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Typing With Wet Paws: Special Tuesday Edition

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Hi, Storm Troopers! Are you surprised to see me on a Tuesday? Wild, huh? I know, but it’s one of those weeks. Aunt Anna and the other humans will be off the grid for a couple of days, as we are off on another trip to Aunt Linda’s family home, so Aunt Anna asked me to fill in today, to cover yesterday and tomorrow’s post. I told her no problem. That’s why I’m here, right? Well, that and to spread magical fibers of love and joy.

Anyway, about what’s going on over here. Aunt Anna is having kind of an existential planner crisis, or, depending on the perspective, (let’s reframe!) a chance to try some new things and get even more creative. She wouldn’t let me take any pictures of her planners in progress, but trust me, there is stuff going on. Some of that will be going on while we are on adventure at Chez Grandmere (the mother of your aunt is your grandmother, right? I think that’s how it works. I am not sure about human family terms.) Aunt Anna is also planning on doing a lot of writing in longhand there, because Chez Grandmere does not, unfortunately, have interwebs. Maybe not so unfortunately if that means more writing time.

Aunt Anna has already started trying out a new to her plotting technique that she learned from a Heart Breathings tutorial. If this works, that will go a long way to solving the problem of what to do with a bunch of outdated Happy Planner pages. She has set up her spread for a story to be determined, and will give that a go during out adventure. Watch this space for the results. Normally, she doesn’t go in for charts and stuff, but when it’s time to get back on the horse (nobody told me there was a horse) trying new things is always a good idea.

This is also a good time to go through some stuff that the aunts and uncle have stored at Chez Grandmere, which may provide some interesting results. I find that rather exciting. I also find the place called “basement” very very very exciting, but I am not allowed to go down there. No idea why. Other cats used to go down there. Maybe they left some food or toys. How can I leave that unexplored? Humans. Hmph.

Huh. This doesn’t seem like a lot of news for a “special” blog, but that’s okay. Can’t all be rock stars, am I right? Except for beautiful calico girls. We are all automatically rock stars. I like to sing the song of my people at special midnight performances, and you should see the choreography that goes along with it. Truly a work of genius. We’ll be back on Friday, Saturday at the latest, and there will be better updates then. Rest assured that I will be in full mews mode, providing inspiration and encouragement.

Okay, wait. I remember. I was supposed to list some of the planner and notebook things that Aunt Anna is going to revamp over the next few weeks. Let’s see if I can find some pictures to go with them.

Granted, these are not all of them, nor does Aunt Anna expect to be able to keep all of them running for unique purposes (or the same one; boy, would that be repetitive) at the same time, and she is beginning to come around to the idea that it’s okay to move the same guts to different covers as the mood strikes. Also that there are plusses and minuses to the different sizes and formats she likes, including but not limited to:

  • discbound (Happy Planner, etc) in micro, mini, classic or big sizes
  • Traveler’s notebooks (strings) in pocket, personal, and standard sizes
  • Six ring binders in personal or A5 size
  • Three ring binders in full or half letter size
  • traditional hard or softcover notebooks, sewn, perfect, or wirebound

So yeah, that’s kind of a lot, and it does relate to writing, because that’s what she likes to do in them, so she is figuring out what format her exploration of these should take. Blogging? Vlogging? If you have a preference, leave a comment and I will make sure she gets it.

Headbonks!

2020 Vision?

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Yesterday, I didn’t mean to spend the entire day on Patreon work, but that’s how things worked out. I started out making a spreadsheet for my TBR for the coming year, and things kept going. One list for favorite lush historical romances, another for favorite contemporary YA, and a batch of ideas for more. I love making these sorts of lists, and I love connecting readers with favorite books in favorite historical eras, with particular themes, etc. Current plans are to make requests for such lists available on one of the tiers., If the list is for something that isn’t quite my taste, say wallpaper Regencies, I can still do some educated guessing, as in what’s popular, has received high reviews, or looks interesting in some aspect. I could pick out books all day long, seriously, and be happy to do it.

Today is the first day of my one page a day writing schedule. One page of fiction -doesn’t matter what- bare minimum. More if I can, more if I want to, but that first page, those first two hundred and fifty words, they don’t have to be perfect, don’t have to be even good, but they do have to be. That’s easy enough. I will proably lump those in with Storm’s weekly blogs, along with other progress reports. We will see how it goes, and I am more than likely going to make some sort of paper tracker because that’s how my brain goes.

Speaking of paper planners, I plan (see what I did there?) to share more about what I do with that, as well. There is a beautiful black version of Spinebreaker headed my way, to hold my everyday carry bullet-y journal-y commonplace-y notebook. Spinebreaker’s lovely pink self will hold some different inserts to help me manage the writing projects I have on tap for this year. I will figure it out as I go.

Both yesterday and today, I have been listening to YouTube videos analyzing episodes of Black Mirror. I have seen exactly one episode of that show, “San Junipero,” but I’m still getting a lot out of the commentary. My tenure at Heroes and Heartbreakers gave me the chance4 to ramble on about my favorite TV ships, and the moments that worked, as well as the ones that didn’t. I’d like to bring some of that to the blog, and/or Patreon. This amy involve another attempt at making video blogs. We will see. Some of that will depend on where we land, Stately Bowling Manor-wise, but it’s definitely on the table.

The thing that has to happen before any of this other stuff can occur, though, is the writing. The putting of the bottom in the chair and words on the page, paper or virtual, one page at a time, one after the other, on and on until Once Upon a Time reaches And They Lived Happily Ever After. It’s a new year, and there are stories to tell. There is no section on Amazon or in Barnes and Noble or any other brick and mortar store, for great three chapters or excellent outlines. Only. Full. Books.

That means moving forward, even when there’s no gaurantee that t hings are going to turn out on the page the same way they are in my head (can they ever be?) That means tapping back into the girl who set up a makeshift desk out of TV trays, and typing out stories that couldn’t possibly go anywhere on an electronic typewriter. Only, they did. Maytbe not those exact pages, but the were needed to get me one step further down the path to where I am now, and where I am going next.

For today, that’s going to mean this blog entry, one page of fiction, and probably planner therapy after. Doesn’t have to be perfect, does have to be written. That’s doable. Let’s see where it goes.

Happy New Year.

Two Hundred and Fifty

annabowling 2 Comments

Welp. Last post of 2019. I will not be sorry to see this year in my rearview mirror. While 2019 did have some standout moments – the publication of Chasing Prince Charming, adding Storm kitty to our family, the support and love of amazing friends when real life plot twists took some crazy turns – the bar for 2020 is not on the dauntingly high side.

IRL challenges aside, there is the whole RWA debacle, about which I have a lot of feelings, and feelings about those feelings. Romance Writers of America has never been a perfect organization, but the new developments that have come fast and furious, over the holiday week, those raise a whole lot of questions. As it stands now, I am waiting for my next CR-RWA meeting so that I can learn more and be around other people who are going through the same thing, before I say much more. The fact that this is all happening at the same time we learned of the passing of one of the OG historical romance superstars, Johanna Lindsey, makes it all that much more surreal.

As the great Beverly Jenkins has said, and Nora Roberts has pointed out that the middle word in “Romance Writers of America” is “Writers,” this is a time to keep going forward. Keep writing. Keep writing romance. That seems like a good note on which to start a new year. While yes, there is still adulting to do, and we are doing that, writing has taken a back seat while dealing with IRL matters, and it’s time now, to pick it back up once again.

I have said on many occasions that I am not a word counter, and I am not. Right now, however, when I went to figure out how to get myself back in Serious Writing Mode, what came to mind was that a page a day is a book in a year. That’s something I can do whether I am at a computer keyboard or working with pen and paper only, and it’s pretty easy to measure. Get to end of page, that’s the minimum required for the day. If anything more is too much, I can kick off for the rest of the day, read, adult, stare off into the distance, whatever is needed. One page is roughly two hundred and fifty words, which is not that daunting. Even counting words, two hundred and fifty of them in one place are not really that much.

Morning pages do not count for this requirement. It has to be fiction. Morning pages are their own thing, though I can use parts of them to prime the pump for the day’s fiction. Naturally, I plan to write more than one book this year, as this is a reality for a career in commercial fiction. Baby steps, though, are always a good place to start, or re-start. Neither does any writing that is not actual fiction writing count. Pump priming, list making, that sort of thing can get me to where I can write actual fiction, but it’s only the fiction that is going to count.

This year, I want to tap back into the writer who didn’t know any better, the one who knew how to shut out everything else and throw that story onto the page with all she’s worth. Maybe even more than that. Strike the “maybe.”

There are a lot of stories ahead in 2020, to be read, to be watched, to be written, risks to take in all of those things. Writing, reading, and watching romance has been a driving force in my life since I was eleven years old and stole my first historical romance from my mother’s nightstand. I have had the wonderful experience of writing about all of that for blogs both personal and commercial, and I look forward to bringing some of that over to my Patreon-to-be, which is in itself a daunting yet exciting prospect. On the one hand, who am I to ask people to pay me to, well, be me, but on the other, this fits right into the idea that I don’t have to put the pressure on myself to appeal to everybody. Maybe doing what I do and focusing on people who like that sort of stuff is s more liberating way to go.

We’ll find out, one page at a time.

Typing With Wet Paws: Holiday Update Edition

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untouched original

Hi, Storm Troopers. Long time no blog. The family has been having some big adventures as of late, and this holiday season is going to be a tough one. I will leave it to Aunt Anna to say anything more, but 2020 is almost here, and changes are ahead.

One thing Aunt Anna is looking forward to is starting a Patreon. If this word is new to you, it is a subscription platform where creators can market directly to consumers. In short, and I know about short, because I am short, you buy it, they make it. Everybody wins.

Where Aunt Anna is concerned, this means exclusive blog entries, serialized fiction, planning and journaling content, and more. Do you want to see old fiction given new life, or peek over her shoulder as she goes from once upon a time to.happily ever after? Do you want to request blog topics, get her top lists of romances with your favorite settings or tropes, or are more video blogs? Your chance is coming soon. If there is something you would really like to see her offer, from a list of favorite anythings to a story about XYZ ( that means you can put your own idea there, not that she would write about the actual letters, in case you were wondering.)

Aunt Anna is now only five books away from hitting her Goodreads challenge original goal. Because things have been tough in the real life category, she may be considering dropping the goal to books read at some point and calling it good enough, but the challenge does give her the push to read more, so we will see. She has also started reading two more manfa, and she goes through those pretty fast.

Sometimes, I am told, some humans are sad during holidays, and th at is when pretty calico girls like me (okay, any gender of cat, if any color) are called in to be extra helpful. I don’t have a lot of holiday experience since this is only my second one (I think; I am not that great at math) I got this covered. I may be doing more than my usual once a week blog, in case Aunt Anna needs a pinch hitter. I am also really great at cuddles and purring. How do your pets tell you they’ve got your back?

Headbonks!

 

 

Brain Fog

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The weather outside today looks like this.

December 11, NY state

It does not match the time of this post. It’s a Wednesday. I am writing a blog post because I theoretically write blog posts thrive a week. Okay, Storm does Friday (most of the time.) Usually, it’s from a computer. Today it’s from my tablet, so there is a bit of a learning curve. I don’t particularly*want* to post, but it’s something I need to do. I am not intending for a downer post here, and actually hope to end in a positive or optimistic note.

Let’s shift years and go to a quote. I like quotes.

We were trapped in the limbo between where we were and where we wanted to be. –David Levithan, “The Alumni Interview.”

I love that quote. I love David Levithan. His name is on it, I will read it. That’s how it works. Today, I read his short story, “The Alumni Interview,” and wow, did that hit home. Our family is still vagabonding, past our last apartment , not yet at the next. It’s frustrating. Throw in two depressions (me, Real Life Romance Hero) and one anxiety (me) and an adolescent feline (Storm) and writing time is often rare. If it presents itself when my energy level is low, or I am not in the same place as my keyboard when I want to make with the clickety clacks, that opens a door for a lot of self-flagellation.

Writers, if you are not one yourself, are really good at self-flagellation. Especially when depression is involved, or stress. Or stress and depression. Or stress over depression. You get the picture. Yeah. It’s one of those days. They happen. Life hapoens, and writing, well, that happens, too. Except for the days it doesn’t, because there are those. This obviously isn’t one because I am here, contorted in the motel desk chair, in a position that really is comfortable, feet propped on the dresser/desk/shelves thing, under the TV I haven’t the faintest idea how to work. I am a Netflix and Hulu gal these days. My bribe for writing and posting is a Fuller House bingelet, maybe a movie later, but before that, it’s time for some free writing.

On the days when writing -writing is not happening, that doesn’t mean a day lost, completely. Writing down where I want to be helps, because then I can make a map to get there. Where do I want to be? Where am I now? How can l connect the two? Sometimes, that’s rambling on the internet. Sometimes it’s coloring in a blanket fort. Sometimes it’s sticking one’s nose in a book, or a fanfic, or whatever else works to keep things moving along, even if it’s at a crawl. Right now, it is this.

Typing With Wet Paws: Snowy Drive By Edition.

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Happy Friday, Storm Troopers. Aunt Anna is wrangling a family emergency, so this will be a quick and informal post. I hope everybody is snug and comfy. It’s snowy out there.

Here is a look at some of Aunt Anna’s mini planner setup. I may not be the biggest expert on Christmas, as this will be probably my second one ever (I am not a math expert either) but I am told smoky blue is not a traditional Christmas color. Aunt Anna doesn’t mind, though. She’s rolling with it.

Note the first date she filled in. She has her priorities.

Buried Under Romance is taking a break this week, but will be back next week, with some blabber about seasonal reading and such. Aunt Anna is even working on a piece about a new Hanukkah anthology, and interviewing author, Rose Grey, who is one of the contributors. (Aunt Anna is not one, in case you are wondering, but she is excited that the book is out.)

one of the current reads

Aunt Anna is also giving that reading challenge her all. If she goes down, she goes down swinging. Er, reading. She has both paper and e-books at the ready, but I can only lay on and/or headbonk the paper books. I mean, I can headbonks the tablet, but it isn’t the same.

The humans are waiting until things settle before they see how I react to a Christmas tree. I am not saying how it went with my mom’s tree. I want to take this as it comes.

Okay, that’s the blogging time I have for today. Have a good one and We will catch you next time.

Headbonks!

Typing With Wet Paws: Pre-Book Launch Edition

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Hi, Stormtroopers! Storm here, for another Feline Friday. Most of the stuff going on around here deals with the search for a new location of Stately Bowling Manor, and the upcoming book launch for Chasing Prince Charming. Yesterday was also Aunt Anna’s birthday. We played an intense game of catch the mousie toy, which was how I helped her celebrate. When I finally caught the mousie, I got gushy food. The humans had cake. Aunt Anna got some planner stuff, which was good because she really likes planner stuff.

It’s that time of year again

Things got busy this week at Buried Under Romance, not only because of Aunt Anna’s post, which is here, but also because there were excerpts from every story in the Winter Wishes holiday anthology, Part of the special feature is a giveaway of two paperback copies, which Anty Anna will talk about in her post there tomorrow.

I, for one, think the appeal is obvious

As far as Goodreads is concerned, Aunt Anna is very proud of finishing one book this week. She will talk about that late, as her head right now is pretty much entirely on the book launch thing. I will be staying at the motel with Uncle. I have new crinkle ball toys, so that sounds pretty fun.

All of that new planner stuff isn’t here only to look pretty (although it is not as pretty as me…but then what could be?) It has a job to do. While Aunt Anna will not be participating in NaNoWriMo this November, that does not mean she doesn’t want to see how she can best manage her writing time. I am not promising how much of that planning she will share here, but she will probably say more about that.

She will also share more about the book launch when it is over, with pictures and stories, and maybe the seeds of a new story or two. Those things do tend to happen when she and Aunt Melva are left unsupervised, and when she has long periods of time, like when she is traveling, to think up story things. She already has a notebook stashed in the car, in case she needs it. Spoiler alert: she will need it.

Anyway, part of her interest in planning for this year is figuring out what kinds of stickers or spreads she might like to have to keep her on track. She will probably try making these things herself rather than try to find them to purchase, but if you know of any such things, leave links in the comment section and she will investigate. She loves planner stuff. I also like planner stuff, specifically laying on it so she can’t use it and can only pet me.

Okay, I think that’s it for right now. , but I will be back next week, and we’ll have more fun then. Until then, have a good one.

Headbonks!

Writing With a Velcro Cat (and book launch information)

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Cats and writers are a natural combination. In the year and change since Skye went to Rainbow Bridge, I have sorely missed having feline supervision while I write. Now that Storm has joined the family, that need is most assuredly filled, though I am taking some time to learn her particular management style. For one thing, please refer to the photo below:

she has a top to her head, I promise

Yes, Storm does have a top to her head. I took this picture last night, after she herded me to bed, which is a thing she does now. Herds me to bed, and then sits on me. Sits. On. Me. I have to be on my back, she has to be in full cat loaf position, feets tucked under, and we blink at each other for a while, until she moves between me and Real Life Romance Hero, signaling that it is truly sleepy times now. If I do not comply in a timely manner, then there will be chirps and walks across my person until I do, at which point Storm settles on my other side, with loud rumble purrs.

That’s bedtime sorted. Writing time, well, we are still working on that. One of the reasons our family made a good match with Storm is that she has some separation anxiety, and I work at home. Even before we have an actual home, this means that Storm is going to have a hooman with her most of the time. Ideally, I will be within her sight. This means that bathroom doors need to be open at least a crack. For writing, we have a few issues.

Right now, we’re trying a mini-bed on the desk, next to my monitor, toys at the ready when she really really really needs some attention. There may be treats available, possibly for both of us (not the same treats; human treats and kitty treats do not intersect. Except for organic peanut butter.) So far, this seems to be working, as Storm can see my face and my screen, she’s comfy, and I can give her pets and we can both take care of important business. Photos to follow if this works out.

Also to follow are…books. Melva and I are on track to a rough draft of Drama King before the holiday season takes over, and I am planning on getting Her Last First Kiss to the end of the second draft as soon as possible, because this whole having a book out thing is kind of cool, and the only way I can get there is to write more books. I have three historicals to shop around, and Melva and I are working on more contemporaries. Anything beyond that? Sure, when the right ideas presents themselves. Always romance, though, or at least a strong romantic element.

Melva and I are now two weeks out from our first in-person book launch, for Chasing Prince Charming. If you are in the Western MA area, or can get there, you can meet Melva and me, live and in person. Storm will be staying home with Real Life Romance Hero, but Sebastian might tag along, if he doesn’t have more pressing matters on his agenda. The press release is as follows:

We’re celebrating the publication of Chasing Prince Charming
by Melva Michaelian and Anna Bowling, a romance novel on the sophisticated side of sexy!

We’re excited about another success in Anna’s and Melva’s writing careers and the release of this first of three books in the Love by the Book series, published by Wild Rose Press.

Please join us for a reading, book signing, and discussion about their collaborative writing, which was a long-distance effort (Melva is a local writer, and Anna, originally from Enfield, CT, now lives in New York). A small quantity of books will be available for purchase at the event, but we recommend you purchase a copy in advance on Amazon.

Wearing red shoes, sneakers, boots, or other footwear is suggested (but not required).

This event is free and open to the public. No reservations are needed.

Learn more about Anna’s and Melva’s collaborative efforts at www.melvaandanna.com

Sound like fun? I’ll be there. Also, I am technically originally from Hampton, Virginia, then NYC, then Westchester, then CT, then VT, then CA, CT again and back to NY. Yeah, I got around. Roots are down now, or will be as soon as we are moved into the next location of Stately Bowling Manor.

Update: there is a new peril to writing with a Velcro cat. That is when said Velcro cat claims the keyboard as hers by rubbing against it, and inadvertently cranking the speaker volume way up high. I think I can get used to that.

Working on a new sign off picture…

Typing With Wet Paws: Perfect Storm Edition

annabowling 4 Comments

Hi! I’m Storm. What are your names? I am new here. My mom is on a top secret mission (I think she is a super hero) to help some very important people, so I am going to stay with these guys. So far, I am calling them aunts and uncle, but we will see how things develop. If you have been following Aunt Anna on Facebook or Instagram, then you have probably seen pictures of me. If you want to make sure you don’t miss any of those pictures, follow the hashtag #calicolovestorm on Instagram. There are only a few pictures up there now, but I have only been here for about a week. Give everybody some time.

The search for a new location for Stately Bowling Manor is, hopefully, drawing to a close. Aunt Anna will have more information on that later, but for now, let’s focus on me. I am a beautiful calico girl, about two years old, but I might still have some growing to do. My legs are super long. When we had to be in the car for a while, I rode in Uncle’s lap, in my carrier, and I yelled a lot. The humans got very concerned, until they realized I wasn’t scared. I was mad. The view stunk. I wanted to be held up so I could see out the window.

Anyway, we are all still getting acquainted. Sebastian said something about me taking over the Friday blogs. Then he rolled over and snored. I guess this is what he means. Aunt Anna still has some numbers to crunch before she can update her Goodreads challenge, and she has been busy with moving things for the last couple of weeks, but there is a lot of fun stuff coming very soon at Buried Under Romance.

On the writing front, I will be assuming mews duties. So far, this largely consists of me batting the pen out of Aunt Anna’s hand when she writes longhand. I am also super good at lying next to her and purring (I have a loud, rumbly motor under all this sleekness) when she needs to think about stories, or read stories somebody else already wrote. I can also help her watch TV shows on her tablet, but with fair warning. My mom showed me a computer game where I can smack a virtual mouse, so I kind of do that when there are other things on the screen, too, hoping the mouse will appear. Aunt Linda was not too thrilled when I did that yesterday, when she was playing a game that did not have any mice in it. Sorry not sorry.

Since things are headed n a back to normal direction these days, I will leave it to Aunt Anna to mention the chance to meet her and Aunt Melva in person. All I will say for now is that if you are in or near Western MA on the morning of October 26th, and like it when authors talk about books, there will be something super special coming your way. Aunt Anna is looking forward to putting down roots and getting back into the normal swing of things. I, of course, will be su-purr-vising (cat pun, couldn’t resist) it all. I’m a mews now. That’s what I do.

Headbonks,!

Typing With Stuffed Paws: Midsummer Edition

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Greetings, Foolish Mortals. Sebastian Thunderpaws Hart-Bowling, coming at you with all the stuff for the week that was. If you read Writer Chick’s posts, and not only mine, then you may have learned that the answer to the burning question, “Will Chasing Prince Charming come out in print?” is “yes.” Preorder for the print edition is not yet up, but Amazon US is showing the “show other editions” or whatever tag, so that may be coming soon. Watch this space for updates.

Since we are in high summer over here, and still fighting the battle of the bugs (Writer Chick sometimes mumbles something about putting the bugs on the lease, giving them the keys, and heading out to start a new life. She would of course bring me, so I am fine either way.)

Bit of a technical difficulty here, with the site crashing and eating a bunch of this post, but that is not my problem, so I’ll pick up where I was going to pick up anyway. As usual, Writer Chick was at Buried Under Romance this past Saturday, and this time, she talked about the particular subgenre of Americana romance. I have no idea what that is, but she probably covers it in the post.

Good job forgetting the “R” there.

Moving on to Writer Chick’s Goodreads challenge for this year, we see that she is a freaking reading machine, now eight books ahead of schedule. That is fifty-eight books read already, out of her goal of ninety-five. That is sixty-one percent of the way to the finish line, and we are only fifty percent of the way through the year. She is looking to beef up her historical romance numbers, so if you know of any Writer Chick-flavored historical romance audiobooks, drop recommendations in the comments. Audiobooks are a huge part of the surge in Writer Chick’s reading stats, because she can experience a whole story while doing other things, which she considers pretty cool.

Camp NaNo ho!


Writer Chick is clipping right along (ship joke, for those who caught it) with Plunder, with about thirty-five pages written out of a goal of fifty. This is not the whole story, of course, but it’s a good start on the discovery phase, and she will most definitely keep going after Camp NaNo is over. She is kind of antsy (bug humor unintended, but we’ll keep it) about not being able to update every day, which is one of her big concerns about the regular NaNo, as well as having to count words instead of pages. This way, she does get antsy, but it’s not anxiety-provoking, so she’s going to still call that good. The characters are talking to her and letting her follow them around, and that’s what matters most., so Writer Chick is happy about that.

Besides all of the above, work continues on Drama King, and Her Last First Kiss, so, all in all, fleas aside, Writer Chick is going to call this week a good one. As for me, I got plenty of sunbeam, so I’m good, and isn’t that what’s really important here?

Peace out,