Time and Inspiration

When I got to work this morning, I was actually entertaining the thought that I might have a chance to work on the book since I knew I had very little work when I left the night before. Unfortunately, that never happens. Every Friday, I get slammed. If there was no work the day before, they send me everything else all at once. So, instead of a possible relaxing afternoon where I could work on the book, I was busy looking at actual work. But that's okay. It was Friday.

However, I did come up with a few ideas between yesterday and work today--ideas that I believe will help make this book and another one I am working on better. Sometimes I will come up with a slightly different detail that will add a nice little facet to a story, which is what I had for the other project. For Gnome, it started with a song.

I was thinking about Book One and the first date scene where Paul surprised Evie when she realized he was in the band performing that night, and he sang a song to her. I got into the car and, while the Bluetooth was trying to connect, I must have squeezed the wrong button, and my channel was changed and not synced up with the radio. I couldn't hear Pandora, which was set to Trance music. I got the gadget tuned, and I realized iTunes was playing, and it was playing THE SAME SONG that had been going through my brain earlier. I let it play on.

As I was driving, I was thinking about how the romance thread had been giving me fits all this time, and I realized that I had been disconnected from Paul's character. I had gotten away from it somehow and forgotten all of the things I had liked about the character. In case you are wondering, Paul isn't a real person. He's not based on a real person, and my struggle with him is not due to anyone in my real life. It's just in how I'm looking at the subject. It's like when Evie feels depressed at 3PM because the light is a dingy yellow. Actually, that was a "me" thing. I don't like late afternoon. But, the more I thought about it, I realized that maybe the color is due to the sun sinking and the light filtering lower on the horizon through layers of smog and making everything look dirty and sad. So, maybe I just wasn't looking at Paul from the right perspective.

Now the work week is done, and I'm sitting in my office/art room. I still haven't initiated the drafting table by actually doing any art on it, but I started pulling things out of the art bag and opened a mixed media notebook up to one of my favorite paintings on the desk. Maybe it will inspire me to get started, but I also need a new chair. The one I'm sitting in is fine for the computer, but I need one that lifts a little higher for the drafting table. Everything feels so far away.

I used to look forward to coming home and painting. I haven't been to art class in a few weeks. I used to spend most of Saturdays painting while binge-watching movies. Last weekend, I rearranged book cases and shifted living room books to the office and office books to the living room. There's still a lot of organizing to do, but it's getting there. In the process, I think I may have injured my left wrist and possibly pinched a nerve. I have carpal tunnel on the right, and now the opposite fingers of the left hand are going numb. I think it's the ulnar nerve/cubital tunnel. I've been babying it, but the fingertips still feel numb. Hopefully that will heal pretty soon. I had it wrapped with an elastic bandage, but I'm worried about getting it too tight and cutting off the circulation. Luckily, I'm right handed, but I'm already wearing a brace on my right arm at night. 

I still haven't hung any art in the office. I haven't decided exactly what to hang. I have an old sketch from college of my dad as a kid on a horse. I'd also like a lot of color in here. Everything is too hospital green.

I guess that's enough of my rambling for now. More later.