Happy Sunday, folks! It’s evening here in San Francisco, and I am feeling very thankful that I have tomorrow off. I’ve been a little out of sorts the last few weeks, in that odd, uncomfortable, disjointed period that accompanies all transitions. Creating the space to have daily “me” time has been difficult, but I’m taking baby steps to get there! I’ve promised myself that I’m not going to leave the house at all tomorrow, which should give me a chance to work and rest.
I declared my intentions to participate in NaNoWriMo on Wednesday, but I’m not attacking my WIP with nearly the same sort of vigor as I have in years past. The act of writing after being silent for so many weeks is a decidedly strange feeling. Sometimes I feel like I’m watching words form and drop onto the page, and it’s a little crazy to see tiny ideas growing, connecting, deepening, expanding. It almost makes me feel like I am a beginner all over again, but a beginner in the best of ways: able to appreciate the magical alchemy of the creative process, to feel inspired (and, to a certain extent, humbled) by the story being woven out of thin air.
My writing ambitions received a bit of a boost this week with a shipment in the mail from The Goulet Pen Company, an awesome company that sells fountain pens, inks, paper, and tons of other supplies.
My first shipment from Goulet Pens.
I received an Ahab Flex Nib pen by Noodler’s Ink, along with five ink samples as part of their monthly “Inkdrop” subscription. I’ve just filled the pen with my favorite peacock blue ink, and whee! I am going to have fun working through the next set of scenes for THE GILDED CAGE.
Practicing my autograph with my new Ahab flex pen by Noodler’s, filled with Pilot Iroshizuku’s “Ku-Jaku” ink.
With that, here’s how I’ve progressed over the last few days:
DISSERTATION:
I only worked one day this week (Tuesday), but I made a teeny bit of progress on the very-overdue-proposal. More to come tonight, and lots more tomorrow.
CREATIVE WRITING:
Writing happened on two days this week, for the grand total of 2 hours, which technically satisfies my goal. I’d like to transition to writing as close to every day as possible, though, but baby steps, etc. Because I’ve done some writing by hand, I’m not quite sure what my total word count is, but it’s probably somewhere around 2,500. Again: baby steps.
EXERCISE:
My mom and I went for a walk + a bit of jogging twice this week, so yay! This week I’d like to add in a 3rd day of working out on my glider, but we’ll see…
-oOo-
With that, I hope everyone has a wonderful week! So far mine is shaping up to be a quiet one, with Monday’s holiday, though I will be putting in a few extra hours at work to tackle a big project. But as we move closer to Thanksgiving, I have to say that I am so very, very grateful for this community. Be sure to swing by and give a word of encouragement or two to the other ROWers who are checking in this week!
November 10, 2013 at 9:24 pm
I can’t tell you how much I loved your pen. I’m always asking for pens for my birthday and Christmas, that and journals. I get so excited about it. Plus, I don’t know how I missed it, but I didn’t realize you were in San Francisco. I just moved from DC to San Ramon, CA. Where are you? Good luck with your baby steps and progress. 🙂
Tia Bach recently posted..Cover Reveal for Juliana Haygert’s Playing Pretend & NaNo Update
November 11, 2013 at 1:18 am
Lena, my husband will be sad you’ve added to my “pen porn,” as he calls it, but I can’t wait to check it out. I love your signature, too, btw.
I hope you and Tia can get together. I wondered how close you two might be when Tia moved. It would be great!
In the transition to writing every day, try just opening up the work. Read a bit, think about the plot and characters. I find if I do that, I end up writing a little as well, but I see that as gravy. I would still count visiting everyday as a success.
I hope you have a wonderful week!
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell recently posted..ROW80 Check-in Changes in Taste?
November 11, 2013 at 7:26 am
Baby steps are sometimes the best way to go. Sounds like you’re doing great.
Fallon recently posted..Sunday Summary: Slight Goal Change
November 11, 2013 at 7:54 pm
Thanks a bunch, Fallon! Hope you have a great week. 😀
November 11, 2013 at 1:10 pm
Great job this week, Lena!! Glad to see your small steps have been successful. I’m TRYING to get myself reorganized to do the same, but as you can see I completely forgot to do a check-in post yesterday. o.o Also, you must tell me more about the pens!!
November 13, 2013 at 12:04 pm
Ooh, pen porn! I love it.
Glad you’re making baby steps, Lena. Really, it’s the only sure way I’ve found to keep things progressing over the long haul. Best of luck to you.
Eden Mabee recently posted..Hastor Wit — a WIPpet/ROW80
November 15, 2013 at 6:53 am
The pen is so pretty! Hubby ordered me one with crystals in the barrel, which I’m pretty excited about. I also bought a custom wax stamp that matches my “jumping fox” author logo, and I can’t wait to use it for the first time on the envelopes of my Christmas cards this year!
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