What did I do this past week?
Well, I did an update not all that long ago, so not much new to report! Just chugging away at the novel project and trying to identify the best time of day to work (right now, looks like just after the boys go to bed for a few minutes before my brain shuts off–can’t do it right before bed, or my brain won’t shut off at ALL.) I’d love to get to 10k on this thing before June 15th, which I may bump to June 17th as the official START OF SUMMER.
Not sure I’ve mentioned this here before, but my plan is to take the summer off from writing. I may do some writing exercises for fun, but mainly I’m hoping that taking all pressure off “producing” during the summer months will help my mental health and also help refill my creative well. It’s not that I won’t write if I get a super cool idea I just *have* to get down, but I don’t want to have any expectations of productivity.
Partly, this is because summer is already typically a bad season writing-wise for me. There’s kiddos around all day. We have guests. We travel a lot. I want to get out of the house and do fun things with them, like camping, and not feel bad that I’m not sticking to a writing schedule. I want to get away from screens. I want to journal. I want to read like I used to as a kid during those long summer evenings. I want to play. And honestly, I really, really need to after these past few years.
So 2022 is the summer of play. Will writing happen? Maybe? Who knows! But I’m trying to get to a good stopping spot for any living projects by June 17th, so I can really relax and cut loose. If absolutely nothing else, I hope to read a bunch of fun stuff.
Oh! As a sidenote, I’ve also added a Support page to this blog, in case anyone feel the overwhelming desire to buy me a notebook (i.e. support the arts and all that fluffy stuff). So if you feel like contributing to my stationary habit (I don’t have a problem, you have a problem!), feel free to pop over and leave me a tip. I’ll absolutely, 100%, definitely write in the notebook you buy me. I won’t let it just pile up with all the other cheap blank notebooks I keep telling myself I’ll fill one day. Really. I’ll use it. Promise.
$5 gets me an upgraded, 5-subject spiral bound notebook. The possibilities are paralyzing!
$10 gets me a gorgeous Oxford spiral bound with those yellow pages that will for sure have me doubting if anything I write deserves the same paper treatment as a legally-binding document.
What is currently inspiring me?
I’ve been alive in The Long Dark for 42 days. Today could be the day I die. I’ve done so well, but I’m running out of limited resources in the area I’ve called home, and each time I venture out of my safe places, the risk of doom grows higher. I can feel it sniffing at my heels, trailing me through the dimming woods, its delicate paws leaving no mark upon the virgin snow to warn me of how very close it is to catching me. I’ve got deer skin boots and rabbit skin mitts, but all it’s going to take is an ill-fated blizzard at the wrong time, too far from home to take shelter, too windy to keep a fire going.
I’ve been a live in The Long Dark for 42 days. How much longer can I possibly keep this up?
So yeah, I’ve been playing The Long Dark in survival mode. 42 days is a record for me. I’ve also checked out Bad Writer by Riddlefox Games, which is HILARIOUS. It’s short, but it’s only $5.99 on Switch, and it makes me laugh as much as it makes my heart hurt. Also, I wish I could write a short story in a day. Just saying.
Also, Squid Game! Yes, yes, we finally got around to it. We needed something short but intense to keep us awake in the evenings, and this is just the ticket. It’s viciously fun and horrifying. We’ve been enjoying it immensely, especially since finishing Stranger Things 4 last week. It’s a solid follow.
What am I working on this week?
This week, I’m trying to focus once more on time rather than word count. I find when I focus on trying to write 500 words, I can get rather fluff-centric, simply trying to hit the count for the day, which I think makes more work for myself later. Today and for the rest of the week, I’m aiming for a measly 10 minutes. I may get more. I often get more once I get started, but at least then it’s time-oriented, not word-oriented, so I’m hoping that generates more thought and deliberate work rather than just word-scratching.
Got a rejection last week and so shot a thing back out into the universe. I must say, I really enjoy submitting, even if I really dislike the not-knowing aspect. I only wish I could crank out work like the author in Bad Writer.
Maggie Slater 