Saturday, June 16, 2012

Vacation Time

Not everyone gets one, I realize, so I feel grateful for getting one. Especially in my job, when I take time off I don't get paid, so there will be no money coming in for these two weeks I'm off. And this is a stay-at-home vacation. Vacation is vacation, no matter if you go anywhere or not.


I'm taking time off to regroup, relax, and get a few things done I might otherwise never get to. The things I plan on doing may not get done, but I have a mental list, and some of it involves a real mop and soap *wink*. Since my flowers are all in, I only need to keep them watered in this terrible drought we are having. Weeds seem to take off in this sort of weather, too, so there will be some kneeling on the ground to pull the pesky things out of my flowerbeds. I can't wait to see the flowers flourish and fill in. I use Miracle Grow on anything I plant. It really helps make them grow better.

But my husband needs time off too, and he's going to take some days off--he is able to be paid, up to the hours he's earned. There will be shopping on some of those days we're together--for clothes, and I need new glasses. We need to hit a few antique shops in the area, too. Oh, and some places for lunch that we have not tried. We want to go shopping in a nearby town (Sycamore), and want to pop in and see what's new. There's a new wine shop that opened up, and an antiques shop, as well. I don't know about you, but I love to look at old stuff and old photographs.

I've been working on short stories lately, and since one was not picked up, I'm going to self publish it (which makes me happier than you can imagine!) It will be my very first attempt at this, and I'll certainly post about that when the story is up. More on that in another blog post.

My current WIP: Well, it was number 4 book, but lately number 5 book wants to come out of me. I've got scenes in my head. I see this one individual who gets on my bus everyday, and thought he would make an interesting character, and I had to write a scene, and figure out how adding him would be beneficial to the story. I don't like to write too much on something that I'm not sure about. And then, this guy wrote himself in. He's American/Japanese, and his name is Cho. To quote another new character, "He's lethal". And I'm working on how Sabrina sees something from the guy's past where he has killed an opponent during a Martial Arts tournament--by accident, of course--at age 15. Well, naturally, I need him for the book! Sabrina could use a human to protect her during the day, when the vampires are away.

A lot of holes to fill in it, and so I'm writing scene descriptions on note cards and pondering where they will be placed. That's the only "outlining" I will do. It's actually called "story board", and it works for me. I've got the plot-planner taped on my wall. Looks like an odd M, with an extension going up in front of the M. If anyone needs this, send me an e-mail (loreleibell4[at]gmail[dot]com). I'll gladly send it to you. It's really good for plotting a novel. I've drawn mine large so that I can tape it on my wall, and tape my post-it notes, or note cards to it, so that I can see how I want things to progress. It's the handiest thing I've ever found for plotting.

So, for my very first day of my vacation, although I have been busy, I'm enjoying the thought of not getting up early--unless I have a scene slam into my head and I have to get it down. Happy Dance!

6 comments:

  1. Hope you have a restful and productive break, L!

    We've been in a 2 year drought here in South Texas, and I can most certainly confirm what you said about weeds: They love it! They grow any place the grass--or other wanted vegetation--doesn't. And since I can only water a couple of hours a week (drought restrictions), the grass has a hard time staying thick enough to keep them choked out.

    Hoping we get a couple of strong tropical storm systems later this summer, probably our only hope of snapping out of it.

    Sounds like you've got lots of plans for your stay-cation, so I'll let you get to them! :)

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  2. Well, thanks, EJ for stopping by. I'll be around no matter what I do.

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  3. I'll send you thoughts of rain, Lorelei.

    Hope you have a great vacay and you'll be hearing from me. I love antiques and old photos myself.

    Hugs to you.

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  4. Hey, Shelly, your thoughts of rain actually worked! It rained through the night and may have greened things up so my husband doesn't have to work so hard this week, he can just mow.

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  5. Agreed! Amen, sister! Vacation is vacation whether you go anywhere or not! I have no problem at all staying home. I love it!
    Enjoy your break, Lorelei!

    -JImmy

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  6. I know that most writers would not mind a stay-at-home vacation. You don't have to go in to that "other" job, and can do what you love.

    Glad to hear from you, Jimmy!

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