Devon Ellington's Blog, page 26

Wed. Oct. 24, 2024: Rehearsals and Rewrites

image courtesy of Alejandro Torres Beristain via pixabay.com

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Waning Moon

Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter Retrograde

Sunny and pleasant

And here we are, at midweek!

Yesterday was a head-down-working day. I put information on the Body Be Gone anthology over on the Anthology page of the Devon Ellington Work site, plus a post on the News page. I used the graphics to do a round of social media posts, which I will continue to do for the rest of the week. I put up the Instagram post and link for the week’s tarot reading on the Cerridwen Iris Insta. I did some Topic Workbook promotions.

Got a very nice note from an editor to whom I pitched late last week. There were 450 applicants for the writing job, and it’s taking her longer than she expected to sort through them. She wanted me to know she received the pitch materials, and would get back to me once she’d read through everything. Very nice of her, and shows she is someone I hope to get a chance to work with.

I dug in and did detailed revisions on STRANGERS IN THE SNOW. I have about another five pages to work on, and then the additional materials. I should probably name the diner, but I kind of like having the diner and the town both anonymous. (Heck, Anonymous might be a good name for the diner).

Made lunch, relaxed with a book for a little while, before returning to script coverage. Turned around four coverages (1 medium, 3 small), which means I have six small ones to do today (since they are due around 4 AM tomorrow morning).

Did not go to yoga. Would have liked to attend the food co-op’s annual meeting, but decided to stay home and work instead.

Once I was finished with work, I finished another Martha Grimes (I’d also read one over the weekend). Both were intricately and interestingly plotted. The one I read over the weekend had some geographic inconsistencies, which made me feel disoriented at times. The more I read, the more I think she is often doing a send-up on “types” in British crime fiction, and then deepening the core characters. It’s very interesting to read them, back-to-back, from a writing perspective.

Rehearsal began at 11 PM my time. It went well; the cast put in the work. I made notes on things that need work. When we got offline at 1, I sat and did another round of revisions, mostly cuts, tightening, and clarification. I gave the character of Don a different final line, which I think is more in tone with the piece. I’ll do a few more passes on it today before sending it to the director for his thoughts, before he forwards it to the actors (or I have to make yet more changes, per his request).

I finally fell asleep around 3 AM this morning. I was aware of the cats being fed around 6:30, and got up a little after 7, because Charlotte and Tessa were being obnoxious.

I have a feeling there will be a nap in my future today, although the sleep I got was good.

Right before rehearsal started, I got a disappointing email about a funded program to which I’d applied. Not getting it was, of course, a disappointment (especially the money). But the email puzzled me. I think it was supposed to be humorous? But it read as snarky and flippant and disrespectful to the applicants. It moaned about the high response to the program (huh? Aren’t they happy people were excited?) and how they had to pull in people to help go through the applications (who are qualified because . . .?) and made it all about them, instead of about the program and the applicants, which rubbed me the wrong way. Then, they tried to upsell us on another program. Red flags galore. Also, even though there were a lot of applicants, a general snarky email to their entire mailing list is, to me, inappropriate. The applicants who didn’t make the cut should have been told ahead of time, not had public jokes made at their/our expense.

I thought maybe I misread the email because I was tired and in rehearsal head space, so I re-read it this morning, after some sleep. If anything, it read worse in the light of day, and wildly unprofessional. So maybe I dodged a bullet? I’ll stay on the mailing list for a few more missives to see if this is unusual, or the way they operate. If it’s the latter, I’ll unsubscribe (since applying automatically subscribed me?), and cross the organization off my list. I suspect that I am not the right fit for them, and they are not the right fit for me. I will keep an eye on the work of those who did make the cut, and see if their work is in tone with the tone set for the program by this email (in which case I am not the audience for the work, in addition to not being a right fit for the program).

It’s a shame, in some ways (especially financially), because the application call made the program sound like a lot of fun. It was a short intensive via ZOOM across time zones, although it overlapped with the show for two of them. That might have created a problem, considering that being in production means that show is the center of my life until mid-November.

It also makes me appreciate the places to which I’ve applied who treated me with grace and kindness, whether or not I made the final cut.

Today’s agenda: I have a feeling the only writing I will get done are the “Effie” revisions. Maybe I’ll sneak in a nap. Then, I have six short coverages to turn around. Not going to tarot today. It’s a head-down working day.

Happy to see so many people early voting! Let’s get this done, because of the Narcissistic Sociopath gets back into office, anyone with a brain and a heart is doomed.

On that happy note, have a good one!

Tues. Oct. 22, 2024: Weekend Catch Up and Anthology Release!

Body Be Gone Anthology Cover

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Waning Moon

Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter Retrograde

Sunny and pleasant

And here we are, into another week!

I hope you had a great weekend.

If you missed the Weekly Community Tarot reading over on the Cerridwen Iris Shea website yesterday, you can read it here.

Friday wasn’t a particularly creative day for me. I was mulling over the funeral scene for I WILL BE DIFFERENT. I was mulling over how to fix the ending of “Effie.” But I didn’t actually write any of it.

I put together the meeting notes for my client consult, and I consolidated notes from the BHPC planning meeting, per the comments received.

I got my next two books assigned for review.

I mailed a few things at the post office, picked up a few groceries, and did a drop-off/pick-up at the library.

And that was the morning.

The client meeting went well. The client was pleased with the consult. I updated the notes after we met, and sent the updated notes/resource list along with the invoice, which the client paid within the hour. So that all worked out well, and we both enjoyed the meeting, and it was helpful to give the client direction for his marketing campaign, and how to integrate different elements into it.

I got my act together and got out the door on time. I stopped and put gas into the car (and picked up a tiny lottery ticket win). Arrived at Wild Soul River in plenty of time for the workshop. There was a good mix of people there, from tarot, from circles, from other events. The speaker was Rebecca G’s mentor in herbalism, and it was about salt, how it’s used and misused, and how necessary it is for the human body to function. It was interesting, and I was relieved to discover that some of the things I’ve started doing instinctively when it comes to use of salt and types of salt, are within best practices.

One of the participants gave us gifts of chunks of Himalayan salt – they look like rose quartz!

It was a lovely event, as events tend to be in that space.

Got back in the car and headed for Installation Space here in North Adams, where a member of my cohort had an art opening. Several other local artists showed up, that I knew from various venues, and we had a nice catchup. He’d mulled some wine, which was delicious. A woman came in with her six-week-old rescue puppy, who was very excited and friendly – and then had an accident on the floor. But no one was upset, we just all cleaned it up. The dog was mortified. Everyone there is an animal lover, and understands that this happens with puppies.

Came home, cooked dinner, read on the sofa. Bea hangs out in the living room most of the time now, which is nice for everybody. Charlotte is learning how to be and have a friend, and learning how to interact with Bea has also mellowed her interactions with Tessa. Bea joining the family has been very good for Charlotte. Willa is the only one still fussing, and Bea can quell her with a look. Willa will come around.

Slept well, up at the normal time with the coffee, fed everyone, sat for meditation. When it was done, I looked over and Bea was in the rocking chair in the living room, which was adorable. She’s decided it is “her” chair and now spends time sitting in it, near us all, when she’s in the living room. She still likes being under the coffee table, and sitting on the bed in her room looking out of the window, but she’s also comfortable enough to be on the furniture in the living room with us when we are all hanging out reading, which is good.

I made breakfast burritos, which turned out well, and introduced my mom to the joy of the breakfast burrito.

I just wasn’t in the mood to do much, or do it at high speed. The sun came out, and it was warmer. We had an advisory out for fire danger (no burning of leaves, etc., because it’s been too dry) on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

I did a few hours’ of revisions on STRANGERS IN THE SNOW. I need to layer in another character to ramp up the stakes, and develop some of the narrative paragraphs into more active scenes. But without changing the tone. That’s been a challenge. I want to keep this new character somewhat ambiguous, but want to give the reader a good sense of the truth.

I worked through a stack of research books, so they could go back to the library. I ran a couple of errands. I read the next book for review.

I grabbed a rush coverage script for Sunday, a medium-sized coverage that was underpaid, but that’s all that’s come in, so too bad for me.

I woke up around 1:30 on Sunday morning, but managed to get back to sleep. I had a good meditation session, turned around the rush coverage, read a friend’s script and commented on it, sent some suggestions to a friend trying to schedule some time to get together, and fielded various questions about my mom’s birthday next week. There were a couple of times I felt overwhelmed, and then I thought, “Why? Everything is organized. Nothing is late or out of control. Everything’s in a good place for where it needs to be. It’s just busy, a good busy.”

I figured out one or two stress points, and how to make them less stressful. Even when things go well, having a show in production puts a certain blanket of stress across everything, because of all the variables. That’s just the way it is for the next four weeks. There’s nothing bad or negative about it. It just exists.

Part of it is that I can’t have my digital detox day of the week until after the middle of November. Again, that’s not a big deal. It is a fact. I need to be flexible about just about everything over the next four weeks, because the show is the priority, and it has moving pieces whose needs have to be met, with everything else worked around them. It’s about reaching back into the days when my life was all about that, and remembering the tools that made it work. Then using those tools with the maturity I (hope) I’ve achieved since.

The reality is that I have the ability to be “whelmed” rather than “overwhelmed” if I keep my head in the game, and my boundaries strong. This is my profession, not my hobby. What anyone else outside of the show demands just has to wait their turn until the show is recorded. And if I miss opportunities, that’s part of making choices.

Read another book for review. At one point, I was on the sofa reading, with Charlotte asleep on my lap. I heard a rumbling noise and thought it was a truck idling. But when I looked out the window, no truck. So what was it? It took me a few minutes to realize that Bea was in the rocking chair, purring! Her purr is louder than Tessa’s. It was lovely. I’m so happy she feels content enough to purr now.

Woke up around 3 AM on Monday, during feline shift change, when Tessa left and Charlotte took over. I must have dozed off again, because I dreamed I helped a writer friend write a cover letter.

Good meditation session, in spite of feeling scattered. After breakfast, I wrote and submitted the two book reviews, then invoiced for the last batch of reviews.

I rewrote the last page of “Effie” and I think I fixed a tone issue. Still not sure about the final beat. Sent it to the director. He promised to forward it to the actors. Got the link for tonight’s rehearsal.

Did a drop-off/pick-up at the library, picked up more wet food for Bea, dropped off our ballots at City Hall. There were so many people there for early voting or dropping off ballots that I had to park 3 aisles away from the building. Excellent! Swung by a couple of other stores to pick up some little bits we needed that had fallen between the cracks of bigger errands.

Got the log-in credentials so I can review the applications for the next cohort. Will read the guidebook first – I bet that answers my questions. I want to make sure I give each application the care it deserves. We have nearly 4 weeks to read them, so if I read a handful every day, it will be done in plenty of time.

A bunch of scripts showed up in the queue. I tried to grab the higher-paid ones first, but only managed one. I have a lot of lower-paid ones to get through between now and Wednesday. But it’s a start. Let’s hope more come in this week and next week up to the end of the pay period.

Received my next two book review assignments, and was paid for the last batch. Oiled the bistro set and the bench on the back balcony. I wanted to do it when it wouldn’t get too cold at night, otherwise the wood would crack.

Struggled to work on a coverage, even though the script itself was good. Finally gave up; it puts more pressure on today, but at least I’ll be able to give it the attention it deserves.

Three poetry books arrived! I loved SWEEPING BEAUTY and the conversations with poets in Pearl London’s class that I ordered my own copies. And I ordered a copy of Jane Shore’s MUSIC MINUS ONE. I really like her poems. Turns out they all came from the same shop in Illinois, and therefore in the same package. Which the postman forced into the mailbox and I could not get it out on my side, so I had to flag him down as he tried to drive away and ask him to open his side of the box and retrieve it. This was a large enough package that common sense dictated it could be left on the porch – which is FIVE STEPS away from the mailbox that serves the six houses on both sides of the street. It’s not like he had to walk across the street or around a building. I’m really tired of this happening, and I’ve spoken to the supervisor at the post office multiple times. This isn’t brain surgery. It’s common sense.

Did some prep work for tonight’s rehearsal. Did some prep work for the application review.

Bea has started venturing onto the kitty condo, and she loves it. I’m so happy she’s feeling more comfortable and confident, even if she still doesn’t want to be handled by humans. She will get there.

Slept well, and didn’t get up until 6:30. Tessa Was Not Amused. Fed everyone. Sat in meditation. Something went wrong with the timer, so I sat and sat and sat until my knees hurt, and I wondered when the session would be up. And then discovered 45 minutes had passed, not 20, and the timer malfunctioned. This is why I hate technology. Had I set an egg timer, it would have worked. Bea is having the BEST time playing on the kitty condo, though, which is adorable.

Discovered that an anthology to which I contributed several years ago releases TODAY, and all the information had gone to my spam folder. Retrieved it, apologized, answered questions in the email. They still had my old address (that’s how long ago this was), so I updated it. My friend Paula has a story in the anthology, too. It’s fun to be included in the same collection as a friend, and I’m really happy we’re both in this. I love this particular story, it’s a weird little comic noir that my friend thinks would make a good pilot script. It was originally an anthology around a new game called BODY BE GONE, and now it’s an anthology standing on its own, in both print and Kindle versions.

They gave us a great suite of promo materials, and I will update the Devon Ellington website and social media with it soon. I’ll have to include it in December’s newsletter, too.

Buy the paperback for $13.95 here.

Buy the Kindle edition for $3.99 here.

That’s a nice note on which to start the day, even if I had to scramble a bit, because it originally came in last week, but went into spam!

I want to get some writing done this morning, and some revisions on STRANGER. This afternoon, I have to turn around the script I didn’t finish yesterday, and three or four more of the shorter coverages. Tonight is rehearsal.

Let’s hope I’ve gotten enough rest so being up until 2 AM doesn’t make me slow and grumpy the rest of the week!

Have a good one!

Mon. Oct. 21, 2024: Intent for the Week — Flow

image courtesy of Pixabay.com

There are a lot of moving pieces in the coming weeks, so my intent is to be as flexible as possible and flow, while not getting so caught up I’m swept away.

Organization, boundaries, and flexibility are all key, even though that juxtaposition sounds like it’s in conflict.

The Community Tarot Reading for the week is up on the Cerridwen iris Shea site here.

Lots to do today, including dropping off our ballots in the ballot box down at City Hall.

What’s your intent for the week?

Fri. Oct. 18, 2024: Figuring Out the Work Flow

image courtesy of This_is_Engineering via pixabay.com

Friday, October 18, 2024

Last Day of Full Moon

Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter Retrograde

Cloudy and chilly

I can’t believe another workweek is done.

Bluesky was down yesterday morning, so I was late posting the blog links. I promoted a friend’s review of another friend’s book across my various social media channels, and I’m back on the stick with promoting the Topic Workbooks.

I forgot to mention the massive eye-rolling I did when I heard a Very Famous Author is now starting a Substack to vent. Hmm, let’s see. That this Very Famous Author chooses such a platform does not surprise me. I am also sure that Very Famous Author is being paid to be there (one of the reasons I felt they were unethical and left the platform, in addition to the way they continue to monetize hate speech, is that they aren’t transparent as to which writers are on their payroll and which are working on their own to build a following like the rest of us). I also wonder how many of Very Famous Author’s posts will actually be by this author? Or will they be farmed out to VFA’s various ghostwriters?

I’m surprised I didn’t sprain my eyeballs with all the eyerolling.

Meditation was good. Charlotte was delighted, and even Tessa wanted to get into the picture, so to speak.

My brain was tired, but I wanted to get a few things done before I tried to nap. Because there was definitely napping on the agenda.

Wrote and submitted a book review, got out a pitch for a scriptwriting gig, got out a submission. Worked on the material for today’s client meeting.

Pondered the rewrites on “Effie Effect.”

No coverages came in, so it’s a good thing I’m upping the pitch game. There’s another deadline today, and another next week, so let’s hope some work comes in.

Got some rejections on proposals I knew were a stretch, but I was priming them to get to know me a bit. Since they were first proposed, other projects arose in those time frames that I think would be a better fit, so it all works out.

Worked on a couple of poems. Pondered Ron’s funeral scene for I WILL BE DIFFERENT, but didn’t yet write it. I think I will keep it in the kitchen of the house, rather than my original thought of having it graveside. A good part of the scene will be between Milly and Andrea, with whom Ron had a long-term affair.

I slept pretty well last night, going to bed early and sleeping through the night.

I ground beans for the coffee when I set up the coffee maker last night. It’s the same brand as the ground coffee I’ve used, but the taste is so far above the ground that it’s amazing.

On today’s agenda: getting some writing done, fixing the end of “Effie”, grocery store/library, my Zoom consult with my new client, attending a workshop at Wild Soul River, and then attending a fellow cohort member’s art opening.

I need to finish the decorating this weekend (ya think?), get some writing done, and do some planning work. I find that if I over-systemize my workday, I get less done than if I have more of a sense of flow to it. And, as I’ve mentioned before, if using the system takes longer than actually doing the task, I skip the system and just do the work. If coverages come in, I will knuckle down and do those. And housework.

The writing focus this weekend needs to be on STRANGERS IN THE SNOW, which needs to go out for final edits and formatting next week. I will have to build everything else around that, especially if the director asks for some specific rewrites between now and the next rehearsal.

Next week is a very theatre-oriented week, between rehearsals for my show and seeing the WAM show. I’m looking forward to it.

Have a good one!

Thurs. Oct. 17, 2024: Rehearsals Start

image courtesy of Oli Lynch via pixabay.com

Thursday, October 17, 2024

Full Moon

Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter Retrograde

Cloudy and cold/frost

You can read the latest on the garden over on Gratitude and Growth.

I pitched for a 4–month writing job that’s well in my wheelhouse, at a good rate. It’s more hours than I was originally looking for, but if they want me, I will do it. Fingers crossed! There was also another job, that I could do in tandem with that, that would be a lot of fun, and I have the skills and the clips for it, so I put together a pitch packet and sent that off, too.

Blogged, did the social media rounds. Took care of some stuff around the house.

The RRS Sir David Attenborough has left the UK headed to Antarctica with the time capsule (in which my name resides), and the virtual postcards have begun! It’s such fun. I’m looking forward to reading about the journey with them.

Starting to get alarmed at the lack of scripts coming through. I still have other work this week – book reviews and a consulting client – but it’s worrisome. Which is why I’m upping the pitching game.

Heard I made it to the second round for one of the grants to which I applied. That always feels good. Although I’ve made it to the second round with this organization before and not gotten it. As Daniel Callahan reminded me during A4A, it’s a numbers game. Did not make the final round for a play reading intensive in November, to which I’d forgotten I’d applied (although it’s in the submission log) and I’m glad I don’t have to juggle that with everything else in November. It all works out, especially if a couple of other things I have on the boil come through.

I wrote the next scene in the Amanda section of I WILL BE DIFFERENT, where Milly (Amanda’s mother) recovers at a friend’s place from an overdose of sleeping pills after a stint at Silver Hill. It gave me a chance to bring in Alice, Milly’s mother, and the center of a previous section (as yet unwritten), and have the three generations in a scene. Then, I killed off Ron, and emailed the poet who’d read Milly all week in the workshop to let her know. She responded she hoped he had good life insurance!

Tried to get some rest, although napping didn’t work. Bea has started hanging out under the coffee table pretty regularly. Still not in petting distance, but close enough to let me know she’s there and she wants company.

I had questioned the gas company on some charges and cc’d the DPU. Got a notice today that we’d been overcharged by 25% (remember, our area already pays 48% over the national average), and now had all these credits rather than the additional charges the company had put on the last bill. This is why regulatory agencies are important, and why keeping them in the loop matters.

Our ballots for the presidential election also arrived yesterday. We will fill them out over the weekend, and I’ll drop them in the box next Monday. I’ve done a bunch of research on the ballot questions, so at least I feel I can make informed decisions on them.

Went to tarot, which was great. They had an art opening after, but I couldn’t stay. Came home, cooked dinner, read a bit, tried to stay awake until rehearsal, which started at 11 PM my time.

Got to read more in the book about Pearl London’s class. A poet named Marilyn Hacker brought in a piece where each stanza was a sonnet. The level of technique is exciting and a little intimidating (says someone who has never attempted a sonnet). I will have to hunt down more of her work.

Decided to set up the computer, et al in the living room, rather than my office. My office is above a room the downstairs neighbors use a bedroom, and I didn’t want to disrupt their sleep. The headphones worked on all the tests, but do not work on ZOOM, so I don’t know what that is about, and I’m glad we were in the living room.

Charlotte curled up in my mother’s chair, and Bea roamed around, climbing all over furniture, etc., and checking out ZOOM, which both fascinated and appalled her.

Bea really does not understand these spoiled indoor cats who have adjusted to human schedules! Cats are predators! Cats are nocturnal!

Meanwhile, Charlotte yawns and rolls herself into a ball.

It’s kind of hilarious.

We did a meet and greet, and then did a readthrough, and talked about a few things. The director assembled a really good cast. I’m excited to see what they do with it. I typed up and sent some notes about things I felt needed work on my end, and forgot to mention something about the ending that I thought of as I was going to sleep and will suggest later this morning, when the director’s had a chance to get his thoughts together.

We had to shift the next rehearsal to a different day, but I expected motion, and the rehearsals start so late my time that I’m going to be around anyway.

It took me a bit to get settled down to sleep, and then Charlotte started being a pest a little after 5. So I had maybe 4 hours of sleep? Which is back to my old theatre days. And it’s not every day, and it’s only until mid-November, so I’ll be fine.

On today’s agenda: chatting with the director, starting some rewrites, finishing the next book for review, finishing up the prep for tomorrow’s client meeting, hopefully some work on VICIOUS CRITIC and on I WILL BE DIFFERENT.

And hopefully some scripts will start coming in. At any rate, more pitches will be going out.

Have a good one!

Wed. Oct. 16, 2024: Calculations

image courtesy of  jacqueline macou via pixabay.com

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Waxing Moon

Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter Retrograde

Cloudy/Rainy and cold

Mid-week. It always feels weird when there’s a holiday Monday.

Yesterday was a little fractured. I caught up on email. I updated the 2024 Boiler House contact sheet and sent it off. I typed up the notes for the planning meeting and sent them for comment before I send them out to the Collective.

I booked a ticket for the WAM show I promised to see as part of starting my relationship with them. The only show I could really make was next Thursday (a week from tomorrow) at 10 AM, so that’s what I booked. I’ll have to leave around 8:15 AM to get there on time (missing another meditation session), but should be back early afternoon.

I wrote thank you notes, paid some bills, took it all to the post office. Did a drop-off/pick-up at the library. Ran to the store for eggs and salad dressing, which I forgot when I did a quick shop on Monday. Contrary to popular belief, my mother did not only eat hot dogs and grilled cheese while I was in residency. She actually used CSA ingredients and ate salads. I’m glad, but she used up her favorite dressing, so I wanted to get her more.

Pondered a few things in I WILL BE DIFFERENT. I may cut one of the characters in the Amanda section. I don’t think I need her; one of the other characters fulfills the same function.

Was very tired, and trying to rev up for the rest of the week. Did the social media rounds. Made some vegetable stock.

Was concerned and grateful that coverages weren’t coming in. A cover letter turned up, earning me a few extra bucks, but that was it.

I registered for a conversation co-hosted by Assets4Artists and MassCreative about how individual artists can participate in activism. It’s a ZOOM call, scheduled the night before the election.

I wrote and submitted the book review. I did some prep for tonight’s rehearsal. Got out a few submissions.

Picked up the last CSA box, which was lovely and also a little sad. There were beets in it, so when I arrived in yoga, I announced, “I come bearing beets.” My teacher was delighted. She loves beets.

Several of us talked before class, and applauded her courage for making this decision. Although we will miss the studio and the community built here, it’s the right choice for her, and we want her to be happy. Plus, she’s given us tools to take out into the world. And we can enjoy each other through the holidays, which will be comforting.

Home, cooked dinner, played with cats, started reading this month’s Agatha Christie book club pick, THE MIRROR CRACK’D FROM SIDE TO SIDE. I remember this one, and am enjoying revisiting it.

Went to bed around the normal time, even though I felt I should try to stretch it, due to tonight’s rehearsal, starting at 11 PM my time.

Wide awake at 4:30, which will bite me when my rehearsal runs past midnight tonight. But that’s on me. I hope I can lie down and doze a bit, either in the afternoon, or between dinner and the rehearsal.

Because this is how production works. You show up and do the work when they need you, not when it suits you.

Which is why so few people can actually sustain a career in it.

Slick, who brought Bea home to my friend’s place, has brought home an unneutered, very friendly black male cat my friend has named “Behemoth.” She will get him neutered and see what happens from there. Slick is bound and determined to fill the slots vacated by Ben and Griddle before he himself moves into the house. Behemoth tried to stroll in, but my friend is going to get him to the vet first.

There’s a good chance Behemoth was the father of Bea’s kittens. We know she had at least one litter before my friend got her spayed, and possibly more. When I played the video of Behemoth, with him talking, Bea ran right out of her room and up to the phone.  She definitely recognized his voice. Even if he’s not an ex, she knew him.

Slick has been neutered for a good long time, so even though Slick brought Bea home, he’s not responsible for any kittens in the neighborhood.

Bea’s newest thing is to hang out either under the coffee table or next to the coffee table when I’m on the couch (usually Charlotte is with me). Bea is just out of petting reach, but close enough to hang out for company.

She’s getting there.

The door to the sewing room is now left open all the time, not shut during the night, and so far, no incidents.

On today’s agenda: some writing. Hopefully some coverages will come in. It’s a little alarming that nothing came in while I was in residence, and nothing came in these last few days leading up to a contest deadline. While I am grateful to have a little breathing room, I have to have a good earning period this second half of the month. What the newsletter to the readers tells us about stats and an increase in submissions is not what I’m actually experiencing. The disconnect worries me. I’ll send out some pitches, work on VICIOUS CRITIC and I WILL BE DIFFERENT. Maybe a little of STRANGERS IN THE SNOW.

I’ll need to lie down at some point, and rest up. I have tarot this afternoon, then dinner, then a rest, then rehearsal from 11 PM until about 1 AM (at least).

I have to figure out how to make the headphones I have work with this computer, so that I don’t disturb the neighbors.

I’m looking forward to diving into rehearsal, and that whole process.

Have a good one!

Tues. Oct. 15, 2024: Back to a Regular Work Life

image courtesy of  Manuel Wehlte via pixabay.com

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Waxing Moon

Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter Retrograde

Cloudy and cool

I can’t believe only a week ago today, I was in-studio, trying to get settled and get down to work. What a week it was!

I have to share the rest of it with you now, don’t I?

This is a loooong post, my friends, so settle in with a favorite beverage.

Friday was an excellent writing day on the play I WILL BE DIFFERENT. I reworked the scene I took into workshop, the Milly/Ron scene before the party. Making the adjustments per the notes made a huge difference, even though they were tweaks, not major rewrites. Another instance of how the poet’s eye and attention to detail serves playwrighting. Those tweaks then helped me rebuild the beats I needed to focus on for the next scene, which is the party scene (that they are eager to read today). I then reworked the post-party argument a little, and that scene is stronger. I went back and reworked some of the wedding day scene, and then wrote the scene where Milly and her sorority sisters play cards and talk boys.

I want to show Milly’s liveliness in college, and how it dims down once she’s married. I still need to write the scene where Milly and Ron meet, which I have in my head, but not yet on paper. And I want to do another Milly/Ron scene after the card playing scene but before the wedding scene, to show why she fell in love with him, and some of his more positive qualities. If he’s only one thing, and it’s negative, it diminishes both Milly and Ron. He needs to have facets.

Those seven scenes should encompass the Milly arc. I mean, her arc continues into Amanda’s arc, but that’s the next generation.

I will probably do the act break after the post-party argument scene, depending how long the Amanda and Joy sections go.

I want to figure out and write the Amanda section next, then go back to Alice, then Josephine – the arc that starts the play. I think I will write Joy’s section, the last portion of the play, last.

I hope I will have a completed first draft by the end of the year. I’m taking my time with it, and, starting this week, I’m also juggling other projects again as my regular life picks up. I will have to block out 3-4 hour sessions on it, because I’m writing it differently than I write other plays, starting at the beginning and following an outline.

The Nine Dots question for the next round of grants came out. I forwarded it to the Collective, because I think some of them could create something terrific around it, if they chose. I mean, it is $100K and a publishing contract. If you’re interested and want to take a look at the criteria, you can do so here.

I kept reworking and reworking and reworking the scene to go into Friday’s workshop. I still have a couple of places I think can have stronger word choices, but that’s what the workshop will help.

Suddenly, it was time to meet for lunch. It was hard to tear myself out of the studio.

I picked up some cards at the museum store that we will sign to thank the bookstore. We had a fun lunch in the mezzanine. One of my colleagues asked if I would read her play. I’m honored. I will do so this week.

It was hard to get back into the work after lunch, knowing I had such a limited time. I submitted two short plays to submission calls.

I gathered my materials and headed over to the Swing Space, where we are workshopping. Once again, everyone’s work was different and vibrant. We were a full ten on Friday afternoon, which was great (the workshop element is not mandatory, especially if someone is so deep in the work they don’t want to break concentration). One of my colleagues brought in a three-column (!) cleave poem that was so visceral and disturbing and exciting. It really makes me want to get back to work on the comedic horror poem. Maybe I’ll have it ready to workshop by next year! Because, let’s face it, it will probably take me a year to figure out how to sort of pull it off.

I went last, since instead of a single- or two-page poem, I had a multiple-page scene from a play, and I wanted to make sure the other nine got the full time and attention to their manuscripts. The notes were great, and they wanted both the next scene and the scene previous to the first one I brought in.

I came back to the studio and made some notes for the next scene. It’s the post-party scene, and while I’ve worked it through a few drafts, there are a few more beats that would strengthen it. I didn’t want to get too caught up in it, or I would miss dinner.

We went to Casita for dinner, which is right there on the MASS MoCA campus, just a short walk from our studios. The food is quite good, but I was disappointed by the wine.

After, I went back to the studio and packed up what I needed for the apartment. Hauled it all over, got out the snacks, and everyone came over for the planning meeting. We had a good, lively meeting. Next year is the 10th Anniversary of the Collective (and we will be in residence during one member’s 65th birthday), so we want it to be special. We came up with a few fun ideas, which I will draft into various formats to pitch/propose where appropriate over the coming weeks.

I took notes, which I will type up and send out this week. I had the members who weren’t there last year fill out information so I can update the contact sheet. In addition to organizing the reading next year, I am also going to help gather and upload content for the Boiler House Poets Collective Website so there’s fresh content on a regular basis, and readers want to keep coming back. Although I won’t be doing much in that direction until after my show records in mid-November.

I mean, let’s face it, I’m not going to be doing much of anything until my show records in mid-November, because as of yesterday, that show moves into the priority slot of my world, since BHPC is complete for the year and moved out of that slot. (Although I still have some wrap-up things to do for BHPC this week, but it doesn’t have the same deadline pressure as prepping for the reading did).

I’m putting together a Google doc to gather data points about the Collective that show what we bring to the table and members can use for grant applications, other residency applications, marketing, and their own websites, should they choose.

My flatmate and I then sat up chatting until after 11, once everyone else had cleared out.

Earlier in the day, I got word that my beloved yoga studio here in town is closing as of February. I’m sad for me, but happy that my teacher is ready for the next steps in her life and career. Working with her has meant a lot to me these past few years. That she sent out the email on the day Pluto – planet of transformation – went direct is just perfect timing.

I woke up to an invitation to create for the next Word X Word event. Unfortunately, it’s on November 12 – the day of my recording. So I will not be able to participate.

Up at 5. Over to the studio a little before 6. Again, I really treasure the early morning hours in the building. It has its own set of sounds, which are comforting, rather than ominous, in spite of being a former factory. Even the idea of ghosts of former employees is comforting (and could wind up as a poem one day).

I tried not to sink into the melancholy of Saturday being my last full studio day. After all, it was my last full studio day, and I wanted to make the most of it.

I worked for about an hour and a half. Then, I walked to the overnight lot, got the car, and loaded some bags into it (like the dirty laundry and a couple of bags of books – it’s not like there aren’t plenty of books still in my studio). Drove to Full Well Farm, picked up my replacement CSA box, drove it all home and unloaded.

Tessa followed me around, demanding petting tolls and telling me all the ways the schedule was messed up. Charlotte and Willa both wanted attention. Bea hid. She was probably afraid I’d ask her to read another map – after all, I had shoes on. Shoes on means chaos.

Unpacked the bags, took the empty bags with me, headed out. Back in my studio by 8:30. It took a minute to get settled again.

I worked in longhand for a bit, because that helped me feel more connected.

The Literary Witches Oracle card for the day was Sylvia Plath, which makes sense, considering how much her life and work have fueled the Milly/Ron arc of the play this week.

I printed out a few poems for the final night’s poem share. I put in the changes to the Milly/Ron party scene. I revised the post-party scene a few times, and worked the wedding day scene.

I have a feeling I will open out the party scene a little more. I was conscientious of how many pages I brought in, and while I built the beats to this page count, I think I can work in some more dynamics. I’m not sure, though. I’ll play with it.

I worked on a couple of very intense scenes in the Amanda section. And that was kind of it for me for the morning. I drafted eight scenes on this play in residency, which is a decent week’s work. Thirty-six pages. Not a bad week’s work.

I cam across a quote by Muriel Rukeyser that resonated: “Poems flowered from the bone.” (POETRY IN PERSON, p. 28).

The workshop was good. Two of the poets brought in gifts for the group, poems they’d written about the experience. The poems were wonderful, and receiving such a beautiful gift was magnificent.

I brought in a very short scene, the post-party scene, and got excellent feedback.

We packed up and restored the Swing Space one last time, since it was our last time in the space this session.

I went back to my studio, packed up my backpack and computer, and headed to the apartment. Dropped everything off and got my act together for a few minutes before we all met downstairs to head over to the parking lot and sort ourselves into cars to drive to Williamstown. I was very glad we had enough people willing to drive so I didn’t have to drive at night. And then I always feel like a wuss because my night vision is poor.

We ate at Blue Mango, the Thai restaurant we liked so much last year. It was still good, although we didn’t have our same delightful waiter (he stopped by the check on us, though). I had the Pad Thai, which I’ve liked before, and it was a little blander than in previous experiences. Or maybe I just make Pad Thai stronger when I make it at home? It was still good, and I cleaned my plate. I should have ordered a sauvignon Blanc rather than a chardonnay. Live and learn. But we had good conversation, and, as always, laughed a lot.

That’s one of my favorite things about the residency. We laugh a lot.

We reassembled back in our living room with wine and snacks and the like. We talked and read poems to each other. I read “Artifact” and “Ancestral Longings” both of which were originally created for Word X Word events, and was pleased at how well they held up. I’ve learned a lot since the last residency, in terms of working in this form.

I loved everyone else’s poems, too, and the breadth, range, and depth of them.

But everyone was tired, and headed out a little after 10 PM. My flatmate and I cleaned up and put things away, and sat up talking for another hour or so.

I packed up my clothes and got my stuff a little more organized for the load out.

I decided not to set my alarm and try for studio time. Rather, I wanted to indulge myself in this wonderful bed.

I slept until 7 AM, albeit with some weird dreams. I woke up once, around 3:30 (from the dreams), but fell asleep pretty easily, and didn’t wake up again until the alarm went off at 7.

I staggered into the kitchen to start the coffee, and then got my act together. Once I had coffee in hand, we stripped the beds, emptied the garbage, made and ate breakfast, washed, dried, and put away the dishes, wiped down the counters, and generally made sure the apartment was neat and clean. I packed up the food I still had there. When I got home, I realized I left half a bag of coffee, so the next cohort will find some really good coffee in the cabinet.

I took down the garbage and the recycling on my way to get the car. Once I dumped my backpack in the car, I realized it had somehow torn. Fortunately, I did not leave a trail behind me.

I drove the car back to the apartments, hauled down the clothing bag, the food bags and the rest. I still had 5 bags, in spite of what I took home the day before. I then headed over to the studio.

I’d hoped to write for a few hours, but I couldn’t concentrate until I packed the bulk of my stuff – the books, the batiks, the yoga stuff, the little things that made it look like a cozy office space. I kept up the inspiration wall as long as possible.

There was no internet in the studios. I seem to remember that happening last year, too. I wonder if they shut off the Guest Artist access on exit/turnaround days? I mean, that seems weird, but whatever. Maybe it encourages artists not to linger beyond their exit time.

I was melancholy to leave the studio. I loved Studio 12 last year, in the other building, and I loved Studio 6 in this one. The experience in each building is very different. John, who was an A4A advisor when I was a cohort member, encouraged me to ask for a different studio for a different perspective, and he was right.

I had my studio door open to say goodbye to people as they headed out.

I wrote in longhand for a bit, then drafted two poems. One of them, “Discards” I really like (although it needs some work). The other one is about the sound of the chime installation in the clock tower and the bells of the churches, but I needed to do some research for specifics, and without internet, that wasn’t happening in the moment.

I finally took down my inspiration walls, packed the last few things, and started hauling bags to the car.

On my first trip down, I helped a woman struggling with folding tables and Harris/Walz paraphernalia, trying to get back in the building. I held doors for her and helped her get the dolly in.

On my second trip down, some jerk parked behind me, at right angles, completely blocking me in. I had to hump my things around his car – which was parked way too close to my trunk. I popped the hatch, and barely had room to stand behind my car and pack the back.

I turned and knocked on his window (he was, of course, on his phone). I said, “You need to move, please, you’re blocking me in.”

He didn’t even look up, just said, “I’m only going to be here a minute.”

“You need to be gone by the time I get back down or you’re going to have a problem,” I said.

I stomped off to get my purse and my computer and my chair.  I said my goodbyes to the last few – one of our collective was staying as long as possible, enjoying being the last one, and promised to shut off the lights and lock the door on her way out.

I hauled my last few things to the car; Asshat was gone.

I’m still killing him off in a book.

Drove home, hauled everything out and up the stairs. Had a quick snack and greeted the cats, then unpacked everything. Really proud of myself for doing that. Even unpacked the books and put them back where they go.

I think Bea missed me. She was throwing toys at me again. Charlotte and Willa were glad I was home. Tessa would not speak to me.

I already miss everyone and look forward to next year. We really worked as a collective this year, and it was great.

I puttered around a bit, and heated up leftovers for dinner. I was tired, but it was a good tired. Charlotte sat on me every chance she had. Bea danced around. Tessa and Willa had a lot to say.

I went to bed early. Both Tessa and Charlotte slept on the bed from the beginning, instead of in shifts, which they usually do. Charlotte didn’t start any trouble, so it worked out.

Woke up once in the night, because I was in a weird pretzel shape since Charlotte was in between both sets of pillows. Adjusted so Charlotte and Tessa were on the same side of the bed, but they had a truce, so I went back to sleep.

Got up a little after 6, in spite of Tessa singing the Breakfast Operetta as soon as the coffee began at 5:30. Got everyone fed, wrote a little, enjoyed the quiet time.

I put up the Community Tarot reading for the week (if you missed it, you can read it here), and the Intent for the Week post. Did the rounds of social media. Handled some of the email that stacked up. Still way too much to get through.

The Collective texted and emailed the group throughout the day, which was great. We created a real sense of cohesion, and I hope that carries through the year.

It rained all day, and it was technically a holiday. I spent most of the day on the couch reading, with Charlotte sitting on me. I read THE DEAD ROMANTICS by Ashley Poston, which was very cute. It was a good read for a rainy autumn day.

I also read the next book for review, which I will write and send off later this morning. I still have a book of poetry to review, which I will do this week.

Today, I have to start building back into my regular writing life. Most of it for the next month will be focused on the show – rehearsals, rewrites, production meetings. When a show is in production, it is THE priority, and everything else in life has to work around it.

Balanced with that is my commitment as an A4A Advisor. Today is the final deadline for the applications, and we will start reviewing them soon. The meeting to discuss the applicants is. . .the day after my show records. Because of course it is. But I have plenty of time to prep, read the applications, take notes, and form opinions.

I also have to set up a consultation with a new client. I’m going to try to do it early next week; otherwise I will be overwhelmed this week. I think it’s going to be a one-and-done consult, which is fine.

I need to work on drafting THE VICIOUS CRITIC, drafting I WILL BE DIFFERENT, revisions on STRANGERS IN THE SNOW, and final proof on the print versions of TAPESTRY and MURDER BELLS. I need to ramp up the promotion on the Topic Workbooks and the pre-orders of TAPESTRY and MURDER BELLS.

I was relieved that there were no script coverages coming in that I would have had to refuse (and then felt guilty about) during my residency week. I should be alarmed that nothing’s come through the last couple of days, especially with a contest deadline today (or maybe it’s tomorrow). Usually, there are rush coverages just before a contest deadline, where they ask for notes so they can revise and then submit. Crickets. I hope a couple of things come in today, before the end of the pay period at midnight. If not, I’m okay, especially with the book reviewing and the new client. And I planned for no income (only outgo) during the residency week, and budgeted to cover the bills.

I’m going to get out pitches and submissions this week, and see what lands where. I need to up my pitch game between now and mid-November, because it will slow down from mid-November through the holidays, and I want to make sure I land something strong for January and February. I’ll look for more short term/one-offs for November and December.

This week will probably be a slowish ramp-up, because it’s coming out of the residency and going into rehearsals/advisory work. The next month will test my focus, organizational skills, and mental dexterity.

So I better get going, hadn’t I?

Have a good one!

Mon. Oct. 14, 2024: Intent for the Week — Mixing Residency & Real Life

image courtesy of ongerdesign via pixabay.com

Monday, October 14, 2024

Waxing Moon

Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter Retrograde

Rainy and cool

I’m back from the Boiler House Poets Residency at MASS MoCA, although my out of office message is up until tomorrow, so I can catch my breath (besides, today is a holiday).

It was a great experience, and this week, I want to take what I learned and integrate it into my daily life, so that the residency creativity is not kept completely separate from the rest of my creative life.

My show also starts rehearsal this week, and I have a new short-term client, so that will take some juggling. And there’s a full moon!

If you’d like to check out the community tarot reading for the week, it’s over on the Cerridwen Iris Shea side here.

Have a great start to your week, and we’ll catch up tomorrow.

Fri. Oct. 11, 2024: Studio Life

photo by Devon Ellington

Friday, October 11, 2024

Waxing Moon

Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter Retrograde

Pluto DIRECT

Still dark out, but much warmer

The photo above is what it looked like when I walked to the studio a little before 6 this morning.

This is my last post from my studio space. The week has flown past! Hopefully, I jumped on and rode at least some of it well.

Yay! Pluto is no longer smacking us upside the head (planet of transformation).  Having all these retrogrades in autumn, forcing us to slow down, is counter to how we’ve trained to use autumn to rev up (school starts, vacations over, etc.). It creates a tension between the capitalist way we’re indoctrinated to think about a year’s cycles and what our inner voices are telling us. Which is exhausting, on multiple levels. So having one of them out of the mix (especially one about transformation) eases some of the pressure. Pluto goes direct in Capricorn (for the last time in our lives). It will be in Aquarius until 2043 (both for direct motion and retrogrades in that time). The last time Pluto was in Aquarius was from 1778 to 1798, and there was a whole lot going on when it came to social order and humanity then.

I had trouble getting going as far as focus yesterday morning. Gee, I wonder why! If we were here for two weeks or a month, I would have just taken yesterday off and lounged. I really do like the bed here, and I would have stayed in it. But with only three full studio days left (counting yesterday), I didn’t want to lose the time.

It was beyond monkey mind. It was more like squirrels on acid running up the walls of my skull.

Did a revision on the Milly/Ron scene I wanted to workshop. Did the revision on the poem I brought in on Tuesday, now re-named “Between Me and I” and incorporating the notes from my colleagues. I made a cut, changed a couple of rhythms, I took out something that was too specific and made it fit the rest of the tone better, getting across the same information.

I chatted with the colleague who got me interested in cleave poems about how to work the comic horror poem. If it reads across first, I want that to be the comic beats. When it’s read down, in columns, I want that to be the unsettling/horror version.

I doubt I’ll finish it before the end of the residency. But I’m trying to build at least a few sentences to bring in on Saturday, the last session. I tried to write the comic version first, but the horror version might be easier, and then tweak word choices to some that can have multiple meanings.

Started writing the Amanda section of the play (in the 70’s). Wrote the first scene; started the second scene, where Milly shocked me with a suicide attempt. So we’ll see where that goes (this is what I get for reading about Sylvia Plath in my downtime here).

Spent some time lying on my acupuncture mat staring at the clouds. I was afraid if I took a nap, I’d sleep through lunch and the workshop.

We ate lunch up on the mezzanine again. My friend was working the box office desk, so I got to chat with him and thank him for coming to the reading. After lunch, I took a wander over to Osman Khan’s ROAD TO HYBRIDABAD installation. Our cohort had a tour during the installation, so it was great to see how it all came together. I nipped upstairs to look at the ELUDING CAPTURE exhibit, too. I love what the artists are doing with textiles stretched, painted, and embellished on frames as though they were canvas. I would like to try something like that, but then layer words over it. Whether they would be printed on cloth, embroidered, or beaded on, I don’t yet know. I may go back today and tomorrow and sit with them for a bit.

Came back to the studio. Was tempted to take a nap (again), but worried I’d sleep through workshop if I did. Plus, it would have messed up my sleep cycle enormously.

Instead, I started reading POETRY IN PERSON: TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN CONVERSATION WITH AMERICA’S POETS, edited by Alexander Neubauer. It contains edited transcripts of sessions Pearl London of the New School held with poets and student poets. The established poets would bring in new work and workshop it, with the students responding to the draft, and the poet describing the process. It’s fascinating.

I ambled over to the swing space for the workshop. Everyone’s work is so different and so interesting and so evocative. It really is a joy to work in creative space with them, and puzzle out details and word choices, and the rest.

I brought in the middle-ish scene from the play, the Milly-Ron scene before the party. It’s great that the poets enjoy jumping in and reading the different parts. They had a very positive response to it, and felt it hit the right height of cringe for the right reasons. They helped me finesse a couple of places where I knew I didn’t have enough subtext and manipulation, and that’s a big help, both for this scene and the overall structure of the piece.

Today I will bring in the party scene itself, which I still have to work on. I have the overall shape of it, but it needs more beat-to-beat attention. It’s still a little too vague to bring in.

It’s wonderful to have poetic eyes on a playscript because of their specificity and determination to find the word with the exact shade of meaning. What I learn from them (not just on my own work) is something I take with me all year, and it’s definitely made the playwrighting stronger.

Dropped stuff off at the residency apartment, picked up some stuff to bring home, and headed to the car in the lot behind Big Y. Drove around to the front of the building and stopped at CVS to pick up one of my mother’s prescriptions. Headed home. Unloaded the detritus from the reading. The jar of salsa had escaped a bag and was rolling around in the back. Fortunately, I closed it tightly enough so it didn’t spill, or it would have looked like I murdered someone in the back of the car and wasn’t smart enough to get rid of the evidence.

Got everything home, washed the dishes from the reading, unpacked the bags I brought home and put stuff away. Tessa wasn’t speaking to me; Charlotte was Velcro Kitty; Willa tried to grift some treats. Bea hadn’t eaten much all day, but when I gave her dinner, she dived in and ate the whole thing. Could she actually have missed me?

I ate a quick dinner, and brought the geraniums in because there was a frost advisory out for last night. We’d run out of printer paper at the studio; the office had ordered more, but they weren’t sure when it would show up. So I tossed a ream of paper into a bag and brought it back with me. Just to be sure.

Headed back to the apartment. The Collective was still at dinner, downstairs at Grazie. Berkshire Gas surrounded the building, working on something or other.

I hauled my sorry rear end up the stairs, took a shower, and put on my pajamas. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to bed or try to stay up for a bit. If I’d gone to bed that early, I would have woken up around 1 or 2 and gone into the studio, then come back at some point in the morning and slept. Which would, of course, have thrown off the sleep schedule even more. For weeks.

My flatmate texted to see if I minded everyone coming to the apartment to hang out (we have the biggest living room). I said sure. So I guess I was staying up, for at least a bit! A cup of tea revived me, as did the company and conversation when they arrived. Several of them had also put on their pjs. One of our collective brought her guitar, so it was an evening of campfire songs.

It really wasn’t a late night at all. Everyone was tired, and trooped off after a couple of hours. I dived under the covers and was out like a light.

I woke up once, around 1:30, but got back to sleep quickly. Up at 5 with the alarm. I was actually reasonably efficient getting ready, eating breakfast, doing the dishes, and was in-studio a little before 6.

I ran into an acquaintance coming out as I was coming in. She has a permanent studio space here. She’d pulled an all-nighter on a commission, because the work was going well. She apologized for missing yet another reading, but said, “I always love it when you invite me to something, because then I know a big commission is about to show up. I feel bad for missing your stuff, but it happens every time, and my bank account thanks you!”

It was pretty funny.

She was going home to get some sleep.

There is printer paper here. Bringing a ream from my home office guaranteed the new order would arrive!

Today is a full day in-studio, so I’ll write and read a bunch. We’ll have lunch together. I might do a museum wander at some point. We’ll workshop in the afternoon, and we have dinner nearby this evening, then our planning meeting for next year, and hanging out. We have our dates, and next year is the 10th Anniversary of this Collective, so we want to do something fun for that.

Tomorrow is a full day in-studio; it will probably be much like this one. Writing, reading, lunch with the Collective, museum wandering, workshop. We have a nice dinner planned tomorrow night, and then our final night together. I have a small interruption in the morning, when I go to pick up the CSA box that was missing on Tuesday, and drop it off at home. I might use it as an opportunity to pack up some books to take back, and drop off the dirty laundry. I don’t think I’ll do laundry at the apartment.

Sunday morning, we have to clean up and clear out of the apartment by 11, and out of the studios by 3. I’ll haul everything home – and go to bed!

Next week, my show starts rehearsals in LA, and I’ll be ZOOMing in for it, late night my time. I’m sure Charlotte will keep me company.

Have a great weekend, and I’ll catch you on the other side.

Thurs. Oct. 10, 2024: Settling Into Studio Time

photo by Devon Ellington

T hursday, October 10, 2024

Waxing Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter Retrograde

Cloudy and cool

Good morning! I can’t believe we’re already at the halfway point of the residency. It always takes me a few days to settle in, especially when there’s a reading as part of it.

The inspiration wall has already had additions since I took the photo above.

As I mentioned yesterday, I was in studio by 6 AM.

I wrote a chapter of VICIOUS CRITIC, just under 2K.

I looked over the notes for “Between You and Me” (which is getting a new title, thanks to the Collective). I got an idea, based off a stanza of a colleague’s poem on Tuesday, to write a horror poem. I mean, there are horror magazines that accept poems, so I guess it’s a thing? Being me, and horror not being my wheelhouse, it may wind up being comic horror, but we’ll see where we end up. I also want to write a cleave poem while I’m here, but I haven’t settled on a topic yet. Maybe I’ll do something ekphrastic, from my museum wanderings, which will start soon. If I could write the horror poem as a cleave poem, so that reading it one way is horror and reading the other is comedy, that would be awesome, but I don’t think I have the skill set yet.

I pondered my outline, and re-read the poem a few times, which served both for the reading and for helping me figure out what’s next in the play. I wrote the next two Milly/Ron scenes. For that sequence now, I have pre-party, during the party, and post-party. In this section, I still have to write the scenes before this sequence, where Milly and Ron meet, a quick sorority scene, and the wedding. I’m not sure if I need another Milly scene, or if the one at the end of the sequence I wrote today is enough to launch us into grown-up Amanda’s sequence, which takes place in the 1970’s. I wound up writing the wedding day scene an hour or so later, which is the first time I’ve written Alice, who is Milly’s mother. Elaine, Milly’s best friend and sorority sister, is in that scene, and in the party scene. I have Milly wearing her grandmother Josephine’s wedding dress, which Josephine sewed and beaded. The audience will meet Josephine in the opening of the play.

Right now, I’m writing episodically. Eventually, I will work on act and arc structure beyond the sequences for each generation.

It’s very different for me, to start a play in the middle and write out to both ends. It’s a good challenge. As if opening out the poem into a stage play wasn’t a challenge, too! But that’s why I’m here, in residence – to challenge myself.

My flatmate popped in to lie on the acupressure mat for a few minutes, after her jaunt around the museum. I’m glad I have it. The concrete floors of these industrial buildings do a number on my feet and knees and lower back. Sitting and typing tires my neck after a few hours. Changing from shoes to slippers while I’m in my studio helps a lot; lying on the mat a couple of times a day for 10 or 20 minutes helps a lot. I only wear shoes when I leave the studio to wander around the museum or go back to the apartment. Once I reach the apartment, I take the shoes right off.

The Collective ate lunch together up on the mezzanine level of the museum, where they have tables set out. It was too cold to eat outside! Last year, we were in residence about a  week earlier, and there were still a few days warm enough to eat al fresco.

My brain was done for the day, creative-wise by then. I read in the break between lunch and workshopping. Re-reading, actually, THE SILENT WOMAN by Janet Malcolm, a book I’ve always liked. Originally, I planned to listen and comment, but not share anything in the workshop since I had to leave early to pick things up for the reading. But in the morning, I decided to skip the workshop session completely; my attention wouldn’t be 100% there, and my colleagues deserve 100%. Instead of pushing myself and being miserable at not doing anything well, I opted out, made sure they were set up, then hauled my backpack and computer to the apartment before heading home.

I stretched out on the sofa for about an hour. I’d hoped to sleep, but the cats had other ideas. I got a lecture from Tessa, Charlotte sat on me, and Bea skipped sideways and threw toys at me. I don’t think Willa noticed I was back.

I packed up and was dealing with a last-minute exchanges for the reading, plus then dealing with LA. There was one point where I was pretty sure I sent a message with directions on finding my corkscrew in the residency apartment to the wrong person, but the right person got it, so all good.

And the first rehearsal of my show was moved to Oct. 16, which is great, because I can ZOOM in then. And it’s only going to run 2 hours, so I will be in rehearsal from 11 PM – 1 AM once a week for a handful of weeks until we record in November. So everything worked out.

My flatmate caught a discrepancy in the poem I read (this is what happens when you pick sonics over fact checking), and, in reading, I felt the second to last stanza turned a little preachy. So the poem version still needs some work. It’s stronger than the earlier version I read at Word X Word, but not yet as strong as it will become.

Loaded the car, headed to the bookstore. My colleagues came in and we set up.

I was so pleased by the friends and colleagues who turned out to support: from the Capacity Building cohort, from tarot, even from my farmers’ market artist residency. We had a good turnout. The reading went smoothly. There was good conversation after.

Hugh sigh of relief that the work put in paid off for a good reading that made everyone feel good, on and off stage.

Packed up, loaded the car, headed next door to Public for our meal. A trio of friends who attended the reading were a few tables down, so we waved.

All I wanted was a glass of pinot noir and a big bowl of French fries, which I shared (the French fries; I knocked back the wine myself). More good conversation, and they helped me carry what I needed to get back to the residency apartment.

Came in and absolutely left a trail as I stripped off shoes, rings, bags, coat, and so forth, and changed into comfortable clothes. Went back and retrieved the scattered discards and put them away appropriately, and put what needed to go into the fridge into the fridge.

Although somewhere in my travels, the jar of salsa went astray. I wonder where it will turn up?

My flatmate and I sat up chatting until well after midnight. I figured I’d sleep in until 6 this morning (oh, horrors) and get into the studio by 7. I woke up just after 5:30, the usual time, without the alarm, and was in the studio by 6:30. I mean, I was going around in circles more than usual, but I got dressed properly the first time and had breakfast and did the dishes and got out the door intact. If I’m tired later today, I’ll go back to the residency apartment and take a nap. The next few days are MINE. Well, OURS, but you know what I mean.

Studio time this morning, museum wandering if I feel like it (I might wait until tomorrow), lunch with the cohort, workshopping. I’m having dinner at home tonight, hauling back dishes and a stool and some other stuff from the reading that’s still in my car. I have to pick up one of my mom’s prescriptions on the way. But then I’m coming back to the apartment to sleep.

For the workshop, I’m sharing the first scene I wrote of the adaptation of I WILL BE DIFFERENT, the Milly/Ron scene pre-party. I will then let the Collective choose which scene they want tomorrow – the wedding day scene before, or the party scene after. One colleague teased me, “Oh, like choose your own adventure?” So that will be fun. I think I will bring in scenes from the play today and tomorrow, and bring in a poem on Saturday, which is our last workshop day.

We already got our exit instructions. It’s going by too fast!

Got an email this morning that an anthology into which I was accepted two (?) years ago is finally coming out. I will share covers, buy links, etc., when I have them. I really love the story that’s included. It’s wacky comic noir.

Got royalty statements from two anthologies I’m included in that were published quite a few years ago now; they paid for the original pieces and paid out decent but diminishing royalties the first few years. It paid off a few bills along the way, so I was content. The last few years, we’ve gotten statements that claim we’re not owed anything, which is possible, but when we are owed something (there are 12-14 of us in each anthology), there are excuses not to pay out because the amount is “under” a certain figure. However, by now, that figure is long reached over accumulation.  I’ve considered invoking the audit clause in the original contracts, because when I compare statements, the numbers aren’t aligning, but the amount is so small, I’m not sure it’s worth it.

I have to catch up on what’s going on with Hurricane Milton. I heard it was a Cat3 when it hit and it’s now moving out into the Atlantic. Not to underestimate how strong a Cat3 is, but at least it didn’t hit as Cat5, which it had been earlier in the day.  As people can, they will check in. I’m still waiting to hear back from two people in the Carolinas from Helene. Fingers crossed everyone is okay.

That’s the latest. Madame Zora divines there is a nap in my not-too-distant future.

Have a good one!