Blog Post No.463
We had anther virtual writing retreat last weekend, which was good because it forced me to start on the second draft of Snow. I had planned on doing as much of it in one day as possible, but I didn’t get a lot of sleep the night before and started later than planned. I did manage to get a third of the second draft done in one sitting (and I finished off the rest over the next two days with two subsequent sittings). Not what I had intended, but I think it’s a step in the direction I wanted to take.
Usually this is a busy time of year. Between more shifts at the day job and more events to go to, I often had lots to write about for these posts. I am getting busier at the day job, but nothing like what it was before the pandemic. I don’t have any events, though. There are a few happening around the city (and elsewhere I’m sure), but I don’t feel like it’s a good idea to take part, yet.
Without events and with only the plodding progress on editing the novella, it took me a while to come up with an idea for this post. Since I haven’t had any events to go to over the last year-and-a-half, I’ve tried to come up with more interesting topics to write about. It was really easy to just do a recap of what happened at whatever event I attended last when I had to juggle a lot of different things. It’s a weird how the less you do, the more time you have, but the fewer things you have to write about. It’s like taking a vacation from work. You either have time or money.
That being said, I am keeping my eyes open for what may be happening in the coming year. Right now, infection numbers are too high for me to consider much, but hopefully people will be getting a booster shot in the near future and with stricter vaccine mandates, people with either just get the shot, or they won’t be able to go to whatever event I may attend.
At the day job, we’ve been trying to get a handle on the constantly changing rules and the reality of having to check everyone at the door. Hopefully, people will get more used to the system and things will get streamlined. It’ll take time. If that happens, though, I’ll be eager to get out to some events. I have three novellas burning a hole in my wallet (well, two and one being edited). I have to get out so I can sell them and earn back some of that money.
Ben Van Dongen 