Ten Typical Summer Activities for Write-At-Home Parents

Ten Typical Summer Activities (for romance writer parents with kids at home)

1) Answering questions! Like: Can we spray paint in the house? Can we jump on the bed? Why does the cat's skin look so funny when you cut the hair off it? Where are my shoes? Why can't I have candy? Why is it SO HOT outside? Are you done writing yet? Why do we have to take a bath? What's for dinner? What's that? EWWWW! (Not a question, but still requires an answer)

2) Cleaning up after kids! Like: spray paint in the house, beds that look like buffalos stampeded them, cat hair all over the carpet, shoes mysteriously behind the washing machine, candy stuck in hair, bathrooms with an inch of water in the floor and a bunch of towels, dirty dishes, etc.

3) Researching your book! Including: No, don't come look at my computer. I know it made noise, but DO NOT come look. Get out of my room. What do you mean, why do those men have no clothes on? It's a movie trailer. About men. No, I don't know if there are any princesses in it. No, it's not Disney. It's called Magic Mike. No, there are no wizards. No, that isn't Harry Potter. Well, it's very hot where they work and they took their clothes off. Yes, like I do when I get a hot flash. Look, you really need to go spray paint the cat now so I can get back to work.

4) Writing your book! (see items 1-3 for potential interruptions)

5) Writing your book some more!
DAY ONE: The first line. No, honey, Mommy is working today. The first page. Seriously, honey, we all talked about this. I have to work today. The first line again. Kids, I'm really serious now. If you come in here again, no more TV all day. The first chapter. Yes, I know it's lunchtime...fix some cereal. Remember, we had an agreement. If you two want to go to the pool, you have to leave me alone today. The first paragraph of the second chapter. Yes, you can turn on the TV. I was just kidding about no TV. But seriously. Let me work in peace. The next two pages of the second chapter. YOU DID WHAT??? *clean, clean, clean.* The first chapter again, adding a murder on the second page. The first line again. The first paragraph again to foreshadow the murder. The first page again. God, I'm tired of this chapter. Why can't I get focused on it? I suck. I think I'll just skip ahead. The third chapter. No, I'm not taking you to the pool right now. The agreement was to leave me alone ALL DAY, and you haven't exactly kept up your end of the bargain. Oh, quit crying. Guys, quit crying. DO NOT EAT THAT.
DAY TWO: DELETE DOCUMENT. Start again. The first line....

6) Editing your manuscript! Tips include: how to increase the heat in your love scenes when the kids are fighting over action figures behind your recliner; deepening character motivation when the only thing you want to do is hide in your bathroom; and what to do when your little kids get big enough...to read your manuscript over your shoulder.

7) Reading for research and pleasure! Note: since your little kids are big enough to read over your shoulder, you will need to purchase an ebook reader or fancy phone. Note 2: since your little kids also like to play with electronics, you will need to keep your ebook reader or fancy phone out of their reach. Note 3: This will mean your ebook reader and fancy phone can only come out after the kids go to bed. Note 4: Which, in the summer, is hellishly late. Note 5: But you can still crawl into bed after a fun day of writing and fighting and do your pleasure reading then! Note 6: Take out a warranty on your ebook reader or fancy phone, because it may not turn on after the 8th time it slides off the bed while you sleep and into the floor, to be stepped on by the child who gets up at 2 AM to let you know "she's just going to pee...she's not puking...don't worry, Mom."

8) Book shopping! On the list: the next book in your favorite urban fantasy series, that hot NYT bestseller... Hm, what, honey? Yes, there's a nice tie on my book. What's it about? Oh, um, art. You know, all the different versions of grey. No, you can't read it. Yes, I agree, you're a great artist, that's why you don't need to read it. Can you sit down right here and look at...Mommy's fancy phone while I... No, wait, not my Kindle app! Play this game. Yes. Now, where was I?
A debut author's book I heard about on Twitter, an ebook reader clip-on light, a book about dinosaur poop... Hey! Who wrote this on my list? Dad did? Oh, really? I guess we can get it. It is a book. Where was I? Oh.

The latest romance from... No, you can't have that. Put that back. If you break it... Yes, I guess we're buying it. Because it's broken. No, I'm not going to get the one that isn't broken. Yes, I know it's broken, but you broke it. What good will it be for the next kid who wants one? They don't want a broken one either. No, I'm not taking it out of your allowance. You already lost your allowance because you... Oh, Dad gave it to you? Oh, really? Well, maybe he doesn't get this shit book then, because I told him not to. Hush, I know I cussed. Because I'm a grown up and grown ups get to cuss. No, you can't... Stop saying that. Because it's ugly. Look, can you just get the one that isn't broken so we can go?

9) Fun outdoor water activities! Including: Somebody go water the plants. Did you turn off the hose? Somebody go back out there and turn off the hose. There's a what on the handle? A spider? You turned it on, didn't you? Was it there when you turned it on? Just spray it off with the hose...seeing as you left it on and all. How did you get so wet? You're dripping on the hardwood floor, take off your... Yes, I see that, you're Magic Mike. Uh-huh, it was very hot outside, except for the cold water you used to spray yourself and that spider. Did you turn off the hose? Why didn't you... NO NO NO DO NOT GO OUTSIDE NAKED! Come back here!

10) Invigorating family vacations! Favorite location: Grandma's house. I know we went to the beach last year, but this year we're going to Grandma's. Oh, your friend went to Disneyworld? We'll go when you're older. Old enough to drive, probably. And get a job. Ok, I'm kidding, the real answer is never. Why? No, we aren't poor. Because we like having a small house, it's easier to clean. Because you two kids never help Mommy and Daddy clean it, is why it stays dirty. No, it's not because I'm always on the computer. How can I always be on the computer when I'm constantly getting off the computer to do things for you? Grandma has a computer. And a hose. Oh, I think Grandma would love that. It's probably not quite as hot at Grandma's house as it is at our house. No, I don't think Grandma knows who Magic Mike is. Probably. But you never know with Grandma.

Any other writer parents out there with exciting summer stories to share?

 

School starts in 3 days.

Jody W.
http://www.jodywallace.com * http://www.meankitty.com

PS: latest release, Stalking Evan! There is some Magic Miking going on in here too. http://www.jodywallace.com/fiction/stalkingevan.htm

13 Things I Didn't Do Today

Some days run smoothly, and at the end of the day you truly feel like you made an impact. You made an impact on the world, on the laundry hamper, on a project at work, on whatever it is you intended to do that day. For a writer who works out of the home, a day that leaves me feeling productive is one in which I managed to write a certain number of new words, edit a good block of text, outline a book, sign a contract, send out queries or requests for information, balance my sales spreadsheets, create a cover, update a blog or website, stuff like that.

However, as the person in my marital relationship who works out of the house, sick kid daytime duty tends to fall to me, so a kid at home pretty much means no career work that day. I can sneak in a thing or two...like I'm doing right now...but any moment, I'll hear that siren call of, "Mom, I need a bucket!"

Here are 13 Things I Didn't Do Today Because I Had a Sick Child at Home:

1) Housecleaning (because I TOTALLY had that on the agenda)
2) Watching an R rated movie (see above).
3) Working on my WIP.
4) Practicing my tap routine.
5) Taking a nap.
6) Enjoying silence.
7) Researching half naked stock photos for cover art possibilities.
8) Updating Meankitty.com.
9) Running any errands, besides the doctor visit.
10) Eating lunch on my own schedule.
11) Figuring out where that weird smell is coming from.
12) Answering all the emails in my inbox.
13) Composing a blog post that isn't a blatant, last-ditch effort.

***

Granted, I should probably look at it more like 13 things I DID do today and be grateful I have the luxury to stay home with a sick child and make a comforting impact on her, but that's really schmoopy and upbeat, which is just not who I am :).

So what did you not do today? Okay, okay. Be schmoopy. What DID you do today that makes you feel as useful as "holding the bucket"?
Jody W.
www.jodywallace.com  * www.meankitty.com

Twitter Vs Blogging: 13 Comparisons

Since I started Tweeting over 2 years ago, I have found that I'm less and less inclined to blog. I don't know if this represents and essential laziness on my part or an adjustment to the wiles of the Internet or some combination of both. Certainly Twitter isn't really designed to allow deeper thoughts or leisurely discussions or anything beyond the edges of my ideas. While this might be good for worldbuilding (See the Turkey City Lexicon for the reference), is it equally good for critical thinking, career building, networking, promotion, joke telling (of jokes that are longer than knock knock jokes), essay sharing and so on and so forth?

So I thought I might do a quick comparison between Twitting and Blogging for the Writer, and I invite you all to add your thoughts in the comments, since this is a blog and not Twitter and you can do that instead of having to hang around Twitter all the time checking your @ replies to see if anybody said anything.

1) Both of them have dumb names. Twitter. Blogs. They're just dorky words. They can't help themselves, I guess.

2) Blogging takes more thought but not necessarily more time, because some people (not naming names!) are on Twitter constantly.

3) I have a lot more Twitter followers than Blog readers, but does anyone really pay attention? I'd say the Blog readers are more likely to, but Twitter...not so much.
4) Blogs create a repository of your cleverness with fewer injokes, retweets, comments about your dinner (ie painful mundanity that is reviled by some), and half-viewed discussions that people who check out your archives aren't going to "get".

5) Twitter is easier to do from mobile devices or when you're in a hurry. Multitaskiness!

6) You can illustrate blogs without requiring your audience to link over to another website, because we've all heard things about how you shouldn't follow links in Twitter (if you haven't heard things, now you have!).

7) Blogs are all about YEW, while Twitter is all about who just said the funniest thing and got it retweeted. And that is rarely YEW.

8) Both blogging and Twitter can be frustrating if you're yakking away and nobody's listening. BUT you're more likely to get the thrill of "being noticed" on Twitter or get the chance to chat with people you admire than the chances of them dropping by your blog about, I dunno, Twitter vs Blogging.
9) Twitter helps you exercise your brevity muscles. What are brevity muscles? Well, when your evil editor tells you to cut 20K from your novel, you will use these muscles a lot.
10) Blogging exercises your writing muscles in a way that ensures your brevity muscle doesn't become the only working muscle in your arsenal. But then again, so does WRITING :).
11) Your mom probably likes your blog more than Twitter, unless she's on Facebook, but we're not here to talk about Facebook.
12) When you happen to be in need of a wee bit of social interaction, which those of us who spend most of our time alone with our computers can be, Twitter provides it much better than blogging.
13) The problem is, if you do both wholeheartedly, that's half again as much time away from your writing. This isn't really a comparison so much as a complaint. BOO. Why isn't there more time in the world?

So what are your thoughts? Which one do you like better and why?

Jody W.
http://www.jodywallace.com/ * http://www.meankitty.com/

But I'm not inspired

I've been in a funk this past week. I've squeezed out a few hundred words a day, but no where near reached my daily minimum. Everything around me seems to be "keeping me from writing"* and my inspiration level has been set at non-existent.

Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.

~Gene Fowler

The kids only have two and a half days of school this week. Mentally I gave up on the days they'll be home before they week even started - how will I get anything done with the kids around anyway?

My local NPR station switched its morning programing, and how can I expect to concentrate when my usual shows aren't on at the accustomed times?

My laptop wallpaper is old and no longer inspires me. But ninety minutes spent surfing for new paper last night didn't result in anything more exciting.

The news is full of heartbreaking stories of the dead, missing, and too-few survivors in Haiti. My heart is heavy, and I'm not feeling the sexy vibe.

Hubs is in transition with his job, and pops into my office (or calls me from the other end of the house) at least twice an hour. Half an hour ago he was in here talking to me, and after my fourth "huh" in as many minutes he asked "Are you listening to me?"

Sheepish look from me. "Not really, I'm trying to work."

"Why didn't you say so?" he muttered before he walked away, leaving me alone.

I can feel the silence swelling around me. It's even more distracting than his talking.

Now you tell me, with all that going on how can anyone expect me to get any work done?
~~~
If you've made it this far, are you ready to throw a bucket of cold water over me yet? Because really, I think someone needs to.

Yes, the kids have a short school week. This happens multiple times a year. They're also old enough to actually leave me alone for 30 minute stretches if I plan around it.

NPR switched programming on me. Not a life altering event, unless I have totally lost the ability to go with the flow. I have NOT become that person (yet).

The events in Haiti are terrible. But even in tragedy, my deadlines need to be reached, my commitments met.

Desktop wallpaper - really? Did I honestly think for longer than 10 seconds that this was my problem? (Sadly, yes. Can I have my ninety minutes back?)

Neil Gaiman says,

"One word after another. That's the only way that novels get written and, short of elves coming in the night and turning your jumbled notes into Chapter Nine it's the only way to do it."

Those words have been my desktop wallpaper since November, inspiring me every day when I sit down at my desk. Now why didn't I just copy this picture over to my laptop last night, instead of looking for inspiration on Google Images.

So what's really been "keeping me from writing"* all week? Me.

It's all me. None of the above excuses, or the other two dozen that were just too lame to even put on the screen, had to keep me from writing. Now that I've written all this out, I can see that it's all been nothing but a bunch of poor-me'isms that I turned into a huge waste of time.

Two more of my favorite quotes that popped into my head today.

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
~Thomas Edison

Why didn't I have this talk with myself six days ago? The only person who can fix me, is me. No one else can put my fingers on the keyboard, and the elves sure haven't been coming in the night.

But just in case - if anyone has a favorite source of inspiration, I'd love to see it.

13 New Year's Resolutions I Hope I Don't Keep. Again.

I don't know if nonwriters are as prone to making NY resolutions as the rest of the world, but I'm seeing goal and resolutions lists popping up right and left on industry blogs and such these days. Maybe it's because we're writers and we like to write things down. Maybe it's because the writing-career part of our lives is relatively self-motivated and we hope a list will keep us motivated. Maybe it's because our turn to blog falls around the end or beginning of the year and we have to think of something to day.

Either way, here are 13 resolutions I hope I don't keep this year. Yet again. Feel free to add your own in the comments!

1) I will start 8x as many writing projects as I manage to finish.
2) I will establish at least 1 more social networking time sink in the name of promotion.
3) I will 'earn' 53 form rejection letters in the space of 5 months.
4) I will curse more in front of my children and in public.
5) I will forget to update my websites, blogs and other promotional efforts on at least a monthly basis 1/2 of the time.
6) ...Because I have nothing to add, which is really pitiful.
7) I will watch more movies and tv programs than I read books.
8) I will gain weight.
9) I will spend a great deal of my hours in yoga pants and grungy t-shirts, in need of a haircut and a bath.
10) I will neglect to start dinner in a timely fashion at least once a week, necessitating sudden take-out.
11) I will kill my laptop computer.
12) I will complain frequently about something or other and say it is to keep my vocabulary fresh.
13) I will buy the perfect books as gifts -- that were equally perfect for the same individuals last year!

Have a hopeful one --

Jody W.
www.jodywallace.com
www.meankitty.com

13 Story Ideas I Can't Decide Between

Here's the situation. I'm waiting on my agent to get back to me on my latest completed projects, and in the meantime I don't know what to write next. There are several stories burning a hole in my pocket, so I'm not devoid of inspiration, I just don't know where to constructively apply my time. Once my agent gets back to me, that will help me focus on whichever project we mutually agree has the most potential, but until then I don't want to waste one single day. I only get two a week (when the toddler is at the sitter) and I already burned one this week because both kids stayed home on a snow day.

Needless to say I accomplished less than nothing on that day, which was, incidentally, today, and which is, incidentally, why I'm posting my Johnny Come Lately blog entry at nearly midnight.

But I have tomorrow to myself and...tick tock!

Have you ever been in a position where several projects interest you but you can't settle on one? If my projects didn't take as long, I wouldn't be as reluctant to dive in, but there's that aforementioned two days a week thing that curtails my speed. And it's better than it used to be--until September of last year I got zero days a week.

So I thought I'd put it to a vote or at least solicit opinions. Here are 13 potential stories I could write next. In the comments, you can tell me which one you'd rather read!

1) Take a contemporary romance novella and turn it into a novel that would be a (wonderful) cross between romantic comedy, erotic romance and Southern fiction. This one's at the top of the list because I just finished the novella last week but it probably needs to percolate before I revise it so drastically.

2) Expand the short I sent my agent several months ago into a single title--premise is a dream guardian thing where the standard (or not so standard) secret organization goes around saving the world from monsters created by dreams.

3) Work on my vampire premise I call "My Big Fat Undead Twenty Year High School Reunion" where the heroine, a vamp, is pretty damn sure she'll earn that coveted "Least Changed" award.

4) Work on this dragon/mom lit idea I had where a mom and her two kids escaped a parallel dimension full of bad dragons to come here, only to find perhaps they were followed.

5) Another vampire idea, probably a short, featuring a world half overrun with vamps and the heroine grudgingly enrolling in a vampire self defense training program which I suspect has been infiltrated by those wily bloodsuckers.

6) An erotic (maybe) romance set in an adult school for wizards with a heroine getting a late start in the whole training part of wizardry.

7) A short piece of absolute smut that occurs during a midnight traffic jam after the interstate shuts down due to ice.

8) The sequel to my novel Survival of the Fairest that my editor has gently hinted she would sure like to read.

9) Finish the werewolf story about Harry the rebellious, non-pack joining were and his ladyfriends in the tea room I started at another blog. Problem: it didn't seem to want to be a romance, and I know romance sells better.

10) A futuristic erotic (maybe) road trip story where powerful mages rely on regular people to transport them across the badlands via nonmagical means else the wild magic will seek them out and destroy them.

11) Another futuristic erotic (maybe) roadtrip -- I never know if they're going to be erotic until I start writing them and the characters get hot and bothered -- set in an arctic area where the hero has to fetch his best friend's sister from school and transport her safely down the "ice road" while getting hunted by bad guys from the military (he's on leave).

12) Two elderly lesbian ladies who realize that the place they buried one of their husbands (after they maybe sort of killed the bastard) is about to be dug up for a mall parking lot. Yeah, I know! Why haven't I already written it? Because I have ideas 1-11 tempting me too.

13) And last but not least, a story that takes place in DunVegas about a huge magic show that may--or may not--change the whole world!

Thoughts?

Jody W.
www.jodywallace.com

Summer Productivity for Writers

School is almost done for child #1, who was in kindergarten this year while I spent it home with child #2, who just celebrated her second birthday. I've seen quite a few posts bemoaning the temporary cessation of ordinary days that summer represents. Not that writers don't love their children, but they also love routines--routines that involve writing time in the schedule.

Unlike many writers deeply involved in summer childcare, I'm looking forward to the season insofar as my personal productivity is concerned. Why?

1) It can hardly be worse. Child #2 is a Klingon -- not the Star Trek variety, but the stick to Mommy like glue variety. When child #1 is present, #2 at least spends part of the time fighting with her instead of me.

2) In the same vein, I won't get as many backaches. Child #2 frequently insists we picnic at lunch on her favorite lap tray. This involves me sitting on the ground throughout the lunch hour, and my spine doesn't appreciate it. Since the lap tray is barely big enough for 2, Child #2 can take my place at the picnic while I sit at the table and eat a sandwich while, perhaps, reading a book or writing.

3) The kids won't be constantly exposed to the germs of other children and thus, I hope, won't be constantly sick. Trips to the doctor, the drugstore, the Kleenex store and the ginger ale and crackers store take up precious time, not to mention holding the heads, hands and puke buckets of sick offspring.

4) I have a much better reason for never cleaning house since 2 kids at home will get it twice as dirty as one kid who's too short to reach some of the books and toys she might otherwise strew across the floor.

5) Bedtime won't be such a crucial and peace-shattering event. Not that we'll let #1 stay up until she passes out to avoid the arguments, but the flexibility we'll have at bedtime will mean sometimes we can let her stay up an extra half hour or sometimes we can go out to dinner, run errands or even do FUN stuff at night. This will increase household harmony, and increased harmony means I'll be more in the mood to write, at least until we have to get them back on the school schedule in August.

6) Increased daylight hours will mean hubby can mow the yard or do other household projects when he gets home from work during the week instead of burning entire week-end days on maintenance.

7) My sister, whose employment hours decrease when school is out of session, will be around more, which means more free babysitting! Ok, it's not free because she hangs it over my head to get me to do what she wants, but babysitting is still good.

What career-related reasons cause you to love or hate the summer season, or is it business as usual?

Jody W.
So much cyberspace, so little time!
www.jodywallace.com * www.elliemarvel.com

Kids Are Para(not)Normal, Too

I haven’t done one of my not-particularly-patented “Day in the Life” timelines in forever, and lately I’ve been feeling the urge. Perhaps this is because, over the past year, the only items on the timeline would have been Mom stuff, which might be funny but not particularly writing-related. I also waited until, “Phone up mother/husband/sister and beg them to take children” was off my chart. Not that this never appears on my chart, considering how often my begging results in me getting a break (rarely), but it appears less frequently now. Maybe only a couple times a week instead of several times a day.

Another note about the following timeline -- what work is. For the sake of argument, let’s define ‘work’ as writing and revising my fiction and not critting for friends, child-herding, emailing (even though most are business related), skimming industry loops and blogs, reading my competition, participating in promo or marketing projects, cleaning house, writing this entry for the Beyond the Veil blog, or checking out fugly.com for the latest scary celebrity outfits.

***

7:30 am -- Awoken by daughter 1 (M, age 5) leaping onto the bed and laughing like a shapechanged hyena on crack. M had chocolate cereal, chocolate milk and a chocolate pop tart for breakfast. Daddy, who presumably fed her breakfast, is in Big Trouble when he gets home.

7:40 am -- Get daughter 2 up. She (R, age 14 months) is not morning person. Oh, no, she is not. Am relatively sure this has nothing to do with her turning into a vampire.

7:54 am -- Shuffle through living and dining rooms, tripping on blocks and toys and balancing cranky baby on hip. Pick up bugbite ointment M has been using for the numerous bugbites Daddy let her get.

7:56 am -- Tell M the blocks that have been out for 3 days must be cleaned up by the time I’m done feeding R breakfast. Wonder what that sticky icky stuff I keep stepping on in the dining room can possibly be? It’s beneath the baby’s high chair. Is it ectoplasm? Surely not. Assume it’s baby food.

8:03 am -- Still telling M the blocks must be picked up. Step in sticky stuff again. Find it on carpet and scrub with a wet cloth.

8:12 am -- Still telling M to pick up the blocks right now because I said so. Perhaps I lack that alpha-wolf touch? Add a snarl.

8:24 am -- M starts picking up blocks. I start feeding baby, who is crowing with hunger at this point. Hope that feeding baby after 8 am doesn't result in a gremlin.

8:39 am -- Step in another sticky spot. Gross! Toes feel greasy. Locate second spot. Contemplate. It doesn’t smell like food. It doesn’t smell like feline frolic. I have no idea what ectoplasm smells like, but I always imagined it would smell like Jello. What is it? Why is it so hard to clean off the carpet? Baby, in high chair, throws part of breakfast in floor next to me.

8:42 am -- Image of bugbite ointment flashes in mind’s eye. Ask M why there is bugbite ointment all over the carpet? Am told it is because there was too much on her finger. Inspect ointment tube and yep, it is nearly empty.

9:07 am -- Time for daily TV rations. Today, Dora and Teletubbies. Each show lasts 22 minutes. Normally this is computer time because the kids are entranced. Today R nurses through the entirety of Dora and insists on sitting in my lap during Tubbies. Try to boot up laptop with free hand and deal with Microsoft’s insistence that I update.

9:14 am -- Wireless internet connection fracks up (Battlestar Galactica reference!) in the middle of updating.

9:33 -- M asks, “How do you make a movie?” I intuit that she means the clips of real children on the Tubbies, and I make up something about entering a Tubbies lottery.

9:38 am -- M is now crying, “When do I get to be on the Tubbies?” Me: “Never”. M: cries more at the general unfairness of the Tubbies lottery.

9:45 -- M starts running amuck but claims she’s dancing with Teletubbies. Is asked several times not to leap over R, whom I finally convinced to sit on the floor so I can attempt to type with both hands. Alas, on the 3rd spazzy leap, M’s foot clips the baby’s head and the baby comes crying to me. M gets time out. M crying, baby crying.

9:54 -- TV time is over. Did not notice any Poltergeist-like incidents, but perhaps the Tubbies are actually demons from another dimension. M heads to her room to play, locking R out with the special half door. R is rolling on the ground on my feet and bawling like a cow. Oddly this is not tearful, it’s just bawling like a cow. At least she’s not rolling in my lap and bawling like a cow. Finally get computer rebooted, wireless established, and open WIP.

9:58 -- R climbs onto couch (new trick!) and tries to roll in my lap while bawling like a cow. Does not appreciate laptop’s presence.

10:00 -- Give up trying to work. Read email and industry blogs with my 1 free hand, with bovine accompaniment.

Current stats: Amount of work done during normal “productive” 45 minutes stretch -- zilch. Reflect that this is not unusual.

***

I was going to timeline the whole day, but look how long this is already! I know it seems everything here isn’t writing-related, but the difference between now and the past year is that I’m actively trying to work these days. In fact, I managed to get 27 minutes in the afternoon while the baby napped beside me. Then M woke her by slamming her door en route to the bathroom, again on her return, again to come argue with me after I chastised her for being so loud when the baby was asleep, and again, for good measure, because my chastising angered her.

Anybody else have days like this? Anybody else have almost ALL your days like this??

Jody W.
http://www.jodywallace.com/

PS. Today is my birthday! Does anyone think I'll get the "gift of time" for my present today?? :)