Life in progress

Monthly Archives: August 2014


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The Editing Process

It occurred to me this morning as I was working on what will probably be the second-last edit of my novel The Great Dagmaru, that editing is an inherently ugly process. When I read my novel as a whole, it’s like taking in a picturesque landscape, with rolling hills, still lakes and vividly coloured birds, twittering and flitting from branch to branch.

But as I edit it, sentence by sentence, all I can see are the caterpillars, munching on the leaves and weaving themselves gauzy tents where they squirm like maggots. My job, of course, is to get them outta there looking like pretty butterflies.

It’s easy to get discouraged when I’m gazing at my work under a microscope. I agonize over single words; I look at them sometimes until they cease to have meaning. I forget how phrases go together in natural speech because I’ve contemplated them for too long. Thankfully this only happens occasionally. There are also parts which I can read through and not want to change a thing, except to delete a word here and there.

Today, however, the ants are crawling with the spiders and the worms are aerating the ground to allow for new growth. And I’m seeking oxygen to keep going.


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What do you believe?

We humans have some weird beliefs. I’m not talking about religion, or any type of organized superstition, as such. Can superstition even be considered “organized”? Hmm… that may be another blog post.

What I’m contemplating are those little things I feel so strongly about that I make them part of my everyday life.  And I know I’m not alone in this, because I’ve talked to people about this before.

For instance, when I have a feeling something bad is going to happen, I don’t tell anyone, lest it come true. On the other hand, if I feel something good is going to happen, I don’t tell anyone lest it not come true. Such a contradiction, isn’t it?

Then there are those things that I really want to do, that are possibly against the odds, (such as successfully selling a million dollars’ worth of books) but I talk about it over and over because I think that maybe the universe will make it true. Again, a contradiction.

There are so many of these little beliefs that people, not only me, hold dear.  What comes around, goes around can be linked to both the Golden Rule and Karma, but there are people who just simply believe it. Another common belief is that certain sequences of coincidences are a sign of something to come.

And how about our superpowers? So many people have them. Ever since I was a little girl I’ve sometimes been overcome by the feeling that I was going to get caught doing something I shouldn’t, and I’ve learned to always trust it. For instance when I was a teenager, if I had a friend from school over who wasn’t allowed in the house, I knew precisely when to get them out the door, even if my mother showed up unexpectedly early. Now I apply it more to getting caught speeding… not that I do so often, but I always manage to slow down long before I come across a speed trap. And no, they’re never in the same place. I’ve met people who know when the phone is going to ring, and people who can predict changes coming in their lives, and of those who are close to them.

All of these things require a certain amount of belief to cause them to keep coming back to us.

Do you have any odd beliefs? Superpowers? Please share!

 


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My Element

Earth, air, fire and water. Of the four I’ve always been most drawn to water, though according to my zodiac sign I should be more of an air person.

I love being near water, and living near it as well, though not too close. I’ve seen what floods can do and I’m far too practical to want to risk having my belongings ruined by one. I do have a natural spring running through my basement, however. Come over on laundry day and you’ll see me filling up my washing machine with a bucket of non-stop drinkable H20.

But this:

DSC00183this I could sit beside all day. Water like glass, I can imagine myself walking across it, skimming like a bird catching a fish just below the surface. I love the way things reflect upon it, ever-changing and yet it accepts whatever is put before it.

I love the way it smells, and the way the breeze rushes over it to the shore. I want to be floating upon it in a boat – any size boat, though my favourite is a canoe.

I want to read beside it, to write beside it, or to walk beside it.

I’m happy to be living close to the water; just close enough to visit any time.


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Playing the “Dumb” Card

I admit it: sometimes when I want something I’ll play stupid to get it.

Take for instance the laptop battery that I’ve been waiting for since May from Best Buy. They screwed up once and in return promised me a free battery, but it’s taking forever to arrive. I’ve called them countless times on the matter but it never seems to go anywhere. There comes a point when I just get tired of explaining myself to everyone I talk to. Eventually my answer becomes, “I don’t know.”

When did we first order the part? the Geek Squad guy asks.

I don’t know.

I’ll look it up.

This, from my perspective is a good thing because a) it forces them to admit they’ve screwed up somewhere and b) it means they’re actually looking at the problem rather than just listening to me complain while they gaze around the store at the pretty girls looking at iPads and/or pick their noses.

Then there’s my newspaper, which was cut off today because I got a new credit card and didn’t call them to give them an updated expiry date.  So I call them to ask why my paper didn’t come.

It looks like all we need is your payment information. Did you not get a notice in the mail?

I didn’t see one. (I’m of course lying.)

Oh, well I’ll update that for you today and  get a paper out to you right away. I’m not sure why your carrier didn’t mention it to you.

I don’t see my carrier. (Again, blatant lie. I AM my own carrier. I don’t, however, have a lot of mirrors in my house…)

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Don’t let it happen again. (Okay, I didn’t really say that, but what fun it would have been!)

I’m not a liar when it comes to anything else, but I’m certainly not beyond acting like an idiot when it comes to dealing with company’s bureaucracies. There’s nothing more annoying than being brushed off when you pay good money for a service: you shouldn’t have to fight for it if you’re paying for it!

Am I alone in this practice? Tell me you’ve done something similar. Please.

 


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Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Now I’m Here

I’m here. I’m always here. But aren’t we all? Where else would we be but here?

Here, for me, is usually my living room couch with my laptop on my lap. At least when I’m at rest. And by ‘at rest’ I mean working, because working on my novels, whether writing or editing is right up there with relaxing with a good book. I may call it working but to me it’s nothing like work.

Back to the ‘here.’ There is a marked difference between being here and sitting next to Alex than there is being here when he’s at his dad’s. I’m afraid, most of the time, to allow myself to concentrate on my work. There’s nothing worse than being wrenched out of it by someone demanding something of me. It’s like laying down for a nap when you know the phone will probably ring. What’s the use?

Not only that, but the difference in noise is also a factor. When I’m alone I can put my music on–when I’m writing or editing it’s always the Japanese band, Buck-Tick–but when Alex is here I’m usually listening to him sing. And by singing I mean a long, drawn out single note, because he’s Deaf and doesn’t understand that singing means more than one sound. The good news is, he can watch TV and play video games with the sound off and he doesn’t know the difference. At least I don’t have to listen to Dora the Explorer all day long.

So here I sit, now trying to decide if I should take the plunge or just give up on the idea of working for the day. It’s stressful not to work.

Especially when Buck-Tick is playing.

 

This post is part of SoCS: https://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-august-214/  Click the link to see how you too can join in!


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Readers and Writers: Opinions Wanted

I had an idea: I doubt it’s a unique idea, which is why I one of my questions to you, dear readers and writers of fiction, is whether or not you’ve ever seen this done before.

Imagine being able to have a conversation with Anne Rice’s Lestat, Stephenie Meyer’s Edward Cullen, Stephen King’s Annie Wilkes, or J.R.R. Tolkien’s Galadriel. Would you want to? If an author gave voice to one of his or her characters in an interactive medium, would it be just plain weird for that character to be removed from the world the author created for them? Or would it be a thrill-ride to be able to ask all the questions you have about their lives before they showed up in the story you love? Would you enjoy flirting with your favourite fictional character? Would you like to get more insight on a villain’s inner thoughts?

I’ve seen blog posts where authors interview their characters, but to let them out in public–to relinquish control over what they might have to reveal–is a different scenario.

So I ask you, apart from the question have you seen it done before, would you want it? Or is it better to let them stay put in their story?


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for SoCS August 2/14

One of the biggest challenges in coming up with the Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is finding something everyone can have in common. And yet there are so many things that transcend borders, cultures, abilities and environment that sometimes it’s hard to choose just one. Today I had so many ideas coming at me that I’ve written some down for future prompts. Here is the one I picked for tomorrow’s post:

Your Friday prompt for Saturday’s Stream of Consciousness post is “hear/here.” Be creative!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at the prompt page in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Don’t hesitate to join in!

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people will come and read your post! The way to ping back, is to just copy and paste the URL of my post somewhere on your post. Then your URL will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. For example, in your post you can copy and paste the following: This post is part of SoCS: https://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-august-214/  The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. Have fun!