Welcome to December?! Where has the fricken year gone? Did you survive the month of NaNoWriMo, American Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday, and ALL THE THINGS?

Me? I’m not sure yet. Give me a minute. Delayed processing is a thing.

Life in General

Back in April, I took the dive and registered for the Writer Unboxed UnConference (more on that, below). While I was away in Salem, Phil reported a) our first snowfall, b) followed by another 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches) the next day, and c) the death of our snowblower.

Poor guy had to clear our very large driveway of some very wet, heavy snow by hand (and arm and back, etc.). He was in quite a bit of pain the next day because of his shoulder, which you may or may not remember was broken this past February.

He got a new snowblower and we didn’t have any more snow … until the 26^th! We got 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) and it was cold enough to stick around. Phil gave the snowblower its first workout the next day. It works great, especially the heated hand grips! He just has to get used to the new controls. The drive gear and auger controls are opposite to the old machine and there are triggers underneath the handles to engage the steering. The wheels can be steered with one or the other trigger. They can also be locked with both triggers. It’s going to take time. But he’s happy with the purchase.

Getting back to my flight to Salem, I was prepared for the trip—my first since the pandemic—with the exception of arranging for a temporary roaming plan for my cell phone. I would have had to arrange for that at least a month in advance, because our plan is billed monthly. But I didn’t, so I did without. I am not looking forward to our next bill.

It was nice not feeling the pressure to do all the social media all the time, though. I could focus on the writerly learnings.

Unfortunately, that meant a greater burden of social media catch-up on my return. It was a couple of weeks before that was accomplished.

In the process of packing, I found a couple old things in my courier bag (one of my staple travel gear items). I discovered an old Burt’s Bees wild cherry lip balm that was still completely usable. And a little Tolkien Moleskine notebook that I had taken to work. I’d written in it periodically from 2014 to 2019 and it wasn’t quite half used. So, I packed it for the trip and took my session notes in it. I’m also filling it up before moving onto another newer journal. I’ve finally filled the refill for my lovely leather journal.

After my return from Salem, I marked off the important stuff in my journal with sticky tabs, so I could refer to past notes on various writing projects at will.

I took my new Manta weighted sleep mask and Flare Sleeep ear plugs and slept well considering I was in a strange city and bed. I had my Flare Calmer Soft ear buds, one of which I lost 😦 Fortunately, I had a set of Flare Calmer Secure as a backup. Yes, they were more obvious, but I didn’t have to worry about losing them, ‘cause lanyard. I also brought an aromatherapy diffuser necklace for more sensory support.

Update: I appear to have lost the Calmer Secure as well, somewhere on the journey from the airport. I’ve checked my courier bag, suitcase, the sweater and jacket I wore to Salem, and the car. I may find the pouch in the driveway in the spring, or it may have been garburated by the snow blower. So, I ordered another pair of Calmer Soft. We’ll see if I can hang onto these 😦

One other thing I should have done was to call ahead and find out when the Porter check in desk was open. My flight to Toronto left at 7:10 am on November 6^th, and CATSA says to be on site three hours ahead of time. The airport’s web site states it’s open from 4 am, so Phil drove me out there only to discover that the Porter desk wouldn’t be personed until 5:30 am. I really could have used the extra hour and a half sleep.

Despite the super early start, the flight to Boston via Toronto went well. I was stuck in customs for about an hour and spent another 45 minutes trying to connect with the person I was ride sharing with, but everything else went smoothly.

Travel is always tough. Lessons learned. I’ll know better next time.

The return trip was a bit fraught, starting out with a delay which meant a hasty turnaround at Billy Bishop (customs, check in, security, and board), but I arrived in Sudbury at the appointed hour and Phil was waiting for me to debark.

Torvi gave me the atomic wig when I got home.

The month in writing

Silly Mellie was silly. I decided to do NaNoWriMo this year (again), despite Wordstock and the UnConference and working the rest of the month and Finnish classes … but I set a lower goal (30,000 words) and did my NaNo Rebel Combo thing.

Revisions on Reality Bomb, ‘cause ongoing. Whatever words possible on The Fenwoman’s Tale, ‘cause I wanted to work on something new. Revisions on a short story (done on the 8^th!). This blog post/newsletter. And whatever else I wrote in the month.

I met my reduced goal just a little over half-way through the month because RB revisions. And, by the 30^th, I actually had over 50k words. I should have just gone with the standard WriMo. Again, lessons learned.

I met with Suzy twice in November. The first session was on November 2^nd. After my month-long illness, I was feeling fragile. Still, progress was made.

Our next meeting was on the 23^rd. I’d hit the stage where everything I wrote seemed like crap to me but by the time we met, I was starting to come out of it, and I ended up feeling good after our meeting.

As I mentioned parenthetically above, I completed my edits for my short story on the 8^th. I had some questions and let the editors know, but I received word on the 20^th that my revisions were acceptable. Once all the edits for all the selected stories are in, the editors will bundle everything up for the publisher, who has final say, and I should learn the ultimate fate of my story by the end of the year.

I supplied bios for that story and the creative non-fiction piece that was accepted into the Sudbury Writers’ Guild’s Sudbury’s Superstack: A Changing Skyline anthology.

Filling the well

The new Ivy moon in Scorpio was on the 13^th. I observed with a guided meditation.

The full beaver (or freezing) moon in Gemini was on the 27^th. Once again, observed with a meditation. It was overcast, so no actual observation.

The month started with the Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival, from November 2^nd to 4^th. I caught the Thursday and Friday evening sessions virtually, because work and still recovering from the illen. I attended Saturday’s sessions in person. It was a very poetic festival this year and I did a little networking.

Then, after a scant day off, I got up at ridiculous o’clock to fly down to Boston and make my way to Salem for the Writer Unboxed UnConference from the 6^th to the 10^th. It was a fun first in person conference adventure, post-pandemic. I got to meet some of the people with whom I’d only interacted online. I made a few new friends. I enjoyed some great local food, walked around Salem, and took in a lot of writing craft instruction.

It’s one of the better conferences I’ve been to, up there with the Surrey International Writers’ Conference (SiWC) and the Writing Excuses Retreat (WXR).

After that, I took a break. Travel is hard, and though the UnConference was great, I was masking on steroids. It’s just what happens, and I haven’t figured out a better way to handle conferences yet.

I did sign up for an Authors Publish webinar that I watched on replay. Agent Michael Mungiello and Daisuke Shen discussed their working relationship and fielded questions about finding and working with an agent.

Finnish classes continued through the month, as did my supplementary learning on Duolingo.

I signed up for an RBC Patient and Family Learning Space webinar on November 28 on the connection between sleep disorders and mental health. It was interesting, but more of a confirmation of what I already knew.

I got shot twice on the 13^th with my covid and flu vaccinations. I am now up to date (again). Just sore shoulders for a couple of days afterward and a brief resurgence of congestion. By the weekend of the 18^th, I was feeling myself again.

I also had a massage appointment on the 15^th, which helped me to recover from the post-vaccination bleargh. Reached the rest and digest stage again, but not for long.

Something wonky has happened on my smoking cessation journey. Now that I’ve recovered from that sinus infection, I no longer have that awful taste in my mouth. I can taste and smell again. And it’s lowered my urgency to quit.

I had once again gotten down to 6 to 8 cigarettes a day but bounced back up to 10 to 12. I’m not quitting … quitting, but I may have to hang out at half my former consumption for a while again.

What I’m watching and reading

I watched The Fablemans (Crave). It was a lovely look at a filmmaker’s development and coming of age.

Then, Phil and I finished watching the second season of Loki (Disney +). While I thought the finale was bittersweet and appropriate, Phil was saddened that we wouldn’t be getting a season three. There may be something featuring the TVA (I mean, we have to know what happened to Renslayer and Eliath, at least, don’t we? And what of OB?) and I’m fairly certain that Loki’s new role of the god of story will have further implications for future Marvel movies and series. Phil just really likes Hiddleston’s portrayal of the god of mischief and didn’t want to see it end.

Phil and I also finished watching the first season of Gen V (Amazon). As bloody as The Boys and featuring cameos of a few of the regulars (Ashley, Mallory, Soldier Boy, Victoria Neuman, Homelander, and Butcher). We really liked it, and the characters, in particular, were fabulous. It was interesting to see more characters like Starlight, before they get screwed up by the capital-industrial complex that is Vaught.

Next, I watched Blue Beetle (Crave). I loved it. It wasn’t a perfect movie, even a perfect superhero movie, but it was definitely one of the better DCEU movies to come out to date, and it’s a little disappointing that the new DC may not pursue Jaime’s future adventures. My favourite line: “Bug Fart activated.”

Phil and I watched what they’re calling the “midseason” finale of Invincible (Amazon). This part of the season focused on the aftermath of the revelation of Nolan’s deception and his departure from Earth. Mark feels he has to make up for his dad’s actions and Debbie’s turned to alcohol. It looks like the second part of the season will deal with how Mark handles his assignment from the Viltrumites to finish his dad’s work and prepare Earth for its new Viltrumite overlords.

Then, I watched a cheesy Matel movie from 2016. Max Steel (Amazon) wasn’t horrible. A kid starts manifesting powers and has to team up with an amnesiac symbiotic lifeform to defend Earth from aliens.

Finally, Phil and I said farewell to the Doom Patrol (Crave). While the series offered up the main characters, villains, and even storylines of various DP comics series, it got mired in the fucked-upness of the team to the point that, after four years, none of the characters had sorted their shit. The Chief, Rita, and Cliff are dead, Cyborg decides to teach gifted kids, Jane and Casey get together (in space), Larry and 104 become a sun with Keeg (I think), Rouge takes out the Ant Farm, and Dorothy’s just doing her own thing … ?

I think part of the problem was that Jane (DID with each alter having their own superpower), and later Dorothy (with very powerful imaginary friends at her beck and call), ended up being grossly overpowered and the writers didn’t know how to deal with them.

When we enter the dark months of the year, I tend to slow down in my reading.

The first book I finished in November was Naomi Alderman’s The Power. Girls begin developing electrical powers, entirely upending society. Margaret Atwood’s influence is clear, particularly in the faux-documentary postscript, which is a written correspondence between the male author of a novel and his publisher (Alderman), which implies that women will be no better than men in responsibly wielding their power.

Next, I finished Nnedi Okorafor’s Shadow Speaker. Ejii Ugabe witnessed her father’s decapitation and now that she’s manifesting the abilities of a shadow speaker, she’s going to join her father’s killer on a mission to try to prevent a war. I enjoy Okorafor’s stories of young people changed by external circumstance trying to find their ways in the world.

Then, I read Hannu Rajaneimi’s The Quantum Thief. It was a recommendation from Desmond Hall because the main character, Jean le Flambeur, encounters several different incarnations of himself. It’s not the same as my protagonist and her Others in Reality Bomb, though. Jean and his others are never in the same physical body. They’re in a Dilemma Prison (which I think is a quantum realm) or they exist in different times accessible only by memory.

The Quantum Thief is a bizarre heist novel pitting Jean against a brilliant young detective in the Oubliette, the moving city of Mars, where time is currency and memory is treasure, and post-human tribes and police vie for control.

Finally, I finished my reread of Guy Gavriel Kay’s The Summer Tree. The characters and story hold up just fine, but the first chapters are a bit rough. I was surprised and disappointed, but Kay remains one of my favourite authors. I’m going to give the rereads a break until the New Year. I have a whole pile of TBRs that I need to put a dent in (!)

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

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