Resolution — July Update

    I was so sure that July was going to be a better writing month. I was inspired! I had fresh new ideas on how to fix those plot holes and help my characters arc. Unfortunately, I also had a whole lot of work. And then a vacation. And you know how it is when you’re planning a couple weeks off. There’s lots to do to prepare for that. So, the writing projects got put on the back-burner.
    Still, I got a scene off to my critique partner and got encouraging feedback on it. And I wrote 3,831 words during the first two weeks. The second two weeks were a total bust. In my defense, I was in a cabin in the woods for one of those weeks. It was a great vacation and was just what I needed to refresh my creativity. Just not real productive, in word count, at least.
    Last month, I wrote 2,465 words on the novella project and 1,338 words on its sequel. I also wrote 28 words on the novel, which I think was some minor editing that I did on the scene that went off to my critique partner for her review.
    This is a far cry from what I managed to write last July, when I wrote 29,114 words. Yes, nearly 30,000 words in one month. How did I do that? Well, last year, we took the fiscally-mandated “stay-cation” (a word that I really hate) and I wrote more than 26,000 words during that two-week span. This year, we actually traveled across the country for our vacation. Good for us; bad for my novel.
    So far this year, I’ve written 77,733 words. That’s still ahead of last year, when I was at 68,109 words for the year.
    For the next month, I plan to get off to a good start on my daily writing goal. The new spreadsheet started yesterday, and I’ve got a couple thousand words on it already. I have another week before I have to return to work and I’m feeling very refreshed and ready to write. So I think I’ll go get started on that right now.

Vacation

Seneca Lake sunset.

Vacation

I love county fairs.

Vacation

Vineyard, Seneca Lake, NY.

Yum!

    I swear, this isn't a gardening blog. I don't know what it is, but really, that's not my goal.
    However, I am producing more tomatoes than words lately, so it's what you get. 
    Here's a picture of a tiny tomato plant put into the ground around the very end of May.









     And here it is on July 5. It's bigger now and is climbing out of the top of the cage. Still no fruit on this on, but lots of flowers.

     I received these in the mail from my critique partner a few weeks ago and wow! The timing couldn't be better. I've made several recipes from the new books using my own veggies.
     Thanks, D! You're awesome!

O California

   I had the day off work today, so I planned to write a substantive post, instead of another recipe. Maybe something about writing. Character. Location, Conflicts. I had many ideas. 
   But it is too hot to ... well, fill in the blank with anything you'd like. It is another day to lay on the floor under the ceiling fan. I did wake up early to write and got 1,200 words written on a WIP. Then the heat hit and sapped all my energy and creativity. Tomorrow, I will try again. 

There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California. — Edward Abbey

Tomato Recipe #3 — Pyllo Pizza with Tomato and Feta

     Sometimes, it pays to never, ever throw anything away. Usually, it’s a pain in the ass and an express pass to a starring role on Hoarders. But once in a while, it pays off.
     Case in point:  I knew I had once clipped a recipe from a Sur la Table catalog for a phyllo dough tart with cherry tomatoes and feta cheese. I couldn’t find it online, at least, not the right recipe. I did find a recipe that looked similar, but it wasn’t quite right. So as a last resort, I turned to my recipe file.
     My recipe file is a box of photocopies, clipped magazine pages, and grease-stained recipe cards with no discernible organization except strata. The most recently used or clipped recipes are generally toward the top of the stack. I knew I hadn’t seen this recipe in a while, so I dumped it out and started at the bottom.