Resolution — June Update

    This month, I made some steady progress on several fronts. First, progress on the novella project, including sending the first four chapters off to my critique partner for her initial impressions. Second, progress on the novel. And third, progress toward my New Years resolution to write regularly and to complete one of these damn works-in-progress.
    By the numbers, June was a pretty good month. I wrote 12,664 words. That’s more than last month (9,794) and about what I wrote in June 2011 (12,297). I wrote 5,410 on the novella. On the novel, I wrote 4,574 words. I also feel like I broke through a wall that has been keeping me from moving forward on that project. I wrote 2,680 words on a miscellaneous story that was haunting me, which I finally put down on paper just to get it out of my mind. So creatively, as well as just by the numbers, June was a good month for writing.
    I wrote 13 days this month, which considering my work schedule, wasn’t too bad. It’s one day more than last month’s tally. My best day was 2,899 words, which was followed by a 2,680-word day. That was also my most productive week.   
    This brings my total word count for 2012 to 73,902. Last year at this point, I was at 38,995 words, so I’m definitely writing more this year.
    It was a huge step for me to send to my critique partner the four chapters of the novella (which is already at 40,000 words, so is probably not going to be a novella after all). I really wanted to finish a draft before getting feedback, but I’m at a stage where I need some advice about the big picture issues. I have some ideas sketched out for the last act, but there are gaping plot holes to figure out yet.
    In July, I have some work events that are going to keep me from writing for about a week, and I have a vacation at the end of the month. Still, I think I can top both the word-count and the number of days in which I write. It helps to vacation with working writers who inspire me to keep at it.
    Since we’re now halfway through 2012 (uh, yikes!), I think I may also do an update on the books I’ve read this year. Yes, I have a spreadsheet for that, too. My inner accountant is fighting her way out, one statistical tracking device at a time.

Tomato Recipe #1

Tomatoes!

Good god, there's still lemons.

    The tomatoes are here! These are small ones yet, but there are more on the way. In the meantime, I think I have most of the ingredients for my favorite recipes. I still have lemons on the tree from winter. I didn't plant any corn this year, but otherwise, I think I'm ready to go.
    So, if you, too, have a tomatoes, lemons, corn, green onions and a few other ingredients, I highly recommend that you throw together a a tomato corn pie. This is my favorite summer recipe. I'd recommend following the directions, including peeling the tomatoes and getting rid of the seeds and juicy parts. Yes, they are very flavorful, but there is so much flavor in the pie, you won't miss it.
     This pie tastes like summer to me -- tart from the lemon, sweet from the corn, and the tomatoes! Oh, it's so good! I'm making this Sunday for dinner. You should, too!

Nice Work If You Can Get It

La Manzanilla, Mexico, 2007.

   I'm sitting on the patio writing. This is what I want to do full time. Unfortunately, there is the small matter of health insurance, mortgage, and oh, yes, student loans. I'm not quitting the day job any time soon. But for now, I'm going to enjoy the view of my garden while sitting in the backyard, sipping an iced coffee, and telling stories. In terms of a relaxing weekend, it doesn't get much better than this for me.
  

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

    Driving between courthouses, I noticed several groups of women walking toward the office buildings, carrying bags of fruit and vegetables and cut flowers. It was a sure sign that there was a farmer's market nearby.
    I found it a block off my route, found a parking space three blocks away from the market, and jogged back (as much as one cares to jog in 94 degree weather while wearing a suit). It didn't take me long to find what I was looking for. I passed up the rest of the fruits, vegetables, jars of locally harvested honey, olive oils, and bundles of lavender to get to the table loaded down with cherries.
    I made it to my next appearance, fingers a little sticky, but on time. Some of my bounty even made it home. Spring and summer in California is really delicious.

A Good Day Shopping

Perfect for a casual outdoor wedding.

     Writing:  Yes, I have been. This morning, I remembered a story that a coworker told me years ago. It was something that happened to her -- something weird and eerie and which was left unexplained. Unfortunately, I remembered the story while driving, so I couldn't write it down. When I got to work, I was distracted by email, voicemail, coworkers, and the usual, and an hour later was scratching my head. What was that idea I wanted to write down as soon as I got to the office? Thankfully, it came to me later and I wrote myself a brief note so I wouldn't forget again. When I got home, I turned that paragraph into 3,000 words, which I was filed away under Ideas I Will Get To Later (Hopefully).
     And then I came home and had new shoes waiting for me. Interesting story inspiration, productive writing session, and cute new shoes? Now that is a good day.

Resolution — May Update

    Finally! Some progress toward my writing goals. The spring has been tough for me, but in May* I wrote 9,794 words. Yay! This is better than April (4,124 words) and even better than May 2011 (8,104 words). My total for the year is now 61,238 words. Holy crap! That’s a lot!
    Most of the last month’s work was on the main novel I’d like to finish soon. I wrote 7,485 words on that. The rest was either the novella or some miscellaneous notes on future projects that I wrote down to keep the plot bunnies at bay.
    I only wrote 12 days last month, but considering my workload last month, that’s OK with me. The highest daily word count was 1,841 words, which I wrote in the car while my husband drove to our mountain getaway.
    Best of all, I feel like things are clicking into place. I wasn’t seeing my heroine’s strengths coming through, so I decided to put more pressure on her — financial, career, romantic. Seems to be working. I like her better when she’s being tortured.
    Next month I hope to be able to report even better word counts, and one that includes the two most important words — The End.

* Because of how my spreadsheet is structured, May includes some extra days — April 30, June 1-3. Yes, that’s five full weeks in May. This is a homemade calendar/spreadsheet and it’s just how it worked out. Here’s a screen shot of the spreadsheet I use to track my writing progress.

Seeking Tomato Recipes

    Looks all innocent, doesn't it? Just a few little tomato plants. A friend raises heirloom tomatoes from seeds each year and she gave me these last weekend. I accepted because I love growing things and I love tomatoes and I especially love growing tomatoes because I live in an area where they thrive, so it's easy.
    Unfortunately, I already had put in four plants and my friend gave me 9 more. Now, I'm not sure if you know how many tomatoes one plant can produce, but it's a lot. A whole lot. So much more than two people could ever consume in a summer.
    One of the plants is a Strawberry Oxheart, which apparently produces tomatoes that weigh 2 pounds. Two pounds! I have no idea what to do with a tomato of that size, but I'll figure out something. I did give a few of the plants away, but I still have 9 tomato plants in my garden. That's way too many. This is very likely to turn into a cooking blog devoted to recipes for tomatoes in about 75 days.
    Oh, and here's a lovely iris. Spring is so pretty.
    Writing? Yes, I have been. In fact, I'm going to fire up the spreadsheet and report for May very soon.