This was an insane writing week. I’ve really been holding myself to the 500/day on the novel, which (thanks to some stellar naps and possibly a shift towards more predictable one-a-day naps) ended up almost always hitting closer to 1k/day, but I also had fun writing a side “just for fun” project idea one day, which kicked me up over 2k for the day (which is insane). I owe myself a shiny star sticker. (I need to get back into rewarding myself with stickers–they’re so fun and shiny and make me feel awesome!)
All told, I wrote almost 6k this week. SIX THOUSAND WORDS. And that “almost” may actually be “did,” because I forgot to record my word count Thursday, but I know I hit 500 that day, at least, so it defaults to 500 (for shame!)
It was a good week, habits-wise, though. There were several days when I just did. not. want. to.–whether for writing or exercising–and I still managed to get my crap done. At this point, I’m just trying for consistency, not excellency. (On Friday, I whined and whined and whined through my whole exercise regimen, but it GOT DONE.) I also finished a couple books (The Color of Magic, and The White Mountains with B-Bug), which means my nightly routine of getting Goldbug down to bed, and then reading after he’s asleep seems to be helping build up my available reading time. I also started reading Story Engineering by Larry Brooks, and while he’s occasionally somewhat bitter-sounding, there have been some wonderful insights into storytelling and what makes stories tick. Here’s hoping I can internalize some of these ideas and apply them to my WIP (and more usefully, to the next ones!).
Otherwise, life chugs on, slowly but surely, and deeper into the wilds of 2021. Andy’s due for his second vaccine this next week, so fingers crossed he doesn’t have too terrible of a reaction, because he’s still planning on working the next day. We’ll see how that goes!
Also, I found out that my dark flash story about the horrors of those first weeks of motherhood, “More than Instinct,” is going live on Daily Science Fiction on Wednesday (February 3rd), so I’m quite excited about that! Woohoo! I’ll post a link day-of, but I’m excited that it’s got a specific release date now.
Hang in there, and be extra kind to yourself! It’s not over yet, but there’s at least some movement in the right direction. :)
Maggie Slater 