Reorganization, fear, and writing, in no particular order, for no particular reason
Room switcheroo: Spent last evening reorganizing books in the newly placed bookcases. The new main floor--whatever it will be called--is coming together. It will be very different than it was before. (And yeah, it hasn't been painted yet, so it will come apart again before it comes together, but I can't stand living with the chaos anymore.) I really do need some sort of furniture with drawers for storage. It's looking more and more like I can justify the cost of the beautiful step tansu I've been wanting. Oooh! Pretty Asian furniture.
Jericho and nuclear nightmares: Whilst I rearranged and reorganized, I watched the "Jericho" marathon on SciFi, so now I can say I've seen, what, four episodes? I totally understand the fan response now and must see the rest of Season One. Only problem? I'm having flashbacks to the '80s and the Reagan era, when I used to wake up in the middle of the night with the cold sweats, genuinely convinced we were all going to die in a nuclear strike. Bad dreams tonight (which is why I'm awake at 5:15 AM). Thanks, President Reagan. (Why don't people ever talk about that, about the kind of fear that man instilled in the populace? It was governance by fear, and W has taken a page from that play book and elevated it to an art form.)
Writing: In Damon Knight's book "Creating Short Fiction," he says that asking a writer to explain her process is like asking a centipede to explain how it decides which feet to move first. If he tries, he'll trip. I know for fact that this isn't necessarily so, having seen it in action on LJ in several journals. I've been thinking about how I made certain decisions about what and what not to include in the story I just sent off to the workshop. Although I know that I need to learn how to more effectively shut up my inner editor (because she'll trip up Centipede Me--a.k.a. Writer Me--every time), I also need to learn how to listen to my instincts. It took me years to learn that as an editor, which is why Editor Me can bludgeon Writer Me every day of the week and twice on Sundays. But if I'd listened to Writer Me more carefully, a certain character wouldn't have stayed in the story, and I would have brought out at least one thematic issue a little better. I understand that this is what revision is for, and I've already made a bunch of notes about what I want to change and how I want to change it. I think I'm getting better at turning down the volume on the Editor--it will ultimately help me improve my first drafts--but I still have a long way to go.
Cats: Merlin has a follow-up appointment with the vet this AM. He's doing okay. He's currently perched upon my knees. Lately I can't sit down or lie down without being perched upon by Merlin. Don't know why he's been so cuddly lately, unless it's just that it's winter. I don't object; it's just that it's a marked change in behavior. Interesting.
Jericho and nuclear nightmares: Whilst I rearranged and reorganized, I watched the "Jericho" marathon on SciFi, so now I can say I've seen, what, four episodes? I totally understand the fan response now and must see the rest of Season One. Only problem? I'm having flashbacks to the '80s and the Reagan era, when I used to wake up in the middle of the night with the cold sweats, genuinely convinced we were all going to die in a nuclear strike. Bad dreams tonight (which is why I'm awake at 5:15 AM). Thanks, President Reagan. (Why don't people ever talk about that, about the kind of fear that man instilled in the populace? It was governance by fear, and W has taken a page from that play book and elevated it to an art form.)
Writing: In Damon Knight's book "Creating Short Fiction," he says that asking a writer to explain her process is like asking a centipede to explain how it decides which feet to move first. If he tries, he'll trip. I know for fact that this isn't necessarily so, having seen it in action on LJ in several journals. I've been thinking about how I made certain decisions about what and what not to include in the story I just sent off to the workshop. Although I know that I need to learn how to more effectively shut up my inner editor (because she'll trip up Centipede Me--a.k.a. Writer Me--every time), I also need to learn how to listen to my instincts. It took me years to learn that as an editor, which is why Editor Me can bludgeon Writer Me every day of the week and twice on Sundays. But if I'd listened to Writer Me more carefully, a certain character wouldn't have stayed in the story, and I would have brought out at least one thematic issue a little better. I understand that this is what revision is for, and I've already made a bunch of notes about what I want to change and how I want to change it. I think I'm getting better at turning down the volume on the Editor--it will ultimately help me improve my first drafts--but I still have a long way to go.
Cats: Merlin has a follow-up appointment with the vet this AM. He's doing okay. He's currently perched upon my knees. Lately I can't sit down or lie down without being perched upon by Merlin. Don't know why he's been so cuddly lately, unless it's just that it's winter. I don't object; it's just that it's a marked change in behavior. Interesting.