It has been a surreal three months, am I right? When I published my last quarterly update, the pandemic was just taking hold in the United States, I had just made the switch to working from home, and none of us knew how bad things would be or how long they would last. At the time, I was hoping that social distancing and lock downs and the corona virus itself would be behind us by the time I sat down to write this post. If you’ve been paying any attention to the news at all in recent weeks, you know as well as I do that that is definitely not what happened.
The world as we know it has irrevocably changed since the beginning of this year, and there’s no going back–for better or worse–to how things were before. Trying to wrap my head around that has been my biggest struggle of a quarter that has been full of them.
On that cheery note, let’s get started, shall we?
General Updates
My husband and I have settled in nicely at the friend’s house where we’re staying. We get along well with her and her boyfriend and their other friend who rents the basement room, we enjoy their company and the company of their two dogs and assorted other small animals, and the whole situation has been delightfully low key and drama free. Living with three other people does have its down sides–limited fridge space, more noise than I’m used to, lots more foot traffic than I’m used to–but since we’re still only socializing on a very limited basis, it’s good to have built-in company that extends beyond our marriage.
Unfortunately, our plans for our move out of state are completely on hold at this point in time. I’m sure you’re all shocked, given the ongoing pandemic, the rocky state of the economy, etc. Since we’re in the immensely privileged position of having decent jobs, job security, and an affordable, comfortable place to live where we’re not bound by a formal lease, we’re reluctant to shake things up until we can be at least somewhat sure that a move would be improving our circumstances instead of making them worse.
I’m disappointed by the delay, but also relieved that I’m not having to coordinate another move in the middle of so much mayhem. And honestly? I’m even more disappointed that the lone summer trip we had planned, the weddings we’d been invited to, and the plethora of local summer activities that we enjoy every year have all been canceled or postponed than I am that our move has been postponed.
What I’ve been Writing
With the exception of April, which I more or less gave myself off for the sake of settling in, re-charging my creative batteries, and giving myself some space from my manuscript, I spent most of this quarter prepping for my first solo revision pass. Prepping, in this case, meant filling in plot holes and resolving character issues and spending far, far too much time trying to figure out my ending. I blogged about the first stage in this process, The Preparation Stage, back in May, and I’m expecting to publish two more posts detailing the rest of my process this month.
Next up: actually beginning to revise!
What else I’ve been working on
I continued to freelance edit through the bulk of this quarter, although I did decide to take June and July off for the sake of my mental health/enjoying my summer instead of just working straight through it. (You’re welcome to book me as a freelance editor come August though!) I’ve begun the process of re-teaching myself guitar and brushing up on the musical knowledge I had and took for granted as a high school and college-aged classical musician, and I’ve found it to be a nice, soothing break from the news cycle and the state of the world and my various other worries. There’s something about the faint musty smell of the wood and the smoothness of the body beneath my hands that always manages to steady me, and my only real complaint is that I never seem to have as much time as I’d like to practice.
I’ve also been baking A LOT more, which has been great. If I’m going to be stuck at home all the time, then damn it, my home is going to smell like chocolate cake. Or oatmeal butterscotch cookies. Or Mr. Goodbars. Mmm . . .
Five Favorite Reads
1) Bonds of Brass by Emily Skrutskie
2) The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed
3) Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee
4) What If It’s Us? by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
5) Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake
What’s Next?
Given the way this year has played out, I’m almost afraid to toss my plans out into the universe in the case the universe hears them and grinds them into dust beneath her heels or something. That said, I am planning to start revising my YA thriller manuscript and applying the changes it took me most of two months to come up with. I need to book airfare for the retreat I signed up for through Wordsmith in the fall, although taking that particular plunge does depend upon whether the retreat will go ahead as planned.
Mostly, I’m going to try and enjoy my summer as much as I can by carving out time for the things I’m still safely able to do: get outside as much as possible, whether by going on walks by myself, exploring new-to-me outdoor places in my state with my spouse, or having socially distanced kayak outings with friends, patronize the local custard stands and froyo shops in town, draw a ton of pretty, summery nature scenes, read on the porch, cook my favorite summer foods, and try to live as normally as possible during these intensely abnormal times.
I hope you’re all staying safe, staying healthy, wearing your masks, and continuing to prioritize the well-being of your neighbors and the people around you as well as your own.
# of Books Read to Date: 44
# of Rejections Received to Date: 21
What have you been up to this quarter? Leave me a comment and let me know!