Devon Ellington's Blog, page 29

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

image courtesy of David Z via pixabay.com

Today is the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

My day is built around remembrance.

I will start my day by watching the Table of Silence Project, a ritual live streaming from Lincoln Center.

Tues. Sept. 10, 2024: The Weather Is All Over The Place

image courtesy of  Klára Sedláčková via pixabay.com

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Waxing Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Uranus Retrograde

Cloudy and cool

I hope you had a wonderful weekend.

Friday, I did some outreach work for Assets4Artists. I slogged through some email. I picked up a prescription for my mom, did a big grocery shop, did a library run.

And then I was done. I hadn’t had much sleep, because of the alarms going off, and I was just cooked.

I took the rest of the day off to rest. I let the new poem percolate. I thought about tweaks to “Effie Effect.” But mostly, I was cat furniture for Charlotte, and keeping an eye on Bea as she explored. She’s trying to redefine her schedule to something that works better for her, no matter what anyone else is doing. She listens politely when Tessa goes over the day’s schedule with her, and then goes and does what she wants. There’s a core of steel under that muted tortie fur.

I read the first book in a new series about which I was excited. Sadly, the book is very formula, and the writer uses “witch” as a slur against other women, so I guess I’m done. I really like the author, as a person and a writer, but her work with Kensington uses this particular slur, and that’s a non-negotiable for me.

I read THIS DAY: DIARIES FROM AMERICAN WOMEN, edited by Joni B. Cole, Rebecca Joffrey, and B.K. Rakhra, where 529 women submitted their diary of a single day, Oct. 15 (I assume it was Oct. 15, 2002, since the book was published in 2003, and there’s mention of 9/11). It was truly fascinating. There was full text from 35 entries, and then snippets of others by topic.

Cooked dinner, read some more, went to bed early. Slept through the night.

Up at the normal time on Saturday. It was kind of a dreary day. Took my time getting going.

I turned around a couple of script coverages. I pondered “Effie Effect.” I read bits and pieces of books, but very little held my attention.

As I got ready to go out, there was an Instagram post that my colleague’s book was in stock and Bear & Bee. That’s good news.

Someone else started unnecessary drama about an unrelated project (privately, not on social media), something that was already worked out, which I pointed out.

It was raining and yucky. I parked and had time to dash into the bookstore and pick up the book, and made it to my other colleague’s show on time. It was an unrehearsed Shakespeare, where people took a class for an hour (before I arrived) and then performed a Shakespeare play (for which I was in the audience). They did HENRY IV, PART ONE, one of my favorites, and it was lots of fun. The colleague whose book I just picked up was there, and I asked her to sign it.

Home, dealt with more unnecessary drama, and then more unnecessary harassment around my mother’s medical bills. I’ll be filing complaints with the AG and CFPB this week.

Slept decently until the fire alarm malfunctioned again at 4 AM. I wish they could figure out what’s the matter.

Dozed off for an hour or so, then got up to feed the cats.

More unnecessary drama – I’m sorry, but 5 emails before 10 AM on a Sunday is excessive and unnecessary, especially since Sunday is the day I’m supposed to be offline. I put my foot down. Don’t pretend it’s an apology when it’s an additional list of demands when I’ve already set out the timeline that’s possible. I’m not stupid, and I stopped being that easily manipulated years ago. Maybe not enough years ago, but I’m there now.

So there went the morning, that was supposed to be about revisions on “The Effie Effect” so that I could focus on poetry in the afternoon.

I did, however, manage to get done the Community Tarot Reading for the week done, which you can see here. A little challenging.

I started making vegetable stock, since I had 5 bags of bits. I wound up doing 3 batches of stock, which made 8 jars. All strained, labeled, and put away.

In the meantime, Tessa decided she wanted to sit on the tarot reading cloth on my worktable, and Willa stole Bea’s lunch. Bea was actually pretty chill about it, just glared at me, not Willa. When Charlotte is the day’s Good Girl, you know we’re in trouble.

I did the adaptation of “Effie” into audio from stage, which meant layering in sound, stripping out visuals to communicate the information through sound and sometimes dialogue, and smoothing over a few things.

I didn’t get much written on the poem, but I think I have the opening sorted out in my head.

The unnecessary drama situation was just exhausting. But now I have information about this individual, which I will keep in mind going forward. It let me know some initial instincts were correct.

Once again, no good deed goes unpunished.

There was a block party a few blocks away to which I was invited, but I was still deep in the adaptation, and had to miss it. I hope it went well. It’s probably not a good idea to be around a bunch of people, with this latest COVID surge.

I cooked dinner, and, in the evening, read the next book for review.

The damn fire alarm malfunctioned again at 3 AM. I got up a little after 6.

As I was waking up, I had an idea for a speculative short story that might tip into horror. I need to play with it. It’s inspired by the lack of ethics in medical billing.

I wrote, polished, and submitted the book review and got my next assignment. I made suggestions on a friend’s outline for her screenplay. I polished the next draft of “Effie Effect” and sent it to my director. That took longer than I expected. I’m second-guessing myself, and I need to get notes from him first for a clear direction, rather than being all over the place.

I got a couple of pitches out, and realized I missed a submission deadline. It’s for a call, not something promised, so it’s not that big a deal. I’m annoyed with myself, but the piece I wanted to point in that direction isn’t ready, so it’s probably a good thing.

I turned around a small coverage. I played with some ideas for the story that had come to me overnight/in the morning, although I didn’t get too far. But a little progress is better than no progress. The shape of the story is in my head, along with most of the major scenes, but I need a good structure and connective tissue. The voice is pretty decent.

I got two plays out the door on submission. We’re looking into 2025-26 at this point. Of course, 2025 isn’t far away. I’m debating on another residency proposal. There was one I really wanted to do which closes today, and I just can’t put together the materials in time. I’ll apply in winter for next autumn, or next autumn for the following spring. It’s a place in which I want to spend time, so the proposal needs to be strong.

I was too tired to do more than read at night, although I re-figured some things in the story that I will put into play today.

One of the books I’m reading is about writers and their mentors. There was a resonant quote from John L’Heureux: “Complicate the motive. Simplify the action.”

Excellent advice!

Slept pretty well, up early to get out the door for the laundromat. The fire alarm malfunctioned again, but at least everyone was already up.

The laundromat has doubled the dryer fees for less time, which is frustrating. But I got the laundry through and was back home by 7 AM, even stopping for gas on the way home.

I’m going to work on the short story today, and, hopefully, get some more done on VICIOUS CRITIC. I need to send out some pitches, and turn around some small coverages, while hoping some bigger ones come in this week. I have to pick up the CSA box. I have a feeling I have to skip yoga tonight and work instead. I need to get some admin and organizational work done, too. And I need to vacuum.

I’d like to get some work done on the poem, even though it’s not yet confirmed I have a slot on the 29th. There’s another poem that’s starting to swirl around, too, on a completely different topic. I need to let it roll around in my head a bit before I figure out which words it needs. Poems form so differently for me than any other type of writing.

I need to do a library run. A stack of books I ordered over a long period of time all showed up at once, and I can’t wait until the end of the week to pick them up.

I’d better get to it all, hadn’t I?

Mon. Sept. 9, 2024: Intent for the Week — Keep Climbing

image courtesy of Gianni Crestani via pixabay.com

This week presents a lot of challenges, so my intent is just to keep at it, trying to make as much progress as I can.

What’s your intent for the week?

Fri. Sept. 6, 2024: In a Bit of a Fog

image courtesy of Дарья via pixabay.com

Friday, September 6, 2024

Waxing Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Pluto Retrograde

Dreary and cooler

I tried to get a lot done in the morning yesterday, and was only partially successful. I handled a bunch of email. I adapted several episodes into chapters for VICIOUS CRITIC. I looked at possible grant and residency applications.

I re-read “The Effie Effect” so I would have the details fresh for my first meeting with the director.

After lunch, I went down to MASSMoCA for my A4A Advisory Meeting. We had a good one, with next steps ready to go. The application is open for the next six weeks. We all have our tasks, and we talked about cohort building activities throughout the coming months.

I came home, dumped that meeting out of my head, and prepped for the meeting with my director. It was short, only about a 10-minute video conference. Since it will be audio, we talked about ways to move it away from the visuals. I’m doing a rewrite layering in ideas for sound cues, and I’ll send it to him on Monday morning. I’ll attend some rehearsals via ZOOM, and rewrite as needed.

I started the rewrite, then stopped for dinner and finished another Sara Paretsky in the evening. I started reading another mystery, but I’m not sure I like it or will finish it.

The smoke alarm kept going off again in the night, which meant Tessa and I were up checking each time, just to be sure it was a false alarm. I finally got back to sleep around 3:30, until Charlotte used me for a trampoline around six.

I’m groggy and disoriented this morning. I have to do the rounds of the pharmacy, the grocery store, and the library this morning. I have two scripts to turn around this afternoon. Over the weekend, I’ll do the rewrite, and work on the press release/listing for the reading and finish the program rough. I want to block off some time on Sunday for poetry, and at least start the poem for the event on the 29th.

Maybe I’ll even get some rest. I’d love to spend a stretch of time in bed, without the fire alarm going off. These are brand new; they should be fine, and no one seems to know why they’re being cranky.

Anyway, have a good one!

Thurs. Sept. 5, 2024: Feeling a Bit Scattered

image courtesy of Public Domain Pictures via pixabay.com

Thursday, September 5, 2024

Waxing Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Uranus Retrograde

Sunny and pleasant

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

Yesterday was kind of a scattered day. I got out the next draft of my friend’s project (which I think is the last one). I got out the promised materials to the theatre with whom I met last week. I plowed through a bunch of email, and wondered about some residency applications. There’s one that I really want to do, I don’t think next year is a good time to do it, so I might wait and apply next year for the following year.

I put in the Chewy order, and went out to pick up wet food for Bea (I’ll order from Chewy once we figure out some more likes and dislikes; she’s going from eating anything to having preferences), and ink and a higher wattage light bulb for our reading lamps. I prefer the soft light, which these aren’t; they’re a bit harsh and cold. But they’re easier to read at night under.

One of the positives of the Nano implosion is that people are setting up alternatives the encourage each other, and at other times of the year. As someone pointed out, November? Really? And someone else pointed out it was originally started by a guy who didn’t have to worry about child care, cooking, or holiday planning.

I mean, my goal was to hit 50K before the Thanksgiving holiday, and anything above that was gravy (pun intended). So I did. But November has a lot of external pressure on it, especially since we have to push holiday mailing back earlier and earlier since the corrupt Postmaster is still destroying the US Mail service, and worry about all the other things one has to worry about to wind down the year.

I was in a workshop in the afternoon. There was some good information, but it was mostly geared to those at an earlier stage of their career than I am. I liked my fellow attendees, and we agreed to put each other on our mailing lists. We had some good conversations in breakout sessions, but again, I’m at a different point in my career, so I was able to suggest resources, but not gain new ones. I was uncomfortable with the encouragement to use AI “because it’s not going away.”

The way AI is currently used is theft, pure and simple, from other artists. There is NO wiggle room in that. Plus, the environmental damage it does. The way to change it is to starve it from the theft and push it toward doing repetitive, mundane tasks to free us to use our creativity AND find ways to use it that doesn’t further destroy the planet.

Encouraging artists to steal from other artists is not okay. Period.

Fiverr and Upwork were also recommended. Um, no. Again, it exploits and underpays those who work for them.

Create your vision, make your plan, get your funding, and PAY PEOPLE. That is how we lift up the artistic community.

Got a lovely email from the artistic director of the theatre with whom I met last week, saying how much she’s looking forward to working together.

Headed off to tarot, which was a lot of fun. We laughed a lot and took joy in each other, which is always a good thing.

The crockpot dinner of chicken and CSA vegetables was good. Then, I settled on the couch with Charlotte and the laptop and worked on coverages. Got what I needed done; had a question on one, and put that in, which gave me an extension, and I can do it tomorrow.

Slept reasonably well. The anti-inflammatories are sort of helping my knee until they wear off, when it hurts worse than ever. I’m going to try some arnica and some of Badger’s joint soothe as well.

Up an hour later than usual. The cats were not amused. Bea started to explore, but Charlotte convinced her to go back to her room. Hopefully, she will explore more later on. Tessa had a lot to say this morning, even after going over the day’s schedule with Bea. Willa is jealous of Bea’s toys, completely forgetting she has an entire box of toys in my mother’s room.

Bea has discovered indoor heating, and that she likes it. Yes, Bea, there are perks to being an indoor cat, even with eccentric sister cats.

We were sent a reminder that the virtual meditation group starts up again today; a few hours later, we were sent a cancellation because the leader is “traveling.” Why travel that day when the return date was set back in June? Surely there were other options. Again, this disrespect for our time and trying to pass it off as “going with the flow” is gaslighting, and I’m tired of it. My time with this group may be at an end. It’s been four years. It might be time to move on to a different group that is more reliable.

I will re-read “The Effie Effect” this morning in preparation for this afternoon’s meeting with the director. In the early afternoon, I have an advisory meeting down at MASSMoCA. No coverage reading today (by choice).

I’d like to get some writing done; hopefully, I can fit some into this morning, along with the marketing for the Topic Workbooks.

I decided not to do the reveal of the Nina Bell website until next week. There’s too much going on this week to do it well, and still a few things I want to tweak on the site. Hopefully, I can get that done over the weekend.

Have a good one, and we’ll catch up tomorrow. Another week is almost gone.

Wed. Sept. 4, 2024: Sometimes You Need to Walk Away

image courtesy of Tamal Roy via pixabay.com

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

Waxing Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Uranus Retrograde

Sunny and pleasant

There’s a new post over on Ink-Dipped Advice. You can read it here.

Yesterday morning, I got another draft done of my friend’s project and sent it off. I got out a grant application. I did some marketing for the Topic Workbooks. I deleted my National Novel Writing Month account, after pulling my years and stats information. Yet another example of a good idea corrupted by greed and overgrowth. I de-listed 30 TIPS FOR 30 DAYS, the free booklet cheering people through it, removed it from my websites, and have a post explaining why on the Devon Ellington site.

The short version is that it would be hypocritical of me to keep out and promote a workbook that supports a program by an organization with which I will no longer be associated, and whose values are no longer in alignment with mine. Even though it was always up for free.

As I struggled to get other things done, I realized I was in mourning, in a way. Even though the program no longer truly serves me as a writer (I know I can write 50K in 30 days, starting a new project in November is often in conflict with other projects, and puts too much pressure on right before the holidays, the forums de-volved into bratty sessions or whining sessions), it was a big part of my development as a writer.

I also finally deactivated the Twitter accounts, both the Devon Ellington and Fearless Ink accounts. It seems they already dumped the Grief to Art account for lack of use. I stopped using the site over a year ago, and, although I’ve heard about people de-activating and then fake accounts being set up, I wanted to break all ties with the platform.

Serious 8 of Cups energy (walk away), which makes sense, since that card came up a lot a couple of weeks ago, and 3 of Wands (moving forward with a plan) is coming up now. I have to remove what no longer works in order to make room for the new plans.

Picked up the CSA box, filled with yummy stuff.

I had my knee finally looked at and yes, it’s messed up, with a bunch of long names I should have written down. Short version: stop kneeling, it’s a deep bone bruise with a lesion that keeps filling with blood, and by kneeling on it, I aggravate it, and by rolling to a different part of my knee/putting weight improperly on the other knee, I’ve now inflamed tendons and ligaments. I may have chipped part of the bone, too.

All from slipping on a fur ball and hitting the knee on the metal plate on the doorway. Totally embarrassing.

Anyway, I’m taking anti-inflammatories for a few days, working the knee in stretches, but not kneeling or trying to cheat-kneel for a few weeks.

Talked it through with my yoga teacher, so that I can still do stuff, but with variations, in class.

I only took one class last night, gentle yoga, which unraveled a lot of the tension that had built up.

Picked up takeout on the way home, and had a quiet night of it.

Confirmed a meeting tomorrow afternoon with the director in LA; we will get to work via ZOOM, and then I’m sure I’ll have a few days of rewrites ahead of me.

Bea had a Big Adventure this morning. After breakfast, she came out to explore. She went down the hall, into my office, a little bit into the kitchen, back into my office, and then into my room. She got lost at that point, and squeaked. Tessa retrieved her and took her back to her room, where she decided she was so overwhelmed, she needed a nap. It was very cute.

It was cold enough overnight for the heat to kick on (Bea’s first experience with indoor heat). It’s supposed to go up to 78F today, so we’ll see.

This morning is all about catching up on what didn’t get done yesterday and doing what needs to be done today. I need to do another revision on my friend’s project; I need to send the materials to the theatre I met with last week; I need to get the crockpot set up for tonight’s dinner, using lots of vegetables and some chicken. I need to put in a Chewy order, plus pick up some more of Bea’s food (I’m not yet ordering it via Chewy, because she’s deciding what she likes and doesn’t like). I need to turn around some scripts. I’d like to write, but I doubt I’ll get much done.

I have a workshop from 1-3, and then I’m off to tarot. I will probably have to finish script coverage work when I return, since I’m behind where I wanted to be by today (but still fine with deadlines). I also need to re-read the play before tomorrow’s meeting.

Have a good one!

Tues. Sept. 3, 2024: Working Through the Holiday Weekend

image courtesy of Stocksnap via pixabay.com

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

Waxing Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Uranus Retrograde

Sunny and cool

Yup, we’re back up to 5 retrogrades again, with Uranus joining the pack until January.

My final royalty from the Vella serials was laughable. And this last reading period, authors with nearly a thousand new reads aren’t getting royalties or bonuses if readers don’t leave comments, even though readers paid to unlock and read the episodes. So glad I’m out of that loop.

Worked on the resources I promised at last Tuesday’s meeting, and will send them off tomorrow. Went to the grocery store, the library, and the post office.

A former collaborator will be in Boston for the next few months. We haven’t seen each other since MISS SAIGON days, and our collaboration on MOON TRIBE TALES: The International Women’s Day Project.  We are talking about doing some work together again. I’d love that.

I wrote and submitted my review and got my next assignment. I had a couple of small coverages. I did the rounds of the post office, grocery store, library.

Bea is getting braver about coming out to explore. We have the door open for a few hours every day. The other cats don’t bother her (well, Tessa lectures her and Willa tries to steal the banana), but, for the most part, they don’t fuss. Bea is starting to explore the living room a bit. She peeks out into the hallway, but the rest of the place is huge to her, so she then retreats back to the safety of her room and thinks about it all. She can take as much time as she needs. There’s no rush. She almost let my mom pet her on Friday, then remembered she doesn’t trust humans and darted away.

I felt really burned out and tired. I read THE ACCIDENTAL BUDDHIST in the evening, which was really well done.

Up at the normal time on Saturday, got everybody fed. A bunch of pitch coverages had come in, so I turned those around first thing, figuring I’d have the rest of the weekend off.

Headed to the Clark for an herbal workshop led by a friend. Because of the weather, we were inside, and it was a big crowd. A good selection of people from tarot, and a good selection of interested Clark members.

Picked up more cat litter on the way home. Realized I hadn’t mailed the rent check, and with the holiday, it had to go out that day. Dashed home, wrote the check, dashed to the post office and mailed it.

I painted some jars I want to use for the Halloween season – glass jars, some painted black, some orange, which will then be decorated and battery-operated candles put in for the porch windows. It took me a few tries to figure out how to pull the paint properly so it’s sheer enough; I might have to do another black jar and use the heavily painted one for something else.

I checked with a friend who does tailoring on film production to make sure how I planned to alter a dress made the most sense, and she gave me some tips. It’s a 40’s style piece in navy, and being the woman who always buys navy shoes, I have the perfect shoes to go with it.

I did a bunch of ironing in the early afternoon. Bea is deeply suspicious of the Rowenta steam iron. The other cats are used to it. I hadn’t ironed the fall fabrics after washing them before putting them away last winter, so I had to iron everything for fall and Halloween now.

Switched out the fabrics in the living room. Put aside the fabrics for the office and kitchen. We’re moving from light and airy to cozy. The lace panel curtains will stay up through September, and then the spiderweb curtains go up.

Of course, around 3 PM, a bunch of scripts came in, and I was in no position to say, “No, I’m on vacation for the long weekend.” I stayed up and did them, working until 10 PM. Three of them were large coverages; a handful were smaller. By the time the pay period closed at midnight, I’d made about 2/3 of what I hoped for this pay period, which is a lot farther along than where I was in the morning, when I was under half. I also grabbed scripts for the beginning of this week. By tomorrow, I will be just over half of where I want to be for the week; fingers crossed scripts keep coming in, and that I have a good pay period to get back on track.

I overslept on Sunday, much to the dismay of the cats. I hauled myself out of bed, fed everyone, and made biscuits (the American kind, not the British kind). My brain just shut down. I could not think straight.

I managed to switch out the fabrics in my office. The bed linens probably won’t switch over to flannel until at least the Equinox, later if it stays mild. I read a biography of poet Amy Clampitt (her foundation supports Word X Word’s large poem). It was written by an older male critic, and framed her life through men. I wish she had a female biographer. Read India Holton’s latest, which is cute. Most of the day, I was just a lump on the couch. It was warmer, sunnier, and more humid than predicted.

Bea cautiously stepped out of her room a few times, but it was too overwhelming.

Slept well, in spite of waking up a few times due to weird dreams. Up a little later than usual, but got everyone fed. Bea actually ventured further out into the living room and explored a bit, then learned what “no” means when she tried to go behind the TV cabinet.

I dealt with a bunch of emails that came in over the weekend, and think I’ve figured out the rewrite for “Strangers in the Snow.” I pondered to where to move the act break in THE WOMEN ON THE BRIDGE.

August Work Numbers:

Numbers for August:

New Material:               30,579

Edits/Revisions:          114,014

Proofreading:                230,410

Adaptations:                  20.431

Client work:                      22.706

Professional Development: 3 hours

Marketing:                      10 hours (included building a new website)

What do those mean?

In a normal month, 30K in new material is not sustainable for a writing career (unless you’re on an old school, traditional publishing contract with a large advance and no other pressures, which barely exists anymore). Way too little. It’s still 1K/day, but a living is not built on that.

However, because of the high editing and proofreading numbers, that made sense. I had two books that went through final edits and proofreading rounds. I rewrote several plays, and a couple of other articles and projects. So, even though it was heavy on the editing/proofing side, it balanced out. Sort of. Not every month will have such high numbers.  The adaptation added in there is what it is, too. Not great, not terrible, and not every month will have adaptations.

Client work was unsustainably low, and so was the money received for it. These were on assignments where I do not set my rate, which means I need to replace that work with better-paid work/work where I set my rates. I am working on that. But it’s important to get that smack upside the head to remind me to get down to it.

Three hours of professional development is fine. Pretty much a sweet spot.

Ten hours of marketing included building the Nina Bell website and doing the materials for the Boiler House reading, along with marketing the Topic Workbooks. Ten hours a month of marketing is the absolute minimum, and it needs to be more. Ten hours is also what makes the most sense in my schedule, so I have to adjust in order to make it possible to do more.

Again, important information, and goes into the spread sheet so I can look at the whole year.

Back to Life Stuff:

On Monday, I wrote, polished, uploaded and scheduled tomorrow’s Ink-Dipped Advice post. I did the Community Tarot reading for the week over on the Cerridwen’s Cottage site. If you missed it yesterday, you can read it here.

I need to use my real camera, not my phone camera for the photos. They’re not sharp enough. Not sure I’ll do one of these every week, as they take a lot of time.

Most of the morning was gone by then, so I decided to take a break before switching over to script coverage. I read some Sara Paretsky, always good.

Turned around two large coverages in the afternoon, and was tired. Read more Paretsky in the evening. I should have started the next book for review, but my eyes were bothering me from all the screen time. Grumpy that I didn’t have the option to have a real holiday weekend, but that’s the way it goes sometimes when you’re a freelancer. Maybe I’ll take a day during the week, or maybe I’ll actually be able to take next weekend off, although I doubt it.

Didn’t sleep well. Woke up at 1:30 and had trouble getting back to sleep. Once I did, I overslept, and Charlotte had to bounce on me to wake me up just before 7.

Bea was very lively this morning, playing with her toys and even venturing out of her room a little. The door is only open when one of us is in the living room to supervise multi-cat interaction, and it’s closed all night, so she feels safe. I don’t want anyone to corner her in her own space.

No idea what will get done today; I know I have to do another revision on my friend’s piece, and I have some other stuff I should work on before doing the two medium-sized coverages for today. I hope more comes in soon; there were two deadlines at the end of August. We should be inundated with work, and are not. I have a grant proposal to work on, and at least one residency proposal (maybe more). I want to work on a couple of pitches and proposals, too.

National Novel Writing Month put out a statement that they support the use of AI and it’s “ableist” to be against it, which is just a crock. AI is theft. Period. The whole point of Nano used to be to ignite creativity. But they took on an AI company as a sponsor, so of course they’re going to hawk AI now. So I’m going in, pulling some stats, and deleting my account. Anything one uploads is likely to be scraped for training.

I pick up the CSA box this afternoon, and then it’s two hours of yoga tonight. Onward.

Mon. Sept. 2, 2024 — Intent for the Week — Start Strong

image courtesy of Mohamed Hassan via pixabay.com

It’s Labor Day here in the US. Remember we have unions to thank for much of what we take for granted.

Sadly, I do not have the day off. I have to labor.

But I have a community tarot reading for the week up on Kemmyrk. You can read it here.

Fri. Aug. 30, 2024: Sliding Into the Holiday Weekend

image courtesy of  Keith Johnston via pixabay.com

Friday, August 30, 2024

Waning Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron Retrograde

Partly cloudy and cooler

At the long holiday weekend!

Yesterday morning, I did another rewrite on THE WOMEN ON THE BRIDGE. It’s closer to where it needs to be, while still doing some unique things. I sent it to a friend for notes. She read it and sent back some good ones. The big note that needs attention is the need to move the act break. The first act is too long and out of balance with the second act. When I decide where I’ll move it, I’ll have to restructure a bit, so it makes sense with high enough stakes for an act break.

Once that’s sorted out, I will turn my attention to the revisions for SERENE & DETERMINED.

One of the people I met with in Lenox earlier this week is interested in JUST A DROP, so I did another pass on that. And put together the promised sample packet of other scripts. And started the resource list I promised to send. All of that will go out next Wednesday, I think, to give everyone a chance to breathe when they get back from the long weekend.

I also got the latest revision of FALL FOREVER out to another interested party.

That took up most of the day.

The computer was not cooperating. Every time I cut and paste into a document, it reverts back to default fault and “normal” spacing – which is abnormal, and not what I need. I tried making a document template, opening it, and using that. It’s a little bit better, but sometimes reverts anyway. So there’s a lot of wasted time going on having to fight with Word to reformat.

Finished reading the book for review. I will write it up and send it off this morning, and hopefully get my next assignment before the weekend.

We’re starting to encourage Bea to explore the house more, in the afternoons, under supervision. She put a paw out the door of her room yesterday and decided it was overwhelming and withdrew. A few minutes later, she ventured as far as the door of the living room to the hallway, looked around, realized the place was MUCH bigger than she expected, and skedaddled back to her safe space. She can take as much time as she needs, but we want her to feel comfortable, not constricted.

I need to do some work on VICIOUS CRITIC before I do another pass on BRIDGE. I also need to finish the social media graphics for the reading, and get those out the door. I have some errands to run this morning – post office, library, grocery store. I have three very small coverages to turn around, and I’m still hoping more comes in for today and tomorrow.

I have to withdraw a pitch I sent earlier in the week, because it’s in conflict with another project, and finish up a couple of pitches that need to go out early next week. I’m making full use of the Virgo energy coming with the new moon on Monday!

Tomorrow, I have an herbal workshop at the Clark first thing, and then it will depend on whether or not any coverage work has come in. If not, I may stay and do some ekphrastic work there.

I’m basically playing the whole weekend by ear. I’d like to take some time off, but I’m not sure that will happen. I’d like at least to take Monday off, if nothing else. I do need to get another draft of my friend’s project done. I also have housework to do, starting the big fall houseclean. The summer was dustier and grittier than our previous years, and some things need more scrubbing, even though they were regularly cleaned. Thank goodness for vinegar and baking soda and lemon.

Saturday is the beginning of September, so I’ll switch out some fabrics and decorations. The big overall comes on October 1, when everything goes over to Halloween/Samhain decorations and the spiderweb curtains go up, etc. This year, I’m doing a Samhain tree, on top of everything else. It’s a small one, on a table. It’ll be a test run to see how Bea will do with the (much bigger) Christmas tree in December. I have the feeling I’ll be tying that tree off even more than usual this year.

Have a good one, and we’ll catch up next week.

Thurs. Aug. 29, 2024: I Would Prefer Illumination to Burn Out

image courtesy of Pexels via Pixabay.com

Thursday, August 29, 2024

Waning Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron Retrograde

Murky and humid

Is it a little easier to breathe and communicate? I hope so.

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

Yesterday morning, I dealt with some email stuff and some bill stuff and wrote post-meeting thank you notes. Driving back from Lenox, I had an idea for the WOMEN ON THE BRIDGE revision. I ended up revising the entire play. The first act is almost where I want it. The last two scenes of the play in the second act still need work. I cut about 10 pages, which is pretty decent. I’m debating whether to expand one scene slightly.

That took almost all morning. I was really feeling the lack of sleep by then.

I started reading the next book for review.

I left for my meeting a little early so I could mail things at the post office, drop library books in the drop box, pick up a loaf of bread at the store, before heading over to my meeting.

The meeting went well. I have to let it percolate a bit and then do the revisions for my friend’s project.

Tarot circle was good. I lent some tarot decks to a fellow member who needed them for research. I was pretty quiet; it was a big group, and it was more important for those who weren’t always there to get a chance to speak. My cards were Very Clear – additional feedback on them would not have been helpful.

Headed home. My ego got a bit of a bruise in the evening, but that’s all it was – my ego. It has very little to do with reality other than ego. So I let myself be frustrated and unhappy for a bit, and then moved on. Much better than having it fester. My energy is better spent elsewhere.

Because I’d been up since 3:30 AM, I went to bed ridiculously early. Of course, the fire alarm malfunctioned again, and then I had trouble getting back to sleep. But I did. Slept until 3-ish, woke up, managed to get back to sleep until nearly 6:30.

I’m still feeling burned out, but not quite as tired. I’d rather feel illuminated than burned out, and will have to see how I can shift that over the long weekend. I’m feeling discouraged on a couple of fronts, and need to sort out what to put aside and into what to dig in.

There’s plenty I should do today; no idea what will actually get done.

Bea was a little monkey overnight, getting onto and into the rolltop desk and knocking things off. Because that’s what cats do – knock things onto the floor. I think Charlotte is trying to give her Princess lessons. It’s pretty funny.

I keep thinking today is Friday, but it’s only Thursday, so I better dig in and see what I can clear off the desk.

Have a good one!