It’s been a full couple of days, really. Some of the panels have been really interesting, some not so much – the latter, I think, mostly because I had hoped to glean something new on a topic I’m already familiar with, but the panel conversation didn’t happen to wander into new territory for me.

I found fellow Seton Hill-er CPC at the Planet Stories table and we had a nice conversation about life and writing and things that get in the way. And then, since I hadn’t eaten nearly enough, I almost fainted. CPC rescued me from a paramedic encounter by fetching me some M&Ms and a soda (thanks again, Chris) and after I recovered, I went about my day. Got some books signed, went to another panel, lost my wallet, and came home.

Didn’t realize I’d lost my wallet until I got home. Oddly enough, I didn’t panic. Yesterday morning I walked all over the Denver Convention Center (which is HUGE, btw) trying to check all the lost and found places, none of which had my wallet. We cancelled the one credit card I’d lost along with it and, of course, about two hours later someone turned it in to the convention’s information desk and I got it back. Whee wallet back! Boo cancelled credit card. *shrug* But so it goes.

Got more books signed, ran into Traci Castleberry (yet another SHU-er), more panels, and somehow managed not to run into Carol Berg all day, even though I know she was around.

Matt was downtown last night, so he picked me up downtown and we had a nice dinner and then came home. So that’s the gig so far. I’m having fun, tho I’m getting the feeling that a three-day con might be my ideal length. This one seems like it’s just going to keep on going forever.

Manuscript progress is at 48%. Woohoo! I intend to work on bits and pieces this week, just to keep my toes wet, but most of my time will be taken up by WorldCon/Denvention. Loads of fun! I’ll try to remember to take pictures.

Have I mentioned that one of Shiloh’s new favorite activities is going outside after dark to play with the toads? She noses them. They hop. She gets all excited. She noses them. They hop. She gets all excited. You can see how this could go on for quite some time in puppy-land.

Have a good week!

I started off the day getting an oil change and all the other check the car stuff that seems wise before a cross-country driving escapade. Then I proceeded to the coffee house, where I occupied their lovely leather couch (very comfy), ate a piece of blueberry coffee cake about half the size of my head, and drank my bottomless cup of coffee. Adrianne and Allison showed up while I was there, so on one of my breaks I got to spend some time with them, which was nice. I like having friends to bump into at the coffee shop.

Then I came home with fantastic intentions of doing all the laundry, which didn’t happen. And after some reading, I came back to work on the novel. It’s been a good day. Low stress, fair to high productivity, and generally a good vibe. I’ve hit 40% on the revisions, though I do have to go back and finish a scene in chapter 11. It seems to be flowing better when I bounce back and forth to it rather than pounding on it, trying to make things happen. One more scene to tweak in chapter 13, and then I’m on to chapter 14 for tomorrow. Still a touch behind, technically, but I’ll be ahead by close of day tomorrow.

Here’s another bit of teaser from the novel:

Hoshea’s body twisted in another violent convulsion and then lay still. Lemuel knelt to comfort him, but I could only stare in rapt horror at the spot just above the priest and the boy. Dark as fresh ink and swirled with sick yellow tendrils, the shadow writhed in the air. A heartbeat later, it dissipated. A wave of hate and black rage rolled over me and a shiver ran through the crowd, and then everything lay calm.

Cool, eh?

Finally, this might be one of my favorite signs ever. I took this picture myself. The sign really exists–it’s in the parking lot of Panera Bread on Montgomery Road just east of I-71 in Cincinnati. And I just wonder how many people backed into the pole before they put this up:

Do you ever put something off because you think it’s going to be harder than you want to deal with right now? Do you ever feel ridiculous because you know it’s not going to get easier the longer you put it off? Are you a master of procrastination and the inevitable guilt that follows because you didn’t get anything done?

I do, I do, and I am.

And really, I just need to remember that it’s never That Bad. The scene I’ve been avoiding working on for the past four days? Done. Yeah, it took longer than I might have liked, but it took a lot less than three days’ worth of work, which is what I turned it into. I must be certifiable to do that. Good thing I’m on meds. ;)

What tonight’s message boils down to is this: it’s not that hard to find the creative groove again once you feel you’ve lost it. Chances are, it’s not far off, it’s just hidden in the underbrush of Life’s Other Stuff That Creeps In. Soon as you start looking, there it will be. Right where you left it.

And, since I can give you tangible stats tonight, 35% of the manuscript is done. I’ve got to add one scene tomorrow (can adapt it from a ‘deleted scene’ I wrote early in the process) and make major fixes to another, then line edits on two more scenes and I’ll have the first twelve chapters finished. Cool, eh? I think so.