I am officially a year older! October rolled into town and officially ushered me into “adulthood” with no “young” modifier. There was only a brief internal panic about the number of years wracked up, time passed, etc., but overall, I had a lovely day. Goldbug gave me two nice naps and a poop, and B-Bug got me a little space LEGO set with his OWN MONEY, which is just too sweet. We built it together before he had to log-on to school.
Birthdays, I’ll admit, are getting a wee bit less fun these days, but there’s something special about stuffing my face with dirt cake, just like I used to when I was a kid. And honestly, I made out like a bandit, gift-wise: Andy (with only a little prodding) tracked down a Nintendo Switch, which we’d been angling to get this past spring and then COVID happened, and all the Switches disappeared. But he found one! New in the box, and not copiously overpriced, so hooray! (B-bug and I have been tearing it up in Untitled Goose Game, which is literally the BEST game for pretending to be naughty!). I also got the third book in the SAGA comic series by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples, which I’ve been looking forward to digging into for over a year. My dad also picked up–at the recommendation of the game shop folks–a card game called SPLENDOR, which is now hands-down one of the family’s favorite games. Definitely worth checking out.
And to myself, I gave a finished rough draft of “The Langwidere,” which I started during the Writing the Weird class I took in February, but which has finally come home to roost as a completed (if overlong) short story. Still, there’s a lot I like about it, which is more than I can say for its earlier, hasty renditions.
I’ve been a bit distracted over this past week (or two, let’s be honest), what with the birthday and seemingly ceaseless toothing on Goldbug’s part, which is making getting things done (or, you know, sleeping) somewhat more challenging than usual. But I was thinking I might do at least a brief series of posts on writing while parenting. We’ll see, though, as even chipping away at writing projects has been tough.
Also, I’ve been jogging, which is lovely. It’s been a long time since I could do that, and I really need the more intensive exercise, particularly at this time of year when I can feel the downdrafts gathering strength. To combat them, I’ve focused on three things: 1) write at least a little something everyday, 2) jog everyday, and 3) use my day planner to actually LOOK at my day and see what needs to be done/plan ahead as needed. When I stop doing any of those things is when I start struggling, so I’m trying to be proactive, and so far, so good.
WRITING DOCKET:
- Edit an incredibly old short story into something submittable
- Wrap up homework for that class on world-building
- Brace myself to tackle a comprehensive rewrite of FROSTHAVEN (possibly for NANO)
And I’m holding my breath over a pro-market hold on a short story that I would really, really, really love to see sold, but you know how those things go. I’d love to end my “always the bridesmaid, never the bride” streak that seems to be happening a lot lately at pro-markets. Not the worst problem to have, but I’d love to check that box, you know what I mean?
Maggie Slater 