Avoiding Editing

I’ve taken my capacity to avoid editing to an entirely new level with Catching Echoes, Reconstructionist 1. A sampling of the avoidance techniques I’ve employed in the first three hours of my day are as follows:

Completely mapping out the ending of Dowser 9 in my head while taking a shower and blow drying my hair. I have at least four more books to write between R1 and D9.
Discussing the fine details of the song Michael is currently writing, including the musical ‘makeup.’ And, yeah, I know nothing about music. Not. A. Thing.
Making a wish list of small fruit I’d like to add to the orchard NEXT SPRING, including researching optimal growing conditions for a Meyer Lemon.
Social media posts. Including posting a picture of my cats on Instagram. Because what could possibly be a better way to waste time?
Listening to music to ‘get me into the head space,’ then writing large random chunks of Reconstructionist 2.
Coming down with a head cold. This is an amazing feat, because I never leave the house so I have no idea where I could have picked up a cold. So therefore, logically, it’s self-generated. Like a reverse superpower.
Blogging.
This post needs a picture, let’s see … hmmm … chickens?

So now that my shame is out there, and everyone knows the lengths to which I will go to avoid editing, I will now be forced to edit for the remainder of the day … and for all the days between now and my deadline to get R1 back to the editor.

Oh! But first, a hot chocolate. [That’s not an avoidance tactic, it’s a fundamental need].

In which I get bamboozled.

I just wandered into the kitchen to find Michael playing Tetris with the fridge freezer.

“Wow,” I said, seriously impressed that he’d taken the time to divide the turkey mushroom casserole into individual meals and portion out the turkey pot pie filling.

“We have a lot of food,” he said, grunting with effort. “I’m trying to get it to all fit.”

“Oh,” I said, blindly walking into his trap. “Maybe we should take something out.”

“Good idea. How about this?” Michael grabbed a green Tupperware container, popping it open to reveal the very last Clarity in a Cup*. “Oh,” he said, utterly blithely. “Only one left.”

So yeah. That’s how Michael just tried to steal the last cupcake in the house.

I got the final word though. Just as I was exiting the kitchen and dashing out to the office, I said, “we’ll halve it at coffee break.”

*Clarity in a Cup will release in my newsletter, Cupcakes, Chocolate, and Other Magical Musings on November 1, 2016. If you aren’t a subscriber yet, you can sign up here.

On Laurel’s 68th birthday

This lovely human being, my stepmom Laurel, would have been 68 years old today. She passed away just over 2 years ago. I was going to dedicate my monthly newsletter to her today (since I inadvertently scheduled it for the same day as her birthday) but I became a blubbering mess when I tried to write it.

Instead, I shall post one of my favourite pictures of Laurel, celebrating her birthday at the family cabin she loved so much a few years before she left us.

I miss you terribly, Laurel. Even two years later. My world remains diminished. Lovely, kind-hearted people should never leave … the world is already severely underpopulated by such souls.

Love and light, Laurel.

The [belated] anniversary of Terry Pratchett’s passing

GIVEAWAY CLOSED. WINNER TBA

Sir Terry Pratchett passed away a year ago on March 12, 2015.

I blogged about his passing here.

For the [belated] anniversary of his death I would like to celebrate his work by hosting a giveaway for a copy of Wintersmith, which was the first book of his that I ever read. I’m slightly peeved that I’m ‘belated’ with this post – I did have a warning in my calendar that somehow let me down – but better late than never!

To celebrate Sir Terry’s life and his work, I would like to buy Wintersmith for one of you – for kindle, or iBooks, or Kobo, or in paperback. You name the format and I’ll buy it.

Comment below to enter. Tell me your favourite book of Sir Terry’s, or why you’d like to read Wintersmith specifically, or if you’ve read Wintersmith already who you’d like to gift it to (and why).

RIP Sir Terry Pratchett. Thank you for the entertainment, the inspiration, and for the strong women and inspiring world you created.

Notes/Rules: OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. Each comment will be assigned an entry number. ONE winning entry will then be selected via random number generator. One entry per person. Please make sure to fill out a valid email address in the comment form. Email addresses are not collected for any purpose other than notifying the contest winner.

If you haven’t commented on the blog before, or you comment from a different IP address, the comments are moderated. So don’t worry if you don’t see your entry right away. I will approve it, then assign it an entry number.

Giveaway closes TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2016 at 8 p.m. PDT.

<3 <3 <3

Virtual cupcake party for National Cupcake Day for the SPCA

This year I thought it would be great fun to support the SPCA on National Cupcake Day. To that end, I opened an ‘online bakery‘ for Cake in a Cup and I’m inviting you to make a donation. I’ll be hosting a virtual party on my blog and on Facebook and Twitter throughout the day.

Here are some of the ways the SPCA uses your donation to make a difference in the lives of animals:

Just to make things extra fun … and because I can’t give you all actual cupcakes … each minimum donation of $5 will receive a personal thank you email from me (YAY! LOL!) and a sneak preview of a recipe from Dowser 6 once it is ready for release. Whoot! Simply DONATE HERE [green donate now button] and email me a screenshot of your donation to info [at] madebymeghan.ca

Dowser 6 cupcakes sneak peek — Dowser 6 cupcakes – a sneak peek

And to make things REALLY fun, I’ve also put together a prize pack! Each minimum $5 donation PLUS a picture of a cupcake you baked to help celebrate National Cupcake Day will be entered to win:

An autographed paperback of Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1)
Dowser series postcards and a thank you from me 🙂
A Cake in a Cup T-shirt

The same rules apply as above, donate a minimum of $5, take a screenshot of your donation, email it to me at info [at] madebymeghan.ca and post a picture of your cupcake in the comments here or my Facebook page or tag me @mcdoidge on Twitter. I will assign each cupcake entry a number, then run a random number generator to select the winner.

OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. Donation/entries must be received by Monday, February 29 at midnight PDT. Only entries accompanied by a proof of donation will be assigned an entry number. Prize pack will be awarded by random number generator.

An afternoon walk in January on the West Coast

Walking under mossy boughs, mud and tree roots tangle our feet along the edge of Duck Creek. Despite the roar of the run off, a breath of peace captivates our ever-teeming brains. Then it’s back to work …

It’s not you. It’s the toilet seat.

Warning: Possibly TMI

Yes, this is a post about toilet seats.

For the past 24 hours whenever I shifted on or off the toilet, I felt a nasty pinch on my left ass cheek. At first I ignored it, assuming it was just some weird isolated body ache. But then, as it happened again and again, I grew concerned.

Yes. Concerned.

Concerned that somehow my ass had gotten so big, or perhaps so flabby, that I was pinching my own flesh as I sat down or stood up.

Finally early this morning, I looked at the toilet seat.

It’s cracked.

See?

Um, yeah. I totally scrubbed the toilet before taking this photo. Who wouldn’t?

Upon discovering this sliver of hell, I immediately yelled “the toilet seat is cracked!” to Michael.

“I told you I broke it,” he called back, completely unfazed.

Right. That did sound vaguely familiar. “I thought you meant you broke the hinge or whatever. It’s pinching my ass.”

“Yeah. Just be thankful you’re not hairy.”

So yeah. That happened.

And the moral of the story?

Michael didn’t assume anything was wrong with his ass.

This. This is what women do to ourselves. We assume that the problem stems from something we’ve done or from our fatty deposits. Before anything else occurs to us, we assume we are fat and that it’s a problem.

So let me be the first to say … It’s not you. It’s the toilet seat.

Happy (Belated) New Year!

I’ve been off in Vancouver being far too indulgent for the last couple of days. I also got to meet a sweet six-day-old boy, who I’m hoping will call me Aunty Megs one day (though technically we are ‘friend’ related, not blood). I showered him with knitted goods and held him for a micro second as he appropriately screamed at me. He’s lovely.

I’m back a work today and will be going into lockdown on Dowser 6 on Monday, January 4th. I won’t be allowed out of the writing shed except to eat and sleep until the first draft is complete.

Self-imposed deadlines are never a bad thing. 🙂

Thank you for all the support – shares, mentions, likes, RTS, and reviews – throughout 2015. And I <3 our conversations.

I’m looking forward to spending 2016 with you all.

There is always that moment …

Yes, that moment. The breath that can turn into hours or days or weeks if I’m not careful. The pause before I seriously lay my pen to the page or my fingers to the keyboard.

The whispers that weave through my mind.

What if I can’t do it again? What if I mess it all up? What if I can’t get what is in my head onto the paper? What if I’m done? What if I’m tapped out? What if the first ten books were a fluke? What if … what if … what if …

I could drown in that moment. No, freeze is the better word. I could be frozen in that pause with all this burbling story trapped in my mind.

But I’m not.

Or so I remind myself every time the thought occurs to me.

‘That moment’ is exactly what Post-its were invented for.

This is the view out my office window this morning. This is my defence against the what ifs. The key to keep me moving through that moment … that pause …

So … yep. I’m writing.

I’m writing Dowser 6 to be specific.

#iamthedowser