Ink in My Coffee

2007-01-18T10:20:00.000-05:00

January 18, 2007

New Moon

And we've moved!

Visit us at our new home, here.

Site redirect coming soon!

2007-01-17T09:33:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Dark of the Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and COLD!

Linky, linky, check out these posts:

My regular Wednesday entry is up on The Dog Blog. Today’s topic is: Space.

The latest issue of The Scruffy Dog Review is up, with my column, “The Literary Athlete”. We’re talking about endings here, and the talk includes agent Jacky Sach, editor Kristen King, reader Costume Imp, and authors Chaz Brenchley, Tim Cockey, Tess Gerritsen, Jonathan Mayberry and John Getze

Link:
http://thescruffydogreview.com/uploads/Literary%20Athlete%20Endings%20Formatted.htm

There are a couple of typo fixes I requested, and then I’ll send the links to the contributors.

Today’s Circadian Poem is “Lily” by Wesley Floyd.

Last day of posting on Blogger. Make sure you have the links updated over to Word Press.

Dealt with a good deal of anger yesterday. I struggled with it because I had the feeling that what I responded to wasn’t at the root of the problem, and it was more important to find out the cause than simply react on an emotional level. Not all figured out, yet, but I’m getting there. Trying to take the Saturn Retrograde into account and not make the same mistakes – make constructive choices instead of destructive ones. Mostly revolving around stuff in the city, not the writing life.

With yet more developments in The Situation: The Sequel – it’s not easy.

And, actually, Kristen, you gave me the key in our phone conversation today. I think I’m on the right track. Thank you!

Work was fine. Lots of principal dressing rooms painted, so I had plenty of clothes to haul up three flights of stairs. Was ready to slap one of the dayworkers who started whining that a rack she wanted to put downstairs for dry cleaning was full and I wasn’t emptying it fast enough (we had three hours until the dry cleaning was due). God forbid she could help me move anything if it meant going up the stairs. I told her it would take me as long as it took me, and she would just have to deal. Upstairs, in my work space, we had engineers trying to figure out which shower was leaking and why, and a design assistant in the rooms making sketches for the designer. Believe it or not, it wasn’t all that chaotic, because we were all working around each other with compassion and cooperation.

Printed out some more photos and got them in the book. Sent out two more pitches.

Good morning’s work on Changeling.

Busy day ahead. Good stuff: writing and pitches. Bad stuff: more to do on The Sequel. But guess what? It has to wait until the writing quota is met. I’m tired of losing writing time because of scumbags.

Devon

Chasing the Changeling – 8,842 words out of est. 45,000

8 / 45
(17.8%)

2007-01-16T08:52:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Waning Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Rainy and cold

The revised guidelines are up for Circadian Poems.

I’ve moved both The Thirteen Traveling Journals Project and The Place and Space Journal Project. They both need a lot of TLC and revamping, which will happen in the coming weeks. Both of the new sites have my photos. I love how P&S turned out, but am unhappy with the Journals photo and will have to do another photo session in the near future to come up with something better. Not to mention sort all the problems with journals getting stuck because I haven’t been able to access the email to get the info from the proper people and TO the proper people. Patience, all, it will be worked out. Plus, some new journals will be available in the coming weeks, along with a fresh media campaign.

Spent far too much time yesterday working on a quarterly newsletter that has to go out in early February. But the content had formed itself in my brain, and I wanted to get it onto the page while it was still hot and fresh.

Tomorrow is my last day for Ink’s run on Blogger. Much of it was great, but we all have to move on sometime, right?

Let’s hope all this blog relocation is moving the house relocation energy into place!

Suzanne over at The Working Writer’s Coach invited me to join a Blog Chain this week – very cool. It’s a wonderful, intelligent, diverse group of writers and bloggers – witty, articulate, fascinating points of view. Thanks, Suzanne! I’m having a blast.

I wrestled a couple of pages out of “Illuminated Nude”. I’m getting into the difficult, sticky section now, and the only thing to do is push through.

I dropped back into the world of Real again for a few pages. I’m getting there. It’ll be a great, big mess to revise, but hey, get it all down first, then figure it out later, right?

Chasing the Changeling continues to surprise me in a good way.

Off to the theatre – yes, Kristen, I’m going to Spoiled Brats to look for the toy for Pickles! Don’t worry!

Devon

Token and Affections – 11,592 words out of est. 45,000

11 / 45
(24.4%)

Chasing the Changeling – 7,341 words out of est. 45,000

7 / 45
(15.6%)

“Illuminated Nude” – 3,250 words out of est. 5,000

3 / 5
(60.0%)

Real – 107,000 words out of est. 120,000

107 / 120
(89.2%)

2007-01-15T10:47:00.000-05:00

Monday, January 15, 2007
Waning Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Martin Luther King Day
Rainy and warm

Let’s take Dr. King’s message to heart and each day perform at least one act of kindness/and or tolerance, creating a ripple effect.

Rev up, people, there are links to click:

Today’s Circadian Poem: “Rainy Morn” by Joan Spoon.

A new post on preparing for herbal studies over on Kemmyrk.

An explanation of Hope Clark’s 13-in-Play and information on Kristen King’s Query Challenge 2007 over on Wordish Wanderings.

How’s that for a start?

On the Blogger version of Ink, it’s countdown time. I will only be double-posting for three more days. As of Thursday, when the moon turns, it will all be at Word Press.

On Word Press, I’m trying to fix some typos in links, and I have to talk to them today about some silly preview window they’re giving me when I want to click one of my links, that prevents me from actually getting to my link. I DON’T WANT IT. So, we’ll be having a bit of a chat today.

Yesterday – five loads of laundry at my friend’s place in CT, in trade for cooking dinner. Plus, he had some books relevant to a pitch I’m writing, so I used the afternoon to research.

Lots of correspondence to catch up on, getting started on the next couple of FemmeFan articles, my next SDR column, and getting those pitches out! And, I have to get started on the revision of Tumble, because the month is moving ahead, but my revision is not.

Typed/revised two chapters on Token last night. They’ll need more work, but I need to do some searching on the history of Greenwich Village to do them properly. I sort of know the old stories, but I want to double check them – choose one or two accurate anecdotes about real characters; make up one or two about imaginary people that are in the style of the day and the Greenwich Village myth. That’ll be draft 3.

Rejection on a short story yesterday – expected, but not wanted. There’s another market I think is a better fit (that I found AFTER I sent it out to the first one), but I have something on submission there and have to hear back from the first one before I can send this one.

Sigh.

Ideas for two new novels while I was putting around my friend’s place, reading newspapers and researching. One is historical – turn of the 20th Century. The other is contemporary, an action/psychological piece. Both need very different types of research, and both were triggered from situation rather than character, so I have to wait until the characters evolve before I can decide where to put them in the queue.

Devon

Token and Affections , 2nd Draft – 9,872 words out of est. 45,000

9 / 45
(20.0%)

Chasing the Changeling – 5,925 words out of est. 45,000

5 / 45
(11.1%)

2007-01-14T09:52:00.000-05:00

Sunday, January 14, 2007
Waning Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Rainy and warm

I let up on myself yesterday. It was a gray, cool, rainy day. I can’t seem to shake this virus. Most of the time, I don’t feel that bad, but the fatigue from it really kicks my ass.

So, other than working on Changeling, I didn’t do too much.

I printed more photos, and got all the ones I’ve printed thus far into the book. I’m up to the trip to Mohonk House in New Paltz, which happened in early August. Remember, I took over 100 photos on that one day, so it’ll take me awhile to get them all printed, written up, and in the book.

I ran some errands in CT. I did some more hand washing, including the cashmere. People don’t realize that, once you take something to the dry cleaner, it doesn’t take out the odor. In fact, if you take something stinky to the cleaner, the dry cleaning process SETS the odor – in that, you will never get it out. You don’t immediately smell it because of the dry cleaning fluid stench. But as soon as your body heat warms the garment up again, the stink returns – worse than ever.

Most fabrics last longer (and smell better) if you learn their eccentricities and learn how to hand wash them properly. If you have a vintage garment and want to wash it as infrequently as possible, and the fabric doesn’t water stain, get yourself a spritz bottle. Get yourself the cheapest rot gut vodka in your store. Mix a 1-1 vodka/water solution and spritz the garment, especially under the arms.

It does a lot more than dry cleaning.

And the cheap ass vodka works better than the good stuff. Save the good stuff for drinking.

So I’ve got a front hall full of cashmere on sweater drying racks, sprinkled with cedar shavings. As far as I know, no moths currently reside in my abode, but . . .why risk it?

Of course Iris periodically tests the sweater drying racks to see if they’ll do as trampolines.

They don’t.

They collapse.

Kitty dives under the sofa, and I swear a lot as I put the racks back together.

The seed catalogs are arriving, and I’m indulging myself in garden fantasies. That’s one of the things I’m looking most forward to regarding the relocation: a garden. Flowers, vegetables, and, especially, herbs.

Keep the Jimmy Choo shoes – give me a “Poet” rosebush!

I found out which whale skeleton was which (a blue whale in the atrium and a sperm whale in its own room) in New Bedford, and notated appropriately.

I need to create a cheat sheet for Changeling geography – the geography of an imagined world is much more difficult to look up on the map than is the world of Greenwich Village. The story is taking an interesting twist – and I’m realizing how much place is a character. The pace of Token, set in New York City is quite different than the pace of Changeling, which right now is set in a remote area. It’s interesting. And I’m letting it go where it wants, while still loosely sticking to the overall outline.

Devon

Chasing the Changeling -- 4,800 words out of est. 45,000

4 / 45
(8.9%)

2007-01-13T10:51:00.000-05:00

Saturday, January 13, 2007
Waning Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Rainy and cold

Mark your calendar, folks: when the moon turns to new later in the week, Ink will only be at the Word Press URL.

And the trouble I had with Blogger this morning seals the deal.

I was nowhere near as productive as I wanted to be yesterday. I had trouble with Changeling in the morning – a poor night’s sleep left my brain with mush, and I didn’t even get 1K done on it. So I had to work extra hard this morning.

I ran my errands, going to Old Greenwich and getting more photo paper (buy one, get one free, woo hoo), and other paper. I can’t wait until I have the room to store paper I buy by the case. I did that here for awhile – and kept the case in the trunk of the car, so I had to run down three flights of stairs, through the courtyard and down the street to the parking lot in the middle of the night when I ran out of paper. Uh, no, thanks. I want it in the closet of my office, thank you very much. My HOME office. Also known as The Library. Because my office will look like the library in one of those British Great Homes by the time I’m done with it.

I came home and printed nearly 100 photos, and I’m still only in June of last year. And I have, well, about 800 more photos to print. I took a LOT of pictures.

I have some great photos of enormous whale skeletons from the New Bedford Whaling Museum – two distinct enormous ones. But I can’t remember which whales they are – although I know which skeleton photo is which, if that makes any sense. So I have to go back and find out which one hangs in the atrium, and which one has its own room. The detail in the fin (flipper?) bones are astonishing – they look like oversized finger bones and the bones that fit across the top of the knuckles – wow.

And the photos I took of the Parsons House Ruin at the Nature Center – because someday I want to write a YA mystery and set it there – and the deer I happened to catch in the photo, who peered at us from between the leaves – nice to capture all those moments.

And use them for stories.

Managed to type Chapter 3 of Token (I hoped to type two chapters, but I’m just too tired). I don’t know why I’m so darned tired. I hope it’s just waning moon energy. Found what was a major plot point in Chapter 3 that I completely forgot about and need to wind up in about Chapter 17 or so.

Oops.

Got the cats a new scratching post since the old one was . . .beyond pathetic. They like the new one.

I’m reading one of the research books for the revision of Assumption, and it’s really interesting, but I put it aside last night to chomp on popcorn and read one of Archie Mayor’s books set in Vermont.

Oh, and so much for all the money I spent in August to get my computer “fixed”. Half the time it’s not responding – to anything. Then it began to scream like it was in pain and flashed “keyboard failure” at me – I fixed it, and the keyboard’s fine. And then it wouldn’t give me back my floppy disk, so I had to operate with needle-nose pliers, shouting at it, “Just TRY to electrocute me, you Microsoft piece of ---“ because, of course, I didn’t turn if off the way I should have. We seem to have negotiated a truce for the moment.

I want my money back from Geek Squad. A “fix” should last longer than this, especially when it meant losing all my professional samples.

Late start this morning – I have trouble getting to sleep lately, and then I oversleep in the morning. Ick.

But some decent work on Chasing the Changeling. So now I can start my day.

Devon

Token and Affections, 2nd Draft – 6,936 words out of estimated 45,000

6 / 45
(13.3%)

Chasing the Changeling – 3,300 words out of est. 45,000

3 / 45
(6.7%)

2007-01-12T09:45:00.000-05:00

Friday, January 12, 2007
Waning Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Rainy and cold

Chaz had a great quiz about the Egyptian Zodiac sign on his blog. I did it, and came up with a great answer – but, of course, Blogger can’t support it without losing all my sidebar stuff, so it’s only on WordPress. Hop on over to see it here. Or, if you’re looking at the WordPress version of Ink, just scroll down under this post.

The day absolutely shot by – that happens when you get a late start.

I spent A LOT of time loading my links into the WordPress version of Ink in My Coffee, rearranging stuff, etc., etc.

I spent A LOT of time setting up the new version of Kemmyrk, and I’m very proud of it. It’s as though finding the right look for the site has given it a whole new energy, and it’s finally coming together.

Crossed two more items off the January To-Do list.

AND, I moved Circadian Poems over to Word Press. The new site is here. Check out today’s poem, "The Judgment Within" by Sophia Simpson. And yes, that’s another of my photos in the header. Can you tell I’m getting into the whole Word Press thing?

I’m getting 1200 spams per day in the Circadian address – WITH the Spam filter as high as it goes. I know people are telling me to calm down about spam – but I’m paying the host enough for hosty-poo to filter the poo that is spam. So it’s taking me longer than it should to even find the darned submissions, much less respond to them. My apologies to anyone who’s waiting to hear back.

And if anyone is publishing any poetry, please send me an email with the information, links, etc., so I can include you in the Poetry News segment that comes out on Thursdays. At the risk of generating even more spam, send it here. And put something in the header so I know it’s a press release and not a penis enlargement ad.

WordPress actually makes sense to me, which gives me confidence trying to get up the websites.

I’ve almost made 1300 posts on the Blogger version of “Ink.” Who knew I had so much to say?

Worked on the quarterly newsletter. I’m waiting for one more piece of information; I hope to have it printed and in the mail latest by Monday.

Started typing Token and Affections and I’m doing enough work on it so it’s a legitimate second draft, not a “Draft 1A” which is what my typical drafts typed from longhand are. I put in some more information that’s necessary for all three novellas and fixed some logistical problems. I’ve gotten back into their individual speech patterns, some of which I think I lost in the middle of the first draft, and hope to recapture. And I’m very happy with the work. It’s getting stronger and stronger. Got the first two chapters done.

All in all, I spent nearly 12 hours working yesterday Not too shabby. Too bad all of them weren’t billable hours!

Errands today, and back to the page. I did not fill my quota on either Chasing the Changeling or “Illuminated Nude” and need to make that up.

Devon

Token and Affections, 2nd Draft – 4,505 words out of 45,000

4 / 45
(8.9%)

Chasing the Changeling – 2,050 words out of est. 45,000

2 / 45
(4.4%)

2007-01-11T13:56:00.000-05:00

January 11 Part II

Kemmyrk has a new look, a new URL, and information on working with The Celtic Oracle. Check it out here.

And, yes, it’s another of my photos in the header. I took it in Maine a few years ago.

2007-01-11T10:51:00.000-05:00

Thursday, January 11, 2007
Waning Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and cold

Yes, all you bright, wide-awake compatriots, TODAY is Thursday. Yesterday was Wednesday, even though I put Thursday at the top of the post. I have an auto day and date thingy, but it got un-calibrated and put in the wrong day, although the correct date. Beyond knowing I had two shows, which should have tipped me off it was either Wednesday or Saturday, I was clueless.

Just heard from my editor – the Plum essay is accepted and she will send the copyedited version in a few days for final approval. Woo-hoo! As soon as I have the details of the finished anthology, I will let you know. I’m very excited.

Finished Hell’s Belles last night, and will write about it in depth at some point over the next couple of days. Short version: Loved it. Go buy it.

Read Dorothy and Agatha, too, a “faction” mystery. I liked the plot and its twists (although, yes, I figured out who-done-it several chapters from the reveal). I struggled with some of the characterizations. So I enjoyed the book, but didn’t love it.

Both shows were fine yesterday, although I had some fumble-finger moments during the second show. Part of it was the surprise at hearing on the fly information that should have been given to me in advance by my bosses. And there’s some other internal politicking and maneuvering and backstabbing going on that I don’t like. However, I realized that I can simply choose not to engage in it. I can see the destruction that one toxic person is going to wreak, mostly on herself – and you know what? I don’t have to be affected by it. Because I’ve been consistent and above board. And if she’s not – the consequences are on her head, even though, at the beginning, it looks like she’s “won”. I know I made the right decision and I was forthright about it, so I can continue on my way with a clear conscience and not be pulled down by someone else’s dishonesty and double dealing. Sorry if that seems obscure, but I can’t go into the details, unfortunately. I have to admit, though, once I realized I could detach if I chose to do so – it was as though a huge weight was lifted of my shoulders. Perhaps I am moving up the learning curve a slight bit, after all.

Artie and I had a wonderful French meal at Pigalle, on Eighth Avenue. The menu is so varied and excellent, we will have to go back often to try one of everything.

Relatively painless commute – trains late, as always, out of power for a few minutes on the way home, leaving us in the dark, but they got it going again quickly, so I actually got home around 1 AM, which is when I was supposed to.

I’m worse again today, but don’t have to go in to the theatre, thank goodness. I think Lara’s right – it must be a virus. And people on the train coughing and sneezing and not making the LEAST effort to be sanitary about it doesn’t help. Plus the long hours and the heavy lifting. I’ll probably do a few extra inverted poses.

New posts will be up later today on Circadian and on Kemmyrk.

I started Chasing the Changeling today, and someone I thought would be an extremely minor character turns out to have a lot to say and push the plot along well. So he’s staying. It was odd to jump from the word of a stranger in New York to a strange world that I have to think through before I write.

I’ll start typing Token today, and do more work on “Illuminated Nude”. I also got an idea last night for a pair of paranormal comedic short stories that need to go on the list, once the required trio of short stories for this month is done.

And, now that the Plum essay has been accepted, I can turn my attention to the requested revision of Tumble.

To help with my goals of getting out more pitches/queries every week, I’ve joined freelance Kristen King’s “Official Inkthinker 2007 Query Challenge.” Check it out. And sign up, if you’re trying to get a jump start on your query process.

I’d like to crawl back into bed, but I’m going to try to be a bit more productive first!

Devon

Chasing the Changeling -- 1,375 words out of est. 45,000

1 / 45
(2.2%)

2007-01-10T08:56:00.000-05:00

Thursday, January 10, 2007
Waning Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and cold

Hop on over to Circadian Poems to read “Image” by Violetta Ashe.

And check out my essay on “Why Do A Writing Exercise?” on the Scruffy Dog Review Blog.

Supposedly, Blogger had a maintenance session yesterday. Well, goody for them. But now I can’t post any comments to any Blogger account. I just get a blank screen with “Done”. So much for “fixing” anything.

Anyway, Colin, I tried to leave a comment on your article about “Aye, Write!” , but who knows if it’ll ever show up!

More adventures with Metro North. I bought a round trip ticket yesterday, to go in off-peak and come back out during peak (rush hour). So I get on and the conductor punches the “Peak” part of the ticket. I protested – peak is a much higher fare and I’m NOT going to be charged twice because the conductor was careless. So he takes the ticket and scribbles on it that the peak portion is really still good.

Yeah, THAT’LL work.

He “can’t” replace the ticket.

Horse hockey.

So, when I get into the station, I go to the ticket counter and explain the situation, and ask them to swap out the ticket.

The ticket office “can’t.”

Bullshit.

They send me to the executive office, where I have to fill out a bunch of paperwork. But they were very nice and gave me a pass that’s good for one ride on any Metro North train at any time.

All because one of their employees was so busy chatting and cutting up he couldn’t be bothered to read the ticket.

And, had I tried to use the ticket on a peak train with his scribbles, they would have charged me not just the adjustment, but the entire onboard fare, which is markedly higher than a pre-purchased ticket. I wasn’t going to be double-charged for someone’s mistake. As it is, it costs nearly an hour’s union pay for a roundtrip ticket.

After that little escapade, I had to buy some books to recover. I bought Jackie Kessler’s Hell’s Belles, which I was determined to be my first purchase of 2007, and Janet Evanovich’s newest, Plum Love.

Work was fine. They kept me, because one of my colleagues got sick. We sent her to the doctor – she has an eye infection – and I said I’d stay. She called back in later and has to stay out today, too – poor thing – so I’m in for both shows (a 14 hour day).

The show was fine, everyone was happy to see me, the three new leads went in. All good.

Starting reading Hell’s Belles. It’s clever and witty and imaginative and lots of fun. A really, really good book. I’m having a blast with it, and I’m so proud of my friend Jackie, thrilled for her success, and just want to stand up and cheer! She works hard, she’s talented and imaginative, and she deserves all good things!

I finished the first draft of Token and Affections this morning (I did about 1300 words). It came in at 44,574 words. I started it on October 7. Considering I expected it to be 15K that I could knock off in two weeks – it’s certainly grown beyond that. In the revision, I have to reshape and develop the ending a bit more – I glossed over a few things to get to the finish line. But I think it stands alone well in addition to being the first of a trilogy of novellas.

I start typing it tomorrow, as well as beginning Chasing the Changeling.

No work on “Illuminated Nude”, unfortunately, because I stayed to do the show. At least I didn’t have to do a revision on the essay until 4 AM, and I hope I don’t arrive home at 1AM tomorrow to find she needs a revision when she gets in at 9. Keep your fingers crossed for me, people!

I had this lovely To-Do list of writing tasks for today – all out the window, except for the work on Token.

Off to the theatre for a long, two-show day, but at least I get to have dinner with Artie. That brightens any day.

Devon

Token and Affections – 44,574 words out of 44,574

44 / 44
(100.0%)

2007-01-09T09:05:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Waning Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and cold

Quick, short entry today because Blogger is about to go down for servicing, and I was up far too late last night trying to get the essay done.

Hop on over to Circadian Poems for “New Year” by Bliss Monaghan (which should have gone up yesterday) and a short essay, “How It Feels to Write a Poem” by Brenda Braene.

Hop on over to Kemmyrk for a short essay on Comparative/Competitive Spirituality.

Acupuncture was great yesterday, and I feel better, although I’m having trouble shaking this cold.

Worked on the essay until nearly midnight and got it out at ten minutes before twelve. Oh, well, technically it was still Monday, right?

Some nice work on Token and Affections this morning – I think I only have one more chapter to go.

Off to the theatre – I’m sure it’s a crazy day today – and then back to do some work on “Illuminated Nude.”

Devon

Token and Affections -- 43,421 words out of est. 35,000

43 / 35
(122.9%)

2007-01-08T11:38:00.000-05:00

Monday, January 8, 2007
Waning Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Raining and cooler

Quick, late post.

I’m still sick; didn’t go to the party last night; stayed home in bed. A little better today, but I have to finish the Plum essay and get it off to my editor, and I’m on my way to acupuncture now.

New posts will be up late afternoon/early evening for both Circadian Poems and Kemmyrk.

Devon

Token and Affections -- 42,241 words out of est. 35,000

42 / 35
(120.0%)

2007-01-07T09:30:00.000-05:00

Sunday, January 7, 2007
Waning Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and warm

I am pathetic. I’m worse than the cats, who are actually feeling much better. The full on cold has hit now, with the congestion, and everything else. Although, I guess the saying is “feed a cold” because it certainly has NOT interfered with my appetite.

The Christmas/Yule decorations are down, but it took most of the day yesterday, and I was too tired by the end of it to put the Mardi Gras decorations up. I don’t have as many as I thought I did – I may have to create some more between now and Shrove Tuesday.

Lots of hand washing, because the metallic fabrics aren’t happy in either the washer or the dryer, and there was no way I felt well enough to schlep everything up and down three flights of stairs and through the labyrinth of the basement to the laundry room.

Instead of stripping everything bare, as I usually do, I did a lot of fabric-switching – switched out the Yuletide fabric for more wintry stuff. So everything still looks warm and cheerful, just in an icier palette.

Of course, we broke records by hitting the 70 degree mark yesterday, but I can PRETEND it’s winter and shake the snow globes a lot, right?

Towards the end of the afternoon, I decided I HAD to have chocolate cake, and I wanted to break in the new mini-bundt pans I bought, so I baked chocolate cake – six mini ones, and one layer of an 8” round. Yummy. And I made lemon-garlic chicken for dinner.

Like I said, feed a cold.

Enjoyed the interviews with Molly Keane and, especially, Rosamond Lehmann in Looking Back. I’ve never read any of their work, and now I’m interested in hunting it down.

Tried to use one of my new yoga DVDs and what does the computer (where my DVD player lives) tell me? That I need to BUY, from Microsoft, a “decoder”. Huh? You mean I can’t get it in a box of Cracker Jacks? Hey, Microsoft – Bite me! I paid you enough money to put this frigging player in the computer in the first place – don’t try to extort more cash out of me.

No work on “Illuminated Nude” yesterday, though scenes are forming in my mind. I just hope they stay there until they get down on paper. I managed to get a bit done this morning.

And I did more work on Token and Affection. I think I’ve got two more chapters (about 16 pages), and then the draft is done. I’m so close!

The bulk of today will be spent on the Plum essay, which has to go out first thing tomorrow.

I’m supposed to go to a swanky shin-ding in the city tonight, but if I’m not feeling MUCH better, I’ll cancel out. Plus, I don’t want to make anyone else sick. I know cats and humans aren’t supposed to get the same viruses, but it’s a little weird that all of us had the sneezles over the same time period. They recovered pretty quickly, so I’m sure I will, too.

Thanks, EJ, for the photo cropping tip. Now, if I can just figure out what the heck the Geek Squad guy did with my photo editing programs when he “fixed” my computer . . .

Devon

Token and Affections – 41,146 words out of est. 35,000

41 / 35
(117.1%)

“Illuminated Nude” 2,750 words out of est. 5,000

2 / 5
(40.0%)

2007-01-06T08:59:00.000-05:00

Saturday, January 6, 2007
Waning Moon
Epiphany/Twelfth Night
Saturn Retrograde
Rainy and warm

So, there’s the receipt evidence from my boss that the money was paid – yet it’s not in my account. I don’t really care where it got screwed up along the way – I want it fixed. AND, I will invoice the company for any late fees I’m given if any of my bills are late. AND I’m complaining to the union. At least it wasn’t just me – it was everyone on the show. Which is unacceptable, because it happens regularly.

Speaking of complaints to the union, they’ve screwed us on our health coverage yet again. Four years ago, I was proud to be a part of the union, part of the work, part of a progress. Now, health care wise, they’ve bowed to all the crap Bush has done and they’re screwing their membership. Not a happy camper.

On top of it, problems with the Sequel took up far too much of the day.

So I didn’t worry about writing. I dealt with what had to be dealt with and went back to bed with books.

I tried to post a picture on the WordPress version of Ink, just to learn how. Well, I know how – but I don’t know how to edit the photos in order to crop them. Yet. They look darned good, they’re just too darned BIG.

I really like WordPress, and, if I can just iron out this photo thingy, I’ll move the whole thing over by the end of the month. Slowly I’m adding my links over there – but they automatically alphabetize, which I don’t get to read my daily list in the order I like to – but I’m sure I’ll get over it. I still get to everyone eventually, right?

Finished Conceived with Malice and I have mixed feelings about it. It is an excellently written book. Louise DeSalvo’s research is wonderful, her arguments are well-laid out. I simply think that her examples of writers writing for revenge – by choosing ONLY a quartet of sexually abused writers – paints too narrow a picture. I think that there are other reasons writers put people they know, in whatever form, into their work. The book is well-done, but I think it offers a skewed perspective. Also, she’d just finished the book she wrote on the effect of Virginia Woolf’s sexual abuse on her work and life – one would think she’d like a break from the topic. Instead, she gravitated immediately back. In summation, I think it’s a very good book, but I found the scope too limited for the topic.

I’m now reading Looking Back: A Panoramic View of a Literary Age by the Grandes Dames of European Letters by Shusha Guppy. It’s quite interesting, although I can’t say I’m fond of many of her subjects of choice. I found Lesley Blanch far too impressed with herself, and the more self-impressed she grew during the interview, the less impressed I was with her, and I lost my desire to read her work. Lady Diana Cooper prattles a lot in her interview, but, reading along, I got the feeling it was deliberate, and there was plenty to see/hear between the “prat” and the “tle”. I thoroughly enjoyed the interview with Joan Haslip – I think I’ve read some of the biographies she’s authored, and the interview makes me want to hunt down more. I just started the interview with Juliette Huxley – which covers some of the same ground as DeSalvo’s book, but from an entirely different perspective.

I SHOULD be reading the research books for Assumption, but I have a feeling that they’ll be quick reads.

Today will be spent taking down the Christmas decorations and putting up the Mardi Gras decorations.

And the rest of the weekend will be spent doing some more tweaks on the Plum essay as requested by my editor. We’re almost there.

End o’Week Check In:
13 in Play: 10 out there; need to get out 3 more submissions as soon as I can
Pitches submitted: 2 (but, by accident, I stumbled across a really cool company for which I’d like to write, so I’m going to get a pitch out today.

I moved A Biblio Paradise from Blogger over to WordPress – complete with my own photo of a Montauk sunset in the header. Check it out here. I also have a new piece up today about the demise of Coliseum Books, an independent bookstore here in New York, whose loss has shaken me badly.

I did some good work on Token and Affections this morning. I have about two and a half chapters to go – less than 25 pages – and I’m done with the first draft. I like it. It needs work, but I like it.

The next few scenes of “Illuminated Nude” are shaping themselves in my head, so I hope to get them done this weekend, too.

Still feel pretty lousy; but at least the cats are better (except Elsa, who’s pretty miserable) We’ve all been pathetic for the past few days!

Devon

Token and Affections – 40,116 words out of est. 35,000

40 / 35
(114.3%)

If you haven’t received the latest issue of Devon’s Random Newsletter, sign up here.

2007-01-05T10:17:00.000-05:00

Friday, January 5, 2007
Waning Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Rainy and mild

My article “New Year’s Resolutions for Sports Fans’ is up on Femmefan.

Of course, since I wasn’t feeling well, there’s more chaos with The Situation: The Sequel. Can I just say these slime buckets really piss me off? I’d really like to whistle up the Karma dogs, but they need to come on their own.

So, lost a good bit of the morning to that.

I have to say, spending ten minutes every day cleaning off my desk works. I see the difference, and it’s a good one. Even with what accumulates from the day’s work, there’s still progress. And it’s much easier to break it down that way than to get overwhelmed by everything on the desk.

Thanks for the compliments on the WordPress version of the blog. I like it, too. If I can figure out how to work it and the photo stuff, I’ll move there permanently by the end of the month. In the meantime, during the learning process, I’m double-posting.

Went out to do some errands. It was a lovely day, and I wish I felt better.

Caught up on some correspondence.

Should have written some pitches, but didn’t feel sparkly enough to do so. Managed to get one done and out, which I felt decent but not spectacular about.

Did the next scene of “Illuminated Nude”. It’s shorter than the first scene, but, for this piece, I find that working scene-by-scene works best.

I have an idea for my next FemmeFan article, but I think it will take me a week or more to get all the research done for it. I can’t get it to my editor in time for next week’s edition – maybe for the week after.

Rested quite a bit in the afternoon. I wasn't feeling horrible or anything – just scratchy and achy and it’s slowing me down.

I actually felt worse when I woke up this morning; however the bills don’t pay themselves, so I have errands all over the place. And they certainly won’t pay themselves this week – I have direct deposit, and yet the money from the shows/daywork I did last week isn’t in there. Nothing. And it should be a decent chunk of change. The damn show took in over a million dollars last week and they can’t be bothered to pay me correctly and on time? This is a pattern, since I’ve worked there. And it’s not like they don’t have the money. I’m going to start invoicing them for late fees on my bills. NOT acceptable. And the point of direct deposit is so you don’t have to worry about bank holidays, etc. I contacted my boss to find out if he knows anything, and I’ll trace it back from there to find out where the problem is, and to ask for immediate solution.

And there’s one bill that HAS to be paid today, no matter what.

I am NOT amused.

Devon

“Illuminated Nude” – 2000 words out of est. 5,000

2 / 5
(40.0%)

2007-01-04T10:13:00.000-05:00

Thursday, January 4, 2007
Last Day of the Full Moon
Saturn Retrograde

Partly sunny and co0l

Happy Birthday, Chaz Brenchley!

He’s both a wonderful friend AND a wonderful writer.

Hop on over to Kemmyrk for some ideas on oracle study for the New Year.

Worked on “Illuminated Nude” yesterday. Did about 5 ½ pages. Originally, I hoped it would only by 1500 words long, but no such luck. The opening scene was the first 5 ½ pages. However, I really like it – it’s completely different from anything I’ve ever done before, and is as fascinating to write as I hope it will be to read. I’m figuring it will run somewhere between 3-5K. And it’s interesting to tell the story from inside a male protagonist. I moved the location from Paris to New Orleans, in the Metairie Cemetery, which also adds some interesting atmosphere. It’s an odd piece, but I like it.

Wrote and submitted two short articles. Also submitted two short stories. So, it was a reasonably productive day. I may not have 13-in-Play – but I have 10.

I worked and worked and worked on the DE web site yesterday – and carefully tracked and wrote out the things I don’t understand about the process. Look out, Colin, in a few days I’m sending an email your way. Some things are starting to make sense, but some don’t, and if they can be explained, I think I can get it.

If we’re talking about pushing a comfort zone – I’m attempting to learn Word Press, and I made an entry over on that blog – another version of “Ink” with an entirely different look – check it out here. If I like it, I’ll switch from here over to there. If I don’t, I’ll dump that one and stay here. It’s taking me awhile to learn how to deal with it.

Of course, staring when I’m exhausted from a full day of writing probably wasn’t the brightest thing I’ve ever done. I’m trying to decide if I’m going to double post for awhile, or what.

And can I use the word meter bars there?

We’ll find out, won’t we?

Something that could seriously prevent a permanent move is the fact I can’t load many photos. Well, I can load photos, but they have to already be on an URL, or if I upload into the system, it’s only 50 somethings and it doesn’t appear in the blog. Since I enjoy sharing my photos with you, that’s a big disappointment.

I got a late start this morning, because I was up late reading Conceived with Malice last night. I want to finish the entire book before I comment on it. It’s interesting, but I have some questions regarding authorial interpretations.

Had a great morning’s work on Token and Affections – I’m thrilled with the way it’s headed. And I can’t wait to get back to work on ”Illuminated Nude”.

Unfortunately, I woke up with a scratchy throat and a bit of a fever, so I’m going to try not to push too hard today.

Devon

Token and Affections – 38,616 words out of est. 35,000

38 / 35
(108.6%)

“Illuminated Nude” -- 1375 words out of est. 5,000

1 / 5
(20.0%)

2007-01-03T09:40:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Full Moon – Wolf Moon/Cold Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Cloudy and cool

Hop on over to the SDR blog to read the “Nano Now What?” essay.

Got your newsletter yet? If not, sign up here. Just send an email telling me you want to be on the list!

And check out my friend Kristen’s new blog, http://livelywomen.com. It’s got some great ideas for fitness and overall wellness.

I got out an overview packet to a potential client yesterday before I left for the show. Always feels good to get something like that done.

The job postings have been discouraging lately, so I have to find some new lists. It’s not there jobs aren’t listed – it’s just not in the areas in which I’m well versed – or could get up to speed quickly. There are plenty of other writers who are better suited – many of them in my freelancing group, and I hope they gobble them all up! I need to take a look at the kinds of places for which I want to write and create the type of position I want – convince them there’s something they need that only I can provide.

Unfortunately, the places for whom I like to work tend to be non-profit, whereas the better money is in corporate.

Just have to work a little harder, I guess, huh?

Coming home from work, the sky was a gorgeous teal, with that big full moon hanging in it – absolutely lovely!

Work was fine – one of the leads left, and a new one is coming in later in the week. There’s a massive principal exodus at the end of the week, with a bunch of new leads starting next week, so that should be interesting.

As I worked, I set out the territory I want to cover in “Illuminated Nude.” It’s not like anything else I’ve written, and the premise excites me. So we’ll see how it goes.

Went trolling the market listings, and actually found some interesting stuff. So, today, I want to sit down and either write and send a bunch of queries and pitches or make some outright submissions, depending upon the various guidelines.

I mean, hey, I need to get up to speed on both the 13-in-Play AND the weekly goal of 3-5 pitches per week, right?

And I have an idea for a short piece for FemmeFan – but I might be about a week too late for it.

Managed to clear out one of the many email accounts – I had to trudge through over 800 spams. Now the account is down to the six pieces of legitimate mail I actually need to deal with. I’m telling you, 1and1 sucks, big time.

Problem is, I don’t think the other hosts are any better. If 1and1 is this bad and it got the award for best host, what are the others like? Ick.

So much for their highest spam filter, which does absolutely NOTHING, and for the function that’s supposed to dump the spam once a week and DOESN’T.

What, exactly, am I paying for? Obviously not service.

And, on top of that, some dipstick tried to hack into my system again. Fortunately, the MacAfee wall held somewhat, although the whole thing exploded into the White Screen of Death, shut itself down, turned itself back on, ran a CHKDSK, deleted a bunch of stuff, didn’t want to have anything to do with Outlook for about an hour, and then settled down.

I mean, come on, I’m not interesting enough or important enough for a hacking.

A hacking cough, maybe, but that’s about it.

Long list of “shoulds” for today, mostly writing-related. I decided to put off the weekly trip to Trader Joe’s until Friday, so the cats will have to make do with normal cat food instead of their organic extraordinaire food and they are NOT amused.

I meant to comment on the death of President Gerald Ford. I actually remember the whole Watergate thing, and Nixon’s resignation, followed by Ford’s ascent into the Presidency. I was pretty young, but my parents always had me watch the news with them. My father, in particular, wanted to make sure I watched the footage of the Vietnam war so I would never have the mistaken notion that war was romantic. People die, and it’s usually the innocent and the civilians.

In any case, before I go too far on a tangent, my memories of President Ford are that he was a good man who believed in his country and, even more importantly, in the PEOPLE of his country (as opposed to the politicians and the corporations). He tried to do right by us. Yes, most will remember the goofy Saturday Night Live skits lampooning his klutziness, but I always got the impression he was so full of ideas he wasn’t looking at the ground much – sort of like a ballet dancer. The head is up, the eyes are out, there are far more important things than cracks on the sidewalk or tree roots.

Anyway, I remember him doing a lot of good in his few years in office (I thought it was more than a half a term). He was someone who impacted my life in a positive way.

I’m very excited about the gallop towards the finish line with Tokens -some really cool stuff is happening, which makes the piece much stronger than I originally envisioned it, thank goodness!

Devon

Token and Affections -- 37,491 words out of est. 35,000

37 / 35
(105.7%)

2007-01-02T07:52:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Waxing Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and cold

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

And congrats to Jackie Kessler! Today is the official release date for her book, HELL’S BELLES. Woo-hoo, Jackie! I’m looking forward to reading it.

Hope you had a great start to your year, and that the year brings you joy and abundance in all things.

This post is broken down into the three bits again. This is the daily natter. Below this is my To-Do List for January – a long one, but January’s a long month, and I need to get going, because I lost a lot of time last year. Below that are my Goals, Dreams, and Resolutions for 2007.

I firmly believe goals, dreams, and resolution are different elements of the life, and the GDRs reflect that. Who knows what the year will bring, but at least I’ve got a jumping off point, and something to work towards. I’m like a race horse – I need to know there’s a barrel of oats at the barn at the end of the race, or I’m simply not interested. Well, in my case it’s a box of Godiva and a bottle of champagne, but you get the idea.

Two shows on Saturday took it out of me. Everyone was perfectly nice and happy to see me. But, for some reason, the matinee seemed sixteen hours long. Three of us went out for Vietnamese food, which was lovely. I pointed and it came to the table looking much better than the picture, and tasted even better than it looked Yummy!

And I may have gotten a freelance writing gig out of the dinner conversation. One of my dinner companions is starting her own business and needs brochure copy, business plan, etc., etc. So we’re going to talk more and work something out that works for us both time wise and rate wise.

The house staff had a party between shows, and invited me to join them when I got back from dinner, including sharing their very special punch. Yummy!

Second show flew past, although I broke a zipper during a quick change. I’m notorious for that. But I got the actor IN the costume in the change and OUT of it for the next one, so it was all good. I tossed tourists right and left to get to the train. There was no way I was going to miss the train, wait for an hour, and get home after 2 AM. Not happening!

The train ride itself, of course was a nightmare, in both directions. The temperature was much colder than predicted, so, of course, the train had the air conditioning going full blast. In addition to being late.

On New Year’s Eve, I had trouble getting it together to start for the retreat. I caught up on blog reading; I printed more photos; I read the paper. Plus, I was very sore from the shows, for some reason. Usually, it takes an eight show week for me to feel that messed up.

I finally got going, and was glad once I got there, because I had the chance for some peace and quiet. And writing time.

Ideas from half-baked stories that haven’t worked over the years are now starting to form into something rather coherent. If it works, it will make sense of a lot of fragments with which I’ve played over the years, and would be great. We’ll see. I’m going to let it percolate.

I closed the journal on the past two years, physically and symbolically, and started a new journal book. I love fresh, clean journal books – it always makes me feel that the possibilities are endless, and I like that. When people say there are “too many choices” frankly, I think they’re cracked. There’s no such thing. Choice is wonderful – the more choices you have, the more responsibility you have to take. It’s on YOU, not someone else who only presented limited options. People who are overwhelmed by choices, in my opinion, are actually overwhelmed because they don’t want to take responsibility for those choices. They’d rather make it someone else’s fault.

If you don’t frequently push yourself out of your comfort zone, you get stagnant. You need some restful times – pushing all the time just makes you tired in a way that’s counterproductive – but stasis equals lack of growth, and really, what do we have without growth? Life cycles are about growing, whether it’s children or cornfields.

According to news reports, over a million people celebrated the New Year in Times Square. And the rain held off until about 12:01 AM. All good.

Outlined three new projects, but who knows when I’ll have a chance to write them. Two are definitely adult pieces in the fantastical realm and the third is a cycle of probably about four YA novels. We’ll see.

Printed out what’s left of the 2006 log (since the first part of the year was lost by the Geek Squad Guy), so that I can track projects and make some more submissions this week. On Friday, I’ll see where I am with the 13-in-Play bit. And I have to sit down and do at least three pitches this week. Of course, the trick with that is finding a place to which to pitch. I haven’t been too happy with the listings on the job boards lately – very little that grabs me.

Did a lot of work on Token and Affections, over 3400 words. Considered breaking up the time on different projects, but Token was going so well and I’m so close to finishing that I just stuck with it. I’m over my 35K estimate (considering that, originally, it was only supposed to be 15K), and I’m just going to let it be what it is. The ending will remain the same, but I’ve changed how I get there slightly, in a way that strengthens the piece.

I haven’t done fresh pages on Real or Fix-It Girl yet, but I wanted to start the year knowing where I am with them. Real is a great, big mess and will need massive rewriters. And that editor who had me write the first 50 pages in three days or whatever it was and then quit her job and disappeared with the manuscript has never resurfaced. Of course, what it’s morphed into and what the original vision was were two different things. Again, a big lesson as far as finishing FIRST.

Read Carpe Demon by Julie Kenner and really enjoyed it. I think the character of Kate is just great, and I enjoyed everyone –except Kate’s husband, Stuart. I’m hoping he gets killed off a few books down the line, because Cutter is a much better fit for her. Stuart is annoying. He just makes me choke with disgust. I don’t see any reason why Kate would marry him, or even spend an afternoon with him. There’s nothing enticing or exciting or adorable about him. The he’s-a-symbol-of-security-and-she-was-raised-an-orphan – I don’t buy it. Not in this case.

It’s also great in the positive way it deals with faith. As most of you know, I have very little patience for organized religion, because most of the time it’s used to oppress, manipulate, or as an excuse to commit atrocity in the name of whichever God it pretends to honor. However, in this book, the positive use of faith is strongly depicted, without being preachy or otherwise revolting.

I am going to go out and buy the sequel, California Demon, because the rest of the characters are people with whom I want to spend more time.

The latest issue of Devon’s Random newsletter goes out today. If you don’t get your copy, it might mean you’re not signed up. So why don’t you sign up here? This year, one of my goals is to be a little less random on the newsletter than I was last year.

So I can cross item 10 off of the January To-Do List!

Off to the theatre. Let’s hope some of the tourists have gone home after a happy time in the Big Apple – and we get our city back again and take the time to leisurely stroll to and from work instead of feeling like a linebacker on a – goodness, I’ll have to trust Bailey to come up with the play. Football’s not my sport – thoroughbred racing and ice hockey are.

Devon

Token and Affections ---- 35,741 words out of est. 35,000

36 / 35
(102.9%)

Real –106,500 words out of est. 120,000

106 / 120
(88.3%)

The Fix-it Girl – 61,790 words out of est. 100,000

61 / 100
(61.0%)

2007-01-02T07:48:00.000-05:00

January 2007 To –Do List:

1. 3 short stories (one of which is “Illuminated Nude”) which are due by the end of the month to a market

2. Finish and type Token and Affections

3. Start Chasing the Changeling

4. Finish 1st draft of Real

5. Work on The Fix-It Girl

6. Get Dixie Dust Rumors queries out

7. 3-5 pitches out/week (total 12-20)

8. Do Hope Clark’s 13-in-Play – check status weekly

9. Work on DE site (aren’t you getting sick of seeing that one? I sure am)

10. Devon’s Random Newsletter

11. Quarterly newsletter

12. Start next column for SDR review

13. Circadian Poems

14. Finish typing Shallid

15. After the 29th, begin edits on Assumption of Right

16. Read the two research books to make the edits possible; to interviews as necessary

17. SDR blog – every Wed.

18, Kemmyrk – Mondays and Thursdays

19. Occasional (but more frequently than this past year) entries on both Biblio Paradise and Wordish Wanderings.

20. Requested revision for Tumble

2007-01-02T07:42:00.000-05:00

Goals, Dreams, and Resolutions 2007

1. Take a few minutes to reflect on the previous year. What are you happy with?

I’m happy because I felt my writing took a leap. I met some wonderful people, and strengthened relationships with friends. I became clearer on my own boundaries.

2. What are you unhappy with?

I’m unhappy that I’m not farther along in the transition, even though I know it was mostly due to the pressures of The Situation.

I’m unhappy in that I feel I lost a part of myself that was optimistic and kind in the Situation, and I don’t know if I can heal enough to regain it.

I’m unhappy in that I feel I spent too much time in groups.

I’m unhappy because I feel I got too caught up in the “busy-ness” of the writing “business” and neglected the art and the craft.

I also feel I often got caught up in other people’s “stuff” – which is very different from being supportive of friends who are going through a difficult time.

I feel I often spun my wheels, instead of settling down to do focused work.

3. What unexpected joys did you discover during the year?

Getting to know some wonderful people.
Even sporadically, the time spent in yoga made a huge difference.
Strengthening bonds with some of the people close to me.

4. What were some of the unexpected obstacles that came up, and how did you deal with them? Looking back, would you have done anything differently?

Regarding The Situation, I would have struck back sooner and harder, and worked less from a position of fear. Spent less time in a tizzy, and more time acting. I also feel that I got caught up in a cycle of loyalty again, often with people who did not deserve it, and with that, I worked against my own best interests.

5. What expectations did you find you needed to let go of?

That I have full control over the transition.
That I have as much stamina as I need.
That other people are going to listen carefully and actually respond to what I say/write, instead of skimming it and imposing their own frame of reference onto it.

6. Looking ahead, how do you want to structure next year to support your writing?

Say “no” more
Put the writing first
Not get caught up in the web of what other people say one “must” do to become successful, and follow my own path to my own kind of success.

7. How does the rest of your life support your writing?

Most of the rest of my life does, because I’ve learned to redraw boundaries this year. I need to push harder with the business writing. I need to manage time better and stop making excuses. And I need to worry less about other people not fulfilling their potential. It’s their choice, not my problem. I have enough to juggle.

8. How can you change/compromise on the non-supportive elements?

Hold to the boundaries drawn.
Remove unsupportive people from my life (who are different than the supportive ones who give me a reality check when I need it).

9. What new aspect of the writing life do you want to try next year?

I’m not sure. Every year, I keep saying I want to expand more into travel writing and food writing, and I keep holding back. Maybe this is the year I take the leap? I want to keep playing with cross-genre pieces and write whatever interests me. I want to learn more, listen more.

10. Where do you need to be more disciplined?

Time management, especially with less time on the internet.

11. Where do you need to ease up on yourself?

I need to make sure I leave time for fun, and don’t let writing become a job, even though it’s a vocation. I need plenty of percolation time, which I didn’t give myself this past year. This past year, I had it when I collapsed out of sheer exhaustion and stress. I want to build it in for the coming year.

12. List your goals for the coming year.

--Finish at least three unfinished projects that are sitting around
--Do the first drafts of at least three new novels
--Get the relocation DONE
--Expand the business writing
--Get the websites up
--Commit to both the fitness/yoga practice and redevelop my spiritual practice
--Keep 13-in-Play/Focus on finding homes for every piece
--Not let a backlog of projects accumulate

13. List three positive, active steps to take on each goal to get it going.

--Finish at least three unfinished projects that are sitting around.
Pick one
Work on it every day
Move on to the next one

--Do the first draft of at least three new novels
Go over my notes
Pick what’s pulling the hardest
Work on it every day until it’s done; then move on to the next one.

--Get the relocation DONE
Put the financials in order
House hunt
Do it

--Expand the business writing
Get the websites up
Pitch continually
Stretch with new projects

--Get the websites up
Learn faster
Set aside blocks of time to devote to the learning process
Don’t get discouraged and frustrated so easily

--Commit to the fitness/yoga practice and redevelop the spiritual practice
Create the schedule I need/want and stick to it, without excuses
Follow the study paths that are opening
Realize there’s no such thing as being “too busy” for this part of my life, and be as ruthless with the time management of this as I am in the writing.

--Keep 13-in-Play/Find homes for everything written
More comprehensive lists before I start submissions
Keep track of those lists (don’t put them away and “lose” them)
If something comes back, re-read it, tweak if necessary and send it back out THE SAME DAY.

--Not let a backlog of projects accumulate.
This is tied in to the above – making more complete lists when I prepare to send it out the first time, and just keep moving it down the list.
Really try to match projects to markets more realistically than I have this year.
Keep pieces in motion instead of letting them stack up on the desk.

14 List your dreams for the coming year.

Relocate
Create a secure, peaceful environment for my family and my writing.

15. List three positive, active steps to transform each dream into a goal.

--Relocate
See above

--Create a secure, peaceful environment for my family and my writing
Create boundaries and hold them
Relocate
Freelance full time

16. List your resolutions for the coming year.

--Try to find the kindness and compassion that was stomped out of me during The Situation
--Sew more
--Paint more
--Take more quiet time for myself

17. List three positive, active steps to help you stick to them.

--Try to find the kindness and compassion that was stomped out of me during The Situation
Give myself the time and space to heal
Spend more time with positive people; remove negative people from my life
Return to writing in my journal each night a list of the things/people/happenings during the day for which I am grateful.

--Sew more
The sewing machine’s out – use it!
Work on quilts as well as clothes
Experiment with designs

--Paint more
Get over the “you can’t” I’ve felt all my life
Use it as play time, not serious work time
If it helps, make like a kid again and finger paint!

--Take more time for myself
Schedule long meditations a few times a week
Find a good yoga studio so I can take classes
Book creative/percolation breaks

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