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 |  probably stuff i think is funny. or aggravating. or both. |
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| ah, yes. the autumnal equinox. i was going to dance under the harvest moon, but my goat leggings are in the wash. i've always been fascinated by wicca, ever since i was a kid and learned stevie nicks was a practitioner. i told myself i would keep track of her and see if she defied aging, because i overheard someone at a concert talking about her powers and i got that notion somehow, that she could suspend her own aging. i love magic, or the idea of it. i don't believe in casting spells, so much. but i can get behind directing our energies toward the positive, and respecting nature, and learning about natural healing. all good things. i'd never be comfortable running around moonclad, tho. i don't care if everyone else is doing it. i've begun reading 'the scourge of god', by sm stirling--another in his 'dies the fire' series. (i don't know the true name for the series, i just call it by the first title.) this one takes place 23 years after the Change, after the planet lost the ability to create electricity & ignite gunpowder through some mysterious event triggered somewhere in the northeast US. sounds contrived & silly, perhaps, but the story is just amazing, and i love reading about how people pull together (or not), and survive by their wits and courage. my favorite was the first, 'dies the fire', when all the shit hit the fan, but stirling's got some interesting ideas about the politics people play. the reason i mention his series is the strong thread of wicca religion throughout. one of the strongest groups that forms after the catastrophe is led by a wiccan, and people who follow her convert over the years, if they weren't already in. the books hint at a larger force directing events, an overlying good vs evil kinda vibe, and that's always fun. the leader, juniper, is a cool lady, if a bit prone to launching into corny wiccan folksongs. i wish i could believe in wicca, or any spiritual set of beliefs i felt i identified with on any level. unfortunately, i always get stuck on the believing part, and i just don't do that very well. nothing against folks who have faith in a supreme being. i'm just not there with you. the closest i can bring myself is to acknowledge the energy we create, and the effect that energy can have on people around us. i do feel we are all connected, but in more of a sense of sympatico than a supernatural link of some kind. |
| i like to listen to funky, groovy, get-down-and-rub-on-stuff music. this song has been making me shake my love muffin a LOT lately: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zmZVwR1FZQ rockin'!! i've also decided to dive into another nano....yes, i'll be driving myself and everyone around me nuts again this year! knowing i'll be losing my mind the next day makes halloween that much more special.   i know a bunch of y'all will be jumping in, too--buddy me up at the nano site! i'm lala68 there.  my writing friends at scribophile will also be raiding the place, so please feel free to join them--they're very hyper and friendly. if you give them snacks they get distracted, and you can sneak past without getting slobbered on too much.  although, i warn you: they will jump on you if they have the chance. as i find out group info, i'll pass it on. as for nano strategy this time around, i think i'm gonna actually try for an outline. i winged it last time, and that was exciting and very stream-of-consciousness, but this time, i'd like to end up with a little more cohesive of a story. i'm still attempting to edit the first novel, and, uhh...it needs a LOT of help. yyyyeah. i'm hoping i can make something more meaty the first time through, this try around. am i blathering? i do that sometimes. my neighborhood grocery story is throwing their grand re-opening tonight--all sorts of specials, free samples, etc. balloons, probably. i know i'm a big dork, but i wanna go hang out and enjoy the fun. i've always enjoyed grocery stores, and seeing people excited about their jobs is a blast, for me. i don't think i'll be able to talk p into it, and if i go alone i might look like that desperate lonelyheart looking for love by the mango bin... hey, what're you guys dressing up as for halloween this year? or, if you're not dressing up, what plans do you have? traditions?? we'll be taking a trip to the local pumpkin patch to select our family representatives for carving (sounds so...deliciously evil  ), and then watching spooky movies (and charlie brown, of course) as we carve away the couple of nights beforehand. on halloween, we'll eat candy (because no one ever comes trick-or-treating) and troll cable movies for great cheezy horror flicks. hope y'all are good, and find yourselves smiling at random strangers. |
| another quickie, for those who want more meat in their political stew: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_09/014705.php#more hilzoy (check out her biography) has a brain as big as a planet, and has compiled mccain's and obama's respective senate bill and amendment records for the past few years (to compare, she used only the years both have been in the senate together). fascinating stuff, when you get in there. gives me an idea of what sorts of issues both find important, and how active both have been. puts the kibosh on any talk of obama's supposed "empty" record. by the numbers, he's sponsored more bills and amendments than mccain. give it a looksee, when you have the time and a huge cuppa joe. |
| And Yet the Books by Czeslaw Milosz And Yet The Books And yet the books will be there on the shelves, separate beings, That appeared once, still wet As shining chestnuts under a tree in autumn, And, touched, coddled, began to live In spite of fires on the horizon, castles blown up, Tribes on the march, planets in motion. “We are, ” they said, even as their pages Were being torn out, or a buzzing flame Licked away their letters. So much more durable Than we are, whose frail warmth Cools down with memory, disperses, perishes. I imagine the earth when I am no more: Nothing happens, no loss, it’s still a strange pageant, Women’s dresses, dewy lilacs, a song in the valley. Yet the books will be there on the shelves, well born, Derived from people, but also from radiance, heights. |
| hi, y'all. this week's flash fiction:
also, i'm in the process of reviewing a few stories for the fabulous Acme  , and i have to say, this woman can freaking write. i find inspiration in her skill and imagination, and dangit if i'm ever gonna be that good, but i like having a goal. someday.....some day....*clenches potato ripped fresh from the soil, gazing off into the sunset*hope y'all are having a wonderful friday...my heart crawls up into my throat for anyone in the path of hurricane ike. be careful!! stay safe!! |
| firstly, a big moist thank you to the mystery GP bandit who left upon my doorstep a veritable smorgasbord of GPs!! thank you!! i'm sure i don't deserve them, but i promise to put them to good use. secondly, here's a fascinating and entertaining presentation on suburbia and its effect on our psyche: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/james_howard_kunstler_dissects_suburbia.html it's twenty minutes long, and well worth the time investment. i've read a few of his books, non-fiction and fiction, and he opens my brain up every time. good stuff. in other news: AAAAAAUUUUGGGHH!!!!!! i'm procrastinating. whew. that feels a bit better. have a good night, y'all. smooches and other wet things. |
| hey, all-- i watched "mr smith goes to washington" again the other night. it'd been awhile since i'd seen it, but that same feeling of gutbusting pride of democracy bubbled to the surface again, just like last time. this movie, along with "v for vendetta", is the perfect film to watch during this election season. MSGTW: "Jefferson Smith: You see, boys forget what their country means by just reading The Land of the Free in history books. Then they get to be men they forget even more. Liberty's too precious a thing to be buried in books, Miss Saunders. Men should hold it up in front of them every single day of their lives and say: I'm free to think and to speak. My ancestors couldn't, I can, and my children will. Boys ought to grow up remembering that." VFV: "Valerie: I remember how the meaning of words began to change. How unfamiliar words like "collateral" and "rendition" became frightening, while things like Norsefire and the Articles of Allegiance became powerful. I remember how "different" became dangerous. I still don't understand it, why they hate us so much." MSGTW: "Jefferson Smith: [His voice very hoarse] Just get up off the ground, that's all I ask. Get up there with that lady that's up on top of this Capitol dome, that lady that stands for liberty. Take a look at this country through her eyes if you really want to see something. And you won't just see scenery; you'll see the whole parade of what Man's carved out for himself, after centuries of fighting. Fighting for something better than just jungle law, fighting so's he can stand on his own two feet, free and decent, like he was created, no matter what his race, color, or creed. That's what you'd see. There's no place out there for graft, or greed, or lies, or compromise with human liberties . . . And it's not too late, because this country is bigger than the Taylors, or you, or me, or anything else. Great principles don't get lost once they come to light. They're right here; you just have to see them again!" VFV: "Evey Hammond: [voiceover] Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot... But what of the man? I know his name was Guy Fawkes and I know, in 1605, he attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament. But who was he really? What was he like? We are told to remember the idea, not the man, because a man can fail. He can be caught, he can be killed and forgotten, but 400 years later, an idea can still change the world. I've witnessed first hand the power of ideas, I've seen people kill in the name of them, and die defending them... but you cannot kiss an idea, cannot touch it, or hold it... ideas do not bleed, they do not feel pain, they do not love... And it is not an idea that I miss, it is a man... A man that made me remember the Fifth of November. A man that I will never forget. MSGTW: "Jefferson Smith: [Describing his home state] I've been over every single foot of it. You could have no idea. You just have to see it for yourself. I don't know. The prairies and wind leaning on the tall grass and lazy streams down in the meadows, angry little midgets of water up in the mountains, cattle moving down the slope against the sun. Campfires and snowdrifts. You know, everybody ought to have some of that sometime in his life. My dad had the right idea. And it all worked out. He used to say to me: 'Son, don't miss the wonders that surround you because every tree, every rock, every anthill, every star is filled with the wonders of nature.' And he used to say to me: 'Have you ever noticed how grateful you are to see daylight again after coming through a long dark tunnel?' 'Well,' he'd say, 'Always try to see life around ya as if you'd just come out of a tunnel.' " VFV: "Sex and Race, because they are easy, visible differences, have been the primary ways of organising human beings into superior and inferior groups and into the cheap labour on which this system still depends. We are talking about a society in which there will be no roles other than those chosen, or those earned. We are really talking about Humanism." MSGTW: "Jefferson Smith: [After reading the Declaration of Independence] Now, you're not gonna have a country that can make these kind of rules work, if you haven't got men that have learned to tell human rights from a punch in the nose. [The Senate applauds] It's a funny thing about men, you know. They all start life being boys. I wouldn't be a bit suprised if some of these Senators were boys once. And that's why it seemed like a pretty good idea for me to get boys out of crowded cities and stuffy basements for a couple of months out of the year. And build their bodies and minds for a man-sized job, because those boys are gonna be behind these desks some of these days. And it seemed like a pretty good idea, getting boys from all over the country, boys of all nationalities and ways of living. Getting them together. Let them find out what makes different people tick the way they do. Because I wouldn't give you two cents for all your fancy rules if, behind them, they didn't have a little bit of plain, ordinary, everyday kindness and a - a little lookin' out for the other fella, too...That's pretty important, all that. It's just the blood and bone and sinew of this democracy that some great men handed down to the human race, that's all. But of course, if you've got to build a dam where that boys camp ought to be, to get some graft to pay off some political army or something, well that's a different thing. Oh no! If you think I'm going back there and tell those boys in my state and say: 'Look. Now fellas. Forget about it. Forget all this stuff I've been tellin' you about this land you live in is a lot of hooey. This isn't your country. It belongs to a lot of James Taylors.' Oh no! Not me! And anybody here that thinks I'm gonna do that, they've got another thing comin'." well, i could go on all night. and i'm sure you guys all have your favorite quotations about freedom of body and spirit, and of expression. why don't you leave them for me? i'd love to read them. hope you're all doing well. |
| hey, all. i just finished watching the first episode of the new hbo series, 'trueblood'. it's based on the charlaine harris sookie stackhouse series--i admit trying to read her first book and just not getting into it, but the show is freaking awesome so far, and i'm gonna have to give the books another try. anna paquin is inspired casting, and her small town is quirky upon quirky, even without the burgeoning vampire population. yep. i said it. give it a looksee! hope everyone's sunday is going well....all rested and ready for monday. i know i'm not, but then...feh. |
*whips open overcoat* wooooooooh!!!!
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| hi, all. i have about seven hours to conceive and realize a short story for this week's critique circle....AAAUUUGGHH!!!! maybe this is a stroll through the tulips for you, but i'm over-caffeinated and under-rested, and cranky as a damp mofo. writing??? feh. i wanna kill something with my teeth and wear its pelt. a bit of exciting excitement (for me): i'm featured today on a fellow writer's blog!! emma larkin--talented and ambitious writer--has developed a weekly interview for her writer's blog. she nabs unsuspecting comrades and asks them questions, posting the results. this week it's me! please check it out! and check out her blog, too--she's doing some really good stuff there. i'm taking notes... http://www.emmalarkins.blogspot.com arrrrrghh......*takes swig from bottle*.....must focus. hope yer all drunk as a bat and cursing up a storm. |
| man, long fricking day. i got to work....pauses for crowd to gasp in affront at irony...and it was BUSY. why does everyone celebrate labor day by going shopping?? i ask because i'd like to have labor day off, to celebrate the day and appreciate myself for all the hard work i put in, but all the shopping requires i be there and, uh...WORK. thanks, shoppers. i'm glad you got that crappy labor day deal. i hope it crawls up your leg and bites you on the ass. tomorrow's our state primary elections...representatives, corporate commission dudes...that kinda stuff. not the glamour of the general election, but good practice for me since i'll be working at the polls for the first time. yay! i feel all civic. and if that wasn't enough, i have jury duty on wednesday!! i'm the all-american gal!! mccain should've called me up to the campaign trail. i would've said no, but...i'd be doing more for him than sarah palin is. it's all about irony today, folks. and if you haven't yet, register to vote!!!! deadline is october 6th for the general election!!! as for the august experiment, i've decided i can't outsmart myself. i've underestimated my caginess, and in the attempt at self-manipulation, i've managed to offend my own sensibilities. i just won't stand for this kind of self-abuse. i'll finish the steenkeeng novel as i can, because putting on the pressure just pisses me off, apparently, and i refuse to work on it at all. very frustrating. you ever tried talking yourself out of a tiff? tricky. i resorted to gifts, just to get back on talking terms. *sigh* of course, now i'm torn about this year's nanowrimo. it's the tenth year anniversary!!! everyone's all excited, and i want to be involved. i wanna challenge myself again, especially after feeling like such a boob lately. but my practical side tells me i should finish what i started, that beginning a brand new novel while sitting on a half-finished one isn't helping anything. that i should be responsible. well, i've got some time yet to think...who knows what might be different by november 1st?? i'm glad to be back, and hope y'all's hearts are stuffed full o' joy, yer noodles chock full o' stories. |
| okay, well this month's experiment has officially been called a bust. clearly, my problem isn't time management. that's wrong. my problem is time management, but not just that. i need anthony robbins to kick my ass for me. *pauses to picture scene* heh. kinky. but september's coming, and i always feel optimistic at the start of a new month. new month, new week, new day, whatev. all of these opportunities to try again, keep attacking from different directions...i WILL finish this steaming pile of novel if i do it in my wrinkly old woman diapers. of course, now i've stumbled upon a new character i've written a few flash fiction stories for who i love. i love this woman. she's everything i wish i was, and more. and i love writing for her....who knows? you guys think i'm just distracting myself again. i can tell. it's all right, you can say it. i'm tough. 90% of aspiring novelists never finish their novels, never get to the publishing stage. it's a precious few who can even finish, much less finish with more than a fistful of poo. i like the odds. takes the pressure off, actually.if you're interested in reading the cool chick stories so far, here's the link:
i'm looking for a new title for the overall work, if anyone has any ideas. lessee, other news. i've got jury duty next week, which will be exciting. i hope i get called for a trial, but not a major, sequestering trial. just a few days of judicial jurying--that'd be fun. also, i took some clerical tests last week, and get those scores back in a couple of weeks. i'm feeling good, but you never know. i'll keep you posted.  well, next month will be a normal blogging and writing month for me, so please feel free to visit! i have salami & crackers & everything. hope you're all well, ready for school and/or the new fall tv schedule. rock on, jj abrams. |
| hi, everyone. i did it. i wasn't sure i wanted to, but now i'm in, and i've just gotta do my best. yep. i've started a fundraising webpage for barack obama. whether you're interested in donating, i'd love for you to visit me there. please take a peek! http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/lauriemariepea if that link doesn't work, lemme know...  |
this week's flash fiction:
it's kinda different for me, somewhat inspired by the anna swir poem in the previous blog entry. i'm curious to know what you all think. |
| i found this incredible poem by accident today, flipping through an anthology at work: She Does Not Remember She was an evil stepmother. In her old age she is slowly dying in an empty hovel. She shudders like a clutch of burnt paper. She does not remember that she was evil. But she knows that she feels cold. Anna Swir i hadn't heard of anna swir before, but i'm agonna look her up pretty darned quick. i love deceptively simple writing, writing that implies rather than hands over, and this gut punch of a quickie made me shiver, and again the second time i read it. am fair to bursting with heart and thoughts today, so i'm off to work on le livre de merde. |
| oh my GOD, this is hilarious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy673zWHUOw |
| all right, this is freaking ridiculous. apparently, i have a minimum activity threshold for accomplishing something...anything....and if i sink below that line then nothing gets done. i don't do more of one thing to compensate (my working theory before this little experiment)...i just lollygag about and avoid doing the thing i intended to do more of. i need a discipline fairy. i've spent some time this week (some of which i should've been using on more productive projects) thinking about why this novel thing has me by the short hairs. why am i so freaked?? i can grind out short stories like i'm sneezing into a tissue. and okay, they might resemble the same result, but at least they exist. and they're finished. so, wtf?? i can't make the thing any worse than it is, so it shouldn't be fear of ruining perfection (HA!! *tear squeezes out corner of eye*) . is it a fear of...*gasp*...succeeding? but why?? i've never understood that anxiety. i'm a perfectionist by nature, so i understand fiddling like nobody's business. but avoiding success??? i don't get it. can anyone illuminate for me?  okay, so to date: *50,498 words written on the consarned thing. *first 3 chapters reworked. *of 4 pages of notes for edits, i've crossed 1 off the list. *i've amended my word count goal to reflect a more realistic mass market total: 90,000. which means i'm barely halfway through, length-wise. (which is okay, since i have an entire world to create. should be okay...) aaaand, that's it. oh, other news: i've started an offsite blog at blogger.com, to work toward creating an online writer identity. still short several links and helpful articles and a cohesive philosophy, but if you'd like to check it out so far (and how could you resist? honestly? ), here's a link: http://athousandtwanglingwords.blogspot.com/hope you all are having a wonderful august, full of mint juleps and friendly porch dogs. and chitlins. loads of chitlins. |
| A few recommended books on writing/publishing novels: *The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman Lukeman's a writer's agent and has read thousands of manuscripts--he gives us valuable information from the inside on everything from formatting to style, and those vital first five pages of the manuscript. How to catch an agent's or publisher's attention in a good way. *The Complete Idiot's Guide To Writing a Novel by Tom Monteleone Monteleone has been around a while, has published over 20 novels of his own and has edited several ongoing anthologies. He knows stuff. Lots of practical tips, encouragement, and even several writer interviews from folks like William Peter Blatty and Janet Evanovich. Chapters include: "Genres and the Mainstream", "Time Management and Discipline", "Another Name for Writing is Rewriting", "Marketing and Publicity"...this guy covers it all. Great friendly tone, too. I like Tom. *Self-editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King One of the standards and, dare I say, classics on editing. I got my copy a few years ago when taking a creative writing class at the community college, and it's one of the few books I haven't packed away (for the hypothetical move we may be making...someday). Included chapters: "Dialogue Mechanics", "Characterization and Exposition", "Proportion". Many examples to illustrate their various points, and all packed into a relatively short 267 pages. I've been distracted the past few days with writing obligations I made before August, but have been thinking a lot about the novel, about the roles of various characters. One of my perimeter characters is quickly becoming more central to the plot, which is shifting the entire tone of the story a bit. I want to feel free to fiddle like this, but I also don't want to turn this into a decades-long process...how to know when an idea is worth exploring? That's a judgement I haven't developed yet on the novel level. Hope all is good with y'all....awful quiet around here.... *crickets* |
| okay, so i'm adding carnage to the third chapter (when the proverbial poo hits the fan), getting into the chaos and excitement....and i realize, this is fun! i've been freaking out about how to do this editing thing, where to start, how to just jump in there, and i've discovered it feels just as much like a game, a lark, as writing the thing did in the first place. instead of painstakingly examining every nuance in chronological order, charting the bejeebus out of characters and plot points, at this point i'm just jumping in where i know i need to. plenty of spots to choose from, and i keep getting more ideas about how to get this thing where it needs to be. very exciting. so, after i finish working in the various climatological upheaval and resultant violence, bloating, descent into madness, etc... i get to read up on krav maga. soon, i'll know how to defend myself barehanded against an armed assailant. cool! |
| hi, all-- in the interest of making some solid headway on the novel, this month any and all blog entries i make will be novel-related. may not be actual snippets, as right now it's crap, but ideas i have, roadblocks, related conversations, inspirations, resources...anything's fodder. including you nice people. i've been feeling discouraged lately, frustrated that when i sit down with the express intention of working on scenes, or absorbing research information so i can write it halfway authentically, i freeze. it all feels overwhelming, as if i'm standing at the base of a mountain of thousands of pages, each one needing something from me to save them from the furnace. i've second-thought myself over characters, plotlines, settings, scope...even the idea of the novel itself ('am i crazy enough to actually do this and expect anyone to want to read the thing??'). as a result, the past few weeks (months), i've made negligable progress. which hasn't helped with the cloud of discouragement, lemme tell ya. also, p tends to be tightlipped about the writing thing. he never tries to discourage me, always says he's my greatest fan, which is fabulous and gives me the squishies, but he also tends to say nothing when i try to talk to him about frustrations with this stuff. he's kind of old school, of the belief that you do or don't do, but don't just sit there and whine about it. that usually gets me back to work, but sometimes a gal needs a cheerleader, you know? someone to tell her she'll finish this thing, she'll write a kick-ass story, that she's not fooling herself....a faith talk. well, last night he broke down and gave me one, and knowing he's behind me is a huge help. i know he thinks these things don't need to be said, and most of the time he's right. last night he broke his own 'rule', and i feel grounded once again, ready to plunge back into the fray, fight back against those feelings of inadequacy. what did he say? "if you throw everything into this, you'll be great. if you don't, you have only yourself to blame. don't be sixty-five years old, sitting around and regretting not doing this. write it and kick ass. do it now." simultaneous encouragement and butt-kicking. just what i needed. so, wish me luck, guys. feel free to leave me inspirational quotes, notes of encouragement, bad jokes...whatev. i'm still here, and hope to be posting something bloggy regularly, but my activities elsewhere onsite may flag. have a great august!! now, go jump on that slip-n-slide i know you've got going in the back yard.  |
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