A Multitude of Impractical Ideas

Novel rewrite currently at 24.5k, plus woke up with a short story title in my head and had to get it down, along with about 450 words of a story start, while the morning coffee was brewing. 'Thon goals met. Way behind on Apex editing, but that's what Friday is for. Zombies still eating my brain. (They eat very slowly, it seems.)

Some edity thoughts before the write-a-thon check-in...

I was asked once about advice I would give to people who wanted to get into editing, and I mentioned that you really need to love editing for its own sake, love looking up grammar rules and continuing to learn everything you can because the rules do change, and that's part of the fun. What I forgot to mention is that you have to love learning, period. Other people have talked about scientific accuracy in SF and maintaining consistent logic within your own world. I won't get into those, but as an editor, I have to say that I learn something from each new book or story I edit, and part of that is because I need to go research little details to make make sure that the science and logic are there.

Today I learned that fish can and do roll their eyes (and why), along with several other tidbits; none of them are things you would normally think go along with SF and editing. I just ran across something in the manuscript that didn't seem quite right...so I looked it up (Internet <3 ). And learned something. Then I did it again. Things I never would have thought to look up on my own, because really, I don't think about fish eyes that often, or whether pomegranates can grow in a specific part of England, or what the exact lyrics are to "Who put the Bomp...." But because I needed to learn about these things, now I know. It makes me a font of useless knowledge*, but better that than a font of no knowledge, right? Useless knowledge makes me happy.

As for the write-a-thon check-in: today's writing went really well after two days of struggling to figure out where to go next. I've salvaged a lot more of the original text than I thought I would, so the novel's at about 20k right now (most of it old, with tweaks). But now I've gotten to the point where the new plot direction departs radically from the old, so although I'm sure there are a few character-driven scenes that will be reworked into the new version, next week I really don't expect to add more than about 7k words to that count, if that much. Still, mission accomplished as far as WaT goals are concerned, and the plot is slowly revealing itself. A good day.

--
*Sadly, it's not the kind of useless knowledge that makes me good at trivia games, so you DON'T want me on your team for Trivial Pursuit. Trust me...I've never ever won a game yet. The South Park Game, maybe. Or The Goth Game, sure (though I have to edit their questions because they are written so poorly...and some of the answers are dead wrong).

Oops...almost forgot today was Write-a-thon check-in day. So far, it's been...typical WaT week three. I always seem to have a week three crash. Funny, because I didn't at the CW workshop...though I did write a terrible play about a talking head of lettuce that liked to wax philosophical in a Jungian vein.

I decided to take Monday off this week instead of trying to flog my fried brain into gear, figuring I'd gotten some extra time in over the weekend and finished up short story #3's rough draft. That plus more-than-usual work stress* made me think an evening off was preferable to the alternative: headsplosion. And I did spend at least 15 minutes going over some notes for the novel, plus I put an old story in the mail to a new market. Goal not met, but day not wasted. I don't feel too bad about it; not enough to put in the effort of kicking myself in the head. :P

Yesterday and today were research and note-writing days, mostly, as I once again began trying to find the working plot for this novel. I ran across some really cool stuff in my research, though, and am getting very excited about the project once again. I am only two paragraphs into the physical writing of it, but in my book (pun intended), research and note-taking time count toward my write-a-thon goal, which is primarily to make the time for my work. So, 2 out of 3 days successful.

Many thanks to my wonderful Write-a-thon sponsors! I know money is tight for everyone, so you have my extra special thanks for supporting Clarion West, a cause that means a lot to me. 



<whine>
*Added work stress: When my boss uses prejudicial language in my presence, apparently my gut reaction is to speak to her like a wayward teenager, tossing back a semi-disdainful "Don't use that phrase!" that surprises both of us. This turn of events resulted in me being a) angry to the point of being shaky that she would not only use the term she used, but give me a completely blank look when I objected, and then continue right on with what she was saying; b) worried that perhaps that was not the best, most productive way to speak to the woman who signs my paycheck; and c) agitated again three hours later when, to her credit, she chose to apologize, an act that was weakened by excuses such as "well, it's just a common phrase."

Oh, and I had to prep to train a new intern who was scheduled to come in the next day, as well.

</whine>

I'm calling the week a success, though I can't actually say for sure that I put my hour in on Thursday because I forgot to look at the clock. I finished polishing up a story and sent it off that day, plus did a little more tweaking on the old novel chapter, so I'm assuming it was at least an hour and therefore a success.

Other hours verified and a little extra time put in over the past two days, but not as much as I'd hoped. The math story (well, it isn't really a math story, but there are math elements to it, as well as physics, chemistry, aliens that aren't really aliens, and me making a bit of mockery of the worst job I ever had) had its second half chopped off and rewritten, which is still a work in progress. I think it might fit the antho I was rewriting it for better this way, but I'm still not sure how it ends. It went from 7k down to 4k and is now back up around 6k, so will probably wind up settling out around 7.5 over the next day or two for this draft, then trimming back a bit in revisions. Also had a hint of an idea for a further potential short, but that's going to have to simmer on the back burner for a while.

Looks like I won't be starting right in on the novel this week, but hopefully by Friday I'll have the shorts finished up and be ready. I'll put in a little more work on the mathish story tonight (working title, which will likely change: Alien Spaces) once I finish up some other projects. And one of these days I'm going to fulfill a promise I made to a Clarion West littermate and write that story about a little girl picking posies for Grandma.

Grandma should probably be very afraid.

Speaking of afraid, I think it's time for me to sign off because there is a very creepy UPS ad that keeps staring at me from the sidebar of my screen--a cardboard man who occasionally swings his legs like he's waiting for something, and the caption says "We do more than shipping." Is it just me, or does that sound like a threat? And why is he sitting so protectively on that body-sized box? Don't get me wrong, I love the creep factor; I'm just thinking that was probably not the image they were going for.

So far this week hasn't been quite as productive as last, but I did get the chapters on the old novel tightened up (I may take another look at one of them, though, just to be sure) and it turns out that the short story I thought would need a lot of revision really only needs a rewrite on the end, so that's good.  The old story I was looking at rewriting for an anthology submission is giving me a bit of pause, though. I went through it tonight and made notes about what it needs, and I think it can be a good story, but probably not appropriate for that particular antho...which leads to the question(s), do I work on it anyway and let the editor decide? Do I start a new story for the antho and put this one off until later? Do I try to do both and still somehow finish up and get ready to dive back into noveldom next week? I really don't want to put off the novel...

In any case, goals met, hours logged, will put in some extra time over the weekend to finish up short projects and prep for the novel. Yeah, that probably means sticking with the revisions instead of starting something new. then again, maybe not. Do I hear any fans of semi-dystopic *math* fiction out there? 

On a more humorous note, many of you know that I am endlessly amused by the quirks of automated spellcheckers. Livejournal offers up an array of choices when "dystopic" boggles its bitty little brain: isotopic, deistic, diastolic, despotic...and *dustpan*. Man, I love that dustpan science fiction.

I'm actually sitting here smiling a little at my computer screen because week one of the WaT went so well. Despite a mid-week drain, I somehow (and I really don't know how) managed to get TWO short stories (now known as "shories," thanks to my inability to speak earlier today) through the first draft, then took one of them through two subsequent drafts and am now almost ready to wish it luck and send it out the door. I'll take one more look at it later this week, sometime when I have a fresh brain (mmm...fresh braaaaiiiins). But I think it's done, and I think it's pretty decent. The cats didn't run away when I read it aloud, so that must be a good sign, right?

The second "shory" is going to need a lot of revision, but the basic structure is there. I also got some great feedback on an older novel at the CW party (thanks, Kate!) so I'll be touching up a couple of chapters of that this week, plus reworking an old story to submit to an anthology, and maybe reworking the abovementioned draft if I have time. We'll see how those goals go. As long as I put in my hour per day, I won't kick myself if individual projects don't get done. (Okay, well, I might kick myself, but since I only wear shoes when I absolutely have to, chances are my sock-feet won't leave much of a mark.)

All of this is to build up to next week, during which I hope (plan?) to dig back into the novel that has been giving me so much trouble (the infamous Work In and Out and In and Out and In and Out of Progress). That will be my project for weeks 2-6 of the WaT, and beyond that until it is done. (Hmm...didn't I make that statement last year?) This year I've decided that post-WaT I'm going to spell out a new set of goals to carry me through August and September so I don't fall flat on my face with the writing again (I expect I can finish the first draft by mid-October). They'll probably be a bit less strict than my WaT goals (I'll probably take one day off per week, and allow for half-hour writing times on my longer work days) but still something that will keep me going and make me hold myself accountable.

The Clarion West kick-off party was a fantastic event, and I'm so glad I went. Catching up with old friends (and a littermate!) and meeting this year's class was definitely worth the drive. I'm sure I'll be seeing many of you again soon. :-)

Because I said I would.

Goal of an hour a day met each day this week, though yesterday was iffy and ended after midnight--but in my world it's still the same day until you sleep.

So far, one (very) rough draft of a story finished at about 4500 words (plus some additional research done to fill in a few blanks) and a new story started and sitting at a bit over 500 words. I'll probably split the rest of the week's time between refining the completed draft enough to bring to writers' group this weekend and putting in some time on the new story so I don't I lose momentum.

I'd be doing the happy dance for progress right now if unrelated circumstances hadn't left me drained. Many thanks to the WaT organizers for putting the event on each year--I know how much you all do, and it's much appreciated. 

The Clarion West Write-a-thon began today, and I dutifully did my hour of writing after a procrastinatory morning of making sure the cats were not neglected, then an afternoon of catching up on other work and heading to writers' group, where other cats received large helpings of un-neglect. Oh, and csinman 's story made me laugh so hard I could barely breathe (and I wasn't the only one).

My WaT hour (actually, closer to an hour and a half--hooray!) was spent on a short story I'm hoping to finish this week. It's at about 1700 words right now (not all of those are new), and I'm guessing it'll end up around 4500 all told. I'll be checking in on Wednesdays and Sundays to report progress.

Thank you, Clarion West, for holding this event each year. I definitely need the kick-start.

I haven't been editing all that much today -- in fact, it's been the most relaxing day I've had in months. Relaxing enough that I could take the charged-up laptop (hooray for the new and improved 8-cell battery!) out to the park and read it while enjoying a gorgeous Northwest day.

Some random thoughts that occurred while doing so:

• Even enjoyable scenery and beautiful weather do not make a bad story more readable.
• The only thing that could possibly improve the park is wifi access, but at least I was prepared with several downloaded stories to read. Perhaps it's best to keep the wifi out of the park.
• Dear writers - particularly male writers - please do not describe your female characters as having "perfect breasts." There are oh-so-many reasons for this, but all you have to remember is that it has been done about 13.9 billion times before, and it is tired, tired, tired. I'll not elaborate or it will become a rant.
• And speaking of rants...[steps up on soap box] The purpose of writing a story is to communicate that story with your readers. If something gets in the way of your reader understanding the story, you are shooting your poor defenseless story in its little literary feet. There are many common forms of this, including convoluted sentence structure, unintentionally non-linear storytelling (non-linear stories can work well when done deliberately and with skill; if not, they tell the reader "Oops! I forgot to say that earlier. Guess I'll just stick it in here at the end of the scene") and overuse of dialect. I know, I know, dialect can add something to character and setting. Mark Twain did it successfully; so did George Bernard Shaw. But when it goes so far as to make the narrative impenetrable to readers, see comment above about little literary feet. [soapbox breaks into bits, sending ranter crashing to the ground]
• Not writing related, but: Dear lady jogging barefoot: perhaps that was not your best idea ever.
• Still not writing related: Dear self: moving the picnic blanket to a new shady spot without first checking for anthills was probably not *your* best idea ever.
• Despite distractions of pretty trees, pretty lake, skittering ants, and the triathlon cheering section, when a good story comes along, I *read.* And keep reading. And want more. To those authors: thank you. To the other authors: keep working at it. Many of you are getting close.

 I'm in the midst of proofing Write-a-thon participant pages (http://clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/2009), so I thought I'd share a bit of that process with the world.

Step One: Caffeinate. 
This is the most important step of all; I don't recommend proofreading your own name without it...at least not if you're me.

Step Two: Word Work
Select a participant, and begin carefully going over their submitted text, handily uploaded to a web page by one of the hardworking CW volunteers

Step Three: Interruption
Remove one moderately-sized Siamese cat from keyboard

Step Four: Return to Word Work
Continue editing for consistency of style across all participant pages

Step Five: Guilt
Extract same moderately-sized Siamese cat from the space between self and laptop, despite two blue-blue eyes now level with mine, asking, "Don't you love me anymore?"

Step Six: Return to Word Work
Check website links on pages to make sure they go to actual websites

Step Seven: Snubbing
Look around to find two Siamese and one half-Siamese backside pointed in my direction

Rinse and repeat.

Hello, LJ-land,

It's been a while, hasn't it? Sadly, the lack of posting has decidedly not been due to burying myself under mounds of writing. Editing, yes, but writing, no. But it's that time of year again. WaT time of year?  Why yes, since you asked. It is.

For those of you who are wondering what kind of editor misspells "what" in her journal posts, here's what's WaT: http://clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/2009.

The Clarion West Writers Workshop is holding it's sixth annual write-a-thon to raise money for operations, scholarships, and is needed to keep the workshop running (such as new outfits for the verisimilitoad, no doubt). My personal WaT page is here: http://clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/DebTaber but if you're feeling iffy about clicking those wild links without more information, basically it tells you my writing goals - an hour a day, no excuses, no exceptions - and my sponsorship goal of three new sponsors this year.  I feel like the hour a day is kind of wimpy compared to previous years when I've done things like 7000 words per week or more, but I have to admit to myself that I just can't handle that pace this year. So, however briefly, I will write. Every day. Is that an excuse I see on the tip of your (my) tongue? Put it down. None of those allowed.

If you're able to donate money to the cause, I encourage you to do so. Clarion West is an amazing organization and I can say with certainty that my writing and editing careers would be far behind where they are now if not for CW. If you can't afford to click that PayPal button on my WaT page, don't worry. I always ask for non-monetary support as well. So for those of you choosing the latter, this is your job:

Harass me. Humiliate me. Poke me with a stick. Really (yes, you, San...I know you have the official poking stick somewhere). I'll post here twice a week (Wednesday and Sunday, generally) about whether or not I've met my goal for that portion of the week. If I don't report in, call me on it. Send me derisive emails. If I fail to meet my goal, say "Nyah nyah nyah!" in the comments on my blog posts. Say something mean. Tell me your dog could do better. Keep me honest. Keep me writing. Of course, you can say encouraging things too, if you like, but don't be afraid to show some teeth.

As for what I'm working on this year, that may shift around a bit. The infamous Work In and Out of Progress went all WOP on me again. It turns out I had plenty of plot bunnies...they were just not the *right* plot bunnies. In fact, I have now renamed the project The Novel That Has Repeatedly Kicked My Butt, which makes a lousy acronym, but is accurate enough. But I have more ideas that are percolating and growing on that one. It turns out I may not need plot bunnies at all, but rather plot alien life forms with unpronounceable names and an agenda about which I don't yet have a clue.

I also have a couple of anthologies I've been invited to submit to and another open call antho that's been tickling my brain...so it's time I get started. I invite you to join me along the way. Welcome to the WaT.

The bad news: I failed miserably at my writing goals over the past two weeks.

The good news: having lost the bet with myself, I now owe my writers' group chocolate. I have dark chocolate/mint and dark chocolate/ginger ready to share this afternoon. This also makes it perfect timing to celebrate the successes of two of the other people in the group (hooray, Chelsey {sorry for any misspelling} and Alma!) so as long as I get my own butt back in gear this week, I won't consider it a complete fail, just a minor detour.

 
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me!"
2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will post the answers to the questions (and the questions themselves) on your blog or journal.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5.When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Questions from anghara . With apologies for being so late to respond.

1. What do you like to do when it rains?

 Sleep. Eat. Read. Write. Edit. Let the cats chase me around the house. Chase said cats around said house. Jump in the occasional puddle.

In other words, everything I do when it doesn't rain (a good thing, given where I live). I just do it wearing warmer clothes and the hat that makes strange 80-year-old men walk up to me in the Fred Meyer parking lot to say "That's a very nice hat, young lady." I swear, it has happened three times now. At two different Fred Meyer stores.

Of course, my ideal day, rain or no, would involve a lazy morning, lots of writing, the obligatory cat chase, and some tasty Thai or Cajun food. The coffee goes without saying.

2. What's worse - a hutch that's overflowing with plot bunnies you don't have the first clue how to corral, or an empty hutch bereft of any plot bunnies at all?

The empty hutch is far worse. Sure, things get a little crazy with all those twitching noses and long ears getting tangled and tumbled about in the overcrowded scenario, but luring plot bunnies into a hutch takes more than just a few shreds of character and a hint of a world. Better to toss out the extras than have a literary rabbit stew sans rabbit.

3. If you had to pick yourself a totem animal (or if one were to pick you...) which animal do you think would manifest for you?

I actually had a few dreams when I was a teenager that convinced me my totem was a black horse, but honestly, I would have picked something more catlike. Leopard, lynx, puma, maybe a good old man-eating tiger. Or possibly a spider.

I think, however, that lately the coyotes are trying to claim me as one of their own. They've been challenging my car on the highways late at night. Yes, I know the warnings; they're tricksters all right. But I'll take it. Now how do I fit all these tricks up my sleeves?

4. What are the three sounds that most fill you with excitement and anticipation? (Hint: something like "a train whistle" implies that you like traveling...)

When trying to come up with three items for this list, I realized that smells are more likely to stir those things in me. But you asked for sounds, and I aim to please, so...

    i. Airport announcements. You know, the "This zone is for loading and unloading only. No stopping and waiting for passengers. Do not leave your car unattended. Violators will be ticketed and [vehicles] towed away." I remember the day the now-defunct Stapleton airport added that "vehicles." I was no longer able to laugh at the mental images of the violators being towed away. I grew up with this sound. Now, to me, it means either that I'm about to be off on an adventure or that I'm picking up a visitor from out of town. Either way, fun should ensue.

   ii. Wind. Sometimes it's annoying or downright frightening when it's sending tree branches crashing down, but the rustling of leaves and fir needles means that things are getting stirred up; change is coming. I like that.

  iii. The opening notes of certain pieces of music. They aren't all one genre--it runs the gamut from classical to my favorite Swedish heavy metal, but there are just certain chords, played a certain way, that make me sit up and take notice.

5. If you were to have what is known as an architectural folly - something weird and wonderful but of precious little practical use - added to your house, what would you pick?

You've made me realize what a practical person I am. Most of the things I'd want to add to my house are useful, not ornamental (at least to my mind). But even though they do have practical aspects, I'm going with clerestory windows. First of all, "clerestory" is just fun to say, especially for writers. Secondly, they add funky angles to your roof, and I love funky roof angles, even if it is a bit of a 70s thing. 1970s architecture is fine by me...just as long as the decor has been gutted.

Note to self (aka public admission of temporary klutziness and/or stupidity): If you're feeling like you need to take a break from the long hours in front of the computer, just take a break. Splashing oneself in the eye with a semi-caustic solution* will not free you from editing responsibilities or writing goals. It's just painful and annoying and makes you squint a lot more. More importantly, don't do it on the morning you also run out of coffee.

Not recommended.





*strong liquid soap with tea tree oil

The WiP (hooray, no longer WOP) is now at 42,000 words, which means that a) I'm on track so far with my 10k per week and b) I'm now at the word count where it crashed and burned and had to be utterly rewritten the last time. It's gotten to a point where it's a bit of a struggle, so my word count may drop a little bit next week between the slower going and the fact that I have a show to work on in addition to the daily grind. Still, I'm betting myself that I can make it.

What should I owe me if I win? Or if I lose?

Best typo line of the day: "She saw the writing catfish..."

It was supposed to be "writhing," but the idea of a writing catfish (sea kitten sticks, anyone?) may yet inspire me to work on a YA novel one of these days. Or at least a silly Shel Silversteinesque poem.

Hello, 2009, and welcome.

I don't like doing year-end or year-beginning posts, but realized I should probably follow up on that announcement of "MyNoWriMo" I made at the beginning of the month.

As far as getting 50,000 words written on the WOP...do you hear that raucous laughter? Divide that number by five, and you'll be about right. Still, I feel good about it. I realized a couple of the major flaws that were blocking me on the novel, scrapped most of the 42,000 words I had begun with, changed a male character to female, changed a roommate to a sister, added some Filipino/Indian comfort food, and I think I may have the beginnings of a novel. More importantly, I am writing again, which makes me far more pleasant as a human being. Oh, and the pet chinchilla survived the cut, but the winnebago, so far, has not. It may come in later. The five or so pages of coma, however is gone gone gone, and good riddance to it. Now I'm aiming for 10k a week until it's done, but I'm afraid editing, upcoming shows, and other things may get in the way.

The snow is mostly gone, and all of my pretty, dangerous icicles have melted away.  They dripped their lives out quietly, and no one was impaled, though I believe the cats were hoping that just one would strike the jays that taunt them from outside the window.

A thought for the new year: if you received some of that precious spending money for [insert holiday of choice here], consider buying an Apex book, either for yourself or a friend.  We have some promotions going on right now (such as free stories with pre-orders of the steampunkalicious Convent of the Pure and the surreally beautiful Open Your Eyes) but mostly, well, Apex is a small company that sustains itself through book sales, so this is just a reminder to buy from the little guys whenever you can, be it Apex or any other independent publisher.

Happy New Year to all!

anghara has far better photos of our snowstorm than I do, but here's a peek at mine:

I didn't do NaNoWriMo this year.  November was full of too many other things. But now I'm getting cranky from the lack of writing, and there is only one cure: park my butt in front of the computer (without hooking into the Internet) and write.  So while November may have been National Novel Writing Month, December is My Novel Writing Month.  Plot bunnies have been captured and housed in individual hutches (we all know what happens when you leave plot bunnies alone in a mixed group). Now it's time to groom them and feed them and see which ones qualify for the show.  I'm hoping that by the end of the year, I'll have 50,000 usable words on the Work Out of Progress. Wish me productivity.

In Apex news, don't forget that today is the final day of the raffle. You can win cool books and other things for a buck, and part of the funds raised will be donated to Dolly's Imagination Library, a literacy outreach program. If you're really brave, you can even win a full critique from me. I promise, the scars won't last forever.

Apex Publications Ramps up the Raffle to Replace Stolen and Damaged Books

 

November 16, 2008 - Yesterday, Apex Book Company received a shipment of hardcover copies of Michael A. Burstein's new collection "I Remember the Future." At least, the box was supposed to contain the book. What we actually received was a box full of...nothing. A second box contained 16 copies of the book, but they were damaged and unfit for sale. In total, the damaged and missing copies amount to 1/3 of the shipment. The boxes containing the other 2/3 of the shipment have not yet arrived, and we are not optimistic about their location or condition.

 

Since the Annual Apex Raffle is currently in progress, we are extending the raffle in order to raise additional funds for the replacement cost of the books. Originally scheduled to end on November 30, the raffle will now run through December 15, with the priority allotment of funds going to replace the damaged and missing books.

 

We understand that many of you reading this have already participated in the raffle, and we are grateful for your support. We ask that you assist us by passing the raffle link below along to anyone you think might be interested, or posting it on your blog or any forums you frequent that allow such items.

 

Here's the raffle link: http://www.apexbookcompany.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=7

 

There are plenty of items for readers, writers, and collectors of all that is dark and good. And don't forget, 'tis almost the season, and nothing says "Happy Holidays" like a gift that will scare the socks off your friends and family.

 

Remember, 10% of all proceeds will be donated to Dolly's Imagination Library, a community program to foster a love of reading among children. Don't worry, we'll wait until they're older before we start making them read Apex books.

I caught this meme from vylar_kaftan .

If you don't find it as amusing as I did, blame her.

Here it is: If you saw me riding in the back of a police car, what would you think I was there for?

Answer in the comments, then post to your own journal if you so choose.  Hey, I'm not going to force you...unless that's the reason I'm in the car.

I'll do a real post soon, I sort of almost maybe promise.