atthequillsmercy

Update: Words and Runs

Even though JustRun was supposed to be a 25-minute session, I did some more walking after it was done. I just don’t feel right doing less than 30 minutes. I also did a 40-minute Wirk session at my desk at work as I went through some books. Pretty soon, I’ll have a clearer desk.

One of the big decisions I made was to stop my weight loss medication. If you follow me on BlueSky, I’d mentioned this and as I’ve only been off it for a two days, I haven’t noticed a difference in my hunger. It takes at least 3 days for it to completely leave your system (typically). Tonight, that salad – that was sadly disappointing which is a shame because I was really looking forward to it – was too much and I handed the rest off to my kid (who also was disappointed). I am hopeful that I can be just as active and keep in control of my eating without the drugs.

Now, on to the writing stuff.

While I am technically behind, I finally finished the part of the book where I had to dig back three books to find the exact scene and get the details right. The next step is new things I’ve mentioned in previous books, but never really dug into the details. And since I was out from work for a bit, I spent a good chunk of the day catching up on whatever was waiting for me. I don’t want to think about how much more is left for me (how all these books built up without anyone asking me if they should be pulled in the first place is a mystery) but I’ll still manage to get my words in somehow. Even if I had to park it on the desk bike instead of running. Technically, my goal is to finish this book, not to hit 50k words in a month. I’m already hip deep in this book and it’s probably 30-40k words already.

Don’t be impressed. I started this story in 2018.

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Writing Update: Why do I do this to myself?

(Image Source)

I have to admire anyone who fills the anti-AI NaNoWriMo slot. So, here I am torturing myself for some reason. Who am I kidding? I know the reason. I don’t even remember exactly when I started writing book four in my First Brood series, and I am annoyed with myself that it’s taken this long. My goal is to finish it this month, 50k words or not. If I finish it and it’s not 50k words, I’ll move on to the next WIP: Dewey. Another story I started too long ago thinking I’d just bang it out real quick but having to switch to my other penname to make some quick pennies. Yet here it is, years later unfinished…

Ugh, that image is small… I’m a day behind. But, I managed to get through a part where I’d originally written this scene many years ago in book one of this series. It’s relevant to revisit it since this book is all about Emma and her perspective on everything that happened so far. I wanted to make sure the lore I’d established was held to while making a few little tweaks since it’s from a different writing perspective. It’s also really emotional for me. So much has changed since I wrote that… I designed that scene before I became a parent and it hits hard now that I am one.

I don’t even have to look at the Freewrite draft to know that a LOT of editing will have to take place to have this be smooth and provide a different experience for those who already read the first book.

All three of you.

I kid but seriously, I didn’t want this to be a word for word recreation of what I’ve already done. But, I only have a bit to go with this section before I can write things that I don’t have to dive this deep in to what I’ve previously written. This book is supposed to be an exploration of Emma’s character and why she’d made some interesting decisions in the previous books, not a recap. I’m flying through this but I know I’ll have to go back and make sure my goal is met. It’ll take a lot of editing… But, I’ll find a way to keep things updated and fresh here and on my Patreon with snippets of the WIP. I can already tell the published work will be a completely different animal than the Patreon posts…

And don’t count on daily writing updates.

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Blessed Samhain and Happy Halloween!

I have been working out over the last few days and gave increasing my speed a try. I was able to hold it really well, but after two days in a row of running, I decided a long walk was in order for yesterday (not pictured). Today, other than hitting up a Pokémon Go raid, I didn’t workout. I did my annual Samhain cleaning and smudged the entire house with sage. I’m ready for the wheel to turn and hopefully better times as I remember those who have gone on before me.

Since I’ve been getting more active in general, I treated myself to my little at home, bootleg hotpot/grill. It’s just so much fun to do and so delicious. And no, that’s no too much garlic. There’s no such thing.

But the real star of the show is the Samhain stew.

I got the recipe from the above book and of course I tweaked it. I use rice instead of barley. I set up the rice cooker and that cooks while I put the stew together. By the time it’s done simmering, the rice is ready. Personally, I like my scallions crunchy when I eat them, but I love this meal. I usually only make this once a year. To be fair, it’s just chicken and rice soup and I could make it whenever. I like it when it’s special, though. Whether your Pagan like me or not, may we all have a better year.

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Today’s (and yesterday’s) workout: Aww, it’s over?

With these two runs, I’ve completed the new Zombies Run! missions that came out, and I’m a bit sad about it. I have a bunch of Venture missions I can do while I wait for any new material they’re cooking up, but I can’t wait to see what they come up with. Will they continue with the storyline from before the change in management or continue down the line with something completely new? Even so, these short runs are still pretty easy, and I feel like that’s a good thing. I would rather know my stamina has room to improve slowly as these runs get longer than have been reset back to one again. I like the feeling of the slow progression of speed and time. It makes me feel like I’m accomplishing something.

I am a sucker for Fall products, so I gave the Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Croissants a try and they’re pretty good. It came in a pack of 2 and I gave the other one to my son, who basically had the same reaction. I didn’t find them disappointing! Just not sure if they’re worth the calories unless I have a specific craving; like for the Caesar salad that I ate for lunch. I still have some cherry tomatoes from the yard to use up since the cold has made the plant wither. Together, that was plenty of calories for the day. Today, I had some spicy chili naan for lunch and lemon pepper chicken wings with spicy rice. I’m probably breaking a bunch of cooking rules by cutting up a jalapeño and throwing it in the rice cooker from the beginning, but it tastes amazing. Mix a bit of salted butter and some of the lemon pepper from the wings for in it… That’s going into the rotation, for sure. Since I’m still scraping together money for a new oven, I’ve been cooking everything in the air fryer. I’m hoping I can get all that in order before the end of November: prime cookie baking season! It’s tiring because I’m getting old but I love cooking for people and giving these cookies as gifts. I’d hate to miss a year again because of not only being short on money, but not having an oven to make them in.

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Today’s Workout: That was too easy

I thought that restarting the 5k trainer in Just Run would be better for me after taking a break for NYCC. Today was day 2, and it has been deceptively easy so far. Not easy enough for me to jump back to the 10k trainer, but apparently, all the work I’ve been doing so far was effective. My form was good, my pace held steady, and other than the aches and pains of being 45, I wasn’t even sore after! I’m just gonna keep to the 5k trainer for now, finish it, then maybe move on to the 10k trainer. My focus should be on strength training. I keep saying that, then completely forgetting to do it. I’m sure my son wouldn’t mind if I used the weight bench I bought for him sometimes. He’s trying to bulk up.

Other than some snacks (I still love my wasabi almonds), I didn’t eat much today. This was my only meal, and it was plenty for me. I just wasn’t that hungry. And one of the main things I stick to is that if I’m not hungry, I don’t eat. It may seem like a very low-calorie amount for an entire day… That’s what the Saxenda is for, right? And I figure as long as I have energy to get through the day and I take my vitamins to keep my nails from separating (I can’t tell if my hair is thinning, because I rock a buzz cut happily), I think I’m doing ok. I believe I have blood work coming up soon. If I have any deficiencies, my doctor will tell me.

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WIP Wednesday: I’m back and muddling through…

Things have been hard. Even without the horrid cost of living, I have been struggling with even more repairs and replacements of things I need, like the oven, my car, or my washing machine. The stress of being so far in debt makes it really hard to be creative, but I try to get some words in every day. I’m even trying to manage my stress by getting back into running. I took a break for NYCC. I’m doing my best to celebrate the little wins, like my Finch app or my streak in Koala Quill.

I’m trying to pretend I have control over my life by trying out some more fun recipes and using ingredients to the fullest. I dunno, depression is really messing with my head and it’s a struggle most days. I’m not gonna do anything bad, I’m just doing my best to put one foot in front of the other each day. I hate the feeling that I have to constantly be hustling to scrape together just enough to make minimum payments on things. And this isn’t dry begging or even begging at all. I’m bitching. There’s a big difference.

I will have more content for my Patreon and a bunch of reviews I have in deck to go up. I have some more comics to sell on my shop and I’ll try and get more needlework finished at some point. I haven’t made much progress on that but I did get rid of some really gross old junk I dug up. Here and there, progress is being made in some capacity.

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WIP Wednesday! Patreon Update for Emma!

I was on the fence as to not only what to post to Patreon this week, but how much of it. This chapter seemed short to me so I thought I’d double it up with the next one. The two of them together were too long, though. I just went with what I had. Remember with whatever stories I post on there, the first part is free. The rest are the $1 tier.

Other than that, I will freely admit my word counts are not the best. Not even sure they’re even worth listing but I’m sure some people will wanna know:

  • A: 20,814
  • B: 1,757 (published a different book under this pen name, then moved on to the story in this slot)
  • C: 20,238
  • Manos: 3,662
  • Antichrist BF: 4,433

See? Not all that impressive when it comes to pure words added. A lot of this was a big push for a smutty book and editing stuff for Patreon. I looked back at the exact dates I started Emma and Dewey and after a delightful existential crisis, I am going to do my level best to finish at least one of those before the end of the year. I do like to take a break from smut and work on what I really love to do: dark fantasy. There’s just an itch in my brain that’s scratched when I’m deep into those. Then I feel guilty when I look at my debt and go back to working on what will make a quick buck. I wanna indulge in my angsty vampires and werewolves, goshdernit!

Anyhooooo, I have to pretend I’m not a complete horrid slag of a human being and prepare for being in full cosplay for 4 days in a row at NYCC while attending a bunch of professional panels in heals that hate my feet. Yay for me? This is gonna be interesting since my feet hurt from trying to break these heels in. Maybe since I’m not completely repulsed by how I look in my janky closet cosplay, I’ll possibly post some pictures if there’s any good ones. My son picked Full Metal Alchemist for the theme this year. You’ll just have to guess who’s who!

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Today’s Workout: Save the dog!

I debated on titling this entry “send in the clown” but – spoiler? – the clown isn’t a major player in most of this episode. However, these aren’t reviews of the episodes (even though they’re great); it’s about Lenni’s Legs. Which, surprisingly, not only made it through this workout, but they didn’t feel like they’d been through a cheese grater. And I didn’t feel the need to crawl into bed after the runner’s high wore off. Maybe I can actually keep this up? I still want to make sure these intervals are easy for me before I try the longer ones. The next week sessions are 15 minute intervals, not 10. Any other runners out there will tell you, those 5 minutes are a BIG difference. There are two sure fire ways to feel every second of time passing: when you’re waiting for the microwave to finish, and when you’re running an interval. I am trying to maintain my form and use my thighs more instead of my calves. Not to be completely gross but if you’ve ever seen My 600lb Life, when they start to lose weight, skin/fat hangs oddly. That’s what’s happening to my inner thighs and I hate it. I’m hoping that I can fill out my thigh muscles like my calves to offset whatever the fuck is going on.

I’m sure some auditors will say that muffins aren’t healthy and probably not. But, I love trying seasonal items and these were okay. Kinda worth the calories. I like the Trader Joe’s pumpkin muffin mix better; especially when you dump some dark chocolate chips in before baking. But my oven is broken… I am sincerely hoping I sell enough books to get out of debt and get it either fixed or replaced before baking season really kicks into gear. As for dinner, I’m working on clearing out the freezer. I had a random skirt steak, so I decided on steak and eggs to replenish my protein. And because it’s delicious.

And I gave the rest of those muffins to my son. He loves them, apparently.

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WIP Wednesday: Kitchen Sink and Patreon Update!

I’ve been behind, so this update is a bit of everything:

I figured that doing these long runs back to back may feel like something that productive but will likely not be effective. So, I took a break and had a nice walk to break things up. These runs are getting easier and I don’t wanna fuck it up by overdoing it and hurting myself. Also, I feel WIPED after those long runs. My body hits a wall around 4-6PM and all I wanna do is sleep. I’m taking that as a sign my body needs the recovery.

There are different tomatoes growing in my hard now! No clue how but I’m not about to question free food in this economy. And it’s just nice to pick things out of the yard and put them in a nice salad. But sometimes, salad doesn’t cut it. It’s fall, I feel the cooler weather, and out comes the slow cooker! That chili is ground beef and elk with some delicious chips as a side. Sometimes you eat something and it just heals your soul. I have a good sized batch of this, so it’ll be on repeat and I’ll freeze some for days when I need something quick.

As for writing, I released another erotica short under the other penname and updated my Patreon with the start of the “There, I Fixed It” series! It’ll have it’s own category on there and once it’s complete, I think I’ll offer it for free on my blog. I did do some lazy Googling about the copyright and the stupid AI that won’t let me turn it off said that what I’m doing is original enough to probably not get sued, but I’d rather not risk it by charging for it. Putting it for free will give anyone interested a chance to have the entire thing in one go rather than go through the Patreon posts once it’s finished. Or maybe, if I can figure out how it works, I’ll do an optional tip deal through Buy Me A Coffee or something. I would like to finish it, run through some editing, then release it in one go. As far as I’m concerned, the Patreon posts are clean drafts but not final drafts, if that makes any sense. But perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself. I should actually finish something instead of starting something new before I start pondering how I’m going to deal with the finished product. Hopefully, I can blast through my word goals over the next couple days.

 

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Workout Catch Up: They make me eepy…

While these longer runs are getting easier, they make me so sleepy. I opted to repeat week one in Just Run to make sure I can get through the intervals without a break and yes, it’s working. But if I do these runs first thing in the morning, I crash before the end of the day. By the time I have to cook dinner, my eyes are at half mast. I did a run on Saturday, fully intending to run again on Sunday before I went to work, but I slept through my alarm because my body went “Nah, you’re resting. End of discussion.” Maybe running daily will help my screwed up sleep schedule…

Since I’ve been working so hard, I’ve been stressing protein in my meals. That’s a chicken Caesar wrap and a bison burger with homemade fries. My son wanted to try one and I figured it’d be a nice new experience for him and a treat for me. Other than that, it’s been the usual stuff or very small snacks. I have extra time this week, clearly. If I ever learn to roll a wrap properly, I’ll probably be eating those all the time but that was a pick up order. It’s heading into crockpot season and I can’t wait to start making chili and stew again. All in all, I’m sure earlier on in the day, I had something super profound to say but now my brain is mush and I need to be in bed. Tomorrow I’d like to post the first “There I Fixed It” part to my Patreon and for that, I need my two brain cells to be on the same page.

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