Drunken Owls and Other Delights

Best Laid Plans: Update

Sun, 20 Jun 2021 23:21:36 GMT

Huh. Who knew that a) putting attainable plans into action and b) finding that sweet-spot level of productivity that c) isn't just me trying too hard and overworking myself and d) keeps me just enough from distraction would actually, y'know, work? Heh.

It's been a surprisingly productive week here in Spare Oom. I got more submission work completed (including a complete query/synopsis package for In My Blue World and a few submission emails), finished off the synopsis for Waystation Project, made a to-do short story list for College Campus Project, continued rereading and synopsis for MU4 Project, and somehow decided that maybe playing out a synopsis for In My Blue World Sequel Project wouldn't be a bad idea either. Oh, and maybe Best Laid Plans for Oh Hey Remember That One Project I Keep Untrunking Well Maybe It Still Needs A Crapton More Work So I'll Put That One Aside So Forget I Said Anything Project has been put aside.

So in short, I put aside the Ooh Shiny Best Laid Plans Project that should maybe stay trunked (and locked, let's be honest) but opened up a Pandora's Box of SO MANY OTHER PROJECTS in its place. And I don't actually mind this, as this is the level I want and need to be at, where I'm most comfortable creatively. (Side note, I still have that other synopsis I wrote a few weeks back of a completely new story based on a dream I'd had, so we'll add that to the list.)

ANYWAY. Other than that, I've also been busy elsewhere as well. I've been doing a bit of drawing in the afternoons and picking up my guitar to play along to a few songs at least once a day. I've been good with my daily stretches. And I've been keeping up with the blogs. Keeping super busy but a GOOD kind of busy!

My schedule may be a bit wonky starting next Sunday, however, as A is on vacation and we'll be traveling for a few days (for the first time in over a year), but I'm sure I'll continue to keep myself busy and up to date. We'll see where this all leads us...!

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Weekend Updatery

Sun, 06 Jun 2021 22:22:27 GMT

It's been a busy first week of June in terms of creativity...I've shifted all my focus on two other projects and plan to be working on them until completion. Why, you ask? Well, it all boils down to turnover time and interest. These two projects are ones that I've worked off and on with for years (and I do mean years, in so many different versions, outtakes and so on) and I've been drawn to them once more. SO! What I've been doing is working on synopses, soundtracks and mixtapes (trust me, they're important for both), and doing major retooling of plots and characters. I've been using 750 Words on the daily to work all this out, either by writing outtakes, character conversations, or world building notes.

In addition to that, I've submitted Diwa & Kaffi to two agents so far (FINALLY!!) and awaiting a response; I've had an interesting conversation with a fellow creative about storyboarding opportunities, how-to books and other ways to make money from creative projects, which has given me a lot to think about lately; I've even started writing poetry more consistently again. The main focuses here are: a) constant movement (which also means less distraction), b) everything's on the table to make this all work financially, and c) figuring out ways to avoid overthinking it all. I'm extremely curious as to where this will all lead.

And somehow I'm managing to keep on top of the walking and the stretches. Not exactly sure how, and I've missed a few days here and there, but I'm not beating myself up about it. As long as I move and stretch a bit and not sit on my duff all day long, especially now that the weather is finally getting nicer here in the Bay Area! Woot!

Hope everyone has a good week! :)

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Writing All the Things

Sun, 16 May 2021 20:11:35 GMT

A few days ago I woke up super-early in the morning from a dream and had that classic OMG this needs to be story!! moment, so of course I made sure that I remembered it after sliding back into slumber for a few more hours. And yes, somehow I did in fact remember it! So before it went away and before I distracted myself with any other internetty things, I logged onto/dusted off the 750 Words site and hopped to it. I'd originally meant to just work out the bare bones of the idea, but before I knew it, I was writing a full-on synopsis and an hour or so later I had a full novel's worth written out!!

That NEVER happens. So I didn't question it...I just kept working at it until I had it done and finished! [And the wild thing is that after I finished that, I spent the next several hours finally finishing the Diwa & Kaffi revision. I of course then wanted to Do All The Things after that, but reeled it back a bit. Two major milestones completed in one day is successful in my book.] I figured, I'm not exactly sure when I'll work on it, as I had some other things to do, but it's good that I have it on hand so I'll be prepared when I do get to it.

I spent the next day or so revising the Diwa & Kaffi synopsis and cover letter for when I send it out, but after that bizarrely productive day, I was hankering for a repeat. So a few days later I opened up the 750 again and played around with a synopsis for another book -- this time with one that I've already started/stopped/trunked/revived several times over the years and could never quite let go of it. This time out, however, I just focused on creating a tight synopsis with the ideas I did have without the issue of sliding into the meta details. I think it worked out, because in the process I figured out why it hadn't worked in the past, and how I could approach it. So yay me, another future project!

Which leaves me with the current two front-burner projects, both of which I'm still feeling a bit tetchy about. The issue with both is, you guessed it: lack of direction. I know where I'm going, but there's still a high level of flailing on both. SO! This means that what I'd like to do in the next few days is give them that 750 synopsis exercise and see if I can tame them some.

Funny how it all falls into place at once when you least expect it. Heh.

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Sunday evening update

Mon, 22 Mar 2021 02:28:40 GMT

Not too much to report here, as I've been taking it easy this weekend. I wanted to Read What I Have So Far for the two big writing projects and did that instead of getting any new words done. I often do this near the start of every project for a few reasons: one, to see if any of it holds up and holds my attention (which yes, both do, yay!), and two, to get a firm grasp on the story and its many moving parts. This second reason is the more important of the two, as it's my way of establishing continuity.

And let me tell you, my novels ALWAYS start off with the shittiest continuity ever. This is mainly due to me trying things out just to see where they go. This includes character traits and personalities, extended family and friends, time of day, whatever. I used to say I was 'flailing' at this point, but I don't think that's a good word for it. More like 'feeling my way', honestly. After maybe four or so chapters, I'll do a Read What I Have So Far and see what works and what needs work.

That said...Project A is going in an unexpected but fun direction and I'm quite happy about that, but I definitely need to straighten out the continuity. Project B, on the other hand, is going a bit slow but the continuity is just fine. So all in all, I think I'm happy enough with both that I can start moving forward starting tomorrow. Woo!

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Updatery

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 17:34:48 GMT

Whoops! Forgot to post here yesterday -- and forgot to write and schedule a WtBt post as well -- so now I'm doing doubletime this morning to get caught up. New month, new attempt at Staying On Schedule. And of course I started with my PC acting up a little bit so I had to close everything and reboot. May as well do it now before I get too bogged down with everything else, yeah? [Looks like I still have to reboot one more time to install an update, but it's not critical so I'm not worried. I'll do that later this afternoon while I bake some beer bread!]

Meanwhile, things are going well with the two writing projects. The only downside being that I now have two further project ideas that have popped into my head, begging for attention! I'm not going to drive myself crazy by working on four different projects, however. I've got enough that I want to focus on at the moment, and I know my limits. I could probably do three at most, but that third one will most likely be a renewed effort to see what I can do with Diwa & Kaffi. I'm on the fence with that one at the moment: I love the story, but I've also taken some writerly (and professional) advice to heart that maybe it really does need more work on the prose. On the other hand, it currently has a certain personal perfection to it that makes me wonder if I should follow up with the "this would really work amazingly well as a webcomic" idea that I'd had for it since I started writing it (and semi-proven to be a legit idea after drafting up a rough storyboard of the first couple of chapters a few months ago). All of this to say that I'm distracting myself from that by focusing on two other unrelated projects! Eesh.

Anyway! In more personal news, I am happy to say that I've been REALLY good with the stretches and exercises over the last month or so, and I can definitely feel the difference. I'm no longer slouching in the chair, my back and my knees aren't as achy, and I'm definitely not feeling as tired and cranky either. Our going for neighborhood walks is also helping, as I'm making it a point not to hunch or slouch like I used to. Now if I can only get rid of these extra pounds in the middle section...

Hope everyone has a good week!

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