It’s Saturday.
Which, historically, means very little for the blog. I don’t write any special posts or even tend to spend much time on the site. Saturdays are personal days. I don’t write, I might read, but mostly I play video games and lounge around with the spousal unit. Especially since the pandemic. Today though, is a very different kind of Saturday. There’s the usual Saturday Morning “Coffee at Your Table” through Willamette Writers, where a bunch of writer types hang out on Zoom and shoot the shit. I’m helping run those meetings these days, and I couldn’t be happier about it. They are one of my favorite traditions to come from the COVID era. But after that I need to return some pants to Goodwill, buy dog food, and then there’s the Willamette Writers Salem Chapter meeting in a nearby park. It’s the first in-person meeting for my chapter since March…
On Office Space (No, Not the Movie)
Let’s talk about office spaces. Home offices, in particular. I talked a bit about this on my various social media accounts, but I’ve thought about it more and figured I ought to put it all down in one place. For a lot of us, the pandemic made it painfully clear that our work-from-home setups were not ideal. We were not prepared. I felt that way and I was admittedly more prepared than most thanks to my writing habit. I had a desk and a laptop and all the equipment needed to run a Zoom call. And all of that was even in a room dedicated to the purpose. With a door and everything! My office is one of our two spare bedrooms (we have a three bedroom house and no children, so we both get offices!) and in the early days of homeownership, I had the brilliant idea to convert…
Goals Summary 2022 – Wk #33
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 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!…
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…
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…
State of the Author – 2022
I wrote a post like this last year, over on the old site. There hadn’t been much productivity in 2021. Posts were inconsistent, but the summer saw a sort of rejuvenation for me. I was thinking about writing for the first time in a long time and I was so damn excited about it, that I couldn’t help but take some time to look at the big picture of my work and feel good about it. Since it is officially the last half of the year, I thought it was high time to take a look at how I’m doing. Not just how I’m doing re: 2022 Goals, but what my story stats look like, what news has come out this year, and what projects I’ve finished, and what are still on the table. So let’s. First thing’s first, what is this year’s mantra? REACH This year’s intention is meant…
Antici…pation
I have news. News I can’t talk about yet. News that I want to talk about, very very badly. I think it feels more important than it is because I *can’t* tell you about it yet. And also because there were a few months there where I really thought my writing life was fizzling out. We all go through that, right? The imposter syndrome? When the words won’t come and the rejections pile up, and a little voice starts to whisper, “maybe you are as bad as you think.” and “maybe this is the end. Just give it up.” But you don’t. You don’t give up. You keep staring at manuscripts and tapping at keys until you meander your way through a book. You open submission emails, swiping away rejections until one finally says, “we really enjoyed this story!” Those emails are a breath of fresh air. Validation when you’re…
Goals Summary 2022 – Wk #6
Hey Blogland. As of this writing, it’s Sunday night, post-Super Bowl. I spent the day lounging and eating tacos so I can’t really complain. Now there’s the steady hum-thrum of the washing machine as I prep for the work week. But there’s much more to think about than just laundry, so let’s get into it. Last Week Draft Tavi synopsis Spend three hours with Victoria Finish reading The Last Graduate How’d I Do? Draft Tavi synopsis Mostly? I have, like, a paragraph to go. It’s SO close. Spend three hours with Victoria Hahahahahahaha no. Finish reading The Last Graduate I have about 130 pages left. I’m hopeful that, if I get this blog post done and update my planner for the week in a timely fashion, I *might* be able to finish it tonight. Weekly Word Count: 1,022 It was a busy week. I spent an hour with Victoria and got through a bit that was feeling pretty…
Monthly Recap – January 2022
Well, damn. A whole month gone already? I always feel like time goes entirely too fast, but add in the pandemic’s particular brand of time blindness and realizing the date can be downright bewildering. I feel like January was an unusually good month for me. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this consistently productive. I don’t want to jinx it, but I think… I think I’m back! January Revise Tavi Write 5k words Read at least three books How’d I Do? Revise Tavi YES! YES YES YESYESYES! I did it! I not only finished revisions on time, but also got them entered into the computer, compiled in a single doc, formatted, and sent to my beta reader tribe! Write 5k words Nope. It wasn’t nothing, just not quite 5k. While I’m happy that I was able to get some words down, I’m largely disappointed with my drafting output…
Goals Summary 2022 – Wk #1
I can’t believe the first week of January is gone already. It feels like Christmas was forever ago, and yet this week felt so short? I really dislike how skewed my perception of time is in this pandemic age. It was a busy week back at work. We’re prepping for the inevitable switch back to distance learning, which means I have a lot on my plate right now. As the Librarian, it’s my job to basically plan and coordinate technology, textbook, and class materials distribution. And, when I get a moment to breathe, facilitate curbside pick-up of fun library books and record video book reviews for students. But, that’s the fun stuff that can’t happen until all the bigger, more tedious projects are complete. Speaking of projects, we’ve got some goals to discuss! Week #1 Goals Revise at least ten chapters of Tavi Finish The Woman in the Woods Spend four hours…