Yes, yes. I’m aware that it’s Sunday. I know! I know I usually post these summaries on Mondays. But my “week” starts on Sunday, so I always write these things on Sunday, I just don’t usually post them until Monday.
So, psych! I gotcha!
Honestly, though, I don’t know if I’m just ahead of the of the game because I’ve been stuck in the house all week (Trev tested positive for COVID on Wednesday), or if I’d be this motivated (writing-wise) even if I could run to the grocery store. Quarantining sucks, but I’m making the most of it, I guess.
It’s been a doozy of a week, so let’s get into it!
Last Week
- Revise >30 chapters of Something Sulfurous
- Write >500 words of Victoria
- Revise and submit The Finest Creation of an Artful God
- Keep working on fics
- Record Podcast Episode
How'd I Do?
- Revise >30 chapters of Something Sulfurous
- No. BUT, I revised 20 chapters, and am on track to finish this revision today!
- Write >500 words of Victoria
- Um…. Yes. Definitely yes. Definitely even more than 500 words… Like a lot more. Like maybe… all of it?
- Revise and submit The Finest Creation of an Artful God
- Yes and Yes! It is done and out in the ethereal plane that is submission.
- Keep working on fics
- Yes. Both fics saw a bit of progress this week.
- Record Podcast Episode
- Nope. One host is out of town this weekend. Another is celebrating their birthday, and I’m quarantined and currently have the voice of a century-old asthmatic bog hag.
Weekly Word Count: 13,481
There’s a lot of great stuff to talk about regarding this week. I am officially halfway through the final revision of Something Sulfurous! I will finish it today! On Tuesday, as part of #TheLongestDay, I wrote 12,798 words and FINISHED the Victoria rough draft! I also used that time to revise The Finest Creation of an Artful God and get it up to snuff. It’s out on submission now, and I’ve got my fingers crossed it will find a good home.
Both of my current WIPs (that’s “Work in Progress” – a term I only use in reference to fanfic for some reason. Original fiction is always “draft”.) saw some decent work this week, and this is a good reminder for me to update my fics so readers know I’m still working on them!
Honorable Mentions
In response to the news that I now have fewer rights than a corpse, I wrote about 1000 words of either very furious poetry, or a short story about a ghost haunting the Justices and paving the way for the living to take back their rights. Things got dark, but hey, those are the times we live in.
I am very much in a Fuck Around and Find Out mood, meaning, if the Government wants to Fuck Around, they are gonna find out just how angry we can be. But, I don’t want this post to devolve (entirely) into a rant about why overturning Roe v. Wade is a blatant attack on basically everyone but cis white men. I don’t have the energy to keep making my point to people who will never agree with me. Because anyone who STILL doesn’t see how this is bad, anyone who STILL isn’t terrified for their loved ones and our democracy…
I’m sorry. You’ve chosen to believe hollow words over years of evidence and fact. And I don’t know how to help you. You are unreachable to me. I’ve tried. God, have I tried. But there is no reasoning with you. And so I won’t waste my time.
ANYWAY.
I’ve been reading a lot in quarantine. I finished a book, and then immediately started another (this one is about pirates!) and am thoroughly enjoying it. While I prefer to consume the written word, my spouse loves movies. He comes from a family that ran a drive-in in Alaska, as well as managed traditional theaters in the 80s and 90s. Movies are THE form of entertainment in his family. Meanwhile, getting me to agree to sit for 2+ hours to watch a film is such a struggle. I almost always must be bribed with popcorn. I don’t know why! I usually enjoy our movie nights, but getting me to agree, and then picking a movie is so fucking tedious to me. Maybe that’s it… it’s the picking I can’t stand. Because, honestly? I rarely think a movie “sounds” good. They all seem “meh” to me.
Anyway, all of this is to say that, I try to watch at least one movie a week with Trev, because it makes him happy. And last night we watched two movies: The Imitation Game (which was wonderful) and Apostle (which was not).
So that’s what’s been up this week. Being stuck at home during the first nice week of the summer, on my first full week off of work is uh… not ideal. I’m making the best of it, though. Since it’s so nice out, I moved our really shitty folding table out onto our covered deck. I really love revising outside, usually on a patio with a beer. But going to a brewery just isn’t an option right now. So, I did the best with what I have. It isn’t perfect, but it is better than sitting inside ALL. FREAKING. DAY.
What's Next?
- Finish Something Sulfurous
- This feels like cheating, because I know I’m going to finish this today. Oh, well.
- Read two books by July 1st
- This also feels too easy, but after this past week’s productivity, maybe easy is earned?
- Post a chapter of fanfic
- Also easy. I have one in the hopper, ready to rock whenever.
- Look at old short stories
- So, I have a few short stories from… November 2020? Is that right? Yes. Shit. Anyway, Willamette Writers did an online Month of Mastery in November 2020 and tied it into NaNoWriMo (NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth). I was not doing well, mentally, by Novemner 2020 and writing was extremely difficult for me. I didn’t have a novel, so I focused on working on a handful of short stories. The majority of them are unfinished and sitting in a folder waiting for me to come back to them. And since my writing plate is suddenly empty, maybe now is the time to dust them off and see if I can see if they’re as bad as I thought they were then.
Side Note: Shoutout to the Willamette Writer who, when I was spiraling and unwell and convinced I would never write anything good again, told me, “Is it actually bad? Or do you just feel so bad that nothing looks good? Come back when you’re feeling better and see.”
And actually, shoutout to Mark Teppo and my little writing cohort that year, for bearing with me and supporting me through one of the darkest times in my writing (and personal) life. I’m not sure I could have powered through without you. I’m not sure I would have gotten back on the horse, so to speak, without you.
… come to think of it… that quote might have been Mark Teppo. Shit. I don’t remember who said it, but it feels very Mark-ish. It definitely COULD have been Mark. But I don’t know if it was. Also, shoutout to Rebecca (another Willamette Writer) who told me, after I’d complained that my Nanowrimo stories all sounded like a stranger (hence why I hated them), that, “when your voice sounds wrong, it means you’re growing. Don’t stop. It’s getting better!”
I don’t know how true that was, but by God did I need to hear that. I didn’t stop, even though I really wanted to. And I didn’t throw those stories away. I guess this week is when I’ll finally see how “bad” they are. Yep. You guessed it. I haven’t looked at them since December 2020!
And really, all of this is to say – join a writing group and be an active participant! Thanks to Willamette Writers’ brilliant decision to embrace virtual meetings during the pandemic, I have met so many wonderful people. I met Mark and Rebecca, Nancy and our entire SFF Critique group! I’ve met writers of every genre imaginable. I’ve met playwrights and poets and screenwriters. I’ve met indie publishers and agents and artists and musicians. I’ve met and made friends with so many people doing amazing and cool things (like writing librettos for Operas!). And I wouldn’t be the same writer today without them.
This is the part where I plug the Willamette Writers Annual Conference. You’ll find all the pertinent details at their website, but the best part is, even if you aren’t local to the Portland area, Willamette Writers is offering a virtual conference experience! I volunteered for the 2020 conference, which was entirely online and was BLOWN AWAY by how good it was. So, if you’re a writerly sort and want to meet some of the people I’ve mentioned and/or hinted at, if you want to join a community of writers at work, come to the conference! You’re going to have an amazing time, I promise!
Are You Done Yet?
Damn. I apparently had a lot to say today. That or the ADHD meds haven’t kicked in yet, because this post is rambly af. Regardless, this is the state of things. This week looks to be much more laid back than the last. And honestly? That’s kinda scary! What do I do when there’s nothing to do?!?!
I guess we’ll find out. I’ll be back later this week to talk about June as a whole, and probably again over the weekend to do the Mid-Year Review (I know I just did a weird, quarterly/triennial review thing, but I need to get on track and mark the halfway point of the year!).
Until then, Blogland,
BZ
P.S. The Newsletter is going out later today, so if you haven’t subscribed yet, now’s the time!
