Posts Tagged ‘week off’

Well sadly I didn’t get a lot of writing done in my time off, but I guess that’s all right. I did do some much needed editing and reviewing of my WIP. Since it has been written a bit out of order, I’m finding that as I write the beginning it’s important to go back and make sure that I’m capturing the essence of my established characters properly.

But overall it was a great week! I finished reading The Alienist by Caleb Carr. It turned out to be a fantastic book. Carr is such a great writer. Every sentence was flawless and the plot was engaging and addictive. I did notice he tended to care a great deal about when the characters ate and got rest, as if he felt on the hook for explaining to the reader when his characters took care of themselves. That was probably overdone. I’m finding out in my writing that I don’t always have to explain when they rest and when they eat unless it fits importantly into the story. I think readers will grasp that characters will take care of things, behind the pages. I mean, even the television show 24 doesn’t actually show Jack Bauer taking a bathroom break.

What I really admired was how Carr made me smell the setting. New York City in 1896 isn’t going to smell good and he made sure to remind readers of that. Smell is something often forgotten in fiction, so it was a nice element that really made me feel like I could put myself into his settings. Speaking of smell, I’ve owned this book for around five years, and it had that musty old paperback smell, which for whatever reason added to the experience of reading it.

A great way to spend the afternoon.

I probably should have gotten out of the house more. I never did get my laptop out and find a cute café or join a writers group. I did take one walk and that was tonight. To find a secret forest path I’d have to drive miles, so I stuck to the plains and got a little bit of nature.

In the open space near my home.

Tonight, I’m going to the midnight show of Angels & Demons. We’ll see how the movie compares to the book. I remember reading Angels & Demons really well. I think at the time I did most of my reading in the bathtub, so I can’t help but think of relaxation and hot water when reminded of it.

The week isn’t totally lost in the writing department. Tomorrow I’ll be traveling down to Pueblo for my brother’s wedding. I’ll bring my laptop, of course, and hopefully I’ll be able to get a few words in. Perhaps the wedding will inspire me!

So today was my first day off in Operation “Get The Hell Away From Work So I Don’t Rip All My Hair Out.” Overall it was a great success. Now to appreciate this post, you should go back and read “An Ideal Day” to see my grand fantasy of how I’d like to spend my time during this week. I certainly couldn’t have it all, but I could do some of it and I did!

I didn’t get up at dawn, but I didn’t need to. Instead, I woke up around 8:15 fully rested. I took a hot shower and put on my yoga clothes. I meandered downstairs and found my favorite Yoga DVD. I blew off the dust it had collected and followed an almost nude Rodney Yee as he stretched his way into the day.

I sort of wish Rodney Yee tucked me in at night. He's got such a soothing voice.

Seeing him in his little bikini bottom made me think about Never-Nudes, and during my downward dog I chuckled, which didn’t do much to relax my belly toward the earth.

After floor time with the cats, which is essentially what my yoga turned out to be, I went right toward the fruit. Yesterday at the grocery store I bought every fruit imaginable so I could get some variety all week. To start things off, I opted for melon. That along with an English Muffin and I had quite a tasty breakfast. Sadly, I didn’t read anything while eating, but I did listen to music, so that should count for some sort of cultural calories.

I'm a melon girl.

Breakfast, check. Coffee, check. I was then ready to write. In my two-bedroom townhouse, I don’t have a home office, but I do have a cute little desk with a rather comfortable chair. So I planted myself at it and started the writing process. For three hours I worked on my book, reviewing and writing. I managed somehow to stay off of Twitter and Facebook, and got a lot done.

The corner office.

Before I knew it, my stomach grumbled and it was time for lunch. Fortunately, I had purchased some of the ingredients required for the grilled chicken salad of my dream day. I put it all together and it was better than I had expected it to be.

Chicken from the pre-marinaded Archer Farms selection at Target.

Then it was back to work. I started doing some major outlining of my novel with a program called StoryMill. It’s this software that helps you outline, organize scenes, keep characters lists, location descriptions, etc. I’ve only recently started using it for those purposes. I might end up buying it.

StoryMill in action.

I spent a little time on the couch listening to music and trying to dream up what would happen next in my story and that was pleasant. There may have been a little singing, but only the cats could tell you for sure. And that’s pretty much how my first day went.

Sadly, there was no cute café, writers group, or secret forest path. But there will be a book and bath in my evening.

Tomorrow — I’m using the first half of my day to run some errands, pay bills, and do some cleaning. Then I’ll be back on the computer. So tune in tomorrow and I’ll show you just how that turned out too.