7-27 & 7-28

7-27

At the cabin, beyotch.  I guess I was tired, because I fell asleep while editing, and then later put on a movie (FREE GUY), and fell asleep during it too.  But when I woke up, a half hour or so later, I was pretty refreshed, so I finished the movie, edited Chapter 7 of my audiobook, and went out on the upper deck to look at the stars for a few minutes.  It was the first time I'd done it since I got carbon monoxide poisoning last year, and next time I go, it'd be cool if you'd go with me: the Big Dipper and the Milky Way were super visible in the sky, and I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me there were a million stars out and shining.

An owl was calling, which is pretty rad, and some other animal was doing some kind of call.  Do deer make noise?  It sounded somewhat dog-like to me, and I wondered if maybe foxes bark.  Probably, right?

 Writing or Exercise: Exercise

7-28

I'm supposed to be finishing up "Arcove's Bright Side," but I'm so far behind, it would take an actual NASA-detected miracle to reach the end in time.  I keep noticing references to "Hunter's Unlucky," and I know that, if I was given the job to narrate that book now, I could do a better job of it (partly because the characters have developed so much more in my mind over the years (and my mouth too, if you know what I mean).  The character of Halvery has become a favorite of mine (not a favorite, I suppose, but the favorite), and I'm almost tempted to ask Abbie if I can go back and redo all his dialogue from the first book, now that he's so fleshed out, and the way I perform him.  But I'm not completely mad, mind you--I'll barely get this thing finished by the first of August as it stands.*

While reading her book, I notice certain strengths she has, and an ability to carry a narrative along by withholding information, but letting us know she's withholding it by having a character fixate on it, so we become as invested in finding out as he does.  Meanwhile, I've gotten better at writing over the years, but still consider it a triumph when I get from point A to point D without quitting along the way.  But ah well.

It started raining a little while ago, and man, it's RAINING.  The thunder is so loud, you can feel it in your grundle, and the rain pelted the poor deer outside so hard they ran for cover as though someone had taken a shot at them.  It came down in dime-sized drops, then nickel-sized.  I worry about the road getting back (a dirt road, which would now be a mud and running water road).  I think I've no choice but to stay here, if not for the night, then at least until the torrent stops.  Wow, the sun is still shining, yet it is pouring rain (like, movie rain, the kind that doesn't happen in real life, because people would die from it).  I'll try to get some video of it.

Anyway, I'll keep reading Abbie's book (I'm getting close to the end now) and do a mile or three on that exercise bike I carried upstairs a week ago.  Then we'll see.

At the last minute (I go into more detail in my Patreon address), I decided to at least TRY the roads, so I packed up my stuff, and got in the car.  And the roads were fine.  Honestly, my shoes got way muddier than my car.

Okay, turns out Tony Dow did die, just a day or two later.  You rock, Wally.

Writing or Exercise: Exercise

*Part of my problem is that I keep reading all of the dialogue out loud.  Even when I realize it's taking too long, and I start reading it silently, a page or two later, I start saying the words again, and it slows to a crawl.  I think Abbie understands that, even though I complain about it every time, the actual recording of the book goes much more smoothly (and a bit faster) if I've read it all first.  It's like making a movie where you take a few days to rehearse first, I suppose.