March wasn’t a particularly good month for writing. My initial goal was to get through chapter 15, but I soon realized this wasn’t going to happen. Instead, I rewrote chapters 8-14, turning five chapters into three, rewriting some major plot points and leaving me with a much better storyline (IMHO). I’m two chapters behind, but I’m not complaining. I’m still on track to meet my self-imposed deadline, and the rest of the it should be a straight rewrite, rather than a major scrap session.
In the meantime, I’m taking a break until Sunday. I haven’t felt well for a few weeks; in part because of the amount of noise and dust I’ve had to deal with at work, and partly because I haven’t been as mindful in taking care of myself. I can’t write well if I don’t feel well and it’s starting to show. To remedy this, I’ve started cleaning up my diet and switching up my habits to get back to a healthier, happier state. I know my triggers, and I really do need to be more vigilant if I want to be my best self.
In other news, proofs for the academic manuscript are in, and I saw one of my professional reviews in the wild. Totally made up for a weird acceptance/rejection for an article I co-authored with two of my library pals. It came down to a “rewrite it and we’ll review it” decision, but there was a note about the need to have the paper edited by a native speaker that really rubbed me the wrong way. My name was listed as main author because my co-authors said I motivated them to write, but my actual contribution to the manuscript was the least significant in terms of content… the assumption that it was written by a non-native speaker could only be in reference to my last name, which really galls me. It’s the first time I’ve had something like this happen within an academic context, though I’m sure it’s a common occurrence.
marginalia and such 