Blinking owlishly

This happens after every workshop I take on the Oregon Coast, especially the writing-intensive ones. I emerge, blinking as if coming out of the dark into sunlight, dazed. At first, I have trouble talking to people who aren’t writers – what do non-writers talk about? (Although writers tend to be the type of people who can talk about anything, which I love.) How do non-writers get through the day without the voices in their heads, the characters clamoring for attention, the plot ideas that twist and turn like shiny colored ribbons.

Also, what’s happening in the world, with my friends and family? When I’m  heads-down writing, I lose touch with everything outside of the WMG clubhouse, the Historic Anchor Inn, and a few restaurants in Lincoln City. And the ocean, which fills my senses and refills the creative well I’ve depleted.

I was able to pop on FB a few times, but not for long, so anything that didn’t show up on three or four screens is gone forever. Ditto blogs, although I can get to them (where they patiently wait via GoogleReader).

So my point is, if I owe you an email or a call, I’ll get to it. Soon. Perhaps not today, but soon. If you have exciting news that I may have missed, let me know (and I’ll get back to you…soon).

If you need to get hold of me, email is best. FB messaging worst by a long way. If you’ve pinged me that way recently, it’s probably lost in the crush (and I don’t have reliable Internet access right now, so my FB time will be limited ‘til I get home next week).

With that out of the way…the workshops. I’ve already talked about The Craft and Business of Short Fiction. My story for the Fiction River anthology Unnatural Worlds was bounced when an invited author got their overdue story in, but Kris and Dean think it will work for a 2014 issue (with a fantasy detectives theme) if I don’t sell it before then. So that’s the first announcement of spiffiness.

The second workshop was the annual Anthology Workshop. If you’ve read my SFF short-story collection Written on the Coast, you’ve seen the product of the first six Anthology Workshops. The basic setup is that we write a story ahead of time (this year, for possible inclusion in Unnatural Worlds, edited by John Helfers) and then write a story at the workshop (this year, for possible inclusion in Hex in the City, edited by Kerrie Hughes). We also read everyone else’s, not for a critique (we’re all pro writers), but as if we were editing the anthologies ourselves. Then, Kris, Dean, John, and Kerrie all give their opinion, with the actual editor letting us know if s/he will buy the story or not.

I’m chuffed to say that my story for Unnatural Worlds made the first cut, and my story for Hex in the City will appear in that anthology!   *\o/*

Plus I got to read so many amazing, creative, fantastic stories by some brilliant writers I’m fortunate to call my friends and peers.

And there walks on the beach, in the rain and in the sunshine….

Our original plan was to head home after the final workshop, but Ken has more work to do in Portland on his motorcycle (his friend has a shop), so now we’re looking at leaving Thursday evening. I caught a ride here last night, so I’ve got a few days to get some work done before we go. I’ve got stories to write, business correspondence to catch up on, anthology themes to pitch, a novel to edit, a novella to finish….

The only downside is that I have two commissioned design jobs I need to get done before the California Dreamin’ RWA conference March 15–17, and I’m going to have only a week to do them. Eep! It’s doable, but I’ll be putting in some overtime.  :-)

Speaking of work, I'm off to do it now! But let me know how ya’ll have been doing!

The Focus and the Joy

My friend, the divine Shanna Germain, picks a word for each year. Something to focus on, to embrace, to work towards, to center around. (Follow the link on her name to read her explanation, which is much better than mine. Go on. I’ll wait.)

So she asked her friends and readers what their words were, and this year, I can’t decide between two. They’re different, but yet they’re both internal.

Joy. Focus.

These words, along with Temperance, the Tarot card I pulled on Samhain (to illuminate the Celtic year ahead), are what I’m meditating on right now. No definitive answers yet. But I know I want to focus on joy, and find joy in focus. I want to recognize and experience joy when I’m in the middle of it—I want to be mindful of it—and I want to rediscover the joy of doing the things I love, the things that are good for me. Writing, eating healthy, running, dancing, laughing, loving, singing, being.

It looks like the beginning of the year will also be about learning, gaining knowledge—which I know will help me with focus.

In February, I’ll be taking a couple of writing workshops in Oregon. In March, I’ll be attending the first-ever California Dreamin’ conference, a joint effort by the Los Angeles, Orange County, and East Valley RWA chapters. In March and April, I’ve got a 6-week online course booked on Pitches and Blurbs, and I may do some other online courses through the Oregon Writers Network later in the year.

Overall, I need to look at my production schedule and make some plans for the beginning of the year, writing- and publishing-wise. I started thinking about it last night, to let it soak into my subconscious. Dean Wesley Smith’s blog posts on the topic are a huge boon for me.

Starting next week, Morgana and I are taking a 6-week online course called Align Your Life! Magic, Purpose, & Living the Way You Really Want, taught by my acquaintance, the splendidly lovely T. Thorn Coyle. I’d only recently heard about it, and shot an email to Morgana, and when I didn’t hear back, I kinda forgot. Then last night around 10 pm she called me to tell me she wanted to do it, but registration was about to close! So I fired off an email and our deposits, and we’re in. Whew!

I feel I’ve lost touch with my spirituality over the past few years, and I need to make it a priority again. Morgana’s expressed similar feelings, although I can’t speak directly for her. I think this will be a good first step.

Meanwhile, Ken and I have been discussing our goals re: health and fitness. We’re hoping to both do the three-week nutritional cleanse that I did a couple of years ago (our chiropractor’s father is a nutritionist). It’s a fantastic jump-start, focused on detoxing certain organs, and a good way to get back to basics. Bad habits have crept in again. After I did the cleanse last time, I felt so much better—to the point that my night vision actually improved.

Beyond all this? We’ve talked about taking a photography course so we can learn how to use our camera to its full capabilities, and I’d like to take piano lessons again. (Ken wants to take guitar lessons, but my suggestion is that he take piano lessons with me to learn how to read music, plus we already have a keyboard.) But nothing’s hard-scheduled past March, except for the 2013 Iron Butt Rally (end of June into the beginning of July) and another OWN workshop for me in July. There will be cross-country trips to visit my sister, of course, and no doubt trips north to see my other sister, and trips south to see Ken’s family. There will be friends. There will be joy. There will be focus.

There will be life, as best as we can do it. I’m looking forward to it.