One-sixth of 2023 is now in the rear view mirror. I think I’ve made good use of it.
I’ve no idea why but I’m getting a lot more fiction done, and finding answers to short stories I thought were hopeless dead-ends such as Paying the Ferryman (I think I’m going back to my old title, Obolus) and Mage’s Masquerade. And writing on Let No Man Put Asunder has gone surprisingly smoothly for a first draft. Is it that TYG is so much less stressed the past few months? That I’m not currently putting any time on the boring bills-paying gigs? Or is it that after working on Jews in Popular Science Fiction, Undead Sexist Cliches and The Aliens Are Here, the break from fiction left my mind refreshed? Either way, I just hope it keeps up.
On the downside, those boring bills-paying gigs have disappeared which makes paying my share of the household bills much tougher. My fiction and personal non-fiction writing don’t contribute much. I will make it work though, whether that means scrimping by (not that we’re in any danger of ruin but I like contributing to our bottom line, not to mention having money for fun stuff)
A side effect of my writing being so productive is that the everyday maintenance details get left. Nothing urgent but there are various tasks I’ve been putting off because I wind up writing through the time I intended to spend on them. I take care of anything that has to be done now — our car’s annual state inspection/tune-up, for instance — but not the “we need to do something about that” stuff that’s important but not urgent. I may have to jigger my schedule a little this month to improve.
I’m also really bad about taking regular breaks. That makes a big difference: as I’ve said before, without breaks I burn out sooner in the day. Once the work gets going I forget, or there’s some disruption in my schedule that throws me off.
On the personal goals front TYG and I have made travel plans for this year (figuring out where we’d go and when was a goal of mine) and we’ve been having regular dates, which has been fun. Everything from a recent production of Hamlet to shopping for dog toys at PetSmart to visiting a local graveyard (photos soon).
My blood pressure is up so I’ve been pushing myself to emphasize more fruits and veggies in my diet. I’m a vegetarian already but it’s still easy to go heavy on grains or cheese and not enough produce. We’ll see how well this works out at my next checkup. I’ve been falling short on my exercise goals but only slightly — not, I think, enough to matter.
And slowly but surely my TBR pile is shrinking. Of course, not buying any new books doesn’t hurt.
Fingers crossed the rest of the year is even better. As a statement of optimism, here’s a photo of a recent sunrise.
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