Lilith Saintcrow

Five things this Monday morning!

1. I know I’m supposed to give my body a day off to rest and repair itself. The trouble is, I’ve grown to need my daily running fix, and I get cranky if I don’t have it. Yesterday was my rest day. I woke up angry this morning, bounced through my morning run, and hit the climbing wall. That anger is great fuel, but I don’t like it. I have a healthy fear of the destructive power of my own rage. Thankfully, now that I’ve sweated and hauled myself around like a piece of baggage (seriously, I threw myself at the wall today, it was epic) I am reasonably serene. Now I just need to settle down and steady myself for the task at hand.

2. I had this urge to get a CD playing thunderstorm sounds. So I’ve been playing this since Sunday. What the Muse wants, the Muse gets, and I’m apparently needing to hear thunder and rain. At least the Muse isn’t requiring Eddie Rabbit. You know, I used to have Alvin and the Chipmunks doing I Love A Rainy Night on vinyl. I’m old-skool, yo.

3. I knew, when I walked away from my email this weekend, that I would rue it come Monday morning. *glances at inboxes, weeps* I suppose it’s better than coming back to dead silence…but still.

4. Today’s Girl Genius made me about pee myself laughing. This webcomic saved my life about eight months ago, and it continues to throw in a chuckle or two every week. Nicely done, Agatha and crew!

5. I really need to write some fight scenes. Or, more precisely, I need to go out to the heavy bag and work it a little to get some fight scenes clear in my head. I’m in the mood for writing some old-fashioned fisticuffs. In a bar. Or something. Hey, it’s better than actual fisticuffs in a bar, right?

That’s it, the Monday five. Welcome to my brain this afternoon. It’s a weird place to be.

Over and out…

Wow. Are we really just a week and change away from the Jealousy release? How time flies. Seriously, it seems like just a couple weeks ago I was finishing the first book in the series and gnashing my teeth wondering if I could pull the second one off the way I wanted to.

It’s a gray morning, and there’s a lot of work ahead of me. Which is the way I like it, and the way I like it. I like summer just fine, but the 90-100+ weather we had last year really put a dent in me. A nice cloudy morning and a sunny afternoon is just about perfect, and my garden agrees.

So, today there’s an essay to put the finishing touches on, one book to do a final revision pass on, another book to start the revision letter of a first draft on, and all-new wordcount on yet another book to grind out…you know, when I list it like that, it sounds almost doable.

Not long ago, at the Night of Powell’s Pwnage, someone asked how working writers prioritize the different tasks. I believe it was Devon Monk who first laughed and said, “Pure panic.” Which we all agreed with. There’s a certain component of triage any time you have more than one iron in the fire.

Anyway, off I go to get started. My stomach feels a little bruised and tender, and I’m pretty tired from one of the more, shall we say, exciting nights I’ve had in a while (the verdict is a mild stomach flu, not food poisoning, thank goodness) and I can’t seem to take in enough caffeine for my eyelids to prop themselves consistently wide enough. It’s a day for making a list and getting everything done in very small chunks.

Wish me luck.

I do have errands to run. I’m not going to run them. As a matter of fact, I am in full-fledged revolt against the idea of leaving the house today, not least because I suspect I will hurt someone if I go out. I am incredibly cranky today. I suspect I may be coming down with a cold, which only adds. So, today is short but sweet.

There’s an interview with me and giveaway for Strange Angels over at Tynga’s Reviews. Also, Issendai posted a followup to the sick systems post, in which s/he points out that it’s our virtues, not our vices, that keep us trapped in sick systems. Which is a good point.

There’s also a cranky agent cherrypicking the worst sentences out of his/her slushpile and putting them anonymously on Tumblr. I won’t lie. This amuses me mightily because I worked slush for a while. There will no doubt be another queryfail tempest in a teapot over this. We already know how I feel. In addition to being comedy gold, this is valuable advice, offered for free, about what NOT to do on a query. Nuff said.

I’ve got wordcount and proof pages to kick ass on today. One thing about being incredibly cranky: it makes me awful productive. Off I go, then. If you hear screaming, it’s just the Muse as I throw her in the traces and get out the whip. We’re taking no prisoners today.

Over and out.

Today has been productive. Errands run, a short story proofed, and the afternoon settling into a groove. When will I learn that trying to take days off makes me cranky and slightly depressed? I just don’t feel right unless I work. It may be a coping mechanism, but at least it’s a coping mechanism that benefits me and doesn’t suck.

The rain is coming through in sweeps today, and in between each brisk broom-flick of straight up-and-down falling water is a mini-sunbreak. It’s spring weather, and it washes every newly-sprung leaf and every azalea flower over and over. It’s the sort of day where the rain cleans the air too, and everything is crystalline when the sun breaks out. The entire world smells of green and growing.

Me? I’m inside listening to Joshua Bell playing Kreisler over and over. There’s a candle burning softly and the whole house is quiet except for the violin’s singing. Every window is full of the softstorm light of spring, and words are itching under my skin.

It’s good to be here. I hope your day is just as serene, dear Reader.

Today is Take Your Middle-Schooler To Work Day. Since I work at home…yeah, there was pleading. The Princess is usually so good, and she’s worked so hard, that I am allowing her to “come to work” with me today. Which basically means running errands with me, and hanging around the house while I bonk my head against revisions. The lucky little chickadee.

I’m deep in the wilds of revision and making a final push today, plus I have a ton of people who really need answers and correspondence from me. They’ve been very patient, and I need to get right on that and start cracking. So today it’s just a couple of links:

* Yes, health insurers want you dead. Or at least, very ill. Why else would they have $2 billion in stock in fast food companies? (h/t to Mark Morford.)

* Lucienne Diver with three things every writer should know.

* And something I’ve found helpful lately: 50 things you can control right now. In this vein, Thich Nhat Hanh on the here and now. Deeeep breath.

There now. That’s better.

See you on the other side, dear Readers.