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So, a few blogs that I follow do a monthly round-up recap of what they’ve been doing.  Since I’ve been horridly lax in posting, I thought I would try it…

What I’ve Been Reading…

The Best Thing I Never Had, by Erin Lawless – A romantic comedy/drama about a tight-knit group of UK university students that comes unraveled senior year.  A juicy, light read.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, by Charles Duhigg – A fascinating look at the psychology of habits, complete with tools for how to change.

What I’ve Been Writing…

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Lewis “helps” me write…

I’ve fallen off of the morning pages wagon in the past few months, favoring sleep and relaxation over a creative routine.  All in all, it’s been a good choice, but I’ve missed writing.

So, when Rachel Hawkins, author of the Hex Hall series and Rebel Belle, said she was going to write 10k on one Sunday, I decided to join in.  I’m proud to say that I wrote 10,101 words as a result, either background notes or “scene skeletons” for a project I’ve been considering for a few weeks.

It was a strange day.  I was energized and excited to dedicate a day to writing…for the first 8,000 words.

The last 2,000 were exhausting and as painful as pulling teeth, with which I’ve had an over-abundance of experience and therefore on which I feel I can compare with no little authority.  I had tapped out my creative juices, and my internal keg served up nothing but frustrating, unsatisfying foam.

BUT I did it, which was, in and of itself, satisfying.

I treated myself to a full Kindle compliment of Rachel’s books for completing the challenge, in honor of her inspiration.

What I’ve Been Doing…

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The view from onstage at Zilka Hall

I made my stage debut at TUTS Underground in Murder Ballad, by which I mean that Mr. F. and I had tickets to watch the show from on stage.  Everyone in the 4-person cast of this sexy, sexy rock opera had an incredible voice.  They made me want to dance and belt it out…but perhaps not to do some of the sexy, sexy things they did on stage with so many people watching them…

I volunteered as a beta reader for a friend’s screenplay.  I take being a beta reader seriously – it’s like being the first test audience for a work.  Asking someone to read your writing is an act of bravery, making yourself vulnerable as you invite constructive criticism of your work.  I give eternal “mad props” to her for asking, and I hope my feedback was of use to her.  (I also hope to see her story on the silver screen someday.  When it happens, I will let you know!)

What I’ve Been Watching

On a disappointing note…the 6th and penultimate season of Mad Men is finally stream-able on Netflix.  Two episodes in, we’re disappointed in the writing.  Don and the Sterling-Cooper-Draper crew seem to have slid into a middle-aged, martini-infused malaise.  This season lacks the style and wit of earlier installments.  Maybe that’s the point, that glamour doesn’t last.  But then again, if glamour wanes, so does our attention.

On a high note of intergalactic proportions, Fox’s reboot of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos proves Neil DeGrasse Tyson may be the coolest person in the universe.  He is blowing our minds on a weekly basis, explaining life, the universe and everything in a way that only he can.

Stay tuned for (hopefully) exciting news from my May!

What have you been doing?