The camel’s hump is an ugly lump

(Title courtesy of Kipling).
I’m beginning to suspect I have a problem with Wednesday, aka hump day.
Back at the Destin Log, Thursday was always my off-day—close enough to week’s end that I felt pressured to get everything done, but far enough away I couldn’t actually finish and relax. Lately I’ve noticed that while Thursday is fine, my focus seems to flag consistently on Wednesday. It was particular acute this week, partly because I got up late (having to rush through my morning routines always throws me off) and partly just … well, Wednesday, I guess (imagine me saying it the same way Jack Nicholson’s partner in Chinatown says “It’s Chinatown.” Just because it’s cooler that way).
That aside, the week went very well.
•Having learned from my writing group that I have a tendency to omit “he saids” and “she saids” to the point it’s impossible to follow the conversation (and believe me, they’re quite right), I went back over my old novel, Questionable Minds with that awareness. While I didn’t find a huge number of glitches, I did find a fair number. Hopefully it will do better when I send it out next month.
•I held a critique session for some of my fellow group members at my house, the subject being The Impossible Takes a Little Longer; the bribe for reading the whole thing being food (chickpeas with tomatoes, garlic and parmesan; white bean soup with pine nuts and peas; and a granny apple crisp). Only one of my cohorts turned up (the food didn’t go to waste, as TYG and I have been munching on it since), but he and TYG (who generously read the novel in the two days before the meet) gave me some excellent critiquing.
I would loosely divide the criticism into a)stuff I hadn’t thought was a problem, but is; b)stuff I that’s a problem because I didn’t set it up right; c)stuff I may decide is not a problem at all; d)a couple of great honking problems which will be a real bear to fix. I will set the critique aside (it’s safe on my computer for now) until some time next month when I take a look, decide what needs changing and figure out how (the “d” problems will be a challenge, but my unconscious may have coughed up an answer by then).
•The only short story I got any work on was Savage Years, but it went great. I didn’t finish it, but I got three quarters through and everything looks better: The individual character arcs, the 1960s background, the level of tension. So, yay!
•I think I mentioned a magazine had expressed interested in an article proposal, then broke contact. They emailed today and said they’re interested in the article. Pay is low. Very low. But I’d like a new magazine clip for my portfolio and for various reasons I’d like to do this article, so I’m going ahead (I’ve scoured the magazines that pay well without success).
•One of my Elance bids (for a film treatment) got a nibble, but I don’t know if we can agree on price. However, even getting interest is cheering.
•I applied for a bunch of other jobs as well: A couple of magazine freelance gigs, an online humor slot and a trivia-question writer. I don’t know if any of them will pay off, but it’s been a while since I came across anything that felt like a good prospect, so I’m encouraged.
And last but not least, eHows:
•What Is Used to Combine and Transmit Data on High Speed Lines?
•What Happens When You Reset IE for Silverlight?
•The Atoh Function in C
•What Is an Antenna Mask Filter?
Torque Problems for a Turntable
•Sirius Display Problems
•How to Read Audio Levels in the Android Developer App
•Just-in-Time Debugging in Adobe
•Allegro Vs. OrCAD
•What Are Linear Programming Computerized Systems?