Monday, August 18, 2014

Confluence

I'm applying for an arts grant. A few pennies to throw food on the table as I write WW1 scenes for this novel and edit it and wind it up. Yeah it's work, it's a struggle, but when it goes right, I'm in my bliss. And no, there's no daddywarbucks in my life. Just me on a fixed paltry income.

I've already assembled my team of First Readers, except for maybe one more. If you'd like to be on it, drop me a line, see email addie on the left side of the blog. October 15th is my deadline to release to the team.

There I've said it. October 15th.

Anyways. I'm here today, with pictures and details of the Battle of the Somme, careful graphs of dates and ages. Ritz Hotel in Paris in 1970. Etc. It's intense. I saw the inside of the Ritz once. 1965. Close enough, right? unless they made changes without telling me.

And then, sweet Dog, the work starts on my house. Not simple work understand. Complicated banging, scraping and unfolding rotting foundations work. So much so that the dog crawls under my desk and whimpers, "Sorry I can't defend you against these ravening hordes. Sometimes it's just all too much for me. I'm old, see."

A simple scrape and slap on the paint job is just not happening. Rot. Old doors. Damp buildup. 11 window panes need replacing. Fresh new lumber trucked over from the lumberyard across the bay for part of the foundations. Banging, did I talk banging? And how do I afford this add-on horror to the original barely manageable financially job?

And I think as I write: this is nothing. Imagine those WW1 trenches.

And no, I can't go to my Tigeen. There's a 3 foot drop outside my back door. Into mud. I am moated with extreme sound effects while I summarize my 75% completed book begging for a measley arts grant.

And you think you've got problems.


14 comments:

  1. Home maintenance is such a headache! We are having to clean up after a tropical storm. But we also need to paint, repair window frames, replace bathroom and basement floors, put up walls to make a second guest room, etc. etc.
    No end to it.

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  2. The joy of old houses. My sister lives in the house where we were all born. It eats into her index related biscuit tin. She hardly breathes a sigh of relief before the next major problem makes an appearance.

    Good luck with the grant, I have my fingers crossed for you!

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  3. Oh, the fun of writing a grant. I've done lots of those for school projects. Never thought of one for myself. That might just be an idea whose time will come.

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  4. I can't get any joy out of your "ah, g'wan email me " device but if you are still looking for a reader I'd delighted to give your book the once over. My Email is mrpdbmc1@gmail.com

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  5. No, I don't. Except of course that I have got a wtier's block as far as my blog posts are concerned!

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  6. Hattie:
    and old houses take on a 2nd-3rd-4th life of their own, yeah?

    Good luck with yours :)

    XO
    WWW

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  7. GM:

    I said to Daughter ye gads this better be the last major fix-up before I die. And that upset her. I should be careful who I talk to.

    XO
    WWW

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  8. dkz:

    It's a lot of work, I thought to myself that it would be a great business to get into if I were younger: writing grants for others for a nice fee.

    XO
    WWW

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  9. Thanks Paul.

    I think my link connects to outlook which is one of the worst systems out there. Sorry about that. I think I will just spell it out for others now.

    Thanks for your offer. I've had a few now and that's great.

    I hope you're up for about 350 pages and about 3 weeks to work with it?

    XO
    WWW

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  10. Ramana:

    Been there, done that. So far so good this time around.
    Choose a topic or go to a book and choose Page 99/4th sentence and write on it.

    XO
    WWW

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  11. No problem. Looking forward to it.

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  12. No pain, no gain. You'll be so glad you had it done when over. Not least when winter rears its freezing head! Good luck with the deadline. Lx

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