Category: Annie DeMoranville

Work Wednesday: One Foot in Front of the Other

Lamppost decorated as Say Anything meme of Lloyd holding up the radio

I love my neighbors. They decorate their lamppost every month. Sure, they do seasonal – Halloween is always spectacular – but their random ones are my favorites. They did two full months of Trans Awareness this spring, including literature (!). During the pandemic, they would do various healthcare workers, all wearing masks, and one time, I think it was a giant vaccine needle. This one is by far my favorite. Just brings me joy to walk by it each day.

I am on overwhelm and not wanting to do anything. But there is much to do: the front door needs to get a third coat of paint; the outside of the house needs to be prepped before the painters arrive in a week; and as always, the dogs need to be walked. And let’s not forget that the gardens need to be weeded.

Oh, yeah and I have a book to rewrite. I’m working on that.

How are you approaching your weeks these days?

Monday Menu: Garden Fresh Recipes

My garden is doing okay this summer, but not spectacular. So, while I have a counter full of tomatoes, not really enough to worry about freezing this year. But I still need to them up. So I made two tomato-heavy recipes this weekend. Salsa and salad.

 

tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and green pepper chopped on a cutting board

I had one lone cucumber in the garden this week, so of course it was time for a summer staple.

Continue reading Monday Menu: Garden Fresh Recipes

Work Wednesday: TJ Speaks

Dark haired woman standing at a window
Delilah by Henry Clive 1930

Continuing the discussion on the rewrites for Full Sail and what is working and what is most definitely not.

By the time I was editing chapters twelve and thirteen, I knew I had to stop and regroup. The entire feel of the book was off. And most importantly, I had lost TJ’s voice around chapter five.

Dancer in yellow, dancer in red dancing a tango

TJ’s voice is complex and filled with self-deprecation, humor, self-doubt and defiance. Sharp edges and deep emotions. And somehow, I had flattened out all her fun curves.

The only way I knew to find her again was to go back to the beginning. And the beginning was Run Aground. I queued up the audiobook and began to rediscover my muse.

When I can manage to write again, I think she is back strong, in all her depth and complexity. I suspect, as I return to the process, she’ll bring me comfort as we complete our journey together.