Wed. Dec. 27, 2023: Mostly Reading
image courtesy of nini kvaratskhelia via pixabay.comWednesday, December 27, 2023
Last Day of the Full Moon
Uranus, Jupiter, Mercury Retrograde
Rainy and raw
Today’s Process Muse post covers several topics: The Back Pocket Document, Time off, and Changes. You can read it here.
Two serial episodes go live today!
The first is from ANGEL HUNT:
Episode 97: Intentional Interruptions
Lianna’s guide insists Neville knew she was there and sabotaged her.
The second is from DEADLY DRAMATICS:
E pisode 47: An Amicable Dinner
Nina & Charlie talk about important people in their lives.
It was too mild for late December yesterday, and that kind of threw me. I’m grateful I’m not out there shoveling snow when the plow pushes it up against the back of my car, but a little colder would be nice.
I meant to spend a timed 20 minutes on Admin. Instead, I spent most of the morning on it, and cleaned out two of my inboxes before the first of the year. All that’s left is a bunch of digital articles I sent to myself over the past months, and I have to decide how to digitally store the ones I don’t print out. But other than that, my primary inbox and promotional inbox are done. The secondary, the one that got spammed a lot these past few months, will take longer, but it’s on the schedule.
I took a break to do some of the core/lower back exercises, so I wouldn’t be miserable the rest of the day (week).
We wrote our thank you notes (and even used stamps that say “thank you” on them).
Tessa and Charlotte both wanted the sofa. Tessa won, because she’s the Queen. Charlotte pouted, but went into the sewing room to sleep on her pink blankie. Willa dashed up and down the hallway, playing with various mice.
Didn’t get much writing done. I think I need to cut myself a break this week. Don’t put any pressure on myself, rest up, and if I want to do something I will; otherwise, it’s resting and storing stamina for the writing schedule that starts with the turn of the year.
I did a couple of short coverages. I’m grateful for the time off (I was so burned out at this time last year, but couldn’t afford the time off), but this year, I wish I had a little more work these last few days so that January won’t be so tight financially.
But I’ll go client hunting in early January, so I’ll take care of it.
I read THE CURSE OF PENRYTH HALL by Jess Armstrong. It’s a gothic mystery set shortly after World War I, in Cornwall, mixing those elements with a lot of skill. I enjoyed it. The Epilogue reads like it’s the first book of a series; I kind of hope it’s not. As much as I like the characters, I think it would do well to stand alone.
Not every book needs to be part of a series.
Although, as a writer, when I spend as much time as I do building a believable fictional world, even if it’s set in/adjacent/alternate to the “real” world, I want to keep using it. And readers like series. I get it. I just think there are times when standalone works, especially in gothics.
I was kind of emotionally messy yesterday, so mundane tasks like tidying up and doing admin fit.
I was so proud of myself for getting the Inbox down, and it immediately began refilling. But it should be easier to manage now, as long as I build in the daily time to deal with it all. I’m unsubscribing from a bunch of stuff, so that will help, too.
Woke up around 4:30 this morning (and it wasn’t even Charlotte’s fault). Hauled the laundry to the laundromat, got that pushed through, then swung by the post office drop box to send off the thank you cards.
Started reading John Scalzi’s latest book, STARTER VILLAIN. Wow. Just wow. A tour de force. He’s called a “genre writer” but he’s so much more than that.
Working on some timing issues for a few things. My phone was wonky (went black and I had a heck of a time getting it going again), the computer’s acting up. Again. I’ll be glad when Mercury goes direct.
At this point, it’s about hanging on, and trying not to put myself in situations that could go terribly wrong.
If you read The Process Muse post, you’ll know that this is the last Process Muse for now, and the last one on Substack. I’m sad to end the Process Muse, at least in this edition, but I can’t stay on Substack with their support of extremism for profit. Since I designed the column specifically for that platform, it doesn’t make sense to move it. But I will write posts and articles about process, and let you know where they are. I am very grateful to everyone who took the journey with me, and hope they will continue to subscribe to the quarterly newsletter.
I’m going to let myself be tired and sad today and putter around. Maybe I’ll write; maybe I won’t. I’ll read the book for review; I want to cook a few more recipes from the cookbook; I’ll get both those reviews done and out early next week.
The first shipment of books for the contest should arrive tomorrow.
I’ve readjusted the writing plan for January 2024; I have a feeling I will be doing a lot of adjusting for the year. Sometimes within the week or the day. I have my primary projects/deadlines set up. Whenever I have less client work on a particular day, I will slot either additional work on a primary project or work on a secondary project. Plus, there’s stuff I want to do around the house, and some re-organization that needs to happen.
So, this week, I’ll rest up in anticipation.
Have a good one. It’s a mucky, rainy day. The cats have the right idea, all curled up in fleece blankets.
