So far at ICFA: Came in, ran into Jaymee, went off to buy shoes together. Successful! Came back, went for a swim, which I’m hoping to do daily. Changed (including new shoes), had some boom-boom shrimp (my favorite dish at the hotel), and went to the opening reception, in the process talking to many old friends, hearing about their new books, etc. Resolution: check out some of Caroline Yoachim’s writing (she’s up for a Nebula for a short story). Came back to room and crashed.
Today, got up just in time to host reading featuring Jennifer Stevenson, Molly Tanzer, and K. Tempest Bradford. I’m familiar with Jennifer and Tempest’s work — really enjoyed Molly’s, so another new writer to look up! Took laptop out to write by the lake, which was very beautiful but a little chilly. Chatted with various lovely people, then came back to the room and wrote a new scene, also reorganizing first chapter; I have a relatively solid 5000 words to it now, though am worried that it is too info-dump-ish still. We’ll see.
Feeling stiff now — think I’m going to take a walk around, maybe grab a drink by the pool and chat with people. Maybe another swim. And then I’d like to write some more before dinner, which I may do alone in my room. (Lunch was a big bag of popcorn that I had here. I may need to plan my meals a bit better.) I do have a backlog of e-mail that I have to work through, but if I can write, that takes priority today, I think. It’s been too long. Campaigning takes a lot of time!