So now that NaNoWriMo is ending tonight, I'm ready for one final November fess up.
I'm not going to make 50,000 words. It turns out that (and yes, I did know this, but now I know it) trying to do massive amounts of new words on an old project is very, very hard. But, I still won.
Oh not by NaNo's standards. However, this month was a massive epiphany, rolling waves of insights.
Here's a shortlist of my accomplishments:
1) I edited and wrote new scenes up to page 230 or so.
2) I rewrote, just this weekend, an imperative new edit of the first chapter.
3) I managed about 15,000 new words, including 1882 today alone -- and today's word count was entirely without the aid of Write Or Die (though can't tell you how happy I am that it exists).
4) Best of all, I'm still committed (more so now than ever) to finishing the book by the end of the year. I may have to escape from all human contact the last week or so, but I think it can be done.
So, good luck to all of you NaNo-ers, especially those of you who are in a writing frenzy to cross the finish line. No matter what your word count is for this month, isn't it cool what we've done?
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
MUSIC!
Hope everybody had a cozy, happy Thanksgiving (or as my friend R. called it, "steal a country and kill a turkey day"). Today, Black Friday, I'm giving you oodles of Christmas presents early, from me to you (and all without my favorites to back me up, on my parents' computer).
I have an enormous, voracious, ravenous appetite for new music. To that end, I have several tools that I use to find more. Whenever I see a movie, I often look up the soundtracks at imdb or Amazon. I'm likely to email my friends Dave and Nick and beg for suggestions. The Gossip Girl website is good for new music (there are separate playlists for all the characters) and cdbaby is always there for me (and now sending me a newsletter!). Another good source of music you hear on t.v. is TuneFind. Just while looking for one of my links, I found this blog called Song a Day, which didn't last long but looks interesting, but alas, I can't find the one I was looking for. I'm a big fan of Cassette From My Ex (though I wish they'd update more often), which I've mentioned before. One of my happiest finds was NPR's Song of the Day newsletter (they have a Music Notes newsletter, too). Another extremely good find was the NY Times' Living with Music blog where writers are asked to make playlists. One of my recent favorites was Elissa Schappell and I, of course, adored Nick Hornby's. He made me extremely angry about a Ben Folds song I can't find anywhere. And best of all, he introduced me to the music blog I Am Fuel, You Are Friends.
Okay, don't say I never gave you anything. Hey! If you want to give me something, send me some links for great new music finds. I always need new music. Have a great weekend everybody.
I have an enormous, voracious, ravenous appetite for new music. To that end, I have several tools that I use to find more. Whenever I see a movie, I often look up the soundtracks at imdb or Amazon. I'm likely to email my friends Dave and Nick and beg for suggestions. The Gossip Girl website is good for new music (there are separate playlists for all the characters) and cdbaby is always there for me (and now sending me a newsletter!). Another good source of music you hear on t.v. is TuneFind. Just while looking for one of my links, I found this blog called Song a Day, which didn't last long but looks interesting, but alas, I can't find the one I was looking for. I'm a big fan of Cassette From My Ex (though I wish they'd update more often), which I've mentioned before. One of my happiest finds was NPR's Song of the Day newsletter (they have a Music Notes newsletter, too). Another extremely good find was the NY Times' Living with Music blog where writers are asked to make playlists. One of my recent favorites was Elissa Schappell and I, of course, adored Nick Hornby's. He made me extremely angry about a Ben Folds song I can't find anywhere. And best of all, he introduced me to the music blog I Am Fuel, You Are Friends.
Okay, don't say I never gave you anything. Hey! If you want to give me something, send me some links for great new music finds. I always need new music. Have a great weekend everybody.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Lying to tell the truth
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It was actually a bit over 45 minutes, but the timer re-set itself while I was writing. Still pretty freaking awesome!!
Emily the Strange and Cyber Space
I'm amused this morning to see Emily the Strange and Lauren Conrad side by side on the main page of MySpace. Oh what a world we live in.
And in my inbox, Megan McCafferty's newsletter showing me the cover and synopsis of the fifth and final Jessica Darling novel, Perfect Fifths. These books have pretty much shadowed me at every turn of my growing up so far, since I read the first one, Sloppy Firsts. And I read an amusing blog from McCafferty on her Fifteen Minutes on Facebook and MySpace. I feel like that pretty much every day, but I will persevere on in this cyber space.
And in my inbox, Megan McCafferty's newsletter showing me the cover and synopsis of the fifth and final Jessica Darling novel, Perfect Fifths. These books have pretty much shadowed me at every turn of my growing up so far, since I read the first one, Sloppy Firsts. And I read an amusing blog from McCafferty on her Fifteen Minutes on Facebook and MySpace. I feel like that pretty much every day, but I will persevere on in this cyber space.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
You have everything you need
Jamey told me that my new mantra is, "You have everything you need," and I am invoking it as frequently as possible. It's already helped the past few days and considering how crazy I've been, imagine how much crazier I would've been without, "You have everything you need."
Let's talk about food for a moment. Or an hour.
Can I just say how impeccable and lovely the meals always are at the Monteleone Hotel? The food is wonderful and the service is to die for, cordial and consistent. I always feel like I'm living my dream life when I'm in the rooftop dining room, looking out over the curve of the Mississippi and eating my vegetables like a good girl. Words and Music, the parts I attended, was divine this year, as usual. It's always chock-full of memorable people and experiences.
Afterwards, I dashed into Beckham's Bookshop (which, if I remember correctly, was the first bookshop I ever visited in Nola ten years ago) to buy James Nolan's Perpetual Care. Then, went into Southern Candymakers to buy some pralines. I'm always welcomed there like an old friend and I amuse them by selling candy while I'm in line by recommending my favorites to the tourists. I was shocked and enormously pleased when they gave me a discount. I once had an argument with somebody over which was the best candy shop in the city and after about five minutes of intense disagreement, we realized we were talking about the two locations of the same shop (at either end of Decatur). Another friend insists Laura's Candies is the best, especially their truffles, which I'll admit I haven't tried, but my money is always on Southern Candymakers, especially for pralines (but also try a Jackson Square or their huge peanut butter cups or their white chocolate macadamia tortues or their covered Oreos or their fudge or anything really). One of the candy sellers and I have an intense ongoing debate about whether pralines are best served warm (him) or frozen with milk (me). Either way, peanut butter and coconut are my favorites.
After my candy purchasing, I hopped in the car with Martin and was whisked away from downtown to Oak Street and the New Orleans Po'Boy Preservation Festival. Great fun all around and ran into some of Martin's friends and some of my own, which was nice and always the best part of festivals. However, I will name my favorite discovery of the festival. At the suggestion of Martin's cousin's friend's girlfriend L, and then the smell of my friend T's po'boy, we ventured down to the Parkway Bakery tent and got a $2 roast beef po'boy that was simply to die for. We'd already had two excellent po'boys (and a beer) between us (and there's no counting how many the two of us have had in our lifetimes), so you can trust me when I say that this was one of the most amazing gustatory experiences I've ever had. My friend V created the best adjective when I was clumsily trying to describe it to her later: po'gasmic (you'll have to bring it up with her if you want to use this in advertising). [Martin loves picking on me when I'm tired and reminded me that L is not his cousin-by-marriage's girlfriend, but rather his cousin's friend's girlfriend. Oh, south Louisiana...]
Which brings me to the last thing I wanted to discuss today. My novel has been TRULY making me crazy lately and in her usual, knowing way, Toni has written what I needed to read in today's Murderati blog, called Comfort Reading. Go read it now. If it doesn't make you cry or start writing immediately, as it did me, you have no heart and no eyes.
I've been enjoying watching the counter shoot up. Thanks to everybody who's reading.
Let's talk about food for a moment. Or an hour.
Can I just say how impeccable and lovely the meals always are at the Monteleone Hotel? The food is wonderful and the service is to die for, cordial and consistent. I always feel like I'm living my dream life when I'm in the rooftop dining room, looking out over the curve of the Mississippi and eating my vegetables like a good girl. Words and Music, the parts I attended, was divine this year, as usual. It's always chock-full of memorable people and experiences.
Afterwards, I dashed into Beckham's Bookshop (which, if I remember correctly, was the first bookshop I ever visited in Nola ten years ago) to buy James Nolan's Perpetual Care. Then, went into Southern Candymakers to buy some pralines. I'm always welcomed there like an old friend and I amuse them by selling candy while I'm in line by recommending my favorites to the tourists. I was shocked and enormously pleased when they gave me a discount. I once had an argument with somebody over which was the best candy shop in the city and after about five minutes of intense disagreement, we realized we were talking about the two locations of the same shop (at either end of Decatur). Another friend insists Laura's Candies is the best, especially their truffles, which I'll admit I haven't tried, but my money is always on Southern Candymakers, especially for pralines (but also try a Jackson Square or their huge peanut butter cups or their white chocolate macadamia tortues or their covered Oreos or their fudge or anything really). One of the candy sellers and I have an intense ongoing debate about whether pralines are best served warm (him) or frozen with milk (me). Either way, peanut butter and coconut are my favorites.
After my candy purchasing, I hopped in the car with Martin and was whisked away from downtown to Oak Street and the New Orleans Po'Boy Preservation Festival. Great fun all around and ran into some of Martin's friends and some of my own, which was nice and always the best part of festivals. However, I will name my favorite discovery of the festival. At the suggestion of Martin's cousin's friend's girlfriend L, and then the smell of my friend T's po'boy, we ventured down to the Parkway Bakery tent and got a $2 roast beef po'boy that was simply to die for. We'd already had two excellent po'boys (and a beer) between us (and there's no counting how many the two of us have had in our lifetimes), so you can trust me when I say that this was one of the most amazing gustatory experiences I've ever had. My friend V created the best adjective when I was clumsily trying to describe it to her later: po'gasmic (you'll have to bring it up with her if you want to use this in advertising). [Martin loves picking on me when I'm tired and reminded me that L is not his cousin-by-marriage's girlfriend, but rather his cousin's friend's girlfriend. Oh, south Louisiana...]
Which brings me to the last thing I wanted to discuss today. My novel has been TRULY making me crazy lately and in her usual, knowing way, Toni has written what I needed to read in today's Murderati blog, called Comfort Reading. Go read it now. If it doesn't make you cry or start writing immediately, as it did me, you have no heart and no eyes.
I've been enjoying watching the counter shoot up. Thanks to everybody who's reading.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
The alchemy of reading
What happens when a room full of editors and agents get asked the question, "What would you do if you were Oprah for a day and could change the publishing industry?" Well for one, if you're extremely lucky and make like Jane Goodall (stay still, downwind and silent), they'll forget that you (lots and lots of writers) are there and inadvertently engage in an industry meeting that *every* writer should witness. To every person involved in that panel at Words and Music, every agent and editor, thank you. I'm so glad that I and a gaggle of other writers got to see that. I was going to quote some of you because I did manage to jot down some of the pithier things you said verbatim. But the thing I think needs to be stressed most is that to change the publishing industry, we need to change the way our culture reads, change the way we think and speak about reading. When we love a book, we need to use the power of our voices and our fingers to tell everybody we know. At heart, despite everything else, writing and printing books has an intended goal - for people to read them (the "selling" and "buying" parts are secondary processes that allow the writing and printing to continue, but it's not the goal or product). How can we forget, allow others to forget or neglect to teach our youth what it feels like to not only hold a book (paper, ink, words) in your hands and read it with our very own eyes and our very own minds and our very hearts, but to be transformed by a book. The alchemy that reading is capable of is like nothing else out there. Nothing.
That said, here's a book that looks like it'll be really good and I soooo wish somebody had asked me to write for, Zombies Versus Unicorns. Anybody wanna guess which side I'm on???? :) And another book that I'm gonna read after hearing James Nolan read from it, Perpetual Care. And one of my favorite books ever, the one I buy every copy of in used bookstores to give as Christmas presents, re-read every year or so, Boy's Life by Robert McCammon. That should keep you busy while I play hooky from writing conferences and writing both...
P.S. This is my 100th post.
That said, here's a book that looks like it'll be really good and I soooo wish somebody had asked me to write for, Zombies Versus Unicorns. Anybody wanna guess which side I'm on???? :) And another book that I'm gonna read after hearing James Nolan read from it, Perpetual Care. And one of my favorite books ever, the one I buy every copy of in used bookstores to give as Christmas presents, re-read every year or so, Boy's Life by Robert McCammon. That should keep you busy while I play hooky from writing conferences and writing both...
P.S. This is my 100th post.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Outlook good...
So today kicks of Words and Music, whooo hooooo and I've been lucky to meet Laura of The Three Ps of Post-MFA '08, not to mention a gaggle of other writers/filmmakers with whom she's associated, which is exciting AND NaNoWriMo is still on-going (so there's still a breath of a chance that I might actually do 50,000 words). So much going on.
The funny thing about working for a writer (who also happens to be your friend and mentor) is that eventually (even if you try to avoid it) you end up talking about writing and she (the writer, your friend and mentor) ends up figuratively kicking your ass in a much-needed way. Thank Gawd for Toni. After the figurative kick in the pants, I drove home from Baton Rouge in UTTER silence (which I never do) and sometimes spoke my story out loud and realized about seven major things in the book that I needed to know. Example? The biggest one - I realized one of my favorite characters has died by the last third book and oddly, the character has been trying to tell me that he's dead already for a while now by not appearing for the scenes I want him to be in. He just doesn't show up. I have every intention for him to be in that scene and then he stays in his apartment and won't play with the characters like I want him to. Whew.
So, I got home and went to pick up Chinese food at this place I like and it turned out I didn't have an acceptable mode of payment with me. Since they've seen me in there before, they were kind enough to let me leave without paying, trusting that I'd call them with a credit card. I did, of course, but I love that kind of trust in this day in age. And I had two fortune cookies in my bag, so I opened both of them (of course) and amazingly, it was the SAME fortune (different luck numbers): "Use your abilities at this time to stay focused on your goal. You will succeed."
All of my fortune cookies (and horoscopes) seem to be telling me the same thing - focus and you can finish this book by the end of the year.
So I had a great writing night that night and a pretty good one tonight. Hence:
I'm off to get pretty for dinner.
The funny thing about working for a writer (who also happens to be your friend and mentor) is that eventually (even if you try to avoid it) you end up talking about writing and she (the writer, your friend and mentor) ends up figuratively kicking your ass in a much-needed way. Thank Gawd for Toni. After the figurative kick in the pants, I drove home from Baton Rouge in UTTER silence (which I never do) and sometimes spoke my story out loud and realized about seven major things in the book that I needed to know. Example? The biggest one - I realized one of my favorite characters has died by the last third book and oddly, the character has been trying to tell me that he's dead already for a while now by not appearing for the scenes I want him to be in. He just doesn't show up. I have every intention for him to be in that scene and then he stays in his apartment and won't play with the characters like I want him to. Whew.
So, I got home and went to pick up Chinese food at this place I like and it turned out I didn't have an acceptable mode of payment with me. Since they've seen me in there before, they were kind enough to let me leave without paying, trusting that I'd call them with a credit card. I did, of course, but I love that kind of trust in this day in age. And I had two fortune cookies in my bag, so I opened both of them (of course) and amazingly, it was the SAME fortune (different luck numbers): "Use your abilities at this time to stay focused on your goal. You will succeed."
All of my fortune cookies (and horoscopes) seem to be telling me the same thing - focus and you can finish this book by the end of the year.
So I had a great writing night that night and a pretty good one tonight. Hence:
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Friday, November 14, 2008
Further signs of the apocalpyse
Proposed New York library budget cuts. If anybody reads this, it'd be awesome if you'd sound off in the comments about why libraries rock. Why they're essential for an educated, healthy society and should be elaborately and lavishly funded.
[11/17: Nothing? Really? No one wants to say a word in defense of public libraries? I know there's been a bit of traffic here over the weekend...]
[11/17: Nothing? Really? No one wants to say a word in defense of public libraries? I know there's been a bit of traffic here over the weekend...]
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Lucinda's luxurious lyrics lulling...
Listening to Lucinda Williams' Little Honey, which I finally broke down and (found!) bought myself. I have hereby bought my first Lucinda Williams cd, after all of the cds SOO's given me just bursting with her songs. Mr. Fox asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I said that, so then I thought I was being silly and should treat myself to what I wanted...
So much to discuss! Where do I start??? The physical act of writing has been crummy lately, but I've been getting tons of insights and everything I see, hear, read, feel seems to be influencing. I should be woken EVERY morning by one of my doctors calling me and gamely diagnosing my fictional character for me via the telephone. LOL. He's a good sport, he is, for taking the, "Uh, did your nurse tell you the question's not about me but about the character in my book...?" so very well. And the last line of my horoscope (Tarot.com) is telling: "Staying true to your character today is the best course of action."
Amusing me lately are these:
Code names for the future first family.
Apparently, I grew up in one of the best places to raise kids. But I'm no longer anywhere near such a place...
Enjoy the Rachel Getting Married website, then go enjoy the movie. It's a bit tough, but sooo beautiful and extraordinary. And I'm not just saying that because Demme somehow, magically picked my brain and filmed MY WEDDING years before it takes place. Seriously. I wasn't the only person to think so. Two people who know me both independently told me, "It was weird to watch your perfect wedding in the middle of that movie." Before I said anything about it. Between the multicultural aspect (for no explained reason, but which felt so right for the family and the couple), particularly the Indian influence (THAT CAKE! THOSE SARIS!) and the loose collection of musicians constantly playing and demonstrating, that is my wedding. Almost exactly as I've described it to friends. One part talent show a la Dr. Angelou's family Thanksgiving celebration, one part ongoing, random music concert and lots and lots of friends and family being angsty and loving and impossible and gorgeous. Seriously. On the other hand, if I ever do make a movie, I want to make it just as Demme et al did with this one. He invited his friends and family to be extras, guests at the wedding, armed guests/extras with cameras and had everybody at risk to the camera constantly, including the musicians, who played whenever and however they wanted. Seriously, SO COOL. (Somebody could give me the soundtrack for my birthday... if they wanted...)
Speaking of music, saw a great show at Circle Bar earlier this week: Simon Lott, Helen Gillet and Lucas Davenport. Check any and all of them out if you get the opportunity, highly recommended.
So sitting here at Cheers, I saw a girl who couldn't have been more than 8 or 9, entirely self-possessed, walk into the coffee shop with a copy of Twilight under her arm. She went and ordered a TALL coffee and then, equally self-possessed, walked out. It touched me and scared me to see her reading that book. It's a great book and I'm glad to see an 8 or 9 year old reading such a large book (not that the vocabulary would be too tricky...) BUT part of me wanted to stop her and go, "PLEASE don't grow up looking for love like this. Love like this in real life is SCARY. It's all well and good in a novel, but loving somebody or being loved like Bella and Edward love each other in these books is NOT something you want to aspire to. It's debilitating and dangerous." I like the books a whole lot, but it really scares me to see young folks looking at love through this lens - probably like it scared people when Wuthering Heights came out. Or even Romeo and Juliet, probably.
Now, I'm going to have to use this nifty little tool that comes to me by way of both After the MFA and GalleyCat and get some writing done.
So much to discuss! Where do I start??? The physical act of writing has been crummy lately, but I've been getting tons of insights and everything I see, hear, read, feel seems to be influencing. I should be woken EVERY morning by one of my doctors calling me and gamely diagnosing my fictional character for me via the telephone. LOL. He's a good sport, he is, for taking the, "Uh, did your nurse tell you the question's not about me but about the character in my book...?" so very well. And the last line of my horoscope (Tarot.com) is telling: "Staying true to your character today is the best course of action."
Amusing me lately are these:
Code names for the future first family.
Apparently, I grew up in one of the best places to raise kids. But I'm no longer anywhere near such a place...
Enjoy the Rachel Getting Married website, then go enjoy the movie. It's a bit tough, but sooo beautiful and extraordinary. And I'm not just saying that because Demme somehow, magically picked my brain and filmed MY WEDDING years before it takes place. Seriously. I wasn't the only person to think so. Two people who know me both independently told me, "It was weird to watch your perfect wedding in the middle of that movie." Before I said anything about it. Between the multicultural aspect (for no explained reason, but which felt so right for the family and the couple), particularly the Indian influence (THAT CAKE! THOSE SARIS!) and the loose collection of musicians constantly playing and demonstrating, that is my wedding. Almost exactly as I've described it to friends. One part talent show a la Dr. Angelou's family Thanksgiving celebration, one part ongoing, random music concert and lots and lots of friends and family being angsty and loving and impossible and gorgeous. Seriously. On the other hand, if I ever do make a movie, I want to make it just as Demme et al did with this one. He invited his friends and family to be extras, guests at the wedding, armed guests/extras with cameras and had everybody at risk to the camera constantly, including the musicians, who played whenever and however they wanted. Seriously, SO COOL. (Somebody could give me the soundtrack for my birthday... if they wanted...)
Speaking of music, saw a great show at Circle Bar earlier this week: Simon Lott, Helen Gillet and Lucas Davenport. Check any and all of them out if you get the opportunity, highly recommended.
So sitting here at Cheers, I saw a girl who couldn't have been more than 8 or 9, entirely self-possessed, walk into the coffee shop with a copy of Twilight under her arm. She went and ordered a TALL coffee and then, equally self-possessed, walked out. It touched me and scared me to see her reading that book. It's a great book and I'm glad to see an 8 or 9 year old reading such a large book (not that the vocabulary would be too tricky...) BUT part of me wanted to stop her and go, "PLEASE don't grow up looking for love like this. Love like this in real life is SCARY. It's all well and good in a novel, but loving somebody or being loved like Bella and Edward love each other in these books is NOT something you want to aspire to. It's debilitating and dangerous." I like the books a whole lot, but it really scares me to see young folks looking at love through this lens - probably like it scared people when Wuthering Heights came out. Or even Romeo and Juliet, probably.
Now, I'm going to have to use this nifty little tool that comes to me by way of both After the MFA and GalleyCat and get some writing done.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Cake
I'm rediscovering Cake lately. The band, not the food. But that reminds me that I seem to be obsessed with bands with food names lately. Hot Chocolate. I wondered if anyone else had the same problem and found this question on Google. Anyway, just listened to, "Friend Is a Four Letter Word" and apparently I will do *anything* rather than write.
Friday, November 7, 2008
An ode to Cheers
The thing I love best about Cheers, as I just told Martin and as indicated by its (fake) name (let's call it a nickname) - if you sit still there long enough, eventually all people and things come to you. Just ran into my old friend Simon Lott and out of town musician Tim Collins walking down the street hitting as many coffeeshops as possible in one afternoon (they call it morning, but same difference).
The one thing not coming my way after hours of sitting at Cheers? Words. But eventually. All things in time, in good time, in their time...
Can I count these words?
The one thing not coming my way after hours of sitting at Cheers? Words. But eventually. All things in time, in good time, in their time...
Can I count these words?
College at 16??
Do you think you were ready for college at 16? Not sure how I feel about this. I was in the IB program in school, so I can see the advantages and disadvantages of accelerated education. I think the important thing would be some sort of opt-in and opt-out options for the students.
One of the links within the article is to a Times photoessay "If Teens Could Vote." Here's my favorite teen Aaron, 17, and his quote, "I want to conquer the fascist American regime."
Have written 5,290 words this month so far. It's a lot, but need more. :)
One of the links within the article is to a Times photoessay "If Teens Could Vote." Here's my favorite teen Aaron, 17, and his quote, "I want to conquer the fascist American regime."
Have written 5,290 words this month so far. It's a lot, but need more. :)
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
OBAMA
I watched both McCain's and Obama's speeches last night and I have to say that I think they're both great men, but I'm most certainly satisfied with the results. Let's see what Obama can do with four (and hopefully more) years. I think that the air of excitement and expectation that we feel now is remarkable and will hopefully propel great changes for our country.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
The Vote so far
So after frantically searching for both my voter registration card and my social security card (which I realized was "missing" while I was looking for the first), I discovered that I'm much more organized and rational than I expect myself to be (yeah, they were both in safe, obvious places) and went to bed.
Was a little later than I would've liked leaving the house for the poll. But once I got started, I was feeling good. Walking in brisk, but not cold breezes and happy-making but not sweltering sunshine, I ate a nectarine and was at my poll in less than five minutes. And sure enough, there in line is one of my favorite celebrities who make New Orleans home, chilling with his neighbors and waiting to vote. Gave him a big grin, glad he's part of the neighborhood and got into line.
And not long after (really short wait), I voted in my private booth and walked out happy. I fulfilled my responsibility, exercised my right and communicated my choice. Yesterday, I was inundated by a lot of stress that Obama wouldn't take the day and worried about less-than-happy citizens should he do so. I've never worried so much over an election (four years ago was close, but I had a pissy certainty of what was going to happen, despite our being a reasonably intelligent country) or a candidate. But today, I'm filled with joy that I did my part. I'm proud of M and N for campaigning the last two days and proud of everyone who's voted already or will do so, especially YOUNG voters who are taking this very seriously and very personally, as they should.
As for the McCain-Palin truck that came driving through my neighborhood honking its horn and begging for attention and votes - we may lose Louisiana, much to my chagrin. But you don't have me and you don't have my neighborhood. That's something.
Was a little later than I would've liked leaving the house for the poll. But once I got started, I was feeling good. Walking in brisk, but not cold breezes and happy-making but not sweltering sunshine, I ate a nectarine and was at my poll in less than five minutes. And sure enough, there in line is one of my favorite celebrities who make New Orleans home, chilling with his neighbors and waiting to vote. Gave him a big grin, glad he's part of the neighborhood and got into line.
And not long after (really short wait), I voted in my private booth and walked out happy. I fulfilled my responsibility, exercised my right and communicated my choice. Yesterday, I was inundated by a lot of stress that Obama wouldn't take the day and worried about less-than-happy citizens should he do so. I've never worried so much over an election (four years ago was close, but I had a pissy certainty of what was going to happen, despite our being a reasonably intelligent country) or a candidate. But today, I'm filled with joy that I did my part. I'm proud of M and N for campaigning the last two days and proud of everyone who's voted already or will do so, especially YOUNG voters who are taking this very seriously and very personally, as they should.
As for the McCain-Palin truck that came driving through my neighborhood honking its horn and begging for attention and votes - we may lose Louisiana, much to my chagrin. But you don't have me and you don't have my neighborhood. That's something.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Fess Up Sunday
I guess I feel compelled to fess up again so soon because I've committed to not using my writing for TCB on NaNoWriMo. So I want to be accountable here, cause it'll help me keep writing. Thanks be to Jamey, who sent me a link to Tayari Jones' blog (so pretty and nice) where she named at least part of the process I'm doing - NaFinWriNoMo. Good to know there are others! Community is helpful to create pressure and propulsion and keep making progress. Good luck Tayari!
So, ahem:
D&R: 1,154 words so far ("official" NaNoWriMo word count)
TCB: 1,872 words last night.
I went from about 185 "done" pages to 202 "done" pages, in addition to that new writing. Let's see if I can keep it up...
A cheer for everybody doing NaNoWriMo. Keep it up, you can do it!!!!
So, ahem:
D&R: 1,154 words so far ("official" NaNoWriMo word count)
TCB: 1,872 words last night.
I went from about 185 "done" pages to 202 "done" pages, in addition to that new writing. Let's see if I can keep it up...
A cheer for everybody doing NaNoWriMo. Keep it up, you can do it!!!!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Fess Up First
In lieu of Fess Up Friday, which I abandoned early last month in shame because I wasn't generating new words, I'll fess up to my pre-NaNoWriMo word count, which is about only about 1,167. Wasn't working all that often, wasn't counting much when I was because I wasn't generating new words, but editing. So, toward that end, I'll confess that I have about 186 edited and "done" pages of TCB. I'm roaring toward the halfway mark and the pieces are falling together.
Crazy proposition that it is, I'm doing a dual NaNoWriMo project. I'm going to work on a brand new fun project in order to fulfill the mandate of NaNoWriMo, though I may not "win" this year as my focus will be on using the in-built propulsion of NaNoWriMo to finish all of the new writing for TCB. The new, fun project will serve as a writing exercise to open up my writing pores and get me going so I can get into the new writing for TCB more easily. We'll see how this goes, exactly how crazy it'll prove to be.
For the new project, which I'm lazily calling "Ryan & Dana" at the moment, I wrote 1,154 words today. Those are the only words I'll input into my NaNoWriMo word counter, but I'll confess both here.
Crazy proposition that it is, I'm doing a dual NaNoWriMo project. I'm going to work on a brand new fun project in order to fulfill the mandate of NaNoWriMo, though I may not "win" this year as my focus will be on using the in-built propulsion of NaNoWriMo to finish all of the new writing for TCB. The new, fun project will serve as a writing exercise to open up my writing pores and get me going so I can get into the new writing for TCB more easily. We'll see how this goes, exactly how crazy it'll prove to be.
For the new project, which I'm lazily calling "Ryan & Dana" at the moment, I wrote 1,154 words today. Those are the only words I'll input into my NaNoWriMo word counter, but I'll confess both here.
A side note - t.v. studios are great bunches of idiots
Though I should be noveling and kick-starting my NaNoWriMo project, I took a second to queue up The Ex List as a reward for getting my words done today since, of course, I didn't catch it last night. And I discover that it's been canceled. Four episodes in. CBS, for shame!
There's several points I want to make here:
-CBS, nobody watches t.v. regularly on Friday nights except for older folks and young marrieds. Singletons like me will watch irregularly, but not enough to give you the numbers you want. So therefore, do you really think that The Ex List's demographic was the same as THE GHOST WHISPERER? Really? You put it on the wrong night. Face it, you're idiots. It would've been okay if you'd just let us watch it online when we wanted and been happy with that.
-EVERY studio is guilty of making this massive investment of money and NOT INVESTING TIME! Four episodes?! Did it ever occur to any of these pinhead executives that modern t.v. audiences a) don't like to sit down at the same time every week to watch t.v., even their favorite shows and b) don't trust that a show's going to last and often wait to see if the show makes it before they'll commit their time and affection to it. So we're developing a vicious cycle here. The studios put the shows out, but we've been burned before, so we go into wait-and-see-cautious mode. Therefore, after a very small amount of time (4 episodes!), the show gets pulled cause not enough people are watching. Because you've TRAINED us to realize that shows are likely to get pulled, no matter how much we love them, early on unless enough people get on board quickly.
-WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE between me watching the show on my t.v. (paying for cable, watching commercials) and watching it later, at my own convienence on my computer (paying for Internet, watching commercials). AND, All-Wise-and-Knowing-T.V.-Idiots, you can actually keep better track of how many unique hits there are on the Internet than you can of who's watching on t.v. the night it airs. Think about this - people get up and walk away from commercials to make popcorn, etc. You can't control whether they see it or not. When we watch it on the Internet, we can still get up and walk away, but there's only one ad, so we're less likely to. We can browse away from the ad, but we can still hear it. AND, because there's only one ad, rather than a handful, we're more likely to remember the product and message. We're more likely to be exposed and affected to the spots that are attached to the shows online than we are on t.v.. It's to your freaking advantage for us to watch the shows for free when we want to.
-Just because younger generations of t.v. watchers are known to have shorter attention-spans doesn't mean you shouldn't commit to a full season of a show and give everybody a chance to get into it. They already freaking shot 11 episodes! Why not air 11 episodes, rather than a RERUN OF NCIS (which is a show I like, but don't watch - I wait for the DVDs). Face it, pinheads, t.v. watching is forever changed by the Internet and by DVD episode sales. Get with it and invest your time in a show, not just a shitload of money. You owe it to us, the people you're trying to make money off of, to let us have a chance to reject or accept a show. A real chance. Our hearts are not yo-yos. We can't take the uncertainty of not knowing if a show's going to last or not, or all of the re-scheduling and rumors. Make a show. Air a show. Give us a season to like it. That's fair, all around.
There's several points I want to make here:
-CBS, nobody watches t.v. regularly on Friday nights except for older folks and young marrieds. Singletons like me will watch irregularly, but not enough to give you the numbers you want. So therefore, do you really think that The Ex List's demographic was the same as THE GHOST WHISPERER? Really? You put it on the wrong night. Face it, you're idiots. It would've been okay if you'd just let us watch it online when we wanted and been happy with that.
-EVERY studio is guilty of making this massive investment of money and NOT INVESTING TIME! Four episodes?! Did it ever occur to any of these pinhead executives that modern t.v. audiences a) don't like to sit down at the same time every week to watch t.v., even their favorite shows and b) don't trust that a show's going to last and often wait to see if the show makes it before they'll commit their time and affection to it. So we're developing a vicious cycle here. The studios put the shows out, but we've been burned before, so we go into wait-and-see-cautious mode. Therefore, after a very small amount of time (4 episodes!), the show gets pulled cause not enough people are watching. Because you've TRAINED us to realize that shows are likely to get pulled, no matter how much we love them, early on unless enough people get on board quickly.
-WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE between me watching the show on my t.v. (paying for cable, watching commercials) and watching it later, at my own convienence on my computer (paying for Internet, watching commercials). AND, All-Wise-and-Knowing-T.V.-Idiots, you can actually keep better track of how many unique hits there are on the Internet than you can of who's watching on t.v. the night it airs. Think about this - people get up and walk away from commercials to make popcorn, etc. You can't control whether they see it or not. When we watch it on the Internet, we can still get up and walk away, but there's only one ad, so we're less likely to. We can browse away from the ad, but we can still hear it. AND, because there's only one ad, rather than a handful, we're more likely to remember the product and message. We're more likely to be exposed and affected to the spots that are attached to the shows online than we are on t.v.. It's to your freaking advantage for us to watch the shows for free when we want to.
-Just because younger generations of t.v. watchers are known to have shorter attention-spans doesn't mean you shouldn't commit to a full season of a show and give everybody a chance to get into it. They already freaking shot 11 episodes! Why not air 11 episodes, rather than a RERUN OF NCIS (which is a show I like, but don't watch - I wait for the DVDs). Face it, pinheads, t.v. watching is forever changed by the Internet and by DVD episode sales. Get with it and invest your time in a show, not just a shitload of money. You owe it to us, the people you're trying to make money off of, to let us have a chance to reject or accept a show. A real chance. Our hearts are not yo-yos. We can't take the uncertainty of not knowing if a show's going to last or not, or all of the re-scheduling and rumors. Make a show. Air a show. Give us a season to like it. That's fair, all around.
Get ready, get set, WRITE!!
NaNoWriMo is on!
And my horoscope for today. See if you can make sense of it:
Saturday, Nov 1st, 2008 -- You may feel pretty set in your ideas, yet something's gnawing at you from deep within your subconscious mind and you cannot make it go away. Perhaps it first arose in a dream or a passing thought. Now, however, you may be ready to embark on a journey of discovery that could include a quick getaway in the real world. There's no reason to struggle trying to separate facts from fantasy. For now, let them be the same thing.
And my horoscope for today. See if you can make sense of it:
Saturday, Nov 1st, 2008 -- You may feel pretty set in your ideas, yet something's gnawing at you from deep within your subconscious mind and you cannot make it go away. Perhaps it first arose in a dream or a passing thought. Now, however, you may be ready to embark on a journey of discovery that could include a quick getaway in the real world. There's no reason to struggle trying to separate facts from fantasy. For now, let them be the same thing.
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