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Category: Photos
Writing Retreat 2017
As is rapidly becoming tradition, I spent most of the last week of July in a friend’s cabin up at Minnedosa. (Thanks, Karen & Ed!) My goals for the week are posted here, and here’s how it went:
Beat sheets for the major characters in Translations
I have a complete outline for the POV’s arc, which is the most critical as it’s narrated in the first person.
Also, I had a major epiphany about the POV character, one that will shake up the last ⅔ of the book.
10,000 words in Translations
I wrote 12,500 words in Translations, the bulk of it written as I sat on the deck, pretty much all alone in the cottage area.
At least a few shots of the Milky Way
Yeah, that turned out okay.
Having access to a car this year really helped me get to the dark places (literally) so that I could get some great photos of the night sky.
Also, I sold a print of one of my photos to a friend. (Thanks, Brianne!) Does that mean I’m a pro now?
Lots of bike riding
Well. My bike’s left pedal arm has been coming loose more and more frequently. It’s got to go into the shop. On my first ride in Minnedosa, I had to stop twice to tighten the pedal arm, both times on my way up a hill. So after that, feh to bike riding. (At least, my bike in its current condition.)
Fortunately, I had access to a kayak (thanks, Carla!), so I put in about 15 km of paddling time, going up and down the lake.
Stretch goals
I read James S. A. Corey’s amazing Leviathan Wakes, courtesy of my public library’s e-book program. I’m now hooked, and need to read the rest of the Expanse saga.
I also re-read the first ⅔ of Gene Wolfe’s subtle and mysterious The Fifth Head of Cerberus, which, I’m not gonna lie, probably had at least a little bit to do with my aforementioned epiphany. (It’s also the first Wolfe novel I’ve re-read, and it’s amazing how much less confusion I feel, how much more I’m picking up.)
And we bought a second car, which is why I could have a vehicle to go gallivantin’ around the countryside, looking for dark locations to get photos like this:
I think that went well.
Another night, another Milky Way photo
2 alternate takes (and more, so much more!) on my Flickr account.
Late Last Night
Sometimes it’s absolutely worth it to stay up past your bedtime.
The Office
For the next week, at least. It’s time for Writing Retreat, 2017 Edition.
So far I’ve got 3,500 words of a 10,000+ word goal. (1,000 words of that is in an outline/beat sheet, so I’m not really counting them. I’m also not counting blog posts. That seems like it’d be cheating.)
Vanishing Point
So I went for a nice long bike ride today, and I got a great photo of the railroad tracks, receding to the horizon.
Not a cloud in the sky
Some very bright aurora
I could see them already while I was still in the city. By the time I got to my nice, dark spot, this is what I could photograph:
They stretched from the northeast to the southwest. They were bright enough for a while that I could watch them dancing with the naked eye. The last time I remember seeing them this bright, I was a teenager in Ste. Rose, lying on the grass, looking up.
Also: a video version:
An hour of my evening well-spent, I’d say.
New lens
With my birthday money, I bought myself a new lens—a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8.
It works pretty well. I can’t wait for a darker night; I’m looking forward to trying to get some galaxy photos.
Westering 2017
For Christmas, Kathleen and I bought my mother a trip out west, to Alberta, to visit relatives. We went along with her. You know, to make sure she behaved.
Some of the places we visited:
The Calgary Zoo.
