Writer Tamago

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.

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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...)

And of course, as college starts next week, it's crazy days, so you aren't getting a real entry today. You're getting a re-link to the time I was deep in the heart of Finland, talking about Kung Fu Panda 2.

In case you're wondering, it comes in at 91 minutes, just qualifying it for the long form.

***

And not wanting to be too recursive, but here's a link to Jim Hines' link back to my journal entry nominating him for the Fan Writer Hugo from last week. Oy, I'm dizzy.

But really, vote for him. I mean, the entry discussing the Hugos alone is worth it.

***

All right. Expect no more Hugo posts for a short bit, as I wade hip deep through Hugo material.

Catherine

Westridge School (private girls school)

Field Hockey
Field Hockey Moves
Positions in Field Hockey
Equipment in Field Hockey

I would have had to nominate it, just because then I could write, you know, Hugo for the Hugo.

As I peruse the other Hugo categories, I see that I probably need to nominate three movies from last year, and this is to suggest that you might consider Hugo as well in your nominations.

Hugo, based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, might not seem like a fantastic film at first glance. A little boy, orphaned and abandoned by family, hides out in a train station fixing the clocks and avoiding being sent to an orphanage. However, the automaton his father the clock maker left to him has mysterious overtones that lead Hugo to the world of the fantastic, both in emotion and in the film industry. It's a beautiful story of love and redemption, and the power that fantasy can have in the life of the creator, which is a topic skillfully explored in this film.

Martin Scorsese directs John Logan's screenplay. See the film for the history, the fantastic sets, and the story of redemption which happens on several levels.

Lest this is a bit too high brow for the Hugo, I can assure you that I'll be talking about Kung Fu Panda 2 next time around. Bear with me.

Catherine

These links are here for me during the second draft. With many thanks to Chia Evers and Dan Novy.

Roller Skating: Moonlight Rollerway

Ice Skating: Pickwick Ice

Burgers and Ice Cream:

Cole's
Clifton's
Phillip's
Bob's Big Boy
Paty's
Phillippe's
Johny Rocket's

Here are some other interesting blogs that you should check out for the fan writer Hugo. Remember, there are five spots for nominations. These are noted in no specific order of preference. I've included some newcomer blogs to mix it up with the old chestnuts.

Tobias Buckell: Buckell gets this year's guts move. He disabled his comments, because he felt they were affecting the quality of his work, and the sharpness and sincerity of his writing has picked up. Buckell comments on books, life, and science.

Jay Lake: Jay blogs about many things, but he's been remarkably blogging about his cancer since 2008. His writing is an authentic look into the mind, body, and spirit of a cancer fighter. Of course, he posts about social and political items, his writing life, and his family too. But damn, that's some brave writing.

John Scalzi: John has already won the fan writer Hugo once. John is paid to write about science fiction in columns. He posts a lot of pictures of his cats and the sun going down. He writes thoughtful posts about politics. One of my favorites this year was when he invited Republican readers to talk about this year's slate of candidates. Even though John's work at Whatever has won a Hugo, it's still worth mentioning.

Chuck Wendig: The persona is cruder than the reality, methinks, but Chuck Wendig has been amusing folks with his penmonkey portrayal of his writing and his personal life. Wendig is best known for his writer lists, usually 25 ____ about writers doing ____. Still, the writing is funny, sometimes in a Three Stooges kind of way I shouldn't like. Hey, I guess I'm not proud.

Ferrett Steinmetz: Ferrett is a writer, and a good one, but I read Watchtower of Destruction for the geek factor. Recently Ferrett did a rewatch of Deep Space Nine, and he's also talking a lot about Skyrim these days. Be warned that Ferrett also talks about alternative lifestyles like polygamous relationships and FetLife. Just so you're prepared if you go over there.

Amy Sundberg: Practical Free Spirit is an optimistic look at writing life from a neo-pro writer. Amy thinks about thorny issues in interesting ways. These include life issues as well as writing issues. I find her voice refreshing, and I am inspired every time I visit.

Sean Craven: Renaissance Oaf is a picture of one man versus creativity. Sean struggles with his art and the resultant mental imbalances in his temperament, and produces a frank portrayal of a struggle with mental health as he grows, both in terms of art and being involved in a community. It's fascinating stuff, if a little arcane on occasion.

Miranda Suri: At Comedy or Tragedy, Miranda Suri focuses on her writing life. We get a little bit about her life as a professor too, but I really like reading Miranda because she gets me think about larger writing issues. It makes me feel like I have to make my blog smarter. And there's cooking, book reviews, and interesting links. We are also treated to pictures of Mr. Ramses, the site's official overseer mascot.

***

If you visit any of these fine writers today, take some time to appreciate the contribution they're making to the Internet. There's a lot of so-so stuff out there, and these writers are going above and beyond.

Catherine

Of course, there are up to five nominations for fan writer, and I will highlight a couple of the other blogs that I want to put forward, but I really want to spotlight Jim for a moment.

If you've been following Writer Tamago for any length of time, you know that I've read all Jim's books. I've been a fan of both of his series, albeit they are very different. He's brilliant when he's funny; he's poignant when he's serious. He's a very good writer. I'm really enjoying watching his career take off, and watching him get the attention he deserves.

And I really enjoyed having him out to Icon where he was a fun guest.

All that said, I don't want to talk about Jim's fiction today. I want you to pay attention to his other writing--mainly his blog, but some of the other work he's done in fandom as well.

I want you to go over there and look around. Jim's non-fiction has feet firmly in both worlds of humor and sincerity, sometimes masterfully tied together in the same articles. Let me give you some of my favorite links to get you started.

Jane C. Hines: Jim imagines what his life would be like if he were a female author instead of a male author.

Have Yourself a Slashy Little Christmas: Popularity-wise, most people prefer Baby Got Books, but I've always been more in favor of the classics myself.

Sexual Harrassment: Bystander Intervention: Because of Jim's background as a rape counselor, he's become a resource in the fan community for preventing harrassment. This post is pretty typical of his work in that area.

Not on his blog, but related is Jim's very good article on Writing about Rape at Apex.

Of course, Jim also keeps his fingers on the pulse of publishing. He has run the first book Friday series, is very open about his life as a working writer, and deals with topical writing issues.

At Jim's blog, there's lots of great posts on a wide variety of social issues. There's great discussion of the writing life. And there's just some fun stuff.

Of course, if none of that can pull you in, you can always go for the lego porn.

I am only a burgeoning neo-pro author with a small website, but if you like what you see, help get the word out. Jim deserves some sort of recognition for his fine work.

Catherine