More in the life of a part time writer…

So, I got my papers for the Eng 102 class graded last week.  I seriously love A papers–they’re quick to grade, and no revisions will be landing on my desk a week later.  Then, on Friday, I picked up Eng 101 papers.  I’ve gotten five graded since then.  Life raised up and bitch-slapped me, this past weekend, and I’m still reeling.  Trying to feel my way into being productive.

I got something like six or seven thousand words written since last week.  I’m pushing to finish that damned first draft to make it STOP BUGGING ME.  Right now, Highway to Tartarus is sitting at 57,500 words/186+ pages, with a minimum of 12,000 words to go.

So, for this week…

1. I’m going to be working on writing those last three plot stories, and seeing about writing the last three non-plot related stories I’ve come up with ideas for.  Then, I’ll start back through and revise and add details where they’re needed. I do that with a hard copy–easier to read and revise, that way.  Now, where did I put that double-wide pad of sticky notes…?

2. Find double wide pad of sticky notes.

3. Finish grading the twenty papers I picked up last Friday.  Because I’m picking up another batch on Monday.

4. Work on decluttering the master bedroom so that I can fit another bookcase (or two) in on my side of the bed.

I think that’s it, for now.  I’m excited that I’m so close to finishing Highway to Tartarus.

An idea…

Would y’all want a page or two of drinks recipes from The Godshead Tavern, perhaps as an appendix?

I feel accomplished.

Why?  Because both of my kids’ rooms are clean.  We took the crib out of my daughter’s room yesterday (and all plastic parts are carefully wrapped in bubble wrap since the crib is LITERALLY IRREPLACEABLE as a drop-rail crib), and put in a set of shelves for her to put her toys in.

So, my major housework task for the week is already done.

What’s left?

1. Grading.  I’ve just had a set of papers handed in today.  I’ll be working on getting those graded before Friday, because the other set of papers comes in then.

2. Organizing and cleaning my laundry area.  There’s not much left that needs done there, but it really needs to be done.

3. Keeping up with regular housework.  A challenge when I’m working on grading papers.

4. Writing the story/chapter in my head that I woke up with this morning so that it STOPS BUGGING THE HELL OUT OF ME, and so that I can concentrate on grading my papers.

Guess which one I’m going to be working on first, after I get organized to streamline grading as much as possible…

Can I collapse, now?

So, I graded the expected load of papers before the full week was up–turned them back to my students this morning.  I think I have what we’re going to do with the pixie’s room planned out (but that project is for next week, after I run the plans by Andrew, and thin out her toy collection a little bit while she’s spending the night with Grandma and Grandpa on Friday).  I found the duct tape, so we’re all set to wrap the crib parts in bubble wrap for storage.

And this morning, during my office hours, I finished one of the stories I’d started.  Another thousand words written, and added to the rest of the collection.

And I did most of the grading over the weekend, while I was dealing with a miserable cold.  And the kids both have it (actually, my daughter caught it first).  And, as of last night, Andrew’s got it, too.

So…for this week:

1. Get over this damn cold.

2. Write as much as I can while I’m busy with other things, like teaching (and preparing for another class’s papers to come in a week from today).

3. Go see Spamalot at a local theater this weekend with my beloved husband Andrew, and my mother in law watches the kids.  Yay!  Grownup date time!

Feeling accomplished…

For a work-week, 1,500 words is a lot.  And that’s how much I’ve gotten written.

This week is going to be heavier in the work-load…and harder.  I’m picking up papers this week.

1. I need to get plans going for what I’m doing with my daughter’s room.  We’ll be taking her crib (a drop rail–something we can’t replace, since some parents are too dumb to be breeding and earn Darwin awards by killing their children because they can’t READ THE DAMN DIRECTIONS before putting something together) apart, wrapping the plastic bits in bubble wrap, and storing it behind her dresser in her room, or behind our dresser in our room.  She needs some type of storage for her toys, and both kids need their toys sorted through and thinned out before birthdays and Christmas.  It may be easiest to accomplish this while they’re out of the house…

2. I’m picking up first drafts of the first paper for both of my classes tomorrow.  I’m thinking I’m going to see something like forty-four or forty-five papers out of forty-six students (with two students in each class more than half-way to failing on attendance alone, who’ve missed the entire first paper’s classroom lectures and work).  For my Comp I class, I need to find four essays to link on Blackboard for them to write an analysis on, tonight.

3. Get as much writing done as I can.  It likely won’t be much, since I’m going to be grading, this week.