Archives for February 2018

Yeah. I might have gotten a little less sleep than I need yet again.

I had an idea for a new series of novels yesterday (no, I didn’t finish the flash fiction story), and can’t wait to write that thing. Since the day was rather busy, and the boy needed help with his science fair presentation that meant I stayed up late writing.

I’m trying to write without an outline again because that just works much better for me (doesn’t cost me as much time because when I try to outline I usually just spend weeks staring at a blank page) and this time I’m trying something I’ve never done before, I’ll try to revise as I go, so that I don’t end up with a sloppy first draft but with something like a finished novel at the end. That will probably go slower than just banging out the words but then I might not need several weeks of procrastinating about revision.

As I told you before, I read Dean Wesley Smith’s „Writing into the Dark“ (affiliate link) and I’ll be trying that method. This will be really interesting. I am all excited up to the point that I can’t focus on anything.

I also thought about sewing more t-shirts – which would be great and much needed – but since I bought new winter shoes this month already I don’t want to spend a whole lot of money on fabric. So I thought I’d rather sew something I had already planned and bought the fabric for.

I have a nice flowered cotton lying around that’s supposed to become a light dress or tunic. So I pulled out my trusty „Design-It-Yourself Clothes“ (amazon affiliate link) again, and looked up the dress I wanted to make. Now that book has you make your own patterns in order. You start with a basic tee and a skirt, a sundress and a pair of pants, and then you learn how to make variations from those.

For the dress I want to make I would need the patterns for a basic woven shirt, and the pattern for a sundress. Both of which I haven’t made, and don’t really want right now. But. Having a woven shirt with a collar would be nice, that’s something you need often. So I’m thinking of making a muslin shirt out of off-white cotton I have lying around. If I’m lucky I could even wear that occasionally. And then I’d use those pattern pieces to construct the dress.

Of course that means more work.

Basically everything I’m plotting at the moment means more work.

But then I’m also having a little more energy. I only have to take care that I won’t crash and burn.

So. today there will be grocery shopping, and quite a bit of teaching (potential new student coming in today), a little housework, music (didn’t make much the last few days, oops), a whole lot of writing (I hope), some spinning, and a webinar to watch tonight.

Bonus points for watching a little more of the book cover course. Extra bonus points for making deodorant (ran out this morning), making mouthwash (ran out ages ago), and installing the magic lantern software on my camera.

Still haven’t found the time and space to write down all my to dos.

I wonder why that is.

I’m still in a weirdly happy mood. I’m not complaining, though. I’m still blaming the thyroid medication.

Yesterday I didn’t really do anything. Just as planned. I had made a little list in my bullet journal just out of habit, and then I happily ignored it for the day.

The one thing I did do was watching „Silk Stockings“. I really love Fred Astaire films and I had never seen this one before so I rented it on Friday night.

This is not a good film at all. I mean, these musical films all suffer from plot holes and flat characters and all kinds of problems. Which is because the important thing about the film is always the music and the dancing.

It did drive home to me how deeply these films influenced me. How I heard most of the jazz tunes there first. And how much I miss dancing. That is about the only thing that I’d like to have more of in my life. That and drawing. I have been tempted by tap dance classes before and still deeply regret that I wasn’t allowed to do them when I was 13 or so because the shoes were so expensive. Which was a bit ridiculous.

But not right now. My life is rather full as it is, and not taking tap dance lessons is not making me unhappy.

Today there will be running, and teaching, and music, and writing. I finally did finish the first draft of the mystery novel yesterday for good, and started a new short story in the evening. That story feels like flash fiction so it should be done soon.

I’m not quite sure what I’ll write next. I’d like to do a couple of shorter things so I can play around more, I’d like to revise the novel I just finished, and I also would like to write the next in the series. And then there’s the book cover class. And more sewing.

Possibilities! Always exciting.

So yesterday went very well, though I didn’t make music or worked on writing in any way. I went running, and that was great:

And then had lunch, and watched the book cover workshop some more, and then I sewed the Plantain t-shirt.

And I even finished it and it fits, and I’m loving it. Here’s a very bad picture of it with unkempt hair, no makeup, and tattered yoga pants:

The concert was really great, and I did not nod off (hurray!) and my husband’s friend seemed to like the music as well even though he had never heard anything like it, and we came home late (train pulled out the station just as we were running up the stairs), and then I stayed up even longer.

Found that the friend I had given my novel number one to for reading and feedback did send the feedback. Since I already know that she didn’t like it I’öö postpone reading the feedback until after I have finished going over the current novel-in-progress to look at all the scenes I have marked unfinished.

My plans for today involve elaborate cooking (well, helping to cook) for lunch, maybe a nap (only got five hours of sleep last night), maybe write a post for my author blog, but definitely watching „Silk Stockings“ this afternoon because I rented the movie Friday night, started to watch it, and will have to finish watching that until tonight. Otherwise I will have to pay for it again.

I’m tired but my mood is still pretty good which is somewhat weird. I’m blaming the thyroid meds.

Bonus points if I manage to do yoga today. But it doesn’t look like it. I just hope to start the upcoming week with some extra energy because it’s looking pretty full already.

There was a lot more teaching yesterday than the day before and so I didn’t manage to do everything I wanted. I did clean the washbasins and toilets, though, and spent quite a bit of time watching the new book cover design course.

I did go to bed late, and I didn’t write much but I did go through the scenes in the rough draft that I had marked as needing more work, and so I’m happy with that. Decided on which size to make the t-shirt and cut out the pieces.

Went to bed way too late, I actually am not sure how I did that but I think it might have something to do with me wanting to finish that last step in completing the rough draft. Well, it isn’t completed yet. But probably will today.

I think I might have a bit more energy at the moment, and I also think that that’s due to the thyroid medication I’m taking. That would be pretty cool. Yesterday in the afternoon I felt positively bubbly. Next thing, of course, is me trying not to do too much and become manic. I’m not actually bipolar but I tend to have times when I just go, go, go, fueled by enthusiasm and that always leads to a major crash so I try to avoid it.

Today there will be running, and sewing, and more online course-watching, and in the evening my husband and I will see one of those improvisation concerts again. Wish me luck, I don’t want to fall asleep during the concert again.

So yesterday was a good day, ha!

I exercised,

and had fabulous paella for lunch (and there was so much left over that the boy and I will eat the rest for lunch today which is even more fabulouser), and then I sat down and wrote 1,800 words and finished the rough draft of the novel-in-progress. That was totally worth leaving the dirty dishes sitting there.

I vacuumed the annex, and played an instrument or two, and started glueing the paper pattern together for the t-shirt I want to make, and taught a few students.

And then some time in the afternoon I got an email telling me about an online workshop called „Book Covers for Authors“ and I actually enrolle. For real money. Since I don’t want to spend loads of money on book covers for novels one to three because I have no idea if there’s a market for them (if there is it will be a really small niche) I have been toying with the idea of making my own for a whle. And yes, that’s one of the things people tell you not to do.

And I’ve been learning about book covers and have been studying them for a while now, and I think I can tell a good one from a bad one by now. Of course that doesn’t make me a designer. But mabye, maybe with a lot of work I can make myself a decent book cover. There are authors who do their own and some of them are really good, even.

So I’m really excited about that. Which mans I will have to watch the course (ugh, video) and do the homework, and then sit down on my butt and make actual covers. (Let’s not forget that I still want to overhaul all three websites, and learn how to do video, and spin another 140 grams of 3-ply fingering weight yarn on a spindle).

Never a dull moment around here.

And I’m planning to wear the new t-shirt tomorrow evening. Of course. Never mind that I haven’t even put the pattern together yet.

The thing that’s bugging me the most about yesterday is that I didn’t write. There are a few other things I planned to do but didn’t, that I’m completely okay with, but that one makes me cranky.

Of course there’s only one solution for that (since I don’t have a TARDIS), I really have to write today, and it would be best to do it during the day. So that’s my most important thing.

I also didn’t do strength training but I did buy lots of potatoes at the farmer’s market because my husband was pressed for time, and I did install new firmware on my DSLR (third time’s the charm) and tried the new remote for that camera (and it did work). I also vacuumed that old part of the house which is really satisfying.

So today it is raining and gray and cold. There will be writing, and running, and teaching, and practice, and reading, and crochet, and spinning, and maybe the putting together of the paper pattern for the t-shirt I want to sew, and maybe strength training (probably not), and vacuuming the annex, and then helping the boy with his presentation yet again, and I think that’s enough for one day.