Tues. Feb. 28, 2023: Yup, It’s Snowing

image courtesy of Alain Audet  via pixabay.com

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Waxing Moon

Snow and cold

I hope you had a lovely weekend. We can curl up and have a nice natter now.

The February wrap-up is posted over on the GDR site.

I ran out of ink again on Friday morning. I really need to get the laser printer fixed. Finding someone who is qualified to repair it AND who will come to the house is challenging. But I can’t keep buying ink tanks every couple of weeks. And the printer needs two people to carry it, so it’s not like I can toss it into the back of the car and take it anywhere.

I did some work on the outline for one of the April projects (and even did a temporary logo for it). The premise is there, and the central conflict, but I need to develop it out, without making it too complicated, because it has to hit 15,000 words pretty exactly. Whether I can pull it off is something else, but at least I have enough to put on a burner at the back of my brain and let it percolate.

I did some work on the FALL FOREVER outline. I know the opening now, and the end. It’s all those bits in the middle that I have to figure out. Some of them I can do as I write; but I have to figure out the major points I want to hit in each act, so I have something to work toward as I write. I haven’t written a contemporary, naturalistic play in quite a while, so this will be interesting.

I finished revising the next “batch of four” episodes of Legerdemain, gave them a polish, uploaded and scheduled them. That gets me through mid-March, which is a little too tight working for me. I need to dig in these next few weeks and finish this arc, polish it, and get it uploaded. Then I’ll work on the third big arc, and decide if I want to keep the serial going past that, or end it. I’m going to run some ads for both serials in April and May, and that will have something to do with it, too. I also need to do more work on the Legerdemain website.

Did the social media rounds to promote Angel Hunt and 28 Prompts. Today is the last day of 28 Prompts. It’s fun, and I have a bunch of new material, and it’s gotten a strong response across several platforms, but I’m glad it’s done. After tomorrow’s “thank you” post about it, I’m dropping three of the social media platforms from my daily rounds.

Post changed its look when you go on it to read and post. I think, in the long run, it might work better, but I was in a rush, and it jarred me. Having to learn how to navigate all over again irritates me.

Turned around a pitch coverage in the afternoon.

Sat down to do work on The Master Plan for both Legerdemain and Angel Hunt, with possible alternatives, depending on sales figures. Having an idea of “if this happens, I can do that with it” gives me options, so that I don’t have to make a rushed decision which might not serve me or the work.  One of the reasons I’m working Legerdemain in large arcs is that it’s structured as an open-ended serial, and I want to make sure there are natural end points for it along the way, should it need to end, or should readers need to pause during its duration. I mean, it will end at some point, but I have a very long range plan for it, and it’s not meant to be a novel or set of novels released in chapters.

Did not dig out the car, because it started snowing heavily again, so there was no point. Dashed down to Cumberland Farms at the end of the block for a few necessities.

Wrote two more Process Muse posts, and started the background reading for another, which is the re-read of Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own.” Started reading the two books for review (one is a book that’s better read with breaks in it, so during those breaks, I started reading the other). Caught up on VANITY FAIR and NEW YORKER issues that have stacked up.

Tessa slept on the bed most of the night on Saturday, and there was a feline shift switch around 4 AM on Sunday, when Tessa left to Do Things and Charlotte jumped up. I dreamed that I’d been bitten by a spider, which supposedly means betrayal.

Sunday I found out that essential, deadlined paperwork which had been sent by Certified Mail had not been delivered and was waiting back for me at the post office. It’s infuriating. Makes the spider dream make sense – betrayed by USPS.

An article I wrote early in the pandemic for WOW – Women on Writing was finally released: “Keep the Series Fresh.” For it, I interviewed Alyssa Maxwell, Lucy Burdette, and Yasmine Galenorn. At the time of the article, my own series were in a different situation than they are now. It reads like a different person wrote it. I can tell I was sick – the flow is off. But I was paid (back when I turned it in), it’s up and out there. I did a clean PDF file copy of the piece, and sent it, along with the link, to the three gracious, lovely writers who were interviewed. And I put the link up on the Fearless Ink website.

It took about an hour to dig out the car. There were layers of ice amongst the layers of snow. When it came to the windshield and front of the car, I had to make like climate change attacking an iceberg. But eventually, I got it all off. The ice was stacked behind the wheels, frozen to the ground so I couldn’t shovel it away. I rocked the car back and forth a few times, then put sand on the ice to get traction, and managed to get out. I left the car with the back wheels perched on top of the ice bowl until I needed to get out. Several guys passing by offered to help push or lift, which was sweet of them, but not necessary. Very different from the Old White Men on the Cape, who only stood around telling one that they were doing wrong, instead of offering actual help or solutions.

Tried to set up the Libby app on my Kindle, but it keeps telling me that it can’t set me up, because either my card is expired or I have overdue items (neither is true) and I have to go to the library to get help. I’m trying to set up an appointment, but with all these storms coming in during the week, it better be next week.

Came in, showered off and read for a bit, then got dressed and headed to yoga. Last night was Yoga Nidra. Very different from previous classes I took in a different studio in the previous location, where it was treated like a pajama party instead of mindful work.

This was mindful, relaxed but AWAKE (and everyone paid attention instead of just falling asleep). When it was over, I felt more refreshed than after 8 hours’ sleep (something I never felt in the pajama party situations). We took some time to ground before leaving, because our instructor wanted to make sure we were okay to drive.

I’d like to say I came home, cooked a healthful meal, etc. Nope. Went through the Burger King drive through. I don’t think we’ve had red meat since about October, but I was craving Burger King and fries.

It was delicious.

It didn’t make us sick this time around, either.

I finished reading the two books for review before bed.

Tessa slept on the bed again, all night, until nearly six Monday morning. I slept REALLY well. It took me a bit to get to sleep, because between the Yoga Nidra and the meat, I was feeling perky. But once I went to sleep, I stayed asleep, and woke up feeling great.

I wrote the two book reviews and sent them off, with the invoice, before breakfast. By 8:30, I was out the door: gas in the car, ink for the printer, to the Post Office to sort out the issue with delivery. Two postal clerks helped me, and none of us could figure it out. I brought the instructional sheet – it was sent where they told us to send it. So why was it refused and returned? We sent it again, 2-day priority. Let’s hope someone actually accepts it this time.

Off to Big Y to get necessary groceries before the storm, including a chicken to roast. Then, off to the library to pick up the stack of 8 books that arrived. They were very busy, with everyone trying to get books before the storm.

Of course, as soon as I got home, I got notification that 3 more books showed up!

I had everything done by 10:30, and then did the social media rounds for the article, the February Wrap-up, and #28Prompts.

Got paid for the reviews, and assigned more books.

Did the social media rounds for the article and #28Prompts. Turned around two scripts. The editor for the article I submitted last week sent me changes, so I’ll take a look at those today and turn them around.

Roasted a chicken (yummy). Leftovers will get us through the week, in case the weather’s awful as predicted. Made stock.

Soup class was fun, even though it was a twist on Borscht, and I am not fond of beets. But it was pretty, and a soup a vampire would love.

Still re-reading Anne Truitt’s DAYBOOK. There are ideas in there I can talk about in The Process Muse.

Tessa slept on the bed. At 3:30, we were awakened by the snowplows. She decided it was shift change, so she left, and Charlotte came up, until I got up just before 6. It’s been snowing off and on, but not as bad as predicted. There are so many wildly different predictions for the day coming in that I will just look out the window and make decisions from there.

On today’s agenda: Another episode of Legerdemain, upload some Process Muse posts, upload tomorrow’s Ink-Dipped Advice post, looking over (and applying) the editor’s notes on the article, turning around three pitch scoring sheets and two full scripts. A bunch of scripts came in (at 6:30 this morning), so I’m set for the week. I’ll make the same in the first three days of the March pay period as I made in the second February pay period. I hope that bodes well for March, with more scripts coming in next week.

The second batch of contest entries is supposed to arrive today, so I will process them. I might bake cookies.

I have to do the social media rounds to promote today’s episode of Legerdemain, and the final #28Prompts post. I have to upload and schedule this week’s Angel Hunt promotions.

Fingers crossed the power and internet keep working so I can get it all done!

Monday, May 14, 2018: #UpbeatAuthors The Next Step on the Ladder

Photo courtesy Khimish Sharma, via Pexels.com

Monday, May 14, 2018
Dark of the Moon
Jupiter Retrograde
Saturn Retrograde
Pluto Retrograde

 

My first response to that is, “Which ladder?” I have various limbs on various ladders. I write in different genres, under different names, in a variety of formats: prose, theatre, television, film, radio. Journalism. Essays. Marketing writing. Reviewing.

I do very little editing for private clients now, because the time/money ratio doesn’t work for me, too many would-be writers default on payments (when they’re not trying to lowball me down to a fraction of my rate), and I need the primary focus to be on my own work. When I edit, I am generally hired by the publishing house to work for something under contract that has passed particular gate-keeping standards.

I am with more than one publisher. One of them, who has signed several projects, is small, just starting out. We are taking a risk on each other. Among the reasons I was excited to work with them was that they pay small advances, don’t demand their writers acquiesce to a boiler-plate contract AND, instead of POD, they do small print runs. The print runs are after a certain digital threshhold is reached, but the POD model was not working for me, so I wanted to try this. I am still with another publisher who is doing the POD model, and I have submissions out to several other publishers, who work on a mix of models, so we’ll see what happens. I also liked them because the editor with whom I’m working constantly pushes me to be better. And that is my goal — that every book I write is better, in both craft and art, than the previous books.

About a year ago, I sat down with a lawyer, an agent, an editor, and a marketing advisor, and we came up with a plan. I was unhappy and frustrated with the way things were going in my career. I knew I wasn’t writing what the Big Five wanted; I wanted to explore some things that they are currently giving lip service to, but not following through on, and I wanted to do it in my way. We were not a good fit at the time. I knew I was going to part from an agent I’d been working with for several months, because we were not a good fit. When we got together, she was excited by my work and my voice; but the more we worked together, the more she wanted to dilute it and take out what made it unique. She kept telling me my themes and issues were “too hard for the typical reader.” In other words, she wanted me to dumb things down, and I didn’t want to do that. Also, she only wanted to commit to a book at a time, and I need an agent who is interested in long-term career planning. She has since signed a friend of mine, and they’re doing great together. I’m happy for both of them; they are the right fit. We were not.

As far as the marketing writing went, I wanted to have the confidence to say “No” to the lowballers locally and reach farther afield. The interesting thing is that as soon as I did that, I landed two clients locally with whom I work well, WHILE also reaching beyond the bridge for clients who pay better.

We took four or five days together, and I took about twenty pages of notes. We crafted a plan. Some of that we followed; some of that has fallen by the wayside for various reasons.

I re-stated my commitment not to “niche” — to me, that’s a death toll for a creative life. Far too many people who “advise” freelancers sneer and call what I do a “generalist.” I prefer to call it being a “Renaissance Writer” and I’ve written on this topic for both WOW-Women on Writing and Write Naked!

I wanted to get back into article writing, which fell by the wayside for a bit. I started pitching again, and I did pretty well, but that seems to be one of the things that falls away first. Since I enjoy articles — every part from the pitch through the research through the writing and the polish, especially working with a good editor — I need to get back on track with that.

One of the big changes I made was in the way I do pitch letters. Instead of trying to frame what I do to sound like what they want, I’m more specific in the elements I think will appeal and more specific in where our paths diverge. I’m more myself in the cover letter — while still structuring it the way I find works — hook, one paragraph summary, technical info, bio, why this market. And the results are good.

This year and next, I’m on a brutal contract schedule. I’d spent a couple of years working on different types of material, on working on craft. Now, with a commitment to more than one series, I am sitting down and writing the books.

Last year, PLAYING THE ANGLES was re-released, as the first of the Coventina Circle paranormal romantic suspense novels (in its original incarnation, it was a stand-alone). The second book in the series, THE SPIRIT REPOSITORY, just released, and the third, RELICS & REQUIEM, will come out in October of this year, with the fourth, GRAVE REACH, coming out in May of 2019. So that’s a tight schedule.

Last year, the first Nautical Namaste mystery, SAVASANA AT SEA (as Ava Dunne) released. It’s a not-quite-cozy mystery series, whose protagonist is a yoga instructor on a cruise ship. Only one of those books comes out a year! But the next one, DAVY JONES DHARMA, is due in early December this year.

TRACKING MEDUSA, the first Gwen Finnegan mystery, re-released this past January. As I worked on the second book, THE BALTHAZAAR TREASURE, I realized that there was a chunk of it that slowed down the plot. Yet the information was necessary to where my characters were in their emotional lives and how they’d built their day-to-day relationships. Flashbacks and info-dump conversations wouldn’t work; so my editor and I decided to pull out those chapters, flesh them out into a “between-the-books” novella, now called MYTH & INTERPRETATION, and put that out this summer. BALTHAZAAR is still scheduled to come out in January of 2019, and that is now back on track, the pace and content correct.

In the meantime, I had three terrific opportunities. One was to pitch a serial. Those of you who’ve known me for several years know that I used to write four serials in four genres under two names for 18 months a few years back. A total of 8000 words a month. I love writing serials, and I miss it. I had the chance to pitch to a company that specializes in serials.

I pitched a fantasy/adventure novel. I’d written the first four chapters a couple of years ago and put it aside for scheduling reasons. But, when I had this opportunity, I wrote a few more chapters, and outlined what would be the book-length arc of this serial. I fell in love with it all over again. If it’s picked up, it goes back in the schedule; if not, it will be back-burnered again.

I also had two other ideas, stand-alones, that I played with, on and off for a couple of years, writing my way in the first few chapters, then making notes for my Writers’ Rough. On impulse, I polished pitches and tossed them into a Twitter pitch day for a specific company. Editors liked both; so I’m working on some additional chapters, polishing them, and sending them out by deadline this month. Again, if the editors want the full manuscript, they go back into the schedule sooner rather than later; if not, they are back-burnered until next year, when my contract schedule isn’t quite as demanding.

As I said above, I have a couple of other pieces out on submission; if they are contracted, they will be worked in. I also have a serial novel — which is different than a novel broken down as a serial. This is a set of novels that are all of a piece. It follows the filming of a television series over several seasons. Not a series, in the sense that each stands alone and progresses. These novels all fit together like puzzle pieces. One of my publishers has expressed interest in looking at it when the first five or so puzzle pieces are ready. When will that be? I don’t know.

I also made a commitment to do more script work again. I’m taking this year off from stage plays (I wrote four in three years for 365 Women). But one of my radio plays will be produced later this month, and I want to submit some screenplays I’ve polished.

Along with all this, I will pitch to higher-paying clients and higher-paying article markets. Gotta keep a roof over my head, and if I don’t keep up the writing pace I can’t. This is my profession, not my hobby. I am paid to write. That IS my day job. While my book sales have jumped considerably since I moved webhosts and redesigned my websites, I still need the marketing writing and article writing for income. Plus, I enjoy it.

So, my “next step” is building on the foundation of the series on which I currently write; continuing to expand the publication contracts with other publishers at higher-paying tiers, and book higher-paid marketing and article gigs.

I’ve found a process that works for me as far as the new ideas — because, as we all know, new ideas come in batches. I write my way in for a few chapters, then sit down and do a Writer’s Rough Outline. That way, whenever I can actually sit down and WRITE the book, I can drop into its world. The Writer’s Rough outline captures the initial energy of the idea, and then, as I work, I can develop the structure and the craft.

In the coming weeks, we will sit down again and assess how this last year played out. What worked, what didn’t. Where I lost focus, and what I dropped because it didn’t work. And we will craft a plan for the coming year that will guide me toward the “next step on the ladder.”

I don’t want fame. I worked in theatre and film for too many years and see how it can hurt creativity and general life; that is not what I want. I do want financial stability, and to be paid fairly for my work. There is no reason not to be paid well doing work I love. My profession is writing. I will not let ANYONE decide that it’s a cute lil hobby and I don’t deserve to be paid a living wage. I will dig in and do it, and earn my living. It will be a mix and match of projects and styles and tangents, but writing is my profession. When I decided I wanted to work on Broadway, I didn’t let anything or anyone stand in the way of achieving that goal. Now that I’m writing full-time, I feel the same way.

My next step is increased earnings and visibility for my work. It is also participating in the community of writers who love what they do and are committed to a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work across the board, no matter what the profession. It is refusing to “dumb it down” or change what I write because people I don’t respect threaten not to buy what I write. The great thing about writing is that there are plenty of authors writing in plenty of styles and genres, so there’s something for everyone. It’s fine if someone doesn’t connect with my work — there are wonderful authors out there with whom they WILL connect. But threatening me and demanding I change what I write is not going to work.

Artists have a responsibility. I believe that responsibility is to bear witness to the world, to expand people’s vision of the world, but also to create better worlds and help us find ways to reach those better worlds inclusively and fairly. A better world needs social and economic justice. By respecting our own value, our own worth, we set the tone.

For more inspiration on valuing your work, please visit Lori Widmer’s Words on the Page blog. It’s great all the time, but May is Writers Worth Month. It’s especially great now.

 

Tues. Oct. 24, 2017: Strange Skies & Pre-Op

Playing the Angles buy links here.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Waxing Moon
Neptune Retrograde
Uranus Retrograde
Sunny and pleasant

I was basically a waste of food yesterday. I got a few things done, but it was difficult to focus. Had a bad case of both the blahs and the worries. Again, waiting for a payment from a particular publication that arrives later and later each month does not help. Hopefully, I can wind things up with them by the end of the year and be done.

I have an article about building momentum up over on Writers Weekly that’s gotten some good buzz, and readers are still discovering and enjoying the “Tracking Your Banged Bucks” article over on WOW-Women on Writing. I’m glad my experience can give others some fresh ideas.

PLAYING THE ANGLES also got a 5-star review on Amazon, which is a great start.

Yesterday, I got some work done on THE MARRIAGE GARDEN (in a tricky bit here). I worked on notes for the next review I have to write; it’s tricky, because the book pretends to be one thing when it’s really another, and I have to find a good way to express it. Did some research on material I’m gathering for a client for next Monday’s meeting.

Got back a request for edits from the editor to whom I’m trying to adjust (just happens to be the same publication where the payment lags. Gee, what a surprise. Not). I will turn those around today.

I also did some promotion work for PLAYING THE ANGLES.

SAVASANA AT SEA is now up for pre-order (Barnes & Noble and Google Play as of this morning). I still want to do one more proofreading pass before it releases, but I have to get the press out on that, too — probably at the end of this week.

Got the outdoor decorating done for the upcoming holiday. It’s kind of cute. I posted some photos to Facebook and Twitter.

This morning’s sunrise was amazing and eerie. I’ve never seen those shades of orange in a morning sky, and the atmosphere was a grey-green. Very odd. Wonderful, but odd.

Tomorrow, I won’t get to post on this blog — I’m with a new client most of the day, and we’re going to map out how we’re going to work together for the next few months.

Today is my mother’s last pre-op appointment and Thursday is the surgery. I hope to post while she’s there, and Friday should be a regular, late-morning post. Monday, then I won’t get to post at all — with one client most of the day and immediately into another meeting. So, after the weekend, it will be late in the day posting for Tuesday.

Posting times will be wonky for the next few weeks, until I get the schedule smoothed out. My apologies, but it’s all part of the upcoming transitions.

I see the next months as having three planned-for transitions. One is now, one will be in either March or April, with a major one next summer/late fall. Those are the planned ones — who knows how many unplanned will happen during that time? Many things happen during the course of a year!

In any case, off to get things done and then back to the page, and to prep for tomorrow. I’ve got a beef stew cooking in the crockpot, and I have to make a couscous salad, so I have something to bring with me for lunch.

Onward.

 

Wed. Sept. 14, 2017: Balancing Act

Wednesday, September 14, 2017
Waning Moon
Neptune Retrograde
Uranus Retrograde
Sunny and cool

Yesterday was a long day of admin, filing paperwork, updating links, et al.

PLAYING THE ANGLES is now live on Google Play, ready for pre-order.

My article “Tracking Your Banged Buck” is live on WOW-Women on Writing, and I want to thank K.R. Conway, Jessica Glenn, Goddess Fish Promotions, Arlene Kay, Alyssa Maxwell, and Barbara Ross for their quotes. I made a document for their clip files, and sent that, along with the live link and a thank you, to them. I heard from the editor last night that the article is getting positive feedback, so I’ll pass that along today, too.

Exhausted by the time I got back, and came down with a migraine. However, I didn’t have the luxury of taking an afternoon off, so I kept working.

I did some work on the FIX-IT GIRL revision. It’s going slowly, and I’m frustrated. I’m not quite sure how to solve the frustration, which leaves me more frustrated, and so it goes. The first eighteen chapters of the revision sailed along well, but this is a tricky part, a turning point. I have to get it right, or the book falls apart.

I’ll just keep at it until I do.

Also did some work on THE MARRIAGE GARDEN, the literary fiction. This first draft will need a lot of revision, a lot of making scenes active that are now too narrative. But I need to set out the narration for myself first, and then pick which scenes to dramatize, and what to leave as narration. Because the book is quiet and introspective, rather than an action-driven piece, it needs a different approach. Too much action, and I lose the tone and the reflective quality that is the reason for the book’s existence. Too much narrative and it’s telling rather than showing and just plain dull.

We need to make some solid decisions about “Labor Intensive”, and I also need to get back to the draft of SAVASANA AT SEA, so that can go off to the editor, and she can catch me out on my bad habits again. 😉

As much of a slime pit as social media can sometimes be, through all this political chaos, I’ve been lucky enough to meet some wonderful people from all over the world, in all walks of life, with whom I might not have otherwise crossed paths. They are intelligent, creative, and committed to making the world a better place. I hope we’ll stay in touch if and when things settle down.

It looks like I didn’t land two gigs I’d really hoped for this week. One of them would have been well within my wheelhouse, but the people making the top decisions have proven, over the past few weeks, to be consistently disorganized. On the other, it would have been a physical challenge in some respects, but the company’s lack of basic business protocol makes me wonder if the listing was scam. One can put up a slick website and still be a con. More research done, and perhaps I should be grateful not to be associated with either organization! Only time and what happens next will tell.

My editor asked for some revisions on a review; I have to get back to work on the next book, which is one of the most sloppily written pieces I’ve read in a long time. I need to work on some article pitches that I’d like to get out before the end of the week, and expand an essay where there’s interest, but it’s too short.

Whenever the days are nice enough to be outside, I’m trying to work at least for a few hours at a time on the deck. Pretty soon, everything has to come back in for the winter.

Speaking of winter, yesterday I worked on a section of THE MARRIAGE GARDEN taking place during a blizzard, while we had lovely, sunny, warm weather. It was an interesting exercise in sense memory for writing.

 

Thurs. Nov. 15, 2012: Writing and Turtles

Thursday, November 15, 2012
Waxing Moon
Uranus Retrograde
Mercury Retrograde
Cloudy and cold

Reminder: Application deadline for the Playwright Intensive is November 20. More information and application download here.

And, as you start your day, here’s the link to my latest article on WOW-WOMEN ON WRITING, about blogging. I’d like to thank Lori Widmer and Marilyn Allen for quotes for this article.

Yesterday, I worked with my students, pitched a few jobs (including an interesting, long-term one that I hope I get), worked with my publisher. I have to get the last look at HEX BREAKER to them today so it can go into print. And I have my release date for OLD-FASHIONED DETECTIVE WORK: March 4, 2013. Just before my birthday. Pretty sweet!

In the early afternoon, I headed back to the Marine Life Center and did a follow to learn how the Red-Bellied Cooter Turtles are cared for. They are an endangered species, and the Marine Life Center is part of the “head start” program, raising hatchlings all winter, and releasing them in spring. Those little guys are hilarious. And, of course, caring for the tanks means lots of scrubbing! In general, caring for the marine life involves a lot of scrubbing and disinfecting — it is, after all a hospital.

The information and conversations I had gave me a lot of material for the articles AND the book.

Got back in time for dinner, and sluffed off in the evening, reading Alexandra Sokoloff’s BOOK OF SHADOWS — an excellent thriller — instead of getting back on the computer.

On my way to yoga, and then I have to take care of some admin stuff, and go back to HEX BREAKER, write a review, get material back for an article and finish that, and work on the final proofs for OLD-FASHIONED DETECTIVE WORK. I want to get those out by tomorrow. This evening, I’m back at the Marine Life Center for the formal seal training program.

And don’t forget — if you love flash fiction or just want to dip your toe into that water, my “Flash 7” class runs Dec. 7-16. We’ll write, revise, and submit 7 pieces in 10 days. Info here.

Off we go!

Wed. Sept. 19, 2012: New Article Up & Television Musings

Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2012
Waxing Moon
Neptune Retrograde
Uranus Retrograde
Rainy and warm

In spite of the migraine, I had a very good day of edits on OLD-FASHIONED DETECTIVE WORK. I’m starting to feel good about the book and how it sets up the rest of the series, as well as standing on its own.

Also did some notes to shut up a character who’s been yapping at me the past few days, in a built world. I’ll be writing from a male POV, I think, this time,which will be fun.

Got work done on the opening of the marine life mystery.

Re-sent some invoices — I want to wind up completely with one client and be done, buh-bye, and the other wants more work from me, but the payments have to be on time, or it simply won’t happen.

My article on “The Renaissance Writer” is up on WOW-Women on Writing here. It was a lot of fun to write, and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Didn’t get enough housecleaning done yesterday, so I’ll have to make up for it today.

Planning on staying in today, writing, writing, writing.

Forgot to mention that I watched the pilot of REVOLUTION on Monday. I hadn’t particularly liked the promos –to me, they came across as jumping on THE HUNGER GAMES bandwagon. But Billy Burke has one of the leads, and I like his work (although I had no idea he was involved in the TWILIGHT franchise, because I haven’t bothered with the movies). I also wanted to see Giancarlo Esposito’s work — I liked him a lot in both BREAKING BAD and ONCE UPON A TIME.

I was pleasantly surprised. I LOVE the production design — sets, costumes, et al. The attention to detail is great. Again, though, I’m glad not to be doing wardrobe on it, because they’re outside a lot! Continuity with dirt is not easy! It uses archetypes from the Hero’s Journey nicely, although I hope they deal with the fact that one of the lead characters is a young woman. The heroine’s journey is, by nature, different. The writing was much better than I expected, and I thought the actors committed fully in a really wonderful way. One of the reasons I like Billy Burke’s work so much is that he is such an active listener. He is unafraid of stillness, and he listens completely and responds to what is actually said and done in the moment. He does that in interviews, too — there’s never a sense that he’s skipping ahead, thinking about what HE will say next. He’s very much a partner in whatever scene he’s in, not trying to take all the focus with the underlying, “Look at ME!” that so many actors (especially in leading TV roles) insist on. I’m interested in seeing how the show evolves.
However, if it starts messing with the audience just to mess with them, the way I felt LOST often did — I’m outta there.

Going back to the active listening and partnership in a scene, I’m already struggling to continue watching a different show that an acquaintance of mine is on. I like HIS work a lot, and he’s good at the give-and-take, but he’s a second lead and the two lead actors are very much in the “I’m the show’s star” mode in a way I feel hurts the overall show. Sometimes it’s the number of close-ups; sometimes it’s screen time; sometimes it’s not letting one of the other actors have a moment that makes more logical and organic sense. I continue to watch because my acquaintance and I dissect every episode after, in terms of writing and character development, and I’m loyal to him; but I’m finding it more and more difficult to watch.

Okay, I need to get back to the page and get a bunch of other things done today, too. We had a bad storm last night — we didn’t have too much damage, other than overwhelmed plants.

Back to work!

Devon