Wednesday writing wire - getting unstuck edition

What I'm reading

I finished 1864: Lincoln at the Gates of History, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Author Charles Bracelen Flood gives a detailed picture of what Lincoln was up to in 1864, and jeez, it was a ton. From the last campaigns of the Civil War to the political battles leading to his nomination and subsequent reelection, to his laying the groundwork for Reconstruction and the future of the nation, from his shrewd political manipulations to his humble and genuine interactions with regular people--there's a lot here, and it's told in an engaging and compelling manner, with the use of many quotes from primary sources. I enjoyed this book all the more because just a few weeks ago I had the chance to visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield IL. Reminds me, I really need to read Team of Rivals, which has been on my TBR list forever.

But for now I'm back on my WWI (and after) kick, with Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan, which I just started listening to yesterday.

What I'm writing

I received some very useful feedback on my talking cat story (my entry for my writing group's anthology), and I need to get on the ball with what I hope will be the final revision. 

But meanwhile, I've been making a lot of progress with The Free City. Spring means decent weather, which means writing outside (at the sekrit picnic table) or in my car (if it rains) during lunch at work. That makes all the difference in the world. This week I realized that I have to do some re-tooling and combining of scenes to make them, er, not suck. Instead of continuing along writing the story, I had to break off and do what my writing group calls "nattering". That means writing about the story, or a particular sticking point in the story, with the aim of getting unstuck  or figuring things out via the process of thinking-while-writing. Am I unstuck now? Not entirely... but I'm getting there, so I consider that progress.

What else I've been doing

Last weekend, my band played a show & sold out of our few remaining records. I've been working on booking us some shows "out East" in April, which will be the first time this particular band ventures out of the Midwest.

What's inspiring me right now

Sun. No more snow on the ground. No more being cold. Green things growing. It's like waking up from a long sleep. 

That's right, make it worse!