Thursday, August 19, 2010

choking on your alibis

Uh, yeah. I left the office with every intention in the world of writing -- but by the time I got coffee at Philz, all my good intentions somehow eroded. I didn't even drink most of the coffee; instead, I came home, ate dinner, took a nap, and messed around on my laptop (which resulted in an abysmal -0.41 productivity rating for the night).

So, Madeleine and Ferguson will have to wait until tomorrow. But, I'm starting to clear out some of the cobwebs in my mind; I spend some quality time tonight with a spreadsheet, outlining some of the pros and cons of the decisions currently on my plate, and I think I'm getting enough perspective and clarity to make some commitments in the near future. Since I absolutely hate commitments of all kinds, that should be interesting, but it's gotta happen if I'm going to set boundaries, control my time, and reach the next level with my writing.

Speaking of reaching the next level with my writing, I signed up for another Stanford class for fall quarter. This one is on freelancing for magazines, taught by someone who got an MFA at Columbia, teaches writing at Stanford Business School, and writes features for a variety of major magazines. Since the blogging class that I signed up for is short, these two classes only overlap for four weeks, and they're on different nights (but oddly enough, in the same room, so I'm going to get very familiar with that room over the course of the next quarter). Two classes may be a bit too intense, but there was no harm in adding it; since I'd already paid the quarterly registration fee on the first classes I registered for, there was no fee to register for this one, and so no fee for dropping either. I also get a discount as a Stanford Alumni Association member, which saved me ~$75. And, ultimately, I see blogging and freelancing as possible opportunities to supplement my writing income if I become a full-time novelist someday, so I'm hoping to get some value out of them.

Now, I suppose I should go to bed, dream of Madeleine and Ferguson, and wake up tomorrow eager to get them on their way. Goodnight!

Daily word count: 0 (0% of goal)
Productive time: 1.25hr (all email, spreadsheets, etc.)
RescueTime productivity rating: -0.41 (global average: 0.34)

No comments: