This is writing too, doing it for fun, for family news, for sharing recipes, trip suggestions, for offering tips on making quilts, or writing books, or any of thousands of topics--do it with care.
Secret to blogging: write at your comfort level--but do it wisely.
If you don't mind your grammy reading the dishabille details about the night you spent cavorting with the penguins (sobering up the next am to realize you just defrocked several dwarf nuns) go for it!
If you change the names and places to hide the innocent/guilty--that's a good thing. Libel and slander DOES get prosecuted.
If you give your home addy, tel #, school or place of business, and other personal info like bank and credit cards that someone can use to fleece you, you're dumber than a bag of plastic rocks. Or you're a child who doesn't know better and that's VERY dangerous.
There are folks out there who are looking for prey, and that can be with promises of friendship, making money, giving to a worthy cause, etc, -- BE CAREFUL PEOPLE!
PARENTS! Your kids can talk to the world out there and it's not all Carebears and Barney. Kids think a stranger looks scary, talks scary. No, they look like a nice person who shows interest and wants to be your friend, telling you about their kitten or puppy while pulling snippets of information out, grooming the child to be their next target.
You want to give your child independence, you want to keep them safe. For younger children, offer to read their blog and help out with news, for older ones, explain that not everyone is as nice as they seem from words typed on the screen. For your middle and highschool kids--let them know the truth as raw and horrible as the child is mature enough to handle. You want to protect them, you don't want them running out to see 16 year old Bobby from the coast who's a 45 year old pedophile getting his kicks while strangling your child.
If you blog nasty stuff or gossip about work or brag about doing something really stupid on Facebook, Myspace, etc, chances are someone who has influence in your life can and will read it, and decide you are not the person they want as a friend, co-worker, etc. People HAVE gotten fired, expelled and arrested for their confessions.
Different blog sites work for different types of blogs: from personal family and friends news sites that you need a password to read, or public ones that are out there for anyone to look at. many give areas for favorites in music, books, movies, etc, others offer enough room for pictures though if you require more than the standard space you can usually upgrade and buy more.
Again, blog with your good sense.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
FanFic--Does It Work for You? Aug. 11, '08
Some years ago, I did fanfic and had a great time polishing the writerly muscles. You're given names, setting, etc, but what adventures can you have that keeps the original identifiable as such?
I read a whole lot of crap, and a few gems, which is what got me into writing fanfic in the first place. I felt that I could do better than most and as well as the top 5%. I got on a few popular sites, had some great times with fanfic fans. Then I wanted to tell stories with similar but not exact characters. In fanfic those are called ubers: different names, different times.
I always credited the original author/company and posted on free sites. These tales were to be shared with fans, they were not for sale.
A few good fanfic writers do continue stories of popular series and characters. There are hundreds of StarTrek and Star Wars books NOT written by Gene Roddenberry (while he was alive) or by George Lucas, for two examples.
Often with known names who stop their series, the publishing companies will look for writers who can copy that style and continue the adventure of the character, the family, the sweeping saga of a nest of mice. :}
Ghost writer Andrew Neiderman is still doing Flowers In the Attic books. The original author, V.C. Andrews died in '86. Her name still goes on the books, a percentage goes to her heirs, and a bit goes to Mr. Neiderman.
All these 'well-known' books are formulaic and are based on a paradigm of any number of familiar tales that go back as far as stories themselves: Marduk vs Tiamat--god vs dragon, Gilgamesh--the flawed hero, Old Woman and Coyote the Trickster--from American Indian tales, Amaterasu--the Japanese goddess who brought light to the world, etc. The Cat in the Hat is the Trickster all over again :}
Romeo and Juliet is based on a Greek tale from 1500 years before: Pyramis and Thisbe, off from that we have West Side Story.
Boiled down, everything is 'fan fiction' done by those who love what they read. If you are willing to put in the work: change the names, add new drama, put in a new setting, and write a good story, anything can happen.
I read a whole lot of crap, and a few gems, which is what got me into writing fanfic in the first place. I felt that I could do better than most and as well as the top 5%. I got on a few popular sites, had some great times with fanfic fans. Then I wanted to tell stories with similar but not exact characters. In fanfic those are called ubers: different names, different times.
I always credited the original author/company and posted on free sites. These tales were to be shared with fans, they were not for sale.
A few good fanfic writers do continue stories of popular series and characters. There are hundreds of StarTrek and Star Wars books NOT written by Gene Roddenberry (while he was alive) or by George Lucas, for two examples.
Often with known names who stop their series, the publishing companies will look for writers who can copy that style and continue the adventure of the character, the family, the sweeping saga of a nest of mice. :}
Ghost writer Andrew Neiderman is still doing Flowers In the Attic books. The original author, V.C. Andrews died in '86. Her name still goes on the books, a percentage goes to her heirs, and a bit goes to Mr. Neiderman.
All these 'well-known' books are formulaic and are based on a paradigm of any number of familiar tales that go back as far as stories themselves: Marduk vs Tiamat--god vs dragon, Gilgamesh--the flawed hero, Old Woman and Coyote the Trickster--from American Indian tales, Amaterasu--the Japanese goddess who brought light to the world, etc. The Cat in the Hat is the Trickster all over again :}
Romeo and Juliet is based on a Greek tale from 1500 years before: Pyramis and Thisbe, off from that we have West Side Story.
Boiled down, everything is 'fan fiction' done by those who love what they read. If you are willing to put in the work: change the names, add new drama, put in a new setting, and write a good story, anything can happen.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Work In Progress--WIP, or Not, Aug. 10, '08
That novel or story feels as limp as an overcooked noodle. You can't always blame the muse. Sometimes it's the how of writing not the what.
Bumps and blocks come and then they DO GO! I had one for 20 months--nasty f**ker, but I kept thinking about my characters, I wrote notes to friends, I did other silly non-WIP stuff, and when I came back--they were there, waiting, ready to rock and roll.
There are times when it's more than BIC (Butt in Chair) and it's possible to identify souces of irritants that AREN'T RELATED (directly) to writing.
Surroundings: Does your writing area look inviting or would it be better off if a mudslide covered it, after a fire, a flood, and a tornado cleans up?
A comfortable chair that gives good support -- with or without arms is essential. So is a table at the right height, big enough to let you have 'props' to make you feel good about yourself: pix of family and pets, small statues of favorite things, rocks from special places, a bit of room off to the side for your tea and a brownie.
I've a mini-bookshelf with 5 dragon-themed knives and 1 sword, a bunch of tiny dragon figurines, 4 teddy bears (okay I'm wierd) rocks and shells from places we've been to: Dead, Red and Med seas, & Masada, a bunch of notebooks, my fav pens which I have to keep the cats from running off with.
Good lighting that focuses on the surface of your work space and doesn't glare, and no reflections of sunlight from a mirror to throw you off.
Your monitor top should be either level or higher than your line of sight. Otherwise your neck and sholders will hurt. Hardcover big old books will work in a pinch until you get something permanant to get that screen up.
NOTE: Makeshift 'raisers' can be unsteady if you don't have a big enough base--and sometimes even if you do. So secure your screen with something solid--baby bungee cords or those heavy leather bootlaces. You, the kids, the pets can knock the screen off and that would piss you off.
When was the last time you had your eyes checked? Seriously? I had trouble seeing the screen 2 years ago. I went from contacts to glasses, and the screen was bearable only if I sat a certain way. I realized I needed reading glasses too! Horrible bow to aging eyes but they stopped bothering me and the screen and I have a much better rapport.
If the mouse you're using alot makes that tendon running from your thumb down to your wrist hurt--look into the 3m mouse: http://store.ergocube.com/3mermous.html
Honest, again it keeps the wrist and hand in a natural position. We've one here that's been lasting 5 years now.
Clean the mouse! That little circle underneath where the ball is pops open and dust, hair, and entire Horton Hears a Who universes live there! A bit of glass cleaner on a cloth will help get the crud off. All that crap gets in the wheels too, a pair of tweezers here can be helpful. A new mousepad that isn't worn helps too.
Closed mice--battery-free like those at www.A4Tech.com -- I've one and I love it--has the mouse pad that plugs into the USB port. The pad is smooth and I clean it and the bottom of the mouse with a bit of glass cleaner every few weeks.
Hurts your wrists to type? RSI--Repetitive Strain Injuries are common to folks who do the same thing over and over, like us writing for hours. Inexpensive solutions: Take a 15 min break every hour, make some tea, water the plants, rub your wrists.
Buy an ergonomic keyboard! Most keys go |||||| .
Draw your hands up from your sides and they NATURALLY turn in like this: ////\\\\.
If you've a laptop that doesn't have an ergonomic keyboard, there are plastic platforms that raise the bottom a bit like so: / 30 degrees or thereabouts. I put two small metal angles like L's at the bottom of my wooden one so the laptop won't slide off. This also raises the screen to be easier on the neck.
I made one of wood scraps in 10 min with a few screws. Been doing good for me.
Don't EVER give up writing!
Bumps and blocks come and then they DO GO! I had one for 20 months--nasty f**ker, but I kept thinking about my characters, I wrote notes to friends, I did other silly non-WIP stuff, and when I came back--they were there, waiting, ready to rock and roll.
There are times when it's more than BIC (Butt in Chair) and it's possible to identify souces of irritants that AREN'T RELATED (directly) to writing.
Surroundings: Does your writing area look inviting or would it be better off if a mudslide covered it, after a fire, a flood, and a tornado cleans up?
A comfortable chair that gives good support -- with or without arms is essential. So is a table at the right height, big enough to let you have 'props' to make you feel good about yourself: pix of family and pets, small statues of favorite things, rocks from special places, a bit of room off to the side for your tea and a brownie.
I've a mini-bookshelf with 5 dragon-themed knives and 1 sword, a bunch of tiny dragon figurines, 4 teddy bears (okay I'm wierd) rocks and shells from places we've been to: Dead, Red and Med seas, & Masada, a bunch of notebooks, my fav pens which I have to keep the cats from running off with.
Good lighting that focuses on the surface of your work space and doesn't glare, and no reflections of sunlight from a mirror to throw you off.
Your monitor top should be either level or higher than your line of sight. Otherwise your neck and sholders will hurt. Hardcover big old books will work in a pinch until you get something permanant to get that screen up.
NOTE: Makeshift 'raisers' can be unsteady if you don't have a big enough base--and sometimes even if you do. So secure your screen with something solid--baby bungee cords or those heavy leather bootlaces. You, the kids, the pets can knock the screen off and that would piss you off.
When was the last time you had your eyes checked? Seriously? I had trouble seeing the screen 2 years ago. I went from contacts to glasses, and the screen was bearable only if I sat a certain way. I realized I needed reading glasses too! Horrible bow to aging eyes but they stopped bothering me and the screen and I have a much better rapport.
If the mouse you're using alot makes that tendon running from your thumb down to your wrist hurt--look into the 3m mouse: http://store.ergocube.com/3mermous.html
Honest, again it keeps the wrist and hand in a natural position. We've one here that's been lasting 5 years now.
Clean the mouse! That little circle underneath where the ball is pops open and dust, hair, and entire Horton Hears a Who universes live there! A bit of glass cleaner on a cloth will help get the crud off. All that crap gets in the wheels too, a pair of tweezers here can be helpful. A new mousepad that isn't worn helps too.
Closed mice--battery-free like those at www.A4Tech.com -- I've one and I love it--has the mouse pad that plugs into the USB port. The pad is smooth and I clean it and the bottom of the mouse with a bit of glass cleaner every few weeks.
Hurts your wrists to type? RSI--Repetitive Strain Injuries are common to folks who do the same thing over and over, like us writing for hours. Inexpensive solutions: Take a 15 min break every hour, make some tea, water the plants, rub your wrists.
Buy an ergonomic keyboard! Most keys go |||||| .
Draw your hands up from your sides and they NATURALLY turn in like this: ////\\\\.
If you've a laptop that doesn't have an ergonomic keyboard, there are plastic platforms that raise the bottom a bit like so: / 30 degrees or thereabouts. I put two small metal angles like L's at the bottom of my wooden one so the laptop won't slide off. This also raises the screen to be easier on the neck.
I made one of wood scraps in 10 min with a few screws. Been doing good for me.
Don't EVER give up writing!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Winner Doesn't Take All--Pyrrhic Victories, July 29, '08
Does the main character have to save the world? No, she doesn't, just her part, and that's not always a positive thing.
In the 1st Ikarias novel, Ikarias has help ridding the world of an evil sorceress, but that's after the woman has done some serious damage.
In the 2nd book, Ikarias and friends undo a demon monarch but again there is loss--especially to Ikarias' lover.
In the 3rd of the series, Ikarias wins a war but loses her partner to the daughter of the demon monarch from the previous book.
In #4, so far--Ikarias searches with the sister of her partner-- which sister will die at the end. The partner will have undergone some horrific changes that are probably permanent.
In an early novella I did years ago, the main character sells more than her soul to get the bad guy, which she does. Then she finds out the cost at the end and she's left searching for that which she NEVER would have given up--had she known.
Having a dichotomy is good--it's real, no matter the genre. No one really wins 100% in anything without a secret or overt cost--or both.
The detective finds the serial killer but that is AFTER the body count is way too high. The scientist finds the cure for X, but again, X has killed so many while the scientist was researching, experimenting, etc. that it's a often a pyrrhic victory.
That little term relates to Pyrrhus, a second cousin of Alexander the Great. Pyrrhus fought Rome as Rome was growing mightier with each passing day. He won, but often with staggering losses.
You may have unplugged the fan but the sh*t still hits it :}
In the 1st Ikarias novel, Ikarias has help ridding the world of an evil sorceress, but that's after the woman has done some serious damage.
In the 2nd book, Ikarias and friends undo a demon monarch but again there is loss--especially to Ikarias' lover.
In the 3rd of the series, Ikarias wins a war but loses her partner to the daughter of the demon monarch from the previous book.
In #4, so far--Ikarias searches with the sister of her partner-- which sister will die at the end. The partner will have undergone some horrific changes that are probably permanent.
In an early novella I did years ago, the main character sells more than her soul to get the bad guy, which she does. Then she finds out the cost at the end and she's left searching for that which she NEVER would have given up--had she known.
Having a dichotomy is good--it's real, no matter the genre. No one really wins 100% in anything without a secret or overt cost--or both.
The detective finds the serial killer but that is AFTER the body count is way too high. The scientist finds the cure for X, but again, X has killed so many while the scientist was researching, experimenting, etc. that it's a often a pyrrhic victory.
That little term relates to Pyrrhus, a second cousin of Alexander the Great. Pyrrhus fought Rome as Rome was growing mightier with each passing day. He won, but often with staggering losses.
You may have unplugged the fan but the sh*t still hits it :}
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Zinger Lines July 8, 2008
*Got the baby back. My Toshiba laptop had a furked up video/screen wire. Fixed that and I'm up and rolling. I'm also paranoid about saving stuff ASAP. Now back to writing stuff.*
There's a line here and there in novels and shorts that just bring the whole story home. Some folks call it an eyeball kick, I call it a zinger line. The tone can be wry, blase, terrifying, regretful, funny, bitter, any number of deliveries.
Examples come to mind:
Shakespeare's Othello-- Act 5 just before he kills Desdemona:
"Put out the light, then put out the light."
This is the whole play, the motive, the passion. Everything Othello is, is about loving too much, beyond the ability to reason, up to and including destroying what he loves most. The light of reason, the light of love, the light of any day he will live through will be utterly obliterated.
Mark Twain's short story, Eve's Diary--
Adam speaks at Eve's grave: "Wherever she was, there was Eden."
Again, that is all that mattered to Adam. Not losing Paradise and being chastized by God, or seeing the horror of one son killing the other, but that partner who stood by him, she was everything.
Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus:
Lucifer offers Dr. F. some of the most beautiful women in history, Helen of Troy shows up and he remarks: "The face that launched a thousand ships." Though the Dr. forgets that the destruction over 20 years left scars to the present day.
Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities:
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" can certainly apply today when we have amazing technology and horrific genocide.
Not all lines will resonate the same with everyone. Sometimes they're at the beginning of a work or scattered inside or at the end.
Some of my fav lines from my works:
--'the stars picked holes in the night'. I like because it's not describing friendly twinkling stars like sequins. It's not a romantic or meditative sky. It's pulling off scabs, or sticking pins into flies.
--'None of your business what I kept my third eye on.' Says the woman who's more than she seems. She watches, she acts only when she needs to being gentle and nurturing to a friend while allowing others to dispose of a danger in a messy manner.
--'I like to take care of my birthday suit. It's the only one I have.' Is a blatant falsehood, but no other character knows it. For the speaker it's an inside joke, one only the reader will get.
What are your zinger lines?
There's a line here and there in novels and shorts that just bring the whole story home. Some folks call it an eyeball kick, I call it a zinger line. The tone can be wry, blase, terrifying, regretful, funny, bitter, any number of deliveries.
Examples come to mind:
Shakespeare's Othello-- Act 5 just before he kills Desdemona:
"Put out the light, then put out the light."
This is the whole play, the motive, the passion. Everything Othello is, is about loving too much, beyond the ability to reason, up to and including destroying what he loves most. The light of reason, the light of love, the light of any day he will live through will be utterly obliterated.
Mark Twain's short story, Eve's Diary--
Adam speaks at Eve's grave: "Wherever she was, there was Eden."
Again, that is all that mattered to Adam. Not losing Paradise and being chastized by God, or seeing the horror of one son killing the other, but that partner who stood by him, she was everything.
Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus:
Lucifer offers Dr. F. some of the most beautiful women in history, Helen of Troy shows up and he remarks: "The face that launched a thousand ships." Though the Dr. forgets that the destruction over 20 years left scars to the present day.
Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities:
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" can certainly apply today when we have amazing technology and horrific genocide.
Not all lines will resonate the same with everyone. Sometimes they're at the beginning of a work or scattered inside or at the end.
Some of my fav lines from my works:
--'the stars picked holes in the night'. I like because it's not describing friendly twinkling stars like sequins. It's not a romantic or meditative sky. It's pulling off scabs, or sticking pins into flies.
--'None of your business what I kept my third eye on.' Says the woman who's more than she seems. She watches, she acts only when she needs to being gentle and nurturing to a friend while allowing others to dispose of a danger in a messy manner.
--'I like to take care of my birthday suit. It's the only one I have.' Is a blatant falsehood, but no other character knows it. For the speaker it's an inside joke, one only the reader will get.
What are your zinger lines?
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Save It Immediately Dammit! June 22, 2008
I'm slogging away on the 4 + year old emachine laptop since my 1 year old Toshiba laptop decided to give me a blank stare the other day. I'm pretty sure it's the video card since the bugger goes from black to dark grey as if it's trying to show but can't. Good news it pooped out 2 days before the warranty was up so I'm sort of saved.
This emachine is prone to over heating--which I find out AFTER I buy it--which is why I bought a new laptop. Everything has a weakness. One of mine is chocolate but that's another blog :}
SAVE what is typed immediately! Silly me, I worked on little stuff here and there thinking no problem and then I can't see a damned thing. I've 3 pages edited on a work for a friend, some flash fiction pieces, photos I haven't copied over--get the picture? No, me neither! ARGH!
I'm usually anal retentive about saving anything new I've done, added, etc, but I forgot, got lazy, didn't think it would happen to me, fill in the blank. *sniff*
There's oodles of places and gadgets to keep your sanity from being pulled out with your hair when something like this happens. Check out the list:
Email: I send my recent stuff to my gmail account, I can retrieve it and it's fairly safe. Gmail is free, over 7 gigs now, and will hold quite a lot. I think Yahoo and AOL are hefty too.
CD/DVD, R & RW: these are pretty cheap from 700 MB to 8 gig in bundles of 10-50 at about 10c each and with the rewrite if you wipe it you can reuse it. Copying over same-name files is simply drag and drop.
USB drive/memory stick/disk-on-key: whatever you call it it's that thumb-sized doohickey that can hold up to 12 gig or so at about 10-20$ per gig. I had the unfortunate experience of getting a bad SanDisk that had some damned virus that created numerous folders with 000000000 as the name, filled with 50+ more files of the same name. Deleting them didn't work, using antiviruses didn't work, it was a flaw in the hardware chip and not something that I could fix--or trust so now I have a Verbatim and an Apus.
External harddrive: 40 gig for about $80 here, (converting shekels to dollars), can be used with any computer, doesn't take up much room at 2" wide x 6" deep x 8" high.
I'm hoping the repair folks don't have to wipe my memory to fix my baby.
This emachine is prone to over heating--which I find out AFTER I buy it--which is why I bought a new laptop. Everything has a weakness. One of mine is chocolate but that's another blog :}
SAVE what is typed immediately! Silly me, I worked on little stuff here and there thinking no problem and then I can't see a damned thing. I've 3 pages edited on a work for a friend, some flash fiction pieces, photos I haven't copied over--get the picture? No, me neither! ARGH!
I'm usually anal retentive about saving anything new I've done, added, etc, but I forgot, got lazy, didn't think it would happen to me, fill in the blank. *sniff*
There's oodles of places and gadgets to keep your sanity from being pulled out with your hair when something like this happens. Check out the list:
Email: I send my recent stuff to my gmail account, I can retrieve it and it's fairly safe. Gmail is free, over 7 gigs now, and will hold quite a lot. I think Yahoo and AOL are hefty too.
CD/DVD, R & RW: these are pretty cheap from 700 MB to 8 gig in bundles of 10-50 at about 10c each and with the rewrite if you wipe it you can reuse it. Copying over same-name files is simply drag and drop.
USB drive/memory stick/disk-on-key: whatever you call it it's that thumb-sized doohickey that can hold up to 12 gig or so at about 10-20$ per gig. I had the unfortunate experience of getting a bad SanDisk that had some damned virus that created numerous folders with 000000000 as the name, filled with 50+ more files of the same name. Deleting them didn't work, using antiviruses didn't work, it was a flaw in the hardware chip and not something that I could fix--or trust so now I have a Verbatim and an Apus.
External harddrive: 40 gig for about $80 here, (converting shekels to dollars), can be used with any computer, doesn't take up much room at 2" wide x 6" deep x 8" high.
I'm hoping the repair folks don't have to wipe my memory to fix my baby.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Describe the Perfect...June 16 2008
Perfect what? Argh! First off, there's no such thing but we CAN describe something to the best of our knowledge or imagination!
Quick exercise to jump start the muse: food--last or current meal.
I'm having breakfast. I've mixed two packages of Instant Quaker Oats--and yes, they do have them here in Israel. One's peaches and cream, the other is blueberries and cream. Now I could wax on about the ingredients as a list and how food companies save money: they often use cheaper apples cut, colored, and flavored to substitute for other more expensive fruits, or I could just do taste as I know real blueberries and peaches:
The oatmeal is very warm, not hot enough to burn but to explode through the mouth with the alternating bumpy and smooth texture. The blueberries taste come in small bursts stronger than the peach that sneaks in with a subtle stubbornness. The oatmeal flakes are the quiet homogenous background, happy to soak up the brown sugar I added.
I'm drinking a pint of Lipton Yellow Label tea, based on orange & black peko tea leaves. I've added sweetened condensed milk for a creamier texture, and two sweetners. This I like almost scalding to feel each swallow drop down my throat into my stomach. The tea leaves have a flicker of sharpness in their scent. The thick milk spreads out to fill and change the color of the tea from sable to a pale sepia.
Almost done with the oatmeal. The heavier brown sugar has sunk to the bottom of the bowl making the last spoonfuls extra sweet. Does this do anything more than promise the next bowl will be just as enjoyable?
This is a comfort food breakfast.
Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Quick exercise to jump start the muse: food--last or current meal.
I'm having breakfast. I've mixed two packages of Instant Quaker Oats--and yes, they do have them here in Israel. One's peaches and cream, the other is blueberries and cream. Now I could wax on about the ingredients as a list and how food companies save money: they often use cheaper apples cut, colored, and flavored to substitute for other more expensive fruits, or I could just do taste as I know real blueberries and peaches:
The oatmeal is very warm, not hot enough to burn but to explode through the mouth with the alternating bumpy and smooth texture. The blueberries taste come in small bursts stronger than the peach that sneaks in with a subtle stubbornness. The oatmeal flakes are the quiet homogenous background, happy to soak up the brown sugar I added.
I'm drinking a pint of Lipton Yellow Label tea, based on orange & black peko tea leaves. I've added sweetened condensed milk for a creamier texture, and two sweetners. This I like almost scalding to feel each swallow drop down my throat into my stomach. The tea leaves have a flicker of sharpness in their scent. The thick milk spreads out to fill and change the color of the tea from sable to a pale sepia.
Almost done with the oatmeal. The heavier brown sugar has sunk to the bottom of the bowl making the last spoonfuls extra sweet. Does this do anything more than promise the next bowl will be just as enjoyable?
This is a comfort food breakfast.
Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Fear of Writing May 19 2008
Yeah, you think as writers we'd be well over that little phobia by now. Nah, it still sneaks in like a cramp from an okay looking piece of fruit that ended up being not quite ripe but we weren't going to waste it and toss it after one bite.
Natalie Goldberg is one of my inspirational writing mentors. I never met her. I have read a number of her books: Writing Down the Bones, Wild Mind, Thunder and Lightning, and Long Quiet Highway several times each. I do that to keep reminding myself that someone else has gone through this, I'm not alone.
Every word is a step. You walk a mile, 5280 feet gives 2112 steps, about 30 inches apart for my stride.
Teams play a football game on TV that lasts 3 hours, but up to that time they have practiced for hours every day 6 days a week for months.
You can run but it took months to learn to crawl, then to walk, and then to decide where to run, for how long, and to what purpose.
Why should writing be any different? Our works don't come full blown like Athena dressed and ready to kick ass--I wish! Words grow, they follow the sun and close up at night. Or they stay still during the day and spread out like night-blooming jasmine. They have a pace and depending on what you feed them--they will keep growing, in unexpected directions sometimes but that's okay too.
Don't be afraid. As Natalie Goldberg says, give yourself permission to write the worst crap in the world.
Even the words you don't use will lead to the ones you do. Call them fertilizer, call them maintenance activities, call them warm-ups for the finale, they aren't wasted.
Natalie Goldberg is one of my inspirational writing mentors. I never met her. I have read a number of her books: Writing Down the Bones, Wild Mind, Thunder and Lightning, and Long Quiet Highway several times each. I do that to keep reminding myself that someone else has gone through this, I'm not alone.
Every word is a step. You walk a mile, 5280 feet gives 2112 steps, about 30 inches apart for my stride.
Teams play a football game on TV that lasts 3 hours, but up to that time they have practiced for hours every day 6 days a week for months.
You can run but it took months to learn to crawl, then to walk, and then to decide where to run, for how long, and to what purpose.
Why should writing be any different? Our works don't come full blown like Athena dressed and ready to kick ass--I wish! Words grow, they follow the sun and close up at night. Or they stay still during the day and spread out like night-blooming jasmine. They have a pace and depending on what you feed them--they will keep growing, in unexpected directions sometimes but that's okay too.
Don't be afraid. As Natalie Goldberg says, give yourself permission to write the worst crap in the world.
Even the words you don't use will lead to the ones you do. Call them fertilizer, call them maintenance activities, call them warm-ups for the finale, they aren't wasted.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Stab the Bastard! May 10, 2008
Or to be a tad less flamboyant: Bad Guy--BG, hurts Main Character--MC, but how?
Okay, lets take it from the top:
1. stabbed with what:
knife, pencil, sword, ice pick, toasting fork, etc.
A thin blade--like a stiletto or rapier will leave a smaller wound though deep, a scimitar leaves a wide one, broken glass from a bottle can slice and dice like a scalpel.
Which era is the MC in, what type of weapon is the BG likely to use?
2. MC stabbed where:
A: clean area--chest with heart, lungs, liver
B: dirty area--stomach, intestines, bladder, kidneys--any perforations here and waste matter gets out for a secondary infection
C: head--face, eyes, cheeks, neck
D: limbs--clipping the femoral artery inside the thigh--as thick as your thumb, and you'll bleed out in 2-3 minutes.
How long does the fight last? Quick means a fast chest stab may hit a rib and deflect worse injury. Prolonged means the BG can strike multiple times and do serious damage.
How proficient is the BG? Is s/he a pro? Drunk? On drugs? In a rage?
What about the MC? Knows self-defense? Carries a weapon too? Knows of the impending attack? Is clueless?
How does the fight play out? Both standing, one stands and one sits, BG dives from a roof onto MC below, BG cuts from under the basement stairs across MC's Achilles' tendon?
What's the MC wearing--depends on personal taste, weather, social class, job, etc. A heavy coat can take longer to stab through. Add an inner pocket with something to deflect or slow a blade and your MC is lucky.
Size and shape of BG to MC matters as well: a small person attacking a larger one would have less force.
Unconsciousness can come from the impact of a fall after an assault, or a choke hold from behind while being stabbed. If the MC goes unconscious from a bleedout, survival isn't assured.
If the victim is not quite human--werebeast, alien, etc, the organs could regenerate faster or even be missing, in different places, etc.
Yes, miracles do happen, but keep it real or the reader will wish that all the characters kick off ASAP and quit wasting time.
Okay, lets take it from the top:
1. stabbed with what:
knife, pencil, sword, ice pick, toasting fork, etc.
A thin blade--like a stiletto or rapier will leave a smaller wound though deep, a scimitar leaves a wide one, broken glass from a bottle can slice and dice like a scalpel.
Which era is the MC in, what type of weapon is the BG likely to use?
2. MC stabbed where:
A: clean area--chest with heart, lungs, liver
B: dirty area--stomach, intestines, bladder, kidneys--any perforations here and waste matter gets out for a secondary infection
C: head--face, eyes, cheeks, neck
D: limbs--clipping the femoral artery inside the thigh--as thick as your thumb, and you'll bleed out in 2-3 minutes.
How long does the fight last? Quick means a fast chest stab may hit a rib and deflect worse injury. Prolonged means the BG can strike multiple times and do serious damage.
How proficient is the BG? Is s/he a pro? Drunk? On drugs? In a rage?
What about the MC? Knows self-defense? Carries a weapon too? Knows of the impending attack? Is clueless?
How does the fight play out? Both standing, one stands and one sits, BG dives from a roof onto MC below, BG cuts from under the basement stairs across MC's Achilles' tendon?
What's the MC wearing--depends on personal taste, weather, social class, job, etc. A heavy coat can take longer to stab through. Add an inner pocket with something to deflect or slow a blade and your MC is lucky.
Size and shape of BG to MC matters as well: a small person attacking a larger one would have less force.
Unconsciousness can come from the impact of a fall after an assault, or a choke hold from behind while being stabbed. If the MC goes unconscious from a bleedout, survival isn't assured.
If the victim is not quite human--werebeast, alien, etc, the organs could regenerate faster or even be missing, in different places, etc.
Yes, miracles do happen, but keep it real or the reader will wish that all the characters kick off ASAP and quit wasting time.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
The Power of Words Saturday, Nov. 24, 2007
I'm not talking abracadabra, but effective communication.
Free speech has been replaced by responsible speech: You don't yell 'FIRE' in a crowded place, nor should you call out a simple greeting to your friend John in the airport, 'HI JACK!'
Ripped from the headlines, as many crime/detective etc. shows and books claim, many unthinking (to be charitable) and deliberately cruel examples show up all the time.
How many times do perpetrators say to the victims or witnesses, 'Tell anyone and I'll kill them, then I'll come after you.' Messages of retribution are left in the guise of body parts or dead pets.
Talk shows are notorious for pitting neighbor vs. neighbor, or exploiting internecine family agnst for ratings. Murders have occurred, notably after the Jenny Jones show of a few years ago in which a man was brought on as the object of affection by a secret admirer--another man--to his shock. The reaction some time later came as a gunshot from the one loved to the one he had no interest in whatsoever. Recently, another revelation on a makeover show had the shamed and humiliated recipient killing herself.
A new Megan's law is trying to stop cyber-bullying but it doesn't work retroactively. In 2006, a 13 year old girl named Megan was on medication for manic-depression. She had a falling out with a girlfriend down the street whom she'd known for years. The mother of the friend went on line acting as a teen boy 'Josh', saying nice things for weeks then slamming Megan saying 'the world would be better off if she was dead.' Less than an hour after that text message, Megan had indeed killed herself. The world is not better off.
Is this woman who pretended to be Josh guilty of murder? Or merely an accessory? Deliberately causing emotional damage knowing the unstable nature of the recipient--is this a crime or an 'unfortunate series of events'. The communication was effective. The message was clear.
Words do indeed have power.
Free speech has been replaced by responsible speech: You don't yell 'FIRE' in a crowded place, nor should you call out a simple greeting to your friend John in the airport, 'HI JACK!'
Ripped from the headlines, as many crime/detective etc. shows and books claim, many unthinking (to be charitable) and deliberately cruel examples show up all the time.
How many times do perpetrators say to the victims or witnesses, 'Tell anyone and I'll kill them, then I'll come after you.' Messages of retribution are left in the guise of body parts or dead pets.
Talk shows are notorious for pitting neighbor vs. neighbor, or exploiting internecine family agnst for ratings. Murders have occurred, notably after the Jenny Jones show of a few years ago in which a man was brought on as the object of affection by a secret admirer--another man--to his shock. The reaction some time later came as a gunshot from the one loved to the one he had no interest in whatsoever. Recently, another revelation on a makeover show had the shamed and humiliated recipient killing herself.
A new Megan's law is trying to stop cyber-bullying but it doesn't work retroactively. In 2006, a 13 year old girl named Megan was on medication for manic-depression. She had a falling out with a girlfriend down the street whom she'd known for years. The mother of the friend went on line acting as a teen boy 'Josh', saying nice things for weeks then slamming Megan saying 'the world would be better off if she was dead.' Less than an hour after that text message, Megan had indeed killed herself. The world is not better off.
Is this woman who pretended to be Josh guilty of murder? Or merely an accessory? Deliberately causing emotional damage knowing the unstable nature of the recipient--is this a crime or an 'unfortunate series of events'. The communication was effective. The message was clear.
Words do indeed have power.
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