Yes, it’s a second post in less than a month and it’s on a weekly schedule as promised. I know, I’m shocked too.
First things first, website redesign. I tweeted a few weeks ago while writing that I had given a character a better website than I had given myself and after some consideration, decided that that was not right. And honestly, I don’t know why I did not do this sooner. I thought I wanted something blue but the pink just smacked me in the face. I like bright colours, so this is on brand for me.
Oh right, I wanted to separate my fandom self from my writer self. Well, I tried.
Speaking of writer self, I wrote almost every day this week. Well, except today but more on that later. According to a helpful spreadsheet shared by writer, CL Polk, I have written just under 9500 words since the year began. Whoop whoop! The actual word count may actually be higher because I have not caught every word on the spreadsheet but I’ve definitely recorded most. Also, most of this word count has been draft 2 of my Steampunk/Elemental magic YA which is great because I have deadlines.
In other writer news, I’ve submitted my first story for 2019. Yay! But it also means it’s time to start on the next, fast-approaching deadline and I’m actually struggling to decide between a half-written story and a completely unwritten one. You would think the answer is obvious but nope. And what makes it harder is that the holiday break is officially over, and now the regularly-scheduled challenges are in.
Challenge 1? Work. New year, new office, new rules, new demands on time. I love having a job that has granted me the privilege of a relatively comfortable life. I do not love how most of this week my writing has been no more than a few hundred words a day because I don’t have the strength to write by the time I get home. It sucks so bad. Worse, I may not be able to go on a vacation I planned months ago for reasons that are not my fault. I just…one day, man. One day…
Challenge 2? Karate. Okay, this is not actually a challenge. I think karate has vastly-improved my discipline and dedication even though I am lazy. I don’t know that I would be even writing without it. And honestly, I think of my classes as a stress-reliever, even as my limbs shake under my clear lack of fitness. I can get in there and forget about everything outside and it’s great. With my new belt and the promise of harder training this year, I’m still in the “wait-and-see” mode with how this is going to affect my writing plans. Probably in a good way. I have more energy tonight than I had all week so far.
Otherwise, in my other favourite thing, tv, I’ve finished Ashes of Love on Netflix and started Love O2O and, well…it’s watchable. I slept through three episodes last night because this week has also seen me falling asleep on myself by 8:30pm like the old woman I am becoming. I really need to find some other Cdramas. Let me find Oh my General, also maybe I should start practicing Mandarin again.
Recommended reading? Well, I can only manage short stories these days and this one had me going “oooh! OOOOH!” throughout. I’m talking about “The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington” by P Djeli Clark at Fireside Fiction. I love the blend of magic and history, which reminds me a little of Sleepy Hollow (back when it was good, RIP) and the sheer inventiveness of it. Another is “Sea-Crowned” by H Pueyo at The Dark magazine. I love merpeople, first of all, and this is a beautiful, tragic dark merpeople story that had me riveted.
See you next week!
shari writes stories 