Back to writing.

It doesn't get much better than this. 60 degrees, sun shining, no one about. Just me and the lava rocks and Juniper trees. It is half the battle. Being a writer means being housebound unless you take steps to overcome that. For me, just going out and walking an hour in the woods everyday takes care of the problem. If I can write along the way, so much the better.

Starting up writing again tomorrow. I'm going to finish off "Ruby Red and the Robot" first, then turn to my new Virginia Reed novel. While I'm finishing the novella, I'm going to take part of each day assembling the ingredients I need for the VR book. I don't do outlines, but I do try to have at least a hazy grasp of what terrain I'm going to use, what supernatural element is, what characters, what theme, a little bit of plot. I have to make sure I have enough paint to cover the walls.

Ruby Red was a good example of when I just start writing a story without a real idea of where it is going. Sometimes that works--"Eden's Return" is a good example, but sometimes I come up short.

So it's back to my usual schedule. 1500 to 2000 words a day. Try to finish the VR book by the end of March, set it aside for a month, come back to it in May and try to have it done by the end of that month.

While I'm taking the month away from it, rewrite "Eden's Return" and have that ready by May.

So I'm hoping.

I drank two beers on Monday, and two beers on Wednesday, and I felt even that much. Didn't sleep well, indigestion, feeling bloated. Plus my jaws are sore so I must having been clenching my teeth. I simply can't afford to grind my teeth anymore.

Damn, I just can't drink. Not because I don't want to, but because the physical cost is just too high for me. Besides, I've been losing weight simply by only eating when I'm hungry, and alcohol is empty calories.

My new walking spot is saving me at least a couple bucks a day. Instead of having to fill the tank every couple of weeks, I'm having to do it only once a month. It's weird, but the traffic benefits of Redmond are significant, as I'm reminded every time I drive into Bend. It's just quieter, slower paced.