I need to get busy writing. I've been taking a break while taking care of and driving Child 1 to school while she finishes up the school year (two weeks late) after a nasty case of mono. No, she hasn't been kissing everyone - she bites her nails . . . used to bite them, that is. And she shared a drink with a friend who didn't get sick - or at least didn't show symptoms. Either way, she's just today finishing up the school year, and after today I'm closing down my driving service.
My preschooler has two weeks off before summer camp starts. We had big plans for fun every day. But I'm tired (not mono) and Child 2 is even more tired (maybe mono). So we've gotten in a lot of television, one Epic movie, and not much more.
Today, I'm going start writing again. I'm in that dark, brooding place that makes me want to escape to another world (no, I don't write fantasy).
I'll be back when I have some chapters done . . . could be a while.
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Monday, June 10, 2013
Saturday, May 25, 2013
On Relaxation . . .
Just a few weeks ago, my kids and I agreed to have an energetic summer.
Instead of renting a beach house, we decided to buy kayaks. I bought a book that details the walking paths at 60 or so parks in driving distance from our house. We decided to start with the closest and hike at least one of them once a week. We made a gigantic list of things to do: putt-putt golf, amusement parks, bike rides, camping, etc.
And then one of my children got sick. And the other is sick. Both have different things and nothing that will likely send them to the Spirit in the Sky, but at least one of them will need lots of weeks of rest.
So we're going to have a lazy summer.
We're going to read lots of books and relax at the pool (we will drive instead of walking). We will play putt-putt golf but will stop at hole three for an ice cream cone and a rest. It will be a summer of video games and lazy walks and movies.
I will write and edit lots of words, but my kids need to come first. If we get kayaks, they may need to be the two-man variety so the sickest child can kick her feet up and relax like a princess while the rest of us get into shape.
I will learn to relax and slow down and live in the moment. I may even learn how to work the PS3 (or whatever it is . . . maybe not).
We are going to have to figure out a way to find the positive in every day, which may make it the best summer ever (except for the sickness and the worry).
I don't plan to be here much if at all. I hope you have the best summer ever too . . . but without the sickness and the worry.
Instead of renting a beach house, we decided to buy kayaks. I bought a book that details the walking paths at 60 or so parks in driving distance from our house. We decided to start with the closest and hike at least one of them once a week. We made a gigantic list of things to do: putt-putt golf, amusement parks, bike rides, camping, etc.
And then one of my children got sick. And the other is sick. Both have different things and nothing that will likely send them to the Spirit in the Sky, but at least one of them will need lots of weeks of rest.
So we're going to have a lazy summer.
We're going to read lots of books and relax at the pool (we will drive instead of walking). We will play putt-putt golf but will stop at hole three for an ice cream cone and a rest. It will be a summer of video games and lazy walks and movies.
I will write and edit lots of words, but my kids need to come first. If we get kayaks, they may need to be the two-man variety so the sickest child can kick her feet up and relax like a princess while the rest of us get into shape.
I will learn to relax and slow down and live in the moment. I may even learn how to work the PS3 (or whatever it is . . . maybe not).
We are going to have to figure out a way to find the positive in every day, which may make it the best summer ever (except for the sickness and the worry).
I don't plan to be here much if at all. I hope you have the best summer ever too . . . but without the sickness and the worry.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Summer
School starts in less than four weeks.
Seriously.
This was the summer we paid big money for six weeks of summer camp for our tiny person so I could work on my novels (and because it's fun for him). That worked for exactly one week. Two weeks of camp are left, so I suppose I shouldn't completely give up on accomplishing things.
On non-camp weeks, we were going to have fun - play mini-golf, go to the pool, go fishing, etc. - but the weather has been unsafe for people with asthma. Earlier this week it smelled like mold outside. Eeek. So we huddle inside in the air conditioning and watch too much Sponge Bob or play video games and make the most of it.
The month of August is packed on my calendar - check-ups and dentist appointments for the kids, football practice for one, driving class for another, school meetings and schedule pickups (not actually on the calendar yet because the school is really disorganized and bad at simple communication).
And my husband is leaving for two trips. He'll be home for six days in the next four weeks, only one of them a weekend day that he doesn't otherwise have to work. Those six days are going to suck for him - there's a ton of stuff I need for him to do.
My husband is definitely a type-B personality and contributes to the chaos of my house, but he is very kind about cutting the grass and going to the grocery store and doing the dishes or helping with the laundry late at night if any of my several ailments flair up.
My tiny person gets very clingy and a tiny bit difficult when his dad is gone.
Until late August, I will quite likely be mostly absent here except for occasional self-pity over not being able to write.
In an hour, my middle child is getting four teeth pulled. The dentist said it may take 48 hours until he's back to normal. I'd rather be taking care of him than in his position for sure.
How's your summer going?
Seriously.
This was the summer we paid big money for six weeks of summer camp for our tiny person so I could work on my novels (and because it's fun for him). That worked for exactly one week. Two weeks of camp are left, so I suppose I shouldn't completely give up on accomplishing things.
On non-camp weeks, we were going to have fun - play mini-golf, go to the pool, go fishing, etc. - but the weather has been unsafe for people with asthma. Earlier this week it smelled like mold outside. Eeek. So we huddle inside in the air conditioning and watch too much Sponge Bob or play video games and make the most of it.
The month of August is packed on my calendar - check-ups and dentist appointments for the kids, football practice for one, driving class for another, school meetings and schedule pickups (not actually on the calendar yet because the school is really disorganized and bad at simple communication).
And my husband is leaving for two trips. He'll be home for six days in the next four weeks, only one of them a weekend day that he doesn't otherwise have to work. Those six days are going to suck for him - there's a ton of stuff I need for him to do.
My husband is definitely a type-B personality and contributes to the chaos of my house, but he is very kind about cutting the grass and going to the grocery store and doing the dishes or helping with the laundry late at night if any of my several ailments flair up.
My tiny person gets very clingy and a tiny bit difficult when his dad is gone.
Until late August, I will quite likely be mostly absent here except for occasional self-pity over not being able to write.
In an hour, my middle child is getting four teeth pulled. The dentist said it may take 48 hours until he's back to normal. I'd rather be taking care of him than in his position for sure.
How's your summer going?
Monday, June 18, 2012
The End is Here
This week I am going to write the last three chapters of my WIP. I hand-wrote one of the chapters in green ink on printer paper while I was stretching on Saturday. An idea came to me that was better than what I had previously intended to write.
I wonder if I would have had the same idea if I had written the story the week before vacation. I kind of doubt it - I was really rushed and was thinking about everything except my story.
I'm setting low expectations for myself this week - I have almost twenty hours to write. That would normally translate into ten or maybe even fifteen chapters and five loads of laundry. (Or involve a lot of staring at a blank page between loads of laundry.) This is the first week I've had this much time to write.
I just need to finish those last three chapters. Anything more than that is just extra. Extra time to edit, extra time to do research on my next story, extra time to...well...do laundry.
I might sit on my back porch in the morning sun with a cup of coffee and a pen and notebook. I have a lot of threads to close in the story. I kind of feel like sketching it out before I type it up.
I hope you all have productive weeks too. Are you trying to do more writing over the summer or giving yourself a break? Do you hesitate when you write those last few chapters?
I wonder if I would have had the same idea if I had written the story the week before vacation. I kind of doubt it - I was really rushed and was thinking about everything except my story.
I'm setting low expectations for myself this week - I have almost twenty hours to write. That would normally translate into ten or maybe even fifteen chapters and five loads of laundry. (Or involve a lot of staring at a blank page between loads of laundry.) This is the first week I've had this much time to write.
I just need to finish those last three chapters. Anything more than that is just extra. Extra time to edit, extra time to do research on my next story, extra time to...well...do laundry.
I might sit on my back porch in the morning sun with a cup of coffee and a pen and notebook. I have a lot of threads to close in the story. I kind of feel like sketching it out before I type it up.
I hope you all have productive weeks too. Are you trying to do more writing over the summer or giving yourself a break? Do you hesitate when you write those last few chapters?
Friday, May 11, 2012
Camp NaNoWriMo?
I realize I have said more than once that if I ever signed up for NaNoWriMo again or even mentioned I was considering it that someone should hunt me down and slap me hard until I remember how thoroughly unenjoyable that was for me in 2011.
However, this is different. This is camp. And you can't take camp that seriously, can you?
What I learned last November was really important for me to learn:
1. Writing without editing at all is insanity for me, and the end result is fifty thousand words of crap and a lot of wasted hours followed by six weeks of writer's block, melodrama, and borderline depression.
2. Writing for more than two hours at a time isn't good for me. It uses me up.
3. I prefer to write 10K of something good than 50K or 100K of rambling crap.
A tiny bit of external pressure to finish the last nine chapters of my current WIP is not a terrible idea. It's actually perfect timing.
I was going to start something new in June anyway ... or maybe rewrite something I may have written badly last November. It's a beach story. And I'll be at the beach. How perfect is that?
My plan is to write for 1-2 hours a day every day without obsessing over word count.
If anyone else is doing this and wants to hang out in a virtual cabin with me, that would be super. My user name is Tonja.
Is it just me, or would it be super fun to have a real gathering of writers at the beach next to the Tiki bar writing away while the kids swim and the ocean waves crash? I don't think the beach will be electronics-friendly, so I think I'm going to need to kick it old school and use a journal on the beach and type on the balcony at night. What could be better?
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