But getting out of the hospital sucked.

The Man's surgery went better than expected, according to his doctor.  What a relief!  The Man was up & around within a few hours of surgery, and actually pretty chipper, though that last was probably the good drugs talking.  He said the food & room service were pretty good, too.  That happened on Wednesday, Oct 21.

The Man was supposed to be released on the 22nd before noon.  I spent the evening of the 21st getting the family room upstairs ready for The Man's extended recovery and didn't get to bed until midnight.  I was told to be at the hospital by 7am because the doctor usually did his rounds in the early mornings before his first surgeries.  So I get to the hospital by 7am.  The Man wakes up with a case of hiccups that continues throughout the day.  The nurses only give us the silly home remedies to try to stop them, none of which worked for more than five minutes. 

By noon, the discharge paperwork was done, and we were still waiting on the doctor.  At 330pm, I go home for a few hours.  I come back around 6pm.  Still no doctor. At 730pm, the on-call doctor finally released my husband from the hospital...over the phone.  By 830pm, we were on the road, rushed because we had to hit our pharmacy before it closed at 9pm.  9pm, we walk through our own door  Thank God the on-call doctor perscribed a medication to stop the hiccups.  And the freaking RNs didn't know about said medication?  Excuse me?!? 

Worse, I had lined up one of our friends to help me get The Man home and up the stairs.  That friend was on hold all day just like us.  Unlike us, our friends at least had something productive to do while he waited...like giving a new job with one of his friend's new company a test-drive.  Good for him.  Still sucks that he had to wait all day, though.

After all of the work and $ to get the upstairs room set up for The Man, he slept there one night.  The next day, we dismantled the sleeping arrangement because we discovered that The Man could navigate the stairs just fine, thank you, and he wanted to sleep in his own bed.  Understandable, and great news.  However, crisis and major stress time was over,so I had a melt down. 

For some reason, I fixated on the time we'd wasted in stressing about getting the room set up which in the end, The Man didn't need.  Further, because of said wasted time, I did not get any writing done.  To use my friend Ro's phrase, I was all out of coping beans, the jar of which was not only empty, but sported an IOU note, too.  The Man did his manly thing and talked me down.  Saturday was a wash.

Sunday found me back at the computer, trying desperately to finish chapter 21.  I thought I finished it, but my Moxie partners have requested that I actually finish it rather than cutting it off.  *sigh*.  That is today's project.  After that, I think I have the wrap up and the afterword (next book set up) to finish, and then I am off to plot the next one, and work on the second draft of the first.    WOOT

Wow.  Been awhile since I posted last.  A lot of things have happened in the intervening time.

Job: still unemployed.  It really isn't looking good for regaining that job, so I will be restarting my job search when I get back from vacation.  Kind of a bummer because I liked that job, and loved working again with Ed.  He's not happy either, though he is trying to be hopeful.  It is a hard road for him.  I'm just resigned to the fact that it isn't going to happen.

Vacation: I am excited about this vacation.  You'd think that being a full-time writer & stay-at-home would not require vacation time.  It is more stressful than you think.  I'll be going to Seaside, OR for a week with two of my older sisters, #1 & 3.  I am sooo looking forward to it.  Change of venue, ocean view, different shops & sights.  Time away from household concerns.  Good times with my sisters who are best friends.  I'll be taking my laptop in case I get ideas or inspired.

Writing: I finally got over the chapter 17 hump.  I was hung up for a long time on the second section.  The moxie group told me why: very tense scene, a lot riding on the side-action, all the tension nonverbal.  I got through that scene--did it well according to the girls--and pushed through the 3rd scene the following week.  I blew through chapter 18 in a couple of weeks, and am now deep into the climax of the book (first scene of chapter 19).  Chap 19, scene 2 starts today.  I want to be through 19, and maybe even 20 before the week is out.  Lots of work.  I think The Man is going to lose me for a few weeks to the push.

In addition to my writing, I was finally able to give my talk on Villains to the Boise Spec Fic group.  Turn out was low, but I can always post the presentation to the list-serve in the files section.  It helped at least one person immediately, so I consider it a success.  I have been asked to give an online class for the Murder in the Grove online workshops, to be held in February.  The class will encompass the two talks I have given to the Spec-Fic group, in expanded formats. 

I feel some trepedation in giving an online class.  I know my material, but I could always know more.  Plus, I am unpublished, so I tend to wonder if I know enough to be of use to anyone, and if anyone will take me seriously like I know what I'm talking about and have good advise.  I know this is just the monkey-mind talking, but there it is.  To offset the worry, I think I will start to develop the actual class in December, doing lesson plans, etc.  I dont want to be caught with my pants down and doing things last minute.  That would not be helpful.
   
Diet & exercise: On a separate note, the diet is going well.  I maintained the same weight for a few weeks, neither gaining nor losing.  Those were the same weeks that I was busy cleaning house & making it presentable for out of town guests.  This portion control thing really works.  I can eat whatever I want, but the portions have to be very small.  If I go to a restaurant, I usually take half of the meal home, even if it is an appetizer.  Eat slower so the food has a chance to hit bottom and make me feel fuller faster.  My exercise regimen has been on hold for a few weeks, again because of the flurry of delayed spring cleaning (in September), which included garage and shed reorgs.  Exercise begins again today.  I will continue on the diet & exercise even on vacation.  It is fairly easy to maintain, and I don't want to lose ground.  I've lost 17lbs now, I think.  Woot!

My in-laws were here the week after Labor Day, hence the flurry of cleaning and straightening and reorganization.  The Man and I enjoyed their visit, low-key and pleasant.  On that Saturday, we ordered bbq from Andrew's Rib Shack, and got a whole bunch of additional foodage.  My parents, his parents, both our girls,  the oldest's boyfriend/fiance, and our two good friends, the Redhead and her new husband.  This is the first occasion our respective parents had a chance to meet.  It was a fun evening, low key, lots of laughter, good times.  The Man and I were glad when everyone went home.  We missed them all, but we were glad to have the house to ourselves again.  We took a week of downtime to recover, only doing minor jobs and errands.  That was when I got through scene 1 of chapter 19.

I wrote scene 1 of chapter 19 almost in one sitting.  I then spent the rest of the week editing it, adding, filling it out.  If I do that for every remaining scene, I won't get done with the first draft of the novel by the 30th, which is my goal.  I need to get words on the page, do cursory revising, and then go back and fill in the holes after Moxie gets a chance to read it.  I can consider those revisions part of the 2nd draft, if necessary.  I can't afford so much initial revising.  I have to turn off the perfectionist in me, just for a little while.  The first draft doesn't have to be perfect.  The second draft needs to be as close to perfect as I can get it, then I can send it out to the test readers for review.  Revise again according to their comments.  This should be a much shorter process than the 1st draft.  I would like to be seeking an agent by spring, if not sooner. 

Spring has sprung here.  The wind hasn't stopped for days, but it is warmer than it was last week.  The crocus are already done, but the daffodils are now blooming.  My magnolia bush as been in blossom for a couple of weeks, but yesterday, its scent filled the air.  I love that smell.  The sun, the warmth, the breeze, the blue sky, the green of spring grass and new leaves.  My weeping cherry is getting ready to bust out all over.  I can't wait.  I love spring.  So filled with promise.

Winter is not the best time for me.  For the past several months, I have had trouble writing.  As I approached the 3/4 mark on my WIP, the words slowed, the characters stopped talking, and progress ground to a halt.  Chapter 15 was a struggle.  Chapter 16 was no better. 

Then, Sunday came, and in a whirlwind I finished the rest of chapter 16.  Moxie 4 liked it.  Joyous noise.  Spring as sprung, the ice has broken.  The words are flowing again.

My winner's list this two-weeks includes plotting & starting chapter 17.  I am hoping to get through 17 by the end of next week, in time for the next Moxie meeting.  I am hopeful.  I have resolve.  The same winner's list also includes reviewing the lectures from the ECE class I just completed.  There was so much information in those lectures that I suffered overload.  I'll review through lecture 3 over the next two weeks, and talk to SM, my editing partner, about the assignments.

I've decided that I am tired of my current weight and feeling like a slug.  I need to eat better; I need to move more.  I spend a lot of time in front of my computer: writing, gaming, reading emails and blogs.  My house is a mess (what I qualify as a mess.)  I believe that if I get the blood flowing and eat the better brain foods, then my writing productivity will go up.  Endorphins are a wonderful thing.  My house and mood will benefit, and maybe I'll sleep more/better.  I can work with that.  Side benefit to that plan: smaller Stefanie!  Clothes that fit better, and a thinner me looking back out of the mirror.   

Today, I actually exercised!  20 minutes on the eliptical machine felt good.  I didn't stress over it, I didn't push really hard.  I kept a steady pace.  I disengaged my brain for those minutes, let it just BE.  That felt good, too.  I'm in a good mood today.  Perhaps the plan is already working.  If the weather allows, I think I'll take the dog for a walk tomorrow.  If not, I'll spend some quality time with the eliptical again.  If it remains nice, I will take the laptop outside and write there for awhile in the sunshine.  I'm not going to promise productivity on my WIP, but that time will be productive is other ways. 

I started that new class at the beginning of March.  I think it is helping, like I wanted. 

However, forward progress on the book, not so much.  Week before last, I wrote the first scene of Chapter 16.  It had a fight scene that I thought worked.  I was rather excited that I got through the whole scene almost in one sitting, and was pleased with how it turned out.  Then I presented it to The Man.

His suspension of disbelief went right out the window.  Disappointed, I had to agree with what he said.  The fight scene wouldn't work when reviewed from a logistical perspective.  Nice action...for a superhero...maybe.  But not from two humans, one of whom is only 18, against 4 big guys with combat training...in an elevator no less.  Nope.  Won't work.

Back to the drawing board.  I asked my critique partners about how to fix it at the Moxie 4 meeting we had on the 8th.  The only suggestion that shows promise is to have other characters involved, ones I hadn't planned on showing up just yet.  This will require a reworking of the rest of the outline for the remaining chapters.  Big sigh.

I've been stewing on it for a week now, and I think I have a plan.  I will need to split the first scene into two.  I will have to change POVs.  In fact, the entire chapter may have to center around Iain (main character), rather than bouncing to Victoria (the other main character), or to one of the other POV characters.  By the end of the chapter, Iain will have gotten away from everyone who wants to "help" him, which is what needed to happen in the first place.

Lordie...the gyrations we authors have to go through to make the plan come together.

Now that I have my political rant out of my system, it's back to the computer for some writing time.  The last few weeks have been fairly productive.  Chapter 11 is finished and out to the test readers.  It only took six weeks.  I'm still not sure how I feel about it, but my critique partners seem okay with it, so...*shrug*.

Chapter 12 was rough-finished last Friday.  Now, I have to blame one of my critique partners for this, because it was rough finished about 20 minutes before I hand to go to the Moxie 4 meeting which had been moved up two days by said critique partner...who shall remain nameless, but most certainly not blameless.  As punishment for said crime, I "forced" both to read the chapter in its unpolished state, AND, I left them wtih a semi-cliff-hanger.  Yes, yes, I am evil.  I have since corrected said errors, and knocked off the rough edges.  It looks better, which makes me happy.  However, I think I will wait until I finish chapter 13 before I send it out.

Chapter 13 is going okay, but I have a bit of a dilemna.  How do I get my protagonists either 3 blocks to the beach or 3 blocks to a church on a moderately busy street when they are both looking wounded and the worse for wear, and it's broad daylight?  Understand that they are being hunted, and capture is NOT high on the priority list.  They can't stay where they are, either.  Would passersby even care, notice, or look twice at them?  Should I just have them start walking? 

There is probably a homeless popula.........Heh, heh....Thanks, folks.  Got it.

At the Moxie 4 meeting, the subject of the Good Samaritan came up.  it was a pretty brief discussion, but we had all experienced the phenomenon in both giving and receiving.  Read further, and you'll see the relevance.  

If we eat somewhere in the Mall area, I usually take the Emerald route home.  Sunday was no different.  Emerald is a nice curvy street with lots of business parks mixed with empty lots.  It even bridges a canal.  I like this street because of the curves and because I can sometimes see little hawks and falcons hunting above the empty lots, or flocks of crows and geese.

So I tootle my way toward home, and as I pass an elderly care facility, I see a man in an electric wheelchair stopped on the sidewalk, waving at the cars going by.  I think he's a little off plum until, as I pass, I see that the sidewalk is missing concrete in a section and realize he is stuck in the sand.

The Good Samaritan.  Weren't we just talking about that earlier?  And here comes an opportunity to practice the tenet the parable teaches, though this thought didn't go through my head until a little later.

I flip a u-turn and head back to help.  I don't know how long he's been stuck and waving in hopes of gaining aid.  The wheelchair is not 4-wheel drive; the front right tire is just spinning in the sand--I have had the same experience with 4x4 vehicles in the past, so I know the frustration.  Yes...I have *stories.*  I pull the chair back out of the hole which allows the guy to redirect and get back on solid concrete.

He was very appreciative, so much so that he promised to help should I ever find myself in the same boat.  He wasn't joking; he wasn't even that half-bubble off plum.  He's just a guy who was independent enough to set out on his own despite his disability, and ended up needing an extra hand to get out of a jam.  Haven't we all been there?

Anyway, it made me feel good to help a stranger.  It made me feel better that my rendering of aid may have started/continued the trend in someone else.  What's the phrase?  Practice random kindness and sensless acts of beauty?  

I have completed chapter 9.  I promised my test readers that I would send it out on the 18th.  I didn't.  

Before I get hit, I have an excuse!  I took chapter 9 to my critique group (Moxie 4).  They liked it, but warned me against sending it to the test readers.  You see...chapter 9 ends in somewhat of a cliff hanger, and I don't have chapter 10 ready.  The test readers would be left hanging for a couple of weeks while chapter 10 is written and polished.  Of course then, I think chapter 10 ends much the same as 9, so perhaps I am not saving myself any hate and discontent.  *sigh*

One of my critque partners finaled in the PNWA conference held in Seattle this weekend.  She made top 8, but not top 3.  I am bummed for her, but in her blog, she puts a nice spin on it.  She finaled, which is more than a lot of people can say.  That evening while the top 3 were having a private party with editors and agents, she had a good visit with an editor and a few other authors, all in her genre or related genres.  The weekend, therefore, was not a loss or a waste of time.  Great spin, and all true.

I think I will be working toward the same contest next year with Null and Void.  Perhaps a few others, too.

I was talking to Mom yesterday--she's in the hospital with her 5th back surgery...gak--about my writing and my goals for this book.  The plan is to have it done by the end of summer.  That's 11 chapters by September 20th.  If I can't have it done by then, I am looking at October 31st for the completion of the first draft.  Then, I will turn right around and do the 2nd draft with plans to have it done by Christmas.  Yep.  This is an aggressive schedule. 

God grant my the time and stick-to-it-iveness to sit my butt in the chair and write!  

Currently reading: Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson.  This is the follow-on to Mistborn