Fall weekend
Oct. 3rd, 2010 10:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ksmithYesterday was cloudy and rainy. Fall bluster. I have yet to wander into the basement to check for leaks. I may have another cup of coffee first.
Got an invitation to contribute to an anthology, which I accepted. No guarantees, but I really would like to come through with this one. I have had to turn down so many invitations over the years, or ignore the open calls, because I was working on a book. Some folks can multitask, write a story in a week, a few days. Maybe the stories gestate in their backbrains while they work on other things. Maybe they hyperfocus and pull it together all at once. I need to ponder, start and restart and focus, just as I do with a novel, and most times I just can't justify the effort. But as I said, I want to do this, so. Already pondering the premise, and the opening scenes. It needs to be on the short side, and that will be a challenge as well. For me, a novella counts as short. Short stories are like sketches, gesture drawings. Zip zip and done. I often feel rushed when I write them, as if I am explaining something to someone as they interrupt and cut me off. I love a well-done short story. I love the idea of writing shorts. They're just not my natural length. So I expect a grapple. I just hope I wind up with something salable at the end.
Baked banana bread yesterday. My usual recipe, but with a 12-oz bag of semisweet chips added just because. I also added cinnamon and a teaspoon of espresso powder to punch up the chocolate flavor. Not that it needed punching up, mind. I had a piece last night and my, but it's rich. I should probably freeze half the thing so it doesn't go stale because a small piece goes a hella long way.
Sunny today, but chilly. I need to check the bell peppers to see how they're doing. I've 8 of them, all about 3 inches across. I want to leave them to ripen as long as possible--we're supposed to wander back up into the 70s this week, so that will be good. I want to see a little red in the peppers before I pick them, since that's supposed to be the sign that the bitterness is gone. Let summer drag on just a little bit longer.
Vacuum. Laundry. London broil for dinner. Off to it.
Got an invitation to contribute to an anthology, which I accepted. No guarantees, but I really would like to come through with this one. I have had to turn down so many invitations over the years, or ignore the open calls, because I was working on a book. Some folks can multitask, write a story in a week, a few days. Maybe the stories gestate in their backbrains while they work on other things. Maybe they hyperfocus and pull it together all at once. I need to ponder, start and restart and focus, just as I do with a novel, and most times I just can't justify the effort. But as I said, I want to do this, so. Already pondering the premise, and the opening scenes. It needs to be on the short side, and that will be a challenge as well. For me, a novella counts as short. Short stories are like sketches, gesture drawings. Zip zip and done. I often feel rushed when I write them, as if I am explaining something to someone as they interrupt and cut me off. I love a well-done short story. I love the idea of writing shorts. They're just not my natural length. So I expect a grapple. I just hope I wind up with something salable at the end.
Baked banana bread yesterday. My usual recipe, but with a 12-oz bag of semisweet chips added just because. I also added cinnamon and a teaspoon of espresso powder to punch up the chocolate flavor. Not that it needed punching up, mind. I had a piece last night and my, but it's rich. I should probably freeze half the thing so it doesn't go stale because a small piece goes a hella long way.
Sunny today, but chilly. I need to check the bell peppers to see how they're doing. I've 8 of them, all about 3 inches across. I want to leave them to ripen as long as possible--we're supposed to wander back up into the 70s this week, so that will be good. I want to see a little red in the peppers before I pick them, since that's supposed to be the sign that the bitterness is gone. Let summer drag on just a little bit longer.
Vacuum. Laundry. London broil for dinner. Off to it.
