Wednesday Check-In

So it feels like FOREVER since I did a proper one of these.  I suppose it’s been about 3 weeks–the one before DFWCon probably.

This weekend I finally hit what I feel like is my minimal level of settled in the new house.  I’m starting to get things on walls, a few accessories out, and there is more furniture sitting on my floor than boxes.  The obsessive NEED I have to get things put away has waned, so I’m settling back into a more normal routine.  I’m still making myself do two or three things a day toward getting settled so that I don’t look up six months from now and realize I haven’t done anything else.  But I’m relieved to be slowing down.

I have, so far, worked out every morning this week.  Hasn’t been my full on double up workouts yet, and even what I’ve been doing has made me sore since I haven’t been doing stuff  other than move and unpack.  Been thinking a lot about running, so depending on weather and my mood, I might try getting back to that in a week or two.  I’d do it next week, but Monday I have to be 3 hours away for work at 8:30 and that means I have to get up at 4:30 in order to be ready in time to leave, and that’s just going to leave me cranky the rest of the week.

I’m still working on getting my appetite under control.  It has exploded since DFWCon, to the point where I want to eat ALL THE THINGS.  I’m getting better about ALL THE THINGS being healthier, but my portion control is still WAY out of line.  It’s a process.  I’m not going near a scale until maybe July.

And I finally started writing again.  Sort of.  I’m working on a YA Mirus short story for an anthology.  Have it all plotted out, got started on it.  Deleted most of what I wrote.  I like the concept of my opening but I haven’t yet hit on a way to present it that I’m happy with. And yesterday I spent my writing block giving a necessary virtual butt-kicking to a bummed writing compadre, so…not a lot of word count to report.  But I’m showing up, so that’s going to count for this week.  I might just wind up jumping in to the second scene of this short story this afternoon in order to just get going, then come back to the opening.  I keep thinking I need to get better at short stories, be able to write them more often and more easily.  But I just…don’t like them, generally.  I’ll still push myself to write one or two a year for assorted things because I think the challenge is ultimately good for me, but I don’t think it will ever be a forte of mine.

6 thoughts on “Wednesday Check-In

  1. What helps me with short stories is to sit down and answer:

    1. Who is my protagonist?
    2. What is my protagonist’s goal in the time frame of the story?
    3. Who is my antagonist?
    4. What is my antagonist’s goa in the time frame of the storyl?
    5. How do those two goals conflict?

    If I’m still stuck after answering those, I’ll ask:
    6. What desire drives my protagonist?
    7. What desire drives my antagonist?

    I’ve also found that helps to use John Booth’s “template” for short story structure (see this site).

    1) The Setup – an event that triggers the story
    2) The Action – what follows and why
    3) The Resolution – when a conclusion is reached
    4) The Twist – where you turn the story on its head.

    🙂

    1. Oh marvelous! I love having roadmaps.

      As it happens, I’ve got all that written down, I’m just having a hard time finding the voice of my protag.

  2. Oh, Carradee’s questions are great. Nice, basic essence of the the story.

    Congratulations on taming the Moving Monster and getting back to writing!

    (BTW, I discovered something interesting about uncontrollable appetite: Get away from artificial sweeteners. For some of us, they kick off insulin or other blood chemistry in spades — way worse than sugar. It’s very hard to quit — you may need to use sugar instead for a bit — however, I find that when I’m drinking diet pop, my appetite flies out of control.)

  3. Truly, Carradee’s comment is worth forever for it fits any plot anywhere. Also enjoyed your follow up post that explored this comment. I always start with the antagonist as it drives the story; thus, my other characters are easier to flesh out. In addition, I frame the kernel idea of any story in 25 words or less as I learned in Bob Mayer’s class on Idea and Conflict.

    As for stevia. I suggest SweetLeaf stevia with inulin as some stevia is actually cut with artificial sweeteners or raw sugar. SweetLeaf is the only stevia I can tolerate.

    Also agree that increased carbs are more the culprit than fats or proteins. I, too, eat gluten-free (as well as soy, yeast, and dairy free) and have found buckwheat to be my grain of choice, either as soba noodles (without wheat) or organic buckwheat fixed with stevia and almond milk. Buckwheat helps my carb cravings with no change in weight. Just suggestions for you to consider.

    As always, I am so impressed with your ability to organize your move. You give me hope!

    Karen

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