Devon Ellington's Blog, page 34

Happy 4th of July!

image courtesy of Jill Wellington via pixabay.com

Here in the US, it’s 4th of July, and a holiday.

I am taking the holiday, since I will probably have to work this weekend, next weekend, and the following weekend.

Have a great day, and I’ll see you tomorrow!

Wed. July 3, 2024: A Bit Scattered

image courtesy of Hans via pixabay.com

W ednesday, July 3, 2024

Day Before Dark Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune Retrograde

Cloudy and warm

There’s a quick post over on Ink-Dipped Advice about taking the holiday. If you missed the previous post, about What Kind of Growth is Right for Your Work? you can read it by clicking the title of the post.

Yesterday wound up being a little more haphazard than I would like, dealing with some personal stuff, and waiting for an answer on something. The wait was stressful, but the answer was positive, and we can move forward.

Because I was stressed and didn’t feel particularly creative, I did client work first. I turned around two coverages, and was done in the early afternoon. Then I had some time to putter and do stuff around the house before heading out to the farm to pick up the CSA box.

I was frustrated that I hadn’t gotten enough done until I realized I’d edited 15K during laundry time, which isn’t too shabby.

The CSA box was wonderful, all stuff we love, including more Bok choy and carrots! Plus lemon basil, which is pretty much my favorite thing from that farm. My own lemon basil is growing well, and I can harvest that soon, too.

Put that all away and headed out to yoga. I only did the hour of gentle yoga, because I had show stuff to deal with this evening.

Found out that there’s a pop-up Vietnamese restaurant on Main St. for the summer. Excited to try it this weekend. Love a good banh-mi and Vietnamese iced coffee!

Gentle yoga was great. Picked up takeout on the way home. Did show stuff, and then just had a little bit of rest.

Slept through the night (love gentle yoga for that). Up early, finishing my homework for today’s financial workshop. I have to do a library run (it’s closed from tomorrow through Monday) and a quick grocery shop for tomorrow’s goodies. I only have one coverage to turn around today, which I’ll do in the morning, because of the workshop in the afternoon, and then tarot. I may or may not stop at open studios as MASSMoCA on my way home; I have to see how the afternoon plays out.

This is the day before the dark moon, which tends to be a low energy day for me.

I find it ironic that our democracy is being destroyed, and Independence Day this year falls on the dark moon. There is no “high road” when dealing with this corruption.

On that happy thought (cough, cough), have a good one!

Tues. July 2, 2024: Neptune Joins the Retrograde Parade & June Numbers

image courtesy of WikiImages via pixabay.com

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Waning Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune Retrograde

Sunny and warm

Hello! I hope you had a good weekend. Here in the US, we’re in a holiday week, with July 4 falling on Thursday this week. Many places are taking off Thursday through Monday. I will probably just take Thursday off. Too much going on in my July.

Saturn went retrograde on Saturday. Life lessons, baby, from now until November. It’s gone retrograde in Pisces, so there’s a lot of assessment going on, especially for those of us under that sign. Neptune goes retrograde today. Neptune is going retrograde in Pisces, and will be retrograde until early December. It’s already the planet of dreams and spirituality, so when it goes retrograde in the sign of dreams, it’s about dealing with confusion, perceptions, and forcing you to face facts so you can grow. It’s about inner work and self-reflection that can then be applied to outward facing action. Untangling what is real and what is self-deception can be difficult.

So I’m glad I had a whole lotta meetings about figuring out a work plan BEFORE this all went down! Progress might be slower than I’d like over the next few months, but at least I’ve positioned myself to do the work, instead of wondering what work to do, and possibly spending the next few months going down the wrong path.

I think one of the things we often forget, when we’re caught up in retrogrades, is keeping a sense of humor. So one of my goals during the retrogrades is to find the funny in them. I am sure I will be severely taxed about this during the August Mercury retrograde, but we’ll give it a shot.

The plan for August is to keep my mouth shut, head down working, and nap as much as possible.

My friend Diane totally nailed the biggest portion of the sense memory stress issue last week, how it’s tied to the storage unit I still have down on Cape. I’m working on putting together the finances to move it all up. The same size storage unit up here is half the price of down there (especially since they just raised the fees). I still need to put together at least a few grand to get it moved up here (which will take a minute – yes, that’s sarcasm – since I have other expenses in the next couple of months that take priority). But once I do that, I think stresses across multiple fronts will ease, especially around this time of year.

A large group of scripts landed in my queue for the weekend. Even though part of me grumbled about working on the weekend, since I had a few days of light or no coverage earlier in the week, and this coming week was going to be a little wacky, I figured I should take on as much work as I could.

Friday morning, I got out a play submission, and started working on one of the short stories which has been percolating. It starts with a much brighter, snarkier voice than I expected, just before it turns dark. I got a few hundred words done on it, before I had to go off and take care of errands.

Errands were fine: library, Big Y, CVS. On the way home, on a whim, I stopped at a favorite vintage store and found a few things, total $10. Yes, that was in the budget! I also picked up, at a different store, the large sketchpad I need for the Farmers’ Market Residency day. I will print, in large, dark letters, the prompts and paste them onto the sketchpad, and then I can flip to the prompt we’re using.

I’m figuring out the handouts – what it’s about, some resources for writing books, and a flyer with my own work, so I can print them next weekend and have them ready to go. I’ll also have a mailing list signup at the table. I’m going to print up some fun quotes and paste them on cardboard and post them around the tent. I have to plan it this weekend, so I can print/paste everything next weekend, and then it’s all ready to go before the NY trip, and I don’t have to worry when I get back. I will have any materials for ekphrastic prompts ready to go in a crate and everything packed early.

There was a music festival at MASSMoCA over the weekend, so all parking lots by Friday were paid lots with attendants. If you’re going to something, like yoga, you tell the attendant so you don’t have to pay. Even all the way out at the Ocean State lot it’s overflow parking for the festival.

Came home, unpacked everything, hung out for a bit, had lunch, and buckled down to script coverage.

Turned around four coverages, and was exhausted. Cooked dinner – haddock, the last of the collards, the last of the dill. Very good.

Starting reading the first book for review, which is quite good.

Enjoyed the long, soft light into the evening, since that is shortening. By Lammas, we’ll really notice it.

Slept pretty well, although I woke up once around 1 AM with some sense memory stress. But I got myself back to sleep. Now through July 5th is when I was going back and forth, trying to clean out the house, and putting too much in the dumpster. The heat and humidity were awful then; at least this year is much better. And I’m working on moving forward, doing other work, and layering positive memories over this time, so it’s not just all about remembered stress.

I finished the draft of the short story “The Bride De-Faced” which came in a little over 2200 words. There’s some dark humor early on, and then it goes darker and darker, but ends on a hopeful but ambiguous note. It felt good to get it done, even knowing it needed a few revision passes before it could go out the door.

I started percolating the next story that needs to be finished. It was percolating further back in my brain, but now needed to move forward. That can only be 1K, so I suspect there will be cutting involved after the first draft.

I pulled myself together and headed out to the Clark. The workshop was moved indoors, due to rain. We had a nice turnout, about 20 people, almost half from tarot circle. We worked with red clover, red raspberry leaf, rosehip, and mugwort, which was wonderful.

Came home, navigating through the music festival and farmers’ market traffic.

After lunch, I did a rewrite of “The Bride De-Faced” which made me feel like I moved in the right direction.

I then turned around 8 script coverages: 2 medium and 6 small. Making up for the days without coverage earlier in the week.

Finished the first book for review.

Tessa and Charlotte got me out of bed before 5 on Sunday. I got some planning work done, and then turned my attention to a rewrite of “The Bride De-Faced.” It was where I wanted it, and I got it out the door on submission. It’s paranormal/borderline horror.

That’s two of the six stories aimed at anthologies that need to go out between now and October that made it out the door on time.

Did the mid-year check-in post for the GDR site. If you didn’t see it yesterday, you can find it here. I’m pretty content with where I am, and the work I’ve been doing. Prepped and scheduled some posts for the week I’m in NY.

Got all of that done before 9 AM!

Turned around three script coverages before the pay period closed on Sunday. I’m still under where I wanted to be, but above where I was a few days ago.

Read the second book for review.

Tired, but did some other reading in the evening.

We had a big thunderstorm with torrential rain in the afternoon. The music festival had to suspend for a bit (it’s outside) and get people into shelter. Once it passed, the festival resumed.

Glad I was home, not there. Although, with the COVID numbers back up again, I’m still staying away from most crowd situations, even when masking.

Slept pretty well, although busy on the Dreamscape. Did some ancestor work in the morning. Found it a little confusing, but I’m sure it will make more sense as I do the month’s work.

Wrote a good bit of the next story in my head. Let’s hope, when I put it on the page, I can keep it within wordcount!

Let’s talk numbers for June, shall we? These were mine:

New Material:  46,244

Edits:  44,905

Adaptation:  49.301

Client Work:   23,209

Marketing:    2 hours

Professional Development:   14 hours

What do they mean, when we analyze them?

The new material was a bit low, which was a shock, since I got two short stories and three plays out the door, and most of it was new work. But it was short new work. When analyzed through the lens of the edit and adaptation work, it makes sense. And the adaptation work doesn’t go on forever, just until I get serial stuff adapted to the new formats.

Client work was pretty good on the word count front, but I’m feeling underpaid again. I think, over the next few months, I will need to take on more and feel overworked and underpaid as I shift from a couple of clients to other clients that pay better.

Marketing was pathetic. I have to do better. I will, with the strategies created in the various workshops.

I spent more time than usual on professional development, taking workshops, doing homework, and having sessions with mentors. That’s all a good thing, and will help with the rest of it in the coming months.

I think I will have to make an Excel sheet (blech) to track the numbers over the entire year. But, by the end of the year, I want to see the trajectories, where I have shifted, and it worked (or didn’t) and where I need to shift going into 2025.

I went ahead and did that (it didn’t take long). That was rather eye-opening. Word count is definitely down without the weekly serial deadlines. Of course, the adaptation count is up, for the moment. Client work took a leap, and then has been fairly steady. Now it’s time for it to take another leap, at least as far as payment.

I went back and added in professional development work, and I’m pleasantly surprised how much I’ve done during the Capacity Building Program (which is part of why it exists). As I told my cohort manager the other day, when she told me she admires how much I’m doing in the program, I am carpe-ing the f!ck of out of my A4A diem. They accepted me into the program and gave me this amazing opportunity. I’d be a fool not to learn everything I could while I have access to these resources.

I got about half of the draft of “Ancestor Treasure” written, then hopped over to the post office to mail a few things.

Because I worked through the weekend, my brain wanted to take a few days off, but that is not an option.

I wrote the two reviews, sent them in, and got my next two books assigned. I will turn them around this weekend.

The first two hours of the afternoon were the first of a four-part workshop on Finances for Artists, again, through the cohort. One of the workshop leaders (who runs a dance company) ZOOMed in from Morocco, where she is on a family vacation. The other, an actor, ZOOMed from his temporary home while he’s in a production of THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR in Pennsylvania.

I took a lot of notes and learned a lot. It was kind of emotional for me, and I realized this was the first safe, no-shame space I’d probably EVER been in to talk about financial details.

There was a lot of talk about how our situation changes, moment to moment, and we were urged to think about what financial goals make us feel secure, and then we can start to work toward them incrementally.  They suggested we think of it as a dance on the spectrum, rather than climbing a ladder (or falling off it – or dangling by a frayed rope, which is what I’ve felt too often). And there was a lot of talk about liquid vs. il-liquid assets.  Fear of the unknown tends to make me want to keep as much liquid as possible, but the il-liquid assets are what will grow the security.

Again, this workshop is very much a way to help me move out of mere survival mode (in which I’ve been far too long) into something more sustainable in the long-term. I’ve been just trying to make do for so long that I need to explore doing better, and it’s not in the typical way of “get a 9-5 with benefits and sock away some cash” because for artists, it works differently.

Being in a shame-free space also gave me the freedom to get curious about aspects of finances that have been intimidating.

Two of the people with whom I’ve taken workshops were there as fellow attendees, so it was fun to be in session with them as peers, too.

It’s fascinating how all these workshops fit together to help me see and set a bigger picture and make a plan.

It was a lot to take in. We have homework before Wednesday’s session, which I started on. Then I switched over and turned around a script coverage (I’d opted to take on only one today, and I’m glad I did).

If I start talking about the awful SCOTUS decision, I will turn into a rage monster, so all I will say is we’ve got a lot of work to do between now and November, or this WILL be the last election we have for decades.

Woke up at 2:30 this morning in an absolute panic, thinking I was back in the empty house on Cape with clearing out to deal with. Charlotte did her best to calm me down. Tessa wandered in, and was like, “Well, since you’re up, you might as well feed us.” I held out until nearly 5 AM.

Was out the door fairly early and to the laundromat. It was a busy place this morning, but I was in and out by 7 AM, and back to start my day.

I managed to finish this round of edits on “Too Much Mistletoe” and start “Tumble” while I was there, too.

On today’s agenda: Some personal things that need attention, writing, adaptation work, two scripts to turn around, only one hour of yoga tonight, because I have stuff to deal with around my show. I’m hoping to do some more work on the first month of Cerridwen Iris Shea posts, so I have them ready for the launch on Friday, and maybe do some work on an article and work on my handouts for the Farmers’ Market artist in residency day.

Have a good one!

Mon. July 1, 2024: Intent for the Week — Balance

image courtesy of Myriams-Fotos via pixabay.com

We have more incoming retrogrades this week, a holiday here in the US on Tuesday, and I have several days of workshops that need to be balanced with work, show prep, and residency prep.

Balance will be the key.

I don’t want to burn myself out before my trip for my reading. So I have to monitor energy and not take on too much (10 of Wands, anyone?).

What’s your intent for the week?

Fri. June 28, 2024: A Day of Alignment

image courtesy of Deborah Bates via pixabay.com

Friday, June 28, 2024

Waning Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Saturn goes retrograde TOMORROW

Sunny and pleasant

I can’t believe another week has flown past!

Saturn goes retrograde tomorrow. It’s the planet of life lessons. If you didn’t learn and adjust from last year’s Saturn retrograde, Saturn will smack you upside the head again until you pay attention, learn, and grow. It’s retrograde until mid-November. (This is different than the Saturn Return, which happens once every 28 years).

I’ve loved having so much of the early part of the year retrograde free, but (except for Mercury), I’ve felt like I’ve had a lot of forward motion without respite (which is both good and exhausting), and I’m grateful for the slowing down of these retrogrades in this part of the year.

Meditation was good. Charlotte was delighted. She will miss the Thursday sessions even more than I will!

I know we keep getting reassured that it will start up again in September, but my gut feeling is that this is it. Which is fine, although I will miss it. I am grateful for the four years of time with the group, especially beginning during the first September of the pandemic.

I adapted a bunch of DD episodes into three chapters of “A Stylish Death” and made some tweaks. Multiple chapters per day keeps the flow stronger, because I can work with the way the chapters relate to each other.

Early lunch, and then I had my ZOOM meeting with Daniel Callahan, which was terrific. He’d gone over the materials I sent ahead of time, and he just got me from the first minute. Totally understood where I was coming from and what I’m trying to do. And how I’m trying to come out of fear/survival mode and not make choices based on that.

We had a fantastic hour together, and came up with positive actions I can take to fulfill my vision of more financial stability working within my field. So many other people, throughout, told me that I had to take any job and be miserable just to get by (I did some of that in my previous location and I was miserable). Daniel’s encouragement was, “These are your strengths; let’s find good matches.”

I have a list of actions to take, including some research on a few places with whom I already have connections to see how to make better use of them professionally, and I’m working on pitches for both more teaching work and more article assignments. There’s already a book festival only a few hours away next summer that I would like to attend as a presenter. They open for pitches later this autumn, and I will send one. I missed the call this year, because I wasn’t paying attention. I will also follow up with an organization with whom I was in touch last year, and they expressed interest “in the future” but neither of us followed up, so I will follow up. So far this year, I’ve only pitched a single article, and I need to be more diligent about that. Even though that works over a longer time frame, it’s work I enjoy, and, when I find the right publications, the pay is reasonable.

We talked about the Fearless Ink postcards. I’ve kind of missed the boat on that for the summer, so I will get cards printed once I return from NY and do a mailing in autumn.

I’m still considering seeking a part-time (20-30 hours if it meets my rate) remote writing whatever in a more corporate setting from November to February, but I’m not as frantic about it as I was, say, yesterday.

We also talked about going after more grants and residencies. I do that regularly, but we agreed on a quarterly goal. He pointed out how it was about the numbers; I have to write a whole lot of them to get a few of them. I’ve been spoiled these past months, in landing all but one of the grants to which I applied.

We also talked about tapping into the Llewellyn audience. We bounced around various ideas and how the different names have become established and entrenched. What we came up with was only doing a single new social media presence under the Cerridwen Iris Shea name, which will be on Instagram. That platform makes the most sense. I can handle two Insta accounts, along with the other social media accounts under the DE name. I can’t handle another half a dozen CIS accounts. We talked about the aesthetic for the account (since he is a visual artist, among other disciplines, that was very helpful). I had started that with the website updating and creating a logo for the articles I’m organizing and repurposing into eBooks, which should be ready to go early next year.

We talked about ways to get back on track marketing the Topic Workbooks. When they’re marketed, they sell steadily. So let’s get back on track with the marketing.

Even though there’s a nice big list of Stuff To Do, it doesn’t feel like piling way more on my plate; just making choices on what to build around the daily writing that will continue (because if you don’t write it, you can’t market it). His position was that I already have the answers; he’s just helping me pull them out and shape them.

We talked about the sense of burnout on the script coverage front.

I’m figuring there are about two years where I have to pile a lot on my plate with all these different things in order to see where I can then cut back. But all of these things align with work I enjoy, so it makes sense.

I started creating posts for the Cerridwen Iris Shea account. I will launch that with the new moon on July 5th and have a month’s worth of posts ready to go initially, and then see how to find a more natural flow for it. It is much more curated/styled than the Devon account, which I’m very clear is my “fun” account about anything that catches my interest.

I did, however, also do a “re-introduction” Insta post for the Devon account.

By starting the CIS account now, it gives it a chance to build before the 2025 Spell-A-Day books drop in August. And then I can leverage that. That timing works.

I will work on LOI materials next week, and start sending them out a few days after the long holiday weekend. This way, they are out the door before I go to NY for my reading, and I’m not fretting about them, because I have other things to focus on. And it positions things for autumn into winter.

I have a lot of the bits for proposals and grants and LOIS: bio info, work samples, etc. It’s using the techniques I talk about in SETTING UP YOUR SUBMISSION SYSTEM, but using it for work that’s not necessarily fiction.

So that was all good.

Cooked dinner, got changed, and headed out the door for the Midsummer Ritual led by Wild Soul River at the Clark. It was in the meadow on the hill above the museum, and just gorgeous. There were over 60 people there (and great to see so many happy faces from tarot circle). It was a wonderful ritual, and for it to happen right after such a good session about aligning the work was again, great timing. I’m so glad I could participate.

Because of the unpredictable winds, we did not burn the effigy; that will happen at some other point.

Walking back down to the parking lot through the darkening woods was like entering an enchanted forest. They had lanterns with large, battery-operated candles lighting the path, which was lovely.

It took awhile to get settled again when I got home. Once I got to sleep, though, I slept well.

On today’s agenda: work on a short story, do some more adaptation for “A Stylish Death”, do some LOI research, and a library run. I have a bunch of scripts in the queue, and may get more for the weekend. Since I didn’t read some days earlier in the week, it’s fine. I still won’t be where I wanted to be for the pay period, but I’ll be better than I am now!

Hopefully, there will be plenty of work the next two weeks, before I head to NY.

Looking ahead to the weekend, I have script coverage, writing, and two books to read for review. I’m also going to an herbal workshop tomorrow morning at the Clark.

Next week, I’m taking a workshop, through the cohort, about artist finances, which I think will align nicely with the other work.

Have a good one, and I’ll catch you on the other side!

Thurs. June 27, 2024: A Somewhat Quiet Day

image courtesy of Crystal Chen via pixabay.com

Thursday, June 27, 2024

Waning Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Cloudy, humid, warm

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

Seriously, all I wanted to do yesterday was go back to bed and sleep all day. My body remembers the stress and pain of the move, still, and wants to rest. I’m lucky not to have a stressful schedule this week, so I can be kinder to myself than if I had a ton of client work piled on top of me.

I adapted more episodes of DD into another chapter of “A Stylish Death.”

I did the prep for this afternoon’s coaching session.

A cohort friend let me know about an anthology call to raise funds for reproductive rights that interests me. I roughed out in my head that story, and two other shorts pieces. I didn’t do any drafting, but I wrote in my head, which means I can start putting a few things on paper today.

I did a grocery run and a library run. I had one small client project to turn around. Got annoyed by someone who showed a distinct lack of respect for how I make a living, and that individual should know better.

I felt exhausted and a little lightheaded for much of the day. I took frequent breaks to rest. It wasn’t all that hot, and I didn’t feel like driving, so I stayed put.

Worked on details for my trip to NY in a couple of weeks.

Headed out for tarot, with the usual stop at Wild Oats. Tarot was good, as usual. I’m looking forward to tonight’s ritual.

Home, cooked dinner, rested. Slept reasonably well, although it was a case of being very busy in the Dream Life, and feeling like I’d put in a full day before I woke up.

This morning is the last online meditation session with the group from the Concord Public Library until autumn. I will have to be disciplined about my own practice in the interim.

On today’s agenda: Meditation, working on whichever of the short stories screams loudest, some adaptation. At 1, I have a ZOOM meeting about my work. This evening, I have the midsummer ritual up at the Clark.

Hopefully, some more client work will come in for the weekend and then next week, although, with the holiday toward the end of the week, who knows? I’m sending out some LOIs over the next few weeks with an eye to a stretch of work from November into late February/early March.

One day at a time, right?

Have a good one.

Wed. June 26, 2024: A Good Day at the Keyboard

image courtesy of Pexels from Pixabay.com

Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Waning Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Sunny/Cloudy, Hazy, and Warm

Mid-week already!

Did another revision of the short story, “Serious Acting” and I was happy enough with it to send it off. It’s just under 300 words under the top of the word count, so I’m fine in that respect. Submitted a play to a call that’s only open for 3 days.

Saw that a call that went live only a day or so ago already filled up and closed.

Wrestled the newsletter into submission and made some edits. It should be fine to go out tomorrow. Set up the document for the September newsletter. I already know a few things that need to go in.

Adapted more episodes of DD into “A Stylish Death.”

Put together the full manuscript of CAST IRON MURDER (which I thought I’d done, but I’d only copied and pasted the first two chapters into the query, per the submission guidelines for the one publisher). I have to go over it, to make sure the page breaks are okay, and the chapter headings are clear, but at least I have that document. Started working on the synopsis. I’d planned to get it out on submission this spring, but once I sent it to the first publisher, I’ve been waiting and focusing on other things. I think it’s safe to say they passed, and I have a list of other potentially good matches, so I need to get all those out soon.

Turned around three small coverages. Received two more books for review. Did some more prep work for my meeting with Daniel tomorrow.

Saw a couple of short story calls over the next few weeks that I would like to try. One is coming up pretty fast, but it’s only 1k, and I have an idea percolating, so that should be do-able. I’d like to do another flash fiction piece for another call, too, and then two more substantial stories that would be due in autumn. Since coverage is light this week (which I’m both grateful for and worried about), maybe I can get ahead on that a bit.

Picked up my CSA box – yummy! Beets again, though, so I gave them to my yoga teacher, who loves beets.

Did the two hours of yoga, the second hour of which kicked my ass, but for the right reasons. Home, dinner was in the crockpot, so it was all good.

Tessa gained a new skill. I had my small umbrella in a bag and when I unpacked, a few days back, I left the umbrella on the floor. Tessa learned how to hit the button that makes it spring open. One would think it would scare her, but she is delighted. She’s even more delighted to sit beside the umbrella, wait for Charlotte or Willa to walk by and startle them. Charlotte just about levitates.

Yes, I’m taking it away from her today. I hate to deprive her of something that gives her so much fun, but it’s too upsetting for the other two.

I want to buy a big umbrella (it rains enough here for that), like a museum art umbrella. I haven’t found the one I want yet.

Slept fairly well (and had dreams related to dreams a couple of nights back – and WHY was a tarot spread with the Motherpeace deck underneath an arm chair in the dream?), but Charlotte and Tessa got me up around 3:30. I flat out refused to feed them that early, and moved to the couch, where I fell back to sleep (with Charlotte acting like a weighted blanket) until nearly 7. So it’s been a slow start to the morning.

On today’s agenda: work on “A Stylish Death”, work on the synopsis for CAST IRON MURDER, starting to get the edits into TAPESTRY, roughing out one of the short stories, grocery run, library run. Later this afternoon is tarot. I don’t have any scripts in the queue right now (which worries me), but I will be grateful for it over/under the worry, and focus on other things. I need to get a few things sorted for my farmers’ market artist residency, because I have to have everything ready for that before I leave for the NY show. I don’t want to be scrambling at the last minute on anything when I come back.

If it gets too hot, I’ll pack up and go to the Clark this afternoon.

Have a good one!

Tues. June 25, 2024: Strengthening the Work

image courtesy of Anne Karakash via pixabay.com

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Waning Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Sunny and hot

Did you have a good weekend? Ready for our regular Tuesday natter?

Amazon sent me the email stating I would get a royalty payment this month for the serials (this would be April’s payout). But no clue what it is, or if there’s a bonus involved, or it’s just straight up royalty payment. It’s not anywhere on the dashboard. There aren’t any numbers past February of this year. I’ve gotten payments every month, even though some of them have been laughable. Then, yesterday, I got another email, stating I would get a bonus for May (on top of whatever royalty payments, if those exist), which would pay out in July. So I’m guessing only royalties this month for April, even though April had some of my highest numbers? It’s all a mess.

Yes, winding up the serials is the right choice. At the end of next week, I get to put in the takedown request for LEGERDEMAIN, and on July 14 (Bastille Day), I get to put in the takedown request for ANGEL HUNT. It’s time.

Again, none of this is a surprise; I just wish it hadn’t happened this fast. I had hoped to get another year’s worth of audience building, royalties, and bonus payments out of it all.

But the reality is the reality; work with what’s in front of me, and move on.

I was out the door by 8:30 on Friday morning and at the Clark for the 9 AM Members’ Exhibit tour of the Lathière exhibit. It was led by Sophie Kerwin, the assistant curator, who has worked on the exhibit for the entire two and a half years she’s been with the Clark (and she’s about to leave the Clark to start her Ph.D. work in NYC).

She did a wonderful job, talking about the stories behind the various paintings, drawings, oil sketches, and etchings included in the exhibit, and how they were discovered and included in it. (I bet her dissertation will be awesome, no matter what the subject).

One of the things I felt was glossed over, in the discussions about several figures whose parents were white plantation owners and enslaved black women was that these individuals (Lathière included) were basically products of rape. Even if the women didn’t hate the fathers of these children, because they were enslaved, they did not have the choice of consent (or refusal). I realize that the tour was for a white audience (entirely) and most of the donors who made the exhibit possible are older, rich white people, but I felt it should have been addressed, even if it made them uncomfortable. This isn’t a sweet romance between different social classes; this is about ownership of human beings and rape.

It was addressed in a roundabout way through some of his oil sketches for “The Death of Virginia.”  Virginia was a beautiful woman and the daughter of a centurion and a freed slave in Rome (or, at least, the Roman Empire? Pre-Roman Empire? Not sure of the full history). When Appius Claudius Sabinus decided he wanted her, and she refused him, he claimed that, as the child of an enslaved woman (even though that woman was now free), she was enslaved, and he could claim her.

In other words, she refused him, and he claimed the legal right to rape her anyway. Sound familiar, people? Not only is that tied to the history of slavery in this country, but the plans the extreme right has for all women here moving forward.

In the version Sophie told us, Virginia asked her father to kill her, rather than submit to Appius Claudius, and he did so. In the version on the Getty Museum site, her father “felt compelled” to kill her publicly, which then brought the rage of the populace against Appius Claudius and the regime of which he was part. Which underscores Lathière’s heritage.

Who makes the decision offers a huge change in the story. I prefer Sophie’s version, where Virginia makes the decision, because I think it also supports Lathière’s background. But who knows if that’s what he thought? As a man (even a mixed race man) in that historical time, what was his perspective? Although he hired and trained many women in his studio, and had close, supportive relationships with them across many years, as they married and built careers apart from his. (I definitely want to know more about them). He also remained close to Dumas the younger (the writer) after his father, one of Lathière’s closest friends, died.

There is also the surviving part of a tapestry woven based on one of his works about Napoleon, and I want to know who wove that tapestry? Forgotten women?

Anyway, it was fascinating. I had a great conversation with Sophie after, and wandered back through the exhibit on my own, taking some notes. I will spend more time with the exhibit between now and the middle of October, when it leaves for the Louvre.

I’m eager to buy a copy of the catalogue when I return from the reading in NYC and have a better idea of my finances for the rest of the summer.

Friday was both hot and humid, although the heat wasn’t as bad as earlier in the week. I picked up my mom’s prescription, picked up a couple of things at the grocery store I’d forgotten on Wednesday, and did the library run on my way back from the Clark.

By the time I got home, I was wiped out. I was at the point of headache and nausea that I hit in hot weather, plus my body hearkened back to the day before the move. I had some chilled blueberry soup for lunch (which was good), and sat on the couch all afternoon, alternating between reading SHAKESPEARE: THE MAN WHO PAYS THE RENT and making notes for the multi-book arc in the world of Nina Bell that it inspired.

Cooked dinner, salmon in a mustard-wine sauce, with the last of the Bok choy and some rice. It was very good.

A very welcome thunderstorm passed through, although it didn’t cool things off much, just added more humidity.

I went to bed ridiculously early (8 PM). I am tired. The week worked out so that I’m not stressed about deadlines. As I’ve been reminded multiple times over the past months, coming out of survival mode means one is exhausted. I can rest, if that’s what I crave.

Slept until about 1 AM, when the bedroom was too hot for comfort (Charlotte stuck to me like Velcro could have something to do with that, too).

Moved to the couch, opened the window to let in cooler air, and slept under the full moon. Woke up a little after 6, feeling much better, although the humidity was pretty oppressive, even though the temperature was much lower.

Saturday was the anniversary of the day the movers actually showed up, and I felt the exhaustion of the day all over again. I was doing okay at first – and then One Drive showed me a slideshow of pictures of the day, mostly the cats in the emptied house looking confused. And there we were, right back in it again.

The humidity remained oppressive. I finished reading SHAKESPEARE: THE MAN WHO PAYS THE RENT. I need my own copy. Because it is a book I will re-read often.

In thinking about the shape of the Nina Bell series, I realize that I’m creating the character arcs against the backdrop of the characters’ careers, the shows Nina works on, the current events of the time, and their personal arcs first, and then layer the mystery over that and integrate the mystery into the life events, instead of going from the mystery first and building the rest around it. Each mystery definitely forces a growth or shift in the characters (especially Nina). I don’t want it to be like many series, where it’s so episodic, it’s just a different set of characters and a different method of murder, but nothing else really changes. In too many series, especially cozy series, the protagonist solves the murder each time, but the murder has little to no effect on them or their lives, and the character doesn’t change much or grow. In the series I enjoy the most (cozy or no), the characters grow and change over time, and the past experience is less of “Oh, I solved a bunch of murders, aren’t I clever?” and more “Because I’ve been up close and personal to several murders and they have changed how I navigate the world, I now have a better understanding of what pushes people to behave this way.”

But then, Nina’s stories are very much not cozies. They are not even “not quite cozies” like the Nautical Namaste mysteries. They have rougher edges, with an amateur female sleuth as protagonist.

As I work on the overall treatment for the series (which I’m handling very much like a treatment for a television series), and then write the detailed outline of each book, I’m choosing the shows she works on and the theatrical experiences that grow her career, and then finding the type of murder and the reasons for that murder that will force specific growth. Against the backdrop of, first, the 90’s, where we knew there was a lot of work to do, but were hopeful we could do it, which then has gotten darker and more despairing as we go deeper into the 21st century.

It’s a very different approach than I’ve had to other work of mine, and that I see in other books.

Read the book for review, which was pretty good, so that I could write and submit the review on Monday.

Started a residency application, but couldn’t concentrate on it, due to the heat and humidity. Fortunately, I’m not down to the wire for it yet.

Leftovers for dinner. It rained in the evening, making it a little cooler.

Slept until about 3, when Charlotte woke me up by hurling the biggest furball I’ve ever seen. But then she felt much better.

I smelled something burning, so I went through the house and checked every plug, every appliance, every everything. It was all fine. I then realized that someone was cooking meat somewhere nearby. Hey, you want a hamburger at 3 AM, go for it. It was just weird to wake up to.

Moved to the couch, where it was cooler, and went back to sleep until a little after 5.

Sunday was the anniversary of the day we actually crossed the state with the cats and the truck delivered the stuff that didn’t go to storage. Less of a sense memory stress day, but still, my body felt the exhaustion.

The weather was a little better, at least early on. I got some household chores done, and got a couple of plays out the door on submission calls. I finished the residency application and sent it off; that would be for next late spring/early summer. I looked over the notes from my Trusted Reader on THE WOMEN ON THE BRIDGE – I need to get on the stick for those revisions. I felt a little overwhelmed (the notes are fantastic, it’s me), but I figure I’ll just work my way through the play and see what I come up with.

It grew too hot and humid for me to function, so after lunch, I packed up and headed for the Clark, where I set up in the research center.  Again, I was the only one set up there working, which surprised me.

I worked on the short story. I’m almost there. One of the reasons I’m struggling is that, in this draft, the characters are more interesting than the murder, and I need to get a better balance.

I had hoped to finish the draft, I was so close to finishing the draft, when a tornado watch came through for the area. At first, I wanted to ignore it, but the crows were very upset on the skylights, so I figured I should pay attention to them.

I packed up and headed back home. It was weird, driving back: all dark and ominous when I glanced in my rearview mirror, all sunny and hot ahead of me.

Got home before the storm hit. It wasn’t as bad here as in some other areas, thank goodness. Didn’t cool off as much as I would have liked, though.

If we had upped to a tornado warning, I don’t know what we would have done. We’re on the second floor and don’t have access to the basement. The door at the bottom of the stairs has a glass insert. I guess we would have grabbed the cats and gone into the windowless bathroom.

With climate change, we are bound to get more tornado activity. It’s something that should probably be added to the city’s emergency plan. Something to chat with the Mayor about next time I see her (maybe at one of the coffee dates).

But at least we were fine yesterday, although the constant pressure changes triggered a series of headaches. Not quite migraines, but miserable.

I read TRYOUT, a book supposedly by director George Abbott that was published by the Playboy imprint in 1979. His name might be on it, but I seriously doubt he wrote it. I’m curious who ghostwrote it, though. I’d hunted it down when I was looking for novels set around shows doing out of town tours (background on the Katharine Cornell project). But theatre is only the loose framework, and very little of the book has to do with the nuts and bolts of theatre (or out of town tryouts). I did not like the novel; it’s downright mean and the author loathes the characters. At the same time, it was compelling enough to keep me reading. It didn’t seem like a late 70’s novel; it read very much like something from the thirties, or maybe even twenties. I mean, it was interesting, but I didn’t like it. At the same time, it was enough of a page turner so I didn’t give up on it.

Slept reasonably well until about 4 AM, when it was too hot in my room. Moved to the couch and dozed off again, under the full moon, which was lovely, and got a couple of hours of really good sleep (with weird theatre work dreams).

Much cooler on Monday, which meant I could actually function. I got two radio plays out the door first thing in the morning, after rewriting one (a very short one) to be more in alignment with what I wanted for it. It went from being a two-hander (I’d edited it down to that for a call) back up to the three-hander original vision, which makes it more dynamic and fun.

I spent the morning struggling with the draft of the short story, and frustrated that it was a struggle. This is in my wheelhouse. It should be easy. I finally finished it, a good 600 words under word count, which means I have some wiggle room. Now I can work it, to make it stronger.

I want to do more with these characters, but I also have to make this piece stand alone with as much strength as possible.

I printed it out, did an editing pass, and worked it even more when I put the edits in. I’m still under 5K (just over 4.6K), so I have around 400 words to play with, if I need them. And I didn’t have to cut the character I thought I would! I could set up a nice triangle of possibilities. I did a bunch of structural work, smoothing out internal logic, tightening beats, etc. I plan to go over it again today, and hopefully get it out the door today or tomorrow.

Wrote, polished, and submitted the book review. Turned around three short coverages. MailerLite has changed the way one puts together the newsletter (again) and I hate it so much. Struggled to work on the newsletter, which needs to go out this week. At least I have all the text written, so it’s just about formatting. Which no longer works. I hate this so much.

Read THE MAGICIAN’S DAUGHTER by H.G. Parry, which is just a beautiful book. So glad I read it.

It rained on and off all day. The temperatures stayed in the 70’s, so it was fine. Slept pretty well (in my own bed, the whole night), although I had weird dreams about time travelling and genetics.

Up early, and out the door to the laundromat. There were people there this morning, so I waited out the cycles sitting in the car, editing. I finished TAPESTRY and started “Too Much Mistletoe.” I will start putting in the TAPESTRY edits today. I need to get it out to my editor before the holiday weekend next week.

On today’s agenda: another pass on the short story. Hopefully, it will be strong enough to get out the door. Prep for Thursday’s meeting with Daniel. A few chapters of adaptation. Edits into the next draft of TAPESTRY. I only have two small (and low paying) script bits to turn around, which is a little alarming, but hopefully, more will come in today for the rest of the week (except Thursday, which I’m taking off from reading). I pick up the week’s CSA box this afternoon, and have two hours of yoga tonight.

It’ll get up into the mid-80s today, but I got the interior of the apartment down to 71, so I hope we’ll be okay. Tomorrow afternoon, I might need to decamp, but I should be okay today. Fingers crossed.

Have a good one!

Mon. June 24, 2024: Intent for the Week — Plan

image courtesy of Gerd Altmann via pixabay.com

I mean, I have a lot of work to do this week, too, but I also need to plan: I need to put together the materials and questions for my A4A mentor meeting later this week, and put together my materials for my Make it At Market residency, because I want all those pieces in place before I go to NYC for my reading.

I have writing, editing, and adaptation work to do this week, along with client work.

The big deadline looming is a short story deadline at the end of the week.

I need to be efficient with my time and planning, but not lock myself into a strict, strident schedule I resent, and then start sabotaging myself.

What’s your intent for the week?

Fri. June 21, 2024: A Day of Video Conferencing

image courtesy of Alexandra_Koch via pixabay.com

Friday, June 21, 2024

Full Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Hot and humid

We’re at the end of another week. Yesterday was the summer solstice, and you can read my post about the Solstice on the Cerridwen’s Cottage website here. Today is the full moon – lots to celebrate!

I was absolutely thrilled that Daniel Callahan agreed to meet with me virtually next week for the A4A program. So, that’s all set up, and I need to finish the homework from the workshop, so I have the specific questions on hand that I want to discuss with him.

Meditation was good. I will miss it in July and August. I got a few things done, ran some errands, and then it was time for the last day of the Midsummer Workshop, which was also good.

Three years ago on this date, the movers were supposed to show up and didn’t. Three years tomorrow, they finally showed, and we made the move here, and then the next two weeks were a hellish back and forth trying to get the house cleaned out. I filled two dumpsters, and I regret some of what I purged.  All my body wants to do is sleep.

I was all caught up on my deadlinked work, so, although there was plenty I COULD/SHOULD have done in the afternoon, I wanted to take it off. I had an ice cold vodka martini and re-read Mary Oliver’s HOUSE OF LIGHT, and then back to Judi Dench’s SHAKESPEARE THE MAN WHO PAYS THE RENT. The latter gave me ideas that feed into one of the Nina Bell pieces (that’s currently in outline) nicely.

It was hot, and I was miserable. I tried to nap, and couldn’t. I’m bad at napping, anyway. I should have gone back to the air-conditioned cool of the Clark, but I wasn’t going to drive after a strong martini.

Used a lot of the CSA vegetables in a stir-fry for dinner, and then prepped for the second part of the workshop from Saturday, this one via Zoom. Charlotte was impossible until she was acknowledged by the group, and then she calmed down.

It was good, and we had some good conversations, but we ran out of time before we reached the actual planning part of the workshop – which is why I took the workshop.

A massive, cracking thunderstorm with torrential rain began while we were in the workshop. The Clark and Wild Soul River made a good call to postpone last night’s ritual to next Thursday – and now I can go!

We get a 30-minute coaching session as part of the workshop; I set up mine for July 11. I want to have the discussion with Daniel first and then take what I learn from that and see how it applies to this.

And work on my own personal strategic plan between now and then.

Three Zoom calls in a day – I usually only book three such calls in a week!

I’d done some of my Solstice honoring in the morning, and some more in the evening.

The rain cooled things down a good deal, although, as the storm moved through, the humidity made the air heavy and stagnant.

I slept okay until about 4, when I moved to the sofa in front of the window, where it was cooler. I fell asleep again and had a very intense dream about a couple of acquaintances and someone I knew in the dream, but not in life. I’m sure there’s important information there, if I can figure it out.

Woke up feeling a little disoriented. Fed the insistent cats. Am posting this, then jumping in the shower and getting ready to head over to the Clark. I have a 9 AM members gallery tour of the new exhibit.

I will probably linger a bit after the tour. On the way back, I have to pick up a prescription for my mom, a couple of things I forgot at the grocery store, and do a library run.

Depending on the heat and humidity, I may head back to the Clark for the afternoon. I may spend a good portion of my weekend there, too. The temperatures aren’t as high, but the accumulated heavy heat in the apartment is tough for me. My mom feels perfectly comfortable, but then, she tends to run cold. So it’s not affecting her as badly as it affects me.

I need some thinking time (as well as writing time to finish the short story). I can’t think if my brain is boiling.

Have a good weekend, and I’ll catch you on the other side!