Wednesday writing wire - scenic edition

What I'm reading

I'm still not done with A Peace to End All Peace, although I did get a lot of reading done last week when I was on vacation. (It's 576 pages long, and very detailed.) For lighter (well... sort of. The story is actually pretty dark.) reading, I picked up The Redbreast (#3 in the Harry Hole series by Jo Nesbo).

Am I the only person who reads multiple books at once? I usually tend to have one e-book in progress (which I can read during down-time at work), and one tree book in progress (which I'll read at home).

What I'm writing

I received another short story rejection (on the post-apocalyptic, last-man-on-Earth story), so I went through another round of editing on the story and then sent it out again. I also received some editorial feedback on my talking cat story, so now I need to read through and revise that. (Hahaha, that reminds me--I recently visited an online mag's "Submissions: What we're looking for" page and they went out of their way to specify No Talking Cats. My talking cat would call them out for their blatant speciesism. See, people, this is what I'm like.)

I also finished the first "detention" scene in The Free City. I'm pleased with it, but now I need to make a plan as to what horrible things happen to my main character in detention, and in what order. *rubs paws together deviously*

What else I've been doing

The hubs and I vacationed last week in northern Wisconsin near the town of Minocqua. We rented a little cabin by a lake, at a place that's been a resort for almost 100 years. It was quiet & peaceful & super beautiful. The place had no TV and no wifi, but yes fireplace, which was just what we were after. We read books, cooked food, went hiking, and put together a puzzle. 

My vacation cabin

What's inspiring me right now

The memory of our vacation spot is still fresh in my mind. It was just so awesome up there--and one of the best things was that we didn't have to pay much attention to what time it was. We got up when we got up, ate breakfast, did stuff all day, and started winding down after it got dark. It made me realize how temporally regimented my normal life is, and how I've got all my routines down to the minute (getting up, getting to the gym, getting to work, eating lunch, driving home, getting ready for the next day). It felt great to leave all that behind, and I want to do it more often.

Blue Lake