On Writing Communities
When we think of writers, what do we picture? For many of us we see a cluttered desk in a home office, papers strewn every which way while a person sits staring at a computer screen with a permanent frown. The coffee on the desk has long gone cold, and this book isn’t writing itself. If you’re in my age bracket, you might actually just picture Johnny Depp from Secret Window. (Side Note: If I had a lakeside cabin with a cleaning service that I could run away to, I don’t think I’d be murdering anybody. That’s a sweet set up, mon frere.) The point is, when we think of the writing life, we picture a life of solitude, torment, and frequently alcoholism. I largely blame this on Ernest Hemingway, but I’m liable to blame just about any literary complaint on “Papa,” which is a topic for another post. Truthfully,…
Goals Summary 2022 – Wk #42
The weather finally broke! Summer is over and Fall is here with a vengeance. Today’s walk was a bit frigid and windy and the fall colors are everywhere. And, best of all? It RAINED! It’s finally autumn and just in time for Halloween! Hurray! Last Week Finish Ramona Rough Draft Continue Research for Nanowrimo Project Workout/Read 30 minutes a day How’d I Do? Finish Ramona Rough Draft Yep! And then some, actually. The story is complete and off to the anthology for which I wrote it. Continue Research for Nanowrimo Project Yes! I spent another three hours in Portland this weekend at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library. Workout/Read 30 minutes a day Yes! I worked out five days this week and spent a good chunk of time reading on the two days I didn’t workout. I’m feeling very good about this routine I’ve built. Weekly Word Count: 1,686 Sooooo yeah. It was a…
Summer Thinky-Thoughts
This is it. The last Friday of my summer break. I go back to work on Monday… I have a lot of feelings about that. A lot of them are good. I’m excited to meet our new staff members and reunite with co-workers I haven’t seen since June. There will be tales of summer adventures, healing sunburns, and summer-bloomed freckles. And so many smiles. But I can’t deny a building sense of dread. It isn’t the work itself that I’m dreading, I genuinely like my job. Buying and processing books, helping teens find their next favorite book, and working with our Associated Student Body to make our school a place kids want to be. These are all amazing things I get to do for 198 days a year. But… Going back to work means I’m no longer just a writer. It means that I have to schedule writing time into…
#WilWrite22
In some ways, it still feels like I’m processing the conference. It’s blurry, a mishmash of faces and conversations – most organic, some crafted during certain events. There’s a pocket in my backpack full of business cards and scribbled names and email addresses. All folks I want to keep in touch with. I have a lot of emails to write… The conference kicked off (unofficially) Thursday night with a Writer’s Fair, that was open and free to the public (w/proof of vaccination and masks). It was an extremely casual look at local writing organizations (Wordcrafters in Eugene, SFWA, Astoria Writers Guild, etc.,) with a little social hour complete with a full-service bar and appetizers. We also celebrated the release of The Timberline Review, and heard some WONDERFUL readers! I wore my best “Summer Speculative” look and got to meet my critique partners Nan C Ballard and Laura Cranehill IN PERSON!…
Goals Summary 2022 – Wk #30
This week has been a blur of good news, revision, and video games. I have no complaints. Last Week Finish + submit The Secret Ingredient Finish The Hard Decisions Read a book Prep July Newsletter Write 3500+ words of fanfic How’d I Do? Finish + submit The Secret Ingredient Yes! This story came together much more easily than I expected. Revision was straightforward too! It’s now on submission at the market that inspired it, so fingers crossed! Finish The Hard Decisions Yep! This story is still a weird one to me. Another one of my stories that doesn’t really seem to fit anywhere. But I’ll keep sending it anyway. I’ve learned that lesson well this week. Read a book Yes! I finished reading A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver, and you can hear all about it on the next episode of Top Shelf Librarians! Prep July Newsletter Yes! It is done and should have…
Goals Summary 2022 – Wk 25
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,…
Book Report: #TheLongestDay
This post probably should have happened yesterday, but there was absolutely no juice left in the tank to talk about anything even remotely writing related. Also, we found out we’d been exposed to COVID yesterday and Trevor tested positive, so I really viewed the day as one of rest and resetting. Today is a day of action, I think. We’re quarantining through the first week of good weather here in like, 10 months, so I’m sunbathing on the front porch as I write this. I’m going to write this post, work on this month’s newsletter, and then do some choring around the house so Trevor doesn’t have to convalesce in a sty. But, first things first, how did The Longest Day go? The Longest Day So, I’ve already had a whole blog post introducing the idea – I won’t rehash all that here. But, to sum up, a bunch of…