Category: Writing

Grr bleugh

Well it’s a good thing the transpeople I know personally aren’t assholes, because  the idea of having a transwoman tell me I’m oppressing her for occasionally mentioning that I have a Gold Star Darwin Approved Vagina would really really piss me off.  And I wouldn’t be nice about it.

The transpeople I know would roll their eyes and ask us to return to a more useful discussion.

Some woman who is not a professional medical person on the internet put up a 7 minute video on exercises for Pubic Symphisis pain, and in a shocking development, they really help.  Mike took me for Yellowtail Thai food last night down at the Quay  (I just ate the leftovers for breakfast… there is something of decadence in being able to have deep fried oysters for brekkie) last night and I crashed at his place.  He was still sawing logs at 5:30 am like any sane human so I let myself out and walked home.  MAN WHAT A DIFFERENCE.  I can honestly say that’s the longest and fastest walk I’ve had without pain in probably a year. And the sun was lovely, and the fresh breeze, which will probably resemble a damp blanket by midday, was restorative.  So I had a 2K walk in perfect weather as a start to my day.

Still sad about Anita.  She was a good woman.  I’ll post her obit later; she was a public figure in BC so there should be one in the local papers.

Sue comes to get me at 9:45.  I FOUND MY CHURCH NAME TAG more or less in time for the last service of the year.  Go me.

I think I already mentioned I wrote 1024 words yesterday, but here I go again.

New deadline for completion of the manuscript first draft is the end of August.  If I keep up my current rate that will be accomplished.

How it is

I am now 36K words into the second novel in the trilogy.

No response from an agent yet, but I’m going to get professional help with the query letter.

The novels have a premise, not a plot.  Once I realized that this is not a problem, I turned from a woman who dreamily talks about the novels I’ll write to a woman who writes every day, unless I don’t.  So I had three days where I produced less than 300 words total followed by 1700+ words in two days.  2000 words, five days, 400 words a day, not a great average but not shameful.  The best part is, I now understand the writing process as 1) identifying who I want to write about and what motivates them 2) putting those people into conflict with each other, and then letting them use their skills to fix the problems or live with the results 3) busting up the writing into manageable chunks with definite lengths so that I can feel the progress I’m making 4) having as much fun as possible.

And some days I write 100 to 1000 word blogposts because not every thought and OOO CUTE PIC that flits through my admittedly housefly-like brain can get stuffed into the novels.

I am trying to write like a feminist, media-savvy and unabashedly socialist version of Eric Frank Russell.  Hm.  I said it.  Wonder how much that will cost me in days to come.  “Females” scarcely exist in his novels, and yet there’s something about the realism and humanity of his writing that I enjoy.

When I get stuck, I play my mandolin, watch my way through the Golden Age of Television, go for a walk with my former spouse, or kids, empty the dishwasher, make bread, work on other projects (Recovering Racist, The Book of Kind Words – exactly how it sounds, and my mOm’s been making suggestions about modern situations which need kind words, which is GREAT, Tarot for Atheists, Allegra’s Filkebuche, Broad Hints – a scraping of all my non fiction including quite a bit of humour, Oscar and his Family (a series of children’s stories regarding a non-traditional family), and a book of all my homilies which I will probably call “Not all Unitarians”.)

I’ve identified as a writer all my life, and now that I’m committed to writing every day, except the days I don’t, I feel like my life is better than it’s ever been.  When sad things happen to me in real life, or cruel things, I can immediately turn to those chapters I’m working on which need that.  When I’m happy, I’m more productive.  Best of all are the days when I tell my mood, whether lethal or sadface or brittle or calm or goofy, “Stay put! I’ll deal with YOU later…” because those are the days I write a thousand words and never look up at the counter.  YAY SCRIVENER.

I am not worthy

Best commentary by a man on the subject of maxipads that has ever been written in English.  Required reading for all men who consider themselves to be feminists, and for any woman who has ever had a period.  ALSO VERY FUNNY.  I said in my facebook post on the subject:  This is one of the funniest, truest, most ah-ha pieces I’ve ever read. By me, he’s got a man card the size a phone book – far too big to be casually ripped up!

Going well

562 words already this morning.  Poor Theo.  But not poor mOm, who is going to get the most recent production pretty much immediately.

CHUNK STYLE

I’m doing church outreach today for SAPPERTON DAYS.  I’ll be with Sue, and there will be chairs, so that will be fine.  I’m thinking of taking Otto.  What the hell, eh?

Anyway, back to the grind.

Jeff and I are still messing with the font size.  Let us know if the change is NOT an improvement.

And thank you Jeff for continuing to be the best, most honest and most unobtrusive IT professional ever.

writing and eating

SO… Mike took me to Taqueria Playa Tropical for dinner and it was WONDERFUL genuine Mexican food.  The Carne Burrito was super and Mike had Flautas.  I had a Negro Modelo for beerskis and Mike had the Coronorita which is a mini Corona upended in a really tasty Margarita.

Life is good.

Working on another Pharos scene.  Katie just called and she and I and Paul and OF COURSE ALEX WHAT YOU THINK SHE WOULD ABANDON HER BABY will go for a walk later.

Aw weel

I’ve decided to bail on writing today, and why not, Mike’s taking me to supper. (Or I could report the 13 words I wrote today, not counting the smidge on the supersekrit project which I shouldn’t even talk about or think about.)

The second interview went very well.  I suspect they will match the position to another of the candidates, but I didn’t shame myself, and I had a pretty good time.  Thank you Jeff for the loan of the vehicle.

 

 

Weeping with joy

So I wanted to whiff on church yesterday because hey no surprise I always do. But it was very very worth it.

Preamble: I walk in the front door grouchy because having left it so late I had to park in the Gods up on Keary Street. The Minister approaches with a look of what I interpret as horrified concern, but she tells me to kick the rock away from the door so it can close and then says “Oh and good morning!”  (He is risen, he is risen, he is verily risen).

One, I need to put my Secret Buddy letter in an envelope (it’s a church thing to help us get to know each other and make stronger intergenerational bonds.)

Two, it’s new member Sunday, and old members should show up and show how happy they are FRESH MEEEAAAT FOR COMMITTEES.  Or BRAAAINZ, I can never figure out what I should be moaning…..  I couldn’t – I was too busy crying.  Because I was so happy that 9 ADULTS AND 5 CHILDREN joined our church.  I got intensely drippy, and it was wonderful. Yeah sure they mostly came from other congregations but the two sets of young families did NOT.

Three, I always like to light candles.  I got up during the service and was grateful for the thought provoking meeting yesterday.

Then Luc and Carol got up and announced that they had ELOPED and BROUGHT CUPCAKES.  You can well imagine (I hope you can) which of these two announcements stirred us most.  The cupcakes were freaking awesome. Oh, and congratulations Luc and Carol.  (Hopefully the out of town Unitarians who occasionally read my blog and know the principals will be dancing around, much as I did.)

Rob W. came late, as is his wont, (this from the woman who looks every week for an excuse NOT to go to church) sat next to me, and as part of our ritualized sideways hug when he sits down, we accidentally bonked heads realllly hard, and then both cracked up because it was funny. Hugs n concussions r us.

Two of our beloved church elders are dying of cancer, and it makes me really sad.  One of them I loved since the first time I spoke with him, and the other kinda grew on me, until now I’m just as sad as if two of my relatives are dying.  We were talking about that at the meeting on Saturday, how good it is that people are joining, because people are literally dying out of the church.  We sing “Gathered here in one strong body” but sometimes the body ain’t so strong.

The choir mistress got a lovely  bunch of fleurs for her service.  She has really moved the choir along in terms of dynamics and intonation.

The sermon about moral beauty had me nodding in a couple of places.

I talked to a couple of people after church and then went home and very late in the day wrote about 650 words.

I made curried pork chomps.

The carafe of cold coffee is calling my name. I have an interview at noon and see the financial advisor at 9.

church meeting

We put together the themes for worship services next church year, and then had a really interesting conversation about livestreaming our services.  I had an awesome time, although getting there practically ran me through a sieve.  AND parking at condominiums SUCKS.

Now I don’t want to go to church this morning!!! I feel like I already gave at the office.  I will anyway, if I can figure out what to wear and have a shower and like that.

167 words yesterday, 360 words so far this morning.  I fleshed out the Michel and the Nonna squib, and have been adding to the Pharos and Theo sections.

Mike called me twice from Wreck Beach during the meeting.  As much as I would have loved to, I think my time was better spent where I was.

Meeting with financial advisor tomorrow, second interview in the afternoon.  I sure hope those clauses end up being connected in real life.

A bit of writing

SO DISAPPOINTED in Mad Max, yes I already said that

232 words yesterday.  It was emotionally satisfying to be writing again. A cop gets a nutshot, so that was fun.

Chronic Tacos does not make as nice a sopa de tortilla as Pamola.  Srsly. I got takeout and will finish it here, but Chronic doesn’t make their own broth, unless my tongue has completely yielded up differentiating home style from bottled.

SO GLAD I got to the lawn before the landpeer got here to police up the flower beds.  Bert sat in the shade in his wheelchair while Kim worked.  Kim’s over 70 herself now.

Temporarily done with the churchy project. I’ve been asked to go to the Worship services meeting on Saturday and I think I will go, it will be a good group and for a number of reasons people who’ve been quite active can’t be so anymore.  I’ve been on the committee when Lutina was chair (the good old days) and I’m not doing much at church since it’s hard for me to do the coffee when I can’t stand for a couple of hours with my symphisis all hissy.  I still do homilies when asked.

I don’t think mOm has seen this – check out page 11 of this pdf from Beacon. There I am singing two years ago (with a balloon tied to my mandolin).

Woke up at 1:30

I have been passing wind continuously for 90 minutes.  My abdomen makes noises – “borborygmus” – so loud my whole bed frame shakes. A couple of minutes later, spectacular, long, windy choruses free themselves from my body. There is no pain, no high exhaust gas temperature, no stench.  Just LOTS OF GAS AND NOISE.

’bout one hundred words yesterday.  I’m feeling sessile.

Also, people keep dying. Somebody I was in an APA with 20 years ago (Morgan) has passed away.  She was close to people I really like and I haz a bit of a sad as a result. She told the most wonderful stories.

On the plus side…. It was lovely to talk to Chipper and Tammy on the phone yesterday.

 

Interview and writing

The interview went well enough, and it seems a pleasant place to work. I was quite sore when I got back but it is a completely manageable commute (although it feels super weird to be going to the same old station as I did when I was working at Xantrex).

I wrote about 100 words yesterday.

Keith came over and we watched Big Trouble in Little China, which is about one quarter of an awesome movie and whose design elements never quite gell properly.  Still, very entertaining, and rather different from other movies made in 1986.

Score! mOm and Jeff and I are watching Grace and Frankie at about the same rate, which is like the first time we’ve been at the same stage of watching a show in like, forever.  She adores all the leads, as do we.

I wish the sun would come out… what a difference it makes!

Facebook seems to be down.  Hope it stays that way.

Got a wonderful and welcome email from Donna about the circumstances of the Circle Dinner being cancelled.  I am so heartened by her kindness in taking the trouble to let us know.  My thoughts are with David and I am thinking with gratitude of his health care providers, who really went above and beyond.

And now, to return to work on the novel or something like it.

2000 word day

Finished the chapter on Kima’s pregnancy yesterday, and wrote a really weird little squib about Michel and his time in Montréal.

At the last minute of the the children in the story crawled up and said, “But wait there’s more!” and it will all feed in to the rest of the plot, so I’m happy.  And there are parts of it that are surpassing weird, and a couple of really funny lines.

But I feel weird today.  When I’m writing really hard I feel altered. Not bad, just not quite seated in the detent, ifn you know what I mean.

“Baroque kitchen sink feminist sf with hard sf pretentions”.  Still trying to work on the perfect phrase to get people to want to read it.