Tues. June 20, 2023: Deep in the Word Well
image courtesy of mh-grafik via pixabay.comTuesday, June 20, 2023
Waxing Moon
Pluto & Saturn Retrograde
Foggy and pleasant
Quite the weekend! But we’ll get to it, with our regular Tuesday catch-up.
Today’s serial episode is from Legerdemain:
Episode 95: Conversation with a Grimmkin
Love might not be forbidden, but sometimes it’s challenging.
I did it, on Friday. I completed drafting the ANGEL HUNT serial. 140 episodes. The last one is long, but it wraps everything up, and made more sense to keep it that way than breaking it up.
I was practically babbling by the time I was done.
I did a library run, picking up and dropping off books. Quick grocery shop. And home.
And that was kind of it for me on Friday. I was cooked. I did the social media rounds for Angel Hunt. I did another pass on “The Dressing Room.”
I was exhausted, and, for once, I let myself rest.
Saturday, other than cleaning the stove and the oven (which took on and off most of the day), and changing the beds, I didn’t do much else, either, except read. Books like THE BENEVOLENT SOCIETY OF ILL-MANNERED LADIES and THE WITCH KING. Both very good and very different from each other.
I did the episode log lines and graphics for this week’s Legerdemain, but that was about it.
I rolled around the climactic sequence of ANGEL HUNT in my head, so the revisions will be easier. I rolled around in my head the next few seasons of it, should we get there, and the dynamics between the characters that I want to juxtapose with the plot.
Supposedly the “writer” who created the meme about one’s muse being one’s “bitch” meant that one has to show up every day and do the work. Which is true. But hey, guess what? Writers use words, and word choice matters. If you’re going to use terms of prison culture, dominance, abuse, and oppression and pretend that it’s something funny that supports your art and other creative work, nope. Artists dismantle systems of oppression, not reinforce them. The latter is called propaganda. And hey, yeah, it pays, often really well. But don’t pretend it’s something positive and empowering.
On Sunday, I drafted an episode of Legerdemain, which is pretty fun; it leads into what will be a fun chase scene in the next episode. I worked on graphics for the next seasons of ANGEL HUNT, and I have something that is unique in each season, yet connects the overall look of the series. I drafted the first episode of THE LIGHTHOUSE LADY, which is the second season of ANGEL HUNT, to see if it worked, and it does. I mean, it needs revision, but the overall tone , pace, plot, characters, etc., are there. I did the TikTok videos for this week’s Legerdemain and Angel Hunt episodes, uploaded, and scheduled them, and uploaded the videos I’d been lax about posting last week, so I’m caught up.
I meant to just take a quick look at the material for what will be DEADLY DRAMATICS, the Nina Bell serial. I wound up revising 37 episodes (a little over 37K), about a third of the material. I’d forgotten how massive a revision I did a few years ago, when I pitched it to Radish (before they decided they were only going to hire writers at a pittance to ghost write serials), and then played with making it stronger as a novel There’s still some more work to do, and some of the episodes had to be broken down and reshaped to be more consistent, length-wise, but it’s in pretty decent shape. I kept working on “just one more episode” because I was eager to see what happened next. And hold that in my mind as I pondered the overview of the entire series.
I worked on that until it was time to go to yoga, and thank goodness I did, because it was a great new moon yin class.
Staggered into bed. Up early on Monday, Juneteenth, which is supposed to be a holiday, because of the fucking beeping heavy machinery over at the college. Juneteenth is a holiday where, as a white woman, it’s my job to shut up and listen, not yap.
I ran out of ink on Sunday, because of course I did. So I picked up more ink (and some binders, for all this material I’m printing off), dropped off a big stack of books in the library book drop (the library was closed), picked up some wine.
Then, I settled in to continue working on DEADLY DRAMATICS, since it was a holiday, and no client work.
I wound up working on 52 episodes (a little over 52K). This gets me past the first major plot arc, the second smaller plot arc, and well into the third smaller arc. I need to tighten and smooth over a few things. I inserted something I thought would be helpful, and then found it solved better a few episodes down, so I need to cut it. I need to write a transition episode between the end of the first big arc and the second smaller arc. The first season will have the big arc and three smaller arcs.
I was completely disoriented when I finally resurfaced, having spent several days in New York City’s bar/theatre/corporate scene of the mid 1990’s. That felt real; everything else felt strange.
I have about 35 episodes of original material left. Which I hope to do over a day or two. Which days, I’m not exactly sure. I don’t have any client work today (except for a book to review, which isn’t yet due), so today might be a good day to work on it. I do, however, have to take my mom to the doctor this morning, and that will be another insurance battle I’m not looking forward to.
We’ll see what kind of shape I am in when I get back, and then I have yoga in the early evening. So I don’t know how much will get done. I need to do the social media rounds for Legerdemain, too.
I have an overwhelming amount of email on which to catch up on, but I will. Eventually.
As I go over the DEADLY DRAMATICS episodes for revision, I also have to set up the Series Bible, Tracking Sheets, and the rest. There’s a lot of paperwork involved in the serials, at least for me. Or they’d all fall apart. I can’t keep all the details of all the different projects in my head.
Tomorrow is the summer solstice, which means after tomorrow, the days start getting shorter. While I am grateful for the cooler days and the nights that are wonderful for sleeping, there’s a part of me that almost feels like summer hasn’t begun yet.
Anyway, back to the page. A shorter than usual Tuesday catchup.
