Wednesday, 25 April 2001

I took out most of the scene I'd written a couple days ago. I didn't like it. I still need to do one of the things it did (show a failure), but I need to do it quicker and earlier. And the failure needs to be somewhere else. This way didn't work.

Besides taking that out I also wrote a bit, working on what is probably the final scene. The final scene is always fun to write, for a lot of different reasons.

I haven't started thinking about what to write next, which is kind of unusual--more typically I'm barely able to make myself finish one story before I have six others clamoring to be written. I guess I've been very focused on this one.

Feeling just a bit stressed out today--letting small irritations aggravate me out of all proportion to the actual aggravation. Mostly just the countdown to Clarion, I suppose. I've probably overdone it just a bit with the running as well. And, of course, there's the usual work stress, a bit worse these days because of the economy. I haven't taken any vacation since I decided I was going to apply to Clarion last fall. It's been a long time without much of a break.

I worked late this evening, getting something finished up. Then came home, had a drink, and watched an old western on TV. No absolute cure for stress, but it did take the edge off just a bit.