Even busier, if you can believe that.

OK, so here I am singing in three choirs and working and walking and doing all the stuff you have to do in life. What happens? The leader of the group Paul sings in that I wasn't singing in emails me to say he had an opening in the alto section. Wondered if I wanted to sit in and see if it works out. I did. And so now I'm singing in four groups. It's so much fun. And because I'm now singing 5 days a week, my voice is getting better. The voice is like any other set of muscles--working out helps it.

I'm still walking every day except Sunday. I probably won't walk tomorrow. Paul's getting a rare Saturday off. We're going to spread out the errands and chores over the weekend so we can have some time just to do something fun. I don't know what that will be, but I imagine it will involve lunch or dinner out and a walk and maybe a simple bookstore browse. We'd go to a movie, but there's nothing out we want to pay movie ticket prices to see right now.

Sunday evening we're going to a local church that does a Messiah Sing. They put together a small orchestra and the audience is the singers. We sing any part we want, including all the solos. It's the only time I get to sing the tenor solos at the beginning. But I sing the alto parts in the choruses. Sometimes I sing the bass parts up an octave. I don't sing the soprano stuff, though. It's too high because I never sing up there anymore.

I'm almost finished with my prayer shawl. I have a foot left to knit. Then I have to put the fringe on and I'm done. I should finish this weekend, a week before the deadline. It's going to be a good trip. We're looking forward to it. Even if it is in the 80s and humid this time of year. Bad for my sinuses and they took the teeth out of Sudafed, so it doesn't work as well. (sigh)

Once I'm done with the prayer shawl, I'll have a bit of time I can use for writing. Once I'm done inputting music into my computer for rehearsal CDs and transferring my part to my MP3 player, I'll have that time free for writing. The problem is I'm starting over with one of my choirs because we just started a whole new set of music. It's all good, though, because I have most of the stuff done for next year's concert, so I won't have to do it then.

I've given up trying to write in the blog on anything like a set schedule. I know that means I don't have many readers, but that's the way it goes. Maybe things will settle down more later in the year, if we manage to move out on our own again. Somehow, I suspect that being able to set our own schedules and have an office will make it easier to find time to write.

I used to have time to post

I used to have time to post almost every day. Now, I hardly ever post. I'm just busy. I have three rehearsals a week, plus singing in church almost every Sunday. It's Lent, so we have midweek service on Wednesday. One of my rehearsals is on Wednesday, so we leave church and walk across to practice. Luckily, the choir rehearses at my church. Makes things easier and we pretty much only miss the warmups. Not a problem; we warm up singing in the church service.

I've been typing my handwritten material into a computer file. Once I get it all typed in, which means I can read it in chronological order, I can put it into the manuscript and move on to the next part. I don't write in chronological order. My handwritten drafts are a mess of arrows and numbers pointing to places where I need to rearrange sentence and paragraph orders so they make sense. Anyway, I'm enjoying getting some work done on the WIP, even if I'm not writing new material right now and my progress bar is staying the same.

I started a prayer shawl yesterday. One of our former intern pastors heads two congregations in New Orleans. Some people from our church, including us, we hope, are going down after Easter to do some work for their people, worship with them, and we're bringing however many shawls people make as a gift from us to them. I think most people tend to think things are getting better, since so much time has passed since Katrina. But it takes a long time, a lot of money, and a lot of work to fix things after a disaster of that magnitude. It's nice to be able to do something, even if it's small like making a shawl to help them remember prayer--both theirs and that others are praying with them.

It's a busy week for the orchestra. Tickets are almost sold out for Sunday's concert. I'm looking forward to the concert. We're taking season ticket renewals, too. I've been living with my phone stuck in my ear last week and this week. It's way cool.

My mom's birthday was this week. We had a very small celebration, but it was fun.

Writing & Other Stuff

I don't have a lot to say about writing. Just that I've started working on my WIP again. I'm currently catching up on typing in the handwritten stuff. It's actually very helpful in that it makes me focus on what I wrote, which is helping me get back into the story.

I didn't walk this morning because it was raining pretty hard. It's stopped for now. If the sun stays out, I might go ahead and walk this afternoon. Otherwise, it's a mall walk this evening with Paul.

This week is an easy one. We only have two nights of rehearsals. I had Ladyesong on Monday. And church choir was after the Ash Wednesday service. Then we did the last hour of Funtimes Singers. So, we ended up with Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday nights off.

I guess I'll be working on getting files and software loaded on the notebook for a while. I don't want to put too much on until I get Vista loaded. It hasn't come yet, which is no surprise. I hope the software I use the most will work with Vista. I don't want to have to replace it. That gets really expensive.

I'm getting the music entered in the computer. It's so time-consuming and it's tedious, so it goes really slowly. But I'll get rehearsal CDs done in a couple of weeks, I think. I know I'm going to have a lot to do for the orchestra, though, so that may mean taking longer to finish the music.

Music, Walking, Gaming

My life seems to be mostly about music these days. I have a rehearsal almost every night. One of the women in one of the groups I sing with called me to see if I wanted to sing in a quartet. The song is one of my favorites, Georgia on My Mind, but I want to look over the music before I commit to it.

I'm working on inputting Ladyesong music into my computer so I can make rehearsal CDs. I hope they're helpful to everyone, even though it's just the notes and rhythms, no words. My plan is to do individual tracks of each part and one track with everything put together. I just hope it all fits on one CD. I guess I'll see how it goes this time and learn from anything that could be done better a different way.

I'm still walking. I haven't lost any pounds, but my wrists are smaller. My shoulders are getting bony. My pants are way too big in the seat and thighs, but not in the hips, so I can't fit into smaller ones yet. I need new shoes. I've walked this pair to death.

I spent the day with one of my sons yesterday. We had coffee. Ran a few errands. Had lunch at Togo's. Those of you who don't live around here need to have a Togo's sandwich if you ever visit this area. They're really good. I bought a couple of simple games. A version of Tetris, which I've enjoyed since the original Nintendo system introduced it to an unsuspecting world. And Jewel Quest, which I originally found on Gamehouse.com What I like about it is that as the boards get harder, you have the option of skipping and moving on, or playing it out. If you run out of lives, they start you with five more, but you don't have to start the game over. You just lose all your points. I don't care about points, so that's not a problem for me. Then I played the next bit of Final Fantasy XII, which I have to play at his house because I don't have a Playstation and TV. I try to go over about once a week and make a bit of progress on that game. David's been really getting into video games as a break from school and he's starting to get me going again.

Tomorrow my hubby and I are going out to dinner and a movie as a late celebration of Valentine's Day. We haven't picked out the restaurant, yet. But we're going to see the new movie with Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant. It's about music, too. Perfect for us.

It sounds like all I do is fun stuff. That's true, because I love my job, too. So fun is fun, work is fun and I have a really great life. All I need is a decent place, that will allow my cat, that I can afford to rent and I'll be all good.

New Stuff

I had an interesting weekend. Remember I said I was saving up for a laptop? Well, we went into the Sony store just to do research. Yeah, right. Windows Vista just came out. They had a great deal on their XP machines. So, I went to the ATM, checked my finances, and got a sweet Vaio notebook at a super discount. What's amusing is that I got the discount because the computer had XP Pro on it. And if I was willing to wait 2-4 weeks, I'd get Vista Business for free. I'll end up with the same computer I could have bought, had they had any Vista machines in stock, but I got a substantial discount--all because I can be patient and don't have to have the latest and greatest immediately.

I've been busily setting up the computer. I really don't like doing all that stuff because it's tedious, but when I'm done, Paul and I will pretty much have our own computers to use. It's been getting harder to share because I'm telecommuting to my new job. Paul and I both are inputting music for rehearsal purposes. And we were starting to have more time when both of us had things we needed to do on the computer, but only had one computer to use.

The organ recital was wonderful. I heard a lot of music that was different from what I've heard in the past. I usually hear organ music as part of the church service, so the music is pretty traditional. This was a lot of different styles, since the pieces were from all around the world. The organist chose a lot of the pieces to show off the wonderful organ our church bought about a year and a half ago. One piece had no pedal part and another was just for pedals. Fun evening.

We took our kids out to breakfast last weekend, too. We hadn't all gotten together since Christmas. We had a good time, as usual. We didn't do anything special. Just chatted and caught up on each other's lives. Teased and joked and ate great food at one of the few really fantastic breakfast places in the area, the Country Gourmet. They have a place in Mountain View, but we usually go to the Sunnyvale store because it's closer.

I've almost got my new notebook set up so I can write with it. I need to go turn off all the automatic junk, starting with the annoying grammer checker, that makes MS Word such an irritant. I don't want my computer to interrupt my work because the software geeks think I need help formatting a simple business letter. By tomorrow I can write away from home, which is how I get most of my work done. I think it's partly that if I'm not home, I'm not looking at all the other things I "ought to be doing" or "could do instead". If I take my stuff and go away, I can focus better. Unfortunately, it's supposed to rain the rest of the week. So, no walking for a few days. (Sigh)

I'll try to mall walk on Friday night. And I should be able to walk over the weekend, either mall walking or doing my usual outdoor walk. I think I've lost a few more pounds. My jeans are loose in the thighs and seat, and they don't stay up around my waist. These are my new, smaller jeans. I'm happy with that.

New Blogger and Other Stuff

I've switched to the new Blogger. It's not a lot different from the old one, but I see I have to redo my sidebar. Luckily, my template stuff is saved in a separate folder on my computer. It's weird, though, Wednesday when I switched, the sidebar and everything was the same. Oh, well. I needed to edit and update it anyway. My problem is finding/making the time to do it.

I'm writing along and staring at the new compose screen. There's a title bar at the top of the create post screen. And a space to put a label at the bottom. I have enough trouble coming up with titles. I have to do labels, now, too? I think I'll pass unless someone begs me to collect all my posts about one subject or other into a group. (Please don't beg me. I hate that kind of tedious stuff. (grin))

I've walked to Peet's yesterday and today. I had errands near there this morning. It's two miles one way, plus today I added the walk to do the errands. I need new shoes. I've walked this pair to death this year. I found the same size and type of shoe online for about half off, so I'm going to get two pair and alternate them. It's better for your shoes and your feet to do it that way, anyway. I'll get twice the wear out of the same amount of money, too. Good deal.

I've been reading and doing some of the suggestions in Barbara Sher's new book, Refuse to Choose. It's about the flakes of the world who can't seem to settle on one thing to spend their life on. She calls them "Scanners", not "flakes". A lot of the material is helping me to figure out how to get what I want to do done without having to figure out what to give up. It's a good book, if you're one of the people who thinks committing to doing one job for your whole life is like a prison sentence, since you have so many interests and things that you want to try.

I'm really looking forward to this Sunday. Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Saratoga is offering a free organ recital. The organist is playing a program that features music from around the world. From what my friend Barbara, who's heard him, says it will be great. It's at 7:30. If you're anywhere near the San Jose area and looking for something fun and free, you're welcome to come.

No Complaining Day

I had a weird thought the other day. I'd had a day where I was talking to a lot of people. I noticed that most of the conversation was about what's wrong with their lives. I'm not talking about problems they're working on solving. I'm talking about whining and complaining about things they can't do anything about. I do it, too. So I suggested to Paul that we should have a "No Complaining Day". And I wondered if people would have trouble finding things to talk about, if they couldn't complain. I think we all need to "get over ourselves" and find reasons to be grateful for the good things we have. But, that's just my opinion. YMMV, as they say online.

I'm still walking. I think I lost a whole pound in the last two weeks. It's winter and super cold. I suspect my body is hanging onto the fat to keep warm. I don't know if that's scientific, nor have I ever seen any research on it. But thinking that makes me feel good, so I'm going to keep thinking it. And keep walking.

Today is one day I don't have a rehearsal, but I have music to do every day. Practicing the songs I'm singing is the main thing. But I'm also working on putting the Ladyesong music into my computer so I can burn rehearsal CDs for everyone. I hope they'll help people, particularly those who don't read music, hear their parts and learn them accurately. It's so hard to do that when you don't have a way to listen to your own part, without the other parts muddling up the works.

Last night the San Jose Chamber Orchestra celebrated Barbara Day Turner, the founder and music director's, birthday with a fundraiser. It was one of those milestone birthdays, so they called it "Maestra's Milestone". Good food. Lots of cool people. Fun entertainment that included a bit from a concerto for harp that will be premiered in May. And a humorous look at the birthday girl's life, put together by one of the board members. All in all, it was a great evening.

Blogging

I suppose it's only natural that when you blog, eventually you'll write about blogging itself. It's an interesting phenomenon, this blogging thing. I'm noticing that many of my posts have been sparked by what I've read on someone else's blog. This is one reason I think blogging has become a kind of conversation, not just individuals musing about stuff and hoping other people will care about their musings.

I think the conversation aspect is also why people enjoy getting comments from people reading their blogs. Blogs have a connection between people that writing essays for traditional publications don't have. In traditional publishing, pre-blog days, you waited to see if maybe someone wrote to the editor about your essay. When you write a blog, you get instant feedback when people comment on what you've written. Today, though, even traditional publishing has that more immediate connection because usually you can email the writer directly. A lot of writers have blogs, too, and you can read more there and comment.

This all seems obvious, now that blogging has become so common. But blogging is such a recent phenomenon that it boggles my mind how quickly it's become a part of our culture. No surprise to me that us social creatures will glom onto any way to try to communicate with each other. Sometimes I wonder, though, if we're really communicating because, as with every type of communication, there's what we think we wrote, what we wrote, and what you read.

Stuff

I walked an extra day this week. Paul worked overtime and I didn't want to sit at home this morning. So I meandered off to El Paseo and had coffee at Peet's. That's two miles each way. I didn't push for speed because this wasn't supposed to be a workout, yet it only took me 50 minutes to get there. That's a ton faster than my normal walking pace of a year ago, and a year ago I wouldn't have been able to make it at all. I've come a long way since I started walking and that's a good thing.

I normally don't write fanfic. But I have one that won't leave me alone. It's in a world who's creator has said it's OK to do fanfic and I'm not going to post it up anywhere or anything. It's just for me to play with. The idea includes some types of writing that I've never done before and they're not needed for my current WIP. So, I decided to explore this idea and these writing techniques as a reward after I finish my work on 50 Ways for the day. It's a just for fun thing, and I'm always up for fun stuff.

Other than that, things are pretty much the same around here. Paul and I are celebrating the first paycheck of the new job by going out to dinner. It's kind of a ritual thing we do when he starts a new job. We hope this is the last one for a very long time. We have tickets to a concert tonight, too. We're not sure we're going because it's about 30 miles away and he's worked six days this week. A late night may not be in the cards. If he's too tired, we'll give the tickets to one of our sons and just enjoy a quiet dinner and maybe a browse in a bookstore.

Walking and other stuff

Walking is becoming a bit of an addiction, I think. I get grumpy if I can't walk. That's a good thing. I discovered I can walk to the mall that's two miles away, have coffee, and walk home without any problem. That's a total of four miles. I don't think I've ever been able to walk that far this easily. It's cool.

I'm thinking that good days to update this blog are Tuesday, Friday, and over the weekend, since those are the days I don't have rehearsals and stuff. That way I won't be taking time away from practicing music and writing in order to write in the blog. So, I don't think I'm sticking to my original plan of writing every weekday, not that I've been doing that recently, anyway. It's just that I'd thought of trying to get back to that original goal. My life is much busier now, though, and I don't have as much time to blog. A busy life is a good thing, so I'm happy with making that change. It's doable, so I'm more likely to do it.

I'm settling into a good routine for my new job, my music, church, and family stuff. I don't like rigid schedules, but a general routine is helpful because it allows your brain to think about more important and interesting things than, "When am I going to do this or that?" I started a to do list in my little calendar. I don't always get everything done, but I expect that and start with the most important things first. I put things on my to do list that are fun, rewards for doing the not-so-fun stuff. I'm not rigid about it, though. Sometimes I do the fun things first and sometimes I only do the fun things. But sometimes I eat dessert first or go out and get dessert instead of dinner. Life's too short not to enjoy as much of it as you can, as long as you don't become a total hedonist and ignore your responsibilities completely.

Things are Humming Along

All of my music has started back up. Paul has one group that won't start for another week. I've joined another choir, one Paul sang with over Christmas. It's called "Funtimes Singers". I need to get back in the habit of posting concert dates and info, in case any local folks are looking for something fun to do.

It looks like spring is bustin' out with show tunes. Two of my choirs are doing a lot of show tunes this season. It's going to be fun. The music for Funtimes isn't going to be too difficult, which is a good thing, since Ladyesong looks like there will be some super challenging stuff and lots of memorized music.

I like my new job a lot. It's another musical thing, in a way. I'm taking care of phones, ticket sales, and miscellaneous office work for the San Jose Chamber Orchestra. It looks like music is going to play a bigger part in my life, now that my kids are grown up and I have the time for it.

Writing may seem like it's far from my life, but it really isn't. I just haven't been blogging about it much. This past year I've been writing the occasional blog entry, emails, chatting, and doing lots of journaling. Lots of words have left my pen, but not much fiction. I'm not super upset about that. As I look back on it, there are a lot of good reasons more journaling got done than fiction writing. It's not important what they were. What's important is that things are now working better and I can focus on fiction more this year than last year. I knew it would work out this way. I just didn't know when. It's kind of ironic, in a way, that it all changed right at New Year's, since I try so hard not to make resolutions or changes at New Year's, mainly because doing it is sort of expected.

Anyway, I have a lot of typing of stuff I wrote by hand to do. And then I can write new stuff. It will likely be a couple of weeks before the word meter moves. I have a tendency to lose words, not add them, when I type stuff in. I don't change the progress bar when the word count goes down. I just wait until I've added more, as I always do. We'll see.

Still walking. When I started walking to the shopping center, it took me 45 minutes each way. Today it took me 35 minutes to get home. So, I'm walking faster. I wonder if the cold weather is partly at fault. I walk faster to stay warm. In any case, I'm enjoying my walks and coffee and private time to write in my journal.

Happy New Year!!

I don't do resolutions, so don't expect to see a post about them here. You'll have to move on to someone else's blog for that.

Here's an update on the ongoing drama that is my life. First, Paul loves his new job. It's working out great. Benefits start after only one month on the job. I see new glasses, dental work, and routine medical stuff on our horizon, finally. I can find out how to handle the health issues that have kept me from working the past few years. I am going to have to find the "dreaded day job", as artistic types call the money work that puts a roof over their heads and food on the table so they can devote some time to their art. It's just too expensive here in CA to rent a place on one average income.

I hope to finally get a notebook computer sometime this year. I'm doing some part-time work from home for a friend. It's not a lot of money, but if I save it up, I should have enough for the machine I want before the year is up. And when I get that regular job, I can add some of that money to the PT income.

I'm still walking. I was up to 3 miles on the track. After Paul started his job, I started walking to a local shopping center for coffee. It's about 3-1/2 miles, total. It surprised me how easy the walk is. I'm thinking about walking a different direction to a coffe place that's 2 miles, one way. At least while I'm not working and have the time to do it. I don't know what my current weight loss is or my blood pressure. I started walking mainly hoping to lower the blood pressure, so we'll see, come February, whether I succeeded in that. The last time I was on a scale, which was a few weeks ago, I'd lost 33 pounds. Not bad for a person who wasn't trying to lose weight. I used Christmas gift money for much-needed new clothes. 4 sizes smaller. I'm happy with that and, while it would be great to keep losing, I'd be fine with maintaining for a while.

I didn't post for the last couple of weeks because of the super busy holidays. We had the regular stuff everyone does, plus four choirs between us to do rehearsals and concerts and stuff. It was great!! Then it was kind of a letdown because they all took a break. We needed the break, but I still missed it. It's all starting back up again this week and I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to be singing in three groups this spring. The music looks like it will be challenging and fun.

Last, a recipe, sort of, to start the new year with. It's not a recipe as much as a technique. I've been experimenting with braising these days because all the cheap cuts of meat need long, slow cooking to be tender. And that's what's been on sale. I'm looking for really simple stuff, so I started experimenting with that pot roast recipe I posted a while back.

I got a large pork shoulder roast on sale a couple of weeks ago. I had them cut it into two smaller roasts. I decided to try to do one like Pork Carnitas and the other like BBQ Pulled Pork. So, I kept the idea of putting the roast on a bed of sliced onion and cooking it at 400º F. I added one large can of enchilada sauce for the Carnitas and two regular-sized bottles of BBQ sauce for the Pulled Pork. Next time, I think I need to double the amount of enchilada sauce so there will be enough to spoon on the filled tortillas.

I cooked them on two different days using the same technique. I put them in for an hour. Then I turned the roast and spooned sauce over the top. I cooked them for another hour, turned and spooned sauce over. I stirred the sauce in the pan, too, so it wouldn't be as likely to burn. The last couple of hours, I did the turning, spooning, and stirring every half hour. Because I wanted shredded meat, I cooked them for a full four hours. If I'd wanted to slice it, I'd have only cooked them for 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

To serve them, I used two forks to shred the meat. I put beans and cooked rice in the enchilada-flavored pork, but next time, I'm serving the rice separately. I thought the rice flavor covered up the pork flavor too much. I served the enchilada filling in whole wheat tortillas. I made sandwiches out of the BBQ Pulled Pork, using ciabatta rolls, rather than softer hoagy rolls. The BBQ sauce really soaks into the bread, so you need a hard roll or it will get soggy and hard to eat.

Both were excellent and better left over, as long-cooked dishes often are. Both of these are wonderful winter dishes. The oven keeps the kitchen toasty warm while you cook dinner. Mangia!!

News!

Ok, so Paul didn't get the job I mentioned in the last post. He got the one he interviewed for last week. Good job for him as it's his favorite type of work. It starts after the holidays. It's not a temp job, so all's good here. It's the best Christmas gift we can imagine. Maybe next year we'll manage to be celebrating in our own place. That's our next goal.

We've been super busy, since between the two of us, we're in four different choirs. Last week and this week are the two busiest for us. We've had rehearsals or concerts almost every night, and a few in the daytime, too. It's fun. For us, doing music kind of makes the holiday season extra special. So, it's been a good year for that.

We're still walking. I have no idea how much I weigh because I don't have access to a reliable scale, right now. But the jeans I bought are four sizes smaller than the ones I used to wear. I'm up to three miles in an hour, five days a week. The only thing I'm doing, really, is trying to walk at a challenging pace, which means gradually speeding up. My next goal is to add another lap without adding more time. There are people who walk a lot faster than I do, so I know it's an achievable goal.

I've decided to try a different approach to getting the writing done, once we're finished with super concert season. I'm going to reward myself for working on 50 Ways by playing with an "indulgence". It's something I want to write just for fun. I have some things I want to try, but they don't fit into 50 Ways, my current WIP. It will be a way to stretch my writing ability without waiting for a project that needs those types of scenes. We'll see how it goes, but it's going to be a bit before I can start because right now my life is so busy. The other thing I want to do is to post more regularly and let anyone who might still be reading this know how it's going.

I Hate Figuring out Titles for my Posts

I'm considering numbering them. lol I want to try to post more frequently, now that I'm getting out of the funk I was in for the first part of the year. We'll see how that goes.

Writing, Writing, Writing--

I figured out why I wasn't writing. I needed to do what my friends Sheila (PBW)and Holly did a while back. A lot of the blogs I read, whether by aspiring or published writers, are very focused on the publishing industry and how hard it is to get published. How hard it is to write to that standard. How hard it is to whatever. It's a very negative and discouraging message, especially with my current financial situation. It became too easy to think about needing money and how hard it is to earn it by writing. I needed to step back and evaluate my thinking, so I stopped reading blogs and stuff for a while.

If I'm tinking about needing money, I start to feel guilty about writing. I feel like I'm wasting time I should be spending figuring out how to bring money into the house--now. The picture painted of the publishing industry by people who write about it makes it seem like it's hard to focus on what you want to do--write--once you start to sell. Because there's the sales numbers and building "buzz" and working to create a career. But you can't build a career on one book. You have to keep writing more. And it seems like a lot of published writers are crazily being obsessive almost to the point of not having a life outside of their writing and career. I don't want to live that way. I like doing a lot of other things and I'm not willing to give everything up to be a writer. (Or to be any one other thing, either. But that's a subject for a different post.)

Another aspect of it is that worrying about whether the WIP might or might not be publishable or sell stops my creativity cold. I start judging the work almost before it's on the page. The best way for me to do my best work is to just write it. Put aside all thoughts of publication, money, sales, career, etc. I don't know how that will work when I finally do sell something, but the time to worry about that is later. After it happens.

These thoughts led me to is back to the WIP. I need to focus on the current project. I need to focus on writing the book that's in my head, getting that story on the page. That's it. To do that, I've decided to limit my blog reading and other internet stuff, so it doesn't overwhelm me. And not read blogs or do internet stuff until after the day's writing is done. So, if I don't post often to your blog, don't think it's because I don't read it anymore. I just don't read as often. I have to take the same attitude Sheila once posted about: Protect the work.

Other Stuff

Everything else is pretty much going along the same as it has been. We've learned that David and his team will find out at the con whether they came in first, second, or third. That's in LA the first weekend in November. So, I wish them the best and hope they come in first. :)

I'm B-a-a-a-a-ck

Blogger tech support has been very helpful and I can now post on my blog again. YAY!!

Woo Hoo!! David and Chris and Ann and Michelle and Andrew won a finalist's spot in the D&D contest. I don't know if they won first, second, or third, but two of them are going to LA for the convention to show off their video and have a great time with other role players. Congratulations to all of you. You done good!!

I'm walking 10 laps on the track, for 2.5 miles. On the trail, I'm doing one loop, which is about 2.25 miles, but it's a slight upgrade, with two small hills to get up to the bridge across the creek. So, it's a bit shorter, but as much of a workout. I decided to add some distance because I'm at about the top speed I can go at my current weight without getting strain on my knees. Current weight loss: 31 pounds

I looked over the manuscript of my novel. And I'm working on finishing up the first three chapters. Then I'm sending them out for critique and moving on to the next section. I have a good friend who offered to give me a daily nudge to help me stay focused. So far, she's been wonderful and patient with my start/stop efforts. I'll get back to the daily discipline, one little step at a time.

I'm enjoying my two choirs. We're gearing up for Christmas and I have a nice variety of music to sing this season. Paul is singing in church choir and he's found a couple of other groups to sing with, too. He's enjoying the variety of music, too.

And Paul has another job nibble. We'll see if this one works out. If we can get some money coming in, life will be extra blessed, instead of ordinary blessed. :)

Stuff

Stuff is one of my favorite words and I don't know why. It just is.

David's movie: Voting is open until September 30. Just click on the link in the previous post and rate it to vote. You can vote as much as you like. The deal with awarding the prizes is that the official judges at Wizards of the Coast will be choosing the top three from the ten with the most votes. So, the goal here is to keep his video within the top ten, but as high as possible so more people will see it. Thanks for your support.

I've lost 20 pounds and had to replace the boring stuff in a person's wardrobe. I also need new jeans. I used to have 4 pair, but I cannot wear 2 because they're just too big. And my belt is too big, too. I hate wearing a belt when they're this much too big, anyway. It's really uncomfortable. I'm still walking 2 miles, but I'm walking faster. I haven't decided whether I want to increase my distance next week or work on continuing to increase my speed.

Life is pretty much the same, other than that. I've been studying up on writing techniques, which is a good thing. I keep getting more ideas, but they go into the idea file. I learned a long time ago that new ideas need to simmer before you can write them.

David's Movie

My oldest son, David, and some other people, who he names in the email so I won't repeat it here, made a movie. It's a 5 minute video for a contest sponsored by Wizards of the Coast. He wants anyone who's interested to take a look and rate it a 10 so it stays near the top of the list. He's hoping that keeping it near the top will increase its chances of being watched and voted on. Anyway, he gave me permission to post his email with details and a link, so here it is:

Hi All,

My friends and family (Michelle Alvarez, Andrew Haws, and Ann and Chris Sprinkle) and I have made a movie for a contest. The contest is through Wizards of the Coast, the current owners (and manufacturers) of the Dungeons and Dragons game. The movie is intended to have to do with the game. I would appreciate your comments about the movie. It would help a lot if you would watch our movie [and give it a rating of 10 (out of 10)]. Even more important, however, is that we need your votes on the 15th of September, when the the real voting begins. Voting by the public is meant to narrow the entries down to the 10 most popular, from which Wizards of the Coast will choose the three winners.

Here is a link to our video*:

http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/5534

Although it will ask you to verify that you are at least 18 years of age, I can assure you that there is nothing more adult than the average PG movie.

I will send out another e-mail, on September 15th, to remind you to vote for our film. If you would prefer I left you alone, let me know.

-David

*Note: When I put in the code to make a live link, it didn't show up on the screen, so you'll have to copy/paste it into your browser. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Thanks for your support, anyone who happens by and reads this. :)

Summer's Almost Over

Summer's almost over and fall stuff is starting again. I think September is more the new year than January. Community and church activities all seem to start their seasons in the fall. There are lots of ads for season tickets to the theater and music scene showing up now. I feel like I should be gearing up for doing something new and different. I don't feel that way in January. In January, I feel like I should be succeeding with the old stuff I always fail at, the old New Year's Resolutions thing. Maybe that's why I prefer fall new year to January new year--new and different are more appealing than trotting out the same old resolutions one more time. That's why I stopped making resolutions in January at least a decade ago. It seemed pointless to keep promising myself to do things I never actually do.

Ladyesong started up on Monday. We have some cool stuff for Christmas this year. And, as usual, the stuff I've sung before was different arrangements, so I have to keep them straight in my head. When the music is memorized, it's easy to goof up and start singing the old arrangement automatically.

Church choir starts in a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to seeing what Barbara has in store for us this year. We do some really cool music.

I've lost 19 pounds, as of the last time I got on the scale. This is the weirdest weight loss experience I've ever had. It's the only time I've not followed a specific food plan in my whole life. I've been walking and eating the same stuff, but less because I'm not that hungry. I'm not losing it in the same pattern I'm used to. What I'm used to seeing is that I lose it in my face, feet, hands--basically the extremities first. Then, eventually the middle catches up. But this time, I've been losing it pretty much all over, pretty evenly. I measured myself for bras and I'm down a size. I've lost 50 pounds in the past without that clothing size changing. It's a good thing, in my opinion, that it's working that way. I also think I'm repeating myself, but it kind of amazes me because it's so unexpected. So I keep thinking about it and POP, out it comes when I start typing.

Nothing new with Paul's job hunt. I find between 2 and 4 jobs to send to each week. It's frustrating how often the same jobs show up. After six months or so, we resend his resume to those same companies, which keeps him in the system.

Yet Another Update

I can't believe I haven't posted since the end of July and it's halfway through August!! We haven't heard anything about the job. It's still posted on the web site, so we don't know whether to assume they didn't make a decision yet or just haven't taken it down. Oh, well, back to the waiting game.

Paul's birthday's in the first part of Auguest. We went to Red Robin for dinner. I like Red Robin because the food is fresh. They have a lot of fried stuff, including the best fries and onion rings. But they also have a lot of grilled stuff and salads. You can eat really healthy food, or not. And it's always fun to get my family together because they're a bit nutty and always have good jokes and stuff to tell.

Ladyesong starts up again next week. I've missed it and am looking forward to singing again. I'm sure church choir will be gearing up for fall, soon, too. Next week is the last of the summer choir sessions.

I've been writing in my journal a lot lately. I've been thinking a lot about why I'm not writing like I used to and part of it, at least, is just that I'm out of the habit. There are other factors, too, but I think we often look for complicated explanations for things that are pretty simple. I've been reading Twyla Tharp's book on creativity and she talks a lot about routines. It's interesting and I'll probably have more to say about it after I'm done reading it and start doing some of the exercises.

On the exercise front, I'm still walking 2 miles a day, 5 days a week. Paul says I'm walking faster, which is cool. According to David's scale, I've lost 15 pounds. According to my jeans, I'm losing inches in the middle, where you need to lose them for optimum health.

Update & Something Amusing

Update: It turns out Paul's job interview is on Monday morning. I'll keep you posted about how it turns out.

Something Amusing:

This came to me via Bob's blog:

Your Bumper Sticker Should Be

Even if the voices aren't real - they've got some great ideas

What Bumper Sticker Should Be On Your Car?

Perfect for a fiction writer, right?

Good stuff going on

First, I hopped on David's scale on Thursday and discovered I've lost 12 pounds. It's pretty cool, even though weight loss wasn't my goal. Two pair of jeans are nearly falling off, so I'm losing some in that all-important middle where they worry about the fat causing heart disease.

Second, Paul's passed the phone interview and is going to be interviewed in person next week, probably Tuesday, for a good job with a good company. This is a real job, not a temp/contract job. With benefits. Any good vibes, prayers, finger crossing, whatever you do to wish others well will be appreciated. Paul's birthday is a week from Tuesday. Wouldn't a good job be a great birthday gift?

I've been gone a lot this week.

It seems like I'm hardly ever home these days. My oldest son has been walking with us once or twice a week. Then he always seems to have an errand or two to run. It's no big deal for us to take him, so we do.

We're finally in the cooling off stage of that heat wave. We spent a part of one of the hottest days at the movies. We went to see Pirates of the Carribbean--Dead Man's Chest. I loved it. I'd already been forewarned that it doesn't wrap up the story in a nice, neat package. We have to wait until next summer for the end, which is fine with me. That's no different from the last two Back to the Future films.

Next week, Woody Allen's new film Scoop is coming out. I think we're going to go see it. We saw previews when we went to see The Devil Wears Prada and it looks good. A bonus for us fans of Anthony Stewart Head of Buffy fame--according to his official web site, he has a cameo in it.

Other than that, things have been pretty quiet around here. Nothing happening with the job hunt. The paper says there's been an increase in hiring, but it's mostly in the hospitality industry, not the tech industry. Paul's put in applications in at places like restaurants and retail, but they won't even interview him. I suspect it's because nothing he's done uses a similar skill set to transfer over to that kind of business. So, we're still looking at whatever's out there in engineering technician work. And trying to keep a positive attitude.

This is Fun!

It's summer! It's the middle of a heat wave. I don't feel like being all serious and "writerly" today. Besides, it's my youngest son's birthday. Happy Birthday, Chris! So, it's a fun stuff day.

From Evil Editor: Want to know what your blog or web site would sound like if it were written in jive? Go Gizoogle it. Warning: the language is a bit rough, so if that bothers you, don't go there. (So, now I've done it. All of you know my little secret. I'm really not a prude. (grin) I think writers cannot afford to flinch at any words. You never know which ones you'll need to tell a story. But that's just my opinion.)

As for Evil Editor's blog--go there. It's funny and informative. He skewers and revises one of the things all writers dread having to write--the query letter. I've learned a lot about how to write one and you will, too.

Another fun thing from my friend Andi's blog:

You Are Kermit

Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know. You're a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life's problems. Don't worry - everyone know's it's not easy being green. Just remember, time's fun when you're having flies!

The Muppet Personality Test

I love Kermit and I agree--it's not easy being green! :)

I don't usually post on Saturday, but...

I haven't been home to write posts the past two days, so I thought I'd better write something, just so you know I haven't disappeared again.

My husband and I have discovered Sudoku. It's actually quite fun and it does make you work your brain. Keeping our brains healthy is as important to us as keeping our bodies healthy.

We've still been walking. If I lose another inch or two in my tummy, hips, or butt, I'll be able to pull off the jeans I'm wearing without undoing them. I think I need to buy a smaller pair of jeans. I don't get it. I've spent decades of my life exercising and following Weight Watchers and doing what you're supposed to do when you want to lose weight. I struggled so much, ending up following the usual pattern of losing weight and regaining it, although I never have gone back to my highest weight. I don't know if this weight loss will continue or how much I'll ultimately lose, but it's pretty cool that it's happening mostly in my middle, which is where you need to lose it if you're going to have good heart health.

I had a couple of writing topics I wanted to post about, but I can't remember what they were. When I do, I'll write and post them. It's so annoying to have that happen. I wasn't at home to stick the ideas in my file, so out of my head they went. Rumor has it that when you're finally through menopause, you stop having so many memory glitches. I certainly hope so.

Fun Stuff

Everyone is deserting us tonight. Chris has a D&D game. Mom's taking David out to dinner for his birthday. So, we decided to go to Red Robin instead of eating leftovers. We'll have the leftovers for lunch.

I looked at my list and discovered I have a lot of fun quizzes I haven't posted on here. I'm going to post a couple and save the rest for later.

Quiz #1:
Animal quiz: found on Stuart MacBride's blog

Your Animal Personality

Your Power Animal: Eagle Animal You Were in a Past Life: Whale You are active, a challenger, and optimistic. Hard-working, you are always working towards a set goal.

The Animal Personality Test

That's pretty true, even if I do get sidetracked from the goal every so often.

Quiz #2:
From Jean's blog:

Draw a Pig personality test

You drew your pig:

Toward the middle of the frame, you are a realist. True.

Facing left, you believe in tradition, are friendly, and remember dates (birthdays, etc.). My family's tradition is to not do traditions. We don't try to force traditional times to be the same every time we celebrate because sometimes it just doesn't work. I am friendly. I used to remember birthdays, etc., but I have trouble remembering what day it is at the moment. Rumor has it that when I'm done with this menopause stuff, my memory will get better again.

With many details, you are analytical, cautious, and distrustful. I'm not distrustful. I tend to be too trusting. But I am analytical and somewhat cautious, depending on the situation.

With 4 legs showing, you are secure, stubborn, and stick to your ideals. These are true.

The size of the ears indicates how good a listener you are. You are a good listener. I try to be, but my original family was full of interrupters. You didn't get heard if you didn't interrupt to make your point. It's a horrible habit I catch myself doing way too often.

The length of the tail indicates the quality of your sex life. You have a great sex life. I'll just say, "You all can figure this one out for yourselves." (grin)

Catching Up

It's been really busy around here. I haven't been home much to post. Sunday Ladyesong sang for the church service. I heard a lot of compliments, which is always appreciated. Then I conked out and slept for an hour or so. It's been hot and we've had the windows open. It's a noisy neighborhood so I don't sleep that well at night. Thus, I conk out in the afternoon. I'd rather not, but me and not enough sleep is not a pretty sight.

Sunday night we had a snack and listened to some music by a local singer. She didn't introduce herself while we were there, so I can't give her a plug. Then we went to Mel's recital. It was an interesting program, starting with music from a composer who lived in the 1500s, I think. (I don't have the program, so I'm doing this from memory.) The pieces moved forward in time until the last two, which were by Irving Berlin. The singers sounded great and it was a lot of fun.

After the recital, we still hadn't decided where to go for dinner. We were dithering between one of the restaurants at Santana Row and Max's. It was late enough that we decided on Max's. Max's is down the street from the church and we were hungry. Good dinner, as usual. All in all, we had a really wonderful anniversary.

Then yesterday we took David to run errands and he bought us lunch. The joys of adult children--sometimes they pay for the meal. I had Laydesong rehearsal last night, so I wasn't here to post. I've noticed I've been kind of serious lately, so I think tomorrow I'll look for some fun, silly quizzes to post.

Exercise, Patience, & Writing

First, Tech, who started it, has given me permission to link to The Great Slim Down. Anyone interested in joining the gang in our efforts to lose weight is welcome.

So, how does Thursday's essay relate to writing?

1. Just like you have to think of yourself as a thin person in order to be one, you have to think you're a writer in order to be one.
   
   If you call yourself a teacher or mother or volunteer or whatever, that's how you see yourself. Those roles are where you'll put your focus and energy. And you won't get much writing done because being a writer isn't in your list of who you are. You have to add writer to your list.


2. Just as you have to see your true image in the mirror in order to be successful with weight loss, you have to see yourself the way you are in order to write honestly.
   
   If you're hiding from the dark parts of your soul or hiding them from your readers, your writing will be "fluffy bunny". Nice doesn't catch people's attention. But dark does. Dark is where the conflict comes from. It's where your themes come from. I tried writing nice and I was bored. Good thing I didn't inflict that on any readers. I had to learn to kiss the monsters, a term my online writing group uses to identify the things you don't want to write about, but are the most powerful things you could write about. That's where honesty as a writer comes from, the hard places.


3. Just as permanent weight loss takes time, so does creating and selling a publishable novel.
   
   People want their novel, their first novel, finished--now. And sold and in the bookstores. More people want to have written a novel, and have it out there being bought and bringing in the bucks, than want to sit down and write the story. But neither writing a novel nor the process of publication is fast. If you need to be rewarded quickly for your work, don't become a novelist. It's a rare person who can write and sell a novel, first time out. Most published writers have more than one sitting in a drawer or on a hard drive somewhere that will never sell. You have to take the time to write the practice novels, where you go from beginner to publishable, plus the time to acquire an agent, plus the time it takes the agent to sell the book, plus the time it takes for the publisher to get it onto the shelves. Add that all up and you have a long, slow process. Weight loss seems easier and faster. (grin)
   


4. Just as you have to "use it or lose it" to get and stay in shape, a writer needs to write regularly or you "lose" it by becoming blocked.
   
   If you don't write, you "forget" how. Now you don't really forget. Like riding a bike, when you get back on, you remember. But you get full of doubts about your ability to write again. You say, "I'll do it tomorrow." And tomorrow is just as full of procrastination or other things that keep you from writing as today was. You have to write regularly, if you want to be a writer. It's kind of the definition of writer. Writers write.

It's Friday & I'm Supposed to Post

I even promised an essay. But my internet connection went down yet again and it's late. I just want to go to sleep. So, I'll try to get that essay written and posted over the weekend, even though it's a super busy weekend, with our usual Saturday errands, our wedding anniversary on Sunday to celebrate, Ladyesong singing for church and going to the recital Sunday night. That's not a complaint. I like busy. I just don't know when I'm going to have time to finish the post. We'll see how it goes. And if I don't get it done before, the gods of the internet willing, I'll post on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

Exercise & Weight Loss

I originally wrote this post for a blog that's a group weight loss effort. I'm not trying to lose weight, per se. I mostly post motivational things that occur to me. But since I've been walking, some thoughts occurred to me that I wanted to share with those who read this blog. I don't know if the weight loss blog is a public one, so I'm not going to link to it. Tech is one of the writer buddies I met on Forward Motion.

I'm up to seven laps on the track, three days a week. And a mile and a half on the Los Gatos Creek trail, two days a week. My jeans are getting loose, which is weird because usually when I lose weight or start exercising I notice it in my face, wrists, and ankles first. Not complaining, just observing. (g)

When I was reading Tech's post on patience, a couple of things occurred to me. One good reason to be patient is that it gives you time to see yourself as a normal person. We all think of ourselves as "fat people". Sometimes that image can derail you. It's important to see yourself as you are, not as you were. As you lose weight, take pictures of yourself in clothes that fit well. Post them up and look at them often so your mental image is the smaller you.

You can also use the set of pictures to help you see the weight loss. If you're really big, you can lose a lot of pounds, as reported on the scale, and not really see it in the mirror. But if you have a picture of yourself before you started, you can compare the current picture with the first one you took and you'll see the difference.

Also, even if you have to go to Goodwill or the Salvation Army or a consignment shop, as you lose weight, toss your fat clothes and get clothes that fit. Take more pictures. If you're wearing clothes that hang on you and look terrible and don't show your body at all, you can't get an accurate mental image. So you keep seeing yourself in your mind as the fat person who started this weight-loss program. And that's the person you'll keep trying to become. Plus, if you're clothes are too big, it's tempting to let yourself get big enough to look good in them again.

The other thought I had about patience is something my husband reminded me. It took a lot of years to put on these pounds. He's a bit discouraged because he hasn't noticed any weight loss and he walks a lot farther and faster than I do. (An aside: This is funny, since men tend to lose more easily than women. But if we diet, no exercise, he takes it off way faster than I do.) So his comment was that he doesn't expect to lose it quickly. And, he reminded me that it's about good health, not pounds on the scale.

We hope to be like the 90-something grandma of an online buddy of mine who slipped off a stool and broke her hip. She apparently recovered fine. But what's special about that story is that the stool was in front of a slot machine in the Bahamas. I'd love to be in good enough health to be able to travel when I'm in my 90s. And as much as we all want good health now, isn't it really about not being bedridden when we're really old? That's all about the true cliche--use it or lose it. I'm not saying that if we don't get that, it's our own fault. I just think there are things we can do to increase our likelihood of being that way when we're really old.

One more thing about exercise in general. I've been eating less food since we started walking. I'm not dieting or following any particular program. I just haven't been as hungry. That tells me I'm walking about the right pace and distance for me. I'm not overly hungry, as I would be if I weren't fueling the exercise enough. But, obviously, I didn't need as much food as I thought I did, either. It's not a huge change. Just substituting larger portions of salad and veggies for slightly smaller portions of meat and pasta/rice/bread, etc.

Ok, so what does all this have to do with writing? Well, it's already a very long post, so I'll do that essay tomorrow. Stay tuned. (g)

Nice Concert & Fun Stuff Going on These Days

We did find seats. The music was kind of blah. Then they had a break and fixed the drum mix. They added a second sax. And then they were cookin'. It was a nice evening.

I have a busy week coming up. Ladyesong is doing the special music in church this Sunday. The choir only does four Sundays during the summer. We're singing two pieces, both favorites of mine. "Steal Away" is hard for me because I memorized a different version for another group I sang in and sometimes I start singing the other version, out of habit. We're also doing a spiritual called "Witness", which is more upbeat and is a nice contrast to "Steal Away".

Sunday is our wedding anniversary. 29 years with the same guy and we're still happy, despite the job issues and stuff going on in our lives. We're going to splurge on dinner out somewhere and go to a freebie recital. Mary Elizabeth Enman (Mel), the founder and conductor of Ladyesong, is doing a duet recital with Kathleen Nitz Kazdorf. They will be accompanied by Michael Touchi. If you live in the area, the recital is at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on the corner of Saratoga and Cox Avenues in Saratoga, CA at 7 pm. We might get a late afternoon snack and do dinner after the recital, so we don't have to rush. It mostly depends on how long the recital is and how late the restaurant stays open on Sunday.

Then, next week, Ladyesong has a concert at The Villages. It's a long one. We're doing 22 pieces and I'm trying to memorize them all because that shoulder/arm injury I had isn't 100% healed. It hurts to hold even one or two pieces of music, even without the folder, because in order to see the music, I can't move my arm. I have to hold it in a position that's awkward for the not-quite-healed muscles. I can use a stand, if I have to, but I'm hoping I won't because that's awkward, too. I'll probably end up tripping over the darn thing. My biggest problem with memorizing the music is that I haven't been home the past couple of days to work on it, but I've been able to listen to the rehearsal CD, which does help.

Anyway, I'm planning to post in here weekdays, as I used to, before I started into a downward spiral into a black hole you don't want to hear about. Paul and I started walking a month ago and it's helping a lot. We do the all-weather track at the local community center three days a week and part of the Los Gatos Creek Trail two days. I'm doing seven laps on the track and 1-1/2 miles on the trail. I must have lost some weight, too. The jeans I wore yesterday are getting way too big. And my appetite is down. I'm not eating as much because I'm just getting full. After our walk, I go get a plain, black coffee and write in my journal. The combination is making me feel, and act, like a normal person again. Whew!

We're walking with our son tomorrow and then we're going off to Target, because we both forgot to pick something up when we were there today. Carpooling is cool, especially when you actually like your kid. (g) I'm looking forward to it. He's done with school for the summer and it's nice to be able to spend some time with him.

Happy Independence Day to you Americans out there!

It's interesting to read what people are putting on their blogs to celebrate this day. I have four I'd like to link to because they said good stuff.

• Holly Lisle
• PBW
• Tamara Siler Jones
• Jean Schara

We're going to celebrate American music, I think. One of the local malls has a free jazz concert every Tuesday from May through September. They get great local talent and it's a fun time, if you can find a place to sit.

Changing Things or Not Changing Things

A Pet Peeve

Ok. You're writing along and come up with a situation that totally sucks. All of your ideas to fix it don't work because you set up your world a specific way. What do you do? Stubbornly stick to your worldbuilding and ditch the story because it doesn't work? Or change the worldbuilding so you can write the story you really want to tell?

At Forward Motion, an online writing community I belong to, there's a thing called a "Think Tank". Sheila Kelly, aka PBW, originated the idea. It's a brainstorming session. People come to Conference Room One. Everyone has an opportunity to ask one writing-related question and the participants brainstorm answers until the moderator calls "time". I moderated the Friday Night Think Tank for nearly three years.

One of the things I saw over and over again is that people asked for help with plotting or character development or whatever and automatically dismissed suggestions because they conflicted with something else the writer had already developed. The writer would say, "But it's this way, so that won't work." That attitude sort of defeats the purpose of brainstorming. When you brainstorm, you don't evaluate ideas. You accept them all and let them sit until after everyone's run out of ideas. Then you consider whether or not they're useful.

Sometimes an idea isn't useful the way it's originally presented. But there's a seed in it that can be tweaked and grown so it becomes a way to solve the original problem. Sometimes you have to rethink the whole thing because you've written yourself into a corner. Or you've built a world that has conflicting elements and something has to change if you're going to tell your story. Sometimes, you know what you need to do, but you're looking for a way out because it's too emotionally difficult to write the best way to tell the story. You dismiss the ideas because you don't want to go to that place inside your head.

But if you want to write your best stories, everything you write is up for grabs. You can't hold onto your words as if they were precious gems. You have to look at them in the context of the story you're telling. Delete, revise, edit, find the best ones, the ones that say what you mean. The same is true of plot ideas, characters, etc. They need to be as up for grabs as the words themselves.

Writing a story is a process. Until you've finished the draft, everything can be mutable. You're not taking dictation, although sometimes it feels that way. And even the "dictated" parts are up for evaluation, revision, editing, etc. Eventually, you get to a point where you're not changing anything essential. That's when it's time to say, "This is the way it is." And send the thing out. Or stick it in a drawer as a learning experience, depending on how it turned out. Before that, everything can be changed as you hone it to reflect the real story you're trying to communicate with your words.

So, my pet peeve is that people restrict the possibilities in their writing by making choices that they refuse to reconsider as they make other choices. For me, telling a story is about refining the choices I make to form a whole. I don't know any other way to do it, at least not with a story the size and complexity of a novel. You can't get a whole novel into your head at one time. You have to do it in chunks, and the later chunks can mean changing the earlier chunks. If you read the original premise of the novel I'm currently writing, then looked at what it's become, you'd wonder how in the world it's the same book. Well, it's the same book because it's the same basic idea. I just changed, refined, honed the details to tell the story behind the idea. That's what you have to do if you want to get closer to getting what's really in your head onto the page.

"Dating" Writing & Love/Hate the Internet

"Dating" Writing

I haven't written about writing for a while. You probably wonder if I'm really an SAHW or a SAHBum. Sometimes I feel like the latter, but writing is rarely far from my mind, even if I'm not doing a lot of work on the novel. I've been learning a lot about technique and the publishing business and storytelling and other writing stuff this year. Lately, I've been itching to get back to working on the novel and I know what the next one in that "world" will be about. You can't keep a writer from writing forever. No matter what happens, we always get back to it.

A couple of days ago Robyn Harper posted on Romancing the Blog about dating your story. By "dating" she meant using specific news events that would cause the reader to know exactly when the story happened. Current consensus seems to believe that you should try to write a contemporary novel so that it's within the parameters of the current time, but not so specific that it must be 2006. I started to write a comment, but realized I had more to say than a sentence or two.

I think you have to consider the impact of news events on your story. In many stories, they have no impact because it's not what the story is about. You don't even have to mention them. If I write a mystery about San Francisco in 2006, I don't have to mention any of the catastrophes that occurred in other places around the world unless something about that catastrophe specifically impacts the story. But if I write a mystery set in San Francisco, post-April 16, 1906, then I must mention the earthquake because the earthquake had an impact on everyone in the region. And it would have messed up clues, taken people's attention away from whatever they may have witnessed about the murder, etc. That would be especially true if the murder took place prior to the earthquake.

Another side of this issue is how the culture "dates" a story. I'd write a story that took place in different parts of my lifetime very differently. If I wrote about the 60s and 70s there would be no cell phones, no personal computers, no world wide web. But if I wrote a story that takes place today and ignored those things, it wouldn't feel right to the reader. So, in that way, all stories have things in them that set the timeline. If you try to leave out all of that stuff and write a story that is contemporary, yet not specific to a particular contemporary time, you end up with an empty stage. Your reader doesn't get grounded in the world you're writing about and can feel lost. Plus, setting makes a difference in the story. How characters relate to the world around them is important, but how can you show that if you don't show the specific world they live in, including both the historical setting and the cultural setting?

On the other hand, I think it's possible to get too specific in writing contemporary settings. Marketing people want to "brand" everything. They want to define us by the brand of clothing we buy, the brand of car we drive, and so on. So there's a temptation to use branding as a shortcut to defining our characters and the world around them. The problem is that when you assume that saying your character drives a BMW rather than a Ford means something to the reader, you're making another assumption--that your reader has the same perception about BMWs vs. Fords that you make. And that everyone who drives one or the other is the same kind of person. Obviously, that's not true.

I wonder if Mark Twain, Jane Austen, or Agatha Christie's books would have stood the test of time if they were so nebulous. Could Twain's biting wit even work if he hadn't addressed the specific life he saw around him? When you read his work, you're drawn into his time. Ditto for the other people I mentioned. Christie gets slammed for her British upper crust racist attitudes. But that was who she was and the world of the 1930s she lived in and wrote about. If she had been born into contemporary society, her attitudes and the attitudes of her stories most likely would have been more in line with ours.

I think chasing the "dateless contemporary" is a futile exercise. Maybe you won't be writing about specific current events, but you will be writing about things that ground the reader in the current time period. That specificity is what I think creates a timeless story. The argument is that people won't buy a book that was written a couple of years ago because it's "dated" makes no sense to me. People still read stories written in past times, stories that don't pretend to be any other time. I think that they don't sell because the story isn't a timeless one, a universal story that has appeal beyond the time it was written for. But if writers admit that, then they can't blame the fickle reading public for not wanting "dated" stories and make themselves nuts trying to write a story that's not "dated", hoping that simple answer means it has a chance of selling beyond the immediate release period. They'd have to admit that maybe the problem is with the story itself. They didn't write a timeless story. Very few people can write timeless stories that sell for years and years, or become classics that still sell decades or centuries after they were written. We can only write the best story we can and the rest is really out of our hands. Personally, I take my advice from the example of Twain and co.--write as honestly as possible about the world as you see it, whether it's contemporary or fantasy or horror or whatever. And let time decide the rest.

Internet Provider Rant

I'm in a love/hate relationship with the Internet. Actually, more with the local internet provider services. Our options are old-fashioned, slooooow, dialup or the local cable company. We're too far from the central service thingie to have DSL. The phone company has been promising to upgrade for the past several years. No go, not yet, at least. So, we have the local cable provider. That was great when we first got it. But lately, I've had entire days when I couldn't get online. That makes job hunting very difficult because you can't check job boards, send resumes, etc. without a solid connection. I can imagine trying to fill out some of the forms on some of the company web sites on dialup. Most of them would time out before you got the form finished. So, we're slogging along and hopefully, the job hunt will be faster this time. We do have some unemployment money coming. Only 4 months, though. I don't know why only 4 instead of the usual 6, unless it's just what we didn't use from the last time Paul's contract ended. And, of course, it means less time for me to keep up the blog. (Sigh) I hope whatever readers I have won't give up on me because I'm not able to post as often as I used to.

What's Up?

Life sucks, but then you get over it. Paul's contract ended. Yet again, we do the job hunt thing. I was kind of numb all last week and disinclined to post anything. My eternal optimism eventually takes over, though, and I figure out how to cope.

My arm is almost 100%. There's still a bit of a limit on what I can lift or carry with it. I have almost complete range of motion. I can do all of the basic things like shower and get dressed by myself. I'm grateful for that. I do still get aches or move it the wrong way and cause it to hurt. That's going away more slowly, but it is going away.

I thought I'd share a couple of fun quizzes. They make me laugh, which I need these days. That's why I like to post them. These were discovered on my friend Andi's blog:

Your Seduction Style: Au Natural

You rank up there with your seduction skills, though you might not know it. That's because you're a natural at seduction. You don't realize your power! The root of your natural seduction power: your innocence and optimism. You're the type of person who happily plays around and creates a unique little world. Little do you know that your personal paradise is so appealing that it sucks people in. You find joy in everything - so is it any surprise that people find joy in you? You bring back the inner child in everyone you meet with your sincere and spontaneous ways. Your childlike (but not childish) behavior also inspires others to care for you. As a result, those who you befriend and date tend to be incredibly loyal to you.

What Kind of Seducer Are You?

That one's obviously not aimed at folks who have been happily married for almost 30 years. If I were not married, I think it's pretty accurate to how I am.

Here's one more:

Your Theme Song is Beautiful Day by U2

"Sky falls, you feel like It's a beautiful day Don't let it get away" You see the beauty in life, especially in ordinary everyday moments. And if you're feeling down, even that seems a little beautiful too.

What's Your Theme Song?

Do I see a theme in these things? I always seem to hit on the "sees the beauty in everyday moments" kind of answers. It fits and I think it's a good way to live because I'm more content, in general, than people I know who are always complaining about everything because it's not perfect enough or because they thought it would be different or whatever.

So, I'm curious. What's your life theme? Do you have one?

Music & Shopping

This has been a busy time for my music life. Ladyesong had a concert last weekend. I'd have posted a promo here, but my Internet connection was gone more than it was on last week. It went really well. I enjoyed doing it. West Valley College's Chamber Orchestra did an arrangement of Go Down, Moses that I'd love to do with my church choir.

This week is the big celebration of the 50th anniversary of the church I attend. Lots of musical opportunities there. We're doing a hymn fest before the dinner on Saturday. And singing a favorite anthem for Sunday's church service. Ladyesong is celebrating along with the church, so we're singing two pieces during the service.

Then we have a few weeks and choir stops for the summer. Ladyesong takes a break in August, but we have a concert in July to prepare for. That's going to be tough because most of the music is new to me and a lot of it is supposed to be memorized. I'm going to have to spend a lot of time with the music because this concert is 45 minutes to an hour and it's just us. I guess I'll have to figure out how to memorize music fast. We don't have a rehearsal CD, so I have to play it on the keyboard. Then sing it a capella to see if I can sing it without the music.

My wonderful hubby's been complaining that I need new dresses. Can you believe it? A guy telling his wife to buy clothes? lol So I bought some online. The first one came today. I really like it and it fits fine. The other two should be here tomorrow. Me, the "hates to buy clothes" person bought three dresses in one online spree. Hmmm . . . I think I need to be careful about online shopping. It's way too easy. lol But, now, I need shoes. Maybe on Saturday, before choir rehearsal, I can take a trip to the shoe store.

Internet Issues & an Interesting Quiz

I've been mostly offline the past week because I haven't had a reliable internet connection. It makes it difficult to post regularly, which I find frustrating.

Jean posted an interesting quiz on her blog yesterday. It's a quiz asking what time of day are you. Here's mine:

You Are Sunrise

You enjoy living a slow, fulfilling life. You enjoy living every moment, no matter how ordinary. You are a person of reflection and meditation. You start and end every day by looking inward. Caring and giving, you enjoy making people happy. You're often cooking for friends or buying them gifts. All in all, you know how to love life for what it is - not for how it should be.

What Time Of Day Are You?

This is interesting to me because it's more like me than most of these quizzes. I do enjoy life for what it is. I don't see the point in trying to make life into something it's not, then being disappointed because my expectations aren't met. I don't expect my wildest fantasies to be real, but they're fun to play around with in my mind. I get stories from them because they're so over-the-top, exactly the way fiction is over the top. In real life, though, I try to make the most of each day, doing what I can to build the life I want, and enjoy every minute of that process, because my memories and what I do today are what I have.

I also have learned to appreciate the ordinary. There's a line Henry Fonda says in the original version of Yours, Mine, and Ours with Lucille Ball. He's talking with his teenage daughter, who's trying to figure out what to do about her boyfriend, who wants what every teenage boy wants. Lucille Ball's character is about to have a baby. There's complete chaos going on as they try to follow their plan to make sure the younger kids are cared for and get mom-to-be to the hospital in time. He tells the young girl that this is what life's all about. I think that's where love is built and relationships thrive--in the everyday, ordinary things.

Thought-provoking

Elizabeth Bear's post, "How to Change the World", struck a chord with me. It reads like the things my sons call my "Momisms" because I believe that only if each individual takes personal responsibility for doing what he can to make things a bit better will they ever be a bit better. If you let cynicism make you stop doing what you can because it never seems to be enough or because you can't see that it makes a difference, then the cynics get their perspective validated and the world seems ruder, colder, and harder than it really is.

But then I'm often told I'm naive and stupid for thinking one person can make any difference and I should follow the crowd and look out for "number one". The thing is that I believe that our purpose in life is to care for each other. Not only our circle of friends and family, but everyone whose lives we touch. If everyone did that, we wouldn't have to feel guilty because we can't care for everyone on the planet. We'd know someone else was caring for those we can't reach.

I Refuse to Let This Die

It's been almost two weeks since I last posted. But I don't want the blog to die completely while things get back more or less to normal. I've had internet issues, as well as the arm pain issues, that have kept me from posting. Annoying, but what can I do but wait out both the arm healing and the internet connection?

My arm is getting better. I can type two-handed, but not for long periods of time. It looks like I won't need physical therapy. I just need time to let it heal. I'm only using the sling when I'm out and about, just so people know not to bump that arm. I'm still taking enough Motrin that I'm falling asleep in the afternoon, though. It's annoying because I have things I'd rather be doing than nap for an hour or two.

This week is Easter week. I have one evening I'm not doing a rehearsal or church service and we're shopping that day. Paul needs to exchange a shirt, which is unusual for him. He pretty much wears the same size in everyone's brand, but apparently this one runs large. I think he's going to have to try it on. And I'm looking for a new dress, but being unsuccessful because when I find something I like, they're out of my size. (sigh)

Andi posted a movie star quiz on her friends only blog. The quiz is for women only. She didn't say where she found the quiz, so I don't know if there is one for men. Here's the quiz (with the spelling of Miss Hepburn's name corrected):

Ever wonder which movie star you are most like? Don't read ahead please!

Well, a team of researchers got together and analyzed the personalities of movie stars. The gathered info has been incorporated into this quiz.

There's only 10 questions so it doesn't take long. Number your paper from 1 to 10, then Answer each question with the choice that most describes you at this point in your life, and then add up the points that correspond with your answers.

Don't look ahead or you will ruin the fun!

1. Which describes your perfect date?
a) Candlelight dinner for two
b) Amusement Park
c) Rollerblading in the park
d) Rock Concert
e) Have dinner & see a movie
f) Dinner at home with a loved one

2. What is your favorite type of music?
a) Rock and Roll
b) Alternative
c) Soft Rock
d) Classical
e) Christian
f) Jazz

3. What is your favorite type of movie?
a) Comedy
b) Horror
c) Musical
d) Romance
e) Documentary
f) Mystery

4. Which of the following jobs would you choose if you were given only these choices?
a) Waiter/Waitress
b) Sports Player
c) Teacher
d) Policeman
e) Bartender
f) Business person

5. Which would you rather do if you had an hour to waste?
a) Work out
b) Make out
c) Watch TV
d) Listen to the radio
e) Sleep
f) Read

6. Of the following colors, which do you like best?
a) Yellow
b) White
c) Sky blue
d) Teal
e) Gold
f) Red

7. Which one of the following would you like to eat right now?
a) Ice cream
b) Pizza
c) Sushi
d) Pasta
e) Salad
f) Lobster Tail

8. Which is your favorite holiday?
a) Halloween
b) Christmas
c) New Year's
d) Valentine's Day
e) Thanksgiving
f) Fourth of July

9. If you could go to any of the following places, which would it be?
a) Reno
b) Spain
c) Las Vegas
d) Hawaii
e) Hollywood
f) British Columbia

10. Of the following, who would you rather spend time with?
a) Someone who is smart
b) Someone with good looks
c) Someone who is a party animal
d) Someone who has fun all the time
e) Someone who is very emotional
f) Someone who is fun to be with

Now total up your points on each question:

1. a-4 b-2 c-5 d-1 e-3 f-6
2. a-2 b-1 c-4 d-5 e-3 f-6
3. a-2 b-1 c-3 d-4 e-5 f-6
4. a-4 b-5 c-3 d-2 e-1 f-6
5. a-5 b-4 c-2 d-1 e-3 f-6
6. a-1 b-5 c-3 d-2 e-4 f-6
7. a-3 b-2 c-1 d-4 e-5 f-6
8. a-1 b-3 c-2 d-4 e-5 f-6
9. a-4 b-5 c-1 d-4 e-3 f-6
10. a-5 b-2 c-1 d-3 e-4 f-6

NOW, take your total and find out which Movie Star you are:

(10-17 points) You are MADONNA:
You are wild and crazy and you know it. You know how to have fun, but you may take it to extremes. You know what you are doing though, and are much in control of your own life. People don't always see things your way, but that doesn't mean that you should do away with your beliefs. Try to remember that your wild spirit can lead to hurting yourself and others.

(18-26 points) You are DORIS DAY:
You are fun, friendly, and popular! You are a real crowd pleaser. You have probably been out on the town your share of times, yet you come home with the values that your mother taught you. Marriage and children are very important to you, but only after you have fun. Don't let the people you please influence you to stray.

(27-34 points) You are DEBBIE REYNOLDS:
You are cute, and everyone loves you. You are a best friend that no one takes the chance of losing. You never hurt feelings and seldom have your own feelings hurt. Life is a breeze. You are witty, and calm most of the time. Just keep clear of back stabbers, and you are worry-free.

(35-42 points) You are GRACE KELLY:
You are a lover. Romance, flowers, and wine are all you need to enjoy yourself. You are serious about all commitments and are a family person. You call your Mom every Sunday, and never forget a Birthday. Don't let your passion for romance get confused with the real thing.

(43-50 points) You are KATHARINE HEPBURN:
You are smart, a real thinker. Every situation is approached with a plan. You are very healthy in mind and body. You don't take crap from anyone. You have only a couple of individuals that you consider "real friends". You teach strong family values. Keep your feet planted in them, but don't overlook a bad situation when it does happen.

(51-60 points) You are ELIZABETH TAYLOR:
Everyone is in awe of you. You know what you want and how to get it. You have more friends than you know what to do with. Your word is your bond. Everyone knows when you say something it is money in the bank. You attract the opposite sex. Your intelligence overwhelms most. Your memory is the next thing to photographic. Everyone admires you because you are so considerate and lovable. You know how to enjoy life and treat people right.

I came out like Katharine Hepburn. I think that's cool. When I told Andi who I came out as, she wasn't surprised. Who did you end up being like?

Quote from Stephen King & My Comments

"Can I be blunt on this subject? If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that. Reading is the creative center of a writer’s life."
- Stephen King
ON WRITING

I never fail to be amazed at the number of writers who I meet who tell me they don't read. Or they take their inspiration from movies and TV, which would be fine if they were writing screenplays and scripts, but they're writing novels. Different mediums with different requirements. I don't see how you can learn and understand the novel form if you don't read novels.

A lot of writers quote a lot of "writing rules". They tell me "show, don't tell." They tell me don't use adjectives, adverbs, or dialogue tags. And on, and on, and on. But if they were to read as much as I do, they'd see that none of those, or the myriad of other so-called "rules of writing" aren't as simple as "do this" and "don't do that".

Pro writers appear to break those rules all the time. Why? Well, because the rules were generated to help writers in specific situations, but eventually they became broadly applied to every situation because applying a rule is easy. You can fool yourself that you're a good writer because you know how to follow the "rules". But unless you've thought about why you're following the rules and whether you should break them this time, you're not writing at your top level of quality.

What should you do instead? Read, read, read. Look at what the writers of the good books do. Do what they do. Think about your writing as you write and compare the way you're using techniques to the way the pros use them. Then go back and make your writing quality as good as the best books you read. If you can't do that, you're writing's not ready for publication.

Good luck!!

Past Life

From PBW:

Your past life diagnosis: I don't know how you feel about it, but you were male in your last earthly incarnation.

Not surprised, but I like being female. (grin)

You were born somewhere in the territory of modern Hungary around the year 1775.

Ooookay--I'd have thought England in the 1800s. Or somewhere around Tuscany.

Your profession was that of a leader, major or captain.

Huh? And I'm a "timid, constrained, quiet person."

Your brief psychological profile in your past life: Timid, constrained, quiet person. You had creative talents, which waited until this life to be liberated. Sometimes your environment considered you strange.

Creative talents is the most spot on thing it came up with. And, for the record, my environment still considers me strange. Ask my sons, if you don't believe me.

The lesson that your last past life brought to your present incarnation: Your main lesson is to develop magnanimity and a feeling of brotherhood. Try to become less adhered to material property and learn to take only as much as you can give back.

Good advice for anyone.

Do you remember now?

Nope.

Too Funny

I found this on Agent Obscura's blog. The author's blog can be found here: Nancy Fulda



Let There Be Write
By Nancy Fulda
18 April 2005

(1) In the beginning the author created the concept and the story.

(2) And the story was without form, and void; and blankness was upon the face of the page. And the fingers of the author moved upon the face of the keyboard.

(3) And the author said, Let there be plot: and there was plot.

(4) And the author saw the plot, that it was good: and the author divided the plot into two characters.

(5) And the author called one character protagonist, and the other he called antagonist. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

(6) And the author said, let there be a problem in the midst of the story, and let it divide the characters from the characters.

(7) And the author called the problem Conflict. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

(8) And the author said, let the story bring forth setting, and imagery, and nifty neat scientific gizmos, or cool magic, each story after its kind: and it was so. And the evening and the morning were the third day.

(9) And the author said, let there be turning points in the conflict to surprise the protagonist and the antagonist, and to be for signs, and for foreshadowings, and for cliffhangers, and surprises. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

(10) And the author said, let the story bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life: supporting characters, and background animals, and pets with personality, each story after its kind, and let them multiply, and fill the pages of the story. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

(11) And the author said, let the story bring forth themes, and subthemes, and philosophical lessons to fascinate and taunt the reader, and let them have dominion over the setting, and the imagery, and the host of background characters, and over every lesser thing which creepeth upon the pages.

(12) So the author created the story in the image of his fantasy; many stories, created he them, and he said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish my bank account, and bring me prestige and literary acclaim, for you are my greatest work. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

(13) And on the seventh day the author rested, and he looked again upon every thing that he had written, and behold, it was a piece of junk.

Update

I had a followup visit with the doctor. I have a treatmeant plan. It includes lots of Motrin, which makes me sleepy. But there's progress and if that continues I may be able to avoid physical therapy. I'm OK with doing it, if it does become necessary. It's paying for it that's the problem.

Paul and I are leading the Lenten service tomorrow. It will be the first time I've sung solo in about 30 years. It will be cool because the music is good. Ladyesong is doing a really nice version of Amazing Grace and O Bone Jesu by Palestrina at Prince of Peace on Sunday. Lent/Easter and Christmas seasons are great because we get to sing more.

I hope this shoulder gets better soon, but it looks like at least two more weeks of frustratingly slow, one-handed typing. I'll have to keep entries short, but I really want to get back to more interesting topics than my sore shoulder.

Waiting

So, now I get to wait for the results of the x-rays. The hardest part of this injury is that showering and dressing make my arm hurt. I'm tired of sitting around in my bathrobe and mostly being stuck at home. I may have to do some clothes shopping, if it turns out that I'm going to be one-armed for a while. Skirts and tops or dresses are easier to manage than the jeans I usually hang out in. But they have to be long because pantyhose are impossible. And they have to be pullover or button down the front. I only have one pair of shoes that I can wear with dresses, so I'll need a pair of flats, too. Hell of a way to get a new wardrobe, huh?

Going to the Doctor

I found a low-cost clinic & am getting my arm looked at this afternoon. I'll be glad when I'm not posting about health problems. I hope you all are doing better than I am!

Black Cloud

I think there's a black cloud over my head. Yesterday I tripped and hurt my arm. I'm typing one-handed, which is very uncomfortable.

OTOH, it gave me a chance to read Rebel Ice by S.L. Viehl. Go read. I'll write more when I can type again.

Sleeping, mostly

I've had a horrible bout with some sort of stomach bug. I've been mostly sleeping this week. I'll be back when I'm better. I cannot believe how many minor illnesses I've had this year. I've never been sick like this before in my life. Oh, well. I am getting better and will be back posting soon.