Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Influence
I've talked before about how I've acquired words that my characters like to use. It's not that I didn't sometimes use these words myself, but they weren't my first choice. Now they often are. It's still odd at times to realize I say dude because of Cass or crap because of Cai, but I've largely learned to accept this.
Weirder still is that I pick up my characters' tastes in music. At least when they make a preference known to me.
This one I'm not quite used to yet. I only started paying attention recently, so it's possible that this has happened before without my realizing it. There were times I just had to have music playing when I was writing, but I didn't think about what I was listening to or why.
But then the Tchaikovsky day happened and it was a whoa! moment for me.
I own some classical music, but it's not a genre I listen to all that often, and while I can recognize the more famous songs that were used in movies or TV commercials, I'm not all that well versed in it. Then I started writing Blood Feud and Isobel had Tchaikovsky playing in her car.
It was the following weekend while I was working on another story that I felt compelled to listen to Tchaikovsky myself. I checked iTunes, but I didn't own any. I tried other classical music, thinking it was just a yen for that genre, but no. I wanted Tchaikovsky. It had to be Tchaikovsky. Finally, I surrendered and bought three different albums filled with his music.
I played them over and over. On Sunday, I did some more writing on Blood Feud and saw the Tchaikovsky reference. And the light bulb lit up. Isobel. I was listening to this composer because of Isobel.
Months after she left, I tried Tchaikovsky again when the urge to listen to classical re-emerged. And I had no interest. I ended up switching to a different composer instead.
The other character that I'm aware of influencing my music is Kel from In the Darkest Night. He liked Seether. Now I like Seether. I still play Seether. I've had their music stuck in my head the last couple of weeks. Kel's not around anymore, and hasn't been for a while, so I'm thinking this music is going to stick.
And I'm wondering if this is going to happen again with some other character and what music I'll be playing then.
Weirder still is that I pick up my characters' tastes in music. At least when they make a preference known to me.
This one I'm not quite used to yet. I only started paying attention recently, so it's possible that this has happened before without my realizing it. There were times I just had to have music playing when I was writing, but I didn't think about what I was listening to or why.
But then the Tchaikovsky day happened and it was a whoa! moment for me.
I own some classical music, but it's not a genre I listen to all that often, and while I can recognize the more famous songs that were used in movies or TV commercials, I'm not all that well versed in it. Then I started writing Blood Feud and Isobel had Tchaikovsky playing in her car.
It was the following weekend while I was working on another story that I felt compelled to listen to Tchaikovsky myself. I checked iTunes, but I didn't own any. I tried other classical music, thinking it was just a yen for that genre, but no. I wanted Tchaikovsky. It had to be Tchaikovsky. Finally, I surrendered and bought three different albums filled with his music.
I played them over and over. On Sunday, I did some more writing on Blood Feud and saw the Tchaikovsky reference. And the light bulb lit up. Isobel. I was listening to this composer because of Isobel.
Months after she left, I tried Tchaikovsky again when the urge to listen to classical re-emerged. And I had no interest. I ended up switching to a different composer instead.
The other character that I'm aware of influencing my music is Kel from In the Darkest Night. He liked Seether. Now I like Seether. I still play Seether. I've had their music stuck in my head the last couple of weeks. Kel's not around anymore, and hasn't been for a while, so I'm thinking this music is going to stick.
And I'm wondering if this is going to happen again with some other character and what music I'll be playing then.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Another Guilty Pleasure
Another of my guilty pleasure movies is Night of the Comet. When a comet passes near Earth, those directly exposed die immediately, those indirectly exposed become zombies, and those who were protected have to battle the zombies to stay alive.
This movie has some really good lines. One of my favorites comes after the secondary heroine's automatic weapon jams: Daddy would have gotten us Uzis.
One of my favorite moments, though, comes at the end of the movie. The human population of Earth is next to non-existent, but there are the hero, heroine, secondary heroine, and 2 kids waiting for the walk sign to appear so they can cross the street.
The secondary heroine is like What? And the heroine says something along the lines the mantle of civilization rests on their shoulders.
In disbelief, the secondary heroine says, Are you nuts? There's no one here. And to prove her point, stands in the middle of the street and spins around--only to nearly get hit by a car. The guy stops and looks at this girl and says, Sorry, but you shouldn't cross against the light.
I love that part.
What got me thinking about this movie is that I'm listening to an audio book called The Well Dressed Ape that looks at humans the way biologists classify other animals. One of the things I heard was about how we create rules to maintain civilization, so that there aren't fights and battles and we can continue in basically harmonious day to day living.
It's turned out to be an interesting book and might review it if I can remember enough to hit the high points when I finish listening to it. I'm finding it hugely interesting to hear theories on why humans act the way we act and why our bodies evolved the way it did.
This movie has some really good lines. One of my favorites comes after the secondary heroine's automatic weapon jams: Daddy would have gotten us Uzis.
One of my favorite moments, though, comes at the end of the movie. The human population of Earth is next to non-existent, but there are the hero, heroine, secondary heroine, and 2 kids waiting for the walk sign to appear so they can cross the street.
The secondary heroine is like What? And the heroine says something along the lines the mantle of civilization rests on their shoulders.
In disbelief, the secondary heroine says, Are you nuts? There's no one here. And to prove her point, stands in the middle of the street and spins around--only to nearly get hit by a car. The guy stops and looks at this girl and says, Sorry, but you shouldn't cross against the light.
I love that part.
What got me thinking about this movie is that I'm listening to an audio book called The Well Dressed Ape that looks at humans the way biologists classify other animals. One of the things I heard was about how we create rules to maintain civilization, so that there aren't fights and battles and we can continue in basically harmonious day to day living.
It's turned out to be an interesting book and might review it if I can remember enough to hit the high points when I finish listening to it. I'm finding it hugely interesting to hear theories on why humans act the way we act and why our bodies evolved the way it did.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Why So Happy?
Lately around the interwebs, I've seen people gleefully proclaiming that ebooks have killed off paper. I don't understand this attitude.
Before I go any farther, let me explain that I do own an e-reader (mine's a Kindle 2 and I bought it when it was still incredibly expensive) and I buy most of my fiction in e-format. I like having the book I want arrive instantly. I like the convenience of having hundreds of books with me. If I change my mind on what I feel like reading, I'm not stuck with the story I thought I wanted to read. I also like the fact that ebooks don't take up room in my house.
On the other side of the coin, I've e-published my short stories from the two Mammoth book collections I was part of and I'll be publishing my backlist titles in e-format, too. I've written two Harlequin Nocturne Bites which only come out in electronic format.
This is my way of explaining that yes, I like ebooks, and yes, I read ebooks, and yes, I've been published in electronic format. I have nothing against ebooks, nor am I a champion of paper books.
When I see these paper books are dead posts, it's the tone that irritates me. Why are these people so happy about this? Personally, I don't feel strongly one way or the other. If I were sharing the statistics on the percentage of books sold in e-format, I would do it with a newsy approach. An oh, isn't this interesting attitude. So when I see people ready to dance a jig on the grave of mass market paperback, I wonder--why?
For authors, it's usually pretty easy to come up with an answer, but it's the readers who are so elated that have me scratching my head. Are these early adopters who feel vindicated that the format is finally gaining traction? Is that why they're so happy? Because they've been "proven right?"
While I'm happy ebooks are doing well, I don't pop around the internet singing ding, dong the witch is dead, which old witch? The paperback witch. It's a format. It's a technology. In twenty years, maybe we'll have something completely different.
If you're reading pixels or if you're reading the printed word or if having the book inserted into your brain via nanoprobe doesn't make any difference. The only thing that does matter is the story.
So yeah, why do some people feel so much joy when one format overtakes another? It's like rooting for MP3 over CDs and I've never seen music fans doing this. They might debate sound quality in various formats, but that's tangible. And in books, as long as the ebook is formatting correctly, there really is no quality difference, just preferences for the reader.
My guess is I'll be puzzling over this for a while. No answers are occurring to me.
Before I go any farther, let me explain that I do own an e-reader (mine's a Kindle 2 and I bought it when it was still incredibly expensive) and I buy most of my fiction in e-format. I like having the book I want arrive instantly. I like the convenience of having hundreds of books with me. If I change my mind on what I feel like reading, I'm not stuck with the story I thought I wanted to read. I also like the fact that ebooks don't take up room in my house.
On the other side of the coin, I've e-published my short stories from the two Mammoth book collections I was part of and I'll be publishing my backlist titles in e-format, too. I've written two Harlequin Nocturne Bites which only come out in electronic format.
This is my way of explaining that yes, I like ebooks, and yes, I read ebooks, and yes, I've been published in electronic format. I have nothing against ebooks, nor am I a champion of paper books.
When I see these paper books are dead posts, it's the tone that irritates me. Why are these people so happy about this? Personally, I don't feel strongly one way or the other. If I were sharing the statistics on the percentage of books sold in e-format, I would do it with a newsy approach. An oh, isn't this interesting attitude. So when I see people ready to dance a jig on the grave of mass market paperback, I wonder--why?
For authors, it's usually pretty easy to come up with an answer, but it's the readers who are so elated that have me scratching my head. Are these early adopters who feel vindicated that the format is finally gaining traction? Is that why they're so happy? Because they've been "proven right?"
While I'm happy ebooks are doing well, I don't pop around the internet singing ding, dong the witch is dead, which old witch? The paperback witch. It's a format. It's a technology. In twenty years, maybe we'll have something completely different.
If you're reading pixels or if you're reading the printed word or if having the book inserted into your brain via nanoprobe doesn't make any difference. The only thing that does matter is the story.
So yeah, why do some people feel so much joy when one format overtakes another? It's like rooting for MP3 over CDs and I've never seen music fans doing this. They might debate sound quality in various formats, but that's tangible. And in books, as long as the ebook is formatting correctly, there really is no quality difference, just preferences for the reader.
My guess is I'll be puzzling over this for a while. No answers are occurring to me.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
What It Takes
The other day it occurred to me that there are two skill sets involved with being a fiction writer: Writing and storytelling. This isn't exactly an epiphany because it's kind of an obvious thing, but it was the first time I actually put it out there in my thoughts in such a straightforward way.
Two things kind of nudged this up into my consciousness. First was the reminder of the 10,000 hour rule. A couple of years ago, I'd read an article on how it takes 10,000 hours to become really good at anything. I blogged about it at the time and talked about how I always wanted to be able to draw, but wasn't willing to put in the number of hours it would take to get good at it. My interest wasn't great enough for drawing, but that it was different with writing.
The second thing that triggered this involved backstory and how new writers think they need to info dump the history of their characters at the start of their book. I can't even tell you how many contests I've judged for unpublished writers where nothing happens in the entry at all because they're so busy giving me the life and times of hero and heroine. The writing itself--how they put sentences together--is usually fine, but the storytelling isn't.
Of the two, I think the writing part is easier to learn than storytelling. I'm assuming this based on the fact that the entries in the writing contests are generally well-written, but storytelling still needs work. Also on what I hear as coworkers tell stories. And by telling stories, I mean someone asks, "How was your weekend?" and listening to the response.
What usually follows is a recitation in chronological order of every little thing that they experienced over the weekend. That's not how you tell a story. In storytelling, the boring stuff should be left out and so should anything the reader doesn't strictly need to know. Backstory violates both those things.
So applying the 10,000 hour rule, I'm thinking this means that writers need 20,000 hours since there are two different skills involved. Or maybe there's some overlap and writers need 15,000 hours?
Two things kind of nudged this up into my consciousness. First was the reminder of the 10,000 hour rule. A couple of years ago, I'd read an article on how it takes 10,000 hours to become really good at anything. I blogged about it at the time and talked about how I always wanted to be able to draw, but wasn't willing to put in the number of hours it would take to get good at it. My interest wasn't great enough for drawing, but that it was different with writing.
The second thing that triggered this involved backstory and how new writers think they need to info dump the history of their characters at the start of their book. I can't even tell you how many contests I've judged for unpublished writers where nothing happens in the entry at all because they're so busy giving me the life and times of hero and heroine. The writing itself--how they put sentences together--is usually fine, but the storytelling isn't.
Of the two, I think the writing part is easier to learn than storytelling. I'm assuming this based on the fact that the entries in the writing contests are generally well-written, but storytelling still needs work. Also on what I hear as coworkers tell stories. And by telling stories, I mean someone asks, "How was your weekend?" and listening to the response.
What usually follows is a recitation in chronological order of every little thing that they experienced over the weekend. That's not how you tell a story. In storytelling, the boring stuff should be left out and so should anything the reader doesn't strictly need to know. Backstory violates both those things.
So applying the 10,000 hour rule, I'm thinking this means that writers need 20,000 hours since there are two different skills involved. Or maybe there's some overlap and writers need 15,000 hours?
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Birdbrained
For the past few days, a male robin has been attacking the glass doors on my patio. It isn't a case of not realizing there's glass there--my windows are clean, but not enough to confuse the bird. I've had my house for five years now and it didn't happen the first three years at all. Last year, it happened briefly, but once or twice and it was done. Not this year.
This year, the idiot robin has spent days attacking my window over and over. When I pull the drapes, it's mostly stopped the problem, although he did fly at my other windows that have curtains over them. The thing is that I like sunlight and would love to have my drapes open so I can enjoy the light. But I don't want the bird to kill itself attacking the windows either.
I've tried chasing him away. He flies to the tree in my backyard and then returns later to attack the window again.
On Thursday, it occurred to me what was different this year and last year versus the first three years I was in the house. I didn't hang my wind spinner on the deck! This should solve the problem, right? So I dug out the spinner, chased the idiot bird off, and hung my spinner.
An hour later, he was back...attacking the window.
Some research explained that robins are territorial and the male is defending his area. Against himself. Um, yeah. The article said that robins aren't stupid (Really? You couldn't prove it by me.) and that once the babies are born, he'll be too busy feeding them to worry about his reflection.
In the meantime, I've got a dodo bird attacking his image. :-( Territorial or not, you'd think that after thunking against glass about fifty times, the birdbrained robin would think, "dude, reflection." Nope. Not that bright no matter what the website said.
After I shooed him away yet again, he started singing his territorial, this is my land, song from all around my yard. And singing it loudly enough that I could hear him with all my windows closed. Guess he was really set on proving this is his land and no other male robin better even think about coming around.
You notice, though, that it isn't the female robin flinging herself pointlessly against the glass. She's probably busy building the nest while macho bird fights himself. ;-)
I'm going to try a fake owl to keep the bird away. I was hoping to have it Thursday night because my parents have one, only they can't find it. They're looking. If this doesn't do the trick, there was a suggestion online to try helium balloons. I can't believe this is actually happening over and over again.
This year, the idiot robin has spent days attacking my window over and over. When I pull the drapes, it's mostly stopped the problem, although he did fly at my other windows that have curtains over them. The thing is that I like sunlight and would love to have my drapes open so I can enjoy the light. But I don't want the bird to kill itself attacking the windows either.
I've tried chasing him away. He flies to the tree in my backyard and then returns later to attack the window again.
On Thursday, it occurred to me what was different this year and last year versus the first three years I was in the house. I didn't hang my wind spinner on the deck! This should solve the problem, right? So I dug out the spinner, chased the idiot bird off, and hung my spinner.
An hour later, he was back...attacking the window.
Some research explained that robins are territorial and the male is defending his area. Against himself. Um, yeah. The article said that robins aren't stupid (Really? You couldn't prove it by me.) and that once the babies are born, he'll be too busy feeding them to worry about his reflection.
In the meantime, I've got a dodo bird attacking his image. :-( Territorial or not, you'd think that after thunking against glass about fifty times, the birdbrained robin would think, "dude, reflection." Nope. Not that bright no matter what the website said.
After I shooed him away yet again, he started singing his territorial, this is my land, song from all around my yard. And singing it loudly enough that I could hear him with all my windows closed. Guess he was really set on proving this is his land and no other male robin better even think about coming around.
You notice, though, that it isn't the female robin flinging herself pointlessly against the glass. She's probably busy building the nest while macho bird fights himself. ;-)
I'm going to try a fake owl to keep the bird away. I was hoping to have it Thursday night because my parents have one, only they can't find it. They're looking. If this doesn't do the trick, there was a suggestion online to try helium balloons. I can't believe this is actually happening over and over again.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Aside From Writing...
That online class I took last week was on branding, something I really have trouble with despite being an advertising major in college. I tell people that I was trained to handle multi-million dollar accounts, not nickel and dime operations like I am. :-) I haven't had time to read the lessons yet because I was deluged with email from other class members on Day 1, and this weekend (when I meant to catch up on posts), I got sick and had no brain power.
But one of the things I think I caught scattered among the nearly 1000 posts this class generated in one week was that we shouldn't blog about writing, that it only interests other writers. What we should blog about are other things we're involved with/interested in.
This makes sense to me, but it raises the question: What the hell do I blog about if I stay away from writing and my stories?
Hobbies:
Watching Major League Baseball. This I could probably do, unfortunately my demographic is women and I'm doubtful I'd attract the right audience to my blog if I picked this topic.
Watching movies. Kind of. I used to watch a movie a week, but that fell by the wayside years ago. I've become so picky, that it's difficult to lose myself in the story because I'm so busy noticing plot holes. Since movies have become work for me (all that analyzing I do), I've mostly stopped watching them.
Reading books. I have no plans to review the books I read. Oh, an occasional non-fiction one now and then if I really loved it, but I won't criticize another author, and a good reviewer should cover the pluses and minuses. I crossed this one off the list pretty quickly.
Playing Hidden Object Games. I suppose I could review these and the demographic is okay since it seems as if a lot of women enjoy these games, too, but there are review sites like Gamezebo who review huge numbers of games of all kinds. I can't compete with that, and they also preview upcoming games. It's the site I go to for reviews and previews. Also, I go in streaks when I play these things, and when I'm busy writing, I don't play much, so that would leave huge gaps.
Flower gardening. I know nothing about gardening. Really. All I did was buy perennial bulbs and plant them. I mulch so I don't have to weed as much. Then I just look out the window and enjoy the color. This does not make for a successful gardening blog. Then factor in that I live in Minnesota and we're talking about maybe six months without anything to talk about even if I did have a clue about what I was doing.
Scrapbooking. I haven't done it in 5 years, even when I did do it, my pages were okay, not great, and I'm not particularly creative with how my pages look. I'd be embarrassed to take pictures of my finished work, especially after seeing what people who are good at crafts can do.
So what does this leave me with? The only other things I do are write (which I'm not supposed to talk about) and go to work. I'm not keen to blog about my day job because then I have to follow all these guidelines my employer has set forth for social media and it's easier to just avoid this and any potential problems it might bring up. And since I can't blog about sleeping, I'm not left with much. :-/
I thought about blogging about computers because I am a major geek this way, but I'm far from an expert and a lot of times I just figure things out by playing with them. And there are gazillion tech blogs out there anyway written by people who know much more than I do. Another fail.
I'm hoping things become clearer when I have time to actually go through the lessons and work on the exercises that were part of them. But looking at my list above, I'm not holding my breath for an epiphany.
But one of the things I think I caught scattered among the nearly 1000 posts this class generated in one week was that we shouldn't blog about writing, that it only interests other writers. What we should blog about are other things we're involved with/interested in.
This makes sense to me, but it raises the question: What the hell do I blog about if I stay away from writing and my stories?
Hobbies:
Watching Major League Baseball. This I could probably do, unfortunately my demographic is women and I'm doubtful I'd attract the right audience to my blog if I picked this topic.
Watching movies. Kind of. I used to watch a movie a week, but that fell by the wayside years ago. I've become so picky, that it's difficult to lose myself in the story because I'm so busy noticing plot holes. Since movies have become work for me (all that analyzing I do), I've mostly stopped watching them.
Reading books. I have no plans to review the books I read. Oh, an occasional non-fiction one now and then if I really loved it, but I won't criticize another author, and a good reviewer should cover the pluses and minuses. I crossed this one off the list pretty quickly.
Playing Hidden Object Games. I suppose I could review these and the demographic is okay since it seems as if a lot of women enjoy these games, too, but there are review sites like Gamezebo who review huge numbers of games of all kinds. I can't compete with that, and they also preview upcoming games. It's the site I go to for reviews and previews. Also, I go in streaks when I play these things, and when I'm busy writing, I don't play much, so that would leave huge gaps.
Flower gardening. I know nothing about gardening. Really. All I did was buy perennial bulbs and plant them. I mulch so I don't have to weed as much. Then I just look out the window and enjoy the color. This does not make for a successful gardening blog. Then factor in that I live in Minnesota and we're talking about maybe six months without anything to talk about even if I did have a clue about what I was doing.
Scrapbooking. I haven't done it in 5 years, even when I did do it, my pages were okay, not great, and I'm not particularly creative with how my pages look. I'd be embarrassed to take pictures of my finished work, especially after seeing what people who are good at crafts can do.
So what does this leave me with? The only other things I do are write (which I'm not supposed to talk about) and go to work. I'm not keen to blog about my day job because then I have to follow all these guidelines my employer has set forth for social media and it's easier to just avoid this and any potential problems it might bring up. And since I can't blog about sleeping, I'm not left with much. :-/
I thought about blogging about computers because I am a major geek this way, but I'm far from an expert and a lot of times I just figure things out by playing with them. And there are gazillion tech blogs out there anyway written by people who know much more than I do. Another fail.
I'm hoping things become clearer when I have time to actually go through the lessons and work on the exercises that were part of them. But looking at my list above, I'm not holding my breath for an epiphany.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Why Is That?
I've always enjoyed learning and have an insatiable curiosity. If something grabs my interest, I'll read up on it and I've done this for years. When I was in junior high, I remember checking out every book the library had on sharks and reading them. A few months later, it was Mars.
While I was unaware of it at the time, college encouraged this dabbling in subjects. The School of Journalism only allowed us 45 credits inside the program, the rest of our credits needed to come from a diverse swath of disciplines. This suited me fine. I'd go from Astronomy class, to Theater, to History, to Biology, to Far Eastern Art, to Oceanography, to... You get the idea. I was basically all over the campus.
It makes sense actually. I was an ad copy major, but there were also print and broadcast journalism as well as public relations inside the school. I believe the theory was we'd never know what we'd be required to work on. A journalist could cover a city hall one day and a flower show the next. A PR person never knew what industry their firm might represent and with advertising, the agency could work on very diverse accounts. If the student knew a little bit about a wide variety of topics, they'd at least have a background to draw from.
I might have taken this to extremes. Just slightly. When I graduated, I was 60 credits over the required number. I had 1 major and 0 minors. Um, yeah.
I've never stopped learning. I've continued to take assorted classes since then. Online, in community education, workshops, seminars and only some of them were directly writing related. I also continue to research anything that sounds interesting. If you've read The Power of Two you know nanotechnology played a huge role in that book. About five or so years before I wrote that story, I'd done a major study of nanotechnology. Not with any intention of using it, but because I found it fascinating.
All this leads me to this morning. I picked up a cold--I woke up Saturday sick--and this morning I wondered: Why do the sinuses clog up and make it so hard to breathe?
So I researched that. I don't think this is normal behavior, but I was curious.
For the record, the information I found said that the sinuses are lined with membranes that secrete mucus when they're irritated. The purpose is to keep bacteria and viruses from entering the respiratory tract. That made sense, but then my next question was: In that case, why does it take 3 days after getting sick for the sinuses to react? Wouldn't it make more sense to respond immediately rather than this delayed reaction?
I didn't have time to research that question.
While I was unaware of it at the time, college encouraged this dabbling in subjects. The School of Journalism only allowed us 45 credits inside the program, the rest of our credits needed to come from a diverse swath of disciplines. This suited me fine. I'd go from Astronomy class, to Theater, to History, to Biology, to Far Eastern Art, to Oceanography, to... You get the idea. I was basically all over the campus.
It makes sense actually. I was an ad copy major, but there were also print and broadcast journalism as well as public relations inside the school. I believe the theory was we'd never know what we'd be required to work on. A journalist could cover a city hall one day and a flower show the next. A PR person never knew what industry their firm might represent and with advertising, the agency could work on very diverse accounts. If the student knew a little bit about a wide variety of topics, they'd at least have a background to draw from.
I might have taken this to extremes. Just slightly. When I graduated, I was 60 credits over the required number. I had 1 major and 0 minors. Um, yeah.
I've never stopped learning. I've continued to take assorted classes since then. Online, in community education, workshops, seminars and only some of them were directly writing related. I also continue to research anything that sounds interesting. If you've read The Power of Two you know nanotechnology played a huge role in that book. About five or so years before I wrote that story, I'd done a major study of nanotechnology. Not with any intention of using it, but because I found it fascinating.
All this leads me to this morning. I picked up a cold--I woke up Saturday sick--and this morning I wondered: Why do the sinuses clog up and make it so hard to breathe?
So I researched that. I don't think this is normal behavior, but I was curious.
For the record, the information I found said that the sinuses are lined with membranes that secrete mucus when they're irritated. The purpose is to keep bacteria and viruses from entering the respiratory tract. That made sense, but then my next question was: In that case, why does it take 3 days after getting sick for the sinuses to react? Wouldn't it make more sense to respond immediately rather than this delayed reaction?
I didn't have time to research that question.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Totally To the Max, For Sure
One of the movies I enjoy is a guilty pleasure--Valley Girl. Actually, if you can get past the title and the way they talk (like gag me with a spoon, ya know), it's a cute movie. Nicolas Cage plays a boy from the wrong side of the tracks who's interested in a valley girl. She's interested in him, too, but all her friends are pressuring her to be with Biff or whatever the popular boy's name is.
In the movie, though, there is one of my favorite lines of all time. Our heroine is glum. She's being forced to choose between her social position/friends at school and this boy from Hollywood that she really likes. So as she's sitting on the couch, all morose, her father comes in.
He asks her what's wrong and she tells him she has a problem and she doesn't know what to do. His response? "Take it back and get the more expensive one. You know the more expensive ones always fit better."
No matter how many times I see the movie, her father's assumption just makes me grin. I own very few DVDs, but this is one film I had to buy. It's just too much fun not to pull out now and then and rewatch.
My rating: 4/5 High on the fun factor, but the Valley Girl slang gets a little wearying.
In the movie, though, there is one of my favorite lines of all time. Our heroine is glum. She's being forced to choose between her social position/friends at school and this boy from Hollywood that she really likes. So as she's sitting on the couch, all morose, her father comes in.
He asks her what's wrong and she tells him she has a problem and she doesn't know what to do. His response? "Take it back and get the more expensive one. You know the more expensive ones always fit better."
No matter how many times I see the movie, her father's assumption just makes me grin. I own very few DVDs, but this is one film I had to buy. It's just too much fun not to pull out now and then and rewatch.
My rating: 4/5 High on the fun factor, but the Valley Girl slang gets a little wearying.
One of a Million
I love taking online classes geared for writers because I can get a lot of cool information. Craft classes you can find anywhere even locally, but where else except online can you find classes on how to work undercover? Let's face it, writers need to know weird stuff to make their books accurate.
There is one huge drawback, though, to these online classes--the size.
The writing organization sponsoring the class is trying to make money. The teacher who's leading the class also would like to make some money, but I find it extremely frustrating. In fact, I'm going through it right now. The class size is so big and the numbers of email so overwhelming, that it prevents me from participating.
This is what happens in almost every class I've ever taken: I sign up, I wait eagerly for the class to start, the teacher posts the welcome and lesson 1 while I'm at work, the other students immediately start responding to the teacher, and I arrive home in the evening to hundreds of class emails.
Hundreds. No lie. On day 1.
I have rules set up to auto-sort my mail, so I look at the number of notes in the class folder and I feel overwhelmed. There's no better word for it. Now, instead of going in, reading the teacher's email and the emails from my classmates, I read nothing. Somehow, I now have to find time to wade through all these notes, read them, and delete the ones that don't further anything.
On Day 3 of my current class, I have nearly 600 email in the class folder. Day 3. ::sobs::
My wish is that these online classes would cap enrollment at a reasonable number so that everyone can participate if they want to. There has to be other people like me who have the best of intentions, but drown under the mass of notes. I know it's a balancing act. That if there are too few people, the class fee has to go up, but I'd be willing to pay $5 more to have a smaller size.
BTW, I have had one class that was a nice, small size and it's the most fun I've ever had in one of these things. I'd love to have a similar experience again some day.
There is one huge drawback, though, to these online classes--the size.
The writing organization sponsoring the class is trying to make money. The teacher who's leading the class also would like to make some money, but I find it extremely frustrating. In fact, I'm going through it right now. The class size is so big and the numbers of email so overwhelming, that it prevents me from participating.
This is what happens in almost every class I've ever taken: I sign up, I wait eagerly for the class to start, the teacher posts the welcome and lesson 1 while I'm at work, the other students immediately start responding to the teacher, and I arrive home in the evening to hundreds of class emails.
Hundreds. No lie. On day 1.
I have rules set up to auto-sort my mail, so I look at the number of notes in the class folder and I feel overwhelmed. There's no better word for it. Now, instead of going in, reading the teacher's email and the emails from my classmates, I read nothing. Somehow, I now have to find time to wade through all these notes, read them, and delete the ones that don't further anything.
On Day 3 of my current class, I have nearly 600 email in the class folder. Day 3. ::sobs::
My wish is that these online classes would cap enrollment at a reasonable number so that everyone can participate if they want to. There has to be other people like me who have the best of intentions, but drown under the mass of notes. I know it's a balancing act. That if there are too few people, the class fee has to go up, but I'd be willing to pay $5 more to have a smaller size.
BTW, I have had one class that was a nice, small size and it's the most fun I've ever had in one of these things. I'd love to have a similar experience again some day.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Social Media Blitz
I have to make an apology here. Back when social media sites first got hot, I joined all the ones I heard about or received invitations to join. MySpace, Bebo, Shelfari...well, the list goes on and on. I rarely visit most of these sites. Some I no longer visit at all.
This weekend, I discovered that I'd been getting messages on my wall at Shelfari. Some are two and three years old. I never saw them. I did post back to the people Sunday, apologizing and thanking them, but wow, am I embarrassed. The first thing I did was check my settings and notifications were turned off. I probably did it and forgot about it.
My philosophy on these sites that I don't visit anymore has been to leave my page up because I figure why not? Maybe it's not updated, but it still has links to my site and stuff, so people who find me, say at Bebo, can link through if they're interested.
I'm rethinking this theory.
Maybe it would be better to delete my profiles at sites I don't visit any longer. That way I won't run into this situation again where I've inadvertently left someone hanging who took the time to leave me a message.
I honestly haven't been to some of these places in years. Sometime a lot of years. I'm on Facebook and things still get backed up there. And I'm on Twitter, which I love. :-) And you can find me at my blogs, but any other place? Hit or miss. From now on, I will try to drop in at Shelfari and Goodreads and check my page, but I'm thinking I should just delete Bebo and add a message to MySpace that I am no longer active there. This might be the way to go.
This weekend, I discovered that I'd been getting messages on my wall at Shelfari. Some are two and three years old. I never saw them. I did post back to the people Sunday, apologizing and thanking them, but wow, am I embarrassed. The first thing I did was check my settings and notifications were turned off. I probably did it and forgot about it.
My philosophy on these sites that I don't visit anymore has been to leave my page up because I figure why not? Maybe it's not updated, but it still has links to my site and stuff, so people who find me, say at Bebo, can link through if they're interested.
I'm rethinking this theory.
Maybe it would be better to delete my profiles at sites I don't visit any longer. That way I won't run into this situation again where I've inadvertently left someone hanging who took the time to leave me a message.
I honestly haven't been to some of these places in years. Sometime a lot of years. I'm on Facebook and things still get backed up there. And I'm on Twitter, which I love. :-) And you can find me at my blogs, but any other place? Hit or miss. From now on, I will try to drop in at Shelfari and Goodreads and check my page, but I'm thinking I should just delete Bebo and add a message to MySpace that I am no longer active there. This might be the way to go.
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Adventures In Home Waxing
I am--of course--talking about the hair removal kind of waxing.
A few weeks back, QVC had a Bliss waxing kit as the Today's Special Value. I dithered a bit, but decided I'd check out reviews/prices when I got home from work. The reviews I found on line were positive, QVC's price, even with the shipping, was better than what I found online, and so I ordered it. And found myself on back order. My kit finally came.
For those unfamiliar with Bliss, it's apparently a salon wax that's now been made available for home use. The wax is microwaved rather than heated in a special machine and their special oil is supposed to make it nearly pain free.
On Wednesday, I decided it was a good time to try it out. I set up at my kitchen breakfast bar with my lighted makeup mirror, a handful of cotton balls, and easy access to the microwave.
The directions said that a full cup of wax would likely need five or six 30 second zaps in the microwave and that the wax should be stirred between each interval. The first two times in the microwave, stirring was impossible because the top was rock solid. The third time through I had a little hole form, maybe the size of a nickle. By the fifth time, the wax was way too hot. It's supposed to be the consistency of honey. I had it the consistency of water. :-) I waited a bit for it to cool down and thicken.
I started with my eyebrows. After all, how hard can it be, right? And this is a good place to test for pain. Because of years of plucking, I'm pretty inured to pain there and if it hurt, then using that wax in other areas was not going to happen.
Seriously, the directions needed to say something like: Idiot, reconsider doing the eyebrows yourself. Or get adult supervision.
Wax got into areas where I wanted to keep eyebrow. A little wax string dipped down into my eyelashes. I dripped wax on my floor. And my counter top. It required following their emergency instructions, but I did manage to not lose half my right eyebrow. It's a little thinner than the left, but it is intact. :-/
Lessons Learned:
1. Do not wax in the kitchen. Take the cup into the bathroom.
2. The thicker wax is easier to work with, don't overheat it and get it too thin.
3. When the wax cools, it won't adhere will to the hair and nothing gets removed. Stay in the sweet spot as far as the time goes.
4. Pluck the eyebrows from now on. Use the wax for other places instead.
A few weeks back, QVC had a Bliss waxing kit as the Today's Special Value. I dithered a bit, but decided I'd check out reviews/prices when I got home from work. The reviews I found on line were positive, QVC's price, even with the shipping, was better than what I found online, and so I ordered it. And found myself on back order. My kit finally came.
For those unfamiliar with Bliss, it's apparently a salon wax that's now been made available for home use. The wax is microwaved rather than heated in a special machine and their special oil is supposed to make it nearly pain free.
On Wednesday, I decided it was a good time to try it out. I set up at my kitchen breakfast bar with my lighted makeup mirror, a handful of cotton balls, and easy access to the microwave.
The directions said that a full cup of wax would likely need five or six 30 second zaps in the microwave and that the wax should be stirred between each interval. The first two times in the microwave, stirring was impossible because the top was rock solid. The third time through I had a little hole form, maybe the size of a nickle. By the fifth time, the wax was way too hot. It's supposed to be the consistency of honey. I had it the consistency of water. :-) I waited a bit for it to cool down and thicken.
I started with my eyebrows. After all, how hard can it be, right? And this is a good place to test for pain. Because of years of plucking, I'm pretty inured to pain there and if it hurt, then using that wax in other areas was not going to happen.
Seriously, the directions needed to say something like: Idiot, reconsider doing the eyebrows yourself. Or get adult supervision.
Wax got into areas where I wanted to keep eyebrow. A little wax string dipped down into my eyelashes. I dripped wax on my floor. And my counter top. It required following their emergency instructions, but I did manage to not lose half my right eyebrow. It's a little thinner than the left, but it is intact. :-/
Lessons Learned:
1. Do not wax in the kitchen. Take the cup into the bathroom.
2. The thicker wax is easier to work with, don't overheat it and get it too thin.
3. When the wax cools, it won't adhere will to the hair and nothing gets removed. Stay in the sweet spot as far as the time goes.
4. Pluck the eyebrows from now on. Use the wax for other places instead.
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Defining Character
I spend a lot of time with my h/h in any story I write. Some of them are in my head constantly even when I'm not writing. This is actually pretty cool and I often get scenes that won't make the book, but help round out the characters and explains them.
I'm not sure how to describe my relationship with my characters. The best analogy I've been able to come up with is it's as if your best friends are living in your house with you. They're always around and sometimes that gets annoying when you'd just like a little peace and quiet. Sometimes it's awesome because you can really get to know them in ways that help make them real. (In my case, even more real because they pretty much show up as three-dimensional, stubborn people from the start.)
Some characters will lie to me (like my demons). Some will refuse to talk to me. Some will give me surface stuff and think that I'll be diverted from digging any deeper. Characters are evil.
Unfortunately for them and their secrets, our relationship (sharing a house and all) is far too close and intimate for any of their tactics to work. Sometimes, though, it takes me a little while to catch on to their underhanded tactics.
One of my heroines almost pulled the wool over my eyes entirely. She was so slick, I never suspected anything. Okay, this isn't quite true. I briefly questioned why she didn't have any friends in her home city. Her only friends are in another country some 3,500 miles away and even then she doesn't see more than a few times a year. But she was so good, it was only a fleeting though that I didn't spend much time on.
She would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for the synopsis.
As I'm writing it, trying to make it work with the hero's issue--which I thought was the driving growth arc of the story--I realize his problem isn't enough to carry the synopsis. At first, I just thought that I wasn't explaining his issue well, that it would be better in the book. But if the synopsis is a mess, would I even have the opportunity to write the book?
A friend suggested I focus on the heroine's issue and not even mention the hero's in the synopsis. And it stymied me. The heroine apparently had no issues. She was a paragon. And that set my BS detector humming. Everyone has issues and baggage--you don't reach her age without them.
Once I turned the spotlights on her and got out the rubber hose, I discovered more than I expected. As it turns out, she does have the growth arc that drives the book. Yes, the hero has his issues--his are actually pretty close to the heroine's--the difference is that he has friends. I've never before had two characters with the same problems to overcome. This could be interesting.
I'm not sure how to describe my relationship with my characters. The best analogy I've been able to come up with is it's as if your best friends are living in your house with you. They're always around and sometimes that gets annoying when you'd just like a little peace and quiet. Sometimes it's awesome because you can really get to know them in ways that help make them real. (In my case, even more real because they pretty much show up as three-dimensional, stubborn people from the start.)
Some characters will lie to me (like my demons). Some will refuse to talk to me. Some will give me surface stuff and think that I'll be diverted from digging any deeper. Characters are evil.
Unfortunately for them and their secrets, our relationship (sharing a house and all) is far too close and intimate for any of their tactics to work. Sometimes, though, it takes me a little while to catch on to their underhanded tactics.
One of my heroines almost pulled the wool over my eyes entirely. She was so slick, I never suspected anything. Okay, this isn't quite true. I briefly questioned why she didn't have any friends in her home city. Her only friends are in another country some 3,500 miles away and even then she doesn't see more than a few times a year. But she was so good, it was only a fleeting though that I didn't spend much time on.
She would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for the synopsis.
As I'm writing it, trying to make it work with the hero's issue--which I thought was the driving growth arc of the story--I realize his problem isn't enough to carry the synopsis. At first, I just thought that I wasn't explaining his issue well, that it would be better in the book. But if the synopsis is a mess, would I even have the opportunity to write the book?
A friend suggested I focus on the heroine's issue and not even mention the hero's in the synopsis. And it stymied me. The heroine apparently had no issues. She was a paragon. And that set my BS detector humming. Everyone has issues and baggage--you don't reach her age without them.
Once I turned the spotlights on her and got out the rubber hose, I discovered more than I expected. As it turns out, she does have the growth arc that drives the book. Yes, the hero has his issues--his are actually pretty close to the heroine's--the difference is that he has friends. I've never before had two characters with the same problems to overcome. This could be interesting.
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
New On the Scene
I had a request to talk about my characters a little bit, but before I do that: In the Darkest Night is a finalist for Best Long Paranormal in the Reader Crown Awards! ::Happy dog dancing::
Characters arrive in a different ways. My personal favorite is when they announce their presence. I've had it happen twice--once with Cai from The Power of Two and once with Mika from Through a Crimson Veil. There's nothing like walking down the hallway and hearing a voice in your head say, "Mika" and then refuse to give any other information like which book she's from. She also lied to me, but that's another story.
Once, as I was walking, I heard a voice say something. At the time, I had a huge number of stories/ideas churning in my head, so I couldn't figure out who this was. I couldn't even tell if it was a hero or a villain. Turned out it's a very dark hero. It's the only contact I've had from him and the idea is on the back burner with others ahead of it.
Mostly, the characters are just kind of there one day. So what is it like in the beginning when they first arrive and I'm not really sure who they are or what book they're from? I probably don't even know their name(s) at this point.
I'm just a little bit beyond that place now. I have this idea for a novella. The heroine actually came in and shared her name fairly quickly. It's Nicole. I had a sense of what she looked like, so I went on an image search and discovered she's Latina. I also know she's a psi tracker and part of the vampire hunters from the Blood Feud world. (If you read Shadow's Caress you'll remember that Malachi fought the psi tracker after him and Cass.)
The hero wasn't around. Not at first. His arrival came with the quote: Revenge is a dish best served cold. Okay then. I did have a sense of what he looked like and I learned after a few days that he was a demon executioner (like Andras from Demon Kissed), but the information stopped there.
My demon characters always seem to lie to me. This guy was no exception. He told me his name started with a K. You don't even want to know how much time I wasted on that wrong turn. After perusing names way more than I wanted, I finally learned his name is Dak. I found his picture.
Now I wait and let things percolate a little bit. I did do some brainstorming on the story and the backstory for Dak and Nicole, and it has to be frustrating for my friends. They suggest and I usually end up saying, no, he wouldn't do that. No, she wouldn't say that. No, that's not right. I don't know exactly what is right, but I know what they don't like. Guess it's no surprise, is it? They don't help, just say no. :-)
Basically, the characters arrive and give me a sense of themselves. I usually try to do preliminary work (if I'm not working on another story) and then I wait. I don't see scenes like a movie. I might have a sense of place or a snapshot of a place, but it's not a moving image. I hear words. I'll hear my characters talk to each other. I'll hear their internal monologue. That's how I get to know them.
This is where I'm at right now with Dak and Nicole. I'm waiting to hear them talking to each other so I can get to know them. The funny thing is that no matter how well I think I know my h/h, they always manage to surprise me when I write. There's something about putting the words down that really finishes rounding them out. Also, if I try to write something they don't want to do or something out of character, all progress will come to a screeching halt and I won't get another keepable word written until I figure out what's wrong (they won't tell me) and fix it.
Um, I'm not sure I answered the question I was asked.
Characters arrive in a different ways. My personal favorite is when they announce their presence. I've had it happen twice--once with Cai from The Power of Two and once with Mika from Through a Crimson Veil. There's nothing like walking down the hallway and hearing a voice in your head say, "Mika" and then refuse to give any other information like which book she's from. She also lied to me, but that's another story.
Once, as I was walking, I heard a voice say something. At the time, I had a huge number of stories/ideas churning in my head, so I couldn't figure out who this was. I couldn't even tell if it was a hero or a villain. Turned out it's a very dark hero. It's the only contact I've had from him and the idea is on the back burner with others ahead of it.
Mostly, the characters are just kind of there one day. So what is it like in the beginning when they first arrive and I'm not really sure who they are or what book they're from? I probably don't even know their name(s) at this point.
I'm just a little bit beyond that place now. I have this idea for a novella. The heroine actually came in and shared her name fairly quickly. It's Nicole. I had a sense of what she looked like, so I went on an image search and discovered she's Latina. I also know she's a psi tracker and part of the vampire hunters from the Blood Feud world. (If you read Shadow's Caress you'll remember that Malachi fought the psi tracker after him and Cass.)
The hero wasn't around. Not at first. His arrival came with the quote: Revenge is a dish best served cold. Okay then. I did have a sense of what he looked like and I learned after a few days that he was a demon executioner (like Andras from Demon Kissed), but the information stopped there.
My demon characters always seem to lie to me. This guy was no exception. He told me his name started with a K. You don't even want to know how much time I wasted on that wrong turn. After perusing names way more than I wanted, I finally learned his name is Dak. I found his picture.
Now I wait and let things percolate a little bit. I did do some brainstorming on the story and the backstory for Dak and Nicole, and it has to be frustrating for my friends. They suggest and I usually end up saying, no, he wouldn't do that. No, she wouldn't say that. No, that's not right. I don't know exactly what is right, but I know what they don't like. Guess it's no surprise, is it? They don't help, just say no. :-)
Basically, the characters arrive and give me a sense of themselves. I usually try to do preliminary work (if I'm not working on another story) and then I wait. I don't see scenes like a movie. I might have a sense of place or a snapshot of a place, but it's not a moving image. I hear words. I'll hear my characters talk to each other. I'll hear their internal monologue. That's how I get to know them.
This is where I'm at right now with Dak and Nicole. I'm waiting to hear them talking to each other so I can get to know them. The funny thing is that no matter how well I think I know my h/h, they always manage to surprise me when I write. There's something about putting the words down that really finishes rounding them out. Also, if I try to write something they don't want to do or something out of character, all progress will come to a screeching halt and I won't get another keepable word written until I figure out what's wrong (they won't tell me) and fix it.
Um, I'm not sure I answered the question I was asked.
Sunday, May 01, 2011
Writing Organization Tips
I'm organizationally challenged. I've blogged about this before, but I have figured out a few things that help keep me on track when I'm writing. I used to rely solely on memory, and while this mostly worked, there always seemed to be this point in the story--usually about 2/3 of the way through--when I wasn't sure how many days had passed since the story started. Heck, sometimes I wasn't even sure what day it was anymore.
This necessitated coming to a dead halt whenever I finished whatever scene I was working on, printing what I had of the manuscript, and reading through. Then I would write in bright red marker through the entire thing what day and time it was at the start of each scene.
You see the catch, right? Whenever I needed to double check timing, it required flipping through the entire 300 pages looking for my writing. Not quick at all.
During Midnight Hour, though, I realized that not only did I need to keep track of what day it was, I needed to keep track of the lunar cycle as well. The story's timeline was heavily dependent on the moon. I knew early on that my usual print-300-pages method wasn't going to work here and I hit on the idea of printing out the calendar for this time frame (complete with lunar cycles) and recording what chapter/scene happened on which day.
This worked awesomely! And I finally had my quick method for checking on story time. I've done it for every book since then. There are a wealth of calendars available online and Mac--I heart Apple--has it all right on the system for me to print as needed so I no longer have to go searching the internet.
The other helpful trick is to find pictures, not just of my characters, but of their cars, their room decor, etc. I also have floor plans of their houses that I'll print out. This way, when I write the character turned left into the bedroom in chapter one, she'll still be turning left in chapter twenty. Some real estate agencies have great websites with all kinds of house stuff. Also, HGTV.com for decorated room pictures.
This necessitated coming to a dead halt whenever I finished whatever scene I was working on, printing what I had of the manuscript, and reading through. Then I would write in bright red marker through the entire thing what day and time it was at the start of each scene.
You see the catch, right? Whenever I needed to double check timing, it required flipping through the entire 300 pages looking for my writing. Not quick at all.
During Midnight Hour, though, I realized that not only did I need to keep track of what day it was, I needed to keep track of the lunar cycle as well. The story's timeline was heavily dependent on the moon. I knew early on that my usual print-300-pages method wasn't going to work here and I hit on the idea of printing out the calendar for this time frame (complete with lunar cycles) and recording what chapter/scene happened on which day.
This worked awesomely! And I finally had my quick method for checking on story time. I've done it for every book since then. There are a wealth of calendars available online and Mac--I heart Apple--has it all right on the system for me to print as needed so I no longer have to go searching the internet.
The other helpful trick is to find pictures, not just of my characters, but of their cars, their room decor, etc. I also have floor plans of their houses that I'll print out. This way, when I write the character turned left into the bedroom in chapter one, she'll still be turning left in chapter twenty. Some real estate agencies have great websites with all kinds of house stuff. Also, HGTV.com for decorated room pictures.
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