Greetings!
This past week has been a bit of an interesting one, and it has certainly been productive. In addition to making some tasty meals and treats this week, including corned beef and cabbage (Yay, St. Patrick’s Day!), pancakes, and chocolate chocolate chip cookies, I made progress in quite a few areas.
With regard to writing and word count, I didn’t write as much as I would like. That said, I did manage to finish an unplanned chapter that was being particularly problematic. I tend to have an outline/timeline that’s got a somewhat sparse full arc. It is nice to know where I’m going without having to plan everything beforehand. It also makes it fairly easy to add in chapters as needed while I’m writing. Sometimes those additions go smoothly, and other times, they are a bit more difficult to put on paper. All things considered, this was an interesting chapter, and one I have vaguely been thinking about for a while, so it is nice to actually have it drafted now. I still have a bit to go before I finish this draft, but there is still a chance I can get this book finished before Camp NaNoWriMo starts on 1 April. At the very least, I know the end of this book has quite a few pieces that should fall into place rather nicely once I get to them.
I have also started working on my second Bob Ross style digital painting. I am doing this one following along with an episode of “The Joy of Painting,” and I’m about halfway through. There are certain things with it that are going smoothly, particularly when things line up with some of the stuff from my first painting. Most of the slower parts have been when I have been trying to find the right brush to get the kind of effect Bob Ross is demonstrating. This has definitely been a fun side project, and it is hopefully helping with regard to getting a bit more comfortable with creating digital art.
With regard to reading, I finished the book I was reading last week, Eyrie by K Vale Nagle. I kind of have some mixed feelings with the book, but overall I enjoyed it. It was certainly interesting getting a glimpse into a world populated by gryphons and opinici. I think it’s one of the few things I’ve read that doesn’t have any human characters. It is a bit heavier than I was expecting when I started it, and it definitely got more heavy as the book continued… It reminds me a bit of Catch-22, where, as you get more information about what really happened, the of the events leading up to the story moves the darkness to the fore. That kind of slow reveal is a very interesting story technique, but I do find that it is something that I have to be in the mood for. I haven’t yet decided if I am going to continue with the series, but I have a bit of time to decide that. The gryphons convinced me to move the book to the top of my “to read” list, so it jumped the line a bit. I have a few other books that I have currently started, but I haven’t quite figured out which one is next in line for this week.
I have also been reading through the Self Publisher’s Legal Handbook by Helen Sedwick. So far, it seems like it will be fairly useful when it comes to getting some background information for when I set up my publishing company. It also has a bit of legal advice to make sure you don’t overstep when it comes to using stock images or basing characters on real people. It looks like the section I’m coming to deals with hiring freelancers. At the very least, I’m thinking that will provide a bit of guidance with regard to finding an editor and other professional individuals to get things into proper shape.
I think that’s about it for this week’s update. Thanks for reading!
~ Theresa
You may unsubscribe at any time.
