It's Not COVID-19!

I'm down with a summer cold (I hope), so my few spoons must be directed at writing and editing. In the meantime, here's a cute picture for all you folks who think Christmas comes before Halloween.

See y'all Wednesday! Stay healthy!

Catching Up on the Writing

I don't think I realized how much I needed Tuesday's break, even if I was filling a trashcan with used tissues and trying to swallow comfortably with a LOT of green tea.

I finished up our tax stuff on Wednesday while still getting a ton of words done. I highly recommend WMG's classes on Making a Living Writing Novels and Pulp Speed. Just the first two weeks of lectures and homework have helped me take a very hard look on my efforts and how I spend my time.

Our twelve+ inches of snow from Winter Storm Landon is disappearing beneath the warm air over the last two days and today's steady drizzle of relatively warm rain. I already miss watching the squirrels cavort in the drifts in the backyard.

Now, I just need to wrap up Apocalypse? Not Now! and Pestilence in Pumpkin Spice this weekend or possibly early next week so I can pass them on to the people who do their magic.

Anyone want to take bets whether we'll get more snow? Spring is just a hair over a month away.

I Think. Therefore, I Am.

Actually, my existence is pretty questionable. My head's still fuzzy from the flu, but I'm eating a normally diet again. That's a step in the right direction.

However, I'm a little jealous of the friends who were able to attend last night's showing of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. More because they were physically able to attend the screenings, than wishing I could go to. However. everyone so far has said the ending was awesomely satisfying. So maybe JJ Abrams finally learned how to write an ending after all.

Yes, folks, the ending of a story is just as important as the beginning. If you haven't learned how to craft an ending, for the love of Cthulu, practice.

This is not a hate on JJ. I think the guy can come up with brilliant ideas. It's the follow-thru where he falters.

Alias. Revolution. Lost. All great high-concept ideas. But he kind of proves the adage that ideas are a dime a dozen. It's the actual story that keeps people involved. Also, the writer can't break the rules of their universe willy-nilly. Not without pissing off their fans.

Look what happened with the final season of Game of Thrones. The writers and showrunners had GRRM's notes, but they didn't have his passion for the characters. All the previous seasons, we knew who did what and why. And it's not the fact that Bran ended up with the Iron Throne, it's that the writers didn't care enough to sell that version to the audience.

Sticking with our world logic and developing an ending is something we writers need to do on a consistent basis. When I was writing Hero De Facto, I feared the May-December romance between Rey and Aisha would be the biggest sticking point with the audience. So far, there's been nary a word, which means I did my job as an artist.

So where is all this rambling going? To three craft points writers need to keep in mind:

1) Ideas are cheap and easy. Storytelling is hard. Work on your storytelling.

2) Endings are as important as beginnings.

3) Don't break the rules of your universe without a damn good reason that makes sense to the audience.

Now, I have to put together my shopping list. Genius Kid was Cincinnati chili with his football on Sunday.

I'd Rather Have Coal in My Stocking

The good news is that Genius Kid (or should I start calling him Genius Soldier?) got leave, so he'll be home for Christmas. None of us were expecting it, given he just got out of basic training. Even with a little complication with his ticket, things are settled, and it'll be good to see him. Best holiday present ever, and we're happy.

Unfortunately, I was nailed by a particularly nasty stomach bug last week. Given the intimacy of our recent relationship, our toilet and I should be married right now. Even worse, I awoke at four this morning to the sounds of DH horning in on my relationship with the porcelain god. I'm praying we're no longer contagious by the time GK gets home. I wouldn't wish this bug on my worst enemy.

Hopefully, I'll back to regular writing and blogging soon. And if you're in a ménage, may it not involve cold, stinky porcelain.

A Plague Upon Your House

And we have the plague in spades here at Casa Harden. DH started showing signs Sunday night of the same crap I came down with a week ago. By Tuesday morning, GK was sniffling. This cold actually encouraged DH to call in sick for the first time in years. It's a little hard to talk on the phone when you can't breathe.

I'm feeling a bit better, but the household chores rest with me now that the guys are down. So I find myself doing things in small increments because I still exhaust easily at this stage.

Still plugging away on the new releases though rather slowly. Luckily, most of the work can be handled from a reclining position.

In the meantime, take care of yourselves. There's a strain of the flu making the rounds that isn't covered by your flu shot. You know it's bad when any Ohio school shuts down because so many students and teachers are out sick. Last thing I need is the damn flu on top of this cold!

F***ing Riptide!

I was on a roll Wednesday morning. The second book in the 888-555-HERO series was delivered to my formatter. I sent the blurb and info to my cover artist so she could do the print cover on Thursday. I jumped into the edits for Book 3.

Except I started winding down during the afternoon. Which is totally unlike me. This is the point of the day where I'm usually the most productive. Then came the sinus headache.

Crap. It's too early in the season for spring allergies. Heck, we still have pockets of snow here and there.

DH and I tried to get our evening walk in. I hadn't even made it a full mile before the tickle started in the back of my throat, so we cut it short. By the time we picked up dinner (which we'd planned on because of some additional errands that evening), my nose gushed like Niagara Falls.

So he's slept on the couch to hopefully *fingers crossed* not pick up my germs.

In the meantime, I'm working, but it's at a crawl instead of the steady jog I was on. I should be glad that this is the first cold I've had in two years. And I will be.

Once my eyeballs decide whether or not they will explode.

Still Recovering

I slept in today because I wore myself out trying to have a normal routine on Monday and Tuesday. I'm still recovering from the stupid UTI. Now, I understand why UTIs in the elderly present as signs of dementia. I feel like my brain is wrapped in layers of cotton and wool.

All this means my progress on Hero De Facto resembles the 101 at rush hour. I'm getting writing done, but it's crawling along.

I have to admit I really nervous about releasing this trilogy. It's a little new and different for me. But I don't know how much is real anxiety and how much is fuzzy brain.

I guess I'll find out over the next couple of months.

Not a Good Day

I woke up this morning about twenty after six pretty damn sick with one of my "episodes". Stay dry if you're in a rainy spot. Enjoy the sun if you can. I'll see you all on Friday!

It's NaNoWriMo Time!

National Novel Writing Month starts today!

I'd hoped to have A Modicum of Truth done by now. Not to mention, reviewed the previous 888-555-HERO novel, write the last two chapters of it, and put together a series bible. All of this in preparation for hitting the ground running this morning.

And as you read this, I'm probably still crashed on my recliner with this nasty little cold, alternating between green tea, cough syrup, and water.

Can I catch up? Of course, I can!

Once the room stops spinning from the severe sinus pressure. Otherwise, I'll be veging for another day or two.

To everyone else starting NaNo on time, break a leg!

Sinking into the Plushy Goodness of My Recliner

We have new downstairs neighbors who like to smoke. A lot. So much so that the smoke permeates our apartment. Genius Kid and I started to have respiratory problems. Thanks to a recommendation from Jo in California, we bought an air purifier for GK's bedroom. It made such a huge difference for him we bought a bigger unit for the living room/dining room. It arrived Saturday. Murphy, what a difference!

Unfortunately, the smoke damage was already done to the sinuses and lungs, making them more vulnerable. I woke up yesterday with a sore throat caused by a lovely viral infection. Needless to say, I didn't make it to the movies this weekend. This morning, GK texted from school that he also feels like shit, but he's going to try to stick out the day.

So right now, I'm curled up in my recliner with my birthday pumpkin spice latte. I'm going to try to make some headway on A Modicum of Truth, but with the pounding in my head, I'll probably take a nap or veg out to Supernatural.

We'd planned to go out tonight to one of my favorite restaurants, a little hole in the wall with good food and even better strawberry margaritas, but I don't think I'm going to be up for that. I thought maybe I'd be up to making pumpkin pie, but the run to Starbucks wore me out.

So we'll put off birthday dinner, drinks, and pie for a weekend that I'm a little more upright. In fact, I think I'll go take that nap now.

Sick Days for a Writer

I had plans for this morning. I was going to get up with DH and GK this morning. They've been getting up extra early since the new year started. GK is taking Honors Chemistry this year, which is also home room, and the entire class arrives fifteen minutes before school's official start time so the teacher can get through the bureaucratic stuff first and actually spend the rest of the period on instruction and labs. After dropping off GK, DH and I were going out for breakfast. Then I was going to tackle editing on Zombie Goddess.

Except in less than a week since school started, GK brought new pets home. Unfortunately not from biology class.

Luckily, it's just a mild summer cold. For him.

Unluckily for me, even a mild cold knocks me down with my compromised immune system. I slept nearly thirteen hours last night. I have some mild joint and muscle pain. On the plus side, I can breath. But so much for getting a couple thousand words in this morning before lunch. I'll ease my way this afternoon through editing and proofing that needs to be done.

And I'll probably collapse in front of the TV later tonight when I can't focus on the words anymore.

The rough part is that I don't get paid sick time. If DH gets this cold and takes a day off, we don't have to worry about making the rent or the car payment.

If I get really sick, like the flu from hell last April, I'm not making money. Not writing. Not editing. Nothing.

I'm grateful to have someone in my life who can pull the household load when I'm can't. There's a lot of writers who don't, and it freaks them out when something like this happens. Especially if they have a deadline with a publisher.

Yes, I'm lucky. And I know it.

Restarting the Mind Can Be Tough

I've been back to work for two whole days, and I haven't even written a thousand words. UGH!

This is why a lot of experienced writers counsel writing every day. And by experienced, I mean writers who've been doing this for twenty-five-plus years, and they can count the number of novels they've written in the mid-three figures to low-four figures.

So when I haven't been writing for two and a half weeks, it's going to take a while to get back in the groove.

If some major life event has happened to you, don't beat yourself up over the lack of productivity. That's only going to make you more reluctant to write again.

Just keep plugging away, a little more each day, until you're back to your old speed. Trust me, I've had to do this before, and I'll have to do it again. And I'm definitely NOT giving up!

Sick Day

Well, I only got today's post partially written when I came down with a nasty infection on Saturday. Today consisted of a trip to the doctor and drugs. Now, I'm going to rest, which I hate because I get bored easily.

Y'all play nice, and I hope it's a beautiful day where you are!