When is free really free?

I just heard that the *free* airline tickets I received for attending a travel promo are actually going to cost me somewhere region of $450. I suppose it all depends on your definition of free, doesn't it? But we're going to use them to go to San Fran for ten days in September anyway. Home! Wonderful. I can't wait. (The more observant of you will have noticed that my birthplace wasn't anywhere close to California. But home is where the heart is.)

A quick update on Project Tevan. I am working on it. Really. It slowed to a crawl for a while back there, but the words are beginning to flow again. I love the way it's working out. I have a vague idea of where it's going, but I'm not going to push it.

And I've signed up for Holly's Think Sideways course. I hummed and ha'd about it. Thought about the time it was going to take. And decided. "To hell with it. I want to do it,so why not?"

I think I'm going to have to finally admit that I simply can't fit all that I'd like to into the span of a single day. I keep meaning to post stuff on here, but it doesn't happen.

Project Tevan is moving along. I still haven't come up with a "real" name for it. That doesn't surprise me. It took me the better part of eighteen months to come up with A Shadowed Flame, talking of which... I STILL haven't started to query agents. I'm not sure why either. I'm procrastinating, and I'm world class at that. Time to get my rear-end in gear and commit.

The first of the new crop of fawns started to show up this week. I wasn't here to see them, of course, but the spouse called me to let me know he'd seen two. So far they haven't made their appearance on Deercam, and in fact we haven't seen any deer all day. I suspect that they don't much care for the 4th of July celebrations. No doubt they'll be back a the trough again soon. The way to a deer's heart is definitely through it's stomach!

It's the cheese

I've just spent a nail-chewingly frustrating day fixing a problem for my client. I will admit right here and now that it was my own fault, but that doesn't make it any easier to take. Essentially I've wasted pretty much the whole of a precious Saturday.

I did manage to get out to do some grocery shopping. And wonder of wonders! Costco have started stocking my favorite cheese again. White Stilton with Apricots. You need to understand that I eat a lot of cheese. It's my very favorite thing and this particular cheese is beyond good. It's fantastic. I'll take a piece of this cheese over chocolate any day. Well, most days. If I had chocolate this evening I'd eat it for sure.

I don't know if I'll get any words written tonight. I'll try but having spent the best part of the day in my office I've hardly spoke three words to the spouse all day, so I need to spend some quality time watching the moving wallpaper this evening. I'll be able to make up for it tomorrow if I don't, but that's not the point is it? Oh well, flog me if you must.

Longhand vs Typing

I've noticed a strange phenomenon with Project Tevan. Varda, the MC, talks to me when I write longhand but stays absolutely silent when I use the laptop. What, I wonder, does that say about me and my muse? I don't mind working this way, if that's what it takes. The type-in doesn't take a whole lot of time once I have the words down (other than deciphering the scrawl), and I'm able to resist the urge to edit as I do it which is a huge bonus for me. I can see areas that need to be strengthened and where the description is lacking or where I have "talking heads" dialog but I can blow right past them. I know I'll be able to fix the problems during revision so I'm not worrying about them. Weird. Well, no matter. As long as I'm getting the story right, that's all that counts.

Time, gentlemen... PLEASE!

Okay. I cannot believe how long it's been since I posted anything here. I knew I'd been letting it slip, but then there are only 24 hours in a day which is totally inadequate as anyone can tell you. And whose idea was it to only have twelve months in a year? The absolute minimum should be thirteen, and I can make an excellent case for fourteen if asked. Time is playing some very strange tricks on me of late. It's slipping away like water through a sieve.

I've been fighting with my inner editor of weeks. I've struggled to get on track with Project Tevan even though the story is howling at me to get going. Finally I made it past the sticking point, and I'm getting in the zone. For the time being I'm not typing it, I'm scribbling in my little spiral-bound notebook, in my teeny, tiny writing in pencil. And the words are flowing like warm honey. It's really wonderful. I'm going to have to put them into Liquid Story Binder soon and I'm NOT going to edit them. That's what revision is for.