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I’ve decided to relabel these thingers as a “weekly update,” since they have expanded from just links and accomplishments to include my short story rejection log, sometimes a picture of the week, and sometimes a brief update. If nothing else it gives me an excuse to post something regularly, which I’m not always good about doing.
Also we’re doing these things Monday – Sunday now, since weekend-long larp events made the Sat/Sun divide tricky.
Brief Update
Mental health seems to be holding steady, despite the winter doldrums.
I have Lioness out to a few beta readers at the moment, and a few stories on submission. I need to figure out what writing project to work on next.
I’m still planning out my Year of Habitat. This weekend I spent a lot of time cleaning the bedroom, putting aside a bunch of stuff to get rid of.
I got so out of shape over the holidays — mostly just from being away from the office gym — that I decided to redo the Zombies Run 5k training program from the beginning. Of course then we got 8-10 inches of snow and my plans were foiled by being stuck indoors Thurs-Fri. So if your question is “Are you still running?” (hi, Dad), the answer is: yes, intermittently.
I highly recommend the book I just read (The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, by Mackenzi Lee) if you have any interest in queer YA historical romance (with a bi protagonist!) I had some quibbles with the plot and pacing, but the emotional arc was heart-rending and lovely.
I’ve been playing with tarot as narrative therapy again, and I just ordered the least woo-woo book about tarot I could find on Amazon. Looking forward to reading it…
Links
“Why Am I So Lazy?”, on Ask Polly. This resonated SO MUCH with me, both in the letter writer’s description (“When I finally do get down to business, I consider myself to be fairly hardworking, if only for the shortest amount of time possible”), and Polly/Havrilesky’s response (“But I do want you to notice how deeply and profoundly you’ve made messiness and procrastination part of your identity”, or “You are a fearful, avoidant person because you’re a little bit anxious about the world and the other people in it”).
Accomplishments
Writing
– Wrote blog post, “2017 Retrospective/2018 Resolutions”
– Submitted “The Mirrors of Her Eyes” to Fantasy & Science Fiction
– Submitted “Mirrors” to Beneath Ceaseless Skies
– Submitted “Granny Hubbard vs. the Giant Slime” to Factor Four
– Made some notes on further edits I want to make to Lioness
– Edited “Pinions,” the last of my FSOTU stories. I’m still not sure it’s doing what I need it to do, but I’ll let it breathe for a while before deciding that.
Reading
– Read The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, by Mackenzi Lee
Other Media
– Listened to Stuff You Missed in History Class, “Edward Gorey” and “SYMHC Classics: A Conspiracy Starring Aaron Burr”
– Listened to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, “The Winter People,” parts 1 and 2
– Watched Dark and Stormy Night, a spoof of Dark House-type movies from the creators of The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra
Health
– (Weds) ZR 5K training week 0
– (Weds) 10 x alternate heel touchers, 10 x dead bugs, 10 x jackknives
Rejection Log
– 1-day personal for “Mirrors” from F&SF
