Skip to main content

Updates Galore

Writing

I submitted a horror story on Saturday. It's a wonderful tale *possibly* involving cannibalism. After looking at the critiques from my writing group on another story, I'm slightly worried it's riddled with grammar issues though.

I'm unsure why I'm having trouble with grammar lately. Passive voice is likely creeping into my work because I've been listening to classic novels. I'm a little worried about this grammar issue. I used to tutor others in English. Hopefully I'm just going through a growth period. In any case, Purple Ribbons will need more fixes before it goes out the door.

Writer's group was tonight. We have several new members who gave great feedback. It's really nice having some new perspectives and varied experience.

I haven't heard about my novel yet, but they're a small team and I know it takes me a long time to read one book let alone several. Of course I'm eager to hear from them, but I'm keeping the project manager within me at bay.


Health

I'm starting to feel more energetic, but usually by Thursday I feel utterly exhausted. Hopefully I stop feeling exhausted simply from going to work soon.

I am producing a little more saliva, which is a great thing for my teeth. This is weird for me though. I feel somewhat like a newborn experiencing things for the first time. I also keep wondering if I'm drooling, but keep telling myself it just feels like that because I've been dry for so long.

Small movements make my muscles hurt, like just lifting my arm. Doesn't seem to matter how much water I've drank. Hopefully that lessens as it's really not encouraging activity.


Reading

I've got several books on the go. I'm listening to the Libravox recording of Dracula by Bram Stoker as part of research for my own tale. Also as research, and really sheer enjoyment, I'm reading Human by S. M. Carrière.

Also on the go are Isaac Bonewits' "Bonewits's Essential Guide to Druidism" and American Gods by Neil Gaiman. The guide is for my own spiritual growth, but will likely help me with any edits to The Page & The Magician as a bonus. I read an article that said writers often write specific stories depending on what point of life they are at. I guess I'm at the spiritual discovery point, which is on target for my age.


TV

I caved and for Netflix. I'm working my way through the old seasons of The X-Files. I was 12 when they first aired and there's a lot I don't remember. I also never finished the whole thing.

When I'm needing a break from that I check out movies I missed like The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo or Django Unchained.


Martial Arts

Didn't do much last week. Hoping to get back to it tomorrow evening. I was too tired to go to karate on Saturday, but tried to practice a bit of the second kata. I did something wrong with the reverse punch on my left side and hurt my bicep muscle. I read this happens commonly with shadow boxing on the off hand. Unfortunately that made me unable to use my arm much on Sunday and meant no iaido. Driving didn't hurt today though, so hopefully I'm good to go tomorrow.

Recently my grand sensei (my sensei's sensei) posted about how he still struggles with sword grip. It's very timely for me. I've been wondering if I'll ever fix my grip hahaha. Now I know I'll be working on it forever. Hopefully I improve to the point where my sword is definitely cutting most of the time. I'm only shodan, so I have a lot of work ahead of me. I'm not sure if it's reassuring to know I'll still be struggling with it should I ever make it to 7th Dan or not. That's iaido though. It's an art focused on continuous self improvement.


Music

I haven't been doing much in the past couple of months, but I've been getting back into my guitar this week.


Lots on the go. Getting back to normal is a wonderful thing, but I want to fit some reading in before bed.

Ciao,
R~
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

2020 Vision

Mostly, I’ve been planning for the new year, but I discovered I know Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. It was a recollection under the influence that brought this to light. I also discovered I still suck at drawing, but I’m okay with that. I used to think I had to be good at everything, and I’ve realized that’s just not so. Some friends and I recently hit up a local board game pub. It was a pretty fun night. The first game was Balderdash and I was terrible at it. Because I was the writer in the group, some of my friends thought I should be more embarrassed about it and hide the fact that I don’t spend all my free time learning advanced vocabulary. But I’m not upset about it. Why? Two reasons: 1. I now know what I don’t know. 2. If one takes a close look at the top selling novels on the market, the level of the language used is not the level of many of the words in Balderdash. Not that I’m comparing my own work to those, but audience is what matters in writing. To me, it is far better to e...
Read more

Fortifying Friday - Rejection

Yesterday, I received my first rejection from an agent. It stung. It wasn't that it was bad. It was worded in a way that it may have even been personally written. Regardless, rejection never feels good unless you were secretly hoping to stay home and do nothing when a friend made plans with you. Then it feels great! I might be an introvert ;) Anyway, it hurts a bit extra when you have other things going on. Between the worries of the state of the world and being unemployed, it felt much like being kicked while I was already down. The agent said she couldn't connect with my book though she really wanted to. She also said not to take her rejection as any kind of sign that I should give up. It was nice as far as rejections go. So, I lay there for a bit. Then I let my friends know via social media. Several said that I had hit a milestone and I should try to collect as many as possible this year. Rejections, they said, were a badge of honour awarded for putting myself out there. See...
Read more

Thoughtful Thursday - Dental Access

I haven't made use of it yet as I discovered it only this week, but there are free dental screenings in Ottawa for people who have a low income. I'm not sure what happens at these things, but I imagine they're rather like the once or twice yearly visits we had in grade school from the health unit where they checked our teeth. Anyway, I thought I'd mention that in case anyone is in need. There is a schedule with the locations listed and I'm guessing it's hard to get there early enough to get seen, but I'll check it out soon. I've been using dental products that are supposed to repair and whiten. I'm unsure they are working, but I figured they were worth a try. Also, I hear if you add activated charcoal to your toothbrush before the toothpaste, it helps whiten too. It makes a hell of a mess, but I tried it. I think it might take a while to whiten, but my teeth are definitely cleaner, so I think it really does help with plaque. Activated charcoal is als...
Read more