REALLY Scattered Thoughts
Hi!
I still owe you guys that reminiscence about my fiction-writing professor. Remembering all the pieces & putting them in the best order takes more brain than I've got at the moment, so today I'm going to scribble a bunch of stuph that keeps flitting around somewhere back of my eyes. Business first, then more light-hearted or brainless thingies to finish up.
Writers at the Beach, March 13-16; Rehoboth DE
I'm going to the Writers at the Beach conference in Rehoboth DE with WR leader Joanne Reinbold, beginning next Thursday the 13th until Sunday the 16th.
I've been going to conferences for about 25 (?) years now but the WatB set-up isn't typical in my experience. Most of my conferences have focused on SF & Fantasy literature & media (or Filk). In both kinds of cons, the scheduling is carefully planned ahead of time by the concom (the convention committee or its equivalent) but in the cons I'm familiar with, attendees don't have to commit to which panels and workshops they'll attend months before the con begins. The only cons I've been to organized like that were women's studies-focused. This excessive preplanning can be a serious problem if you walk into a meeting, immediately loathe it, and have no idea where your second choice for that time slot is being held.
Back in January, WatB gave me a four day list of their offerings. From that I was to pick out discussions, workshops and pre-planned dinners with participants. It would have been easier had I known even a few of the participants. Their conference descriptions were only marginally helpful. I came up with choices by the end of the month, only to discover that I was too slow. Many people had already registered and consequently several options were no longer options.
But enough bitching about the WatB schedule format. More important to me is that:
1. I will have the author of a memoir reviewing 2000 words of my own developing memoir. As instructed, I sent it in ahead of time, and was assigned a Friday afternoon appt;
2. I may possibly get a few clues on how to make this blog more interesting;
3. Watb is being held within blocks of the Atlantic Ocean, and I am starved for contact with the sea! I keep daydreaming about spending all 4 days by the water. Then I remember how much the conference & hotel cost. (sigh) I -will- hang out by the water a few times though!
Delaware Authors Day, Dover DE, Apr 12
I'll write more about this misnamed event when the time comes. Written Remains will have a "presence" there as we have for several years. Now that "Seabird" is out, I can take copies of the book down with me in hopes of a sale. (Unlikely) I've been going to this for maybe 5 years now, and each time I'm overwhelmed with how the people who attend have a sincere interest in Delaware history, culture or ecology. The concept beats me. Yeah, I live in Delaware. I've lived here since I was five but I've never seen its attraction, aside from its long chunk of coast--which I can't actually get to normally.
There's also a Delaware Book Day (or something like that). It's also held in Dover in the fall. I was able to go to the first one which I thoroughly enjoyed but I haven't been able to get to it since.
Lost Genre Guild
I joined this group about three weeks ago now. I like the people and I couldn't agree more with the purpose of the organization. If I didn't mention it here, just so you know I wrote an entry for the group blog on the 29th. "The Hound, the Lamp Post and the Seabird."
http://blog.lostgenreguild.com/2008/02/hound-lamp-post-and-seabird.html#c3708030540957475799
My next scheduled blog entry is April 4 (5?).
Fantasy Debut: Looking for that Sense of Wonder
Thanks to an email from Carole McConnell, who is a member of LGG, I also discovered an interesting blog and commentary at
Fantasy Debut. http://fantasydebut.blogspot.com/2008/03/looking-for-that-sense-of-wonder.html
Looking for that Sense of Wonder
Tia Nevitt begins, "It appears to me that wonder has gone out of style." (SNIP)
"Obviously, a sense of wonder is what attracted me to this genre." (SNIP)
"Of all the debuts I read last year, I can only think of three that aspired to a sense of wonder. The authors may not have even done this on purpose. Interestingly, all three novels are at least partially derived from Christian themes. They are The Book of Joby, Auralia's Colors and Wind Follower. I found that interesting because only one or two novels in my above lists are particularly Christian.
"I think all novels need that sense of wonder, even ones that are gritty, dark and snarky. After all, Arthur C. Clark managed it with hard science fiction.
"If you are an author or aspire to be one, does your novel have an unforgettable "oh, wow!" moment? Will I be able to remember, twenty years later, the exact moment when the characters met the point of wonder?"
"Give me a bit of wonder, and I'll remember your novel forever."
Posted by Tia Nevitt at
I answered in part,
We all know the key elements needed to create a work of fiction--plot, strong characterization, setting, conflict and so on. When I was writing Seabird, scenes capturing shimmering glimpses of the numinous were as important as the traditional elements. I wanted, I still want other readers to experience what I have, thanks to so many authors.
Childlike joyful delight at creatures & worlds as strange and intriguing as the stuff of dreams;
immersion in the quiet pleasure of wonder as only reflecting on speculative fiction can do; or else
overpowering awe thanks to a rare glimpse of The Other.
Until you have felt something in your mind or your spirit bow to the indescribable numinous on a speculative fiction page, you haven't felt the innate power of the genre--the reason for its being.
Please go to the following URL for all the parts of the blog entry I didn't quote. The last I checked, Tia had received 16 great comments.
http://fantasydebut.blogspot.com/2008/03/looking-for-that-sense-of-wonder.html
(Hmm. I wonder if I would have any chance of getting Tia Nevitt to review Seabird. I really tried to elicit wonder and awe for the reader, though I suspect I was about as subtle as a sledge hammer in some passages. Unfortunately, I think I remember my publisher commenting that we didn't fit their specs for books they review. sigh)
I Fall Down, Go BOOM
Yesterday on my way back from the labyrinth, I fell in Panera's parking lot. It was my first fall for a while, and most definitely not a streak I wanted to break.
I landed on my ribs (left/front) from about the lower third of my breast down as far as the "floating ribs". Well, so far as I could tell. I was lucky that I didn't hit any part of my head this time! Past falls have done nasty things to my glasses, nose and mouth. The pain was pretty bad while I was dragging my cane toward me and using it to lever myself slowly off the ground--everything seemed to hurt on the left side of my torso and running up my left arm to about my elbow. I thought briefly that I might have cracked a rib, then decided It's probably just bruised.
I gathered myself about me, all except my long-lost wits, and walked the rest of the way home. Once inside, I took some mega-strength ibuprophen a doctor prescribed once upon a time. Then I used one of my carefully squirreled away treasures--a Lidoderm patch--placing it as close to the "epicenter" as I could. These are great, by the way! The patches resemble those over-the counter warm-up patches you can get in drugstores but they also have some kind of anti-inflammatory (?) permeating the cottony patch to help with the pain. I refused to lay down though I really wanted to. That can just add to the overall stiffness. Later on, I kind of wished I had given in because I was just plain poohed out.
For those who don't know me, the falling details go like this: I've been doing it for years, doctors really haven't come up with a viable reason, I don't trip, I don't feel dizzy beforehand, I have no warning of any kind--the first I'm aware of the fall is usually when I'm already at a 45 degree angle. I, no, I don't black out briefly. I'm just thinking my thoughts, like this time about not forgetting to get my mail, and the next thing I know right in mid-thought, down I'm going. I've damaged my knees amongst other parts of me over the years but I don't have the cane for them. It's to help prevent most of the falls. As far as the reason for the falling is concerned, my guess is a mixture of genetics or longterm effects of early illnesses, plus fatigue after overextending myself with too many errands in one day.
Sherry's Cake is Major Hit at Coffee Hour! Film at 11 !
Hardly a bulletin. I finally made the blueberry cake I've been planning for church coffee hour. I do not do homemade. With rare exceptions, I find the results of mixes every bit as good as most people's from scratch recipes.
So, here's the "secret" of my blueberry cake. 1. Become enamored of a tiny container of dried blueberries, buy & take home. 2. Become filled with anticipatory guilt at the thought of eating said container in the course of one evening given the price. 3. Resolve to save the container for something special. 4. When nothing special comes to mind, go to the store and buy one Quick Bread mix of the blueberry persuasion (I wonder what persuaded it to do that?) and one tub of whoever's frosting as long as it says something about buttery?creamy?fluffy? 5. Start with a lasagne pan that will manifestly be too big but switch in time to the smaller sized pan. Mix the mix with ingredients as listed for the alternative recipe (muffins?) which calls for oil. And a tiny bit extra oil (scavenged from the bottom of the too-large lasagne pan).
6. Refrain from mixing until every last lump has been obliterated. 7. Pour stuff into small lasagne pan. Time travel back to beginning to preheat oven to 375. Put pan in oven. Close door. 8. Open dried blueberry container for the first tme and panic at how hard those little bug... blueberry knots are. 9. Open frosting container & mound dried blueberries precarious on top of frosting. 10. Confronted by the disaster just begging to happen, find old and bent tomato-slicer (very narrow & long blade). Circumspectly and slowly, fold most of the dried blueberries into the top half of the frosting, in the hopes of moistening them up some.
11. Eat any dried blueberries that resist the operation, except for the ones that fall on the floor and commit suicide under your bedroom slippers. 12. Remove cake after a half hour, and marvel that it didn't burn. 13. Wash greasy large lasagne pan. 14. When the cake is finished cooling (or shortly before that) carefully tip the small lasagne pan over and allow the cake to drop gently unto the middle of the larger pan. 15.Fuss, fume & otherwise express yourself as you assemble your 3-dimensional cake jigsaw puzzle into something roughly cake-shaped.
16. Forgetting where you left off, dump all of the frosting unto the top of the cake. 17. Go, "Ack!" and desperately try to blend blueberried half of frosting with blueberry-free half of frosting. 18. Glop frosting around until little glubbies have started over the edges of the cake. 19. Look at watch. Scream in panic. 20. Grab plastic wrap in one hand and aluminum foil in the other and try to wrap cake and pan with both simultaneously.
21. Get the darn thing safely to the church kitchen. Cut it . Resist much advice involving shifting it all to a tray, and all but smack the hands of people who try to do so. 22. Listen to people bemoan the lack of paper plates, 23. Go to church service, and forget all about cake. 24. Join with others in fellowship hall, taking great care to get a piece of best friend's coffee cake (excellent!) 25. Be surprised when a couple of people come past and praise the cake. 26. Get embarrassed when two people ask for the recipe.
Catzis
Cat holidays are coming! Soon we will be celebrating the day that Khiva the Siamese came to live here (2 years ago) and the day that Vartha the Maine Coon was born (just one year ago). Khiva dn I agree that Varth is still such the kitten. Ah, older and wiser furry heads would know. Not.
I've seen this before, but I didn't mention it because I thought I was reading human motivation into cat behavior. But now...
Khiva likes sitting in my lap for long periods of time, and she frequently take naps while she's there. Vartha will pop up to say hi and get a nice headrub, but she's just not into lap-sitting as a pastime. Like I said, she's still very much the kitten. Often Vartha will seem to try to dislodge Khiva when she's sitting on me. I always figured she's tempting Khiva to come down and play with her. When this happens, if Khiva looks content, I try to persuade Vartha to lay off by waving something to distract her, preferably something that crinkles or rustles. Normally, rustly things work like magic on Vartha but not when Khiva's on my lap.
I've always interpreted the whole scenario as childlike kitten disturbing the contented adult cat when she's all comfortable. The other day, I really paid attention. Vartha kept reaching up and trying to snag Khiva's tail under her paw. I warned her gently that that wasn't nice and tried to cup my palm around Khiva's tail lest she wake her up. Khiva appeare more than half asleep. Khiva was holding very still but she had her head tilted to look down at Vartha. Any time, Vartha looked about to wander away, Khiva would flick her tail. Vartha would zero in on it, of course, and try to pin it under a paw. As soon as Khiva saw her start to make the attempt, she whisked her tail up and out of the way. Then she lowered it very slowly, and waved it lazily about--practically in Vartha's face. As soon as Vartha's attention was focussed, Khiva flicked it more quickly, all the while looking over her shoulder to be sure of her aim. Then, Snatch Away!, before Vartha could get a firm grip.
I could almost hear sadistic cackling :-0
SherryT
I still owe you guys that reminiscence about my fiction-writing professor. Remembering all the pieces & putting them in the best order takes more brain than I've got at the moment, so today I'm going to scribble a bunch of stuph that keeps flitting around somewhere back of my eyes. Business first, then more light-hearted or brainless thingies to finish up.
Writers at the Beach, March 13-16; Rehoboth DE
I'm going to the Writers at the Beach conference in Rehoboth DE with WR leader Joanne Reinbold, beginning next Thursday the 13th until Sunday the 16th.
I've been going to conferences for about 25 (?) years now but the WatB set-up isn't typical in my experience. Most of my conferences have focused on SF & Fantasy literature & media (or Filk). In both kinds of cons, the scheduling is carefully planned ahead of time by the concom (the convention committee or its equivalent) but in the cons I'm familiar with, attendees don't have to commit to which panels and workshops they'll attend months before the con begins. The only cons I've been to organized like that were women's studies-focused. This excessive preplanning can be a serious problem if you walk into a meeting, immediately loathe it, and have no idea where your second choice for that time slot is being held.
Back in January, WatB gave me a four day list of their offerings. From that I was to pick out discussions, workshops and pre-planned dinners with participants. It would have been easier had I known even a few of the participants. Their conference descriptions were only marginally helpful. I came up with choices by the end of the month, only to discover that I was too slow. Many people had already registered and consequently several options were no longer options.
But enough bitching about the WatB schedule format. More important to me is that:
1. I will have the author of a memoir reviewing 2000 words of my own developing memoir. As instructed, I sent it in ahead of time, and was assigned a Friday afternoon appt;
2. I may possibly get a few clues on how to make this blog more interesting;
3. Watb is being held within blocks of the Atlantic Ocean, and I am starved for contact with the sea! I keep daydreaming about spending all 4 days by the water. Then I remember how much the conference & hotel cost. (sigh) I -will- hang out by the water a few times though!
Delaware Authors Day, Dover DE, Apr 12
I'll write more about this misnamed event when the time comes. Written Remains will have a "presence" there as we have for several years. Now that "Seabird" is out, I can take copies of the book down with me in hopes of a sale. (Unlikely) I've been going to this for maybe 5 years now, and each time I'm overwhelmed with how the people who attend have a sincere interest in Delaware history, culture or ecology. The concept beats me. Yeah, I live in Delaware. I've lived here since I was five but I've never seen its attraction, aside from its long chunk of coast--which I can't actually get to normally.
There's also a Delaware Book Day (or something like that). It's also held in Dover in the fall. I was able to go to the first one which I thoroughly enjoyed but I haven't been able to get to it since.
Lost Genre Guild
I joined this group about three weeks ago now. I like the people and I couldn't agree more with the purpose of the organization. If I didn't mention it here, just so you know I wrote an entry for the group blog on the 29th. "The Hound, the Lamp Post and the Seabird."
http://blog.lostgenreguild.com/2008/02/hound-lamp-post-and-seabird.html#c3708030540957475799
My next scheduled blog entry is April 4 (5?).
Fantasy Debut: Looking for that Sense of Wonder
Thanks to an email from Carole McConnell, who is a member of LGG, I also discovered an interesting blog and commentary at
Fantasy Debut. http://fantasydebut.blogspot.com/2008/03/looking-for-that-sense-of-wonder.html
Looking for that Sense of Wonder
Tia Nevitt begins, "It appears to me that wonder has gone out of style." (SNIP)
"Obviously, a sense of wonder is what attracted me to this genre." (SNIP)
"Of all the debuts I read last year, I can only think of three that aspired to a sense of wonder. The authors may not have even done this on purpose. Interestingly, all three novels are at least partially derived from Christian themes. They are The Book of Joby, Auralia's Colors and Wind Follower. I found that interesting because only one or two novels in my above lists are particularly Christian.
"I think all novels need that sense of wonder, even ones that are gritty, dark and snarky. After all, Arthur C. Clark managed it with hard science fiction.
"If you are an author or aspire to be one, does your novel have an unforgettable "oh, wow!" moment? Will I be able to remember, twenty years later, the exact moment when the characters met the point of wonder?"
"Give me a bit of wonder, and I'll remember your novel forever."
Posted by Tia Nevitt at
I answered in part,
We all know the key elements needed to create a work of fiction--plot, strong characterization, setting, conflict and so on. When I was writing Seabird, scenes capturing shimmering glimpses of the numinous were as important as the traditional elements. I wanted, I still want other readers to experience what I have, thanks to so many authors.
Childlike joyful delight at creatures & worlds as strange and intriguing as the stuff of dreams;
immersion in the quiet pleasure of wonder as only reflecting on speculative fiction can do; or else
overpowering awe thanks to a rare glimpse of The Other.
Until you have felt something in your mind or your spirit bow to the indescribable numinous on a speculative fiction page, you haven't felt the innate power of the genre--the reason for its being.
Please go to the following URL for all the parts of the blog entry I didn't quote. The last I checked, Tia had received 16 great comments.
http://fantasydebut.blogspot.com/2008/03/looking-for-that-sense-of-wonder.html
(Hmm. I wonder if I would have any chance of getting Tia Nevitt to review Seabird. I really tried to elicit wonder and awe for the reader, though I suspect I was about as subtle as a sledge hammer in some passages. Unfortunately, I think I remember my publisher commenting that we didn't fit their specs for books they review. sigh)
I Fall Down, Go BOOM
Yesterday on my way back from the labyrinth, I fell in Panera's parking lot. It was my first fall for a while, and most definitely not a streak I wanted to break.
I landed on my ribs (left/front) from about the lower third of my breast down as far as the "floating ribs". Well, so far as I could tell. I was lucky that I didn't hit any part of my head this time! Past falls have done nasty things to my glasses, nose and mouth. The pain was pretty bad while I was dragging my cane toward me and using it to lever myself slowly off the ground--everything seemed to hurt on the left side of my torso and running up my left arm to about my elbow. I thought briefly that I might have cracked a rib, then decided It's probably just bruised.
I gathered myself about me, all except my long-lost wits, and walked the rest of the way home. Once inside, I took some mega-strength ibuprophen a doctor prescribed once upon a time. Then I used one of my carefully squirreled away treasures--a Lidoderm patch--placing it as close to the "epicenter" as I could. These are great, by the way! The patches resemble those over-the counter warm-up patches you can get in drugstores but they also have some kind of anti-inflammatory (?) permeating the cottony patch to help with the pain. I refused to lay down though I really wanted to. That can just add to the overall stiffness. Later on, I kind of wished I had given in because I was just plain poohed out.
For those who don't know me, the falling details go like this: I've been doing it for years, doctors really haven't come up with a viable reason, I don't trip, I don't feel dizzy beforehand, I have no warning of any kind--the first I'm aware of the fall is usually when I'm already at a 45 degree angle. I, no, I don't black out briefly. I'm just thinking my thoughts, like this time about not forgetting to get my mail, and the next thing I know right in mid-thought, down I'm going. I've damaged my knees amongst other parts of me over the years but I don't have the cane for them. It's to help prevent most of the falls. As far as the reason for the falling is concerned, my guess is a mixture of genetics or longterm effects of early illnesses, plus fatigue after overextending myself with too many errands in one day.
Sherry's Cake is Major Hit at Coffee Hour! Film at 11 !
Hardly a bulletin. I finally made the blueberry cake I've been planning for church coffee hour. I do not do homemade. With rare exceptions, I find the results of mixes every bit as good as most people's from scratch recipes.
So, here's the "secret" of my blueberry cake. 1. Become enamored of a tiny container of dried blueberries, buy & take home. 2. Become filled with anticipatory guilt at the thought of eating said container in the course of one evening given the price. 3. Resolve to save the container for something special. 4. When nothing special comes to mind, go to the store and buy one Quick Bread mix of the blueberry persuasion (I wonder what persuaded it to do that?) and one tub of whoever's frosting as long as it says something about buttery?creamy?fluffy? 5. Start with a lasagne pan that will manifestly be too big but switch in time to the smaller sized pan. Mix the mix with ingredients as listed for the alternative recipe (muffins?) which calls for oil. And a tiny bit extra oil (scavenged from the bottom of the too-large lasagne pan).
6. Refrain from mixing until every last lump has been obliterated. 7. Pour stuff into small lasagne pan. Time travel back to beginning to preheat oven to 375. Put pan in oven. Close door. 8. Open dried blueberry container for the first tme and panic at how hard those little bug... blueberry knots are. 9. Open frosting container & mound dried blueberries precarious on top of frosting. 10. Confronted by the disaster just begging to happen, find old and bent tomato-slicer (very narrow & long blade). Circumspectly and slowly, fold most of the dried blueberries into the top half of the frosting, in the hopes of moistening them up some.
11. Eat any dried blueberries that resist the operation, except for the ones that fall on the floor and commit suicide under your bedroom slippers. 12. Remove cake after a half hour, and marvel that it didn't burn. 13. Wash greasy large lasagne pan. 14. When the cake is finished cooling (or shortly before that) carefully tip the small lasagne pan over and allow the cake to drop gently unto the middle of the larger pan. 15.Fuss, fume & otherwise express yourself as you assemble your 3-dimensional cake jigsaw puzzle into something roughly cake-shaped.
16. Forgetting where you left off, dump all of the frosting unto the top of the cake. 17. Go, "Ack!" and desperately try to blend blueberried half of frosting with blueberry-free half of frosting. 18. Glop frosting around until little glubbies have started over the edges of the cake. 19. Look at watch. Scream in panic. 20. Grab plastic wrap in one hand and aluminum foil in the other and try to wrap cake and pan with both simultaneously.
21. Get the darn thing safely to the church kitchen. Cut it . Resist much advice involving shifting it all to a tray, and all but smack the hands of people who try to do so. 22. Listen to people bemoan the lack of paper plates, 23. Go to church service, and forget all about cake. 24. Join with others in fellowship hall, taking great care to get a piece of best friend's coffee cake (excellent!) 25. Be surprised when a couple of people come past and praise the cake. 26. Get embarrassed when two people ask for the recipe.
Catzis
Cat holidays are coming! Soon we will be celebrating the day that Khiva the Siamese came to live here (2 years ago) and the day that Vartha the Maine Coon was born (just one year ago). Khiva dn I agree that Varth is still such the kitten. Ah, older and wiser furry heads would know. Not.
I've seen this before, but I didn't mention it because I thought I was reading human motivation into cat behavior. But now...
Khiva likes sitting in my lap for long periods of time, and she frequently take naps while she's there. Vartha will pop up to say hi and get a nice headrub, but she's just not into lap-sitting as a pastime. Like I said, she's still very much the kitten. Often Vartha will seem to try to dislodge Khiva when she's sitting on me. I always figured she's tempting Khiva to come down and play with her. When this happens, if Khiva looks content, I try to persuade Vartha to lay off by waving something to distract her, preferably something that crinkles or rustles. Normally, rustly things work like magic on Vartha but not when Khiva's on my lap.
I've always interpreted the whole scenario as childlike kitten disturbing the contented adult cat when she's all comfortable. The other day, I really paid attention. Vartha kept reaching up and trying to snag Khiva's tail under her paw. I warned her gently that that wasn't nice and tried to cup my palm around Khiva's tail lest she wake her up. Khiva appeare more than half asleep. Khiva was holding very still but she had her head tilted to look down at Vartha. Any time, Vartha looked about to wander away, Khiva would flick her tail. Vartha would zero in on it, of course, and try to pin it under a paw. As soon as Khiva saw her start to make the attempt, she whisked her tail up and out of the way. Then she lowered it very slowly, and waved it lazily about--practically in Vartha's face. As soon as Vartha's attention was focussed, Khiva flicked it more quickly, all the while looking over her shoulder to be sure of her aim. Then, Snatch Away!, before Vartha could get a firm grip.
I could almost hear sadistic cackling :-0
SherryT