|
Post by Admin on Jul 22, 2020 13:01:01 GMT
The old thread was getting long so I started a new one. Taking a tip from Holly's boards. I tried to sign up for Music Theory yesterday. Got such a run-around I'm torn on whether I really want to take the class, or not. The first girl I talked to didn't even know what 'audit' actually meant. She thought it meant I wanted to drop a class when what I want to do is sit in on the class without credit. I'm allowed to due to my 'senior citizen' status.
I'm supposed to get the vertical lift in Friday but somebody stopped by yesterday to take measurements and they want a bunch of stuff changed. We'll see if it all gets done. If I do what they require I won't be able to park my van in the middle slot, which would turn the three slot garage into two. I'm really irritated.
I'm getting the house ready for more company. Nola and grandkids should show up on Sunday. They will leave Thursday. Rhonda is supposed to show up at some point but she has changed her mind 3 times now. I'll expect her when I see her.
I'm getting ready to start painting the basement walls. I bought a couple of gallons of white cement sealer. We'll see what it looks like. I'm hoping for brighter, lighter. At some point I'll have real walls but for right now, I'll settle for usable.
my new keyboard should arrive tomorrow. Once that is hear, I can start notating my song. I really want sheet music so I can make changes directly on the score. Once I have a working copy, I can figure out what the next step is. I'd love to hear it performed somewhere but it needs a better singer than I am. I might send a copy to Sonny although I doubt if its his kind of music but he writes music and can give me some feedback.
My goals remain the same. I just need life to give me a break.
|
|
|
Post by bill on Aug 10, 2020 3:01:30 GMT
Well, you're keeping busy! I hope you're able to get things square with the lift. You are going to have company for at least a week, nice!
I've tried all I can to retrieve my lost data. Unsuccessful. It's time to move on. I'm keeping the hard drive in case my dad thinks of something later on, but I'm moving forward as if it's all gone.
Sevitan - I'm nearly complete. I have two more minor plot issues to figure out then need to write the acknowledgements and all of those sorts of things. Then it's off to my first two proofreaders who have already agreed to read it for me. I have a blurb written and will give it a couple of days and look at it again to see if I want to make changes.
Three Blind Mice - I have accepted that I lost around 10,000 words. I know the seven scenes I lost and hopefully can recall most of the important plot ideas I had jotted down. What I don't, I will rewrite and hope I come out with a better story. As soon as I get Sevitan to the proofreaders I will start on this and get myself caught up. I guess it will take me 2-3 weeks to catch back up.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Aug 10, 2020 3:30:25 GMT
I feel your pain. I don't think there is a writer alive who doesn't lose work at some point in time. The spontaneity of the first draft is lost but sometimes, slower and more thoughtful brings you something cleaner and tighter. Less to do on rewrite. But it still hurts.
I'm having trouble getting Scrivener up and running. trying to decide if its worth the bother of getting it up and running. or if there is something newer out there that is better.
My mountain is starting to move. i just hope they leave me enough for adequate backfilling. I got my driver's license on Friday. That is a big step out of the way. I need to order a replacement birth certificate for Joshua. I can't find his It wasn't where I thought it was.
I need to get my work time established. Need to find time for Joshua to work. I need to stop stagnating and start moving toward my goals. If I don't, I fear I'll give up.
I enjoyed your visit very much. Ron and Nita stopped by yesterday. Nyla pops in once in awhile. I need to start seeing Marilyn more often.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Aug 24, 2020 3:17:04 GMT
Not much accomplished this week on the creative front although I did get a melody written to go with one of Bill's original songs. The landscaping is finally progressing. It's a mess in my yard but the low spots are getting built up and the driveway is beginning to get backfilled. It's such a slow process but little by little my mountain in the yard is disappearing.
I'm trying to get all my stuff out of storage. I want my things. Jody came and visited yesterday. I enjoyed that. She gave me the room dividers that Aunt Helen had in the upstairs loft. I can't wait to get them usable. Hoping by the end of September to have guest bedrooms usable. They won't be finished but they should be functional. That is, if I can get the electrician to call me back with a price quote on getting an electrical box in the basement. My biggest problem is getting people to call me back.
Hope your computer situation improves. I can't even imagine being with a computer. I'd hate to go back to writing things by hand. My handwriting is almost illegible due to arthritis.
|
|
|
Post by bill on Aug 25, 2020 3:20:38 GMT
Well, I have my computer back. I've lost all writing going back to mid-June, so I spent the week rewriting the 7 scenes I had lost on Three Blind Mice. I still have about a week's worth of work to do to get myself back as best as I can to where I had been. At that point, whatever I lost, I lost.
Sevitan - I'm sending out the manuscript to two of my proofreaders this week.
I need to post something on my website and start promoting my mailing list. I meant to have it done by now, but am trying to build this into my schedule, but haven't done it yet.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Aug 30, 2020 2:14:04 GMT
Thank you for coming to help me. I feel so much lighter having all the tax stuff ready to mail. You made my weekend.
|
|
|
Post by bill on Aug 31, 2020 2:36:51 GMT
Glad to help, and great to see you and Josh again!
Sevitan - Sent off to my proofreaders. Now I wait...
Three Blind Mice - I'm as caught up as I can be from my lost words. This week I hope to think through my missing plots and hope to get another 20,000 words or so the next couple of weeks for a very rough first draft.
Halloween podcast - I have my horror story finished and ready to submit once Holly and Rebecca open up submissions for their Halloween episode.
Blog - I posted one of my newspaper columns on my website. I want to get more regular at posting and building my newsletter. This is the first step in that process.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Sept 3, 2020 21:27:57 GMT
I sent off the tax info so that is off the plate. I bought a big white board divided into the days of the month. I got Joshua's filled out. Will do mine this evening. I'm anxious to establish a schedule. I've been getting back to my early morning work hours. That will help a lot. I'm turning over more of Joshua's personal care to Kara. I need to let go and Joshua needs to accept help from someone besides me.
I got my teeth cleaned today and the growth inside my lip taken off. Have to deal with stitches for a week but its way easier than dealing with the pneumonia shot I got on Monday. That crippled me for two whole days. I need to make a physical therapy session for my shoulder. I'm hoping we can more strength in it and maybe less pain.
Just talking to you energized me. I will be very happy to be more productive.
|
|
|
Post by bill on Sept 4, 2020 20:18:01 GMT
You're having a productive week! I'm so glad you're close now so we can have these pow wows! I love being able to talk writing with a writer.
I called the owner of the Halstead Hospital (where my murder mystery takes place) and he said I can hold a book signing there. I go tomorrow to look at the area and probably set a date. Probably looking at late October. I have so much to do to get the book out!
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Sept 5, 2020 4:10:06 GMT
That is the coolest thing. How absolutely fun it can be.
I opened up my old computer. It started but I can't get it connected to the internet. I can't figure out the missing information and not sure where to find it. I may have to call Hughes Net for some help. Once I get into it, I'm going to print out everything on both Knock Knock and Luciana. I'll back it up on the passport and have a hard copy. Then I can move back to working on the newer computer.
I spent a lot of time on the project and feel like I accomplished nothing. I ordered some materials that I will need to finish the room dividers. They should get here next week.
I bought the white board. Joshua's is set up and he's starting to explore his new computer. The tobii guy is on vacation next week so we're on our own until he gets back. We'll do what we can and Josh can explore the new system.
I found my gallery mounts. I want one put up in the dining room and one in the utility room. I'll be able to hang quite a few pictures once they are in place. Hoping for tomorrow.
Little by little things are getting done. Once I begin to be productive I'll feel like I'm back.
I like the pow wows too. It energizes me to talk writing with somebody on the same journey. You've far surpassed me. I went to Amazon and downloaded one of your books. I'm going to try and search for you work more often to see if we can get it pulled higher up on the search. I'd like to see your books popping up on the first page.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Sept 6, 2020 17:40:43 GMT
I have spent all week trying to access my documents on my old computer. No luck. I know there is a box of things from my desk. If I can find the flash drives, I'll check them to see if I made one with the work I'm looking for. If I can't find that I'm tempted to see if I can take my computer to Staples to get the information copied from the hard drive. The computer starts up but I can't connect to the internet. none of my programs will open. I hate to expose my business information to strangers. Maybe I can get Ryan to do it for me. or take my computer to Marilyns. Her internet might open for me.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Sept 7, 2020 1:01:05 GMT
Found my flash drives and was able to recover several hundred pages of the ms. Its going to be a ton of work but I'm hopeful that I haven't lost the book. I'll collate the pages this evening and see what I'm missing and see if I can recover them. I might have hard copy packed in one of the boxes but it would be a nightmare trying to find them. I'm hoping the flash drives will have the missing work on them. Another option might be to download Scrivener on the new computer and sign in to my account. Maybe it will show up in the program. I have no idea how the work on Scrivener is saved. I'm grasping at straws right now.
I also plan on finishing the scene cards for the final Cosmic book and work on it simultaneously with Knock Knock. That will have one book being readied for the editor while I create the next book to go to the editor. I also have a lot of work already done on Lucky's story. I'll get a hard copy of everything and start to fill in the story on her. I want enough finished and polished to enter the contest in Pikes Peak mainly to find out if the format I'm planning on using works.
|
|
|
Post by bill on Sept 8, 2020 0:46:31 GMT
Boy, I wish I could help you with the computer stuff. I'd definitely get someone who knew what they were doing to look at it. Hopefully one way or the other you'll recover everything. As someone who just went through it, I understand the pain!
I e-mail in late July asking about Zebulon and was told the plan was to have the contest again, but they needed to discuss and would have an announcement shortly. I haven't heard anything since. In the past the open window has been from Sep 1 - Nov 1. They may be pushing it back because of covid or they may still be undecided. I don't know. I hope they have it because I like the feedback. And of course a chance to win and get the notoriety is nice too!
When the Time is Right - I spoke with the Halstead Hospital owner and he said I could have a book signing inside the entrance of the hospital, so I'm scrambling to get published. Don't have a firm date yet, but looking at late october. I read through the manuscript and added a couple of scenes. E-mailed a copy to one of my proofreaders this evening and will snail mail to the other proofreader (he likes paper) tomorrow morning. They both agreed to do it quickly. Cat has agreed to help in my time frame and is working on the cover. I just have a couple of things to finish up on it and then figure out how to promote and build momentum for the event. This will be my top priority until it's over.
Three Blind Mice - I got a little writing done before I spoke to the hospital owner, so this story is on hold. I hope to work on it when I can over the next couple of weeks. Would like to get the rough draft done so I can revise, maybe in December. Since I'm publishing book one soon, I want to to publish this one by May, since the setting is the high school state baseball tournament.
Holly's podcast - I submitted a story for the podcast. Will wait and see if it gets accepted. If not, I have time to revise and resubmit.
Blog - I posted a blog last week and sent questions to an author I know in Hutch who just released a book. I'll post that this week on my blog and am going to try to do author interviews occasionally, maybe monthly? We'll see how it goes. But I definitely want to blog at least twice a month and try to build a following and funnel people to my mailing list.
Sevitan - I haven't had time to think about this book. I told my proofreaders, who have copies of it, that When the Time is Right is the priority. I don't know how far along they are, but I'm not worried because I haven't even thought about when I would like to shoot for publishing it, now that When the Time is Right is a go.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Sept 9, 2020 15:35:39 GMT
I got most of the book printed off. Missing a few chapters but I think I can find them. If not, I'll rewrite and my skills are probably better now than when I wrote it.
I have all kinds of work lined up but, as always, life interferes. Appointments are popping up right and left. And winter is coming. I still need a dog pen asap. It is fast becoming a priority for me.
I want to go to Sharon's one day a week. She needs work and she will tutor Joshua and set him up with homework every week. I think it will be good for both her, and JOshua.
The medical supply store informed me, after I stopped in for the third time to check on the order, that they could not order the chair for me. So I came home, located a chair that might work, and ordered it. It should come quickly and I can get Joshua set up with a bath nurse to help him stay clean. His personal care is a priority now. I'm so tired of not getting help when I expect help and having to deal with myself. My goal was to free up 25 hours a week for myself. So far, the demands on my time are not allowing that. I may have a hissy fit.
I have no clue how to deal with Angie. My instinct is to pull the rug out and not give her any work that puts cash in her pocket. She cannot be trusted not to spend it on illegals. But another part of me fears if she gets to a point of no hope she will attempt suicide. Her needs are way beyond my ability to understand or help her. I'm trusting God on this one. But my heart aches for her. I love her dearly when she's sober but I can't tell anymore when that is. She's good at hiding it.
Tyra's, not sure what to call him but its Jacob's father, will come here and give me a quote on framing in the bathroom. I need to hire an electrician to put a breaker box in the basement.I need to start getting lights and outlets down there.
The landscaping is starting to look like landscaping. The mountain is shrinking.
So, even though I'm not doing the work I want, work is getting done.
I love the idea of a book signing at the old hospital. Hoping it works out so I can come.
|
|
|
Post by bill on Sept 13, 2020 21:11:54 GMT
Oh goodness, I wish I knew what to tell you on Angie. I'll be praying for her! And you to have wisdom. Addicts are pros at hiding their behavior. I hate to hear it.
There's a forum in Holly's site called LGITW (life got in the way), I think is what it's called. You have major issues with that. I hope you're able to get the things figured out that you need and life can slow down.
When the Time is Right - Sydney and I viewed the entrance of the hospital yesterday. It needs cleaned up but will work great for the book signing. We set the date of Oct 24 (Saturday), I'm thinking from 6-8 p.m. Now I need to get busy to organize the event. Cat is working on my cover and yesterday in an e-mail exchange I got an idea so instead of working on the rough draft of the second book I spent most of the day adding a cat into about a dozen scenes. I love the idea and the addition. Of course, I added around 1,300 words and two of my proofreaders already have the manuscript. I still have one more after them so I think it will be okay. I like what she's coming up with on the cover (she's even already doing the cover for the second book), and I think we're close.
Three Blind Mice - I didn't work on it. This book release and signing is taking up my time, which is fine. But I'm getting close to the point that I may have to adjust my writing schedule for the rest of the year because I won't be able to keep up with my goals. They're my goals, so no big deal in the big picture, but I really wanted to write a Christmas story this year and I may have to choose between it and the fifth Vetrix story. I just haven't taken time to think all of this through.
Blog - I posted an interview with a fellow author that lives in Hutch. His book came out at the end of August. And I know what I'm posting next week. My goal is to post at least twice a month, with more being better. My next step is to figure out how to drive people to the website to read the posts.
Newsletter - I sent out an email to my newsletter group (only about a dozen). I also need to figure out how to get people to sign up for it.
|
|