What I’m working on:
This week, I’ve been juggling two projects: 1) a quick and dirty edit of a short story I’m hoping to submit come June, and 2) beginning to tackle the rewrite of the novel WiP! #2 is the big one. Over last week while Thing 2 was sick, I finished the read-through, made a list of all the edits I felt were needed, reviewed the notes from my fabulous Beta Reader (Katherine Quevedo–check out her fantastic work!) and made a list of all the things her sharp eyes picked up on, collated those lists, and color coordinated the edits into three categories (hard, medium, and easy). No small task! But it feels great to see very clearly what needs to be done. I still want to go back through The Clockwork Muse and make a real-time plan to get this edit done by the end of the summer (I’m aiming for early September to get it to my Alpha readers), but in the meantime, I’ve been going back through Draft 2 and making a chapter-and-scene outline so I can see what I’ve got and where I need to slot/rearrange things.
The two big edits for the novel involve timing (and general pacing), and a revision of the climax to bring more elements to an emotional head at the same time and drive home some thematic issues with a little more clarity. But I’m pleased that I *like* the draft, generally. It needs work, of course, but it seems doable, so that’s encouraging.
What’s inspiring me:
Andy and I finished The Fall of the House of Usher last weekend, which was fun, and Andy forced me to watch The Wild Man of the Navidad (which, while very low budget, was actually better done than some other terrible movies I’ve seen). It was a nice contrast to some of the more modern horror flicks we’ve seen, though I’m not totally sure I’d *recommend* it per se… It scratched a kitschy itch. I’ll say that.
Otherwise, we’ve been trying to find something else to watch in the evenings, because we often only have the attention for about a half hour or so, and really prefer humor in the evenings after a long day. Still working that out, though we’ve enjoyed the first two episodes of Cunk on Earth, which is a spoof of David Attenborough-style history documentaries.
I’ve really been enjoying Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg, which has a lot in common with Atomic Habits by James Clear, but in ways feels more deliberately actionable rather than aspirational. Fogg’s description of motivation vs. ability alone is probably worth the price of the book if you’ve ever wanted to start a new habit and just. could. not. (*raises hand*)
I also started A Year in Practice by Jacqueline Suskin, which is a creative meditation on how Earth’s seasonal rhythms (with a temperate climate-lean) influence the creative process of artists, drawn from Suskin’s own poetry practice. It’s very flowy and poetic, as you’d imagine, more akin to Julie Cameron than Twyla Tharp. So if you like that kind of vibe, it’s an interesting read!
Just finished watching Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies, and Scandal on Netflix, which I’ll admit was maddening and gripping and crazymaking, but also quite interesting. It was particularly bizarre while reading Tiny Habits, because for all that the creators of Ashley Madison claimed they didn’t “make” people cheat (motivation (and true)), the mere act of making cheating a whole lot easier (ability) undoubtedly played into some people crossing a line they might not otherwise have had the energy or ability to do. Would it have stopped them if another opportunity arose? Probably not! But making a behavior easier to do is definitely part of behavior modification. And then the whole fraud angle-! Oh my gosh… Fraud is one of those things I find especially interesting (Inventing Anna on Netflix is a delightful and also infuriating biopic about Anna Delvey and is brilliantly acted by Julia Garner as Anna–and of course McMillions), so it scratched that itch on multiple levels.
I’m just about finished reading Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole by Dr. Allan H. Ropper and Brian David Burrell about Dr. Ropper’s experience practicing Neurology at Brigham and Women’s in Boston (Dr. Ropper was Michael J. Fox’s neurologist when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s). It’s been an interesting read, though I feel like it’s a little dramatic compared to the day-to-day of an outpatient clinician (he’s a hospitalist, so that does make some sense, but a lot of the more mundane cases are obviously glazed over because they’re, well, boring). Somewhat satisfying, but I’m not sure I’ve gained much understanding I didn’t already have, so I’d go with around three, three-and-a-half stars on this one.
What’s challenging me:
Well, it’s not challenging me just yet, but BOY WILL IT. School is coming to an end, and with it, my predictable schedule. I’m going to have to hash out something else to guarantee writing time, but I haven’t nailed that down yet. Keep your fingers crossed for me. June is always a bit helter-skelter with the end of school, birthdays, father’s day, and totally upended schedules.
As someone who has been diagnosed with OCD, I find discussion about habits to be really interesting, because I have issues forming them. That said, last year I began two habits which I’m still doing today. 1. Read two issues per day of a comic/graphic novel. 2. Wash dishes every day. I think the reason I’m successful is that they don’t take long (less than ten minutes) and I do them every day.
I can absolutely imagine how challenging that must be! I struggle with depression myself so getting motivated to do anything at all some days is so hard—the habits I’ve stuck with tend to be small and very easy to do. I adore the idea of reading two comic issues a day! In the past I’ve read a short story a day and loved it—it’s on my list of habits to build up again at some point. :)