Thursday Picture: Anza-Borrego in Spring

You may have noticed it's been a little quiet around here. This is because I've been shifting my priorities.  Progress on Labyrinth of Flame must come first, before I do anything else internet or writing related.  Sounds like a no-brainer, right?  Writers should write. But I tell you, writing first drafts is like pulling teeth for me.  Painful, painful teeth.  It's so easy to stop after few scant paragraphs of new prose and think, Argh, I'm writing like crap tonight. Maybe the words would flow better if I took a break. Just a quick one. I'll send a few quick emails. Oh yeah, and I should write a blog post, that'll get the juices flowing. Oh, look, something interesting on twitter... and before you know it, my scant evening free time is over and I have to get some sleep before my son wakes up at 6am.

Want to know a professional author secret?  There's nothing like a deadline to stop that kind of screwing around. I didn't have this problem on Tainted City.  I forced myself to cough out that first draft, come hell or high water, because I simply couldn't afford not to.  Argh, I'm writing like crap, I'd think...and then look at the calendar, hyperventilate, and keep pounding out words, telling myself, Whatever, I'll fix it in revision!  (I LOVE revision. That is my favorite part of writing, by far.)  My problem with Tainted City was managing my through-the-roof stress levels. Now, my stress level is nice and low.  But progress is....also low.

So. Time to learn a new skill: how to make reasonable first-draft progress without a looming deadline.  It can be done, I know it! But I've got to put Labyrinth first. (Well, first after parenting, and marriage, and day job. But definitely over pleasure reading, hiking, blogging, guest posting, and general internet socializing.  Well, mostly first over hiking. I get really cranky and antsy if I don't spend SOME time in the mountains.)

I do still mean to post here. But posts will be a bit more short and sweet - Thursday Pictures instead of Thursday Adventures, quick news updates, that kind of thing.  At least until I catch up to where I want to be on Labyrinth.  So on that note, I leave you with a picture.  This one's a favorite of mine from many years ago, back when I was a student at Caltech.  One spring I took a weekend road trip to Anza-Borrego State Park, when the cactus were blooming.  The ocotillo were particularly beautiful, their long arms tipped with flame.  This picture doesn't do the view justice - it was taken with a little point and shoot 35mm camera, and scanning of course didn't help matters - but it hopefully gives a hint of the rugged beauty we experienced.

Anza-Borrego State Park, in spring

   

Climb the Mountains and Get Their Good Tidings

What a crazy week. I can't report anything more on the fate of the first two Shattered Sigil books, since nothing is resolved yet.  In the grand scheme of things that means little, especially in comparison to the disasters in Boston and Texas, for which I don't even have any words.  Yet being a Type A sort of person, I've spent way more mental energy on the books' situation than I'd like (or than I should, most probably).  Fortunately, I've got a great way to clear my head. To quote John Muir,

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.”

Muir sure knew what he was talking about.  Yesterday I had a lovely day of hiking, so in the interests of sharing a little of nature's bounty, here are a few pics from my quest to achieve inner peace.  (A more or less successful quest!  While I might not have achieved zen calm, I am at least now feeling ready to properly focus again on writing book 3 without wasting time worrying over 1 and 2.) Bonus points to anyone who can guess from the pics exactly where I was hiking.  Shouldn't be too hard, since the rock formation featured below is an iconic landmark...

Morning mist makes for some nifty "cloud waterfalls"

Similar view a bit later in the day, after the mist cleared.  Back in 1997, my husband and I did a wonderful multi-pitch rock climb up the middle pillar. Sadly, rock climbing isn't allowed anymore.  But there is much excellent hiking!

Panoramic view.  Wish I had audio as well as a picture of this so you could hear all the birdsong drifting up from the trees.