Greetings, folks! Welcome to March and week nine of 2023 🙂

In the tarot, I drew the six of swords. This card represents journeys, experiences, forgiveness, and optimism. Well, I’m certainly on a journey and hoping for a better place to land in the future.

In the Celtic oracle, I drew the Son. This card represents Mabon. You may remember a few weeks ago, when I drew the Eagle, that Culhwch was tasked with finding Mabon and consulted the eagle on his journey.

Mabon is the eternal child and may mean recapturing my youthful joy and playfulness. It’s something I’ve said I want to do. Can I actually do it?

Something I’ve neglected to mention in past NCW posts was that I’ve been reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (finally). Healing and reconnecting with the artist within, who is a child, plays a big role in TAW.

The week in writing

Once again, it was a “catch as catch can” kind of week. And all I managed this week was blogging.

So, 1,550 words for the week, 6,815 total for February, and 1,117 for March.

I’m settling into the fact that this enforced break could be a good thing for me and my projects. I probably need some time and distance before I dive back in. Yes, I managed to cut a chunk of words a couple days last week, but if I keep exploiting opportunities like this, I may be courting burnout.

It’s one thing to write (or revise) at every opportunity when your life is otherwise uncomplicated. It’s another when you have full time job and caregiver responsibilities at home. I’m going to give myself a break and, hopefully dive back in with energy when the time comes.

It’s not that I’m not thinking about my projects or making notes or dreaming of other things I’d like to do. So, part of me is still very much dwelling in writerland 🙂

Filling the well

While I had nothing scheduled for the week, I finally watched the TWUC tax webinar replay. It will be more useful to me when I have a book (next year … it’s coming …).

And then, on a whim, I signed up for a webinar on writing Native American characters.

Other than that, I was focused on balancing work, caregiving, and self-care. My mother-in-law delivered about a week’s worth of meals from Smith’s. Phil and I enjoyed the fajitas Saturday evening.

I’ve decided that I’m going to stop being stubborn and proud and accept the help people are offering. It will make life easier in the coming weeks.

What I’m watching and reading

I watched the first season of Mayfair Witches (AMC). Honestly, I’m disappointed.

I missed the latest iteration of Interview with a Vampire and was kind of kicking myself, because I’d heard good things about it from various sources. Unfortunately, AMC now has its own streaming service and I’m not subscribing to anything else, nor am I prepared to binge anything (at this point) during a free trial period. So, I didn’t want to miss this next entry into the Immortal Universe storytelling world.

The story wasn’t bad, but Rowan always felt off to me. I’m not sure whether it was the actress or the script, but I just didn’t care about her. On reflection, it may be that the book had a lot of key interiority that the writers couldn’t figure out how to show in a visual format. There’s only so much you can put into dialogue and flashback and otherworldly visions. The rest has to be carried by the actress. Rowan looked continually frightened. Until she wasn’t. And then, I got whiplash from the uncharacteristic changes in the last couple of episodes.

In reading, I finished reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. And yes, I am doing morning pages … just not necessarily in the morning. It depends on the day and what I have to do. I find that I’m already doing or have done a lot of what she recommends.

I also finished Jordan Ifueko’s Raybearer. A girl, raised in isolation, is sent to become one of the crown prince’s council of eleven. But she is bound by her mother’s wish to kill the prince when he anoints her as one of his chosen. Early on, I’ll admit to being irritated with Tarisai, but the story held me long enough for the character to mature and for the story events to carry me through.

Finally, I read Charles Dickens’ The Signalman. It’s a short story (novelette?) and I’ve read it before. I just didn’t remember until I started reading it again 🙂 A solid ghost story about a spectral visitor who foretells train-related deaths.

And that was the week in this writer’s life.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!