I’m sitting at my “new” desk (twitter followers know what’s up) and feeling unreasonably good considering I have to get up and go to work tomorrow. Let’s ride this good vibe right into a Goals Conversation!
Last Week
- Finish Victoria Revision #1
- Read a book
- Clean/Organize my office
How'd I Do?
- Finish Victoria Revision #1
The old setup. - No. BUT I got about 80% through the first revision. I have to add a chapter in the last act so I slowed down a touch to draft that.
- Read a book
- No. Reading has been very slow this week, but I did read for about an hour last night.
- Clean/Organize my office
- YES! I spent entirely too much time on this, and basically came up with a whole new layout for my office. And, once I decide on something, I HAVE to do it. Things are moved and though the remodel/makeover isn’t quite complete, I am LOVING it!
Weekly Word Count: 1,352
This week was a blur. I know I say that a lot, and it is true when I say it, but man… this week just slipped away from me. I revised a lot, read a little, and deployed all my worst coping mechanisms to deter the anxiety spiral that comes with returning to work for another year.
Fun fact: nothing worked.
Well, I guess completely reorganizing and restyling my office was pretty therapeutic. For a solid six hours I avoided the looming threat of employment by hefting furniture, dismantling a closet, and filing loose paperwork. Honestly? It was bliss.
I have some family stuff happening back in AZ that’s adding to my stress levels, and I can’t really do anything about it from 1300 miles away. It’s a shitty situation, to be sure, and it’s lurking in my mind constantly. Even when I think I’m adequately distracted. I think managing my anxiety this fall is going to be fuuuuuuun. But I need to make it a priority, so I can continue to prioritize all the things I want to do.
Speaking of things I want to do…
What's Next?
- Finish Victoria Revision #1
- Write Query Package
- Read a book
- Record Podcast
- Write Newsletter
Thoughts:
This is an ambitious set of goals for any week, let alone the week I return back to work and am suddenly short eight hours a day to get work done. But, I think all of these are important.
Keeping the revision on schedule is vital. This book needs to be “done” by the second week of October. And once school starts that time is going to fly by. The query thing is less something that HAS to happen and something I want to do. I found that, with Something Sulfurous, writing the query letter and the synopsis really cemented the story in my mind. It felt unalterable in some ways. And I don’t mean the plot or characters or anything like that, but the capital S “Story”. What the book is about.
I want to get as clear about this for Victoria as I can, so that the remaining revisions can keep in line with that story. And so I can practice talking about the book in a way that isn’t just reciting all the weird craft elements of the book (currently: “It’s a completely epistolary, non-linear, gender-bent, near-future retelling of Frankenstein“). That’s downright unwieldy. I can hardly say it all in a single breath, let alone slow enough for a listener to comprehend it all. I can and must find a better way to talk about this book. Writing a query package for it should help.
I haven’t finished reading a book in August. There hasn’t been time. Or motivation. And I need to record a podcast, which means I HAVE TO finish reading a book.
And then there’s the Newsletter. This takes some time, but not much. The bigger concern is finding the write flash fiction to share and recording it for y’all. Which, by the way… Are you getting my Newsletter? If not, now is a great time to sign up!
That’s the state of things folks. You’re reading this on Monday, but it’s Sunday night for me (when I’m being good and on track, I write these on Sunday night). I thought I’d be more anxious, but I think the resignation has kicked in. It’s really happening – I’m getting up at 6:20 tomorrow morning and going to work. And that’s okay.
I mean, it’s not my favorite, but I’ll survive.
At present I don’t have any other blog posts planned for this week, but that’s never stopped me before. Keep your eye on the site, I’m sure I’ll be lingering.
Until then, Bloggos.
BZ
