Tag: Accountability Check-in

One week in (and an accidental book haul)

So, one week into this experiment, and so far, so good. It’s been both wonderful and surreal. Last week, I had a short bout of the Sunday Scaries. It was as if my body didn’t believe I wasn’t logging on Monday morning and opening up email, Microsoft Teams, and Jira. (Oh, Jira. Do I miss you and my many filters? No. No, I do not.)

I was a little worried Monday morning that I’d open the manuscript and be completely blank—both the page and my mind. But I wasn’t, and I haven’t had a writing week like this in a very long time.

Accidental library and bookstore book haul

I also finished the Trapped in a Gothic Novel course with some help from that accidental book haul. I found The Haunting of Hill House creepy but interesting and not as scary as I expected. A Haunting on the Hill was very creepy, not to mention scarier. I like gothic fiction, but I’m not really into horror (at all). A Haunting on the Hill is about as scary as I can tolerate. I already had the last book, Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan, on Kindle (and it appears to still be at $2.99 as I write this if you want to go grab it).

Now it’s on to the other two books in my accidental book haul. Because reading (for pleasure) is absolutely part of my job these days.

Snow and solstice

I love how often we get one of those bright blue days after a snowstorm. It’s one of my favorite things about winter. And when it corresponds with the longest night of the year, making everything just a little bit brighter? Even better.

I can pretend I’m in a ski lodge, drinking hot chocolate and eating sugar cookies. Mind you, I haven’t been skiing in ages. The last time I remember was when I was living in Germany, and a group of us took a trip to Salzburg over a long weekend. And even then, I didn’t ski. My eyes were all wonky, so I spent the time lounging outside (it was warm enough in the sun), drinking that hot chocolate, and eating the Austrian version of sugar cookies.

So today, I’m going to pretend I’m at that ski lodge, although I’ll stay indoors. I have hot chocolate. I have sugar cookies. I have a good book.

I hope your Sunday is filled with such things as well.

Sniffles and summit

I finished the author business summit videos, and they were a nice distraction because I’ve also been down with what I’m optimistically calling the sniffles for this long Thanksgiving weekend.

And don’t ask me why I believe I can think my way out of being sick. It never works, but I’m always convinced that maybe this time, it’s mind over matter.

Spoiler: it’s not.

So yesterday, my daughter and I decided to go with it. We pulled the shades against the afternoon sun, got the fireplace going, and then started on a rewatch of The Lord of the Rings series, extended edition. We took a break to cook dinner but managed to get all the way through The Fellowship of the Ring. This is a lot of movie. Not that they were short to begin with. But I like the extended versions; I can simply sink into the story and let everything go for a few (or several) hours.

Up today: The Two Towers. I don’t know if we’ll make it all the way through or not. But it will be a nice way to cap off the long, if somewhat sniffly, weekend.

Accountability check-in: the green bean casserole author business summit

So, when I was grocery shopping earlier this week, a woman came up to me in the coffee/tea/baking aisle. She asked if I knew where the crispy fried onions were, the kind you sprinkle on top of a green bean casserole. Before I could respond, she said:

I ask because you look like someone who would make a green bean casserole.

And before I could respond to that, she added:

Oh, never mind. They’re bad for you anyway.

And then wandered off.

I was going to suggest the condiments aisle. I did see her later, crispy fried onions in hand. So I’m assuming: One, she did locate someone who actually has made a green bean casserole, and two, decided the health risks were worth it. 

Also, this week, I attended an author business summit. Actually, I’m still attending it because it was recorded, and I couldn’t attend in real time due to work. It’s one of the things I’m looking forward to doing during the long Thanksgiving weekend. There’s at least three hours’ worth of video left, along with some homework.

I’m pretty sure crispy fried onions won’t be involved.

Accountability check-in: a series timeline

Late-blooming wildflower

So, I just took a peek at my series timeline, which is now five pages long. On it, I have dates that go all the way back to 1986.

Yes. The dark ages.

For this particular story, I need to know when people were born, when they (may have) died, when they … traveled through dimensions.

Yes. Complicated.

But I always recommend using a calendar of some sort when writing a longer story. Even jotting down the passing days in a notebook can be helpful. That way, you don’t end up with children going to school ten days in a row or making January six weeks long.

Weeding these things out can be difficult. Darcy and I actually ended up with the extra-long January in The Geek Girl’s Guide to Cheerleading. We knew something was off; our editor knew something was off. No one could say what, not until Darcy did the painstaking work of mapping out the timeline. Then we had to pull all those story threads and weave them back together again, minus those two weeks.

Yes. Painful.

So, this is my recommendation for the week, probably because I’ve spent some extra time in my series timeline, testing things out, revisiting what came before. And then heading outside to put the garden* to bed and ponder some more.

*This is actually why I garden; it gives me time to think.

Accountability check-in: start slow to restart

Hummingbird at my camera feeder, enjoying an evening snack.

So after the big software release at work, I’m getting back to the writing and everything else that goes along with the writing—and some things that don’t, like bringing in my hummingbird feeders for the season.

This weekend I restarted MTBs (Manuscript Time Blocks). These work better for me than word count goals. I’m reacquainting myself with the manuscript, checking in with all my characters, and starting to make some progress.

Also, this week, I began taking a self-paced marketing-for-introverts class, which I’m enjoying so far.

This coming week, I plan to claw back my morning writing time. I was logging on an hour earlier because of the release. No. More. Also, I’m looking forward to an actual lunch break.

Hope everyone made a little progress on something for themselves this week as well.

Accountability: let’s do this thing

Meadow Park, after the rain, July 14, 2024

So, I’m sitting here, eating the Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Bake I just made. Let’s be honest. It’s really an apple crisp with fancied-up yogurt. (Crème fraiche! Lemon zest!) But a crisp by any other name would taste as good.

Here’s where I’m at. So far, I’ve completed the first book in the new series (at a whopping 140,000 words—not a typo). I have a companion novella at ~25,000 words. And I’m 55,000 words into the second in the series.

I suspect this will be a three-book series, and I’m going to try to draft the entire thing before publishing the first. I hope this is a good idea. I’m having lots of fun writing it, although I’ve slowed down a bit. There are reasons for that:

One, I’m working on the middle book, and the middle of anything can be slow going.

Two, I would say my day job is still a bear. But in a contest between meeting a bear vs. my day job in the woods, I’m going to pick the bear.

But we’ll be through this software release soon enough, and I hope to get back to writing every morning.

In my quest to clean out the basement and garage, I have filled one of the 10-yard Red-E-Bins. Today, I’m tackling the stacks of paperwork that should have been shredded eons ago. This, too, is slow-going; I suspect I’m in the part where it’s worse before it gets better.

Thanks for stopping by. Let me know how it’s going for you.

September’s siren song

There’s something about September. I love this month, and I always have. Even when I know we’re losing daylight. Soon, the sun will set at 5:00 p.m., and I’ll wonder why it feels like I should be in bed before I’ve even had dinner.

September is a good time to start things. I’ve (re)started the basement and garage cleanout. I’ve (re)started being more diligent with yoga. (And honestly, I don’t know why I stop; it always makes me feel better.)

So, I was thinking maybe it’s time to start blogging again. Yeah, I know. All the cool kids have a Substack. I don’t want a Substack. I have a perfectly good blog, and maybe no one else is blogging like it’s the early aughts, but that doesn’t mean I can’t.

I’m also thinking of (re)starting an accountability check-in. There are lots of reasons I stopped, the major one being grief. I’d like it to be a community thing to, if others would like to join in and use my blog as a weekly check-in. And it doesn’t have to be for writing or a creative project—it can be for anything you want.

I’d love to have you join in. I will be back tomorrow, fingers crossed, to post that entry.