This is kind of embarrassing, but … I sometimes draft more easily while lying down?

The days I’m most productive word-wise seem to be the ones where I’m lying in bed or on the couch. And I definitely brainstorm best away from the computer, with paper and pencil … also often on the floor or in bed. Maybe relaxing all those muscles tells my brain to relax and let words and thoughts out? It doesn’t sound so crazy—but then what am I to do with my office and desk?

Well, the desk is still handy when I need to be “on” and “alert.” That’s most of the time when I’m not drafting. Drafting is a magical frame of mind where you don’t want to be thinking too hard, or else words will refuse to come out. No surprise, then, that many writers draft drunk. I’ve never done that and never will—alcohol problems run in my family—but it speaks to that awareness of a special place to be in, and a need to do something to get yourself into that place.

I doubt whether I’ll actually switch to lying down all the time while drafting—it seems too slothful—but I may resort to it when I’m having trouble focusing or getting words out.

Writing Updates:

The first draft of Book 3 is up to nearly 60,000 words across 13 chapters. That’s a little more than I want for half of the book, but there will almost certainly be cuts whenever I edit. Extrapolating, I might expect to be finished drafting in August with around 26 chapters/120K words, and then I’d need a few months to spruce everything up before passing it to my editor. So I think that’s ultimately my goal for 2018: to deliver a mature first draft into my editor’s hands. There will still be tons of work to do after that, but that’s the big first step!

Current Goals:

Challenging myself to a day without gadgets. I did do this once in February, with the one exception of taking phone calls from my husband. It was actually pretty cool! It helped me realize how much time I fritter away online with things that ultimately don’t affect my life or help me in any way. Now when I’m not working, I’m trying to be more mindful of only using my computer for things that are actually beneficial (e.g. language study), and cutting back on my non-beneficial time.

Learning Latin. I found out about a Latin immersion seminar at a college in my state! People show up to write, read, and speak nothing but Latin for a whole week. I haven’t learned enough grammar fundamentals to be able to participate this year, but 2019 may be a different story. I wrote to the professor in Latin to ask about it, and he wrote me back in Latin! It felt really good to be understood in my new language. I’ll make it my goal to keep studying and to apply for the 2019 seminar when the time comes. I can’t control whether I get accepted, so that much will not be part of my goal. (There’s my Stoicism shining through.)

Refreshing German. I’m still listening to Top-Thema. More and more, I’m finding the Glossaries to be my favorite part of the exercise. They explain every new term in German, allowing you to learn vocab without breaking immersion.

Preparing for Rome 2018. If all goes well, I’m buying tickets for the Colosseum today. HOLY CRAP, late April is getting close!

Later Goals:
Ramp up selling/promotion (after Book 3 is done, possibly later)
Updating my blog’s appearance (eventually, no rush)
Apply for the 2019 Latin immersion seminar

That’s all for now! See you next month!