of treason and sedition, but at least SOMEBODY is trying to do SOMETHING about all that public criming in real time.

As far as school shootings, nothing will get better until the NRA loses their nonprofit status, is declared a terrorist organization, and any politician bought by them removed from office. Any politician wearing an NRA pin should be banned from office for life. At minimum.

Anyway, back to the goings on.

The grant reception was amazing. I met so many people (and I have so much follow up to do). The new executive director, Michael Bobbitt, for the Council is a theatre person, filled with exuberance and passion to support working artists. He believes in us collectively, and also takes the time to meet and know us as individuals. I was surprised that the state level senators and reps were there, not just talking passionately about how deeply they believe in us. Instead of the usual appearance, where they nod, smile, say a few words and are whisked off to the next event, they were there early, they stayed through all the speeches and performances, and they stayed after to talk to the individual recipients. Since the auditorium was packed with several hundred of us (yes, I stayed masked the whole time), that was both unusual and appreciated. Several Council board members were there, and again, the passion and belief in us is astounding.

Because there were so many of us in attendance, I didn’t have to worry about being put on the spot for anything (a nice change). There was a planned, scheduled performance by one of the artists, poet Lyrical Faith, which was terrific. And organized, and took the pressure off of us. The whole event was beautifully organized.

The director of the museum was even there to kick this off, welcome us, and encourage us to stay and enjoy the museum.

I also met Emily Ruddock, of Mass Creative, who I’ve known and worked with for the past couple of years via email, and it was such fun to finally meet in person. Her husband is a theatrical lighting designer. And Brian Boyles, the head of Mass Humanities, and I also had an excellent conversation.

The auditorium is in the same building as the library, so now I know where I’ll go for my research project on the Bibiena family of stage designers (this family and the Canalettos were the big opera designers in Italy, and the painter Canaletto started painting scenery for his father).

The ceremony was filled with passion and emotion and enthusiasm and belief. Even better, the state’s Committee on Tourism and Culture is co-chaired by Berkshire politicians – both of whom were at the event.

It was a wonderful event, but also a little overwhelming, especially after being in various stages of pandemic isolation for three years. Like I said, I need to be re-socialized slowly, like a feral cat.

Thank goodness I’d made business cards.

As I said, I have a LOT of follow-up to do this week.

After the reception (which, of course, ran late, but no one cared because we were having fun, and after, because all the people who were on the podium were actually interested in staying and talking one-on-one), I got my little museum admission sticker and wandered the museum.

I’d decided to dovetail being at the Clark with Essay Camp’s Day 5 assignments, and the start of the big nonfiction project. I spent a big chunk of time with Renoir’s “A Box At The Theatre (at a Concert).” Of course I was drawn to a theatre painting. I also spent some time with some Sargent paintings in Venice. “A Venetian Interior” has this hint of light through a door at the back that just fascinated me.

My feet hurt by then. Even though I’d worn flat boots, because I knew I wasn’t up for heels, I’m not used to wearing shoes for more than quick errands, and my feet damn hurt.

Limped back to the car and headed for Chapter Two Books on Spring Street in Williamstown. What a great bookstore! And the people running it are so nice. I wound up buying eight books, a mix of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc.

Wanted to stop at another store on the way, but couldn’t figure out where I was allowed to park, so skipped it and went to Wild Oats to pick up a few things.

Headed home, limped up the stairs, took off the boots, and stripped off the clothes (especially the shapewear). Phew!

It was after 3 by the time I got home (and I’d left the house at 10 AM), so it was a long day. A good one, but long.

At 7 was the Dramatists Guild End of Play virtual kickoff, which was a lot of fun. In addition to the great DG staff members, playwrights Dominic D’Andrea, Kevin Free, Caridad Svich, Deborah Zoe Laufer, Bernardo Cubria, Christine Toy Johnson, Jacqueline E. Lawton, Migdalia Cruz, and Eric Pfeffinger were there to offer prompts and conversation.

Several of the prompts were relevant to my play; others started seeds of new plays.

It was a lot of fun, but I was thoroughly wiped out by the end of it. I read one of the books I bought at Chapter Two, a book called AIRMAIL, which is a collection of letters between Pam Houston and Amy Irving early in the pandemic, until I staggered off to bed.

Slept pretty well, although I woke up at 2:30 fretting, and managed to get back to sleep eventually. Then Charlotte woke me around 4, and I told her I wasn’t getting up until the coffee started.

After breakfast, I sat down to start FALL FOREVER for End of Play, and wrote eight pages, the whole first scene. My outline is much looser than usual, and I’m trusting the characters. Even though I know there will be a lot of revision involved, I like what’s happening for this draft.

Took a break, and switched over to draft Legerdemain. Had trouble getting into the headspace.

Had to dash out for a few errands in the rain, got those done, came back. Settled in to work on contest entries, which I did for the rest of the day and into the evening. I’m almost done with two out of three genres, and should have both finished this week, which means I can then concentrate on the final genre (I’ve done a little over a third of the entries in that one). I need to catch up on entering the scores online, or it will be too much to do all at once.

Actually slept well Saturday into Sunday, slept all the way through the night. What a big difference. We originally were supposed to go on a storage run, but because of the wonky weather and the fact I have only one working windshield wiper, we didn’t. Neither of us felt up to it mentally or physically.

I was at the desk fairly early, and wrote the next scene of FALL FOREVER (3 ½ pages). I’d been thinking of it since I woke up, and also figured out how to utilize the few scene shifts I have in the piece to drive the plot.

Although it was a struggle to settle into Legerdemain, I managed to do it, and draft a new episode. I also created the episode graphics for this week’s episodes.

I worked on contest entries. I’m having trouble with the Kindle. Send -to-Kindle material shows up, but doesn’t open, even when it’s downloaded.

Amazon’s been trying to force me to buy a new kindle for the past few years, so they’re just turning off more and more features, thinking that’ll make me do it.

What it’s making me is angry, and I’m more likely to invest in a tablet on which I can do more with more flexibility and just use the Kindle reader app.

We also did our taxes. They should be simpler this year, but changes in the forms meant they were more difficult. But if we made a mistake, they will let us know. I mean, I’m not MAILING them until next week, but at least they’re done. And then, of course, I also have to do/mail my quarterly taxes next weekend, but that’s not as much of a big deal.

I had a very intense yoga class in the evening. As my teacher pointed out “restorative doesn’t mean EASY.” Yup. And Saturn in Pisces means when you do deep work, there’s an additional level of intensity.

My mom was coughing a lot this weekend. It didn’t sound good. We tried over the counter cough syrup and liquid Tylenol, which works for a little while, but it’s solving the problem. We both took home Covid tests (since I was going to yoga, and I’d been to the grant reception, I planned to test anyway). Both negative. I planned to call the doctor on Monday morning and get her in.

But my mom woke me up at 4:30 on Monday, because she couldn’t stop coughing and couldn’t get the childproof cap off the cough syrup. I gave her some syrup and she went back to sleep for a couple of hours, but felt dizzy when she woke up, so I packed her into the car and drove her over to Urgent Care. They were very nice and ran a bunch of tests to eliminate things. Since her only symptoms were a racking cough and dizziness, and the COVID test was negative, the heart rate good and the lungs clear, it removed a bunch of the worst options. They decided to do a flu swab, and that came back positive. She was skeptical, since she has no fever or body aches or nausea or any of the usual symptoms, but this year’s flu is weird, so, and it was a positive result, so that’s the first line of treatment.

I loaded her back in the car. Conveniently, Urgent Care is next to Stop & Shop, so I picked up the recommended bone broth and chicken soup (and I have homemade chicken soup) and a baguette to make it all more palatable. Got her settled at home, then set back out to mail bills (yay boxes that let you toss in the mail), and pick up her prescription at CVS. While I was there, I got the additional home COVID tests her insurance covers. I dashed next door to Big Y to get lemons, crackers, and iced fruit bars, which I thought she might enjoy.

We finally got home to eat breakfast around 11 AM. And I had to cancel the appointment to get the windshield wipers replaced. Got her settled in bed. We are trying to figure out how she could have caught flu germs. The only place she’s been out of the house was, the day before my birthday, when she went to the Clark with me, and we were masked the whole time. Unless the germs came in on a library book, or on me. I’m usually the one who always goes down with the first flu germ.

I’d written my three and a half pages for End of Play very early this morning, while my mom was asleep, so at least I didn’t feel like I’d lost the whole day.

I’d run out of time to work on Legerdemain, and to get the promos up  for “Plot Bunnies” which re-releases with some upgrades (especially to technology) today. This is a fun little story, set in the town of Twinkle, Vermont, and I hope you enjoy it. I need to dig in the rest of this week on promotion, especially since, toward the end of next week, I will most likely lock my Twitter account.

I was exhausted and felt like I’d been run over by a truck, but I managed to turn around both script coverages due in between making sure my mom had hot tea with honey and lemon, bone broth, water, and her medication on time. The medication’s definitely helping (although heaven forbid either her insurance or her supplemental insurance pay for it – what’s the point of forcing us to have supplemental insurance when it doesn’t actually cover what it’s supposed to)?

She had appetite for dinner (and she can smell and taste, which was another reason to be confident in the negative COVID test). Willa wouldn’t let my mom out of her sight, following her everywhere and staying with her on the bed. She takes her job as feline nurse very seriously.

Friends of ours are coming to visit for the last weekend of April into the beginning of May. We haven’t seen them since before the pandemic started, and they’ve never visited us in the Berkshires, so it will be fun. It means I have to kick into high gear with the spring cleaning!

I finished the book for review and got confirmation that the contest entries which didn’t fit my genre were moved to the appropriate one.

Fell into bed early and slept fairly well, dreaming that one of my plays was in rehearsal. Woke up around 2 to find Charlotte had snuck onto the bed with Tessa and me. Fell asleep again until about 6.

My mom seems better today. I have to catch up on everything I didn’t get done yesterday, write my 3-4 pages on the play, get the windshield wiper replaced, write and send off the review, get all the promos up and out, and turn around two script coverages.

I’m going to cancel out of yoga tonight (much as I want/need it) because I don’t want to risk getting anyone in the studio sick.

Let’s hope this is a productive week. I have to get started on the follow-up from Friday’s events, too. Focus on one thing at a time, and it’ll all get done, right?

Fri. March 24, 2023: Of Forgotten Women and Dubious “Journalists”

image courtesy of pixabay.com

Friday, March 24, 2023

Waxing Moon

Cloudy and chilly

Meditation was good yesterday (it always is) and gave the day a cheerful start, in spite of the weather.

My Llewellyn editor got in touch yesterday morning and offered me a slot in the 2025 SPELL-A-DAY. Yay! I’m happy to be a part of any of their almanacs, but that one is my favorite. I’m in this year’s (under the Cerridwen Iris Shea byline), and they like to give different authors on their roster a chance to participate, so I didn’t think I could do it again for a few years. I’m so happy. I’ll get the contract and the assigned dates in a month or so. And I don’t have to worry about saying anything before signing the contract, because they’re good about this stuff. I mean, I’ve been writing for them since 1994!

That means I’ll get started writing/working on material toward the end of April/beginning of May, just as I’m finishing up Dramatists’ Guild End of Play and finalizing the contest entries/winners. So that dovetails well.

I drafted an episode of Legerdemain. I did a revision on “Plot Bunnies” which included updating technology, along with general tightening up and making it read better. I created the Series Bible for the Twinkle Tavern stories and entered in the information from this tale. It’s a novelette, just over 7K. I found the opening of “Labor Intensive” – the second TT story — I’d written a few years back, and can tweak that. I have to decide which other teasers to put in. Definitely something from “Just Jump in and Fly” and probably something from SAVASANA AT SEA, since they are both under the Ava Dunne name. I might put in blurbs for Legerdemain and Angel Hunt.

Wrote and submitted my book review; got my next two books for review. Did the social media rounds to promote yesterday’s episode of Legerdemain.

The last expected box of office supplies arrived, and also the kitty litter. Nothing like hauling 45 pounds of cat litter up the stairs to make one feel old.

There was a 4000-word hit piece on author Brad Sanderson in WIRED magazine that made the rounds. It said more about the so-called “journalist” than it did about its subject, and was nothing more than a badly-written, bitter word salad. The guy spent five months visiting the author, talking with him, meeting his friends and family, attending conferences – and all he could say was the guy is boring, makes a lot of money and he’s Mormon? First of all, it’s not the interview subject’s job to entertain the journalist (although many subjects, especially performers, feel that need). It’s the journalist’s job to come up with interesting, engaging questions to make the subject think, and then take whatever comes out of it and use the writing craft to MAKE it interesting. The “journalist” came in already disliking Sanderson’s work (so why accept the assignment?), resenting the money the VERY POLIFIC AND DEDICATED writer EARNS (nothing is handed to Sanderson, he puts butt in chair and does the work), hating the guy’s religion, and says the guy and his fans are “boring.”

First of all, in my years of doing this (and I’ve probably been interviewing subjects since before Bitter Boo was born), almost everyone has something interesting about them if you just give them a chance. That’s why interviewing is so much fun. You find the key and unlock what they’re passionate about. And then you get out of the way and let them shine.

In addition to just being a mean piece, it meandered, it whined for 4000 words (4000 repetitive, whiny, BORING words that were about the author instead of the subject, not a feature piece), and it was simply badly written, which is one of the most unforgiveable things about it (along with many of the other unforgiveable things about it). Any self-respecting editor would have killed the piece, or reassigned it, or demanded massive rewrites. And the editor should have handed Bitter Boo a stack of NEW YORKER magazines so he could see how a good profile is put together.

That’s the best you can do after FIVE MONTHS with your subject? Says a lot about the lack of skills and craft on the part of Bitter Boo.

It also dunks on the SFF fan community, which is ridiculous and uncalled for. Stop ridiculing people for finding joy in their lives, because they like something you don’t.

Now, I’ve been doing the conference circuit for more years than I like to admit, at least I was, pre-plague. There’s plenty of inappropriate and/or predatory behavior, no matter what the genre. There’s also a lot of kindness, laughter, and people finding joy. You learn to set boundaries, you learn to mash down those who won’t respect your boundaries, and you gravitate toward the joy.

Sanderson posted a gracious, kind, and classy response over on Reddit. I’m not a Reddit user, but writer Garth Powell was kind enough to post the link for us to follow. Sanderson defended Bitter Boo, calling him a “colleague” and “sincere.” I disagree with that – the only thing Bitter Boo was sincere about was his jealousy. Sanderson was as bewildered as many of the readers of the article as why loving one’s work and one’s friends and family is boring. Bitter Boo probably wanted dysfunctional family drama, with screaming and thrown drinks; in other words, the way Bitter Boo would behave if he had money. It was a very smart move on Sanderson’s part, because it made Bitter Boo look even worse by using kindness as a weapon. AND it was well-written, which showed the lack of skill in Bitter Boo’s writing in even sharper contrast.

There’s a reason Sanderson makes a fuckton of money. He’s smart, as well as prolific.

Good for him.

By the time I finished reading the response, I was laughing my ass off, because he was so darn clever about it.

With all of that going on, I only got about half a coverage done yesterday, which means I have a script and a half’s worth of coverage to turn around today.

I continued reading the biography of Katharine Cornell, and got so frustrated. Why weren’t we given information on Jessie Bonstelle, Rachel Crothers, Clemence Dane, et al, as part of our history? When we work shows, the history of what the theatre held before us is part of our story, and we become part of the theatre’s story. So why didn’t I know about these women?

Well, I know now, and will make up for lost time.

When I started reading Susanna Centlivre’s plays (as one of the most popular and produced 18^th Century playwrights) in order to write “By Her Pointed Quill” I was delighted with her skill and humor and angry that I hadn’t come across her before.

Too much of mediore white men’s work is passed down and celebrated through history, while more talented women and POC are pushed to the side. I’m sick of it. Imagine how much richer our arts and humanities would be if that wasn’t the case? I have no problem with good work living on, and even lesser work remembered and enjoyed. But I do have a problem with work being shoved aside and buried under the mediocre because it wasn’t created by a white dude.

I’m going to work on Legerdemain this morning, and then give “Plot Bunnies” a final polish. I’ll upload, then give it a proof in the correct format probably tomorrow, before scheduling it. I’ll add “Labor Intensive” to May’s writing schedule, so I can draft it in May/June, let it sit in June/July, then revise, upload, and schedule in August. While percolating the third story, which will be built around President’s Day and need to release next February and be written this autumn.

I also have to do a library run. Nothing to drop off, but plenty to pick up. Grocery run, too, and then it’s back to script coverage.

Episode 18 of Angel Hunt drops today. I hope you enjoy it.

I have a busy weekend of serial work, “Plot Bunnies” polish, and, sadly, taxes. Urgh.

Have a good one!

Fri. March 17, 2023: Shamrocks for Luck, not Liquor

image courtesy of Jill Wellington via pixabay.com

Friday, March 17, 2023

Waning Moon

Cloudy and milder

St. Patrick’s Day (eye roll)

It was sunny, off and on, yesterday, so at least that made the errand-running pleasanter. But good golly, did people want to TALK! You’d think we’d been trapped inside for months instead of a couple of days. It was pretty funny. And I’m not in that big a rush that I can’t stop and chat here and there. Even though yesterday, it wasn’t just here and there, it was everywhere.

Did some of the social media rounds before errands, and then did the rounds to promote Legerdemain after I came back. People like to start the day reading the blogs, article links do better late morning, and the fiction links do best in the afternoon or evening.

One of these days, there will be a scheduling tool that actually lets us schedule posts across more than FB/Twitter/Insta and then it will save me hours. Some of that time I can spend on sites you know, actually interacting more.

Polished and uploaded next week’s Process Muse post.

The library weeded out reference books about children’s art illustrators. I gathered up the three volumes they let go, covering 1744-1966. I have a feeling they will come in handy for various projects. Even though I don’t yet know which ones.

Bought more at the grocery store than I planned (gosh, I bet you’re shocked, SHOCKED), along with buying coffee AND restocking the “emergency coffee.”

What, pray tell, is emergency coffee?

Since I often buy small-batch, locally-roasted whole bean coffee and grind it for the Magic Coffeemaker, that’s become “regular coffee.” But if the power is out, or, for some reason, I can’t get to the store, I keep “emergency coffee” on hand. That is ground rather than whole bean, and usually one of the brand name espresso strength coffees. I use it when I make Vietnamese coffee. And, when the power is out, I can heat up water on the gas stove and use it in either the French press or the Melitta pot.

I am not a big fan of St. Patrick’s Day for oh, so many reasons. Back in my NYC days, I’d started taking it as a personal day and staying in, because people come in from all over to celebrate and are drunk and sexually harassing anyone in their path and  puking in the streets by 8 AM. Cape Cod has some pretty intense celebrations, so I always made sure, if I was doing site work, that I was home by mid-afternoon, and then stayed put.

Last year was the first time we were here in the mountains for it, and it seemed pretty low key. Even the bar down the street (which has since closed), wasn’t too rowdy. I expected the college students to be out of control, but, for the most part, they weren’t too bad, even at the frat house down the block.

We’ll see how it goes this year, since so many people think the pandemic is over.

Charlotte is trying to learn how to play. She came to us not really understanding toys, except for the catnip banana and a few catnip sticks. Which is weird, because she came with a whole box of toys. Most of the time, she just watches Willa and Tessa play from a safe distance. If one tries to engage her, she backs away slowly.

But Wednesday night, she picked out a couple of toys and tried to play with them. It was a bit awkward, but I kept encouraging her, and she kept trying, until she realized that Willa and Tessa stopped what they were doing to watch her. But it’s progress. Let her get comfortable in her own time.

Willa loves mice and stick toys, and sometimes the balls with the bells in them. Tessa loves mice, pom poms, and stick toys. Considering Tessa is the Grande Dame of the household at age 12, it’s amazing how much she likes to play. And whenever she wants play time, she gets it.

I have three scripts in Monday’s queue, so that’s a good thing.

I did the social media rounds for yesterday’s episode of Legerdemain. I edited, polished, and uploaded two more episodes, wrote their loglines and made their episode graphics. Today I will schedule the promos, along with next week’s episodes of Angel Hunt.

Updated the tracking sheets. Tried  to set up character cards for Legerdemain in Scrivener, since there’s a lot to track. While I have the character sketch thing down, the only way I can work plot arcs is via “Untitled Document” or some such shit. Even creating a template, there’s no place to put the damn thing. Unless I completely work from a blank binder, but then I can’t mix and match the character, location, and plot arc cards.

Just fucking let me choose/create  my categories and create new index cards. I hate it when software micromanages me. I looked up a few sets of instructions to “create new index card” and the way it’s shown and what’s coming up on my screen are, of course, different. I’ll play with that. It’s not that big a deal.

Or, I’ll go back to my old-school tracking sheets, which, you know, actually work the way I need them to because that’s how I created them.

A book on AMERICAN WOMEN STAGE DIRECTORS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY arrived (fast, I only ordered it a few days ago). I bought it for the chapter on Jessie Bonstelle, but flipping through it, there’s information on a lot of the women with whom I’ve worked in theatre throughout the years. I’m very excited to sit down and enjoy the book.

I heard from a theatre to which I’d submitted a play about a month ago, acknowledging receipt. I heard from another company, to whom I’d submitted formatting questions for the one-minute radio plays and never heard back. They answered, I thanked them and said I’d watch for the next open call (since I missed this submission call because I hadn’t heard back). They responded and said they felt bad that they hadn’t responded in time for me to make the deadline, and I could go ahead and submit this week; even though they got a lot of submissions, they’re interested in looking at mine.

Which means my focus changes this morning to getting those micro-plays polished and out the door today.

Their call for 10 minute plays opens in two weeks, and I have something to submit to that, too.

I need to look at the science fiction horror western that used to be called “Severance” and find a new title, get a new cover, and re-upload it as a Delectable Digital Delight in the coming weeks/months. It was ahead of the fashion when it first came out, Of course, researching the titles that make the most sense, there are pieces out there with those titles. Even though one can’t copyright a title, I’m trying to come up with something different (and why I’m changing the title it released under before, because of the TV show of the same name).

Put in an order for office supplies, and ordered a double tarot deck I absolutely do not need but wanted (and will make use of, in writing and articles).

By accident, I found an article I wrote a few years back, and I need to add it to my portfolio. Clip file, and up on the site.

Soup class (which had been postponed from Monday) was a lot of fun. Someone’s cat was being very vocal, and then my three had a few choice opinions, and then someone’s dog added to the mix, so it was a very pet-friendly class.

Finished reading the material for the coverage and will write it up today. I did not sleep well last night; the time change is still messing me up, big time. I have to put in an order at a nearby store for curbside pickup today, and hopefully, I can finally schedule my haircut for next week. I want to get it cut before the grant reception, and there’s about 14 inches of hair to hack off.

I will polish and send off the short radio plays, and then get back to Legerdemain. This weekend will be a lot of work on Legerdemain, and also the polish/re-upload of “Plot Bunnies.” I want that to release the first week of April, which isn’t all that far away. And by re-releasing “Plot Bunnies” it means I’m committing to writing “Labor Intensive” and having that ready by the end of summer. So I need to get back into that world, set up the series bible, tracking sheets, etc. (not in Scrivener, but in my own system).

And, you know, get going on spring cleaning that I didn’t do because of the storm, and maybe, just maybe, starting to work on taxes, although I’ll probably push that off to next weekend.

Last year’s taxes shouldn’t be too complicated (famous last words). This year’s will be more so, with the grant and the residency and some other stuff, so I will utilize the help that’s offered in this region for working artists. I’m diligently tracking everything used for the grant down to the smallest detail as it happens, instead of just dropping it into a file and compiling it next winter, so that will help, too.

There’s an artist meetup next Tuesday, but it’s indoors, and I’m not comfortable with the (lack of) COVID protocols in place, so I’ll skip it. Thursday is a tossup between a theatre open house and MASSMoCA’s open studios. A lot will depend, again, on the weather.

Monday is the Equinox. It will BE spring, even if it doesn’t yet feel like it. Hopefully, I can do some planting this weekend, too. Sunday’s the next planting day.

Enjoy today’s episode of Angel Hunt!

Have a great weekend, and I’ll catch you on the other side of it!

Tues. April 19, 2022: Stormy Weather

image courtesy of Andrei Kuleshov via pixabay.com

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Waning Moon

Rainy and cool

My brain wanted to take Friday off, although I had a good early morning writing session out on the front porch. But I slogged through a bunch of emails. There are some places to which I want to send an LOI, but it would have been stupid to send it on the Friday of a holiday weekend, so those go out today. I also have to find a way to get in touch with this mysterious garage who supposedly can fix my car but has no website in the 21^st century. And mail my state quarterly taxes.

I did write, polish, and send off my book review before deadline. The only book they had to review was one I’m not qualified to review (it’s on early childhood education), so another thing on today’s list is to get back in touch and see what else has come in.

It was lovely and sunny, although cooler.

I turned around a script coverage, and decided to start my weekend.

Saturday, I rested and read a lot. I needed the time off. It was raining pretty hard most of the day, and I was glad not to have to go out. I’d hoped to walk down to the coffee shop opposite MassMOCA and give it a try, but that’s put off until it can actually be a pleasant walk.

I set up the ironing board and the craft paper and spent a couple of hours lifting wax out of various tablecloths and altar cloths. It takes a good bit of paper, and one has to work fast, so it doesn’t absorb through the paper and onto the iron. But I got it done, and then slowly started handwashing the fabrics. Some of the dyes from the candles will need to be taken out with the bleach pen, but most of it came out well.

Only people who haven’t worked in film and television think it has nothing to do with actual life skills.

Noodled some ideas in my head for various projects and let them percolate. Percolation time in necessary.

By Saturday afternoon, we brought in all the plants, because the temperature dropped hard and fast. Vacuumed, washed floors, changed beds, the usual Saturday housework.

Baked biscuits early Sunday morning. The weather kept cycled through accumulating snow to sun to rain to accumulating snow all day. I was glad to stay in.

Although we no longer celebrate Easter, my mom wanted baked ham for mid-day dinner, so that’s what I made. I thought it was too sweet (even though I hadn’t put anything on it). That’s the second disappointing ham we’ve had (Christmas ham was okay, but not brilliant), so I think/hope we’re done with it for a while. We have enough for some leftovers, and I’ll make a ham pot pie in a couple of days. I made soup with the bone, adding in garbanzo beans, onion, garlic, and spinach, so we’ll have that for a couple of lunches this week. I’d made chocolate mousse for dessert, so at least we had that.

Read a couple of Ngaio Marsh books, and an art mystery by Iain Pears set in Venice.

Unpacked a couple of boxes of decorations that had been in my office in the other house. Most of them have various new homes; some of them will be repacked into the box of decorations that we aren’t using right now. The “New Orleans Aunties” set of dolls I brought back from the Crescent City years ago now have their own shelf on the front porch, with their beads and the little chest of Crown Royal.

But mostly, I rested. I still feel the aftereffects of Shot 4.

Yesterday was a holiday here in the state, and I was damn well going to take it! It was sunny and cold.

I took some bills, including the federal quarterly taxes, and headed for the post office to mail them and buy stamps. Then, I headed over toward Mass MOCA, to try out the coffee shop. Which is no longer there, and the space now holds a Mexican restaurant. So, as far as I can tell, there’s no independent coffee shop in walking distance of the house. In a college town. Which makes no sense to me at all. Cumberland Farms and Burger King don’t cut it.

I’m not someone who goes out and buys a cup of coffee every day (I make excellent coffee at home), but sometimes, when I’m out and about, I like the option.

Makes me think I should bring up the espresso machine on the next trip to storage.

Picked up a few bits and bobs on the way home – some plant stakes, some hair elastics, some highlighters for the upcoming multi-colored draft of CAST IRON MURDER. That type of thing.

It was warm enough to move the plants back out to the porch. I worked on contest entries out there, too. I also started oiling the porch furniture with the teak oil. I don’t have the room to spread everything out and do it all at once, so I’m doing one piece, letting it dry, then moving on. I got one of the Adirondack chairs done. I’m also cleaning and polishing the wooden sills around the windows, with another kind of oil. They are in desperate need of some TLC.

The tabletop fountain I ordered arrived, much more quickly than I expected. It’s simple, but nice. I set it up, put in the batteries, put in the water. It’s a little noisy for the size, but looks good and works well. I put a plate of crystals in front of it. And there’s the healing/meditation altar, inspired by the Twitter pal who said a blessing for me at St. Anthony’s Well last week.

The check arrived for the radio play in Minnesota. That was quick. We only talked about it a couple of days ago.

I saw an email from the potential client with whom I had the video conference last week. I fully expected it to be a “thanks, but no thanks.” Instead, it’s a contract and an NDA. I’ll read it and see if there are any points to negotiate before I sign, but it looks like I’ll be doing some freelancing for an agency. That will expand my parameters and skills a bit, no doubt.

I’ve been giving feedback on a friend’s synopsis for a TV pilot. It’s so good. I’m so excited for her. She’s entering it in a contest.

I’d been playing with the idea of taking a short trip this summer, to dip my toe back into the traveling waters, and even looked at flights. But with the inept Trump-appointed judge striking down the mask mandate on public transportation, that’s off. It also means it’s unlikely that I take the bus down to NYC for a quick museum trip, which I’d also hoped to do. It’s just not worth the risk. I’m glad the conference at which I’m teaching stayed virtual.

The storm woke me at 4 AM. In upstate NY, they were told to expect up to a foot of snow. Here, they keep changing their minds as to whether it’s snow or rain over the next few days. So far, just rain. I have to dash down to the post office to mail my state quarterly taxes today, but that’s my only foray out. I’d hoped to go to the laundromat, but not in this weather.

I have a lot of admin to handle today, and turn around the contract, check in with my editor to see if there are any new books to review, pitch to my Llewellyn editor for 2024. Work on the radio plays. Work on the Big Project. Turn around two scripts. Fight with Tracfone about my mom’s phone. Try to get in touch with the mechanic who supposedly can fix my car. Work on contest entries.

I’d better get going, hadn’t I? There’s a mid-month check in over on the GDR site. And I have a Dramatists Guild virtual event tonight (which I can actually do, since Knowledge Unicorns is on Easter break).

Have a good one!

Thurs. April 7, 2022: Websites and Politicians

image courtesy of 200degrees via pixabay.com

Thursday, April 7, 2022

Waxing Moon

Rainy and chilly

Things are growing, and there’s news over on Gratitude and Growth!

Yesterday was another of those days where I felt like I didn’t get anything done when, actually, I did quite a bit.

I wrote a bio and uploaded it to the “About” page for the scriptwriting website. The tone is more of a story than typical market-speak bio, but the scriptwriting is a storytelling format, so the tone fits the site and the work.

I also updated the Fearless Ink site, based on conversations last week in the Freelance Chat group. I hadn’t realized that I needed to update my location; I thought I’d fixed all of that last July when I updated the resumes and put the address changes in everywhere. But I hadn’t.

I took off the social media packages. I no longer want to run social media accounts for clients. I’ll supply copy, but I don’t want to do the graphics, the scheduling, the uploading, and the interactions. It’s not where I want to put my energy. I also added, per the chat last week, a list of some of the things I don’t do, for which I keep getting emails, and/or which clients keep trying to sneak into their scope creep. This is why a strong contract is so important.

I need to update my contract with COVID protocols, too. Since on-site meetings are being pushed again, I’m adding in a clause that I will only attend on-site meetings if all parties are vaccinated and masked. Frankly, I don’t need to be onsite for business clients. ALL of that can be done virtually. The only clients I’d need to go onsite for are museums and performance venues, and they’re all vaccinated and following masking protocols anyway. It’s only businesses who are lax. And those are not businesses with whom I want to interact. I’m also thinking of adding a liability clause – if I get infected, the business is responsible for paying for all COVID care. Since funding for testing, etc. is being dropped, I think that’s important. And, since I won’t book onsite meetings closer than typical quarantine times, it’ll be pretty easy to trace where I got infected, should I get infected.

They can avoid all of that by simply keeping everything remote.

Speaking of reduced funding, as soon as the Republicans blocked the additional funding for vaccines and research yesteray, I was contacted to move up my 4^th shot. I’d planned to get it at the end of the month, or early in May, because when I tried to book it at the same time I booked my mom’s shot, I was told it was too soon for me. But now, they want to do it as soon as possible. There was an opening on Sunday afternoon, so that’s when I’ll get it.

It also means I don’t have the luxury of prolonged side effects. The mechanic appointment that it took me over a month to get is on Tuesday morning, and I can’t change it. So I have a day and a half to recover It’s Pfizer, so here’s hoping. My mom only had slight fatigue for about a day. My 1^st Moderna shot took me down for 4 days; the 2^nd Moderna took me down for 6; the Pfizer booster took me down for 2 or 3. Let’s hope 1-1/2 works.

And, it means I have to finish my taxes on Saturday. I’ve figured out my quarterlies, so it’s just about filling out the slip and writing the check. But I have to do last year’s mess.

I don’t write a lot about the regular interactions I have with my elected officials, although it’s several times a week. Writing about every interaction would be like listing every time I brush my teeth, because it’s that steady. Generally, I try to keep on top of whatever votes are happening on local, state, and federal levels, and weigh in. They can’t represent me if they don’t know how I feel about something. I don’t expect them to vote my way every time, but I do expect them to listen. When I have a concern about something, I express it, AND offer potential solutions. The response to that is either pointing out the flaws in the argument, or asking for more information, because it sounds interesting. When it’s the latter, I work on a detailed proposal, including how to fund it, and send it off. After back-and-forth with various aides, some of it is actually incorporated into legislation, although that can take months or years of regular contract. But that’s how I do it. There’s quite a bit about which to be concerned right now, so I do spend quite a bit of time on political activism, but not in the way a lot of other people are doing it.

It’s when people complain, but aren’t willing to do anything to change it that I lose all patience.

I didn’t get any work done on any of the plays, or The Big Project, or CAST IRON MURDER. I did turn around two script coverages. I have one more script in the queue. I need three more this week, so let’s hope something comes up. I might read Saturday, too, and take off Monday instead.

I need to get out some more LOIs, too. I hated the design for the marketing postcard, so I trashed that and will start again. I need to do some promotion for content and copywriting, along with the scriptwriting.

Turned down a script gig yesterday where the pay was mediocre and the demand was to write “at least 1500 words a day.” I can and do write more than that a day, but scripts aren’t judged by word count, but by running time. So companies that talk about scripts in terms of word count are Big Red Flags. Next!

Early this morning, the neighbor across the street was taken away in an ambulance. I hope he’s okay; he’s a good guy. Hospitals are still on COVID protocols, so his partner couldn’t go along.

Meditation group this morning, then to the page, then some time at the Buddhist summit, then script coverage and other work. I need to make sure I work ahead, so that the beginning of next week, post-shot 4 is as stress-free as possible, even with the car repair.

Have a good one!

Tues. July 7, 2020: Die For Tourist Dollars Day 50: My Neighbors are Pyros (though not professionals)

Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Waning Moon
Pluto Retrograde
Saturn Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde
Mercury Retrograde
Neptune Retrograde
Foggy and humid

The past few days have been hell, because of dumbass “neighbors” setting off illegal fireworks all the time.

They’ve gone off every night since the beginning of the month. And every weekend since the Stay at Home. It needs to stop.

When it’s someone local, with whom the cops grew up, it’s “nudge, nudge, wink, wink, you know how unreasonable people are” and they’re let off with a warning. And, as soon as the car pulls away, they set the fireworks off again. They’re not confiscated, as required by law. They’re not fined, as required by law.

When it’s tourists, the cops do nothing because, you know, tourist dollars.

On the 4th of July, it started at 4 in the afternoon and went on until 2 in the morning. People were going up and down the street, setting off fireworks in front of other people’s houses. One set of neighbors next door did a production in his little backyard.

The houses here are just too close. There’s shrapnel everywhere, they’re gong to set someone’s house on fire.

Not to mention that Tessa was so terrified I was sitting in a corner of the room, holding her while she tried to burrow under my skin. I was afraid she’d die of fright.

It wasn’t cute little sparklers. It was the big boomers. It was like being under mortar fire for 10 hours, and the cops did NOTHING.

This state has specific and strict laws about illegal fireworks. In the 10 years I’ve lived here, not ONCE have the cops ever done a damn thing. The illegal fireworks have gotten exponentially worse every year.

Instead of pounding on peaceful protestors, how about going after those who are actually breaking the law and causing harm? Just because you grew up with them isn’t an excuse. Nor is that they’re tourists. Those aren’t the tourists we want visiting.

It’s not “harmless fun.”

I also noticed that EVERY person doing this belongs to the same group who refuses to wear masks – again, something that the state mandates.

Gee, people hurting other people in the name of their own “freedoms.” What a surprise.

It was hell.

Why should I pay taxes in this community? They charge me an “excise tax” because I own a car. They’ve upped the rates to get rid of garbage and punish me for wanting to recycle. They allow people to set off explosives every week “for fun.”

Especially since some of these fireworks are set off by those in illegal, short-term rentals. It’s not like they give a damn if they set the neighborhood on fire.

The Town Manager and my district’s Town Councilor are a complete and utter waste of space, both of them, but you better believe they’re getting strongly worded letters. It won’t do anything, but it will go on record in the town archives. Maybe, at some point down the line, it will be useful to someone who will actually do something.

And the fireworks are still going on EVERY DAMN NIGHT. I’m not going through this all summer.

Sunday, I was a complete wreck. I hadn’t gotten any sleep on Saturday night. I had to clean up shrapnel on Sunday. I tried to take a nap in the afternoon, but I was so wound up I couldn’t sleep.

At least Saturday and Sunday, I got some work done on GAMBIT COLONY. I’m nearly done with Book 4 – I figure I have three more chapters or so. The chapters run long, so I’m figuring another 60-70 pages. I have a bunch of material I wrote intermittently for Book 5, which is an interlude volume (figuring that to run 100 -150 pages), and Book 6 is outlined. I’m hoping to get drafted through Book 6 by the end of the year, and then start on the serious edits, at least for 4-6. The first three books are in good shape; they’ve had countless drafts.

I re-read two more Donna Leon books and BODY ON THE BAYOU by Ellen Byron, all of which were good. I also read AMERICAN SPY by Lauren Wilkinson, which was excellent. I had no idea what to expect going in. It’s a hell of a wonderfully written novel, strong voice, very different structure than usual, but different in a way that works.

I was left both wanting to know what happened next to these characters and feeling it ended at the perfect spot. So often, I’m unhappy with how and where novels end. Too often, it feels post-modern just to try to show off “style” instead of giving the book the unique ending it needs. But this was perfect.

I also read the book I was sent for review. It’s a solid fantasy novel. Not brilliant, but an enjoyable read, and will get a good review.

We had a wonderful, vicious thunderstorm on Sunday night. I loved it, especially since it cut short the illegal fireworks. I’d hoped for a good storm; it was even better than I expected.

I wish the weather would be horrible every weekend for the rest of the summer. Tourists are flooding in, bridges are backed up the way they usually are in summer, and we’re all being put at risk, because the tourists aren’t following the state-mandated protocols, and the businesses just shrug and let them get away with it.

Because, you know, if we’re not rich enough, we “deserve” to die for tourist dollars. That’s the attitude around here.

Client work yesterday – I’m creating more ads for this client. 6 LOIs out. Work on fixing BARD’S LAMENT – I’m about to enter the bit that’s a real mess. I need to fix it so I can move on. The deadline looms.

Did the whole week’s course work on THE BOOK OF KELLS class. It was fascinating, talking about scribes and how they created the book. Gave me ideas (always dangerous).

Managed to sleep through the night last night, for once (once the fireworks stopped).

This morning, I’m going to do some work on BARD, record a podcast for THE MERRY WRITER, do some client work. I think I need to go to the grocery store – it’s been about 10, 12 days, and we’re out of some basics. So I’ll gear up and go.

I have a Zoom call with my primary care physician, which I’m dreading. We will talk about the mixed results from the surgery, and work out a plan. I do not want more tests. I want to be left alone for the next six months until the next procedure.

I have a feeling this will continue to be a difficult week.

Hope your week is better.

Thurs. April 12, 2018: Evolving Process

Thursday, April 12, 2018
Waning Moon
Mercury Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde
Cloudy and cold

Garden update on Gratitude and Growth goes up tomorrow, because I’m performing the tasks I’ll write about later today!

If you didn’t stop by Fearless Ink yesterday to read my post on “Morning-After Networking,” please do, and leave me some comment love!

This week, I pushed hard to create and hone a presentation for one of my clients. She got a great opportunity to pitch her product to some decision makers with access to a 2-million person client base next week. So we dug in and did it. I did the design AND the text, we used a mix of photos, and it can be used as PowerPoint/Keynote, a handout, or a PDF. She’s thrilled, and I’m pleased by the whole thing. I have samples for my sample book, and it’s all good. It was a lot of concentrated work, but the result was worth it.

There’s a marketing piece I worked on for another client, and he stubbornly insists on using language that makes him sound down-market in a completely different field. I’m debating whether I should even use samples of that in my portfolio.

I have one more big project for another client, and then we’re done until autumn. I have to finish up a couple of small things for another client, and then I want to cordially move on. That client uses some business practices that make me uncomfortable, even though they are technically legal.

I have a bunch of LOIs out, I’m waiting to go to contract with a company for whom I used to do a lot of work, and I have some meetings coming up.

I cannot emphasize what a big, positive difference having the redesigned websites on the new web host have made. I’m shocked and horrified by how much business the old host cost me, because they kept making sure the sites didn’t work properly. Learn from my mistakes, my friends.

I’m doing the last pass on this draft of SPIRIT REPOSITORY today, and adding in the back matter, which includes polishing the first chapter of RELICS & REQUIEM, adding a short article on the concept of “genius locii” and putting in the information for the other books. Tomorrow morning, it will go off to my editor, so we can go into galleys.

The major attention then turns to the drafts of MYTH & INTERPRETATION and RELLICS & REQUIEM, both of which have to be juggled in tandem. NOT BY THE BOOK is sneaking in there, too, and finishing up the rough outline for the serial, so I can distill it down into a pitch-worthy synopsis.

A note on evolving process: as much as I hate working on index cards to sort scenes, for this serial, I find I need to. I have plenty of background notes and other stuff as well, but I need to work the beats of each chapter/episode on cards, and then shuffle and re-shuffle. Some of that will further change as I actually write the chapters, since each chapter is in a different character’s POV. I think I need to write one more round in each POV, and I’m wondering if I should add another character’s POV. It would open up the world, but it then feels out of balance. As it is, the title has a “Three”in it, and I’m writing in four points of view. To expand it to five — not so sure it will work.

I’m eager to get some admin stuff out of the way and get back to the page.

Not so eager to finish my taxes this afternoon! This year, especially, I resent it. I do not want to give a single penny to this corrupt administration of grifters.

Onward.

 

Wed. March 9, 2016: Excellent Writing Weekend

Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Waxing Moon
Jupiter Retrograde
Sunny and mild

Busy few days! It was nice not to work on Saturday. I ran errands and did research, and, generally, gave myself a day off.

That meant Sunday morning was for research, and then back to DEATH OF A CHOLERIC. I went over the whole book, fixing things (my process is completely different with this one) and then wrote about twenty additional pages.

Monday, I wrote another chapter. Yesterday, another chapter. I’m past the 300 page mark. I figure I have, at the most, five chapters left. I can see the end. I know where I’m going, although I don’t have all the details about getting there. I’m excited! I’m at the point where I don’t really want to talk about the details, because I’m worried that it will derail the momentum.

I also woke up in the middle of the night with a solution to a logistical problem that’s bothered me in the book, that will also solve a second dilemma. It will mean quite a few tweaks in the revision, and I don’t want to put them in now, but it’s important, because that particular lapse in the story left the reader (me, at this point), with the feeling of something not adding up properly. And, in a mystery, everything has to add up — that’s the comfort of it. A thriller can get away with loose ends, or a fatalistic ending. A mystery has to give the reader comfort that justice was served.

I got the next batch of books for the contest. More mystery, more novella, more fantasy. Considering how many strong contenders were in the mystery category in the first batch, it’s exciting.

I’m finishing up the handouts for my talk on the 16th. Nowhere near as detailed as the ones I had for the script topic, but that’s what happens when you switch things out on me after I’ve done my prep. A friend told me I should have just refused to change topics, or, if they didn’t want the topic, withdrawn from the event. She’s probably right — I’ve spent too much time being a “good sport” with these people over the years, and it’s yielded absolutely nothing. It certainly hasn’t garnered book sales.

Got in a good bit of reading, too, this weekend. Reading I WANTED to do, rather than HAD to do. My favorites were TO HELVETICA AND BACK by Paige Shelton, a surprisingly good cozy, and Stephanie Barron’s latest Jane Austen mystery, JANE AND THE WATERLOO MAP. I read several mediocre books, too, but I’d rather applaud the books I enjoy than trash ones that aren’t really worth the time.

Nasty dream last night about a home invasion — this home. Not a good dream.

Long day at work today. I have a lot to get done. I finished my taxes last night, so that’s something off my plate, thank goodness.

And got another chapter written on the mystery before I left. End is in sight!

Devon

Wed. April 15, 2015: Tax Day Taxing Not Just For Taxes

Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Waning Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and beautiful

Hectic and difficult few days. Lots of good stuff going on, but it’s been rough. I’d swear more than Saturn was retrograde. I’m overworked, overtired, and my patience is non-existent.

As tempted as I am to go into detail, it would not be wise. Let’s just call it a clusterfuck and leave it at that. I do find it totally unacceptable that everyone vanished after one of the programs and my 90 year old mother was hauling chairs around so we could get out of there at a reasonable hour.

I would like to thank both TAPS and Moments in Time Vintage Dance for their wonderful, beautiful, fascinating presentations.

I was sick on Sunday, so I wasn’t very productive. Read a little bit, but couldn’t really function on any of the things I was supposed to get done.

Monday I got some yard work done and finished the last two microfilm reels for the historical play. I got some relevant information. It’s interesting how much contradictory information there is, but the incident I want to use for the play is starting to form in my head.

Tuesday, I still felt lousy, but was looking forward to most of a day off. I got my taxes done and mailed. I mailed back the microfilm. I found out that I had to cover a meeting for work – which turned out to be fine; I’m glad I went. But I couldn’t help resenting giving up yet another day off.

Came home, packed the baked goods, had a quick bite, headed back for an evening program. It was lovely. We also all worked together to set up the space for today’s large program.

Got home, baked more cupcakes and more muffins. Fell into bed. Slept badly, nearly overslept, but was up at 5:30 to bake scones and frost the cupcakes.

Was going to wash and pack extra china for today’s program, but, honestly, I don’t trust these people not to break it, and it’s not like I’d even get an apology. I’m not risking pieces that each have a personal story attached and can’t be replaced.

We’re short staffed today and it’s busy, but we’re getting by.

I’m very, very, very tired, and looking forward to getting some rest this weekend. I also have deadlines looming and need to get to work on them. But I’m practically incoherent with exhaustion, so it has to wait a few days.

Mon. April 15, 2013: Back in the Groove of the Book

Monday, April 15, 2013
Waxing Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and cold

Ugh. The day we mail our taxes. Hate it. There was an article in the Sunday paper how writing the checks for taxes should be a matter of pride. Honey, when Congress stops pandering to special interests and does the work for which I pay them, I’ll take pride in it. When Congress behaves the way they have lately, especially the GOP and Democrats too cowardly to stand up to anyone, no dice.

Don’t remember much about Friday, except I know I worked and ran errands and dealt with bills and all sorts of other things. I’m trying to wind up the paperwork from the play, but getting what I need from the people who still have stuff outstanding is like pulling teeth. And I’m still waiting on the sign-off for a press release that needs to go out TODAY. Hate that.

Saturday, I got back into the groove on the book, working on Chapter 8. Felt good. Yesterday was all about newspapers and taxes. And four loads of laundry, including show laundry. I’m trying to get stuff from the show sorted out, so I can return what needs to be returned, and properly pack and store the rest for October’s gig.

This morning, I finished Chapter 8 and wrote Chapter 9. Fifteen pages (approximately 3,750 words). The flow is going well, and that’s a huge relief. I have a lot of business and admin stuff to take care off, and to make sure I get the damn taxes mailed and date-stamped properly, but I’m glad to be back in the rhythm of the book, and into the rhythm of other articles I’m working on. Will finish up the contest entry paperwork today and get that off this week, along with some other errands. Time to make a clean sweep/fresh start on the desk, and to go after the next higher tier of client.

Happy start to a productive week, I hope!

Devon

Thurs. April 12, 2012: Flurry of Paperwork

Thursday, April 12, 2012
Waning Moon
Mars Retrograde
Saturn Retrograde
Pluto Retrograde
Cloudy and cold

Lots of computer work yesterday, working with students, admin for Saturday’s workshop, polishing lectures, getting the pages ready for ebook conversion, admin in other areas of my life, gathering papers for taxes (I was more scattered than I should be this year keeping track of receipts, and I’m paying the price). The only day I have to finish my taxes is today. Tomorrow, I’m going out and I have to do the final prep for Saturday’s seminar; Saturday I’m teaching all day. I COULD have done them on Sunday, but here Monday is a holiday (Patriot’s Day) so the post office isn’t open. MA taxes aren’t due until Tuesday, but the Federal have to go out by Saturday. That means finishing them today.

We’re in the revision process in the year long (while working on the next novel), and the One Story Many Voices first stories were due yesterday. For some reason, it’s a shorter workshop this time around –3 weeks instead of the usual four, so I’ve done some rearrangement. The afternoon sprints in company are working well for me (heck, I wrote a little over 1800 words yesterday and I even like most of them). The revisions on Book 1 make Book 2 much easier.

I need to focus on taxes and the workshop for the next few days, and then get back to novel deadlines.

This is the last chance to sign up for the Dialogue Dilemmas and Solutions Workshop (and the only time it will be offered online this year), so please do so here.

Dates will be announced for Amazing Antagonists and Setting Up Your Submission System early next week, along with those registration pages.

I’ve got to run to yoga (I need it), but then it’s a frenzy of paper all day long!

Devon

Mon. April 9, 2012: Dialogue and Tulips and Taxes

Monday, April 9, 2012
Waning Moon
Mars Retrograde
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and cool

Billy Root’s blogging over on his site about auditions and how he wound up on the film that’s the backdrop for HEX BREAKER. Check it out here, and drop a comment so I know you visited!

Things are going well for the Dialogue Dilemmas and Solutions Seminar on Saturday, April 14. At this point, it looks like it’s the only dialogue workshop I’ll be teaching all year online. So if you missed the others, or if you want some new information, make sure to sign up here.

The dates for the next Fast and Fun workshops will be finalized in the next couple of days, and then pages will go up with the registration information. Unfortunately, 1and1, yet again, won’t let me put buttons on my site via Mac, so I’m going to go to the library and use a PC every time I need to put in a button. Definitely time to move hosts, once I get the webmail they’re holding hostage away from them. I was lucky last time, because I was working somewhere where I had access to a PC. The webhost shouldn’t dictate what type of computer I can use. I can’t even put in a “tweet this” button!

My “One Story, Many Voices” class starts today, and I continue as a student in the steampunk class.

I don’t know if I remember all the way back to Friday — I know I didn’t feel well, and that I did a lot around the house in preparation for the weekend’s company — tidying, washing floors, vacuuming, rearranging, that kind of thing. The house looked great, but I still want to do more with the front yard. However, it has to be inexpensive, whatever I do.

Had a good writing sprint with the students — it’s working better, on this book, to write in company.

Saturday was fun — long-time friends from CT came by for a visit and lunch. I hadn’t seen them in years, so it was good to catch up. I actually fell asleep in the late afternoon for awhile, while doing some research for a project.

Sunday, I slept in, then spent most of the day catching up on the computer with what I hadn’t gotten done on Saturday. I like Sunday to be my day offline, but, oh, well. The work has to get done, and I wasn’t up to it on Saturday after company left. I worked with students, did some research for some proposals that will go out this week, got out some interview questions for a piece, and did some promo work. I had a weird dream about an old friend on Saturday night into Sunday, and woke up with an idea for a tweak on a piece I’m getting ready to send out.

I’m glad Mercury went direct, and I’ll be glad when Mars goes direct at the end of the week. However, Pluto goes retrograde tomorrow. THAT always brings some interesting revelations!

Lots to do today, both writing and administrative, so I better get to work. This will be a busy week – but then, lately, every week is busy. Fortunately, it’s “good busy”. But I’ve got to deal with the taxes this week — ick. Not so bad because I do quarterlies, but still, gathering all the paperwork (I was bad about keeping up all year) is a pain in the butt, and I just don’t feel like it. Too bad for me! 😉

Some of my tulips are already blooming — isn’t it a bit early?

Devon

Thursday, April 14, 2011

If this path leads away from the taxes, I’m on it!

Thursday, April 14, 2011
Waxing Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Mercury Retrograde
Pluto Retrograde
Cloudy and cool

I’m glad yesterday is over, that’s all I have to say. Taxes for another seven hours, but they’re finished, and I’m mailing them today. New York State f—ked me, as usual, but everything else worked out fairly. The MA taxes made no sense, but I filled them out as best I could, wrote a cover letter, etc. The Federal Taxes had eight schedules with them this year, and a three page cover letter to explain different points.

Last year, I was sure I’d get in trouble, because a theatre company that produced some of my plays listed the money as something other than royalties, but I noted it in the cover letter, and there was no problem.

But it was torture, with a lot of swearing on my part. That should be the most complicated year of taxes, having to file with two different states and the federal. Next year, it should be just straight up Federal with about six schedules, and the MA taxes, which, for full-year residents, is much more straightforward than the partial year.

Paying quarterly taxes helped a lot, as it will this year, because the income is more straightforward. I prefer paying as I go.

Done. Out. Exhausted.

It stormed and rained all day yesterday (appropriate to what was going on inside the house), and the internet went out for most of the day. I could hop on and off for about a minute here and there. So I gave myself the evening off, and will have to catch up with my workshop today.

The rain was good for the garden, and all the plants, trees, and shrubs look much happier.

Today, I’m returning some books to the library, mailing the damn taxes, and I have to return something to a store in Sandwich that I didn’t realize was broken when I bought it. I also need to get buckets, so I can start digging the excess sand out of the vegetable bed as soon as it’s dry enough. I’m gong to start my new friend’s manuscript, which I look forward to reading. I need to finish up a piece for Confidential Job #1. I’ve spent a week trying to be positive about the latter, but the truth is, the material didn’t work for me, especially not in the style the writer chose to present it. I mean, when it loses me in the first sentence because it does EVERYTHING I tell my students not to do, that’s not a good sign.

The second round of edits for ASSUMPTION should land soon, so I want to knock out a few chapters of THE SPIRIT REPOSITORY before it gets here.

Ah! The sun is breaking through the clouds! Maybe I’ll be able to clean up the front beds later this morning. I’m still optimistic that maybe I can put the pansies in this coming weekend.

Devon