This was a good week, writing-wise, for the most part. I managed to get in a couple really productive days, which buoyed me for the inevitable unproductive ones. I finished a flash fiction story called, “More than Instinct,” and even got it submitted! I also resubmitted (twice) a story that had started languishing in my submissions pile: got one rejection back lickety-split, but I fired it right back out again. I’m beginning to worry this one might be a dud, but you never know. I still have some hope for it.
Also attended another session of the writer’s accountability group on Thursday (via Zoom, of course), which was so much fun. I hit all the goals I set last week (read 1 story/day – edit & submit flash story), and I’ll admit I got a little more aggressive on my goal-setting for this week:
- read 1 story/day
- reread & make edit plans for three stories (specifically “Dynamo,” “Earthbound,” and “Last Ghost of Old Shore” (though I may add “Weeping Trees” to this list, too, if I have time))
- begin the rewrite of “Dynamo”
- start reading “Bartleby the Scrivener” again, as I’m using it as the spine for another story, yet to be fully composed
That’s a lot for me to do in a week, even if it’s more planning/thinking and less actual composing. The thinking is actually the hardest thing to squeeze into my days, when even being able to hear oneself think can be a challenge. Making goals specifically addressing the mental work of editing is an important midway step to getting myself positioned to jump into edits when I get the chance. Someday, I’ll be able to spend some time planning out new stories, too, I hope! But at least I’ve got a huge backlog of unedited work to pick from right now, which is at least helping me get some forward momentum going again.
B-Bug had a hard week this week, as he single-handedly discovered a paper wasp’s nest in our back patio rock wall, and had encounters with one of the occupants not once, not twice, but THREE times. Poor guy. He actually handled all three stings amazingly well (the last two were at the same time–the first sting we thought was just a fluke of maybe swatting it with his swinging bucket by accident, but the second time we got a good view of the nasty little dude zipping out of his nest and going after B-bug. That wasp is dead now, hunted down by Andy with a father’s rage and equipped with his Bugasalt. While I don’t normally worry too much about wasps or nests about our property, once they’ve attacked my kiddo, I’m much less sympathetic to their natural needs. The exterminators will be out next week.)
Otherwise, it’s been a somewhat calm week. Insurance finally came through (because although Andy’s been fully employed for the entirety of the summer, even “job-tied insurance” has a 30 day lag before kicking in…in the middle of a pandemic… #insuranceindustrygarbage), and I got the last order of fabrics for a couple garment sewing projects I’m hoping to scrape time together to work on. I’d love for most of my wardrobe to be handmade, but I’ll settle for a few simple things to start with! If I could eventually make collared shirts, though…ooooooh, mama…
My dad’s smoking a couple of chickens in his smoker for dinner, and I am seriously grateful for a weekend. I’ve got a post on one of my favorite obsessions coming up next week, and I may do a post on the top five short stories I’ve read this month, just to keep track of the ones that really sing to me and what they make me think about, regarding short fiction. Missed my mid-week post this week, which I’m going to have to work harder at, because I’ve got a lot of things I’d like to share with you all, if I can just scrape a few minutes out of the day to jot them down! Like, are online classes helpful/worth the money? What about paying for professional editing? And I’ve got an interview with my good friend, author Katherine Quevedo, coming up in short order, so keep an eye out!
Maggie Slater 