I said I was going to talk about how to make something from nothing this week, which isn't going to happen in time to meet my posting deadline, but I will give an update from my world, and a little look ahead.
When I started out here I had a Plan. I thought it was a pretty good Plan, and I have stuck to it for the last 15 months. I thank you all for hanging in here with me. I hope our conversation will continue for many more months to come, and that we can find things that will help all of us as we move along in our creative lives.
However, I am looking at deviating from my pattern of posts, and taking a more free-form approach as we move forward. This week is, according to the Plan, a recommended reading (or viewing, etc.) post, but the truth is I haven't really had time to consume any media in the last couple weeks, so I don't have anything useful to recommend.
What I will recommend instead is that as we approach the holidays, and all the scary news about supply-chain issues around holiday shopping, we all consider how we can support other creative people instead. Visit a local art fair or community market, look for books and music from independent creators that is available digitally, or shop in a store or gallery offering locally-produced items that are readily available. Not only will you often find a one-of-a-kind gift, but you will provide support and encouragement to another creative.
One-of-a-kind pieces make great gifts (I have this one to a friend a while back) and support your local creatives. I call that a win-win!
That's my recommendation for this week.
As for my personal update, the month ahead is going to be crazy - and then we are going to be facing down December and the end of another year. which hardly seems possible.
I have managed to survive another week in the office by myself, and the work facing my office mates (one of whom is scheduled to return to work on Monday)isn't piled too high. But I have worked 13 of the last 14 days, many of those days were 10-12 hours, and I have taken to muttering "I am too old for this s***."
I just keep reminding myself that it will be over soon!
Once again I am counting down the weeks until I can go back to being a full-time creative.
Next weekend we are venturing out to a science fiction convention for the first time in years. Our kids will be there, and I am looking forward to it, but I will be most interested in seeing how conventions have changed in recent years, and especially how they have changed in the face of Covid. Watch this space later this month for a report!
We are also going to travel for Thanksgiving week, and it will be interesting to compare this road trip with our trip earlier this year and see what, if anything, has changed. Stay tuned for our impressions from the road. We're only going as far as Las Vegas to spend the holiday with dear friends, so it should be a more low-key trip.
After that I am looking forward to staying home, starting a new book, and publishing the one I finished last month.
There is one more change to report, and that harks back to the post from a couple weeks ago about "Just Keep Moving." Thanks to the encouragement of several of you, both publicly and privately, I set myself a small goal and have started working toward it.
I made arrangements to have access to a treadmill (since my gym closes early and I am working late) and have vowed to do 30 minutes after work each day. That amounts to about a mile and a half at my current pace, and I am trying to convince myself to be content with achieving a small goal rather than missing a large one. So far it's only been a few days, but I have started moving and I am hoping the power of the streak will propel me forward, as it has with this channel.
I'd like to get back to numbers like these, but in the meantime I will be content with hitting my much lower goal.
So how are you all doing? Are you ready to venture into the world again? Are you setting little goals, moving forward?
Let me know how you're doing! I would love to hear from you!