More of the usual

      I cannot tell you how much I've been looking forward to today. (To today? Does that make sense?) This has been a grinding week, all things considered. Work's been tough, I've been feeling achy and out of sorts all week, the weather has been cold, wet and dreary, the writing has been going slow, etc. I'm off this afternoon because I have a couple of appointments. After just four hours of work, my life is mine for the weekend.
      And what grand plans do I have for this weekend? Housework, writing, working on the February issue of the family newsletter, naps, the usual in other words. The only unusual activity is that I will be preparing to direct The Vigil. I do that by reading it five or six times and making lots of notes. I highlight scenes I want to emphasize, ideas on blocking, needed items and effects, and so on. I've already read the play several times now, but now I get to the nitty-gritty.
      It's going to be a different play for me. It has almost no lighting and sound effects, simple costumes and simple set. While there are moments of humor in it, the emphasis is on drama. I haven't directed a pure drama since I left college. I'm both looking forward to it and a bit intimidated by it. I've always found humor easier to direct. My mind just works that way.
      I hope I have enough people try out. The play calls for eight men and eight women with two additional non-speaking parts. I can and will cut the non-speaking parts, and I can have one woman and one man come in as different characters, so I could do it with 12 men and women if I had to, but I'm hoping to fully cast it. We'll see how it goes and who shows up Monday and Tuesday night.
      I struggled with the writing on Darkness, Oklahoma this week. I had to rearrange several scenes to fix a timeline problem, then I had to write new scenes for a minor character who turns out to be not-so-minor after all. It's like constructing a puzzle, and I'm having to go carefully to make sure all the pieces fit. The book builds -- or I hope it does -- and it has to have to a good foundation. These new scenes and the reorganization are strengthening the foundation and enriching the story. It has to be done to maintain a book of 100,000 words and I'm learning a lot from doing it, but it's slo-o-o-o-w. I'm not getting as many words as I hoped, but every day a few more join the total. Eventually it will speed up again.
      I'd better get ready for work. Have a great day. I'll talk to you later.