This has been another of those weeks that were largely uneventful, but unfortunately, not one of those where I got a ton of writing done.

What I Read This Week

I am currently reading a cozy mystery that I’m really enjoying, but haven’t yet finished, so I’ll post about that next week.

I did finish a nonfiction book, Fair Play by Eve Rodsky, that was entertaining and really interesting. It’s a solution to the outsized mental load that most wives/moms carry in their households, by basically making a card game of it, the main purpose of which is to shine a light on all the “invisible” work we do, open up discussion, and ultimately, help couples work out a way to divvy this stuff up more fairly. While I definitely bear more of the mental load in my household, this book also made me realize that I have it pretty good compared to a lot of people, so I don’t know if I’ll suggest playing the game or not (printables of the cards can be downloaded from the author’s website). But next time I have a ton going on and my husband asks what he can do to help, maybe I’ll try it! If this is an issue in your home, I highly recommend this book–good food for thought, if nothing else.

What I’ve Been Writing

Ehh, not much. My goal this week was only 1,000 words, and I didn’t even hit that. I did finish out the scene I was working on at just over 500 words, then I needed to do some research. While I figured out a few things, I did not find the inspiration I was looking for to figure out what happens next–and this applies to the next three scenes, so I really need to figure it out. Looks like it’s time to make some lists of 20 Things.

This coming week is going to be a busy one, as I will be traveling for work. I never know if I’ll have the time and space to get to the writing. So I’m going to go with an easy goal: make a list of 20 Things that might happen for each of the next three scenes. I was also going to start back in on a workshop this week for my learning goal, but due to the travel, that might not work so well, so I’ll consider getting anything on that a bonus, as well as any writing beyond figuring out what comes next.

What about you–do you ever have trouble figuring out what comes next, whether in writing or something else? What do you think about dealing out household tasks like a card game? And how are you doing on whatever goals you might have? 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.