The Sunday Circle is the weekly check-in where I ask the creative-types who follow this blog to weigh in about their goals, inspirations, and challenges for the coming week. The logic behind it can be found here. Want to be involved? It’s easy – just answer three questions in the comments or on your own blog (with a link in the comments here, so that everyone can find them).
After that, throw some thoughts around about other people’s projects, ask questions if you’re so inclined. Be supportive above all.
Then show up again next Sunday when the circle updates next, letting us know how you did on your weekly project and what you’ve got coming down the pipe in the coming week (if you’d like to part of the circle, without subscribing to the rest of the blog, you can sign-up for reminders via email here).
MY CHECK-IN
What am I working on this week?
Sat down and did my quarterly plan yesterday and figured out what I’d like to achieve over the next three months. Going to put some attention on redrafting a short-story this week, given that my brain is still rattled by a new course of anti-depressants.
What’s inspiring me this week?
I’ve been on a short-story kick for the last few days, and finally got around to reading The Best of Joe R. Lansdale which was, frankly, pretty damn incredible. Lansdale’s a writer with an enormous level of control over the voice and mood of his stories, and his ability to turn a phrase is incredible.
What part of my project an I avoiding?
Setting goals and frameworks around my work every day. I still haven’t quite worked out what’s a reasonable thing to aim for, given the whackiness of medication, but it’s starting to make me irritable about the feeling that I’m not moving forward.
I’ve ended up taking a short, unscheduled break from writing newsletters over the last fourteen days. Regular GenrePunk Ninja transmissions will resume
Like many of you, I have good weeks and bad weeks on the writing front. This week has been rocky, and if
Welcome to GenrePunk Ninja supplemental, where I occasionally post foundational essays written before I launched the GenrePunk Ninja newsletter, especially if they’re
14 Responses
I haven’t read any Lansdale before! I’ll have to check him out.
Good luck in setting your goals and frameworks too. It can be tricky at the best of times, let alone the rest of the time. Hope you work it out soon. 🙂
My Sunday Circle is here
Sophie, do you find writing the scripts changes your prose writing process at all? I’ve written a few comic scripts and found that I’m using some of the shorthand from that at least in getting down quick notes.
I think it does! I think it certainly makes me think more about the visual elements of a story. It’s interesting that you’ve adopted the shorthand. I might give that a go too 🙂
Kudos on what sounds like a gangbusters week! Are you able to talk at all about the fantasy short story you’re working on? (apologies if you’ve done this before, and I’m asking Groundhog Day questions)
Try the Hap and Leonard books if you’re still looking for crime fiction – they’re great, voice-driven novels in the Southern crime tradition.
Also, the writer I was trying to remember last weekend was Sara Gran – Dope is brilliant old-school noir, Come Closer is outright horror, but the real jewels are the Clair DeWitt books (which are phenomenal)
What am I working on?
-The big illustration project is DONE! Or at least, sent to the client. I will probably have some tweaks and adjustments to do this week.
-Two big manuscripts to read, one for possible illustration, one for discussion.
-Revising uni documents.
-Writing my workshop for the art residency. I think I know the possible rough framework.
What’s inspiring me?
-Cities. I have been staying with people who love their cities, ‘temples that men build’ as a friend put it regarding LA, and it’s fascinating looking at them through those eyes.
-We saw a stunning adaptation of Bechdel’s Fun Home today, and yes it was a musical but I don’t think it would have worked without it: the layered, elegaic framing, adult Alison sharing scenes with her college and childhood selves, the overlays of desperation and memory, lies and love worked so well. And the staging echoed the comic-book in parts without ever being heavy-handed or trite. It was an exercise in finding beauty and humanity in unexpected places, and a really gorgeous piece of art.
-How writers handle history and historical characters, in both Dunnett’s The Ringed Castle and the musical/history play of the making of a musical Shuffle Along, where the inevitability of time and tide, death and mortality can be devastating and unavoidable, or a comfort and a claim to shared humanity.
-Long intense conversations about art and books and music, while New York whirls by.
What am I avoiding?
It’s less about avoidance than time management. I like to rise at a reasonable hour, but I’m naturally an evening worker. That is completely incompatible with travel, especially in New York and/or with the people with whom I am staying. So I have to become more deliberate and opportunistic.
Setting boundaries around your time is definitely a tricky question, especially when you have a host who’s looking after you in another city. Do you just need a laptop in order to be productive with writing work, or are the more moving parts involved?
Regarding cities, too – I love the myths/identity that build up around cities – the stories people tell each other about what living there means. (eg. New York has a real history of pulling together in tough moments, Darwin is a place where people go to get away from troubles) Can you think of anything in particular that’s surprised you about seeing LA through a local’s eyes?
Peter, re goals and frameworks, do you definitely need them at the moment? Or can you take the controls off and just see where things fall for a few days? I’m just asking because I got to a fever-pitch of activity recently where I had to jettison all frameworks briefly, and it freed me up to realise which I didn’t need or want anymore.
I’ve read a little Lansdale lately, for … reasons, so thank you for the reminder to read more.
Seeing where things fall will largely result in nothing falling at all, right now 🙂
Peter: I completely relate regarding the feeling of frustration about moving forward… and for different reasons we’re in a similar spot at the moment. One thing I’m looking at at the moment regarding the daily schedule is what is critical, and looking at a way to structure that to remove decision fatigue and just move on through it. I’ve realised that with a small tweak to my current schedule, there’s a 5 hour stretch in the mornings even on days working the day job that I can utilise better than I am currently.
Is it possible to pare down to a list of the absolute fundamentals that need to be progressed each day, and build activity around that? My own list (in its current form) looks like: tension exercises, breath exercises, study time, ALTERED research, Russian language study, auditions and some playing video games for Now Playing. I expect that to change a bit. The only advice I’ve got that may be useful is build up a regular routine in steps, and be kind to yourself… hope some of that helps. I’ve also been finding that constant reminder to simplify from the notes you passed on from Die Empty freaking INVALUABLE.
Also, with regards the frustration around moving forward – is it coming from looking at actual progress, or is it an internal monologue? I’ve had that voice on loop in my headspace recently – but after spending an hour beating myself up mentally while driving today, I realised the thing that’s missing is me recording the small victories with more diligence – that I’m not keeping better track of where I’ve been. As a response to that, I’m doubling down on using idonethis more consistently.
I hope some of that helps, and it’s not just navel-gazing.
What am I working on this week?
Two large long-form narration projects, one with a producing element involved wrangling and directing other voice over artists. That’s the bulk of my week, right there. Other than that, a few catchups, and looking to squeeze a quarterly review in around the project commitments so I don’t get blindsided by what’s coming up.
What’s inspiring me this week?
I’ve started looking at photo composition as part of the YouTube project along with basic rules of film editing, and I’m really enjoying following a line of curiosity, and in this case being able to apply the information learned almost immediately. I’m still partway through this great video that a friend recommended: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtcD84l9eUw&list=WL&index=4
I’ve also fallen down a bit of a foxcore/punk rabbit hole, and have been listening to a bunch of The Distillers along with some shamelessly 90s nostalgia. This track has seen a lot of repeat play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFuP9FXLF8Q (love those smokey vocals!)
What am I avoiding?
Taking an inventory and chewing through the backlog of information and ideas I’ve accrued at the moment. Trying to put together some structure and planning around it so it gets done. (the chunking of the task suggested last week regarding Omnifocus is on my plate as a smart approach, and I’m hoping to fold that into the work around making sure the absolute essentials get done each day by tweaking the daily schedule in that 5 hour block.
What am I working on this week?
Happily I completed last week’s goal of reaching 55k, but then discovered this didn’t actually finish my story. New goal is to finish the damn book, preferably this week (but when?) because I need beta readers/ CPs to go through it before the end of July. (Which is my deadline to send it to the editor.) If Maggie is around, I really need an extra set of eyes on this as my usual support network aren’t to hand within this timeframe.
What’s inspiring me this week?
We’ve started watching The Wire. I only heard of the series back at GenreCon before last – when a whole panel went off topic to rave about it. A few episodes in and I’m already appreciating the layering of character and conflict.
Also saw a couple of live gigs for the husband’s birthday. First was a guy who stopped playing the guitar for 25 years then picked it up again and is now on TV shows and getting worldwide gigs he’s so extraordinary. The three dimensionality to his music (he talks about making the audio visual by how he plays) was something I’ve never experienced from a single musician before. He also talked about “the sound between the notes” and that got me thinking about what that would be for writing. Possibly the “story between the words” – which reminded me of something Cat Pacat talked about on the fan fiction side that was different to writing ‘canon’. Namely, fans fill in the pauses between moments, exploring them from different angles, while the original writer needs to remember not to spell out every moment.
Second gig was on the value of persistence. A band from the late 80s/90s who scored a number of hits (here) now down to two brothers – but the JOY in their performance was remarkable. And while they’ve only written a song a year for the past ten years to go down on an album due to be released later this year, all the songs are *good* songs. One literally brought tears to the hubby’s eyes. A small gig compared to their past, but the opportunity to engage with the audience and test their new material truly meant something not just to them but everyone in the room.
What am I avoiding?
Thinking about what comes next after the Fun Flimsy. Not sure if a return to past works is justified or if I should continue the move to new territory.
What am I working on this week?
The last couple weeks have been a write-off, due to travel and Life Events–or would be, except for the fact that I’ve significantly redrafted two big poems. One of them I’ve been trying to write my whole life, and it feels close to being done, or at least ready for a good editor. Sent off a few poetry submissions–a first for times like this. So maybe I am actually applying recent lessons learned.
What’s inspiring me this week?
Maria Takolander’s collection The End of the World–ruthless, stark, uncanny. Also The Disjunctive Dragonfly, a book of haiku theory that will be a goldmine once I have the brainspace to process it.
Can’t remember if someone here posted a link about aiming for rejections, but it was a good one, if as straightforward and obvious as it sounds. I’ve sent out well over my annual average already, so looking forward to bettering that in the next six months.
What part of my project am I avoiding?
Mostly everything. Except for the part of my brain going wow attention so material. Is it just me or are there little personal earthquakes going off everywhere?
Did manage to check out the websites of the regulars here so I can start to add more value in coming weeks.
Good hunting, as they say!