Blog | Jennette Marie Powell

by Jennette, July 26, 2020

I haven’t been writing much. Actually, not at all for a while. I was stuck, but a lot of it was, I think, just stress of having too much to do on top of the mental load from current events–which haven’t even had much direct affect on me. I’ll be the first to admit, this stuff has weighed much less on me than on many others, so I really feel for those who have been directly affected.

I decided to step back from the blog too, mostly because I didn’t have anything to blog about, and I needed to remove one thing from my to-do list. My mom suggested just blogging when I do have something to say, and I figured I’d take her advice. Moms are smart like that. 🙂 The ROW80 folks were talking last month about moving away from blogs and just doing goal check-ins on Facebook, so that had something to do with it, too. But it looks like they are still blogging, so I might pop in here with a simple goals update even if I don’t have anything else.

House Update

Pretty much all the work has been done on the house that can be, until the special-order windows come in. These are the five trapezoid windows on the top row of our back wall. We all thought we’d be able to leave the center window, but once they fixed the framing so that the spacing was even, another issue became obvious: the top windows were all 1″ narrower than those below. So all had to be reordered. This time, they measured not twice, but came out three times to be sure they got them right. We’ve now been looking at nicely-spaced windows in an unfinished wall for a month now, so they should come in soon. They have drywall to finish and painting to do in a couple of other areas as well, but will do all of that at once. It will be so nice to get it fixed.

*Windows spaced evenly! Now we just need the top ones to finish it.*

Writing Desk!

Given that we had to engage an attorney to get the builder to fix our house (which the builder is paying for, we’re thankful), we were instructed not to do any further work on the house ourselves until everything is finished and resolved. So my husband has found other things to do.

One of the issues with the house was water in the basement. That is finally fixed, and our yard put back together. My husband has been doing a lot of work in the yard. For his next project, my husband chose to build this picnic table. It probably would have been cheaper to buy one, but this one is really sturdy and will probably last as long as we live in this house.

*We finally have a yard again! And a new picnic table.*

My husband needed another project, so I found something I’ve been wanting for a while: a computer desk just for fiction writing. Since we moved, I’ve been using the built-in desk in my wonderful office for everything, including day job work. For many years, I’ve had a desktop computer that I use for anything personal–Internet, Facebook, games, personal business paperwork, and writing.

A few years ago, I read/heard Dean Wesley Smith talking about using a separate computer for fiction writing only. I had a little laptop that’s too slow to do much else with, but since my daughter went away to college, her desk in the critter room had been unused, so I set up there.

It was amazing how much easier it was to get to writing when at that different computer, on a different desk! It’s a total mindset thing, where I automatically know that if I’m on that computer, I’m writing. Smith recommends removing all other software and not connecting to the Internet as well, which I did at first (with another old, slower computer), but later, it didn’t matter if my laptop even had wifi on; I was there to write. That mindset is powerful.

The new house is actually a couple hundred square feet larger than the old house, but has one fewer room, so I only have one workspace here. While not writing these past few weeks, I’ve been going through some of Smith’s workshops, and in the one I recently finished, he again mentioned the writing computer. It doesn’t have to be in a different room (his isn’t), but I remembered from before our move how just having a separate computer makes so much difference.

So I found this free desk plan online and my husband went to work. It’s an Ana White Rustic X-desk, and I love the look. We set it up in my office behind my main desk, so all I have to do is turn around. And I’m back to writing!

*The new writing desk, with sleeping dog accessory behind it*

Blackberries!

The latest fun discovery on our land! No wonder we have so much wildlife around here–they’re eatin’ good in this neighborhood! I’ve spent a couple sessions out in a small field that was full of them, but mostly, we pick whatever we find along the trail when we walk the dogs each morning. Sometimes just a five minute stop will yield a half pound! We’re freezing them and saving them up to make blackberry wine. There’s plenty for some jam, too.

What’s interesting is there are two species of blackberries on our land. Mostly we have Allegheny, or Common Blackberries. Those are now done. But there’s a patch near the end of our main walking trail that are just now ripe for picking. I identified these as Himalayan (aka Armenian) Blackberries. These are a non-native, invasive species, but where the common blackberries are pretty tart, these are super sweet and delicious, and they’ve only taken over a small area on our land, so we’ll take them.

*Getting close to the four pounds we need to make wine*

What I’ve Been Reading

Several nonfiction books, plus Nora Roberts’ Key trilogy. These are contemporary fantasy romances, and I’m really enjoying them!

What I’ve Been Writing

I set up the writing desk and computer without a specific goal last week. My only plan was to get re-started–and I did! I got about 1,000 word in three days, not bad for not having a word-count goal. I would have written more, but we had guests for two days. This week should be quiet, so I’m shooting for writing five days.

How has your summer been so far? Staying safe and healthy, I hope! If you’re a writer, have the current events thrown you off? And what do you think about Smith’s idea of having a separate writing computer? If you’re not a writer, do you need a specific place to do a certain task or hobby? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.

by Jennette, May 31, 2020

Things aren’t always perfect in new-house-land. As they might say on an HGTV show, “this house has issues.” I’ve mentioned before that we’ve had waterproofing problems. The waterproofers have been back to rework that again, and this time, it seems to be effective, as we’ve had some torrential downpours and so far no seepage through the basement walls. But we’re waiting to make sure, so there is still sort of a moat around the house until they decide it’s good and re-grade.

*Check out the spacing between the windows. It’s one of those things you don’t notice, until you do. Then you can’t un-see it. Definitely not what we paid for!*

But the issues go beyond that. It’s taken a lot of back-and-forth with the builder (including getting an attorney involved), but he’s apparently decided he cares about his reputation and really, really doesn’t want to go to court (because he’ll lose), so he and his crews have been here this past week to start fixing our house. They are working on reframing the back wall, so the windows are evenly spaced. Given our budget constraints, the builder had used a cut-rate framing crew who didn’t even give him what we paid for. I guess he won’t be using them again. The fixes are being done by the builder’s employees, who do good work (they did the carpentry and the beams we love).

So for the next week or so, we are living in a construction zone.

Not what we’d planned. And yes, inconvenient, but not as much as it would be to move out for a week. All of the work needed is in the great room; the bedrooms, bathrooms, and my office are fine. We love them and the outdoor space, and will love the rest of the house once it’s fixed. For now, we just have to remember that with any home project, it always looks worse before it gets better–but it will get better.

*We saw this fantastic rainbow the other day when we decided to go check out the local dragstrip*

What I’ve Been Reading

I started a novel and a nonfiction book, but haven’t finished either yet.

What I’ve Been Writing

I did write five days this week, but don’t know that I put the whole half-hour in. I’m still going to consider this one a win, because I got through another scene, plus reviewed three others that needed minor cycling back through. I did not get through all of my learning, and only did about half of the week’s videos for the online workshop.

This week, our daughter and her partner are coming to visit, so not much writing will get done, and that’s OK. For the workshop, I want to view the last couple videos, and do the assignment. And for writing, I’d like to do some tonight and on Saturday, after our guests take off.

What about you–had any plans not quite work out lately? How did you work around them? How’s the weather in your area–have you seen any great rainbows? And how are you doing on whatever goals you might have, whether writing or otherwise? Please share in the comments–I love to hear from you!

by Jennette, May 25, 2020

It’s Memorial Day here in the U.S., and a time to remember those who served our country and made the ultimate sacrifice. I am always grateful!

For the first time since Christmas, we had guests this weekend–a friend who once worked for my husband at our bar, and her teen daughter. We cooked out (of course!), explored the old, falling-down farmhouse on our property a bit, and spent an afternoon at a nearby nature reserve that has an old, filled-up quarry that’s open to the public for swimming. A fun weekend!

Plans with our guests weren’t made until earlier this week, so my writing goals made last week didn’t take them into account. I can’t blame my lack of progress all on having guests. This was one of those weeks where I seemed busy all the time, but just didn’t get to the writing, not even the learning.

I did manage to still take a walk each day (other than when it rained), and one day saw this cute fellow:

*An Eastern Box Turtle hanging out by our trail*

*Wild roses on our land (with invasive honeysuckle – bleh)*

What I’ve Been Reading

Heads Up by Dean Wesley Smith. This is another of his Cold Poker Gang mysteries, featuring a group of retired Las Vegas cops who play poker and solve cold cases. They are a fun bunch and the mysteries are always super twisted. What was really cool about this one was that it centered around the old Nevada Hotel, which has been shuttered since 2012, and which Smith pointed out to me and the other Master Business Class attendees who ate lunch with him one day last October. He hadn’t written this story yet, and knew he’d feature that old hotel in one soon.

What I’ve Been Writing

As noted above, I just didn’t get around to the writing much this week. I worked on it for three evenings, but not for long. I did finish the scene that’s been bugging me for several weeks now, and got through another as well that didn’t need any significant changes. I’m now up to one that needs quite a bit of rework, so that will be my goal for this week, or to spend a minimum of a half hour, five days.

I did not get around to doing any of my workshop either, so that’s also up for this week–to finish a week of it.

How was your week, and how are things in your area, pandemic-wise? There have been so few cases in most of Tennessee that almost everything is back up and running aside from large events. How are you doing on whatever goals you might have, whether writing or otherwise? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, May 17, 2020

For once, this is not about my new house. I mentioned a couple weeks ago amidst discussion of turtle eggs, that I bought upgrades for my gerbils’ tanks. I’d kept gerbils in 10 gallon aquariums for years–since 2002, when we got our first pair, and even back in the 70s and 80s when I had them as a kid. Even back in the early 2000s, it was the standard–10 gallons per pair.

*Digger shredding a TP tube – his second favorite thing to do (his name is the first)*

Recently, I joined a huge Facebook group, and found that that’s no longer the case; in fact, in some European countries, it’s illegal to house a pair of gerbils in anything smaller than a 20 gallon tank, which is now the minimum standard.

*The toppers allow deeper bedding for burrowing, an activity Valkyrie also enjoys*

My gerbils are both single–not that that’s good either, but Digger’s brother passed away back in November, and Digger’s over three years old. You can’t just put two gerbils together who don’t know each other, as they’ll fight. They have to be introduced in a split tank, and Digger’s old enough that it doesn’t make sense to go to this much effort when three years is the typical life span. My other gerbil was a rescue who came to me alone, and with all that’s gone on over the past year, I haven’t had the chance to look into getting her a buddy. “Her” being the key word as to why I can’t put her in with Digger, either–I don’t want to wind up with twenty in a couple months!

*Digger hoping I’ll give him a treat* *– yes, our pets are spoiled*

So they would probably be OK in their separate, 10-gallon tanks. But I wanted something more, so I got tank toppers. They’ve gone from living in studio apartments to townhouses! Digger has already figured out to go to the top level to beg me for treats (sunflower and pumpkin seeds). Valkyrie enjoys her “upstairs” too.

What I’ve Been Reading

The Amortals, by T.S. Hottle. I downloaded this science fiction book from my friend T.S. Hottle’s newsletter. It’s one of the offshoot novellas in his Compact Universe space opera series that I was looking forward to reading.

It did not disappoint. This main character was last featured in The Marilynists, about a crazy religion devoted to the late Earth actress Marilyn Monroe. Tom pulls a lot of humor from this, which makes for a very entertaining read! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys science fiction with a good bit of humor, but read The Marilynists first for the best experience.

But what really blew my mind–and I’ll admit, might make me a bit biased–was when I saw the title page:

*I have never had a book dedicated to me – wow, what an honor! So cool!*

What I’ve Been Writing

Unfortunately, this was one of those “not much” weeks. I only wrote three days this week, and added about 600 words. The wordcount is no big deal since that’s not my goal, but I need to spend more time on it. I’m not quite stuck, but not sure where I’m going is where I need to go. Or maybe I’m just bored because I’m redrafting a scene (the same one still–ugh) from another character’s point-of-view–it’s better, but not vastly different. I’m almost done with it, so if I can just get there, things should pick up again. So that’s what I’ll shoot for again this week–five days, for at least a half-hour per day.

I did meet my learning goal of finishing a week’s worth of my online workshop, so there’s that. I’ll do another week’s worth this week.

What about you–do you have pets, and if so, how do you spoil them? Have you read any good books lately? And how are you doing on whatever goals you might have, whether writing-related or otherwise? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, May 10, 2020

Apparently, it’s a tree that really likes our land, as we have quite a few of them. They’re not unusual, and they grow all over the eastern U.S. However, I’d never heard of them–either they’re not common in the suburbs of Ohio where we used to live, or I just never noticed them.

I’d been wondering what the trees on our land were with the spearhead-shaped leaves, but wasn’t able to find anything conclusive in a search with that generic description. Then DH and I were walking one day last week and noticed one of these trees was full of berries. That gave me something else to go on, and I quickly found the Hackberry–and more specifically for us. the Sugarberry.

*The wildlife is eatin’ good in our neighborhood!*

The Sugarberry is a species of Hackberry specific to the south, and is mostly differentiated by its leaves being narrower, with less serrated edges. And yes, the berries are edible and sweet, though they’re barely larger than peas and contain a good-sized pit so most people don’t bother with them these days, though the native peoples did eat them. Deer and turkeys love them, so they’re welcome here, even though some people consider them a trashy tree. The berries don’t get ripe until fall, so we’ll see then if I decide to try them myself!

*The tree in our fairy circle is a Sugarberry*

Other than that, this has been one of those weeks where not much has happened. Which is fine, because it was also one of those weeks where I didn’t feel like I got a lot of writing done, but when I looked over my wordcount, I actually did!

What I’ve Been Reading

I’m enjoying a novel that I noticed something very special about, but I’m not yet finished with it, so I’ll share next week.

What I’ve Been Writing

My goal this week was to spend at least 1/2 hour a day, five days, redrafting a scene. I did not finish the scene yet, but I did spend the time and got six days in–and to my surprise, added 2500 words. I also deleted a lot but that’s OK. So this week, we’ll stick with the same–at least 1/2 hour, five days. I want to finish this scene, then continue on with fixes.

My learning goal was to finish my online workshop on how to study fiction. I did that. So this week I want to start a new one, Emotion in Writing. This is something I’ve studied before, but it’s also one aspect of writing I find the most challenging. I’d like to complete the first week’s videos and assignment.

What about you–have you ever heard of the Sugarberry? Or the Hackberry? Ever have one of those weeks where you didn’t think you got much done, only to find out you had done quite a bit? What’s been keeping you busy lately? And how are you doing on whatever goals you might have whether writing or otherwise? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, May 3, 2020

Me? I’m no more busy than usual (which isn’t trivial, but…). My pets, on the other hand, have been doing all sorts of things this week.

My turtle Sand Dollar has been laying eggs. Sand Dollar is fifteen years old, and has been with us for over ten years. She’s a Red-eared Slider, which typically start laying eggs once they’re about five inches long (shell). She was that big around eight years ago and has been nine inches long for years, but I’ve never seen eggs until this week.

She has exhibited egg-laying behavior plenty of times–basking a lot, digging with her hind legs, and acting like she’s trying to get out of the basking enclosure on top of her tank. I’ve put her in a nest box and taken her outside. I took my laptop and worked on our front porch a couple weeks ago, and Sand Dollar acted like she was laying, but four hours later, no eggs. I guess they could’ve fallen down the snake hole she was sitting over, who knows!

So the other day I was sitting at my desk doing day job work, and glanced over to see Sand Dollar nibbling at something that looked like a small, white hot dog in the bottom of her tank. An egg! Or more like two or three fused together, for it was three inches long! She had dropped four more this morning, this time normal size (slightly larger than robins’ eggs). Oh, and if anyone’s curious, I discarded them, as they wouldn’t be viable even if she hadn’t laid them in water, because Sand Dollar is a single girl. 🙂

*Sand Dollar sleeping (and probably dreaming of food)*

My gerbils have also been busy. I’ve had gerbils for years, but just recently joined a Facebook group about them. Typically they do best in pairs, but one of my sweet little guys died in November (he was old and had cancer), leaving his brother alone. My other gerbil, a little rescue gir,l has always been by herself. I don’t put them together because I don’t want to wind up with twenty in three or four months (yes, that has happened before). 😀 After lurking in the Facebook group, I realized that my babies sleep a lot because they don’t have enough to do, especially being alone. So I bought tank toppers, and upgraded them from studio apartments to townhouses! This will enable them to collect more bedding below and dig and burrow, which is what gerbils do. Upstairs is for the wheel, eating, and of course, getting treats (which my boy Digger has already figured out). I also got some wooden toys and houses for them, but those haven’t come yet. So, more on the gerbils next week.

As for me and my husband, we did get out yesterday for a nice motorcycle ride. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is still closed… except for Foothills Parkway. Seeing it has been on my bucket list since we started looking at land here almost four years ago, and we finally drove it in the truck a couple weeks ago, just to get out. It was even more fun on a motorcycle, and the views did not disappoint! Yesterday, we talked to a family (from six feet away, of course) who had lived in the area all their lives, and this was the first time they’d seen it. Definitely worthwhile, and something else to share with guests once they can come visit!

*One of many fantastic views from a scenic overlook on the Foothills Parkway*

What I’ve Been Reading

Finding the Perfect Mate by Stacy McKitrick is the latest in her Bitten by Love vampire romance series. I love this series because her heroes aren’t super dark and broody, but more like regular guys who have some special abilities (and limitations) to contend with–guys you’d like to spend time with. This book is about Perry, who appears in most of the other books as the snarky, irreverent sidekick, and one of the more entertaining characters. Glad he finally got his own story! And now I’m wondering who will be in the next, which I’m definitely looking forward to. Highly recommended!

What I’ve Been Writing

My goal last week was to spend at least 1/2 hour, five days, working back through the book to work in the changes needed after my outlining and notes. I only hit four days, and only added about 500 words, though that’s partly because I also cut a lot. But the good news is I figured out what the story needs, which just outlining and taking notes didn’t tell me: there are not enough scenes in the main heroine’s point of view. Rewriting one scene should fix that (I hope). So my goal is to do that, and then continue with cycling back to do the changes, spending at least 1/2 hour on it for at least five days.

I did meet my learning goal of completing week 5 of my online workshop. I also did some reading about copyright, but this is getting long, so I’ll summarize what I learned next week.

What about you–do you have any pets? If so, do they make you feel like a slacker, or are they like my dogs, and you’re super productive in comparison? 😀 Have you read any good books lately? How are you doing on whatever goals you might have, whether writing-related or otherwise? Please share in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, April 26, 2020

There are plenty of them to make in the spring, especially when it’s my first on our rural land. In the suburbs, where we lived before, there is much less diversity among the trees and plants, and few wildflowers in cultivated lawns. On our land here, I discover something new each week. We walk our dogs each morning. I note the leaf shapes and growth pattern on trees, or the color and shape of wildflowers, then look them up in some handy, online field guides when we get back from our walk. This week, I identified some small trees with big, boat-shaped leaves as Shellbark Hickory, and some little, lavender wildflowers that just started blooming as Lyre-leaf Sage.

*Lyre-leaf sage is a pretty, native wildflower with medicinal uses.*

My husband has also continued work on the house, and finished up the porch posts yesterday.

*Now, DH can sit a drink on the little shelf rim while he’s grilling!*

What I’ve Been Reading

I am really enjoying the novel I’m currently reading, but I didn’t finish it yet, so I’ll share it next week.

What I’ve Been Writing

My discovery there was that one of my characters revealed that he’s been previously married. So, as is typical of a romance hero, he’s not looking for another relationship. And as is also typical of a romance hero, he’ll of course find that life has other ideas. 😀

I met my writing goals this week, and spent at least 1/2 hour five days working back through my WIP and making fixes and changes. I added about 1300 words in the process. This has been working well, so I’ll stick with the same goal this week.

I also met my learning goal of finishing one more week in my online workshop. So this week, the goal is to finish Week 5. I also want to spend a little time reading and learning something about copyright.

What about you–have you discovered anything interesting recently? What kinds of trees and flowers do you notice near where you live? And how are you doing on whatever goals you might have, whether writing-related or otherwise? Please share in the comments – I’d love to hear from you!

by Jennette, April 19, 2020

When you can’t go anywhere besides to pick up food, they can’t be much else, huh? Luckily, we have plenty of room to get out on our land. Our daffodil patch started blooming back in February, but never got very many daffodils. I found out why a couple weeks ago: most of them are white daffodils, and they’re blooming now.

*The daffodil patch, with a few wild daisies mixed in*

This pandemic has really made me appreciate how lucky we are to have this land to enjoy. My husband has kept busy too, adding stone veneer bases to our porch posts.

*My husband made good use of the stone left over from the construction*

The columns aren’t quite finished yet; he still needs to add some trim to the top of the stone, and paint it.

I had a good week too, better than I expected. More on that below.

What I’ve Been Reading

I finally finished a novel, The Dragon King by Patty Jansen. I’m not sure why this book took me so long to read, because I really enjoyed it, and I typically read faster when I especially like something. It was a fitting end to the trilogy, while still leaving the opportunity for more books to the series.

What I’ve Been Writing

This week, my goals was to spend at least a half hour, for at least five days, cycling back and fixing my WIP based on the notes I made earlier this month. I actually worked on the WIP all seven days, most of which was on one scene. It’s not quite done, but I got most of it fixed, and to my surprise, I added nearly 2,000 words. So the WIP is moving right along, finally. I also made my learning goal of completing another week’s worth of lessons and the assignment for my online workshop.

This week, I’m going to stick with the same goals, since they worked well for me: 1/2 hour, for at least five days on the WIP (no wordcount goal because I sometimes wind up deleting a lot), and work through another week of material on my online workshop.

How has your week been? Do you ever surprise yourself by accomplishing more than you thought? How are you doing, with the limitations imposed by the pandemic (or extra work, as may be the case)? Stay healthy and safe–and let me know in the comments; I love to hear from you!

by Jennette, April 12, 2020

Moving along this week, slowly but surely! My husband put in our first garden bed, which is probably all we’ll do this year (keeping it small to start). We have four tomato plants, a cucumber, a zucchini, and a couple of peppers, with room for a couple more. We put in a hillside version of a raised bed, or I guess one could call it “semi-raised.” We have very little flat land here on our mountain, so this is a good way to work with the land, rather than against it.

*The picture from before we added the fence and the plant better shows how it’s built into the hillside.*

This Easter is going to be… different. I guess that’s the best way to put it. Before we moved, we always had family over for Easter dinner. Now we are in Tennessee, and they are all in Ohio, and no one is getting together. We weren’t planning on doing so even before the Stay Home orders came down, but still it will be strange, the first holiday spent here in Tennessee with just my husband. We’re still doing the traditional dinner, though simplified a bit.

What I’ve Been Reading

I still haven’t finished a book! Maybe this one’s longer than the last few, or maybe I’m spending less time reading, though it doesn’t feel that way. I definitely make time for a little reading every day. Several of my commenters last week remarked that they were having trouble focusing on reading–maybe I am too?

What I’ve Been Writing

My goal this week was to spend 1/2 hour on my writing six days, collecting my notes, doing some outlining, and getting back to the WIP. I only hit it five days, but otherwise, did everything planned, so I’ll consider it “failing to success.” I also made my learning goal of doing one more week of the “How to Study” WMG Workshop online.

Since I am now going back to already-written parts of my WIP and making changes, it’s hard to quantify with something like word count (which may actually go down some days). So this week, I’ll stick to time-based, but commit to only five days, since I have a lot to do this week. I also want to do another week’s worth of videos and the assignment for my online workshop.

How about you–how is your Easter, if you celebrate? Or if not, how has your week been? Have you been finding it harder to focus on reading or writing, with all that’s going on? How are you doing on whatever goals you have, whether writing or otherwise? Please share in the comments–I love hearing from you!

by Jennette, April 5, 2020

Things are getting green again — *Things are getting green around here, but not much else has changed – and that’s fine with me!*

It’s been another quiet week here, and I made good progress on figuring out my WIP. I don’t have a word count this time, since a lot of what I did included deleting and changing. But that doesn’t really matter since it’s just notes. I have not yet figured out the ending, but that usually comes to me as I get closer to it, so at this point, I should have enough to break into a list of scenes (i.e., outline) and get back to the writing.

It’s now the start of ROW80 Round 2 and the second quarter, so time to review my goals. Last quarter, my writing goal was to add 16,000 words to the WIP. I ended up with about 13,000, which is a lot more than I thought I did, so I’ll consider that “failing to success.” I also met my learning goal of completing two online workshops. I ran a little behind on my goal of learning something about copyright once a month, but I did that this past week, and summarized what I learned below.

This quarter/Round, I’m going to stick to the same goals:

16,000 words on the WIP
Two online workshops
Learn about copyright once a month, or three times
I also want to choose a theme for my website revamp, which was a bonus goal last quarter (obviously not done)

More on Copyright

Most of this month’s reading on copyright had to do with registering collections of items, such as newspapers or magazines. Items published within a single calendar year can be registered as a group, but how many and how often depends on how often the periodical is published. A daily newspaper should be registered once a month, after the last day’s articles are published. A magazine that only publishes once a month may wait until the year is up, but it’s recommended to register every three months, so that the registration is “timely” and provides all the protections in case of infringement.

The part of this that’s more likely to apply to fiction writers is the fact that we can register multiple short works together–for example, short stories that appeared in different anthologies, magazines, etc., for a single registration fee. Like periodicals themselves, these stories/articles could be copyrighted as a single group that’s been published within a calendar year. And the same caveat applies where the author may want to register few items every three months to ensure that they are all registered in a timely manner to provide maximum protection.

Something else to note about group copyright registration is that the claimant (author or rights-holder) must be the same person(s) or entity.

What I’ve Been Reading

I still haven’t finished the novel I started last week, so nothing to report here.

What I’ve Been Writing

As noted above, more notes. This week, I want to break down my notes into a list of scenes (outline), and start back into writing. For learning, I want to do Week 2 of the WMG Workshop I started last week on studying fiction.

What about you–how are things going where you are? I hope you’re staying healthy! Has the pandemic made it more difficult to work on your goals, or has it given you more time–or like me, not affected things so far? How are you doing on whatever goals you might have, whether writing or otherwise? Please share in the comments–I love to hear from you!