I'm extremely waffly about what I'm going to do today. She's arriving around dinnertime, so I could actually go to that panel -- but I don't really want to haul my butt up there. How lazy am I? I have a pile of e-mail, mostly SLF membership stuff, so I could just stay here and work on that. I might possibly have enough info to start drafting the new story, so I could try to write that. Or I could get dressed and go into campus with Kevin and actually do that library research I was planning on. I'd have to find the piece of paper with all the books listed first, but it's around here somewhere. And I ought to get to the gym at some point too - hey, it's warm enough for swimming now. (It's warm enough for swimming all year, 'cause the pool is indoors and heated, but somehow I didn't feel like it in the winter.)
Choices, choices. I was talking to Karina yesterday and she was all full of admiration for the weight loss and the getting an agent etc. Aside from that killer hard drive crash, I've had a very good 2004 so far. And I have to say, it's all thanks to Kev. His saying I didn't need to get a job this year has freed up my time enormously, so that I have the energy to spend eight hours a week at the gym, and the mental space to deal with all the little career things that a writer's life includes. Stuff that usually just slides by me, like applying to contests and the like.
Suzy Charnas told us at Clarion that the best way to manage your finances as a writer is to have a supportive spouse -- even after publishing twenty books like she did. Not everyone can just go out and sign up such a thing, but if you do have a spouse/partner of some sort, and they appreciate your work, and you've got a day job you really don't care about, maybe it's time to talk to them about taking some time off for a year or two, cutting back on expenses, seeing how much you can get done on your writing. The guilt (at not bringing in a paycheck) is also quite motivating. :-) Keeps you from sitting on your butt all year.
But Chip and Sheree are on that panel! Just think, you could go sit in the front row and raise your hand a lot, and it would be almost like having a conversation with them (in front of a whole bunch of people)! 🙂
Do it! You’ll be glad you did.
I’m about to leave, trying to beat rush hour, so I’ll be there sometime before dinner. Maybe 4ish? (If that cuts into the panel time, there’s your excuse.)
Heh. I have the supportive spouse, but we’d have to arm wrestle over who got to take time off and who would do the supporting. Sigh.
I forgot to mention, plan on having a supportive spouse *in the sciences*, so you don’t actually have to skimp much. 🙂
Heather, perhaps you and Tim could trade off years?