TRAVERSING Z

The Monday List

another monday check-in

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–I am finally through the first part of Talassio in this last rewrite pass. Parts 2 & 3 to go.

–I had some lovely publication news yesterday, which had the bonus effect of making me want to write short fiction again. My Nano this year might be 50k of rough drafts—?

–I am working on planning my time and finished not one but two lingering home projects. I am a better person when I can cross things off a list.

And I would write more, but I have a cat asleep on my left hand. The Muse likes to use it as a pillow when he’s sleeping on my lap. A terrible hindrance to typing, but I can feel his forepaws curled around my fingers, I can feel his whistly warm breath against my palm, soft and regular . . . a hard thing to say no to, this closeness.

this monday

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i am up to my elbows in sticky subplot threads, as well as Ideas about Language and this poetry thing . . . painting the house is starting to look fun by comparison.

monday update, 2

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So I did not get as far with Talassio as I’d hoped, in part because I realized one scene between London and Venice absolutely doesn’t work as it stands. Also, I got a little skewed with the writing/other projects balance, and I didn’t get enough reading done . . . After so many years of working and struggling to make time to write, the idea of simply sitting down for a whole afternoon to research feels wasteful, so much so I get a little panicky . . .  Which, in retrospect, means it’s pretty amazing that I’ve read as much as I have over the last four years. But I have a lot of little niggly questions to answer now, and that won’t happen unless I dig deep.

On the other hand, I did rework that old story into what feels like a Real Draft, in fact a remarkably short one, so that is no mean feat. Gold star for me.

So this week:

-For Talassio, rework that problem scene and think a little more overall about all the pieces on the board. They have multiplied since the last big revision, I’m glad they’re there, but they feel underutilized. Either they do more or I rethink this “interlude” strategy of maintaining the plot threads.

-Start working on That Thing About Like Opera and Stuff that I outlined three months ago.  Which will also involve research, so again:

-Get some real reading done this week! Another trip to the library may be in order . . .