And so I pop my head out of oblivion to say hello to you, dear readers.
I am afraid I am over-committed and will remain that way until March. I am now judging books for a writing contest, and I had no idea how many books would be involved. I had to send two books back due to a conflict of interest (I know a lot of authors), but that still leaves six books to read in five weeks. That is quite a bit more time than I usually have allocated for reading.
But I made this commitment and I am determined to keep it. I have finished three books, and am halfway through a fourth.
I did manage to squeeze in an afternoon of writing, during which I undid some changes that I started in December, which had driven me straight into plot inconsistencies and unworkable quandaries. But I didn’t want to undo without a clear direction, so once I thought of my solution, I got a surprising amount of work done.
But other than that, East of Yesterday is languishing until I finish reading these books.
I also had some great ideas for improving my character’s dark secret in Magic By Starlight, but I have no time to work on that right now, so I jotted down some notes in the notebook that I carry with me everywhere, and there they shall keep.
(Just heard some familiar-sounding theme music; sounds like my hubby is playing a Games of Thrones episode. Like I really need that kind of distraction.)
Life has been so busy that I let a bill go past due. Ack. I never let that happen. The bill is in my purse so I can take care of it first thing Monday.
I am also having to squeeze some time in for exercise because my blood pressure is creeping up again. I have cut so much salt out of my diet that I really can’t blame sodium anymore, but I do know that I have gotten very idle during this uncharacteristically cold Florida winter. I can feel it. So I broke out the Wii Fit and did 30 minutes of cardio. I’ll somehow need to shoehorn that in every day because for me, cardio is medically necessary.
Sometime in the next month I need to either move to another web host or renew my WordPress Premium account for another year. I have missed having a self-hosted site, but I will not go to some fly-by-night company that has no hacking protection. I think I found a good host, but I will need to take a day off in order to do the move. I may time that with the day I do my taxes.
And wow–that’s everything that I’ve been up to. I wish I could write about some of these books that I am judging, but I really can’t, so I won’t.
What’s up with you?
Overextended…oy. I hear you. Hang in there!
Hanging! 🙂
Read the list of everything you’re trying to get done. Then read that you are having problems with high blood pressure. Was not surprised. Wow, it sounds like you’ve taken on a lot! But all good things. 🙂 I’m glad you were able to figure out where you got off on `East of Yesterday’ and get back on track. 🙂
As for what’s up with me, I am excitedly working on a brand-new story. It’s good for me. For a very long time I’ve been picking apart and putting together a closet novel that I just wasn’t willing to let go. The change is really refreshing. It’s made me excited about writing again. Unfortunately I’ve also managed to get a nasty cold, so all I’ve done these last two days is sleep and drink tea. Hopefully if I take care of myself a few days the cold will go away and I’ll be myself again.
I have a couple of closet novels like that. Sigh. I’m only willing to give up entirely on that first trilogy. The next one I still just love, but it needs some major rewriting. I love the main character. One day I will make something of it. But not this year. Best of luck with yours! Being excited about it really helps.
I’m not entirely giving up on my closet novel, but… yeah, it was time and past time to return it to the closet. I think people need new projects from time to time just to remind themselves why writing is fun in the first place. 🙂
Sometimes the best thing you can do with a story is set it aside and work on other things for a while. I’ve found no better way to come back to the project later with a different perspective. Sometimes that’s exactly what I need: a new perspective to help figure out how to get the thing unstuck. {Smile}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
Definitely! 🙂
If you need some low-salt recipes and such, Dad’s minimized the salt in the food he fixes because doing so eliminated the heart failure he was having trouble with. The way that works in our house, that means everyone is on a low-salt diet, but no one is complaining. We’ve gotten used to tasting other flavors that salt hides, and tend to like them. {Smile}
As for what I’m doing… more or less the usual. I’m trying to write – not always easy after losing a good friend, even after several months – and read, and keep up with friends, and help my parents. Mom’s currently got me figuring out what to buy with a Barnes and Noble gift card one of her sisters sent her. Oh, and I’m trying to finish binding a few books. {Smile}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
I mostly use sea salt these days when I do have salt, but I have gotten used to the taste of lots of food without salt. Who knew eggs tasted that way? I can now taste the salt in ordinary breads. And there’s a lot.
Bookbinding sounds fun!
Yes, bookbinding is fun. I’ve got one printout from an e-book that’s going to get side-sewn biding that I think is oriental in style. (I can’t find the directions for the actual style I’m trying to do, but I made it up as went along before with reasonable success in this case.) {Smile} I also have some other books half-done which will look more like the books we’re used to when done. I prefer that method, but when I started this one book, I needed to make something go right because a lot had gone wrong. The kind of binding I prefer requires re-formatting, which just wouldn’t have gone right quickly enough that day. {lop-sided Smile}
Our favorite discoveries are unsalted nuts. Both macadamia nuts and pistachios taste amazing when unsalted. Salt hides some pretty delicate flavors, especially with pistachios. Fortunately, my aunt found a good place for unsalted pistachios, and we’re in the right part of the Hawaiian Islands for unsalted macadamias. Would you like the web addresses? I don’t want to spam, but these aren’t the easiest to find. {Smile}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
I have discovered the hidden flavor in many foods, but I have a particular aversion to nuts. I think it is sensory–it goes beyond the mere taste of nuts; something about the grittiness puts me off and I literally cannot eat them. I have the same problem with yogurt, strawberries and cole slaw.
Potatoes with unsalted butter took some getting used to, and now I know how eggs really taste. I have also discovered that bread is really salty.
If you don’t like nuts and such, you don’t have to have them, of course. {Smile}
Yes, I found unsalted butter took some getting used to. Potatoes did, too, but now I like them better. {Smile}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
Only two books left to read! So glad I got over my bad habit to procrastinate. I even read all of the difficult-looking novels first, so now all I have left are two historical romances. 🙂
That sounds like a fun way to end. Good planning, and good work, of course. {BIG SMILE}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin