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Back to Egyptian Mythology. If my narrative were a movie, this part would be a montage, because unlike Ra, these deities pretty much serve the function that they serve, and they exist mostly to get the major players of the stories into existence. Without further adieu:

Shu: God of Air, or the space of the universe. His is an important, if not glamorous job.

Tefnut: Goddess of Moisture. Again, an important, if not glamorous job, and one that probably meant more to the people of Egypt than to you.

Shu and Tefnut are brother and sister. In incestuous mythological tradition, they give birth to another set of siblings, also brother and sister, and also ultimately lovers.

Nut: Goddess of the Sky. Well, okay, technically Nut is the sky.

Geb: God of the Earth. Again, Geb is the actual soil you walk on.

Nut was cast above Neb to stop their continual public displays of affection, and these two are the parents of Isis, Nephthys, Osiris, and Set.

In the Klarion stories, Nut gets her due as the mother of all these gods and goddesses. Next up, just because we can, it’s Isis time.

Today we have an unexpected snow day. Yes, there was snow, so you may wonder why we are surprised. Many schools around us delayed for two hours, but both our schools just said no.

I can only think that it must have been worse in the city. Because out here things are kind of clean and melting off now. Karmically, that makes up for at least one of the days that they should have cancelled last year.

It is theoretical we could have another snow day Monday, as it looks like we are going to get some more Weather. I don’t want it, but it could happen.

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But, never one to look a gift horse in the proverbial kisser, it is my plan to write at a feverish pitch for the rest of the day. After all, we got up at 4:30 am, and Bryon did all the scooping, while I did the indoor morning stuff. We thought we were going to have to drive in, you see. When it became apparent we weren’t, we slept for a while, got up, and cleaned off the inch that had accumulated after the big snow removal. What I’m saying is that I don’t have a lot planned for the day, and there’s no reason not to sprint. After all, the comp essays can come with me in the car when we go to get our taxes done tomorrow. This? Not so much.

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And, with the kind assistance of Kirkwood, I will be attending Paradise Lost 3 in San Antonio April 11-14. Jay Lake was going to be there, and that was the icing on the cake.

Okay. Did I say I was writing?

Oy. I am so bad at this one.

In my office, thanks to my sweetheart’s Valentine’s Day present, I have a print of Pete McKee’s Goofy Takes a Break.

In my imagination, I always think of Goofy as the hardest working guy at Disney World. He’s everywhere, right? Warming up the crowd at Chef Mickey’s, greeting people before the parade, cheering up little kids.

Sure, Mickey is also everywhere, but he’s the star. I’m sure he gets paid substantially more coin than Goofy, and I’m sure that Goofy is sort of taken for granted. You know, Donald might be in the same boat, but he’s pretty vocal about what he should and shouldn’t get. Donald can look after himself. But Goofy? Well, since he loves his work so much anyway, they might take advantage of Goofy.

In this picture, we see Goofy taking one of those brief moments for himself. Just looking out the window with Goofy, whether he’s on a train or in a cafe, or even in the staff break room at Epcot, I feel this sense of longing. Like Goofy, I do a lot and I don’t stop myself often enough.

That’s the point of the second of the Blue Zone Power Nine I need to discuss–relaxing. Every long-lived pocket of our society take time out to relax, whether it’s prayer, or meditation, or taking a nap. Every day.

Myself, with the psychological baggage of defining myself by my accomplishments, and the cultural disadvantage of the Puritan work ethic, resist the relaxation part of the Power 9 with all the power my Type A self can muster.

And yet…that picture just makes me want to slow down and look at a window and be myself for its own sake. You know, maybe that picture shouldn’t be in my office. Maybe it should be in a meditation room at home. Or maybe I need to be studying it when I eat lunch. Food for thought (get it?)

So, definitely one I have to work on–finding time to relax each day. BTW, I do tai chi two days a week, so I’m not a total loser in this regard. There is definite room for improvement.

Cassie Alexander is the writer of the UF Night-Shifted series, and a very prolific author. Here, she’s kind enough to share her writing process with us.

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Tamago: Do you have a regular drafting process, or does your drafting process vary from book to book. Can you describe it to us generally, or at least for one project?

Cassie: You know, even after fourteen books, I do it all pretty much the same. It works for me, so why change? I write novels in one looooong word document. I title it Title1, Title2 as my revisions reach significant points where I make big changes and I get scared I’m screwing things up, but the version I’m working on all stays in the same .docx until I reach the end.

The very last thing I do is put chapter breaks in. I think this works for me because it forces me, as I write, to make sure that each scene is punchy — I don’t think, ‘oh, this is in the middle of a chapter so it doesn’t matter’. And that doesn’t allow me to do ‘here’s a time-killing word montage to get me from A-D’. I just get my characters there. And then when I do chapter breaks at the end, I find that they naturally go where the scenes end, or at the turning point in the scene, where the cliffhanger is happening, which I have a lot of because of the way the no-chapter-method forces me to write.

(The second to last thing I do is take out all my extra commas, which I won’t be doing here, since I’m writing this very late at night. ;))

Tamago: Which part of writing–drafting, revising, critique from others–do you enjoy the most? Why? The least? Why?

Cassie: I like the part where I actually know what’s going on and I’m just writing it. That’s the best. Revision — once I know what’s going on — is a close second. The knowing what is going on is key ;).

Getting edits, from my reader Daniel or my editor, is like being freezingly cold and stepping into or out of a too hot tub. Every other page feels grand, where they’ve said nice things, and lord do I love that they both do that, but the ones in between are like a horror movie, I can barely peek through my fingers at the page. It’s so important, and reallllly hard, to get into that zen, “This is what’s best for the book, and thus, it must be done,” state. I usually fake it until I get there for real, or until the edits are through.

Continue reading “The Writing Process and Cassie Alexander”

David couldn’t be reached for an interview, so I am leaving this spot for him.

I can tell you that David is an incredibly talented Australian entrepeneur, whose talents include not only writing, but also singing. David was our official social chair, and brought charm, urbanity and wit to our workshop.

David’s latest venture is adopting several young children. I wish him and his partner the best of luck with parenthood.

You all remember that we had our first Paradise Icon last year, right? Well, a lot of the success of that event is owed to the fine folks down in San Antonio who put on Paradise Lost, which was the first of the continuing ed opportunities for Viable Paradise and Taos Toolbox alums.

Paradise Lost this year features Mary Robinette Kowal, Lynn Thomas, and Stina Leicht as the lecturers, and it is a great opportunity to meet and critique with fellow writers. It combines the best of the writing retreat, the writing workshop, and a pro opportunity in a 3-day weekend, all for the low price of $299.99.

If that’s not enough to get you interested, let me share some more exciting news. Jay Lake is coming this year. Originally, Jay had anticipated that he would be undergoing chemo, but unexpected twists in his cancer journey now allow for him to be there, so you would be getting his sage wisdom as well.

Sean Kelley, the man who runs the workshop, tells me there’s room for five more writers. So, if you’re a writer who has a story all ready to go, and you can get yourself set up to go by February 25th, this might be the jump start you’re looking for. The hotel room rates are down this page, and you can see what a rocking town San Antonio is here.

Think about it. This year is a very rare opportunity. Four pro writers. Thirteen neo-pros. You should go.

Caveat: I don’t represent myself as a scholar in the area of Egyptian mythology. I’m merely a writer putting my graduate school research skills to good use.

The Egyptian gods are different than the pantheons of the Norse and Greek gods. Norse and Greek mythology tend to be about personalities and characters. Egyptian mythology has a tendency to be conceptual. This is one of the reasons that Egyptian gods morph easily into other aspects. Some also assume it captures their ability to change and meld into animal forms.

Another reason that Egyptian mythology lacks a through narrative is because it is hypothesized that the Egyptian stories are a blend of several regional theological structures. This seems feasible, given a variety of archaeological findings.

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Ra is considered to be one of the oldest Egyptian gods. In some versions of the creation myth, he is the boy that creates the universe. In other stories he is the direct descendant of the entity that does so. Ra is chief among the gods because of this. He is the ancestor of a core group of Egyptian gods called the Ennead, consisting of Shu and Tefnut, Geb and Nut, and Isis, Nepthys, Osiris and Set.

Besides creating the universe, Ra is considered the god of the sun (in both of his incarnations blended with other gods as Amun-Ra and Re-Horakhty). A couple of stories about Ra will be discussed in entries on Isis and Sekhmet.

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As I am working on the first Klarkon Book The Poison in thy Flesh, Ra will be the first familiar/demon that readers will encounter. His familiar incarnation will be a falcon. With that in mind, I have made an appointment to visit my college’s raptor center next Wednesday, and I will also be talking to members of the Iowa Falconer’s Association. Lots to learn.

A request for a full manuscript today makes me happy. I have had many requests for partials, but historically this is my first request for a full, as Hulk Hercules was not written when I received the contract for it. This is not a big deal to anyone but the Writer Tamago. But you know, experience joy as it comes and all that.

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You might remember from last week that as part of our wellness program at work, one of the ways we can earn points is to take the Blue Zone pledge and try to change our lifestyles to more healthy lifestyles. I thought that it might be interesting to reflect on some of the changes that are suggested by the Power 9, those 9 traits that are the same from those areas of longevity from all over the world. Because I don’t have to go in order, I thought I would start by talking about number 2, purpose.

Let me quote that sucker for you: The Okinawans call it “Ikigai” and the Nicoyans call it “plan de vida;” for both it translates to “why I wake up in the morning.” Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy

This seems to be a very important idea. I could quote all sorts of cliches about work being fun, or enjoying life, but I will spare you. In my own case, I find that teaching gives me a sense of giving back, so I wouldn’t want to give that up. I also find that I have to create, and art is an important part of life, whether I’m working on a fabric project, music, or writing. Creating makes me feel like I am closer to the divine.

Many people may not have a good sense of purpose. I am a lucky person–I have a job that I love and the ability to make art, so I feel like my life is aligned with my sense of purpose. How do you discover your purpose? If you can’t work in the zone that makes you feel purposeful, in what other ways do you find your purpose? What if nothing in your current life makes you happy?

A good place to start is the Blue Zone site. There are quizzes you can take, books you can read. These things can lead to other explorations. I’m not a trained counselor, but sometimes I wonder if we would find more purpose if we were less isolated, or less stressed. Or even drank more. And, coincidentally, all those things are more Power 9 strategies.

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Next time, I’ll skip the self-help groove. I promised you some research, and I think I will begin talking to you about Egyptian gods. Be there or be square (as in a pyramid base.)

While I was spending some time dizzy this weekend for tax purposes, I stole about half an hour to read a book called Steal Like an Artist. The book is an fast read and lays out several ideas for the creative in a whimsical way, with lots of little drawings and goofy pictures to back up author Austin Kleon‘s points. Thanks to Dana for lending it to me after dinner on Saturday. It was exactly what I needed.

I would recommend this book as a quick refresher for artists of all sorts. It’s easy to get lost in the world of shoulds in art. For example, I quit making costumes to write. This book would advise me not to do that. It assumes that since I have a couple of passions, I need the other art as well to be whole. The connection between the two kinds of art? Me.

Another snippet I found very interesting was an idea that I played with a couple of years back: enjoy your obscurity. You will never get this freedom back when you are less obscure. Makes sense to me.

Kleon’s focus on the idea of doing art, steadily and well, is worth remembering. The art itself, the learning of the craft and the success of the work, that should be the focus. Get used to no. Focus on making the work and believe that it takes a long time for the work to be good enough (like maybe 10,000 hours? 🙂 ). That’s where your head should be.

All of these are good things to remember. There’s more. You should read the book.

Fighting the medical hydra: go in for one appointment, come out with 4 more! Yesterday, I had an appointment to check on my ringworm (going into month 5.) While it looks improved, I am now off to a dermatologist because it is long lived. While at the doc’s we talked about my motion sickness, and we’re sure my inner ear trouble from ’07 is staging a comeback, so I’m off to ENT. And, because I haven’t been eating much these last days, it’s back to the tummy doc for me, because of the resultant troubles. After all 3 of these appointments with specialists, I’m back to Dr. Banks.

In addition, yesterday I had my annual eye check up, so new glasses soon and no weirdness there.

But these are all minor, annoying problems. I’m back at work with some anti-dizziness pills and some new tummy meds to bolster the old tummy meds. It’s all good.

These antics have left me little time for writing the last two days. I have shipped O-Taga-San back out, but that’s about the extent of my activities. I plan to write for a while this afternoon.

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At work, the wellness program abounds. Cedar Rapids has recently become a Blue Zones City. Go ahead and poke around on the Internet about Blue Zones. The original book, written by Dan Buettner, identifies 9 characteristics shared by centarians and long lived people around the world. The 9 might surprise you. Of course, I struggle with weight and health, but every time I see something like this, I wonder if we’re not doing it all wrong in this country. More on that another time.

The one that struck me the most, besides the nice one about drinking wine, is that a lot of these seem geared toward being happy and belonging. Bryon and I are going to try to have at least one social interaction with friends a weekend now. That means I’m gonna need to be an even better planner about my writing time.

And, I’ve got to go teach, but one of the things that struck me about the Power 9 is this: is writing a happy life? We spend a lot of time in negativity and alone. YET we value art and need it to survive. More reading I think is in order. Stay tuned for more meta.

Meanwhile, I leave you with these questions: Can the artist produce art in a community? In what ways is the artistic life happy and satisfying? In what ways can/should the artistic life be improved?

I look forward to your input.