What I worked on this week:
Phew, folks. It’s been a few, hasn’t it? Everything kind of fell apart last month when Thing 1 got sick and stayed home all week, and then the next week, Thing 2 had Covid, so that was another at-home week, and THEN we had February Vacation where we travelled to Texas. This past week has been the first in a long while when I’ve actually gotten into the office and had quiet focus time, but turns out, the pressure to ramp back up to speed has majorly stymied my work. *sobs*
Well, not completely, but it sure feels like it. Every day I wrote 500 words, but it felt like mining through granite, just chipping away. Narrative voices have been frustratingly elusive. Words feel clunky as hell. Flow just *isn’t* coming. So I’ve been a bit frustrated this week. Thank goodness I stuck with my three habits, because that at least made me feel like I was moving the ball forward, even when it was hard. (The three habits are: write 500 words, edit 20m, and read one short story.)
It may also be that this time of year tends to bring me a bit of a depressive dip, so there’s an element of that at play, I suspect. But that’s why I’m focusing on process for the time being.
What’s inspiring me this week:
Andy and I finally started Squid Games 2, which at first we were like *nah, can’t do it*, but now we’re like *oh, okay, let’s go!* We’re being reminded why the first one was so good: the plotting keeps you on your toes. So we’ve been enjoying that. I watched Twisters on the plane to Texas, and quite enjoyed it! I love me a good disaster film, and it felt like a solid spiritual successor to Twister. We also saw Dog Man in theaters (Alamo Drafthouse, yeeehaw!), which was cute and fun, though the boys insist they like AMC better (*facepalm*). A couple weeks ago, Andy and I watched The Damned, which was fantastic and spooky in that classically beautiful ghost-story way, as well as Nosferatu, which we felt was a stunningly pretty movie, but a bit too flat for us on the emotional storyline. We just watched They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? which was dark, and allegorical, and HARD given the current climate, but also fascinating. I adored Jane Fonda in it: a great example of an unlikeable character who is, still, incredibly fascinating.
I just finished reading The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers, which was eerie in that early 1900s way, of a similar vibe to M.R. James or Lovecraft. I enjoyed some of the linked stories more than others, but it had some solidly fun ideas, and I’ve got some thoughts on how to incorporate that vibe into a longer take on a short story I’ve got brewing.
I also finished Earthlings by Sayaka Murata, which was WOW, hard. Hard, hard, hard. Good, but hard. Content warning: child sexual abuse. It’s HARD, but also really thoughtful in how she plays out the adult life this deeply traumatized character. But you’ve been warned, because HARD. It’s no light and fluffy read, and you will probably leave it feeling OOF. I did. However, I did REALLY enjoy her book Convenience Store Woman, about a woman who deeply associates her identity with being, well, a woman who works at a convenience store. It’s odd and charming and dark but not as dark as Earthlings.
I’ll need to do a Polyreader Notes sometime to see what I’ve finished, because I’ve been really cranking through books lately, with one at the boys’ bedtimes, one at my bedtime, and others just kicking around. I also just finished reading the printed-versions of True Beauty (through Suho -> Japan) to the boys, who really enjoyed it. Hopefully they’ll also take a little away from it in realizing how much invisible work women put in to “being pretty” (largely to avoid ridicule and harassment) and how deeply unimportant that should be if you truly love someone. Plus, it’s cute as hell.
TV-wise, I’ve been a major reality-TV rut. Love is Blind came back, and geez, if I cannot get enough of analyzing the emotional hang-ups of the contestants and failures in their communication style. The greatest weakness of the show, aside from the fact that physical chemistry does play a bit of a role no matter how much you like someone, is that it requires the contestants to be honest with each other and honest, more importantly, with themselves, and not everybody has the maturity or personal insight to be as honest as they’d need to be to truly present themselves accurately. Do I think people can fall in love in a few weeks with someone? Sure. It happens. However, it seems to me the couples that 1) know immediately who they like, without waffling between choices, 2) are secure in themselves and legitimately like the other person AS THEY ARE (no trying to change someone to suit you), and 3) have matching chemistry once they meet in person seem like the most likely to make it in the long-run. Andy and I said we loved each other after one month of dating, and honestly? That hasn’t changed in over twenty years, so-
What I’m focusing on next week:
This week, I need to finish my final story for the FRIGHT CLUB workshop, which is stressing me out only because of this energy block I’ve had this past week. I’m hoping a good weekend of relaxing will refill the well and get me raring to go next week. I’m also polishing up another flash story to submit soon.
Current stats:
10 Submissions Out for 6 Works
3 New Stories Submitted in 2025
4 Rejections for 2025
0 Acceptances for 2025
1 Sub on Hold
12 Total Submissions for 2025