apricity (n): The warmth of the sun in winter
Oregon has rolled into rainy darkness. This is fine with me; heat, sunshine, and all the rest are overrated. On the other hand, yesterday was lovely and when I went out in a T-shirt with the dog, I felt a certain glimmer in my cold-loving heart.
“Traitor,” inner me whispered.
Any-who.
November passed in a tiring march of writing, failing to write, and then berating myself. I gave it my best, but the new book is only about 1/3 finished at 25,000 words (another 10,000 were written and cut). I’m not sure why it came so slowly. There are days when I was completely buzzed on good writing and ideas, and others where merely typing a sentence felt like chore of Herculean proportions.
A small part of the problem was physical. Issue #1 was that the darker season has hit my Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) hard. About mid-October I was really feeling that loss of light. Then there was reverting to standard time. (Why do we continue to do this? Why? Why?) The net result is that I feel gloomier and more pessimistic, which then exhausts my cheerleader, who deeply resents the extra work.
Issue #2 is that I have been struggling with a strained/sprained/hurt ankle for a few months, and my foot has decided to come to that party. It’s hard to enthusiastic when every step hurts.
Issue #3 revolves around my desk. The desk I am working on is a “built in” and there are certain things about it that require me to arrange my body in ways it’s not supposed to be arranged for hours. The next result is that my right elbow (mouse arm) and shoulder have been on fire at the end of the day. I need to do something to fix the problem but haven’t settled on a strategy.
Beyond these physical problems, I decided to try a daily social media challenge in November. I learned I am not cut out for that amount of social media. The last few days of the month… well… some things are better left unsaid. Having 1-2 hours each morning focused on social media matters felt like a complete waste, in spite of my best attempts at scheduling and ideas. I’ll have to return to that particular problem at a later date. Much later date.
Social media issues are a mask for my deeper concern about “the book”. I knew sales would be hard, but not this level of hard. I worry about the issue, but like so many other things, I don’t know how to solve it. It’s about getting “the book” in front of the right set of people (reader who like cozy mysteries and dogs); however, directions to that party are pretty vague.
Other things went on during the month, as other things are wont to do. Much to my disgust, I remain human and therefore distractable. It should have been a good writing month… but it wasn’t.
Now it’s December and I need to turn my attention to marketing book #2-Ruff Justice. It’s now available for pre-order, folks! I also need to put my nose to the grindstone and finish book #3 (tentative title Balancing the Woofs.) The elements are there, but I haven’t found the thing that brings them all together. The book I worked on in November (working title: Wandering Sadie) will go to the back burner until those things are done.
That’s a lot of words to explain I’m in a bit of a winter funk. You deserve some art after all that. I’ll show you what I’m working on, but these paintings may not be going anywhere. They certainly aren’t finished. The first two are ideas for the Pacific Artist’s Co-Op Gallery‘s 12×12 show in January. Theme: Warm colors.
In case I don’t get out another blog, I hope all who celebrate a holiday in December have a joyful celebration!