Mile Marker #28: Feed You, Clothe You, Put a Roof Over Your Head
What up, y’all, it’s ya bean, Maggie.
Can you tell I am so tired I can barely string sentences together?
If you like today’s header photo, that’s actual footage of me returning from Boston over the weekend. I can hardly keep my eyes open and all I want to do is lay in a patch of sunlight and photosynthesize.
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind: my brother got married (I officiated!), I went to The Muse & the Marketplace in Boston, and I took yesterday off to sleep for (literally) sixteen hours so I don’t get sick.
And yet, I’m still so exhausted today I can hardly keep my eyes open. But that’s just how it goes, ain’t it?
Last month, I got some bloodwork done and found out I have both iron and vitamin B12 deficiencies, which was causing my dizziness, shaky hands, full-body exhaustion, and general malaise. I started on supplements for those and I’ve seen a huge improvement over the last couple of weeks.
Of course, it doesn’t help that I hit my busiest season right after, but I’m hoping that I bounce back. I’m just so, so, so tired.
But enough complaining!!
This weekend was an absolute adventure. I came home feeling inspired and jazzed up to write (and angsty about having to go back to my day job instead of immediately moving to a cabin in the woods to slowly go feral while I write endless speculative fiction).
The Muse was a wonderful experience. I met some lovely people, including friends from last year’s program that I met in-person for the first time. I bought some books (I limited myself to two and I’m honestly pretty impressed with that) and chatted with some extremely talented authors.
I even attended a session on the banned books crisis in the United States that filled me with so much righteous anger a friend and I had to go chug old fashioneds at the hotel bar.
All in all, I’m so glad I went. I didn’t get nearly as much networking done as I had planned, but I’m totally okay with that. I had so much fun with the people I already knew, and Boston is such a gorgeous city. I’d love to go back next year if that’s in any way feasible for me, but I have a feeling it won’t be.
I had a bit of an epiphany while I was there. I think The Bones Below is going to have to be four books. Yup, FOUR.
Partially, it’s because it’s an entirely unpitchable 171k monster at the moment, and that’s only the first book. If I split it into two I can get wayyy deeper into some of the cultural and mythological aspects I didn’t get a chance to explore (and was “saving” for the second book).
My goal is to keep each book to 120k max (yes, I know, I’m laughing at myself already, too). 450-500k feels like the right number for telling this story correctly and in as much detail as I’m hoping to achieve.
I love these characters, this world, and this mystery, and I want to do it all justice.
The notes I got from last year’s instructor and my beta readers are largely about wanting more — deeper dives into character backstories, sweeping explanations of island history and culture, and more immersion into the mystery itself. I’ve been holding myself back this whole time because I knew the story was Too Long, but I really do think that chopping it up like this will let me run free without writing myself into a hole.
I’ve got lots of plans for TBB and the other works-in-progress on my list… I’m 79 days away from leaving for Alaska (eek!!) which gives me 79 days of plotting, planning, and shenaniganizing to do.
This project is much, much bigger than I ever imagined it would be, but I think that’s a good thing. I can handle this. I’m a badass.
I’m a freakin’ wizard.
Til next time,
Mags
P.S. Oh, right! I totally forgot to say, I GOT ON-CAMPUS HOUSING AT UAF!!! It’s not officially-official yet, there is still paperwork to do and a contract to sign, but it sounds like I might have secured housing from the day I arrive, which is a HUGE weight off my shoulders if it’s true. That’s what the Anastasia reference in this blog title was about. I’m just too zoinked to expand on all that right now. LOL