Day #9 Photo and a Day off from Writing

Day #9 Photo




Not a very productive day because it has been a bad headache day.
I actually took the day off from writing which I haven't done since NaNoWriMo started. But I'm at over 63k now, so I think I've earned the break.

Daily Photo #8 and NaNoWriMo

Today's photo isn't very exiting really.
It's a photo of part of the rudimentary map I sketched out for my NaNoWriMo story.
It's on tracing paper so it doesn't photograph all that fun but it's a peek into my writing world.
I'm basically pantsing (vs. plotting) my NaNo story.

I started with a basic idea for the story and the world and a four main characters and a beginning scene. I also know the ending scene now but didn't until after I started writing.

I didn't draw this map until after my characters moved off the main island and I had to figure out the rest of the area.

Daily Photo #8

The Return of Daily Photos

I've been doing daily photos again after neglecting the practice for too long. Around trick or treat I when I was taking pictures of my daughter and husband on their way out I noticed how out of practice I was.

 It felt weird trying to get the right focus and settings when before it had been almost second nature. My hand wasn't as steady at it anymore either.

It was then that I realized how important that daily practice was, even when I was taking pictures of silly things around the apartment and was seemingly so pointless at the time.

So I'm seven days in with the daily photo thing again. And I'm still out of practice and I'm inside much of the time and my photos have been mostly less than interesting but that's okay. It's all part of the process.

I've been posting them to tumblr but I'm not sure that's the right place for them so maybe I'll try to revive this blog. After all I have some other things I've been up to that I might want to talk about here as well.

I've been writing again. Doing NaNoWriMo. November is so fun. But I'll post about that later.
 For now here are the seven photos I've taken for the daily photo thing...

Day #1
 
Day #2
 
Day #3
 
Day #4
 
 Day #5
 
Day #6
 
Day #7
 

Writing Update

I haven't written here in a while I guess. I was busy with the novella I was writing. That handwritten project. It's done. I've been done for several days now.
I'm glad that it's done. Later I'll go back, type it up and edit it.
But for now it will sit in the notebook and I will plan for the next project.

The next project will be for NaNoWriMo. After nearly two months of writing slow, I want to write fast. This month I will create some characters, the world and maybe do a bit of outlining.

Writing Update

I ended up starting over the story I was writing from a different character's point of view and I switched to writing in a notebook instead of on the computer. Old school pen and paper style. So far it seems to be going well. I'm thinking that it is probably more of a novella and not novel length at all but I guess we'll see.

Just wanted to pop in and say that I was still writing. I'm also thinking of starting back up with my daily photos and maybe trying to fit in other art as well. We'll see how that goes. The month is almost done. I'll start any new projects in September I think.

A Return of Sorts

I've been trying out wordpress.com for a bit and keeping a bit of a writing journal over there but there are a lot of things I just don't like about it there.

So, I'm giving this thing a try here again. I added the few writing posts I made over there to this blog. All backdated and everything. Maybe I can do an all around writing, art and photography blog here.

Lately I've been posting the few photos I've been taken over at Tumblr. I'm going to try and get back to taking more pictures, maybe even daily again and posting some  here too.

Doing the Work

I’ve been writing. Slowly but I’ve been doing it. I haven’t really been feeling it but I’m making myself get the words out anyway. I’m a little over 7k words at this point on the story. I keep wanting to give up and work on something else though and I’m not sure if the POV is working and I need to try and just get it out and know that later I can fix it all. If I still care.
That’s the problem though, I usually don’t care enough later. Okay, really I don’t usually finish. Sure I’ve done NaNoWriMo many times now and have hit that sweet spot of 50k most of them but only a couple of times did I actually finish the story I was writing. And both of those were fic of some type or other and I wrote them just to write them.
The original stuff I’ve tried my hand on? I hit the 50k, maybe go a little over and then get bored. November is over and I tell myself I’m just going to take a little break for the holidays and then get back to the book and by then I don’t care anymore.
I get bored too easily and that has always been the problem. Or one of the many problems.
Which is why I question me doing this writing thing as it is. Why do it? What’s the point? It was an old dream I had a long time ago when I was younger and still believed in having dreams, so why bother now?
I’m not sure what the answer is. I need to try I guess. I need to see if this is still something I want or not. Life is short and I’m not getting any younger.
I want to keep doing the work. Keep writing and actually finish some things and then around my next birthday I can see where I stand. I can then ask myself if I want to be doing this or if I need something else.
I haven’t made an art quilt in ages. I haven’t played with paints in a while either. Earlier in the year I was taking photos obsessively on a daily basis and now I can barely bring myself to pick up the camera.
I’m not sure what is going on beyond the usual depression/anxiety happy fun combo. I need to do the work though, even if it seems pointless. Maybe even if it is pointless.

Hello August

I got a little over 1k written on the story. I have finally begun. I also continued with writing more character development stuff later in my notebook as well and I wrote a couple hundred words of some stuff from another character’s point of view that I wanted to get down even though it won’t be in the story because I’m going with first person with this one. I just needed to write the other stuff though to get it out of my head so it’s in the notebook.
I must have done less fucking around online today because I’ve gotten some good reading time in as well

Not Enough Hours in the Day

I did more work on the story with background and character and new side characters and the name of a doughnut shop. I have a bit more work that I want to do and I want to be able to read before bed though there won’t be as much of that as I’d like. There just aren’t enough hours in the day really.
Well I could spend less time fucking around online. That might be helpful.
I’ve got the start of an outline for the beginning stuff too. I think I really will start the writing part later today after sleep. I will also keep working on more world building and character fleshing out as I go. I think that might also work to keep me interested and invested.
Okay more work, then popcorn and then fun reading time.

Could Be Forever

So the working title for my new writing project is Could Be Forever. It’s just a working title. I wanted to be able to call it something. What I was calling it in my head before gives way too much away so this is the new working title. Which sounds like it should be a romance and it so isn’t.
I’ve been working on character backgrounds the last couple of days and I’ll be working on those more today. I really wanted to be able to start the actual writing on the first but I may push it to August 5th, it being the first Monday in August.
I want to have more background fleshed out. I think it is really coming together now. Somethings are changing but I like the changes. I’ve been doing the prep writing by hand but I’m not sure if I’m going to write the story itself handwritten in a notebook or type it on the computer.
Of course what I really want to do right now is read, I’m toward the end of a very enjoyable romance novel and I’ve got several awesome books that just came out and are calling out to me. But writing first then reading.
Time to do the work.

This and That

This morning I started reading Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman. I finished watching the television series on Netflix earlier in the week and it was so good. So far the book is really interesting.
I’m planning to start a new writing project on August 1st. I’ve already been working on the project with the setting, characters and all those kind of fiddly bits but at the start of the new month I want to start the actual writing part. I’ve still got a few more days to work on those previously mentioned fiddly bits.

This and That

It's been way too hot lately and I haven't felt like doing anything. With no air-conditioning the 90+ F. degree weather just doesn't scream productivity. I barely want to move so mostly I've been reading.

I haven't been taking photos for a bit. Not sure why. I just haven't felt like it and I decided to stop forcing it.

What I have been doing lately is writing world building stuff. It's been fun and I've been doing it old-school with pen and paper and it's been really coming together for me, which is nice.

The characters are starting to talk in my head, which is good too. Or it could just mean I'm crazy, but I'm okay with that :)

Stormy Days

Birthdays Come and Go

I had a birthday a few days ago...

With yummy cupcakes...

and pretty growing things...







Not too shabby at all :)

The Cooler Weather Has Returned!

Finally the heatwave has come to an end. At least for now.

I do not do well with high heat many days in a row like we had. Especially when the humidity is high too. I didn't do much the last few days beyond read. I read a lot. That part was very nice.
Now the temperature is back down into the 70s and there is a nice breeze.



I'm liking this.
I even went for a walk today. It was nice to get moving again.

Hot Days Ahead!

We're supposed to be heading into three days of hot and humid weather starting tomorrow.

I've been preparing by making ice, jello, iced-tea and orange juice pops...



I thought I had another set of these but I can't find it so this will have to do.

We don't really have the room in our freezer anyway. It's small and cluttered and well...it just is. But this will do for now.

I'm hoping it really isn't that bad. We don't have an air-conditioner and we don't have a car so we can't easily get to an air-conditioned area.

But we have fans and we're on the first floor so it won't be too bad. It's really too early in the season for this kind of thing in New England though. Not unheard of but not usual either.

If it's too hot to do anything i can just spend the day in front of the fan with a good book or three!

I just started reading Spirit by Bridgid Kemmerer. It's the third in the Elemental Series and I've liked the other two novels plus the novellas a lot so I have high hopes for this one too!

Where I Stand...With New Sneakers.

For the first time in a long time (over a decade) I have sneakers that fit.

 I've been walking lately and I live in a hilly area which makes even a short walk a bit more intense than it would be if the area were flat and I've only had my Crocs.

My feet are wide and short and very hard to fit but this past weekend I found a pair that fit nicely and they feel great!

What Am I Doing Here?

 

I’m not really sure what I’m doing with this blog. I originally started it when I was making art on a regular basis as a kind of public blog for my creative project. Something to link to when I didn’t want to link to my less public dreamwidth account.

But I’ve been out of visual art mode for a while now. I’ve been trying to work on my writing. I have been working on my writing, not just trying but it’s been slow going.

I’m working on an unnamed writing project at the moment. I’m working out background stuff and writing little character bits, though not all the characters have names yet. I’m slowly fleshing things out.

I did work on another project in April during Camp NaNoWriMo. That was fun and it kept me writing but the thing I was working on wasn’t holding my interest. I think I’m going to skip that sort of challenge for a bit now and focus on fleshing out this story I’m working on at whatever pace works for me. The key will be to just keep writing.

I’m still taking daily photos and I’m reading a lot (though not as much as I’d like) plus I’ve started working out again. I need to counter all the time I spend sitting around. Mostly I’ve been walking and dancing.  I feel it's been helping my headspace in general and in my creative pursuits.

So what is the future of this blog?

I don't know. I would like to post about the writing process as well as write about the books I love and maybe a bit about shows I love as well. I also plan to keep posting my photography.

I'm not sure how regular it is going to be but I'm hoping I can make it happen.

Yellow

Spring Flowers

Spring really seems to be settling in around here. I'm loving the warmer days and beautiful flowers.