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End of week, Book IV is just over 31,700. I made it to 10,000 (the week’s goal) by midnight Thursday and sort of loafed along on Friday and today.
I had other writing to do (and other writing that must be turned in this coming week may slow me again. Don’t panic, though–the book isn’t drying up and I won’t fail to go after that daily goal.) One of the “other writing” bits is writing the introduction for The Ladies of Trade Town, an anthology my friend Lee Martindale is bringing out. Lee’s a writer and editor, an officer of SFWA, and a member of the SFWA Musketeers (writers with swords…you should be very, very afraid. ) Since I couldn’t write a story for that anthology (the Paksworld books take up my entire fiction-writing brain), I jumped at the chance to write the intro. It’s almost done.
Then there’s the annual report on the wildlife management thing. If this stupid weather-migraine will kindly depart, I’ll get going again on that after church tomorrow.
On the nonwriting side of things, part of the loafing along yesterday allowed me to walk down to the woods, and part of it today allowed me to work outside in the yard and vegetable garden (where the first radishes have poked out their cotyledons.) I’ve pruned dead limbs off of a line of junipers, watered the planted rows, pruned back the exuberant Lady Banks rose (we need to keep a path open along the east fence) and so on. And we got to eat lunch outside with a touch of elegance: a real tablecloth on the picnic table my husband built last summer, real dishes and glasses, and real napkins. Lunch was sandwiches, but still.
Now to bed so I can get up at six and be on time for rehearsal before the first service tomorrow. Hope the headache’s gone by then.
Comment by Jill — January 23, 2011 @ 2:16 pm
I’ve just got to say that i LOVE these updates. There’s such a mystique surrounding writing (and rightly so) but it’s so nice to see that it’s not all “magic” from the muse. While every artist courts the muse heavily and there is quite a bit of “woo” involved in any creative endeavor; there is so much sheer WORK involved. It’s like building a boat – sure the design is inspired by something magical and it can eventually take you to magical places, but there are a lot of nails to drive along the way and sometimes it just feels like work. There are mundane details to take care of; swollen thumbs from miss-aimed hammers and lots and lots and of sanding that is hardly glamorous. Oh and there is that whole “life” thing that you try to have in between stints at the computer. Thank you so much for giving us these glimpses of your process. It makes me appreciate your books even more now that i can see the careful, faithful crafts(wo)manship that goes into them. Keep up the good, hard work!
Comment by Holly — January 23, 2011 @ 2:35 pm
I’m just thankful that this series is projected to end at volume V. I’ve been waiting years for the rest of this particular series and am happy that the entire story arc will be completed. As a SF/Fantasy reader – I’ve been disappointed when some of my favorite authors announce a series will be a trilogy and suddenly decide seven maybe more books will be required and then never ties up any series they have on-going. I’m always afraid something might happen to the writer and I will never get closure on the series some books just hit you hard – like the Paks series did for me. I’ve gotten to the point that I refuse to read certain writers unless I know its either a stand alone novel or its the end of a series.
Anyway – I’m excited about this one – since its my favorite series and I have had to buy more than one book when I wore out the others by re-reading them.
Thanks for coming back to it.
Comment by Genko — January 23, 2011 @ 7:32 pm
Glad you could get outside and do things with your hands. Hope the headache is gone by now.
Comment by ellen — January 28, 2011 @ 11:25 pm
Yay, another book! Keep ’em coming I reckon.
the only thing I don’t like about groups of books is finishing the series, you just want to keep going, and I usually mope around for a bit, wondering what to read next!
Jill, Amen to your boat building comment. We’ve been building an 11 metre cat for nearly nine years, one of the things that slows us down is the weather, had a steep learning curve about the effects of temperaturen and humidity on the materials, which really restricts time you can work on various things. And all the really fiddly stuff that you just don’y see, like it’s great when you’ve completed a very visible part, like the hardtop over the cockpit or the doors to the saloon, which is actually a good example, because the woork that went into those doors is astonishing, but they sure look good, so it was worth it and seeing them up for the fist time was a real buzz, plus we have a family and a lot of other stuff that takes up your time, but, we’ll get there….one day
Comment by elizabeth — January 29, 2011 @ 7:39 am
Thanks, all…and two boatbuilders on the same thread? Great!
We assembled a kit boat one time (Folbot one-seater kayak) partly in the living room of a rental house, and that was an adventure. The frame fit diagonally in the living room, corner to corner…careful measurement and calculation indicated that we could tip it on its side and back one end down the hall, lifting the other up enough to get it lined up with the front door and out that door, before putting on the skin. Friends swore it couldn’t be done. And yet…by a very small margin…it worked.
But yeah, there was a lot more to it than just putting part glue on Part A and sticking it to Part B, though it’s a very simple boat compared to what you’re talking about.
Comment by filkferengi — February 1, 2011 @ 9:22 am
Ooh, anthology! Do you know when it’s coming out? I already have the cd & recommend it highly.
Comment by ellen — February 2, 2011 @ 6:39 pm
Wish we could build this boat in the loungeroom, it’s airconditioned. Conditions are awful here right now,(New South Wales, Australia). Hot and humid, not good for doing anything outside. But at least we’re not suffering cyclones, like up north in Queensland so can’t complain really. We’ve had a pretty horrific time here in Oz, though, with floods and cyclones and bushfires in other parts. And then we see on the news,that the US are also apparently suffering wild weather, half the country affected by snow and ice, sure hope you are all OK over there. What’s the matter with the weather….