Once upon a time, I could hardly wait to open the pretty packages under the tree. I think that aptly described me and just about every other kid. Play Shake, Rattle, and Guess with each artfully wrapped gift stashed under the tree. Hope and pray that the cat or dog would be ‘bad’ and scratch a well-placed hole in the angelic wrapping. Pray that Santa would remember the REAL Barbie doll and clothes this year, and forgo the generic, discount store version.
Then, there was a period when I almost dreaded the ritual rending of the wrapping. Money was tight and I knew that wishes weren’t likely to be granted. In some way, I could appreciate my parents’ position, when I was younger. Maybe. Did we really not have the money, or did they just not ‘get it’? Even time may never tell.
Now, not only can I really ‘wait’ for the big moment, I cannot come up with any gift suggestions for myself. At least when I’m put on the spot. If I need something, I tend to get it. If I don’t obtain it for myself, it is probably because I decided I really did not need or want it after all Plenty of second-guessing myself. I am not helpful, come the Christmas fact-finding mission. Not only that, I have so much stuff, I am not enthusiastic about amassing any more.
I have noticed, though, that some members of the family are more astute regarding gifts than others. They are the ones who seem to know what makes the perfect gift, while others are clueless in spite of the years. Now, yesterday, one of the owls of observation blessed me with two early Christmas gifts. A voice recorder and voice-to-text software. I would probably never have purchased either of these for myself, but I am very flattered that said ‘owl’ has noticed that, some days, I struggle to type for extended periods, as well as my frequent complaints about forgetting what I was working on, for whatever reason.
Now, I need to get over my reluctance to ‘work out loud’.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Beating a Dead Horse
Did my message on excess (7 December) appear a tad excessive? As one of The Vultures might be inclined to exclaim “Irony.”
Message received, loud and clear. That horse aint’ going anywhere.
On a more personal note, I did not find it difficult to write in that excessive manner. I blame it on my high tolerance for the writing style of the 18th and 19th centuries. Convoluted. Multiple phrases within a single sentence. Meandering, at times.
I’m preparing for another hectic weekend. A graduation, followed by a large dinner hosted by Yours Truly, followed by a drive halfway across the state. Friends, family, fun. I am not stressing, either. It’s all planned, and in the works.
Have a wonderful weekend. I probably won’t be ‘here’ until Monday.
Message received, loud and clear. That horse aint’ going anywhere.
On a more personal note, I did not find it difficult to write in that excessive manner. I blame it on my high tolerance for the writing style of the 18th and 19th centuries. Convoluted. Multiple phrases within a single sentence. Meandering, at times.
I’m preparing for another hectic weekend. A graduation, followed by a large dinner hosted by Yours Truly, followed by a drive halfway across the state. Friends, family, fun. I am not stressing, either. It’s all planned, and in the works.
Have a wonderful weekend. I probably won’t be ‘here’ until Monday.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Need a Bit of Holiday Spirit?
My holiday has already gone on a bit too long. Owing to family spread across several states, we gather, catch as catch can. This year, the 'Silly Season' began the first week of November, and will continue into January. I WILL call a halt after New Year's, hwever. Enough is enough.
However, In the interest of keeping the holiday festive, I would like to share my father’s recipe for “Christmas Dressing With Popcorn”
3 cups bread crumbs
¼ tsp sage
3 stalks celery, diced
salt and pepper
1 cup water
2 eggs, hard boiled then chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 cup unpopped corn
Mix all ingredients together with hands. Stuff loosely into cavity of turkey. Tie or sew up cavity. Bake at 325 degrees F until done. You can tell it is done when the popcorn blows the arse off the turkey.
Delicious.
And in like spirit, a poem to accompany this fine dish.
The Turkey popped out of the oven
And rocketed into the air;
It knocked every plate off the table
And partly demolished a chair.
It ricocheted into a corner
and burst with a deafening boom,
Then splattered all over the kitchen,
completely obscuring the room.
It stuck to the walls and the windows,
It totally coated the floor,
There was turkey attached to the ceiling,
Where there had never been turkey before.
It blanketed every appliance,
It smeared every saucer and bowl;
There wasn’t a way I could stop it;
That turkey was out of control.
I scraped and I scraped with displeasure
And thought with chagrin as I mopped,
That I would never again stuff a turkey
With popcorn that hadn’t been popped.
(Apologies to the author, whoever you are. This was found on an advertising supplement, now lodged in my recipe box.)
However, In the interest of keeping the holiday festive, I would like to share my father’s recipe for “Christmas Dressing With Popcorn”
3 cups bread crumbs
¼ tsp sage
3 stalks celery, diced
salt and pepper
1 cup water
2 eggs, hard boiled then chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 cup unpopped corn
Mix all ingredients together with hands. Stuff loosely into cavity of turkey. Tie or sew up cavity. Bake at 325 degrees F until done. You can tell it is done when the popcorn blows the arse off the turkey.
Delicious.
And in like spirit, a poem to accompany this fine dish.
The Turkey Poem
The Turkey popped out of the oven
And rocketed into the air;
It knocked every plate off the table
And partly demolished a chair.
It ricocheted into a corner
and burst with a deafening boom,
Then splattered all over the kitchen,
completely obscuring the room.
It stuck to the walls and the windows,
It totally coated the floor,
There was turkey attached to the ceiling,
Where there had never been turkey before.
It blanketed every appliance,
It smeared every saucer and bowl;
There wasn’t a way I could stop it;
That turkey was out of control.
I scraped and I scraped with displeasure
And thought with chagrin as I mopped,
That I would never again stuff a turkey
With popcorn that hadn’t been popped.
(Apologies to the author, whoever you are. This was found on an advertising supplement, now lodged in my recipe box.)
I hope YOUR holiday feast isn't quite as 'explosive'.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
One Night of Steroid Overload
You read it correctly – Night. Those meds cause temporary insomnia. And hamburger cravings. Between those two factors, I have a lot of six of one, a half dozen of another proposition. Not in being able to fall asleep, or even staying asleep, but rather staying awake during the day, is my normal problem. Drowsiness costs me functional time. So, while I would rather sleep all night, I do not find these periodic weird-nighters onerous. I make hay while the moon shines. I use the quiet, less distraction time to catch-up on incomplete tasks, reading, or writing.
This morning, I cleaned out some of my email inbox. I read and deleted around 100 UNread emails, and probably twice that number of read but ‘still sitting there’ old emails. It’s not the whole of the over-flowing email box, but a good fifth of it. I’m pleased.
Now, in reference to the hamburger craving. Steroids create a ‘flavorful protein’ craving, which for me is beef. My favorite beef indulgence is a juicy hamburger. So, what’s for dinner tonight? Nope, not hamburgers. Beans and cornbread will have to suffice since I do not have time to fix a meal this evening. I can put the beans and seasonings in the slow cooker before I leave for the doc’s office, and when I return, I have dinner. Mix up the cornbread and pop it into the oven, toss up a crisp green salad, and I have dinner. I may make a quick pass through the drive-through before heading into the doctor tomorrow.
Now, a brief explanation for my unanticipated absence – again. I had to take advantage of the only available driver to finish my Christmas shopping. Add to that, the unexpected relapse of my medical situation, which precipitated the necessity of steroids, holiday housecleaning, as well a cleaning, and blogging just was not happening. I WILL be more regular. Promise.
This morning, I cleaned out some of my email inbox. I read and deleted around 100 UNread emails, and probably twice that number of read but ‘still sitting there’ old emails. It’s not the whole of the over-flowing email box, but a good fifth of it. I’m pleased.
Now, in reference to the hamburger craving. Steroids create a ‘flavorful protein’ craving, which for me is beef. My favorite beef indulgence is a juicy hamburger. So, what’s for dinner tonight? Nope, not hamburgers. Beans and cornbread will have to suffice since I do not have time to fix a meal this evening. I can put the beans and seasonings in the slow cooker before I leave for the doc’s office, and when I return, I have dinner. Mix up the cornbread and pop it into the oven, toss up a crisp green salad, and I have dinner. I may make a quick pass through the drive-through before heading into the doctor tomorrow.
Now, a brief explanation for my unanticipated absence – again. I had to take advantage of the only available driver to finish my Christmas shopping. Add to that, the unexpected relapse of my medical situation, which precipitated the necessity of steroids, holiday housecleaning, as well a cleaning, and blogging just was not happening. I WILL be more regular. Promise.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
A Reading Challenge
Writers must, of necessity, be readers, too. For many reasons. I will refrain, right now, from addressing that need right now, however. Today, I am sharing a new reading challenge.
Featured on the Writers and Readers of Distinctive Fiction social network site is the “Take the Journey 2010 Reading Challenge”. As the invitation to join this challenge says, it is not for the faint-hearted. I should think not, considering the first goal is to read 40 books by new authors. I assume that means never-read-before by me authors. Right there, that means more than three books a month. It’s an obtainable goal, provided I stick to it. I am also certain that I have most of the required number of books in my To-Be-Read stack. However, many of those books are not quick or light reads. Some of them are philosophy and poetry. I might need to revise my list before I even begin, and I most assuredly need to hide the pens and highlighters. Annotations are not part of the program.
The second goal is a shade lighter. Read 20 books by favorite authors. Repeat business, so to speak. The other side of that coin is that it brings the over-all required number of books up to 60. Hmmm. That comes to more than one book a week. I do not see much time for laziness here.
The third goal calls for reading three new genres. This one leaves me scratching my head. What genres have I not already read? I am a printed material junkie. I read the miniscule print on the tissue paper inserts in medicine boxes. I read the backs, sides, and bottoms of product packaging. I read magazines, including the legal stuff in tiny print under the table of contents. So, what have I not read? Graphic novels? Read several. Memoires? More than a few. Archaic plays? Certainly. Pornography? Blushingly, one or two.
No matter how I look at it, I think I may have trouble finding three new genres. I am open to suggestions, with only two requirements – easily obtainable and inexpensive.
I would also like to invite you to join me and many other readers for this reading challenge. It should be an interesting year. Check it out here.
Featured on the Writers and Readers of Distinctive Fiction social network site is the “Take the Journey 2010 Reading Challenge”. As the invitation to join this challenge says, it is not for the faint-hearted. I should think not, considering the first goal is to read 40 books by new authors. I assume that means never-read-before by me authors. Right there, that means more than three books a month. It’s an obtainable goal, provided I stick to it. I am also certain that I have most of the required number of books in my To-Be-Read stack. However, many of those books are not quick or light reads. Some of them are philosophy and poetry. I might need to revise my list before I even begin, and I most assuredly need to hide the pens and highlighters. Annotations are not part of the program.
The second goal is a shade lighter. Read 20 books by favorite authors. Repeat business, so to speak. The other side of that coin is that it brings the over-all required number of books up to 60. Hmmm. That comes to more than one book a week. I do not see much time for laziness here.
The third goal calls for reading three new genres. This one leaves me scratching my head. What genres have I not already read? I am a printed material junkie. I read the miniscule print on the tissue paper inserts in medicine boxes. I read the backs, sides, and bottoms of product packaging. I read magazines, including the legal stuff in tiny print under the table of contents. So, what have I not read? Graphic novels? Read several. Memoires? More than a few. Archaic plays? Certainly. Pornography? Blushingly, one or two.
No matter how I look at it, I think I may have trouble finding three new genres. I am open to suggestions, with only two requirements – easily obtainable and inexpensive.
I would also like to invite you to join me and many other readers for this reading challenge. It should be an interesting year. Check it out here.
Monday, December 07, 2009
Excessive Excess
As I mentioned a few days earlier, I constantly combat clutter. Too much too much. A surfeit of stuff. Gluttony of a cerebral variety methinks.
However, I’m not discussing my penchant for pack-rattery today. Well, not precisely my tendency but rather that of many writers of my ken. (I am getting over my own addiction, I hope.)
‘Tis easy to be dazzled by the ‘next’ big class/workshop/book/system/program that promises to make our writing better, easier, or whatever addresses our current ‘failing.’ We expend time, money, and energy of these products, fully expecting some sort of miracle. We naively justify them thusly: If I use this method, I will surely succeed at least as well as the originator or author.
Well, after consideration and observation, my dear audience, the best, least expensive, and most effective addition to your collection of writing tools is the attitude of perseverance. Butt in chair, fingers on keys. Writing. Letter by letter, word by word, page after page after page.
Continuing education is necessary for any career, but it should not preclude actually working. Fertilizer does not show immediate benefit, nor does it work on its own. Lawns still require water and mowing to look good, as well as a generous dose of grunt and tug in the form of weed pulling. Vitamins aren’t miracle pills; they’re only support mechanisms. Exercise, a healthy diet, and sleep go much further toward maintaining one’s body. In similar manner, a judicious choice of books, workshops, or programs can boost a writer’s productivity, style, content, or any number of aspects of the writing life, but only if they are an adjunct to actually working.
To get this overwrought balloon back to earth, I have noted that, within certain on-line circles, the primary topic of conversation appears to revolve around how each writer tries out first this program, then that book, followed by yet another class. Sometimes, three or four a month. Quotes from well-known or respected agents or authors provide the thought of the moment, followed by a plea to check out the newest or latest or even the old chestnut languishing in cyber-space. Enough ‘how to’s’ to instruct a dozen dozen warrens of rabbits. Tricks for creating fictional people, places, and plots. Excessive excess.
With all of these extras, when do they have time to write? If you want to be a writer, put the pen to the paper and produce.
However, I’m not discussing my penchant for pack-rattery today. Well, not precisely my tendency but rather that of many writers of my ken. (I am getting over my own addiction, I hope.)
‘Tis easy to be dazzled by the ‘next’ big class/workshop/book/system/program that promises to make our writing better, easier, or whatever addresses our current ‘failing.’ We expend time, money, and energy of these products, fully expecting some sort of miracle. We naively justify them thusly: If I use this method, I will surely succeed at least as well as the originator or author.
Well, after consideration and observation, my dear audience, the best, least expensive, and most effective addition to your collection of writing tools is the attitude of perseverance. Butt in chair, fingers on keys. Writing. Letter by letter, word by word, page after page after page.
Continuing education is necessary for any career, but it should not preclude actually working. Fertilizer does not show immediate benefit, nor does it work on its own. Lawns still require water and mowing to look good, as well as a generous dose of grunt and tug in the form of weed pulling. Vitamins aren’t miracle pills; they’re only support mechanisms. Exercise, a healthy diet, and sleep go much further toward maintaining one’s body. In similar manner, a judicious choice of books, workshops, or programs can boost a writer’s productivity, style, content, or any number of aspects of the writing life, but only if they are an adjunct to actually working.
To get this overwrought balloon back to earth, I have noted that, within certain on-line circles, the primary topic of conversation appears to revolve around how each writer tries out first this program, then that book, followed by yet another class. Sometimes, three or four a month. Quotes from well-known or respected agents or authors provide the thought of the moment, followed by a plea to check out the newest or latest or even the old chestnut languishing in cyber-space. Enough ‘how to’s’ to instruct a dozen dozen warrens of rabbits. Tricks for creating fictional people, places, and plots. Excessive excess.
With all of these extras, when do they have time to write? If you want to be a writer, put the pen to the paper and produce.
Friday, December 04, 2009
The Great Weed Whack
It had to happen. Every project that lasts longer than a few hours requires some sort of step back and look at the big picture. Here’s mine, covering the progress on The Weed.
Over the summer, I met with another writer who made some excellent suggestions toward getting my 250+K weedy-WIP under control. Her first suggestion was to prune the four POVs to two. We cut the female POV and the ‘real’ historical POV character. Now, I have the interactions between two brothers, friends and rivals in all aspects of their lives. This yields much stronger plot possibilities and gives me a sharper focus. It also cut several thousand words.
Keeping with my writing partner’s suggestions, my next step was to map out my two characters’ plot lines and character arcs. I started working on that, but I have not completely finished that task. I add more to each man’s sheaf of notes as I learn more about him. She also suggested cutting every scene that was an info dump masquerading as a scene, and make notes on anything I saw that needed fixing. However, I wasn’t to fix anything.
At this point, I had reduced The Weed to 153+K words. In addition, discovered that what I had planned for the final section had never been written, save a few thousand words, two chapters. I found a few more pages when I cleared redundant notes from one of my notebooks, but the action leading up to the crisis, and then the crisis itself, are not there. I know why, and that’s another story for another time. Suffice to say that I was now ready to take the next step toward making this overgrown work into a work of art.
The next stop on my progress was to examine each scene for its overall effectiveness, its impact on the POV character, and several other aspects. Tighten and cut. Take the 600-ish pages down to less than 450 pages. I completed that project, and more. I took a lot more notes for the next revision, as well as collected more ideas for the last section.
Right now, I have apx. 112K words. That’s still more than I can reasonably allow myself, but I expect to lose more words as I edit and rewrite what I already have, as well as write those last scenes.
I have also started on my marketing package. Now isn’t that a scary thought?
Over the summer, I met with another writer who made some excellent suggestions toward getting my 250+K weedy-WIP under control. Her first suggestion was to prune the four POVs to two. We cut the female POV and the ‘real’ historical POV character. Now, I have the interactions between two brothers, friends and rivals in all aspects of their lives. This yields much stronger plot possibilities and gives me a sharper focus. It also cut several thousand words.
Keeping with my writing partner’s suggestions, my next step was to map out my two characters’ plot lines and character arcs. I started working on that, but I have not completely finished that task. I add more to each man’s sheaf of notes as I learn more about him. She also suggested cutting every scene that was an info dump masquerading as a scene, and make notes on anything I saw that needed fixing. However, I wasn’t to fix anything.
At this point, I had reduced The Weed to 153+K words. In addition, discovered that what I had planned for the final section had never been written, save a few thousand words, two chapters. I found a few more pages when I cleared redundant notes from one of my notebooks, but the action leading up to the crisis, and then the crisis itself, are not there. I know why, and that’s another story for another time. Suffice to say that I was now ready to take the next step toward making this overgrown work into a work of art.
The next stop on my progress was to examine each scene for its overall effectiveness, its impact on the POV character, and several other aspects. Tighten and cut. Take the 600-ish pages down to less than 450 pages. I completed that project, and more. I took a lot more notes for the next revision, as well as collected more ideas for the last section.
Right now, I have apx. 112K words. That’s still more than I can reasonably allow myself, but I expect to lose more words as I edit and rewrite what I already have, as well as write those last scenes.
I have also started on my marketing package. Now isn’t that a scary thought?
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