Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Brief Writing Weds

The point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it.
- Bertrand Russell

~*~

Okay... this will be a quickie today. CP is going well, though I'm procrastinating more than I would like. Nothing to do with the story, either - I still love my plans for it. And I am excited about its prospects, though I have to write it before I can judge if those prospects even have a chance of opening up this time around.

I am caught up on my OWG required crits, though there are others that I want to do and am not sure that I will get to. And I'm supposed to edit my Naked Project story, and haven't done that yet. 4 days left...

That's about it today. I don't have much energy for writing an update post. The writing-related energy I do have I'm saving for the story plotting.

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Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Kraft Knews

Don’t you wish there were a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence? There’s one marked ‘Brightness,’ but it doesn’t work.
- Gallagher

~*~

I did some spinning last night. I’ve been slowly re-working the pencil roving I had spun up. The first time I spun it, I decided to try making it into singles. Then I looked at it, and decided that the way I had spun the singles they wouldn’t be strong enough to knit into what I wanted to use it for. So, I have been re-spinning it thinner and then making it a 2-ply yarn. It’s much better this way.

But anyway, I’ve been spinning. And I’ve been getting help from the fuzzy ones. Suzy likes the roving, and wants to help me separate out the different strands. (And then she gets preoccupied and tries to eat it instead.) And Peekaboo decided that he wants to make sure the wheel works properly.

Inspector Peekaboo

Now, let me see… just adjust this knob here, add a little more twist, and increase the cat hair content of the yarn, and it looks great. –Peekaboo

Inspector Peekaboo 2

Lovely little helpers, aren’t they? :)

In more crafty news, I have decided that size 2.0 mm (US 0) needles are smaller than I want to use for the Hot Cocoa socks, and so I am waiting for the size 2.25 (US 1) needles to arrive in the mail. And I am waiting for the 24″ circular needle cable to arrive before I go any further with the Lotus Blossom top. (I’ve done a gauge swatch, and while I didn’t get the gauge suggested I think I have figured out what size to knit that will fit with the gauge I actually knit.) And I am still knitting the Mangotini Socks and the Mystery Stole 3 (aka Swan Lake Stole). I actually would like very much to get the MS3 finished by the holidays. Which means I must KNIT LIKE THE WIND! Yeah. Right. Like that happens a lot around here.

That’s the problem with knitting to relax. When you come up against deadlines, you decide, “I can knit that in time!” and then you realize that in order to knit said item in time for said deadline, you will have to knit fast enough that it no longer is relaxing. Argh.

QC Peekaboo

I’m sorry, but you have a consistency problem with this yarn. Quality Control can’t approve it. –Peekaboo

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Monday, September 24, 2007

Fill In The Blanks

Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality.
~ Jules de Gaultier

~*~

So, last week I mentioned my various packages and showed off pictures of yarn. Today, I don’t have pictures, but I can tell you about my new package of books. We shall do this in a blog-reader interactive style post today, just for kicks.

Fill in the blanks (circle one):

I was ____________ and joined the Writer’s Digest Book Club.

  1. silly
  2. responsible
  3. impulsive

The books I got _________________.

  1. show that I’m serious about writing
  2. make some interesting statements about me
  3. are cause for concern

Buying research books rather than looking the topics up online or at the library is good because _____________.

  1. it supports the writing industry
  2. hard copies in your own private library ensure the best access to information at all hours
  3. it’s harder to trace questionable research

(And, a Suzy picture for those of you who skim blog posts looking for the kitty…)

Suzy & Stash 01

The human mind treats a new idea the same way the body treats a strange protein; it rejects it.
~ P. B. Medawar

So, the books that I actually did get were the following:

Roget’s Super Thesaurus, 3rd Edition. - A good, basic reference book that I don’t didn’t have a copy of.

The Writer’s Guide to Places. - Since my travel budget isn’t as large as I would like, I decided that this was a good - if sadly homebound - alternative.

Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy. - (by Orson Scott Card) Ever since I’d read this one as a library book, I’d intended to buy it. Now is as good a time as any.

Howdunnit: A Book Of Poisons. - The book (of this bunch) that I am the most interested in, and the one that I ran from room to room, showing off with eyes aglow once the package was opened. It has all sorts of information about poisons, including the natural kind and the man-made kind. It talks about things from arsenic to hemlock, from snake venom (and many kinds) to spider bites.

My parents had very mixed reactions to me running up to them and saying, “I got a book on poisons!” My mom nabbed the book and started flipping through it, lingering on the plants section of the book. (Don’t plant lily of the valley if you have people in the house who put things in their mouths. That stuff is very deadly. Like, ‘don’t bother with an antidote because it works so fast’ deadly.) My dad, on the other hand, gave me a strange look and started teasing me. I’m still not 100% sure that he knows what to make of this writer-thing I’ve become. :D

Suzy & Stash 04

She really liked my yarn-shoot. She thought it was a kitty-play-fest.

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Friday, September 21, 2007

Of Packages and Socks

So, I’ve had a package-y week. Since last Saturday, I’ve received a package a day (not counting Sunday) for several days. It’s been great. One thing that’s not in the mail on its way to me that I wish was is a black kitty t-shirt. I might have to actually go to Target and see if I can find one. (And it’s all Chris’ fault! She made me want one!)

I got fiber, I got jeans, I got yarn & new Harmony needles. (I think I got something else, too, but I forget what.) But - the new stuff!

Mosaic 04

I got a shipment from KnitPicks, prompted by the new Harmony wooden needles and the fact that I’ve wanted to get some solid color sock yarn for some time now so that I can try some of the smaller cables in a yarn that will show them off rather than competing for attention. So, the yarns pictured above: Essential sock yarn in Cocoa (ready to become a pair of Earl Grey socks for M), Shine Sport in Hydrangea (for a Lotus Blossom tank sweater from Interweave Knits), the Essential again (with Suzy) and Gloss sock yarn in Woodland Sage for a pair of Bayerische socks for me. Fun fun fun.

I’m looking forward to knitting all of that up. So much so, that I’ve already cast on the Earl Grey (henceforth known as the Hot Cocoa socks, due to colorway) and have been swatching for the Lotus Blossom.

Lotus Blossom 01

I’ve also finished one of the Mangotini socks!

Cabletini 11

So that means my sock totals for the Summer of Socks is a whopping **drumroll** 3 socks! (Not 3 pairs of socks. Just 3 socks. 1.5 pairs.) Not nearly as impressive as Wendy’s 19 pairs, or Deb’s insane sock knitting for the 52 pair plunge, but still. That’s a sock a month. And that’s faster than I think I’ve knit socks before. So it’s still something nice.

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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Week 38 ~ The Buried Pyramid

Week 38 ~ Sept 17-23, 2007

The Buried Pyramid
by Jane Lindskold
(historical fantasy)

This is a fun book with a nice premise, and Mozelle the cat is just the cutest thing ever. I’m not really sure where to classify it, though. It’s a very nice historical fiction to a point, and then it becomes a historical fantasy, and then at the end it seems to be a YA (aka young adult) historical fantasy. Now, I have no problem with YA or historical or fantasy. Or all three combined. My problem is that I like to know going into it what I’m going to get. An example would be the letter game books by Patricia C. Wrede and Carolyn Stevermer - before the first chapter is over, we know the era, we know there’s magic involved, and we know (based on the age of the main characters) that it could be a YA book.

Regardless of the issues I had with the book, it was very enjoyable. I liked reading about the Egyptian theme, and it seems that Ms. Lindskold did her research. I may not know much about Egyptian myths and hieroglyphs, but what I do know matched what was written.

The characters were mostly well-developed, even if one or two was fairly transparent. (By this I do not mean shallow - I mean I saw through their actions from the start, or nearly, and figured out their roles in the plot.) They were not all so easy to pinpoint, however, and there were some pleasantly unexpected parts as well. Definitely an enjoyable book, and it has piqued my interest (again) in the Egyptian myths.

I may one day try another of Lindskold’s books, though I would much rather continue with these characters than start a new series with new characters.

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Procrastination

So, I need to stop procrastinating. I have been building a language, which is cool and was not - originally - procrastinating. But the language is now built, with the exception of a few words that I just haven’t figured out yet, and I haven’t moved on. It is time for me to keep going, and to work on the plot again.

In the meantime, I have been also working on crochet and knitting. Knitting is common around here, but crochet not so much. And yet, when I was in college and doing exclusively cross stitch, the first other textile craft I picked up was crochet. I fell in love with thread crochet especially, and have made many doilies in my life. (A few blankets too, but not with thread.)

doily mosaic

One of the doilies that I made a while ago is the daisy doily pictured above. I made it for my mom one Christmas (I think). It was at least 7 years ago. Beyond that… no idea. But it was fun, and I might make another one, perhaps with a light green in the center instead of yellow.

Hedgie & Daisies

This doily has been loved, and was recently discovered to have been cat-fuzzed. It was in major need of re-blocking, and since I hadn’t ever taken a good photo of it, the time had come for that as well.

I also had recently found an abandoned doily in the WIP basket. It looked sad and unloved sitting there all alone, with no other crochet projects to keep it company… so I finished it. The Berka Blues doily was cast off a couple of days ago, then blocked, and was unpinned last night. It turned out quite nicely, I think.

Dragon on Doily

Also, Friday marks the end of the Summer of Socks. So, I have been working on my Mangotini socks. I think that I should easily have sock #1 of that pair finished in 2 days. (I could cast off now, but I want it a little longer.) At any rate, 3 socks (not 3 pairs - just 3 socks) in 3 months is slightly faster than I normally knit. I credit the patterns. Both Monkey and Cabletini (link is a pdf) are fun patterns to knit, and make the stitches flow.

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Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Spincerely Mine

Okay, okay. I did say that my ‘Around the Blog’ from yesterday was going to be short. There are lots of blogs I read these days. But due to reader request, here is one more… :) Charlie, the wonderful gal who also loves dragons, did indeed post this month. She has a fun little exercise with homophones.

Spincerely Roving 05

Isn’t this yummy fiber? I just love it. It’s from Tamara’s (aka Spincerely Yours,) Etsy store. Love love love. I can’t wait to spin it up. It’s a merino/tencel blend, and looks softer and shinier than anything I’ve spun before, with the exception of the silk I used to make my feather & fan scarf. (But silk is also a touch hard on the hands, or at least my hands, and I’ve never had that problem with wool.)

Spincerely Roving 01

I think I will have to practice spinning on my alpaca roving/top/whatever just to get back in the swing of things. The only thing I’ve spun lately is pencil roving, and so I haven’t really gotten practice drafting. And drafting is the thing that I have the most trouble with, so is the thing I need the most practice on. Argh. Don’t wanna wait. But I think I have to.

Miss Suzy watched with interest as I set out the fiber for the photo shoot. She also seemed to like the colors, or perhaps the smells. Or maybe just the tissue paper. But whatever the reason, she was very attentive. She even let me get my photos taken without disturbing my fiber.

Spincerely Roving 02

Of course, she thought it was hers.

Spincerely Roving 04

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Monday, September 17, 2007

Around The Blog ~ 9.17.07

If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions?
- Scott Adams

~*~

**Reminder: this is now my secondary blog. (Thanks, Jess, for the comment that made ME remember that...) For the best updates and most posts (because I cross-post most things, but not every thing) go to My WordPress Site.**

Secondly, I have photos. Over the weekend, M and I went to Bonfante Gilroy Gardens. It’s a lovely park, and a very relaxing place. It also has two very fun roller coasters (especially if you are the sort that doesn’t like insane death-defying suicidal intense coasters). And there are other rides, too, and places to sit and people-watch, and lovely, lovely gardens.

Thirdly, it’s been a long time since I’ve done an ‘Around the Blog’ post. So, we’ll have a short one of those today, too. With random photos of mine interspersed.

Bonfante Mosaic 1

Mim’s camera is back, and photographing a lovely Seraphim shawl. Nancy at Romancing the Yarn has knit Darth Sweater. Amanda at k is for Knitter has pictures of an almost-finished Duster. Paperback Writer has posted 10 random freeware links and a sign which reads Here Be Cannibals. LesleyW reviews Unshapely Things and Ill Wind. The Sheriff of Knittingham has started her Mystery Stole, L-Squared has a lovely shot of a butterfly, and Chaos tried (unsuccessfully, it would seem) to keep his mom from going away for the weekend.

Bonfante Mosaic 2

Hanna is saving the world a step at a time, and Kait has a new niece-burrito. The new Knitty (magazine) is up! Jess has discovered humility and her brain on procrastination. Bri at Have Goggles Will Fly has a couple of “musts” to share. Melanie at Pink Lemon Twist got some weather assisted knitting done. And Brigitte at Wrapped Around My Finger has some new yummy yarn to show off.

Have a happy Monday, all! I’ll be posting about my new fiber (that I got from the wonderful Tamara of Spincerely Yours,) tomorrow. Suzy pictures tomorrow, too.

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Friday, September 14, 2007

A Test of Courage

Friday Fiver: But in your dreams whatever they be

1. Do you like looking at stars? Absolutely. I can stargaze for hours, as long as I don’t get cold and my neck doesn’t hurt too much.

2. Who do you say “I love you” to? My family and M. And my pets. They seem to appreciate it, too.

3. Did you say “good night!” to anyone last night? Yep. (Oh, you want to know who? M and my parents.)

4. When is the last time you felt blue? I dunno. I try not to dwell on it, and so forget it fairly quickly. I was angry yesterday, but that’s more red than blue.

5. Tell us one of your dreams: I really don’t remember them much. The one that I remember the best is a nightmare from when I was probably around 10, in which I started flying on my bicycle, and when I landed I was caught by an animated skeleton. Not a good dream.

The first part of this post was the Friday Fiver, and pure fun. I don’t have a Friday Snippet today, sorry. Still working things out with what - if anything - I want to post right now.

The rest of this post will be a bit more … well, it’s raw for me, and more political than I usually get.


Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketSo, last night I saw an advance viewing of In the Valley of Elah. I was given a pass by a co-worker who gets them from a PR firm, and I’m glad I went since this is a film I probably wouldn’t have seen, otherwise.

I know, the inevitable question is, “did you like it?” Or, “was it a good movie?” I don’t know how to answer either of those questions. It was a very well acted movie. It was a movie that made me think. It was an unconventional movie that deals with hard truths which most people would rather forget about. I am glad I saw it. I would recommend it to those who are prepared for it to be a hard movie to watch, and who don’t mind some nudity or scenes of violent death. I do not know if I will watch it again. It is still too raw in my mind to make that decision.

One of the things that the movie brought up to me (for those that don’t know, it deals with a missing soldier and his unit who have just returned home from the war in Iraq) is how under-prepared our soldiers are for what they face. They may be trained enough physically, but emotionally and mentally there is so much more going on than they are ready for. I do not know how to better prepare them. I don’t even have a clue how to begin. But I think that we need to do something about it.

We should be putting more money into the military, but not for more troops - we should be putting the funds into making sure the troops we already have are cared for, and are prepared for the horrors that is modern warfare. (I was not around to think this at the time, but I’m sure that this was needed in Vietnam, too. And I have believed for some time that it was needed for the Gulf War. And it is still something that seems largely ignored or swept under the rug.)

(Back to the movie…)

One interesting note was the underlying religious themes in the movie. The title seems out of place, until Tommy Lee Jones’ character starts telling the story of David and Goliath to Charlize Therone’s character’s son. He tells about how the battle took place in the valley of Elah, and how in order to beat Goliath, David first had to conquer his own fear.

And that seems to be the main focus of the movie, for me.

Not the mystery behind who killed Mike Deerfield (Jones’ character’s son), or why he was killed, or even what is pictured in the broken-up video clips Mike shot while in Iraq. Overcoming your fears and besting the monsters inside you… that is the real theme of the movie.

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Wednesday, September 12, 2007

I'd Like to Buy an 'E'...

Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.
- Stephen King

~*~

Grammar sucks. There is no other way to put it, if you are a speaker of the English language. Other people, who speak other languages, can say other things. Things which do not translate into “grammar sucks.” You see, these other people have languages whose grammar MAKES SENSE. We do not. There are more exceptions than rules in English grammar, or so it would seem. There are enough exceptions to the rules that Holly Lisle, in her ‘Create a Language Clinic,’ has a method called “the English Method” which allows you to disregard any rules you want to. You just say that the nouns (verbs, etc.) are “exceptions to the rule” and have done with it.

FlowersOf course, this is silly, since you are creating the rules in the first place. But it does raise a good point about the insanity of the English language.

Now, the reason this is all being brought up is because I am building a language. (Lesley mentioned in the comments yesterday that I was super-organized because I was planning out my NaNo novel already… I assure you that while, yes, I am planning my NaNo, I am doing so now (and in such detail) because I don’t want to spend the two years fixing it that I have already spent on SS (my ‘05 NaNo) and still be nowhere near done with it.)

This year’s NaNo needs to be submittable by April ‘08. So… plan now, stress less later. (I hope.)

Anyway, I don’t really think there was a point to all of this. Except to say how much fun I am having building this language. I won’t want to do it for every new story I write, because then I would be liable to end up with some of my languages all sounding the same (my flaw, not Holly’s Clinic’s flaw) because I like certain sounds and styles better than others. Also because while it is fun, it is also work.

Suzy Face

Yeah, mom. It’s work that takes time when you could be playing with me, instead. –Suzy

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Week 37 ~ Dark Need

Week 37 ~ Sept 10-16, 2007

Dark Need
(Darkyn book #3)
by Lynn Viehl
(urban fantasy, paranormal romance)

This third book in the Darkyn series focuses on Lucan, a character we meet in the first book but don't see in the second. I really liked him, and the insights we get into his life. Samantha, his heroine, is also likable and has nice depth to her character. I think they are a good match and I enjoyed reading their story.

What I disliked most about the book, however, was how little time it seemed we actually spent with either Sam or Lucan. It seemed that there was more focus on this particular book's subplot than on it's main plot. (Clarification: the series has a main theme, and that's a huge theme in the first book since the original MCs are who drive that theme. The other books all have their own book theme that goes along at the same time as the series theme. In the second book - Private Demon - the series theme was a definite SUBplot, and didn't compete with the book's theme. It probably enhanced it. In this third book - Dark Need - it feels like the series theme and the book theme are given equal time, and it feels slightly unbalanced to me. But that's just me.)

Anyway, I did still enjoy it. It's a good read with well developed characters. I had a hard time reading it straight through, however, instead of flipping to the Sam/Lucan parts and ignoring the rest.

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Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Remember.

It may not be much, and perhaps isn’t enough.

But it’s the least we can do.

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Suzy Bluezy

The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.
~Mark Twain

~*~

So, first thing’s first: a preview. I’ve been working on the world for the story I’m going to do for NaNo, and I’ve been working on the doily that I rescued from the hibernation pile. For details and pictures, keep reading…

Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting.
~Alan Dean Foster

Berka Blues 01

This is the doily I found and rescued. It had been sitting around, neglected, for who knows how long. I do know that I didn’t start it in 2007. Beyond that, I have no idea.

Berka Blues 02

But it’s a fun one. It’s the same pattern as the one I made my grandma for her 80th birthday. It’s a “Berka Shells” doily from Southmaid Timeless Doilies to Crochet (that’s a link to Ravelry, if you’re in). This one is done in a variegated blue crochet cotton. It’s fun, though I do usually prefer doilies to be in a solid color. The color changes don’t usually work with things worked in the round. But, this one is okay. Not my favorite color for the pattern, but still fun.

Berka Blues 04

Suzy likes it, too.

Do not condemn the judgment of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong.
~Dandemis

In the writing world, I have been world- and language-building for the story I am going to write for NaNo. It’s fun, so far. I’ve been using Holly Lisle’s Create a Plot and Create a Language Clinics, and they are working wonderfully. So far I have not gotten much of the plot worked up, but I have enough for the moment - especially since I want the language barrier to be part of the plot conflicts. Also, I’ve noticed (from my limited experience with language-building and from what Holly has said) that the way a language works can give you insights into your culture.

Berka Blues 05

(Suzy really likes it. She likes it so much she tries to steal it.)

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Saturday, September 8, 2007

Week 36 ~ Night Pleasures

Week 36 ~ Sept 3-9, 2007

Night Pleasures

by Sherrilyn Kenyon
(urban fantasy, paranormal romance)

This is one of the Dark Hunter books, and while I think it's the first actually about a Dark-Hunter, Fantasy Lover does precede it in the world Kenyon has created. (The main characters from FL show up again in NP as supporting cast.)

I enjoyed the book. It was fun to read, with nothing that jumped out at me as a 'flaw' until the end of the final battle. And even then, it's not so much that there was anything 'wrong' with the book, more that some important stuff happened off-screen (in order to keep the reader guessing, I presume) and we got shoved exclusively into the hero's head instead of flowing back and forth between the hero and the heroine. (Actually, the POV shifted too often to fit my personal preferences. I like a tighter focus in third-person-POV, and I like it to be obvious when the focus changes. Some kind of visual break is what I prefer.)

The sex scenes were okay. I didn't roll my eyes at the positions, and only chuckled at the language a teeny bit. They weren't as steamy as I find some other authors (such as Kresley Cole) to be, but they were quite adequate.

The character development worked for me, too, though I would have liked to see more of Amanda's (the heroine) family and their oddness for myself. We're told about a lot of strange things that they do, but very little of it happens on screen. This wasn't necessary to the plot, but it would have been fun.

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Friday, September 7, 2007

Fiver, but Snippetless

Red SkyFriday Fiver: 9.7.07
And maybe I should do the same

1. Have you ever run away? From what? From home? No. From emotions, or feelings, or other such? Yeah, I suspect I have.

2. What is the longest you’ve dated someone? Dated… a couple of years, I guess. Then I married him, then we got divorced. Take that as you will.

3. What don’t you like to think about? Sad things.

4. What was your last illness? Something that made me throw up. I’m not really sure what it was, but it wasn’t pleasant.

5. Do you like to get revenge? What’s the point of it? Once you get revenge, then the person you got revenge on wants revenge, etc. I really don’t see much of a need for it. It’s better and healthier to move on and get past it. –note, please, that ‘revenge’ is different in my eyes than ‘justice.’ If someone were to do me wrong in an illegal way, I would want justice. But not revenge.

~*~

As the title says, there is no snippet this week. I’m still working on where I want to go with that story, and I just don’t have the energy to put up a snippet from it. But, I did get a moment of clarity with regards to SS, so there will likely be bigger changes to it than I had originally thought. Anyway, it means a postponement of snippets for the moment. Maybe next week I’ll post a poem or something else, but I wasn’t thinking that far ahead for this week…

Have a great weekend!

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Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Lit Up

Well, I promised pictures, and so here are pictures. (Actually, I’ll spread them out a little, to make the post seem more balanced. Even though I’m only going to talk about the pictures up here at the top.) Also, Jess has a nice post on recognizing depression, and especially how depression affects writers. Go check it out.

Cabletini 08

This is my current sock-in-progress, the Mangotini (Wendy’s Cabletini pattern). I thought it was cute, and to go with the name I managed to find a martini glass. (Okay, so it has a candle in it. So sue me. Just be glad the candle wasn’t lit… Hmmm. Seems like some candle maker has a punny sense of humor.) This first sock is up past the heel, and fits me lovely. So I guess I get to keep the socks, after all! (I had worried while knitting it up… cable patterns always make a sock scrunch in and look funny.)

Anyway. On to the writing content.

It is the first Wednesday of a new month, so that means writing goals! Here is what I would like to get done during September:

  1. Finish critiquing AD for Phoenix.
  2. Do a minimum of two (2) crits for my OWG group.
  3. Post my own chapter to the OWG for critiquing.
  4. Get most of the preliminary worldbuilding done for CP. (”How much is that?” Well, enough so that I can do #5.)
  5. Write line-for-scene index cards for 50 scenes (for CP) and put them in an approximate outline.

Now, I realize that is more writing work than I have done all year. However, I need to get this outline done before I can write the novel, and I need to write the novel before I can polish it, which needs to be done before I submit it for the contest… Etc. And I do fully realize that numbers 4 and 5 might get carried over into October’s goals. But my goal for November is already set: to complete as much of the first draft of CP (which needs to be 80-90,000 words) as possible, with a minimum acceptable level of 50,000 (to “win” NaNo).

Cabletini 10

I am hoping that I can easily get back into the swing of things. Though with as much going on in life as there is currently, it will take quite a bit of determination and will power. I know I am capable of it. Let’s see how dedicated I decide to be.

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Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Evasion

Where we have strong emotions, we’re liable to fool ourselves.
- Carl Sagan

~*~

There has been progress on the first Mangotini sock, but sadly it eluded the camera all weekend and so there are no new pictures of it. There has also been progress on the Swan Lake Stole (formerly the Mystery Stole 3), which also eluded the camera. The sock is past the heel (barely) and the stole is some few rows past the beginning of Clue #3.

It’s progress-central around my house, actually, because I’ve been getting work done on CP also. Not as much as I would like, but enough to satisfy for the moment. I’m doing a combo world-build and outline for this one. I know the basic idea for the story quite well: spaceship crashes on uncharted planet due to sabotage, sole survivor falls in love with one of the natives, HEA. And I know some of the twists and turns that the story will take to make the relatively standard basic plot more interesting. The fun part for the early stages of this project, for me, has been building the world as I discover what’s needed.

I think that Holly Lisle said that she’s lately taken to only building her world as she discovers the world’s needs, and that seems to work for me (at least in this instance). In the past I’ve gotten way bogged down with building anything that could possibly be needed for the story, and then was bored enough with the world that I still haven’t finished (or started, in one case) the actual writing. This way I have some room for exploration left as I learn more about the characters.

Also, I’ve been using a program that was pointed out to me by Diane Duane, called TiddlyWiki. It’s kind of like your very own Wikipedia for your project. And since you save it on your hard drive (or jump drive, or - if you still have one - floppy drive) it’s still secure. (Or, at least, as secure as anything else on your computer.) It’s neat, though, because you can reference different things within your notes with hot links, just like Wiki does. (Or blogs do, for that matter.) It seems to be a great way to organize a digital journal for a project, because you don’t have to hunt everywhere for where you wrote about that little detail - you just link to it so you can click on it later. Seems to be working great for me.

Anyway, that’s it for today I think. Sorry for the lack of pictures. Maybe I’ll sprinkle some in tomorrow (if the knits consent to pose for photographs). This week Jess over at Tudor’s Desk is having a series of posts on writing and depression, so if you suffer from either of those (depression or the writing bug) you may want to head over to her site and check it out.

Have a great short work week!

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