Good morning, Gentle Reader, from day two of self-isolation. I woke up early to feed the pups and let them outside, then ate brekkie and drank coffee and visited social media. A usual morning.
CREATIVE WRITING: I read through what I have on the new novel (FESTIVAL) thus far, made a few edits, but nothing really substantial. It’s been over a week since I’ve written, so I needed to reacquaint myself with the story. When I write, I don’t outline or plan. I just write. This means I do a LOT of rewriting, but I let the story come to me. I do think ahead, and sometimes take notes, but I find if I outline, I rush to those points instead of letting the story tell itself. I’ve written several novels this way, and it works for me, so I trust my process! Tomorrow, I will start my writing schedule again, and I can’t decide if I want to time it–15 minutes, 30 minutes–or set a page length.
WORK READING: For my academic book (DFE), I plan to read five articles a day, take notes on those, and figure out a rotation of three books to read chapters from, also taking notes. I am also reading novels for the chapters I’m working on–a chapter on fashion industry and theory, and a chapter on the novel Vanity Fair–so I’m reading Charlotte Bronte’s Shirley and need to read Mary Barton, Vanity Fair, and Diana of the Crossways.
ACADEMIC WRITING: I need to sort through the notes I made during my research trip to England and organize those into usable texts. Two of the trips I made notes on my phone, since I have a ChromeBook and internet was spotty (the major downfall of the ChromeBook: you need internet to operate it). I would like to read through what I have so far, and then again, start writing tomorrow. Today is a planning and sorting day.
TEACHING: Sabbatical, Gentle Reader, means I don’t need to put any classes online, but I am thinking through my classes for the fall already. After self-isolation, I need to run to campus and get my new textbooks!
CLEANING: I hope to clean one thing/room/space a day. Because it is driving me nuts, I am working on my office today, as well as finishing laundry from my trip. I washed my backpack and my purse so Tube and airport germs would be gone!
FUN READING: Still working on Children of Virtue and Vengeance and Dangerous Alliance. I usually read three books in rotation (thank you, graduate school), so I want to pick up something non-fiction. I’m thinking either Ghostland or The Body (Bill Bryson, which I’m teaching in the fall).
MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH: Only took my temp once this morning (no fever) and no coughing. Body is achy from travel still, so I need to do some yoga. Organization will help soothe my mind.
The Postmodern Bluestocking 