July 20, 2023

Easier day, I have started editing Dandy and the Dognappers.

Daily Diary, Day 1054: While a busy day, today, much less exhausting than yesterday. I have been slowly working on editing the novella, on chapter four, and .yes, chapters, no longer scenes, now that it is novella not short story length. Also did cleaning, 40 minute walk, noon zoom meeting and two scheduled long phone calls.

The lesson from yesterday is that I can write 1500 words in a day, which is what I accomplished yesterday, but not without feeling exhausted, so clearly not a sustainable pace.

I also had contemplated increasing my morning walk from 40 to 50 minutes, since it is getting hotter in the latter part of the day. This was because I was finding myself walking farther in the 40 minutes, which meant I was walking faster and feeling stronger. So, yesterday, I added a slight loop with a hill on it, and by the time I got home, my back and hips were aching. One of the warning signs I have pushed myself too much. I still did the 40 minutes this morning, but put the short hill at the beginning of the walk, and didn't push to walk faster, and as a result didn't have any pain. But a reminder that slow and steady needs to be my exercise approach.

A reminder that the first draft of Dandy and the Dognappers is finished, and will be available to those of you who wish to read it in this form for a few more days, before I take it down in preparation for putting it up for pre-order and then publication of final version in late August. Go here if you want to start at the beginning.

I want to get my edit of chapter 4 done before I take off for my second, 20 minute walk, so I will now sign off with a photo of the jacarandas which have suddenly started to fill out with their lovely purple blooms.