I swear, if I hear "Yes we can!" one more time I may have to slap somebody with a hardhat. It's probably my own fault. It's like bitching about a smoker's cough. I'm a news junkie and I'm bitching about election coverage. I could turn off CNN, and God knows that lot leans so far to the left in their reporting bias that I'm not sure why I watch it besides to heckle, but the minute I turn off the newsfeed something happens.
Still, I'm wondering if Obama's going to want Dizzy and Lofty to be in his cabinet?
Can he fix it? No he can't!!!
I mean, seriously, the man's all bad breath and rainbows. I have yet to hear even one viable idea for actually fixing any of the problems in our country - and that's from any of the politicians doing the hootchie-koo on TV in hopes we'll stuff our ballot in their g-string. It's all catch phrases for the pundits and no substance at all.
The problem is, when you stop to think about it, would we even bother to listen to a candidate who slowed down long enough to say something worthwhile? I doubt it, and that's a sad thing right there.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
In Sickness and Sub-genres
I know, I haven't written in ages. I haven't written on the novels in just as long, so don't feel too neglected.
I went to the doctor on Wednesday. That was fun. *blink, blink* She thinks whatever this is could be a UTI, could be a kidney stone with an infection on top of it, or could be some mysterious other kidney-related disease in its early stages - she was looking at my CBC and saying my white blood cell count wasn't elevated, but if it was 'early enough' it wouldn't be. You ever notice how a doctor can look at normal lab results in a way that can scare the crap out of you? Mine can do that. Of course, she's also about as granola as they come with a medical license, so trying to get medication to deal with the pain from all this was like pulling teeth.
Other than that, I'm finally gearing up to write again. I'm my own worst enemy because I'll scrap a whole project if I lose momentum and have to go back and read what I wrote. I'll pronounce it all crap and toss it. I got my issue of Writer's Digest in the mail today and they actually devoted the big articles this time around to genre fiction instead of that crappy "literary" fiction they're seemingly forever on about. I'm sorry to the folks who either read or write literary fiction, but I'm not "into" symbology and that kind of crap enough to want to write something you need a guidebook to figure out. I tell stories, some people like them, that's enough for me. Sure, I'd like more people to like them, but you can't have everything all at once.
I was looking at the sub-genre definitions at http://www.writersdigest.com/genredefinitions.asp and even looking at the micro-genres it's hard to categorize my work. The two published romance novels ( In One Year's Time and Blackstone Gate in case you were wondering ) have bits of the Christian, Paranormal, and Romantic Suspense sub-genres.
Then I look at the two series I've got ongoing, in progress, perpetually simmering, whatever you want to call them. One's a space opera, plain and simple, except that parts are hard sci-fi, parts are cyberpunk, and all of it's fairly dystopian... Space opera stew? The other series is urban fantasy, science fantasy, and mystery put in the blender on frappe.
Ugh. So how do you even try to pitch that much of a mess? Do I narrow down the plot to fit in a specified sub-genre or do I ignore the borders of sub-genre fiction and do what I please? I hate author angst. It's Pre-Manuscript Syndrome, that's what it is. PMS. It's marked by bitchiness, bloating, and a complete inability to nail down the story. This is also why it's best to actually have the whole manuscript written before pitching it to agents or publishers. Thankfully, I'm so terrified of rejection I haven't put any queries out there prematurely.
I went to the doctor on Wednesday. That was fun. *blink, blink* She thinks whatever this is could be a UTI, could be a kidney stone with an infection on top of it, or could be some mysterious other kidney-related disease in its early stages - she was looking at my CBC and saying my white blood cell count wasn't elevated, but if it was 'early enough' it wouldn't be. You ever notice how a doctor can look at normal lab results in a way that can scare the crap out of you? Mine can do that. Of course, she's also about as granola as they come with a medical license, so trying to get medication to deal with the pain from all this was like pulling teeth.
Other than that, I'm finally gearing up to write again. I'm my own worst enemy because I'll scrap a whole project if I lose momentum and have to go back and read what I wrote. I'll pronounce it all crap and toss it. I got my issue of Writer's Digest in the mail today and they actually devoted the big articles this time around to genre fiction instead of that crappy "literary" fiction they're seemingly forever on about. I'm sorry to the folks who either read or write literary fiction, but I'm not "into" symbology and that kind of crap enough to want to write something you need a guidebook to figure out. I tell stories, some people like them, that's enough for me. Sure, I'd like more people to like them, but you can't have everything all at once.
I was looking at the sub-genre definitions at http://www.writersdigest.com/genredefinitions.asp and even looking at the micro-genres it's hard to categorize my work. The two published romance novels ( In One Year's Time and Blackstone Gate in case you were wondering ) have bits of the Christian, Paranormal, and Romantic Suspense sub-genres.
Then I look at the two series I've got ongoing, in progress, perpetually simmering, whatever you want to call them. One's a space opera, plain and simple, except that parts are hard sci-fi, parts are cyberpunk, and all of it's fairly dystopian... Space opera stew? The other series is urban fantasy, science fantasy, and mystery put in the blender on frappe.
Ugh. So how do you even try to pitch that much of a mess? Do I narrow down the plot to fit in a specified sub-genre or do I ignore the borders of sub-genre fiction and do what I please? I hate author angst. It's Pre-Manuscript Syndrome, that's what it is. PMS. It's marked by bitchiness, bloating, and a complete inability to nail down the story. This is also why it's best to actually have the whole manuscript written before pitching it to agents or publishers. Thankfully, I'm so terrified of rejection I haven't put any queries out there prematurely.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Here a blog, there a blog...
My friends Linda and Caryn have blogs. I don't know why I don't mention I have a blog when I'm talking to them. I suppose it's because when I actually take the time to write here I write about writing!
For some odd reason I don't think that my friends who are interested in sewing would be interested in my writer's angst. We share sewing and embellishment and even some crafts, but even writing 'light' novels is, in essence, opening a vein for me. Do I want the people I call my friends to know me that well? It's not that I don't have 'writing friends', it's more that I'm having a peas-and-mashed-potatoes moment; I'm not sure if I want people from one part of my life to interact with personality traits and thought processes that I've pigeonholed for another part of my life.
On the other hand, my friend Linda is a retired English teacher. Hm. Well, isn't that all kinds of revealing that I don't want an English teacher reading my writing? Am I having writing self-esteem issues, or do I have a fear of grammar failure? It can be hard to be e-mail friends with an English teacher if only because there's always the lurking suspicion that your friend is reading your e-mails and highlighting them in red! I'm fairly sure that she isn't, but it's still a niggling worry in the back of my mind. I confess, I have verb-tense insecurities.
I suppose the reason I keep my blog to myself is mostly that this group of women already know so much about who I am and are so much a part of my life. It can be hard to let go of your grasp on your life and allow even your closest friends to see every corner of the dark recesses of your mind. The closer a friend is the harder it seems to reveal the parts of yourself that they don't already know about, even if that part might seem trivial, something you'd readily admit a different set of more distant friends to 'see'.
Hm. Someday I'll probably let them see my blog. Not today, anyway.
For some odd reason I don't think that my friends who are interested in sewing would be interested in my writer's angst. We share sewing and embellishment and even some crafts, but even writing 'light' novels is, in essence, opening a vein for me. Do I want the people I call my friends to know me that well? It's not that I don't have 'writing friends', it's more that I'm having a peas-and-mashed-potatoes moment; I'm not sure if I want people from one part of my life to interact with personality traits and thought processes that I've pigeonholed for another part of my life.
On the other hand, my friend Linda is a retired English teacher. Hm. Well, isn't that all kinds of revealing that I don't want an English teacher reading my writing? Am I having writing self-esteem issues, or do I have a fear of grammar failure? It can be hard to be e-mail friends with an English teacher if only because there's always the lurking suspicion that your friend is reading your e-mails and highlighting them in red! I'm fairly sure that she isn't, but it's still a niggling worry in the back of my mind. I confess, I have verb-tense insecurities.
I suppose the reason I keep my blog to myself is mostly that this group of women already know so much about who I am and are so much a part of my life. It can be hard to let go of your grasp on your life and allow even your closest friends to see every corner of the dark recesses of your mind. The closer a friend is the harder it seems to reveal the parts of yourself that they don't already know about, even if that part might seem trivial, something you'd readily admit a different set of more distant friends to 'see'.
Hm. Someday I'll probably let them see my blog. Not today, anyway.
Saturday, December 9, 2006
Sewing machine
My sewing machine's tension decided to go nuts right in the middle of high production Christmas sewing. I'll have to either work upstairs or haul down the newer sewing machine to work down here to get anything else done, since I can't think of anything else to do to fix the old Viking. I can probably get Himself to fix the sewing machine at some point, but it's going to have to be on a day when he has some spare time. Sigh Have you ever noticed that time is only spare when you're so bored you can't think of a way to avoid doing boring things?
Right now I've cleaned out the bobbin area and tried to clean out the tension disks, but I'm still getting nests of upper thread here and there when I'm not sewing in a straight line or not sewing fast enough. It does fine in straight lines at full speed, but otherwise I'm having issues. Hmph. Maybe I can find a trouble-shooting guide online. Lord knows I can't find the manual for the machine. I shouldn't be surprised, we bought it in 1998 or so and we've moved in between, and I didn't use it but once or twice when I first got it anyway!
Wow. I really hate websites that take forever to load on a 56K modem. That's ridiculous. Hey, website designers, not everyone has broadband! Geesh. I mean, hello, just because your fresh-out-of-college-in-the-city self has had broadband for five years doesn't mean that people who don't live in the city have broadband. We can't even get broadband out here in the middle of nowhere in Vermont - yes, Vermont has places where you can get broadband, but we can't and we can't get cell phones either, and I'm sick of this expectation that technology is universal.
Fine. I hate websites that don't give you obvious options. I'm sorry, but when you're selling a fairly complicated piece of machinery you should have somewhere on your website where the owners of your machines can just ask for a manual! How difficult is that to remember as a priority? There's very little more frustrating to me than not being able to get a manual. It ranks above talking to customer service people with incomprehensible accents on my 'peeves' list. Not quite as irritating, perhaps, as endless voice-mail-go-round with options no one wants and no way to get to a human being, but not by much. I personally prefer to deal with customer service people as little as humanly possible. I could save myself and them a great deal of trouble if I could get the manual online without interaction of any sort, but that's not likely to happen.
Okay, I sound really cranky right now. I think it's because my sewing machine is really messed up and I had planned on sewing everything for Christmas because Himself's employer messed us up by delaying a bonus that had been owing since October yet another two weeks. So I'm feeling stressed that Christmas may stink for the kids if I can't fix the machine... Ugh. I hate Christmas stress.
Right now I've cleaned out the bobbin area and tried to clean out the tension disks, but I'm still getting nests of upper thread here and there when I'm not sewing in a straight line or not sewing fast enough. It does fine in straight lines at full speed, but otherwise I'm having issues. Hmph. Maybe I can find a trouble-shooting guide online. Lord knows I can't find the manual for the machine. I shouldn't be surprised, we bought it in 1998 or so and we've moved in between, and I didn't use it but once or twice when I first got it anyway!
Wow. I really hate websites that take forever to load on a 56K modem. That's ridiculous. Hey, website designers, not everyone has broadband! Geesh. I mean, hello, just because your fresh-out-of-college-in-the-city self has had broadband for five years doesn't mean that people who don't live in the city have broadband. We can't even get broadband out here in the middle of nowhere in Vermont - yes, Vermont has places where you can get broadband, but we can't and we can't get cell phones either, and I'm sick of this expectation that technology is universal.
Fine. I hate websites that don't give you obvious options. I'm sorry, but when you're selling a fairly complicated piece of machinery you should have somewhere on your website where the owners of your machines can just ask for a manual! How difficult is that to remember as a priority? There's very little more frustrating to me than not being able to get a manual. It ranks above talking to customer service people with incomprehensible accents on my 'peeves' list. Not quite as irritating, perhaps, as endless voice-mail-go-round with options no one wants and no way to get to a human being, but not by much. I personally prefer to deal with customer service people as little as humanly possible. I could save myself and them a great deal of trouble if I could get the manual online without interaction of any sort, but that's not likely to happen.
Okay, I sound really cranky right now. I think it's because my sewing machine is really messed up and I had planned on sewing everything for Christmas because Himself's employer messed us up by delaying a bonus that had been owing since October yet another two weeks. So I'm feeling stressed that Christmas may stink for the kids if I can't fix the machine... Ugh. I hate Christmas stress.
Monday, December 4, 2006
Wow...
Who knew I was so famous... I'm getting requests from authors I've never heard of to mention their newly published works in my blog. Since I haven't had a blog since one that died about two years ago, this came as a bit of a shock. Should I be flattered that someone thinks so highly of my opinion? Should I be insulted that someone thinks I'm such a twit that I wouldn't smell a rat? Hm. Gee, would I want someone too stupid to smell a scam endorsing my book and 'creating buzz'? Nope, can't say that I would. I may not have very many fans, but the ones I have are quite bright, thank you very much.
I haven't had time... Oh, who am I kidding? I have so had time, see, I'm writing right this second, so obviously I had time. No, I actually did do something on one of the novels today - plotting and some character studies is all, but it was more than I've done in a week or so. It's not that I'm being a "lazy writer" or anything, I usually tear through a first draft in a month or two. It's just that right now nothing seems to be working quite right in the writing. It's as if I can't string two sentences together and have them make sense.
I'm beginning to think that I'm going to have to set aside some time every day and do the whole "this is Mom's Job" thing and make Himself watch the kids and lock myself in my office with a note on the door telling my loved ones to leave me alone unless they're vomiting or bleeding heavily...
Speaking of interruptions, I think that this will be all I can write tonight, since my beloved children have elected to interrupt me no less than fourteen times in the course of these few paragraphs. And I wonder why I have trouble with coherence in writing!
I haven't had time... Oh, who am I kidding? I have so had time, see, I'm writing right this second, so obviously I had time. No, I actually did do something on one of the novels today - plotting and some character studies is all, but it was more than I've done in a week or so. It's not that I'm being a "lazy writer" or anything, I usually tear through a first draft in a month or two. It's just that right now nothing seems to be working quite right in the writing. It's as if I can't string two sentences together and have them make sense.
I'm beginning to think that I'm going to have to set aside some time every day and do the whole "this is Mom's Job" thing and make Himself watch the kids and lock myself in my office with a note on the door telling my loved ones to leave me alone unless they're vomiting or bleeding heavily...
Speaking of interruptions, I think that this will be all I can write tonight, since my beloved children have elected to interrupt me no less than fourteen times in the course of these few paragraphs. And I wonder why I have trouble with coherence in writing!
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