Reading and Writing - February 2019
I began January with a reasonable to-do list. My first priority was to finish some of the things leftover from 2018. The second was to begin the first edits on my new novel; third was to try and not take on too many projects!
It went well for a few days, then I realized I needed to spend time and money getting work done on my website. While I ultimately want to redesign the site, my first priority is taking care of the behind-the-scenes stuff: moving to new hosting, converting to https and upgrading the security.
If you've ever done anything like this, you know that the simplest things can often lead to the biggest problems. My site is small, and really, everything has gone smoothly, but it has pulled me away from my writing and editing. I did write the January essay for My Year In England series but won't publish it until the site work is complete. The March newsletter should have links to it and the February essays. In the meantime, if you missed any of the previous essays, you can find them here.
I am about a third of the way through revising my novel, which isn't bad, but I really want to move forward quicker. It was very frustrating to find all sorts of silly errors (in one chapter I'd have the protagonist say that she had been overheard, then in the next, she'd say that no one else knew what she had found.) Several things like that to clean up, but overall not too bad. The next section, however, has a lot more to it, including several scenes that I haven't written yet. There are a series of clues that the protagonist has to find, and I wasn't sure what the clues were or how they would be read. A couple of weeks ago, the solution finally came to me when I realized I was making it TOO complicated. Keep it simple, right? So my goal for February is to get the missing section written and start revising it.
One thing I did get completed was my Purse Declutter how-to guide. Yes, this is different from what I am writing now! So far it is only available in PDF on Etsy, but I hope to have the ebook version available soon. If you are starting off the new year with decluttering, you may find it, or my series of declutter articles, helpful.
What I'm Reading
As I mentioned above, I did not get much reading done in January. One goal for February is to correct that. However, there were a couple of things I read that I want to pass on:
Still Life 1931 by Kris Nelscott. This is a short story, and it was available free to read for one week on the author's website. Once I began reading, I could not stop. Set in 1931, as the title indicates, I had to find out what Lurlene was going to do. From the book's description:
Years ago, Lurleen helped the NAACP investigate lynchings. She stopped when she met her husband, but never forgot the work…or the caution it required. After his death, Lurleen finds herself struggling to find purpose.
She travels to New York without a plan. But what she finds there might help her face her past—and finally chart her future.
A powerful story about justice, courage, and facing one’s true self.
Kill Game: Cold Poker Series Book I by Dean Wesley Smith. A group of detectives, some retired, some not, meet weekly for a poker game and to work on cold cases. One week the newest member brings in a cold case - her husband's death. Turns out, it was the first case another of the group had worked on. Set in Las Vegas, the group works to solve what happened twenty years ago. See if you can figure it out before they do (I didn't.)!
I hope you read more than I did last month. Was there anything you really liked? Or something you did not like at all? What made it memorable, either good or bad? I'd love to hear your answers. Just hit reply and let me know. Until next month, keep reading!
Gladys
If you enjoyed what you read, please forward this newsletter to anyone you know who would enjoy it. Sharing is caring!
If a friend shared this with you, you can get it in your inbox each month. Click here to subscribe.
|
