Undashed (as of yet) hopes...

Third day in a row of mild weather and sun, but there's still six inches of now on the lawn. Maybe it'll be gone by the weekend. Feels like a lost day, but I know it wasn't. Drafted a new story that may or may not have promise, then into the office to do a little commercial work. Took care of small things from noon till 2:00, then off to the barber, the gym, and back to the office. Feeling the weight of the week, and happy to know tomorrow's Friday. Looking forward to a couple days of uninterrupted writing. Very much like to have a working draft of "Unseen" in order by tomorrow evening. "Good Bad Friday" not long after that. Submitted a scaled back version of The Outskirts of Nowhere" off to the Indiana Review press for consideration in the Blue Lights Book Prize. Haven't had much luck with the IR, but we'll see. Maybe an independent judge will look more favorably on my style.

Can it only be Monday?

Where do I start? Up early, but not early enough to hit the gym. Home all morning looking after little things, then to the office to finish the Royal Gorge script and send off the first NM review, which I kicked upstairs. After that, paid bills, ran to the bank and post office. 

Temps warm today. Streets a slushy mess. Weather bureau says 50s tomorrow, and maybe the day after. Not sure it'll be enough to melt all the snow that's left, but what's left will be a problem for days.

Tired and ready for something different.

All in a weekend's work...

Up later than usual. Extra rest good after a night out. 

Made some decent revisions on Good Bad Friday. Think I have a new opening. Added two hundred fifty to three hundred words on the front end, but clipped just as many from the rest of the story. Beginning to feel all right.

Went off to see "Hail, Caesar!" this afternoon. Enjoyed it. A nice break from work.

Got most of my first NM review in place later this evening. 

Down for the count...

Can't believe it. Woke up to two more inches of snow this morning. Went out and shoveled, then came back in for a quick couple of cups of coffee. Made a couple of manuscript revisions, then headed into the office. A beautiful morning. It actually slapped me in the face as I was heading west, up to Old Colorado City. Blue sky, thin low-hanging clouds, and the Peak rising up out it all, as pure and steady and permanent as anything in this world ever gets.

Spent the afternoon at home, working on the Royal Gorge script. Lots of interruptions, but got far enough I should be able to wrap it up sometime tomorrow. Missed getting over to the gym again tonight. Damn. Gonna hit it early tomorrow, and make up for lost reps.

That's it. Throwing in the towel for evening. 

 

An evening, salvaged...

Long, quiet day. Pushed papers at the office, worked on script for the Royal Gorge, did some billing and still managed a few revisions. Haven't been able to muster enough energy for a deep push, writing into the evening. The cold dark nights sap the cheer out of it. Glad to see the weekend come round. Have a little time for my fiction. If it's warm, maybe get in some snowshoeing. Headed out to the gym with the wrong set of keys. Begged my way in only to discover I'd left my workout clothes at home. Picked up a six on the way home. Figured it was the best I'd be able to do, given the cursed nature of the evening. 

Day labor, light denied...

Just back from an EJ meeting about Social Security. Illuminating--in that, as suspected, I won't be retiring anytime soon.

Cold day, but not so bad in the sun. Went sledding for the first time in many a year down at the park. Much fun was had. Wind picked up and headed home, Tilapia fillet for lunch, website copy most of the afternoon, a little reading and revision in the early evening.

Note from Michael Croft, editor in chief at Narrative magazine late this afternoon. I've been accepted as an assistant editor. A lot of work ahead. A lot of responsibility. Thrilled with the news and can't wait to get started.

Went to work on the new opening of "Good Bad Friday" this morning. Banged out something like 300 words without looking back. Some clean-up, compression, and I'll be ready to send it out. Feels as though the pieces are falling into place.

Enough already...

Must have been a foot of snow out there this morning. Shoveled like hell and dumped it on the grass. Streets are a mess. Gonna take a few solid days of sunshine and warm weather to even put a dent in things. Forecast calls for fifty-some degrees come the weekend. If we get it, we'll be looking at a mountain of slush.

Close to finished with the "Beggar's Banquet" draft. Really like the changes I've made over the past few days. I knew there was a story under all the horse shit, and am glad I hung tight with it. Think it's got potential now. Feels like it, anyway. Will let it sit for a couple of days then go back and have another look-see.

Made it to the gym late afternoon, but didn't have much in the tank. Maybe it was all the snow shoveling this morning. Will hit it hard tomorrow if I can. 

Picked up the new glasses. Still not right, but at this point, three passes in, I didn't figure it would get any better. So I took them. They'll be find for reading, but lousy for anything beyond about three feet. Abba Eyecare, never again.

The sky is falling...

Waffled in my believerhood when I looked out the window this morning. Couldn't have been more than a few inches of snow. Went out, shoveled, and figured I was through. Must have gotten  seven inches since then as payback. Came back from the gym, and had to shovel a second time. No doubt about it, there's a third pass in my future.

A lot of solid work today. Very happy with the direction the new/old story is taking. Have ripped off the Stones for a working title. "Beggar's Banquet." Feels right now, like I've finally cracked the code. Still needs work, but not all that much.

Fire burning downstairs. Time for a glass of wine. Need to back off the revisions for a while and start something new. Get hammering on the commercial work. 

Snow, snow, snow...

Okay. I'm a believer. Clouds are gathered over the Peak and a cold wind's moving in. Snow's a bit wet at the moment, which should make for a nice undercoating of ice once the storm blows for real. Come midnight, we're supposed to  get hammered.

Worked on revisions this morning, then went off to the theater to see The Revenant. Gorgeous cinematography. Believable retelling of Hugh Glass's unbelievable story of survival.

Made it to the gym later. Only two others there. Had a nice workout, then came home and made a few more notes. Gonna jump in the shower now, then go down and cook dinner. Looking forward to a fire and a glass of wine.

Ventures forth...

Tumbled  out of bed late this morning. Felt good to sleep. Poached egg and toast for breakfast, leisurely conversation over a cup of coffee. 

Started restructuring an old story I'd pulled from circulation, and found instant success in the revision. Still a ways from being a clean draft, but feel I've got a good handle on where it's going and how it's going to play. Glad I stuck with it. Think it's got real promise now. Particularly if I can make it do what it seems to want to do.

No gym today. Drove out to Whole Foods instead and picked up some groceries. Pizza tonight. Salmon tomorrow. Cold winds are blowing in already, so it's good we stocked up. Forecast is for fifteen inches between now and Monday. Be surprised if it happened, but you never know. Whatever gives, we need the moisture. If it's big, it'll just mean snowshoeing next weekend.

Talked about making audio productions of some of the stories on this site. Think it would be the next logical step to getting folks familiar with my work. Gonna make a push to get at least one in place before spring rolls around.

A good scent from a familiar mountain...

Good day at the office, good day at home. Commercial projects steaming forward, an hour or so of revisions on a new story, even got a couple of letters off. Tired. Almost didn't make it to the gym. Sucked it up, though, and got in a half-decent work out. Tomorrow, free sailing in the morning. Hope to get in some good work. Afternoon? Maybe a movie. Big Chinook winds blew in today, making me remember the worst part about Colorado winters and springs. Oh, well. Can't bitch too much. Not after what happened to the poor folks along the eastern seaboard. Keeping this short tonight. Dinner's cooking, and the whole evening's ahead.

No prisoners...

Good day. Learned "Bitter Angels of Our Nature" is being picked up by the Saint Katherine Review. There was other nice news as well, but nothing to serve up in a journal. At least not yet. Suffice it to say, you never know who's reading what, so keep your nose clean and just keep working. 

Last seen, it was a beautiful day. Cool, but pretty. Spent the afternoon taking care of correspondence, scheduling, etc. Another new job in. Had an hour unaccounted for and used it to make some quick revisions on one of the new stories.

Tired for some unaccountable reason. I guess because it's Thursday. Need to work through the malaise and keep reminding myself that every free minute is a chance to do something positive. Put on my war face. 

  

Holding on...

Into the office early. Made a few revisions on some corporate work, then settled in to write my "audition" piece for NM. 

Home just a bit before 1:00 pm. Good afternoon. Feel like I'm gaining a little ground after my week away. Gotta keep pushing. Take advantage of the advances and build on them. 

Had a terrible dream last night. Best to leave it at that. Thinking positive thoughts now, and hope tonight's a different scenario. Gotta be, right?

Schedule says home in the morning, office in the afternoon. Gonna try and carve out some time to revise a story. Fingers crossed.

 

 

Up for air...

Bit off more than I could chew today. Fell behind, somehow, while thinking I was moving ahead. Oh, well. Game ain't over, is it? 

Felt like spring going into the office, winter coming out. Imagine it'll be that way for a while. 

Haven't touched a story in two days. Commercial work keeping me busy. Will get back on it tomorrow when I get a bit of downtime.

Kitty sitting on my lap. Not much to do about that, either. Except smile. 

A midwinter's musing...

Up late. Body must be compensating for the shifts in time zone. Circadian clock and all that. Still feeling a little lazy and find I have to push extra hard to get moving, which is annoying.

Threw down a couple of cups then went to work on projects outstanding. Brochure. Radio. Other jobs with looming deadlines. Spent the morning and better part of the afternoon at the keyboard, but didn't make as much headway as I'd wanted. Fingers crossed I hit stride tomorrow. 

No one in the gym tonight. All home watching football games, I guess. Anyway, nice workout. Snow started to fall just before I got home. Temps had dropped too. Sixty yesterday, so the change is a bit jarring. Nothing to complain about, though, compared to what's going on back east. Those poor souls will be digging out for a month.

A lot of work ahead. That's good. A nice problem to have.

Comings and goings...

Lot of running back and forth today, but all good. Gym early, home for morning coffee, out the door to the office, then home again to finish up a few projects at home. New gigs on the horizon. One web video, two web sites, and new radio spot. Can't wait to jump in. Meanwhile, some excellent revisions on one of the new stories. Haven't delved into the SF piece yet--may give myself some room before taking that on--but have enough in the hopper to stay busy for some time. 

Sunny most of the day, but still cool. Got in a short walk mid-day, but was forced to shut it down before I wanted. No worries. Tomorrow's another day.

Read an unusual piece in the New Yorker today. A story (translation), "Aspic." Seemed different for the NYer, but maybe I'm just imagining things. Anyway, nice piece. Quiet, but with a brutal imagery.

Cold coming on? We'll see. Man, I hate colds. They seem so avoidable, and yet I can't avoid them. Downing vitamin C like its candy. Choking down the zinc, too, but with deep regret. Fingers crossed I can dodge the bullet just a little longer. Especially with the new jobs rolling in.    

Feelin it...

Early coffee. Eased into the morning, then headed to the office to catch up on paperwork. Late morning meeting over a new web video for the Royal Gorge. Good to get back in the swing. Starting to feel the energy of home again.

Long afternoon looking after little things. Did manage a stroll around the neighborhood, more paperwork, and a quick workout at the gym, but can tell already it's going to take until the weekend before I get my groove back.

Put in some time on one of my new stories. Making so much progress with it it's scary. I know, I know. I'll eat those words. But right now I'm locked in, and when I hit certain sections it's like new snow on freshly waxed skis. It just moves. Riding the fumes of SF, I guess. We'll see.

 

First impressions, lasting impressions...

Back from SF to clear Colorado skies. Flew into Denver, got waylaid by nine-car collision in Larkspur, detoured into foothills and emerged, unscathed on the other side of Palmer Lake. 

Too much to say about Jenks and all the others. Great people, terrific work. The whole enchilada. Was very much impressed by the entire experience, and know already it will stick around forever. 

Phone went on the blink--again, so a few messages were late in arriving. Found out early this morning The Outskirts of Nowhere story collection was a semi-finalist in the St. Lawrence Book Award contest.

Nice news. Now need to parlay the studies and hard work into something bigger. Stronger. Learned things that could help get me there.