Foggy Brain

I learned yesterday that all that deep focus work time does little good if the pollen count goes sky-high and allergies hit you like a brick. I got through much of what I’d written previously, adding nearly a thousand words and adjusting a chapter break, before the sneezing, sniffling, and foggy brain got the better of me and I gave up to go lie down and try reading. I did read something work-related, so it wasn’t completely wasted time. I was really tired, so I let myself sleep late today, and now I’m hoping that my extensive to-do list for my designated “get stuff done” day doesn’t take as long as I planned because I’m way behind. It is good that I didn’t plan to write because I still don’t have the brainpower for that. In fact, I might need a nap before I can cope with choir.  I’d been doing so well, too, able to go off the antihistamines for weeks, but apparently I wasn’t up for the mess we had yesterday.

I’ve started reading my way through the Nebula Award nominees — really, the Norton Award at the moment, the one for children’s/YA books, which isn’t officially a Nebula — and it’s going to be a tough call. Out of the two I’ve read so far, one was absolutely beautiful and the other was wildly imaginative. I like getting my reading from a list like this every so often as a way of expanding my reading horizons, and I think I learn something as a writer, as well. It also provides motivation to write even better.

Hmm, I think maybe I could count this reading as “work” for this afternoon.