Weds check-in: Quilting and writing and . . .

This week, the Quilt Show dominates everything, starting Thursday for set-up, Friday and Saturday for volunteering. We expect about 5,000 people over three days. By Sunday, I won't know what will be left over, except we're taking Rachel to the show in a wheelchair (she's better every day). Thank goodness, ROW80 has begun! For it's keeping me focused on my writing goals -- despite all else.

1. Writing. So far, so good, though I wrote only one out of two days. It feels like a mosh pit. I'm jumping back to Standing Stones for the final revisions (Catriona's character has changed and I need a slightly different set up for Book3, final check on dates) and to add all those goodies needed (copyright, acknowledgements, about author, questions for book club,  preview of Years of Stone, photos, and the cover).I'm also still writing a poem a day for Octpowrimo. Where these poems come from surprises me every day. Writing on my blogs is a challenge: daily poetry on the writing blog. 2x weekly on this blog for ROW80, and once a week on the travel blog. So far, OK.

2. Community. Goals = writing that poem a day and reading at least 5 others. Reporting in for ROW80 and reading 5 others a day. Last night the Coursera course on historical fiction ("Plagues, Witches, and War") began, and I'm one of 12,000 students. What a fascinating experiment with teacher videos, a discussion board, and reading and writing assignments. Watched the first two videos and will discover this week's assignment tonight.

3. Reading/Craft/Research. I'm reading Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones in small bites (up to page 15) and appreciating very much her sense of writing as practice. Process, not final product. I'm behind on reading, though another great book came in from interlibrary loan, excerpts from Letitia Hargrave's diary with photos and maps of her time at York Factory in the 1840s. Van Kirk's academic study of country wives is simply difficult to pick up, though I'm loving the subject. When the day is done and I have those precious 15 minutes before falling asleep, what do I read? True confession, I'm reading cozy romances. I do like happy endings, despite the darkness in the world (i.e., government shutdown, violence everywhere).

4. Marketing. Oofta! Pending for awhile BUT I do have a sense of direction AND my e-book Mermaid Quilt will be featured this Friday on World Literary Cafe as a free e-book. We'll see how that goes as I'm supposed to promote it like heck! The LINK won't be LIVE until Friday but this could be your chance . . .

5. Personal. Because I'm needed as a babysitter especially this month, I feel like I've picked up a part time job. It's temporary, but all else goes on hold, cooking, cleaning, even exercise. Allen and I walk daily, but swimming only 1x this week. Rachel has finally started to walk -- with a walker and a cane for very short bursts. She can go up and down the stairs with these aids.16-month-old Leda greeted me yesterday with, "Oh, boy!" And I know I'm going to be OK because my office doesn't look like a bomb hit it and I have an hour now to write.

May your week go well, and your characters surprise you.

Breakfast in Buenos Aires (Camp 2009)
Why can't I have a breakfast like this in the states?