I was going to begin this entry with a lengthy, nose-to-dirt grovel session for being so bad at updating lately, but then I decided not to. Truth of the matter is, things have been going well, but I’ve been super busy with rather everyday, mundane things you probably wouldn’t care much to hear about. So until I have more time, I’m just going to do a quick running pros/cons list, plus the writing stuff at the bottom, par usual, in order to keep me accountable to what I do and do not get done. ^_^
This weekend:
+ + Cleaned the house. Much needed. I would post the video I took of it “before” and then do another for “after”, but it was seriously awful, and no one deserves to see that enshrined on the Internet for all eternity.
+ Hung out with Kaku! YAY! We’ve all been so busy, it seems like time to hang out just slips through the cracks. But not this weekend! Walked around Mt. Tabor in Portland (+), had a shoe-throwing contest which was sorely weighted (one of us has extreme shoe-throwing skills) (+), ate Little Caesar’s pizza (+), watched “Steamboy” (-), and played some Halo (+, always).
+/- Minus, because I wrote 1000 words of Chapter 17 for “Thief Dilemma” only to realize I couldn’t use any of them. Plus, because it made me realize what I *actually* needed to do for this chapter, and because I got a fresh, usable 1000 done today at lunch.
+ Did minor grocery shopping. We’re trying to maintain damage-control for our arbitrary April budget.
+ Changed bank account over to Oregon, at last.
– Didn’t get any painting in.
+ Hung two of my paintings (see “House of Mirth” and “We Are–All of Us–Robots”) on the walls, and they look good there!
– Didn’t finish backlog of Apex submissions.
+ Did get through a huge batch. Hoping to close the gap over this week, and dive into more recent submissions. Finally reorganized my day planning to make more time.
+ Write Nite is awesome, and I get a lot of work done!
= (+8) vs. (-2) = +6. A Good, Productive Weekend ^_^
Writing Stuff:
On the reading front: I’ve divided and am now attempting to conquer. I recently discovered the audio-book selection at our local library, so now I can enjoy a good book while stuck in the car to and from work. Hooray for multitasking! Plus, that means I have time at night to read other things.
I’ve also been trying to keep a To Do list for writing in order to keep my brain from scuttlebutting off in random, usually unplanned and useless directions. The list I had for last month was–for the most part–completed, save for the items without deadlines (some planning/thinking projects/edits that aren’t high on the priority list, but that I’ve been playing around with in my head).
Naturally, this is when I get bit with the “OMG I have to rewrite my perpetual novel project!” bug. It throws off my list, though *technically* it is on there. I just can’t help it–this time it really seems to be falling into place without me forcing it (Don’t roll your eyes at me–I know who you are!). Luckily, I’m still somewhat held back by necessary research, and I’ve got four books to read to get a working grasp of what I need. So I feel like I’m working on it, even when I do have to sit back, take a deep breath, and reign myself in. I’m just trying not to over-think it too much this time.
I set up an “edit binder” a week or two ago which houses now six manuscripts which require edits. One of them, “Swallow”, I think has a lot of promise–more than I remembered. I tend to do that: I’ll leave a rough draft, thinking it’s the worst thing I’ve ever written, but when I come back to it weeks, months, or even years later, sometimes I’m very pleasantly surprised. *Sometimes* being the optimal word. But it’s a great feeling when I am! The stories in this binder are the ones that will be going out once they’re polished.
Also received notice on my only cycling story from the last magazine, and it is now out to its second. I feel strangely prosaic about this one. The rejector did say “there’s some nice writing here” which is the best compliment I’ve received in a rejection from this particular market, so I’m actually somewhat stoked. Though, granted, I’m doing my best not to read into it too much. Still! I didn’t get a note like that last time, so I’m happy! ^_^
See, folks? I’m just like you when it comes to getting rejected.
And a note to the “Thief Dilemma” readers: Yes. It’s coming. This chapter has just been kicking my butt. Believe it or not, I’ve been working on it for a month now. One section is set; the next is starting to form like it should, and I’m pretty certain I know what the last section of this chapter will be/how it will play out. Chapter 18 is planned already, so once 17 is up, I’ll start writing 18 and planning 19.
Maggie Slater 