Friday Five: Rollin, Rollin, Rollin…

Life does keep coming, doesn’t it.

Here’s what’s going on around here:

• The Picture Book from Hell has regressed back to something gentler and kinder. I backed myself up to an earlier version I had actually kind of liked, and I’m working on a new pass at that. If the creek doesn’t rise, that will go off to the critique group this afternoon.
• I’ve been looking for work, and a lovely temp job came my way a couple of weeks ago. I’m writing grants again and helping out with a little social media, and I get to work part of the time on-site and part of the time at home, which is a nice balance for now. I have to tell you, the shoot-up fix I’m getting of feeling efficient, productive, and effective is doing wonders for the old morale. I’m also getting back in touch with that feeling that compressed time is often a better place for me than too much leisure. I’m not getting to my writing every day, but the stories are staying in my head, and I am moving forward on stories. And I haven’t noticed any major life pieces falling through the cracks.
• I’m getting to a stage in the picture-book revisions where I’m thinking there is time to look at the MG novel again. Many years ago, I did April Kihlstrom’s Book in a Week program, and it was an amazing way to get that horrible (yes, horrible) first draft down. That book went through many revisions and came to complete fruition. While it isn’t published (yet!), it has stuck with me as one of the most satisfactory writing experiences I’ve ever had. I don’t have an empty week in the foreseeable future, so I’m thinking about doing my own semi-Nano thing. This weekend, I’m going to take a look at the scene cards I already have in Scrivener and see about setting up a folder just for BIAW/Nano-y scene cars. For me, this means writing out a scene goal for the protagonist and the antagonist, listing obstacles and protagonist reactions, and then dropping in a line or two about how the ending will take us onto the next scene. Last time, this was enough for me to keep flipping through each scene card and just writing. I want to see if I can get there again on this book.
• Yoga continues. It’s one of the things I promised myself I would not let go of when work came along, and so far I’m managing to keep that promise to myself. As the person who absolutely hated yoga for decades, I am constantly resurprised at how much I love it now. I can feel my body getting stronger and my mind getting calmer, and, heck, yes, I’m an addict. But when I was younger, the idea of heading to exercise after a whole day of work just always seemed more exhausting, and this past week, I find myself getting into the car at the end of the day and looking forward to getting to class. Yeah, and all brain growth and change stops in the twenties or thirties. Not.
• It’s almost May, which means HS graduation is right around the corner. After that comes summer. And then we’ll be moving our son out to a dorm and watching him start the college life. There’s definitely a sense of mixed anticipation and tension in the air, but I think we’re doing okay. No heads have been bitten off, and everybody’s still talking to each other. And I’m not crying yet. But can I just say….really?

Happy Friday, everyone!