Spring Cleaning

The beginning of March, at last! That means spring and warmer weather and other work to do that will distract from my writing. Oh, no. I love the warm weather, but it means the garden is growing. I saw some yellow crocus in the front yard. I have to remain determined to get my writing time in, but it will be a challenge. I have to fit it in around my life.

I am also working on cleaning out a storage area that is full of the remnants, collectibles and books, that belonged to a good friend of mine and fellow writer now deceased. It’s sad work, but I’m ready to get it done. He had a lot of nice artwork and toys related to movies and TV shows. We used to talk about what would become of his collectibles when he died. It never seems to turn out as we planned. If he were here, we would be watching movies to prepare for Oscar night.

Even though I’m working this week at the hospital, I’m going to try to write as much as I can. Here and there. Between errands. My lunch hour. Whenever, wherever, I can. I wasn’t successful last week. I had to work on the storage area when others were available to help me. There is too much heavy lifting involved.

I wrote a scene where Lovejoy’s wife thinks about what she’ll do now that he’s dead. She hasn’t had much time to plan as they were young and had expected to live for many years. She’s pregnant with their second child. Women didn’t have as many choices in the 1830s as we have currently. There were some that managed to become professionals. To do that, they had to stay single. Married women belonged to their husbands and unmarried women belonged to their parents and brothers. They were mostly told what to do, but there were also rebels. I remember reading a biography about a woman who dressed as a man during the Civil War and became a spy.

The scene I’m working on now is the ones where Lincoln’s learns about Lovejoy’s death. Much of the nation was also reading about it. Newspapers and abolitionist groups around the country were outraged about it and demanding justice….