Category Archives: Writing

Pause

Campbell’s Gardennay Red Pepper and Black Bean soup is remarkably yummy. Especially with a bit of fresh Parmesan Reggiano grated on it while it’s steaming hot. I foresee this being used as a basis for a variety of sauces for meats and pastas in my future, too.

You won’t be getting an ESTC update today, because I am immersed in doing a tech read/response for someone else’s MS. It’s very good. I won’t be finished by this evening, either, so I’ll have to finish it tomorrow. I’ll get to write again on Friday.

ESTC Update

Total word count, ESTC: 38,527
Total words today: 1,095

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
38,527 / 50,000
(77.1%)

Gods bless HRH for attempting to keep a very unhappy Liam occupied today so that I could get something done. I may have come in below my ideal daily quota, but I’m past this week’s goal, and a lot of today was taken up with mythology research, too.

And now, Scarlet and Blade (who are home from their Thanksgiving weekend trip to see family) are opening a bottle of Kittling Ridge icewine/brandy blend upstairs, and I can hear it calling my name.

Helping Hands

Liam added three words to my MS today:

Nm n mmmm

Fortunately, he was stopped before he hit a key that had a more negative impact on the file, such as Delete or Insert or some combination of keys that tells the program to Kill It All Irretrievably.

Onward, ever onward.

Brick Walls

As if the last two weeks have not possibly sucked enough, today HRH woke up extremely ill and incoherent and spent the majority of the day in bed. I myself am remarkably weary of being sick; this cold is dragging on and on. Then this afternoon, when Liam and I reached the doctor’s office for his 15 mos appointment (which had been rescheduled three times already), we discovered that the doctor had been called out moments before on an emergency and the rest of the day’s appointments were cancelled. We rescheduled for next Tuesday, the only time the receptionist could give me.

Next Tuesday is, of course, one of the days I had to add to Liam’s daycare schedule because of the amount of work I have to do. So I lose one work day there. I’ve lost this Friday as a work day as well, as Liam’s grandma is out of town. And I have no idea what’s happening on Monday; I’m assuming Liam’s caregiver is not receiving, what with the statutory holiday and all. That makes for a total loss of three days, which is a week’s worth of work for me.

Is everything in the sky moving backwards or something?

When I went to draw a Tarot card last night, I saw that the last one I’d pulled around ten days ago was the Ten of Swords, the Yes, it really is that bad card. I should have known. But the Ten of Swords, while being not a great card initially, also encompasses the whole ending-is-a-beginning concept. So I’m watching for things to turn around and look up. I drew the Seven of Wands today, which suggests being successful in competently implementing what I want to implement (the specifics of which remain nebulous at the moment, but which generally include getting work done, and done well, and being on top of all the stuff I have to handle, and being not-stressed, and happy again).

So there. Yes. Tired of the bad and the crap and the sick. Ready for better things.

ESTC Update — Three-Quarters Done

Total word count, ESTC: 37,432
Total words today: 2,080

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
37,432 / 50,000
(74.9%)

I have warning sirens and flashing lights going off in my brain, and a little subtitle that says Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear following me around. I have got to do something about Ye Chaptere of Sociologikal Contexte, also yclept Chapter 2, which requires a whack of reading and research to back up my statements. It’s going to be around five thousand words, as are most of the other chapters. Then that leaves me another 5K to polish and expand things.

And then we’ll be at the what can I cut out to give me more room stage, also known as the goodnight words I’ll most likely kill some of you in the morning phase.

Three weeks. Three weeks.

*sigh*

So since I’ve publicly declared that I’m not formally doing the NaNo thing this year, I now have the glimmerings of an idea for a new novel. Naturally.

However, writing a historical from the POV of one of George III’s young daughters means that I’d have to research the period, porphyria, and cross-Atlantic politics. Which in turn means, of course, that it can’t possibly be done in a month. And that’s that.

ESTC Update

Liam’s with his caregiver today, and will be on Tuesdays for the next couple of weeks while I handle both writing this book and editing another MS. I’m grateful that she can take him the extra day, because after losing last Friday to the holiday-that-wasn’t-restful and yesterday to crap, I really needed a good solid successful day of writing.

Total word count, ESTC: 35,352
Total words today: 1,282

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
35,352 / 50,000
(70.7%)

Seventy percent complete. Yet again I waver between rejoicing and panicking. And yes, I’m already past this week’s scheduled total.

Today was about expanding notes on goddesses into real sentences and coherent paragraphs. I did 820 words last Wednesday that I forgot to record, too. HRH just called and says he’s picking Liam up, because he’s been working only ten minutes away today, so I think I’ll use the bonus hour to plan out what I’ll do tomorrow (elemental meditations, I think).