News Addendum

Madeleine L'Engle passed away last night.

NYT on Madeleine L'Engle

Farewell, Madeleine, you will be missed. God bless you.

Friday Fiver

1. Hit 20k on the novel first draft! Yippee! I plan to hit 25k this weekend if everything goes well, but it depends on the other four issues I will relate below.

2. Hubby invited way too many people over tonight for pizza (all his coworkers who will be laid off effective today; yes, they are partying; it's how the majority of the world deals with disappointment), and was up at 5 am this morning to get to the grocery store to stock up on soda, beer, and alcohol (don't worry, I will kick out anyone who spills beer on my carpet, seriously). It will be fun. Cheers!

3. I am getting hammered with the job. The first round of feedback from our client is back and well *headdesk* -- their criteria must be like higher than perfect. Today was the first time I got feedback that actually complimented the editor on an enjoyable monograph. I will be strategizing over the weekend because next week I need to be in meetings.

4. All that job stuff has shoved the freelance back, but I have chained myself to the desk and I finished a big project last night after double-checking and triple-checking everything. I finish two other smaller projects today and this weekend will be a large bulk of the big project that I've been working on since March. It will be worth it to just power through on a weekend because there are so many little details.

5. Hubby is so stressed with his new bigger job. It's like a train wreck (but totally unlike the train wreck that unfolded on yesterday's ConstantChatter). There's just a lot that has to transition in the next week and I keep reminding him to lower the threshold. I am also fielding calls from his team throughout his region (multiple states) as our home number was given out by accident. Geez!

With that, I'll sign off for the weekend. I'm looking forward to a calmer week next week. The London trip preparations have begun in earnest. I have a to do list and it's time to get started on it.

Playing on the iPod: In My Arms - Plumb

Fighting Resistance Thursday

I've been listening to Amy Winehouse this week (I can't stop; her music is just toe-tapping good) and her Rehab song is my favorite:

They tried to make me go to rehab
I said no, no, no.

And I sing that in my head when Resistance attempts to sidetrack me from my writing.

I won't go, go, go.

Between her and Lily Allen, my fall 2007 playlist has so much energy! I love it. (Yes, I know Amy W. does really need to go to rehab. I hope she does. If Ray Charles can kick heroin, so can she.)

Another note from War of Art,

If you find yourself criticizing other people, you're probably doing it out of Resistance. When we see others beginning to live their authentic selves, it drives us crazy if we have not lived out our own.

Individuals who are realized in their own lives almost never criticize others. If they speak at all, it is to offer encouragement. Watch yourself. Of all the manifestations of Resistance, most only harm ourselves. Criticism and cruelty harm others as well.

Moving up toward 20k (just shy of 19k this morning) and hoping to continue the progress. Lots going on though, so I have to do other things than write.

Happy Thursday!

Writing Inspiration Wednesday

So, who's the aspiring novelist writing over 5,000 words in under 12 hours?

Yep, that's me. I turned off Gilmore Girls last night at 9 pm and wrote until 11:30 pm, went to bed, woke up again at 6:30, starting writing at 7:30 and started work at 8:45 am. It was like a huge breath of air that I just let go of and voila, out came story.

I am over 17k words and feeling great. Yes, the story is rough and I probably used one or two words like a zillion times, but I'm even able to watch for -ly descriptors now and am having fun avoiding them.

So happy writing Wednesday!

From Monica Wood's The Pocket Muse,

There is a special throne in heaven
for poets, who labor in obscurity.
The rest of us harbor an unexpressed hope for fame
and glory.
You might be tempted to write for a market.
You might be tempted to ride the crest of a trend.
That kind of writing is about as stable
and fulfilling as day trading.

Write what moves you.
Write what interests you.
Write what frightens you.
Write what thrills you.
Take a cue from the poets,
bless their underfunded little hearts.

Gadget Girl Tuesday

Back in the saddle again . . .

I really could get used to those nice long weekends, you know? I enjoyed my moratorium on work, hosted my brother (he and hubby golfed twice), watched stupid movies (Blades of Glory definitely qualifies), and ate great food. I need to go to the gym!

Today I'm back glorifying Firefox yet again. I know, everyone is probably saying enough already, but there's a swell add-on that I think I've used more than any other.

Session Manager is a nifty little deal that basically saves your browsing for you. Say you're online using Firefox (what else would you be using to browse, hm?) and you've got four (or seven) tabs open and the power goes out, or your computer decides to restart on its own (my computer is nearing death and does this), or you close your browser window and click okay to close all of your tabs (I have not done this in a while, but it has happened). You can use Session Manager to find it all again. Once your computer reboots (if it was shut down in the middle), Session Manager asks which browsing session you would like to pull up. If you manually shut down Firefox and want to remember where you were, before you shut it down, go up to Tools > Session Manager > Save Session and then shut down your computer. When you start Firefox back up, Session Manager will ask which session you want to continue browsing.

A very handy way to deal with Firefox. It has saved me a lot of time.

In other news: The novel race is under way. I'm rapidly heading to 25k (my goal for this week) and having a blast. It's a busy week for us this week because of jobs and a huge party we're having (25 of hubby's coworkers and their significant others!!!) on Friday, so if I blog every day, I will impress myself.

Happy Tuesday from rainy Seattle.