What am I working on? This past week was a bit on the slow side, though I finished the first subplot short story and shot that off to my super awesome critique partner! Hopefully her laser eyes will figure out all the ridiculous stuff I messed up. XD So this week, I’ll be plunging into subplot story #2 and trying to get that hammered out. We’ll see what comes of it. I did also finish reading How to Sell a Haunted House, and I’ll be putting up my writing-related thoughts on that Wednesday. Now I’m reading The Flatshare, and am taking lots of notes.
What’s inspiring me? I just finished watching Tour de France: Unchained (or, from the French subtitle: At the Heart of the Peloton) which came out on Netflix a bit ago. Gosh, I love sports docs like these. I was obsessed with Jockeys when it first came out, then Formula 1: Drive to Survive, and this one has got a similar vibe. I just really enjoy learning the behind-the-scenes things about intense sports. The dedication and drive are fascinating, as are all the interpersonal challenges and individual battles. Plus, you get to know the major players in these sports, which inherently makes the sports more interesting to watch in the future. With Tour, of course, I already watch The Tour de France every year, at least partly. I first saw it in 2001, when I was in Switzerland with my family, and it was one of the few English TV channels we could find after three weeks of muddling our way through German and French. Our brains got tired! It was fantastically fun (pre-revelations about how Lance won that race so well, unfortunately), and we enjoyed it so much, we’ve tried to catch it most years since. So I’ve got a little grasp on who the main players are–at least the older players–but now most of them have retired, and I’m not as familiar with the younger guys. So the docu-series was a great introduction to them and helps me translate into this year who’s heading for podium and who’s struggling compared with last year.
Also, What We Do in the Shadows is back!! EEEEEEE! I’ve missed my vampire pals. It’s been fun so far, so we’ll see how it goes.
Met up virtually with a writer friend on Saturday, which was lovely. I got to hear all about her agent search (which ended successfully after cold-querying! Hooray! It does happen!), and her editing process. She’s also got kiddos in a phase ahead of mine, so I’m always eager to chat kid stuff with her and commiserate about the challenges of parenting and writing simultaneously.
I’ve also got super exciting news which I can’t share yet regarding “Catching College,” but trust me when I say it’s a great milestone and I can’t wait to fill you in!
The weather has been really interesting here, also, as an extreme-weather freak. We had a tornado warning yesterday for our specific town, so we took shelter in the basement. Last time we had a warning this close, a wind-sheer sliced one of our maples in half, so we were prepared for possible damage. But we got lucky and it passed over without developing. We got SO MUCH RAIN. I don’t think I’ve ever seen rain come down quite so hard here in NH. I’ve also never seen our lawn so fabulously green in mid-July. It’s definitely a strange year with much change.
What is challenging me this week? Just the usual attempt to get anything done. I’ve been doing good on reading, though, which is also super necessary at this stage. I’ve got two days set aside for office time, so I’m hoping that works out well and I get a good chunk of Story 2 started. I’d really like it fully drafted by the end of July so I can focus on editing in August. Keep your fingers crossed for me!