Weekly Wrap-Up: May 17

What Is This?

Every Monday, I document the happenings of the past seven days. The original (and still primary) intent is to track my progress in meeting my writing goals. Increasingly, I’ve been discussing more than just writing. For example, I’m a sports nut, so occasionally I’ll throw in a sports tidbit. I may talk about World of Warcraft, do-it-yourself projects, travel, food, or beer and wine. I think potpourri fits very well. *grins*

Writing

Weekly Word Count

My weekly goal is 2,000 words. I use an Excel spreadsheet to track all my work by category (blog post, copyediting work, creative writing) and item. So all I need to do is add up the “words” column and I’m good to go. Blog posts and creative writing count full credit. Copyediting for other writers is counted at ten percent of the starting word count for the document; style sheets for that copyediting will count twenty-five percent. Editing my own work, if and when I get to that point, will count fifty percent of the starting word count.

This week’s word count: 2,435.

• Blog Post: “Weekly Wrap-Up: May 11,” 1,088 words
• Blog Post: “Saucy Wenches Prompt: Towel and Weed,” 1,105 words
• Blog Post: “Putting the Chips on the Table,” 242 words

If you’re thinking the “creative writing” juices didn’t flow last week, realize the Saucy Wenches prompt counts. *grin*

Potpourri

Reading

I mentioned last week I picked up The Stepsister Scheme, by Jim C. Hines. I read that during the early part of the week, and enjoyed it enough to want to read the successors in the series. I felt it was a bit slow getting started, and dragged a bit in places, but eventually the characters will filled out to my satisfaction. I discovered some very interesting details about Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty, that you won’t find in anything by Disney! Especially enlightening were the actual identities of the “seven dwarves,” as well as some of the true heartache Talia (Sleeping Beauty) endured. I think I’d have liked to have known some of that information a bit earlier in the book, though: It makes Talia a much more sympathetic character.

I also started reading The Dragonbone Chair, some twenty-two years after originally buying the book. Better late than never, eh? This is another book that is slow-going at first (or perhaps I was just tired when I started it Friday night). If it gets too daunting, I have four Pern books to fall back on, as well as a few other s-f titles I’ve had laying around for quite some time. So I doubt I’ll lack for reading material anytime soon.

One reason my writing is on a bit of a hiatus is due to the reading, to be honest. I’ve done embarrassingly little in the past several years, and I truly believe that in order to write well, I need to read more. I’m learning about character and plot development, and I’m certainly gaining an appreciation of how to build a fictional (not to mention fantasy) world.

The Deck

This project is actually underway. Decking material was delivered Friday morning, and I actually removed a couple of the old boards. However, work stopped when I ran into screws I couldn’t remove (which I knew would happen). So on Saturday, I headed to Lowe’s to get a reciprocating saw—something I’ve wanted to add to my toolbox (speaking figuratively here: the saw is a bit large for a toolbox!) for quite some time. I settled on a 12-amp model from Bosch: just the right combination of power, performance, and price (not to mention being a bit lighter in weight than some others) for the amount of use I expect to give it.¹

Unfortunately, I also realized that my self-diagnosed basal joint arthritis in my left hand² is going to make maneuvering the recip saw difficult, and probably painful. In fact, it’s to the point where I’ll be making an appointment with my doctor this week to see what kind of treatment options I have.³ In the meantime, absent an effective strategy to reverse the aging process, I will keep working on reducing my weight, getting enough sleep,⁴ and being careful in how I use that hand.

In any event, given the beautiful weather we’re enjoying today (remember, it snowed here last week!), I’m going to go out and remove as many screws as I can this afternoon. Then I’ll see about sawing through the recalcitrant ones.

Temporary Bachelorhood

On Wednesday, my wife leaves for Italy for three weeks. She’ll be joined on a tour of the Amalfi coat, including Pompeii and Capri, by her best friend of 51 years. The pair had originally planned this trip for last spring, buy my mother-in-law’s illness and passing caused them to postpone until this year. The two met in kindergarten, originally lived across the street from each other in Palo Alto, and have remained very close ever since.

So while Mrs. Kestrel is living la dolce vita, I’ll be tending to the cats, mowing the lawn, and trying desperately to eat healthy. (Although I have to admit, I’ve had a huge craving for chocolate cake lately…) So if anyone wants to visit South Dakota for a bit, I’ll put you to work helping me with the deck, but I can also supply plenty of beer and wine, as well as a trip to Mount Rushmore and the Badlands.