Writer Tamago

Bryon was talking to his mother last night. Turns out she'd had the flu for about 3 days. It was a weird flu. When you ate something, your stomach hurt, not with the usual nausea of flu, but you know, like if you'd eaten sour apples and were paying for that particular sin. There were chills. If you stayed away from food, you were mostly okay.

Yesterday I heard about this kind of flu on the radio. New flu, so if you got the flu shot, well, too bad. Flu's a mutating adapting viral machine.

And so, had trouble sleeping last night, again, just like Monday. Couldn't get brain to slow down after another busy work day. It was my plan today for my motif to be tired but martyred, go to work and stumble around.

Except I ate breakfast this morning, and I was hit by a wave of nausea and tummy soreness. Thinking I was open to the power of suggestion, I struggled on through about half a glass of milk and half a bowl of cereal before it became unbearable.

The good news, of course, is that there are periods were you feel pretty good. Just as long as you don't try to eat/drink anything to speak of.

So, I'll be home today, missing my 4th class with my students and getting behind at work. Yay. I hope that I can get this taken care of in one day, but it is what it is.

Catherine

Stepping in for a moment. My apologies to you, o faithful reader, for not supplying you with sufficiently writerly or geeky content. We're almost done with the second week of the new semester, so I have been constantly talking to students and instructors at work. It may surprise you that most of my Internet life is at work, and at home, I tend to write.

***

So, what have I been up to? I've had a few days of being an adult, hardcore. This morning I sacrificed my writing time to go see my fiscal adviser. Yes, money, distasteful. But I am trying to retire early, and I am trying to retire after only 22 years of full time employment, so I had to reorganize my portfolio, and set up a fund for donating extra money to the cause. Depending on how the monthly budget pans out, I may add EVEN MOAR extra money to the cause. It still looks like I'm going to need some income in my retirement, so let's hope it's writerly. However, I would be willing to do a faerie godmom gig at Disney if they want me. More to the point, I could teach adjunct at a community college if I had to.

***

Another hard core adult activity is getting my ribs re-checked. I'm leaving work a little early today to get my ribs scrutinized. As you know, about 3 months ago, the theory was that I cracked some cartilage in my ribs, and I should allow it to heal. I am trying to exercise very lightly, and I still get some pain. Right now, sitting here, I'm still getting some pain. It will probably turn out to be one of those old person things, and I have to live with it, which means I'll have to rethink my exercise, but I want to know that. I also keep getting these Charlie Horses occasionally on my right side at an inopportune moment, and I want to know what that's all about.

***

Being an adult isn't all responsibility and aches and pains. Bryon and I put down some money on our 25th anniversary trip last night. We had to bail on the France trip for a variety of reasons, so we are Disney Cruising to the Bahamas for 4 days, and then we are Disney Worlding for 4 days. Our good friends Aric and Kim will meet us at the park, so we get some quality time alone on the cruise, and a great time with good friends at the park. I'm looking forward to July!

Come to think of it, I'm looking forward to June too, what with Taos and all. And May, what with Wiscon and all. Hey, this adult thing isn't half bad.

***

So, off to the doctors. The next post will probably be a State of the Union thing. And a Hugo recommendation thing. I'm closing in on those stories.

A bientot.

Cath

Thanks to Paper Golem, I now have a story in a hardback book. Cucurbital 2 has been published as a hardback. That's kind of nifty. You should go buy the book, not so much for my story, but to see the interesting ways in which people combine watermelon, turtles, and sex workers into something viable.

***

I've been working hard on fiction, which is minimizing some of my commentary here. And now, the truth about why I write. The real honest, full on, maximum mileage truth.

When it works, it's better than crack.

***

Right now, ARvBSF is working. Oh yes, it's not a be-all-you-can-be draft. It's hardly ready for sending off. This is draft 2, where we pull out all the dead ends, and we make the structure work. Where we see what actually worked. Where we get to relive our favorite pieces of the draft. And when, if the draft is working, we fall into the imaginary landscape.

I can see the houses. I can feel the characters. I can live the risks.

***

I know. It's not fashionable to suggest that writing is other than hard work. That there is something at work greater than yourself. Maybe that's because there's so much baggage attached to the artistic side because hard working writer really wants to be recognized for hard work.

Look, it probably does all come from your self-conscious, which means you can still take credit, but if you can just put the old ego aside for awhile (and God forbid, the super ego), and you can ride the coaster, you get to live in the imaginary landscape.
And if I can share that with you, pull you into the imaginary landscape, make that character real for you, I feel like I've done my job.

My name is Catherine. I write because I like to pretend. I don't want to be in every story I write. But when I cry because Oliver Toddle can't see himself in a relationship with a mortal, or a girl has to decide whether she's going to be a fox or a girl, and I can feel those things, that's why I'm here.

***

This weekend--time to get all haggis-y for Robert Burns' birthday. Be there or be a sassenach!

Catherine

Holy squash pancakes, Batman! That was a harrowing day! I've been harrowed. When they say 100 percent snow and ice covered, they mean 100 percent snow and ice covered.

***

Yesterday we had teacher in-service and today was the first day of classes. I have two pretty full classes this semester: Fundamentals of Grammar and Elements of Writing. Expect much more homework. Eh, you guys won't notice.

***

I'm at a good place writing-wise. I can see the projects lining themselves up in front of me, waiting their turns. Each day, I work a little more on the first one, and a little more, until I have it where it needs to be, and then I put it back in the queue, and I move on to the next thing. The last year I've been winding many pieces of yarn into a big string, and now I can see the individual colors and follow that string through to the end.

I'm in the patience zone. Right now, my writerly brain isn't foucsed on the finish line. It's on the crafting every day, moving forward. And I don't mind. I don't mind that I'm not jackrabbiting ahead, finishing and sending something out.

Writing is now something I do with regular frequency. Like flossing. Or working out. As you move forward, you're writing. Enough days moving forward, and ta-da!, you have a book.

Tonight I'm snug at home, finally inside after a long, cold, busy day. Happy to be here. And the rest of this week, I have substantial writing time every day. That's awfully nice.

Stay warm out there. It's January.

Cath

Today has been a bit of a wrangle. I've subbed for the office front staff, since one of them is out ill today, and I've been answering the phone for me and the department. And I've been calling references, and troubleshooting in all other ways, so it's been INTENSE until this very moment. I thought a little break was in order.

Let me share some interesting bits of information that have come my way lately.

I debated linking to this, because frankly, this website is not a Jim Hines' sock puppet. (I'm not Jim Hines, and neither is my wife!) However, here's an interesting body image discussion as Jim Hines poses like several females on fantasy covers. I would say that this proves my reasoning why Jim should be nominated this year for best fan writer Hugo yet again, but it does not. It illustrates why Jim should be considered for fan writer next year.

***

Jay Lake links to this youtube video--Dear 16-year-old me, which is about melanoma. If you're like me, you may cry a little.

***

The Monster High Doll Site confirms Nefera and Operetta have been found in Minneapolis. Not long now, people, not long now! Oh yes, it's Freaky Fab 13 day, so here's a preview of the new Nick special "Why do Ghouls Fall in Love?" CG Monster High. Kind of groovy.

***

This is the crazy, delicious Harney and Sons cinnamon tea that has been tantalizing my taste buds and air freshening my office. Gotta love killing two birds...

***

And...gotta, gotta write tonight. I've been so busy at the day job that it's sort of sucked out my soul. I sit on the couch and drool. I *have* been reading Hugo stories, so I'm not a total bum, but since I finished the LA Access guide, and some of my other research materials, I haven't picked the pen back up. I know, I know, two days! Quelle crisis! But still.

***

Tomorrow, Madrigal Dinner at Iowa State, and some shopping at Coldwater Creek. Wouldn't mind some writing time either. I'm kind of grateful that classes start next week, and I can get back to my day writing.

You guys have a great weekend.

Catherine

Today, I have mostly links.

The 50 Things Every Creative Should Know-- courtesy of Chia Evers

E.C. Meyers talks at length about his feelings at each stage of his book coming out. Sincere and earnest.

***

I have been reading A LOT of potential Hugo nominees. I begin to see where reading slush is a great education for writers. NOT that these stories are slush. These are the stories that have transcended slush, and have been published. There's a lot of good work in here. Some stories excel in world building, in unique situations, in humor, in experimentation.

But every, every story that I'm going to take forward has going for it this one thing: brilliant characterization and epiphany. (No surprise to those who know me.) And there are some amazing gems in the stack. Man, makes me want to write like that.

It's a real treat to get to read so many good works. I will share my faves with you soon.

Um...today we are actually having our first snow in Cedar Rapids. It's getting more and more intense throughout the day, with a wind that just won't quit. What this means is the worst of all worlds--stressful travel, a day of work punctuated with weather issues, and an elongated evening of physical labor as we struggle to remove snow. I have not missed the winter litany of boredom and frustration. Honest, it only takes a flake to put the specter of depression over my shoulder! Argh!

But perhaps those of you in warmer climes could send me pictures (or weather reports) of your glorious weather. And by glorious, I mean 40 degrees Fahrenheit or up. I'm not proud.

Okay. Work. Gotta work. Gotta work now, and be thankful my office doesn't have a window.

Catherine

Disclaimer: No, I'm not disappointed. I was in Europe last summer. This trip I like in some ways, maybe better.

***

Well, the husband and I visited a travel agent shortly before the holidays to talk about our anniversary trip. We are 25 years married in July, and we thought we would go to Disney Paris to see Phantom Manor. We are Haunted Mansion geeks. We haven't been to Euro Disney yet. It seemed like a great idea. We would run in for a 4 night 5 day extravaganza.

But no. There's an amazingly high fuel surplus on this summer's tickets. The stars are poorly aligned on traveling from the US to Paris and back in 5 days, because the costs increase astronomically if you don't stay over a Sunday. And if you do, there's all sorts of plane and train connections that are impossible to make for this short time frame.

I could make this work myself. My plan would be to book a flight to Britain, spend a little time there, and then book a Disney package from Britain. Still expensive, but I think it would get us to Disney. However, in order to get this trip to work smoothly, we're looking at a much higher cost and more time than we want to spend in Paris.

I know, you think. What an awful burden! However, what we wanted was a Disney Paris vacation, not a Paris vacation. And we could afford about a week in France.

The travel agent also pointed out how much cheaper this whole excursion would be if we went, say, now, or in October. It occurred to us that this might be a pilgrimage to make when we retire. We would probably save some money. And we might also be more inclined to also do Paris as well as Disney Paris.

The contingency plan? There's always been a contingency plan.

(more...)

This is certainly not advice from me. Rather, this is a brief review on the DVD How to Be a Pin-Up Model, which some friends bought me for Christmas.

Overall, the video is pretty good, especially if you are interested in re-creating the 40s. The sections on how to do make-up and hair are very instructive, and do well to re-create that Vargas look.

But the video is true to its name. About 1/3 of it is about how to take racy pin-up pictures, so if that's not your interest, you can quit that part. And to be objective, while the instructors of the video are full of good information, I had a hard time taking the names Bettina May and Go-go Betty seriously. Meant to give them credibility because of their association with burlesque, I just came for the make-up and hair, so I thought it was silly. I could also have done without the rockabilly tunes that repeated their names over and over.

So, summary? If you're doing the 40s, especially the big-eyed, apple-cheeked 40s, you'll get a lot out of this video. You'll also learn a lot if you want to take your own flattering pin-up photos. But if you're like me, you might find yourself giggling here and there.

Cath

It's about half an hour before I fold up shop. Today has been an interesting mix of student counseling, email, phone calls, and interviewing potential instructors. So, it's not like I didn't get anything done! But my goals for the day, sitting front and center on my desk, aren't exactly accomplished.

***

It's a good analogy for writing. Some days, you know that you've spent time on your writing, doing worthwhile things. Not cat waxing, but, you know, researching for the book, outlining, writing character sketches, reading the work aloud: all things you need to do that are part of the valuable writing process. All which seem to take more time than I usually plan for. And then, there's the valuable wait for getting feedback from your test readers, because hey, gotta show off my shiny new patience. More time.

And then a year goes by, and you wonder why your novel isn't finished.

***

With that in mind, then, I think about the writing year ahead. Let me give you two versions of what I'd like to get done.

(more...)