Gang. This week? Absolutely nuttters. Nothing has gone as expected, and as someone utterly reliant upon their routines, it’s been A LOT.
Let’s dive in, shall we?
Last Week
- Write 3x
- #StoryADay
- Read a book
- Return to Routine
How'd I Do?
- Write 3x
- Yes!
- #StoryADay
- As of this writing, I am two days behind, but I’ll get caught up – I pinky promise!
- Read a book
- Yep! I finished reading The Fire Opal Mechanism this week.
- Return to Routine
- Yes! Somehow, impossibly, I’ve stuck to the routine this week.
Weekly Word Count: 4,645
Look, for any other week’s metric, this is a bomb-ass week. But this was my last “normal” week of the month and I really wanted to cross the 10k mark on the book. It would have been the most advantageous jumping off point for my spring break writing retreat. But…
That spring break writing retreat has quickly become some other, unwieldy thing. We got the news on Saturday that our HVAC and hot water are going to be disconnected on Tuesday, which means we can’t live in the house for at least a week. Thankfully insurance has agreed to pay for everything, including the AirBnb, but this is was an incredibly stressful update in our home repair journey.
If you’re doing the math, that means we have three days to not only prep the house the the impending demolition, but also to pack up ourselves, our dog (Simon!), our snail (Stede!), and all my plants (too many to list!). Basically anything living that won’t enjoy/survive temperatures below 40 degrees has to go to the AirBnb.
And in the wake of all of this, I should be really proud of the week I’ve had. And I am? But I’m also a little disappointed too, which isn’t really fair. I gotta work on that…
Honorable Mentions
Did you hear the news? My story “In the Librarian’s Garden” is up at Tree and Stone Magazine now! You can read it online for free, or you can support the magazine by purchasing an ebook at the shop. I sincerely hope you all like this quiet little story about finding yourself after loss, and realizing where your home really is.
I also read the following short stories this week:
- “Headshot” by Julian Mortimer Smith, from Terraform
- “Tiddlywinks” by Stephen Graham Jones, from Other Terrors ed. by Vince A. Liaguno and Rena Mason
- “Kimi’s Fruit Stand for Dead Pirates and Privateers” by Jenna C. Glover, from Haven Spec Magazine
- “Days of Creation” by C.C. Rayne, from Wyldblood Press
- “Best Life” by Kate Ristau, from Space Cocaine: Neu Gothik
You can read my thoughts and find links to these and other stories by following my twitter thread.
So, What's Next?
- Write 10k
- Send Newsletter
- Record Podcast
- Survive this crazy week
Look. There are some conflicting goals on this list. I see that. The original plan for this week was a very regimented schedule, focused on honing my craft by reading craft books, doing yoga to get back into a good flow, and writing a fucking ton.
The reality is that, while I hope to put the AirBnb’s office to good use, there’s a lot of work to be done at home. And I have a lot of plans with friends and family this week, hoping to make up for the long winter months spent indoors and shut away.
Also, in an unexpected twist, I received a scholarship to attend the Soma Games Writing Retreat this weekend. As an avid gamer, learning more about the game writing process will be a ton of fun.
So there’s a LOT of socializing on the calendar this week. Which is at odds with writing 10,000 words, but will definitely help me survive a week away from my house while it literally gets torn apart. It’s going to be a balancing act, to say the least.
Wish me luck, Blogland.
Unless something changes between Sunday night and Wednesday morning, there won’t be an Outings! post this week. If I can swing it, I’ll go on a hike this week, but the weather has been abhorrently wintry this month, so it might not happen.
So sit tight and think good thoughts for me. I’ll be back in a week at the latest.
BZ
