Home

365.318

  • Nov. 15th, 2009 at 11:32 PM
Heading to the library today just as the sun was setting, around 4:30 (daylight says it's winter, though the temperature says mellow autumn -- hit 58F today), and this caught my eye:

reflected sunset

Tonight it's misty, mild -- the air is still and there's a cooler version of the summer's nukumori 温もり that makes everything seem close and connected

Small fandom friending memes!

  • Nov. 15th, 2009 at 11:17 PM
One of the awesome things about Yuletide is that it brings people together and lets them revel in their chared fandoms. Unfortunately, the anonymity means that you don't always find out what everyone's fandoms are. So if you're holding a friending meme to bring your tiny fandom together, post it here!

My Friending Meme, Let Me Show You It

Sevenwaters Trilogy

Just a Quickie

  • Nov. 15th, 2009 at 11:14 PM
I almost forgot to mention, that the polls are up for [info]therealljidol (they have been for a day or two) and the polls will remain open until Tuesday, November 17th at 8:00 pm EST. You can go here and cast your vote at any time until then.

They've rearranged the tribes this week according to which of the five given topics we chose to write on. I'm in Tribe "Moments of Devastating Beauty". If you'd like to cast a vote for me or anyone else, that would be great!

In other news, I went to a Pampered Chef party this evening and had a good time. I only bought $35 worth of stuff, but it was all stuff that I knew I'd use, like a trivet and some new wooden spoons, as opposed to buying stuff "just because." I've already got too much "just because" items hanging around, LOL.

Knight will be home from Hawaii tomorrow afternoon, and I need to leave work a bit early to go pick him up. We may try a new restaurant for dinner, we'll see how tired he is after his long flight.

Not a whole lot else going on right now. How has your weekend been?

This feed contains no entries

  • Nov. 16th, 2009 at 3:50 AM
This feed contains no entries


Well, as I said in the previous post, because I said it out loud, it would happen. Just checking email tonight before bedtime, and there's the rejection letter from John Joseph Adams (I said he was a quick reviewer).

So, it's off to Clockwork Phoenix 3, the other antho I found that it might work for. Good luck little story.

The Audacity of Authorship

  • Nov. 16th, 2009 at 3:00 AM

So it’s November 15, the halfway point through NaNoWriMo. For those of you unaware of what this is, refer to a brief description from the official website:

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenges you to write a 50,000-word novel, from scratch, in the month of November. It’s a global, uproariously fun endeavor, where participants exchange advice and writing tips on the NaNoWriMo website and in real life, with group write-ins held in coffeeshops, living rooms, and libraries all around the world.

I make note of this because last night my wife completed the 50,000 requirement for her latest NaNovel, just before the middle of the month. Each year she’s proud of the accomplishment I’m proud of her for completing such a challenge, which ultimately is self-imposed. She takes the writing of novels seriously, has spent years developing her style and craft and produces quality writing. I imagine thousands of others around the world (last year 120,000 people took part) were equally satisfied with their efforts and the product of their hard work. My wife’s reached the word count limit, but she’s far from finishing the work of writing the novel.

Earlier today I stumbled, completely by accident, upon a blog post by CanLit critic Steven W. Beattie assessing the value of such writing exercises. In his post Beattie aims some discouraging criticism at both Chris Baty, the creator of NaNoWriMo, and the people who take part:

…it is perhaps churlish of me to complain that the whole premise behind the project (in both its adult and youth forms) is based on an erroneous perception of how novels are written, and why….

…writers are encouraged to write without paying heed to the nasty editor in their heads, the one that tells them to refine, delete, excise, rework. The vocabulary of the NaNoWriMo site testifies to the way in which it has bought in to the tyranny of diminished expectations where writing is concerned. Instead of deliberation and focus, writers are encouraged to let loose and be free, and pay no heed to trifling matters such as talent or technique.

Beattie’s argument stems from two flaws in thinking: first, that the people taking part imagine themselves to be in the same way professional novelists and, second, that the writing of a NaNovel ends with Nov. 31. For many of these writers, “noveling” is merely a hobby they attempt once a year as away of expressing themselves or realizing an interesting story they’ve created in their minds. Most of these writers don’t intend to show their work to others outside a small group of family and friends, making it a personal accomplishment for their own entertainment. For those who do hope to make something of quality that others might wish to read, the editing and revising processes are still a part of the writing. There are those who spend months preparing for the event: working out plot details, characters, tropes, scene descriptions, etc. and will later work towards the end result. The competition ending on Nov. 31 does not imply the writing ends; this would be an erroneous assumption.

Novels – at least the ones that endure – take time, commitment, and patience, all things that are in short supply in today’s jacked-up, Internet-driven society, and all things that are antithetical to the very idea of NaNoWriMo.

 To say that writers taking part in NaNoWriMo lack such qualities as commitment and patience is a sweeping generalization that, if nothing else, is insulting. What is so appalling about someone on his/her own time writing a novel for their own enjoyment? Beattie claims it is a serious offense, stating that “…’noveling’ has been reduced to the literary equivalent of knitting.” I imagine professional novelists everywhere running around with their arms flailing above their heads in fear that their efforts have been belittled by NaNoWriMo participants. This stance is somewhat ironic when one considers the statements quoted above. The author of the blog post in question should also be aware that the members of  ”today’s jacked-up, Internet-driven society” are no small part of his own readership at That Shakespearean Rag.

The NaNoWriMo website offers the promise of recognition and sense of accomplishment, but says nothing about how this devalues the work of countless underpaid, underappreciated professional writers who have spent the better part of their lives honing their craft. Instead, it buys into the cult of celebrity that is inescapable in what passes for North American culture these days.

I find it hard to believe the NaNovelist sitting at home this month, quite possibly as I write this, is attempting to devalue the writing of serious “underappreciated, professional writers”. To be frank, I doubt people participating in this month’s writing endeavour are even considering the professional writer whose talent and commitment are, as Beattie has assured us, of greater value than theirs. There is a self-important pretension placed on the professional writer in this argument that belittles the amateur’s desire and right to produce work of whatever quality for themselves. In many cases these are people who have never written anything of novel length and to suggest that their aspirations of completing such should in some way preclude them from the ranks of those who take part in the “inherently elitist activity” of novel-writing is absurd. Should writing be limited to professionals? In response to this argument my wife says, “If so, one better hope he/she has the ability of Lance Armstrong when getting on a bike, or the talent of Eric Lamaze when mounting a horse”.

A similarly ridiculous argument against writing has been ongoing for years as it relates to genre fiction such as Sci-fi, Fantasy, and ChickLit. These genres are popular because people want to read them and most criticisms I’ve heard or read about them come from readers/writers of “serious” literary fiction and come across as embittered and juvenile. These realms of writing should be taken for what they are: differing and appealing to alternate audiences and sensibilities (this is not to say that readers of literary fiction do not enjoy genre fiction or vice versa).

Such audacity of authorship is to be acknowledged as worthwhile, if not praised for spreading the love of writing and creative expression among a wider demographic. Elitist authors need not worry about the devaluing of their own works, which should speak for themselves. In a phrase: it’s not about you.

Posted in Writing in General Tagged: amateur, Canlit, chicklit, chris baty, elite, elitist, NaNoWriMo, novel, professional, Stephen Rowe, steven beattie, writing

Sunday at the Laundromat!

  • Nov. 15th, 2009 at 10:30 PM
Today we ran into The Parrot Man at the laundromat again! This time he only had one bird companion along for the ride, but my goodness, it was a beauty! I've never seen a bird with coloring like this one... internet research revels it is called a "rose-breasted cockatoo" and I am pinching pictures from google image to show you because I could not stop staring.





This parrot service announcement brought to you by Procrastination.

Tags:

New Theme

  • Nov. 15th, 2009 at 9:15 PM
I have changed the theme on my LJ: from darkness into light.

A Crime Against Humanity.

  • Nov. 15th, 2009 at 9:00 PM

Mom: So Good Luck Chuck kind of sucked, huh?
Teenage daughter: Well, what did they expect? It's Dane Cook and Jessica Alba, for crying out loud! That's bad luck!

--Tomoe Sushi

Overheard by: Sromeo


Alsome | Thumbs up | Thumbs down |
Link · Email · Quote this! · Del.icio.us · Posted 2009-11-15

This feed contains no entries

  • Nov. 16th, 2009 at 2:43 AM
This feed contains no entries


Brother Blue died recently. ...

  • Nov. 15th, 2009 at 9:41 PM
Brother Blue died recently.

I had the honor of meeting Brother Blue a couple of years ago, at one of Krysta's parties. So here I was, awkward, bored, not knowing what to do with myself in a house full of strangers. And this strange old black dude shows up, says he's a storyteller. He goes around the room, weaving everyone into this story, he looks me in the eye, and says something just based on the look of me, kind of offensive but also getting it just right, my awkwardness, what I'm doing there, my out of place-ness-- so I'm gripped, I have to hear what he has to say. He gathers a circle round and does some variation on a Shakespeare play, and it's like he's channelling something, out of this world. Then that story ends, and people start shifting round, and he can't help but be the center of attention, but now it's uncomfortable, and he starts drifting into his life story, poignant moments, complaints, and I feel bad that we can't be audience enough for him. Truly one of the great people I have ever met. May he rest in peace, or become one with the Bard beyond time, or whatever it is that would be fitting.
Comment

that's mr. difranco to you

  • Nov. 15th, 2009 at 10:10 PM
1540 words, just ekeing out my theoretical minimum. Progress is progress. I'm pretty sure this is also progress.

Mostly, I'm just describing planets as seen from space. I wonder if anybody would notice if I did that four hundred pages.


16200 / 100000 words. 16% done!

Tweets to the tweet

  • Nov. 15th, 2009 at 10:05 PM

22:22 Made homemade pizza from fresh bread dough for the first time tonight. May never order pizza ever again. SO FREAKING GOOD. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

Tis the Season

  • Nov. 15th, 2009 at 9:03 PM
For Nebula nominations!
Those of you who do these sorts of things, I present my 2009 publication list (don't worry, it's short!):

NOVELLA: The Convent of the Pure, Apex Book Company, April 2009

SHORT STORY: "Six Seeds," Beneath Ceaseless Skies, October 2009


VOTE EARLY, VOTE OFTEN!
^_^

This feed contains no entries

  • Nov. 16th, 2009 at 2:02 AM
This feed contains no entries


Rode hard and put away wet

  • Nov. 15th, 2009 at 5:16 PM
I was up in the City yesterday, so I headed across to Lacis. Lacis is heroin for people interested in historic needlecrafts. If you can do it with any form of string, Lacis has the string, the books, and the specialized tools, as well as salespeople who know how to use them. A saleswoman had an informed ten-minute discussion with me about the best hand needles for use in home handsewing. (We agreed on size 8 embroidery needles. I like embroidery needles because the large eyes are easy to thread. She likes them because they aren't too long and because they tend to push aside the cloth threads rather than piercing through them.) I allowed myself to go hog-wild. Tatting shuttles of bone, plastic, and silverplate (I'm trying to find a small one that doesn't fang me with its point), a silverplate metal ball for holding the thread and keeping it from tangling or being pounced on, a small wooden needlecase that I delude myself I shall decorate, a small porcelain head and hands I delude myself I shall make into a closet sachet, a book on lace as used in costume, the catalog for a lace exhibition, and a reproduction of the patent clothing square (think L-square, but with arm and bust curves) required by the Women's Institute pattern-drafting series the originals of which I own. Glee! Ti-ra-la-la-i-tu! I gloat!

But that wasn't the highlight. The highlight was that Mr. Jules Kliot, co-founder of the store with his late wife Kathe, was giving tours of the Lacis bobbin lace collection. (In 2004, Lacis was re-incorporated as a textile museum; the retail store is now the museum store, and its proceeds go to support the museum.)   If you're in Berkeley on a weekend, you must go. Mr. Kliot loves lace, tells the story of it with informed passion, and has an enormous collection that includes the "priceless Mechlin" you read about so much in historical novels; one piece he has, a "lappet" (lace for draping across the hair), would have taken 24 years to make. The collection room is carefully set up with hand magnifiers so that you can inspect individual pieces, as well as a microscope for examining fine detail. If you're into the technology and sociology of upper-class European clothing it's a must-visit. You can make Mr. Kliot very happy if you share his enthusiasm even a little.

Then, drained, to the BART station.  A man came up to me and said "If you're a lady, you must be interested in fine perfume."  I said, in utter exhaustion, "PLEASE leave me alone."  He sat down at the other side of the bench and grumbled, loudly, about how rude I was.  I sat eyes ahead.    He did warn me when I headed to the train without my patent clothing square, which is 3 feet high, but it was still a very unpleasant encounter.   I need to work on my LEAVE ME ALONE glare, thus preventing such encounters.

Woke up this morning determined to do one thing, replace the failing hard drive on our oldest (2002) TiVo, the one with the lifetime license.  In that TiVo's life, I've added a hard drive, replaced the power supply, and upgraded the fan.  Fourth time, alas, was the anti-charm; I appear to have managed to brick it.  Ah, well.  We'll have to re-up on a lifetime membership for another machine, and hope TiVo doesn't go bankrupt.  

During the TiVo frustration, I took time out to install a smart power strip in the living room; now the video games'  and second DVD player's wallwarts drain power only when the TV itself is turned on.  That's something.  

I'm batting .500 for the day, but I'll give it a solid .750 for the weekend.
This entry was originally posted at http://jonquil.dreamwidth.org/898645.html. comment count unavailable comment(s) on that entry.

Louise de Kérouaille

  • Nov. 15th, 2009 at 9:03 PM


Louise de Kérouaille was one Charles II's many mistresses. She was born in Brittany, and came to England as a young woman to serve as a Lady-in-waiting, first to the King's sister, and later his wife. While Charles's mistress, she worked as a sort of diplomat for the French, and is believed to have tried to sway him to Catholiscism, but was unsuccessful. (She did however, arrange for a Catholic confession and absolution for Charles when he died.) After his death she returned to France, and finally died in Paris at the age of 85. But the question is... was she hot?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mignard,_Louise_de_K%C3%A9rouaille.jpg

What do you think? )
I keep forgetting to post this!

A while back, [info]cissa posted about a St. Brigit's cross she made that was hella hard to make and that she would never make that way again. It was for sale, but I do not have a lot of extra income for jewelry. But it was GORGEOUS. And she was NEVER making one AGAIN.

So I wrote her and twisted her arm into a layaway plan. And it's here! It is SO DAMNED PERFECT!!!!

So I have to squee, and to tell you that if you are in the market for beautifully made (and researched, I might add) jewelry for Christmahannukwanziyulisolstica, and especially if you are of a Celtic or neopagan bent, take a look at her etsy store:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/afmetalsmith


If not, gaze upon my bounty and be envious, instead:


This feed contains no entries

  • Nov. 16th, 2009 at 1:28 AM
This feed contains no entries


Latest Month

November 2009
S M T W T F S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930     
Powered by LiveJournal.com
Designed by Ideacodes