Walking On Sunshine

Less than a week ago, CNYers spent the weekend prepping for a nor'easter to dump snow on us. This weekend, yard work, grilling on the deck, and just enjoying temps in the upper 70s buoyed us.

Well, not us. TV Stevie works in public television, and they're having their annual fund-raising auction, so he's been working that. I spent yesterday running around . . . 2 supermarkets, 2 shopping malls, Y-Chromo's former sax teacher's repair shop . . . fun stuff. Not really. But it's the stuff that comes with being a parent.

Today, I tweaked a synopsis at my agent's request. I read a book. I savored my down time. Lately it seems as if there hasn't been much of that.

Several of my friends find yardwork/gardening relaxing. More power to them. I planted a lot of bulbs when we bought this house, so I have spring flowers that come up all by themselves, every year. I thinned them once. Oh, and X-Chromo planted some daffodils two years ago. They're in bloom right now, and look lovely amidst the purple windflowers and grape hyacinths. But gardening and yardwork are so . . . physical. I don't do physical unless I absolutely have to.

I read when I want to relax.

What do you do to relax, to work out the kinks of daily living?

Spring. . . or The Twilight Zone?

Neither. Just April in upstate New York. A nor'easter hit the east coast, and in my neck of the woods, that translates to snow. Lots and lots of snow. School closings galore -- in honor of the end of spring break, I'm sure. Four to eight inches of the stuff. Driving this morning was not fun. And my poor, poor daffodils are buried.

I can recall significant accumulation as late as Mother's Day. I woke up to find my tulips bent over beneath the weight of the snow.

Perhaps this morning was Mother Nature's revenge for our lack of the white stuff in December and January. Vindictive wench.

"Writers Write . . .

. . . everyone else makes excuses."
That's what Jack M. Bickham says in his wonderful book, The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them).
I'm afraid I've spent the past week or so making excuses, and I really need to get back into the swing of things. I've unearthed my AlphaSmart (and convinced my career coach, Yasmine Phoenix, that she needed to buy one), which helps.

Why I prefer Alph over a laptop (don't get me wrong -- I adore my Acer Travel Mate):

• No e-mail/Internet access to distract me
• No computer games to distract me
• I don't have to worry about saving my work every little while . . . or if I fall asleep with the unit on my lap.
• The battery life is incredible -- months, maybe even years on 3 AA batteries as opposed to 2-3 hours on a freshly charged laptop battery.
• Alph weighs less

So what's my excuse? I have none.

What are some of your favorite ways to procrastinate?

Does Music Soothe the Savage Beast?

About three weeks ago, I was reading a Famous Author's blog and was completely blown away by her collages for her books. I had read elsewhere that she is a huge proponent of making collages for her books and that the visual aspect really helps her get a handle on her characters and plots. She has recently discovered a way to create collages directly on her computer (a Mac). She shared some of the collages -- multiple collages -- for her current WIP on her blog.

I panicked. My lungs compressed and didn't want to work. I did no more than glance at some of her works of art and wanted to cry. This is so far beyond my humble capabilities, I felt doomed.

I shared my concern with my friends, one of whom sent me a very wise reply. Famous Author has an art background, may have even been an art teacher at one point. My friend and I are both musicians. We play instruments, we sing, we indulge in music whenever possible -- gifts we've passed on to our children. And neither of us can write until we have our soundtracks for our WIPs in place. Our custom CDs and/or playlists on our mp3 players are our version of Famous Author's collages.

Whew!

So my current soundtracks are called THE WEREWOLF CHRONICLES Volumes 1.2 and 2.3

Vol 1.2

• Eyes of a New York Woman (BJ Thomas)
• Rocky Mountain High (John Denver)
• Born to be Wild (Steppenwolf)
• Society's Child (Janis Ian)
• Coming Back to You (Trish Yearwood)
• You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This (Toby Keith)
• Come to My Window (Melissa Etheridge)
• Harvest Moon (Neil Young)
• Real Good Man (Tim McGraw)
• Bad Moon Rising (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
• Cowboy Take Me Away (The Dixie Chicks)
• Moondance (Van Morrison)
• Daniel (Elton John)
• Natural Beauty (Neil Young)
• Travelin’ Band (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
• Broken Arrow (Rod Stewart)
• Uncle John’s Band (Grateful Dead)
• Dream Walkin’ (Toby Keith)
  

Vol 2.3

• Green-Eyed Lady (Sugarloaf)
• Won’t Get Fooled Again (The Who)
• Layla (Eric Clapton)
• Wide Open Spaces (The Dixie Chicks)
• Ashokan Farewell (Jay Ungar & Molly Mason)
• Wide Montana Skies (John Denver & Emmylou Harris)
• Who Will Comfort Me? (Connie Dover)
• Pieces of April (3 Dog Night)
• Elusive Butterfly (Bob Lind)
• Moonshadow (Cat Stevens)
• Werewolves of London (Warren Zevon)
• Loup Garou (Dr. John)
• I Was A Teenage Werewolf (The Cramps)
• Common Bond (The Kennedys)
• Delilah (Tom Jones)

Do you have a ritual you use before you start writing or one that help ease your way into your stories? If you listen to music, what pokes your muse?