Monday, February 6, 2017

Business of Writing

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by writing business that has nothing to do with getting one with my WIP. I've barely typed a word into that document, leaving my protagonists hanging in the middle of an emotional scene. I want to get back to it, but other things have been taking my time.

Being a member of the board in two different writing groups makes this a busy time of year. One had new officers with new ideas coming on board. The other is in the final stages of planning this year's May writing conference with hundreds of little details that need taken care of. A five and a half hour online meeting took up most of Saturday and another few hours are needed to attack the list of chores I need to do. Sigh. Enough whining. I did make the mistake of volunteering.

I also worked three long days on a final read-through of The Outlaw's Savior, Book #3 of The Galactic Outlaws series. I forgot how much I loved those characters.

Wait, last bit of whining. I haven't had time to read this past week! Horrifying.

I wanted to mention another TV show I really like. It's on PBS in my part of the world. I think it's produced by BBC. Poldark is an interesting period piece of an honorable man struggling to fit back into society after fighting in and losing the American Revolution. It's a wonderful glimpse of how the poor and the moneyed saw the world. There's uplifting moments as well as many tragic and sad parts. It's in its second season in the States.

My big hope this week is to get back to my WIP and maybe even settle on a title. I'd planned on having the first draft done by the end of the month. Clock's ticking.

We all live in a digital world, but there are still many times I print things out. Why is ink so expensive? And I bought my husband a new razor last week. Why are razor blades so expensive? Inquiring minds want to know.


Have you seen Poldark? What things are distracting you from your writing recently? Why are ink and razors so expensive?






28 comments:

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I print stuff out for my records. Makes it easier at bookkeeping time. (Which was this past weekend, another big time suck that has nothing to do with writing.)

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

No reading this past week?! Ack!

I print things out, too. Not as much as I used to - I'm trying to have less clutter - but I still like to have actual records and copies, etc.

Good luck with the WiP this week!

Maria Zannini said...

I wish I knew why ink and razors were expensive. It's a conspiracy.

re: Poldark
We started watching Poldark, but I'm afraid we lost interest before the first season was done. We love The Crown on Netflix though. Excellent acting and story.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

They know we need those blades, that's why they are so expensive.
Sorry those writing groups are sucking your time.

messymimi said...

Everything is expensive, except the cheap food that will make you fat, and even that is getting costlier. Good luck getting back to your writing, and more reading!

Ann Bennett said...

This is why I love short stories. It's hard to get time to read. I have over volunteered and life is boiling over. I feel your pain.

Pat Hatt said...

Razor blades are nuts, I'll stick with electric razor. With ink you may as well throw out the printer and buy a new one, probably cheaper. Hopefully you'll be writing away soon.

Bish Denham said...

I've enjoyed this re-boot of Poldark. I think the original is better, but this new one does a pretty good job. The first season was a little slow but the second season picked quite nicely.

A Beer for the Shower said...

Hold on, did you say five and a half hour online meeting? And I thought my two hour long conference calls were lame. Wow.

I'm going to have to check out Poldark. That sounds right up my alley.

Christine Rains said...

Good luck getting back into your WIP! I've been having trouble doing that lately too. So much marketing!

Ellie Garratt said...

Don't get me started on the cost of ink. I made a costly mistake a couple of years back - I decided the cost of the ink cartridges for my old HP printer was just too much. I bought a new one, with cartridges a third of the price. Big mistake. I used to be able to print several hundred pages with the black cartridges. Now I'm lucky if I get 30.

Good luck with your WIP!

J E Oneil said...

They're probably so expensive because companies know people need to keep buying them :P. I hope you can get back to writing!

nashvillecats2 said...

Good luck to you Susan you're doing a grand job.

Yvonne.

Nick Wilford said...

Poldark is huge in the UK, haven't watched it myself though. I'm with Jean, I think things that people tend to rely on repeatedly are usually expensive because they can get away with it! Good luck juggling and refocusing on your WIP. I also set myself a deadline for the end of Feb to finish my draft - let's egg each other on.

Denise Covey said...

It seems very early in my life I was reading my mum's Poldark series. Loved it. Escaped to Cornwall and the tin mines. I haven't watched the series on Netflix, being afraid they've botched it. Now I will have a look...thanks.

Denise Covey said...

And printer ink? Gave cartridges up ages ago. Sick of replacing them. Now I use a laser printer. Buy replacement cartridges online. Costs a fraction of ink and looks much better.

Tyrean Martinson said...

I wonder about ink and razors, too - I guess maybe the ink is hard to produce right, chemically? But, the razors? Is good metal that expensive? Is it because we use too many of them? I don't know.
Obviously from my questions here, I get distracted easily. :)
Poldark sounds like something I need to add to my To-Watch list. My teen daughters have me into watching Survivor reruns via AmazonPrime these evenings - I'm not sure why that particular reality show is so popular with our family at the moment, but it is. We discuss strategies and developments before, during, and after watching the show. Before that, we were into catching up with The Shanarra Chronicles. Hmm.

Chemist Ken said...

That's why I never volunteer for anything in our writing group--except when I agreed to do a presentation on story structure. It was a a lot of work, but I knew I'd learn from the experience.

As far as distractions go, I've been bothered by a long lasting cold that wiped me out for a while. It feels good to be back and writing again.

Patricia Stoltey said...

I'm also in a trap caused by volunteering -- I've held a job with a large writers' organization for more than three years, and I can't find anyone willing to take my place. I need to reclaim that time for writing!

kimlajevardi.com said...

Sounds like a busy time. My work responsibilities are my current distraction from writing. I've been doing some planning for extra side pieces of my job, and that planning is very time consuming at the moment. Argh...

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

I've watched Poldark but sadly don't get it down here in Bucerias. I'll catch up when I return home. I think Aidan Turner does an awesome job of Poldark. Did you see him in Being Human? There are rumours he may be the next Bond.

Raquel Byrnes said...

I really struggle with the non writing aspects of being an author too. Between marketing and social media... Critique group... Sigh. Hang in there.

mshatch said...

I have not seen Poldark but I would like to as I love historicals. I've also been guilty of leaving my poor characters hanging which I feel terrible about.

Shannon Lawrence said...

I haven't seen Poldark, but I've seen/heard it recommended elsewhere. Volunteering in the writing community can definitely eat away at time. Our big conference is in April, so approaching fast. I'm looking forward to being done with my volunteer position as of next September, and will be trying not to make the same mistake again. It's eaten more of my writing time than I'm willing to continue with.

Tamara Narayan said...

I've never heard of Poldark, but what can you expect when you cancel your cable (which makes getting local channels a bit of a challenge.) I've been distracted from writing, but have no excuses to offer.

The Happy Whisk said...

Razor blades are nuts. I dunno why? There is a program, something like razor of the month. We have a friend who loves it, please let me know if you want the information. Once Tim finishes his stockpile, from back in my coupon daysm we might give, Razor of the Month a try.

Not sure the real name.

By gosh, you are one busy chickie. Question? Would you sign up again next year for these writing gigs?

Unknown said...

I understand being overwhelmed. I've been trying to play catch up on my writing and feel like most of 2016 passed in a fog and now I'm lost on what to tackle first. I think its cheaper to buy a new printer than ink. That always boggles my mind at the same time it annoys me.

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