Ah, fall in Florida! When the "excessive heat advisory" drops to the regular old "heat advisory", and I defiantly keep eating Key Lime Pie ice cream even as pumpkin flavored everything rolls in.
WRITING
Novella/Novel – I didn't achieve my goal of finishing the first draft by the end of the summer. I did make a ton of progress, though – scene cards sketched out, scenes written, an ending that makes me both happy and sad. Maybe another month to go . . .
Mailing List – Um…. Nope. I'd like to say I'll do this in September but by the end of the year is more realistic.
A great post over on Writers Helping Writers - "Do Your Characters Have Agency?" - got me thinking hard about my characters in general.
PHYSICAL HEALTH
Way back at the beginning of 2023, my goal had been to lose some pounds. That's not going very well (see Key Lime Pie Ice Cream above), but I am exercising more consistently, slowly amping up the duration and intensity. I hope to get outside soon – it's still too hot for me – to walk and ride bikes.
READING
None of This is True by Lisa Jewell is a mystery/suspense/thriller that takes you on a wild, wild ride, one definitely not for the faint of heart.
And for the first time in a long time, I'm ahead in my 2023 Reading Challenge.
*****
How was your summer? Did you make progress on any projects? Read anything that blew you away? Are you a fan of pumpkin flavored everything?
Not a fan of pumpkin flavored everything. Except for Pumpkin Mellowcremes. I guess they aren't really pumpkin flavored anyway.
ReplyDeleteWe had a couple nice days before heading back to nineties this week. Got to get out early in the morning to beat that kind of heat.
I've never heard of Mellowcremes!
DeleteEven the early morning was too hot and humid for me summer.
That's awesome that you finished your first draft. Whether you lose weight or not, exercising is good for your health and mental health. I just finished None of This Is True and really enjoyed it. I agree it's not for the faint of heart.
ReplyDeleteI didn't finish the first draft . . . yet! :)
DeleteThat's what I keep telling myself about the exercise whenever I look at the scale. :)
I just couldn't put that book down! :o
Whenever we have those excessive heat advisories, I always have to get the dogs out as late in the day as possible...and then stop them for walking their usual three miles because they seemed to lack any sense of how hot it was.
ReplyDeleteHooray for a ton of progress on your first draft!! That's fantastic!! Love those endings that make you both happy & sad.
Good thing you're keeping an eye on those dogs! I'm pretty sure Larry does three miles in his many laps around the patio. :)
DeleteThanks, MJ! I always love reading those kinds of endings, so I try to write them, too. :)
Yay for Reading! :) And for Key Lime Ice Cream - do they make a coconut ice cream version, because... well, I probably don't need to add that into my life, but I would definitely go for it. Congratulations on your writing progress!
ReplyDeleteSince I don't know if they have a coconut version, you're safe. :)
DeleteThanks, Tyrean!
Congrats on getting the writing almost done. I'm working on the weight too. I purchased a bike in the spring though it had been decades since I rode one. My doctor said it was better than walking because it would challenge the big thigh muscles and it does. Didn't lose much weight but my legs look good. LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan!
DeleteExcellent on the biking and the legs! :) I really want to get back on my bike, but it's been a really long time for me, too. One of these days....
I agree - key lime is definitely a better flavor than pumpkin! Are you safe with all the hurricanes in the Florida area?
ReplyDeleteAwesome job with the progress on your story. Only another month? That's a better outlook than mine!
Not only is it key lime but it's key lime PIE flavored ice cream, with bits of graham cracker crust in it. Yum!
DeleteHurricane-wise - so far, so good! Fingers crossed!
Thanks, Loni! I hope to buckle down this month and get the draft done. But don't forget, your story is more epic and way longer. Mine might even turn out to be a novella!
I'd prefer key lime anything to pumpkin spice.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you! :)
DeleteHey Madeline, followed you for a while here and at the site that I heard your words, but this is a first comment here.
ReplyDeleteI have had to spend the last week in Pinellas County to help a few friends who had storm surge damage and they didn't want to listen. I told them to make sure their lower walls were properly primed and to caulk in their baseboards, but it was like talking to a literary agent.
Love Key Lime anything but quit making them because my lady and I were the only ones who ate them. Pumpkin spiced does not mean pumpkin flavored, it just means the addition of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves to stuff.
I do that to the oatmeal cookies I bake, but normally no, because nobody really like pumpkin pies because they expect store bought crap, which are crap because the clove flavor doesn't freeze worth a damn.
It hurt to help my friends and has badly affected my workout that I strained a lower back muscle rebuilding, or remodeling, our bathroom, setting the toilet mostly.
Thanks for reading my rants, hopefully I will comment more briefly again.
Welcome, Craig!
DeleteI hope your friends didn't have too much damage. We lucked out during Idalia, but I kept having flashbacks to Ian from last year.
I'm not much of a baker. More of an eater. :)
Hope you're feeling better!
I think regular exercise is more important than the weight loss. Maybe you're picking up muscle mass?
ReplyDeleteGood luck getting the novella finished. I've been slogging my way through my own manuscript.
I agree about the regular exercise. I'd like to lose some pounds, too. I gave myself a loose goal of a certain number of pounds to lose for the year. Not even close. Sigh.
DeleteThank you! And good luck to you, as well! We can do this! :)
I was so productive over the summer - but it was all the tiny things that happen behind the scenes and make the big things pop that I achieved, so if I listed them they wouldn't sound half as impressive :-)
ReplyDeleteKey Lime Pie ice-cream sounds awesome, and also sounds like something which is impossible to buy in the UK.
Good luck with the novel and the exercise - consistency is definitely key!
Excellent on your summer productivity, Annalisa! And I hear you about how those tiny things sound like nothing but they definitely do add up.
DeleteThank you! I'm trying! :)