Check in Day at Sven's

I have been sweating, though not yet today. I had some errands to run that included buying a new red phone. Okay. It didn't have to be red, but I sort of coveted a red phone. A red, sturdy phone. Yay--not only is it lovely, but I can finish a whole conversation without dropping the call, and I can hear the person I'm talking to. Isn't it wonderful when things work the way they're supposed to?

Gotta go crank up Gosford Park (although nerdsnark, I'll be asking the girl to bring her copy of Back to the Future home so I can see how that works) and get to sweating!

Check out everyone's reports at Sven's place. You'll be inspired if you're having a hard time getting into your own work.

Listening to a movie while I write

Don't you do that? It has to be one I've seen a billion times so that I don't pay attention other than taking comfort in the sounds. Conversation, rain, footsteps on wooden floors, spoons and glasses clinking. Singing.

That's what I'm hearing today because I'm listening to Gosford Park. I love cozy, period mysteries from the so-called Golden Age. So-called--it was the golden age for me--Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie (whom I didn't always love), Leslie Ford. Anyway, as I love them so much, I was disappointed in Gosford Park when I first saw it. The plot was not a puzzle. But I watched it again because it looked so beautiful. And then I watched it again because it looked--and sounded--so beautiful. And then--again--because I looked forward to certain moments when certain characters offered glimpses of who they were. Before I knew it, I loved it.

The moment when "Ivor Novello" sings to another character whom everyone else dismisses touches me every time.

And it's excellent writing background. I managed 1,491 words yesterday in my first Sven day.

Time to Sweat

With Sven again, which is why I'm blogging so late! For some reason, I thought Sven began his regimen tomorrow. I've set myself a goal of 1 k a day, but for today, I have about 1.6 so far, and I'm still moving.

Happy sweating! Even if you aren't joining in, it's fun to do a blog tour and see how others are doing. You might find some of your favorite writers.

Blogging in Other Places

If you're a writer or a reader of romance, you probably already know and cherish the Pink Heart Society blog. I'm hanging out there today.

Drop by, particularly if you have some tips about finding words when you feel as if they've deserted you!

Time Management

I'm cackling even as I write those two words because I clearly don't use them together! Before I quit the day job, I managed to raise two children, still in school, deal with a husband who traveled most of the time, work a demanding day job as a tech writer for a software company (read demanding deadlines/long hours) and produce books. I never understood writers who said they couldn't find time when they had the lovely comfort of all day to write with no one demanding anything of them.

Guess who I am now. Part of it is the inability to say no to folks who think my time is so much my own I can rearrange my schedule. The thing is, I want to rearrange because I like to spend time with the people who need me to do that. But I also have to manage my own work time when I'm using it to have fun or do errands that need to get done.

I saw an ad yesterday for a class on time management for writers, and I thought--oohhhh! But hard on "oohhhh's" heels, "I don't have time for that!"

Where did Tuesday's post go?

I thought I'd saved it in a draft, but apparently not. It must have been vital. I don't even remember what I was saying.

I didn't write as much as I'd planned yesterday because I went to a girly lunch (you know, much more ladylike than I'm accustomed to) and an IMAX movie with a friend. Ya gotta fill the well. That's all I can say. I know I filled the well for a week--last week--but this friend rarely gets a day off work. We had to strike while the free day was available!

I thought I'd post another photo of last week's well-filling site. Again, you gotta fill the well, and you can't get too much beach. That's a philosophy to live by.

I love this photo. I forgot to take a camera with me, but one day, while toiling at the words, I glimpsed the camera built in to my laptop. Now, if you're looking to procrastinate, you can hardly beat setting up your laptop all over a house to take pictures!

Week before last, I mentioned I was suddenly enamored of cozy mysteries? Not so much right now. I think I want everything to measure up to The Diva Runs Out of Thyme. Since they don't, I'm reading Some Like It Wicked by Teresa Medeiros. It starts at a roaring pace and continues at same. I'm really enjoying it.

But I need to put down excellent books and blog posts and write some words of my own!

Monday, Monday

This is where I was last week, writing and writing and writing. I needed that week away. I've been fighting my own doubts for too long, and finally, hanging out with two of my writing friends, working till whenever, I began to remember how to write. I mean, the instincts that have carried me this far somehow deserted me in the past year, but I feel as if they're easing back in. Maybe I just needed to be head down in writing mode for seven days. Couple that with restarting my critique relationship with the world's best critique partner, and I feel as if I'm starting over. I'm excited!

So--to share my excitement :-) I'm doing eHarlequin.com's version of NaNoWriMo (I think that's the way they shorten it). Come, look in on everyone's progress!

And then, November 10, Sven starts sweating again. It's not too late to submit to Sven!

Since I have some word count to make today, I'd better doctor up my far too vibrant coffee (I like a little coffee with my milk and cream) and get back to work!