I’m not particularly adept at using my phone – bad eyesight and fumble fingers - so when a character or a line of dialogue or a story idea strikes in the night, I don’t bother reaching for my glasses or my phone. (Besides, there’s a very good chance I’ll knock one or both of them off the nightstand anyway.)
Instead, I nudge my husband and he’s got his phone in his hand, email open, ready to take dictation in the middle of the night. The next day, I open my email and voila! There are my thoughts, all nicely typed out and legible. (Of course, that doesn’t mean it makes sense, but that’s on me not my husband.)
It's just one of the many, many . . . um, let’s call them, quirks . . . of mine that my husband puts up with. This month, we’ll be married 26 years, and while he is now, apparently, my personal assistant/secretary, he still is and always will be, my rock and my wings.
WRITING
I’m playing with ideas for some upcoming themed submission opportunities, one for a drabble and one for a short story. Another short story idea is waiting patiently for its turn.
Progress is being made on a longer story/novella. It’s slow going because I’m still fleshing out backstory and foundational stuff, trying to fill in as many plot holes as I can now so I don’t fall into them later. I’m considering doing my own version of NaNo later this summer to get down a first draft.
READING
Loved the delightful and heartwarming middle grade novel Old School by Gordon Korman. Five stars and easily one of my favorite books of the year! And I also really liked Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5) by Suzanne Collins. It took me back to when I first read The Hunger Games.
WATCHING
TV – Thoroughly enjoyed A Man on the Inside (with Ted Danson, on Netflix)! Fun and funny, heartbreaking and heartwarming. Looking forward to Season Two! And, at pretty much the opposite end of the spectrum, is the dark but absolutely compelling, Adolescence (Netflix.) The acting blew my mind.
Movie – My hopes for The Companion were that it would be solid, a pleasant enough way to be entertained for a couple of hours. Turned out to be way better than I thought! Dark and creepy, yes, but also a whole lot of fun in a weird twisted way.
*****
Are you handy with your phone? Any tips for old Fumble Fingers here? Do you have someone in your life who encourages and supports your creativity? If you’ve done your own version of NaNo, how did you set it up and how did it go? Read or watched anything good lately?
I do take notes on my phone but prefer to do that on my iPad.
ReplyDeleteYour husband is a good sport.
I never thought to take notes on my iPad! I have a Mini but it's still bigger than my phone. Thanks for the idea, Alex!
DeleteHe really is. :)
I liked a Man on the Inside too. Your husband sounds like a real keeper.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the show more than I thought I would!
DeleteHe is! I don't know how he puts up with me. :)
My significant other has taken some dictation from/for me from time to time over the years, and has put up with a significant number of writer quirks—including my propensity for papering walls with post-it note storyboards and swinging around swords in an effort to write a more realistic battle scene. I salute the people who live with writers. They're an amazing bunch.
ReplyDeleteI haven't done my own version of NaNo yet, but I've been thinking about trying it. I have a first draft that needs writing. :)
I remember pics of those papered walls! Maybe people who live with writers need some kind of support group so they can commiserate and compare weirdnesses.... :)
DeleteI'm not sure if I would structure my NaNo the same way as the original or not. But I think it would be a good way to get that draft down. Good luck to you!
Oh hey, you're marriage is one year older than mine! *high five* I love that your husband is so accommodating. The middle of the night thing wouldn't work for mine, but he feeds me, so no complaints here! LOL.
ReplyDeleteHe's spent a lot of times over these years trying to help me decipher notes I've scrawled and scribbled so, in a way, the middle of the night thing helps him, too. :)
DeleteI have a personal phone coach--my son. And I have a pretty supportive friend that's part of my online critique group, which you're welcome to join if you want.
ReplyDeleteMy suggestion for the DIY NaNo is try something like word sprints--10 minutes or so several times a day until you've got the word count you want. The sprints have done wonders for me.
Anna from elements of emaginette
Yeh for supportive friends! And personal phone coaches. :)
DeleteSprints are a good idea! Making a note.... :)
I would have to punch my husband to wake him up if I wanted to dictate writing inspiration in the middle of the night. Once he is out, he is out until his alarm goes off. Lucky bastard. LOL
ReplyDeleteLucky is right! I can't even remember the last time I slept through until the alarm clock went off....
Delete