Tag: writing

In which Happy Hour is Unreasonably Delayed

Didn’t get as much done today as I had wanted, mostly because my hands hurt. I actually stopped working at one point, heated up the ol’ therapy mittens and watched a bread episode of the Great British Baking Show while they therapeutically warmed my hands.

I’m knocking off for the day, and will be watching Maigret on Masterpiece Theater. It’s been decades since I’ve read Georges Simeon, and while Maigret wasn’t a favorite, he’ll do in a pinch.

Hopefully, my hands will be less ouchy tomorrow.

On the plus side of the day, I thought I remembered that Jermone Joyita had come from “Wick’s World,” but I looked it up anyway, and it turns out I was wrong. He came from The Wikesworlds or “The Wickes,” but since this was a passing detail in Dragon Ship, I think I can be a little proud of myself.

Rook is marching back and forth in my office, shouting “Yowr!” and Utterly Rejects the notion that he has to wait A! Whole! Hour! for Happy Hour. I gather the idea is that we ought to have TWO Happy Hours on Friday.

. . . and Saturday . . . and Sunday . . . and Monday . . . and —

Yeah. Nice try, kid.

Anyhoot.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. Tomorrow is also a writing day — glares at universe — so check-ins may be anywhere from odd-houred to absent.

YOWR! says Rook.

We who are about to brain…

Proof of well-supervised work happening:

Did a lot of braining today. And laundry. Braining means less words, but better results. Laundry — well. You gotta have socks.

So, I see that DoorDash has lost a lawsuit 4 years in the trying, in which they were proved guilty of privateering during Covid. They gotta pay money to Almost Everybody, which is of interest to me because!

I have money on account with DoorDash, thanks to kind friends, and I am very careful to use it when I really need it — I’m on a drop-deadline, or I’m sick, or I just got back from picking up a cat in New Hampshire and drove home in the snow — you know: emergencies.

Over the last two days, I’ve been getting messages — and I’m talking about a lot of messages, “reminding” me that I have $X on account and that now! would be the perfect time to DoorDash a Big Mac. Or maybe I’d like a milkshake? Or somebody to pick up some Tday groceries for me? Or, or, or —

In other Convenient Food news, I got a gift card — included in the cat litter delivery — for $140 OFF my first box from Factor. How much do these things cost that they can give me a week’s grocery money off?

And third? Came in today’s mail and these folks are playing for keeps! They’re not only gonna send me premade dinners, they gonna give me a FREE “smart oven” to cook ’em in. All I have to do is open the box, sprinkle Stuff over what’s cooking, put the pans in the “smart oven” and scan the QR Code from the box. The oven will then smartly cook my meal to perfection.

The future is a lot weirder than I thought it would be.

Anyhoots. Coon Cat Happy Hour has been served. I am a tired woman, and am going to go pour a glass of wine and try to find the first season of the glass-blowing show and see if that’s less … people-y. I know that people make glass, and that it’s a competition, but I want less posturing, and more thoughts on the art or the process when I have to listen to the people, and more of the actual Happening of Art, which I think is more interesting than the finished pieces.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I’ll check in tomorrow.

Art takes a rest

Earlier this same day: Wrote about 900 words while Sarah was here. Finished soldering the back of my glass piece, but couldn’t work out how to solder the edges, not having three hands, and came upstairs to look up how that’s done, exactly. Duh. So, I’ll do that after the Fidium guy has come and gone.

I guess I ought to get some lunch…
#
Somewhat later: So, I’m stopping here, it being the best I can do. I note that the piece is not perfectly oval, but on the whole it’s looking much better than I had assumed it would.

I did have a moment of inattention and burned a BIG hole in my Styrofoam work surface (sigh). Note to self: soldering irons are hot; that’s kinda the point. I have another piece of Styrofoam. I also have lots of funny little pieces of Escaped Solder, which, as I was gathering them, it occurred to me that I’d done this before. My father was a solderer by trade, on the production line at GM in Baltimore (Spot Welder being the official title), and he had a soldering iron and pertinent equipment in his workshop. More than once, I was put to work gathering up the leftover solder and putting with all the rest in a big iron pestle.

The Guy from Fidium has been and gone, after giving the diagnosis of No Problem Here. Which . . . OHkay. Things seem to be working, so I’m not complaining.

What I’m doing instead of complaining is refilling my cup and taking it with me back to Steve’s office. Maybe I can write another couple hundred words.
#
SNIPPET:

“How did you find Jen Sin?” Ren Zel asked, handing Miri a glass of wine.

“Awake. Complimentary, too. Said Val Con wasn’t an idiot.”

Ren Zel choked, and put his glass down hurriedly.

“He’s not wrong, after all, Beloved,” Anthora said.

“Yes, but – ” he waved a hand. “One wonders how the subject came up.”
#
Now:  Well. That got to be a busy day. 1,440 total new words, for those keeping track at home. Tomorrow is a writing day. I’ll be finishing the scene I started this afternoon, which will be the final bridge I need to build in this part of the WIP, and get back with entering corrections.

It’s funny how, when you ask people why they want to be writers, nobody ever says, “Because I love entering corrections into the manuscript.” Which is, arguably, one of the most important parts of writing.

Go figure.

The cats are informing me, loudly, that it is Happy Hour. The cats, regrettably, are wrong.

I’m — tired. The Plan for the evening is to serve up Coon Cat Happy Hour on time then snuggle down on the couch and watch “Blown Away” on Netflix. There may be a glass of wine involved. Or even two.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I’ll check in tomorrow.

Art Goes On

Thursday Night: Nasty outside. Rainy and cold.

Spent most the day with the WIP, entering correx, writing scenes, removing scenes, fine-tuning. Ate a late lunch, because class isn’t over until 8:30, so — late dinner. And I need to get up earlyish tomorrow to pick up for Sarah, who’ll be by around 9ish.

I know, I know — the excitement.

In a bit I’ll get myself together to go to class. Trying to think good thoughts about my art. I have learned a bunch of stuff, so there’s that. And I do have a soldering iron and wire and flux, so maybe if I can master — for values of “master” — the basics, I can be let loose to finish whatever’s left at home. And honestly, I have no idea how long soldering will actually take. I’ve been watching videos, but they’re by people who know what they’re doing, which would not be me.

I clipped Rook’s claws the other day while he just laid there and purred. Today, I got Firefly — who is NEVER going to SPEAK to me AGAIN for this violation of her innocent kitten trust — and most of Tali’s. Tali used to hang out with a Siamese, which I think is where she learned Those Words.

I’ll just bid everyone good-night now.

Stay safe.
# # #
Friday.

Business First: Civilized Behavior is an “Amazon Best Seller”! Number 1 in Science Fiction Anthologies (Kindle)
Number 4 in Science Fiction Anthologies (Books)
Number 5 in First Contact Science Fiction ebooks
I hope you guys are enjoying your books, and!

Obligatory Reminder to leave a review, please, on the venue(s) of your choice.
#
Hokay. Glass class. After some frustration, a pep talk, and a tutorial by the instructor, I did re-burnish my foil (I had not used a firm enough touch, first time), and soldered the front of the piece. It’s like magic! It’s now A Thing, and not a scramble of little pieces that won’t stay where I put them. Take that! scrambly little pieces!

My homework is to solder the back, and on Sunday another student and I will meet the instructor at her house to finish up.

So, the Plan is that I’ll work on soldering after Sarah leaves, and finish up after the Guy from Fidium, assuming that there IS a Guy from Fidium, leaves. Saturday will be devoted to writing. Sunday, a little writing in the morning, then out for glass project finish-up.

In service of the Plan, I have turned on the heat and the lights in Foosball Studios.

I was asked last night, semi-officially, if I’d like to teach Adult Ed writing, which — I’m thinking about it. I need to poke around and see how much of my teaching stuff I still have, and how much of it is still relevant.

In coon cat news, apparently Tali informed Rook that his mama wears snowshoes — which would not be inaccurate — an assertion to which he took immediate and violent exception, and the back hall was briefly filled with — y’all remember the rolling, cursing Tumbleweed Of Violence from, oh, Tom and Jerry, or The Roadrunner — yeah? One of those. Tali’s now having a wee dram of cat food and Firefly has discovered that I have picked up the cat toys, and is thinking about this.

Rook is cleaning orange fur out of his mouth.

I think that catches us all up, pre-breakfast.

How’s everybody doing?

Below, the State of the Project: Front side top, back side bottom

Snow cats and book drop

Business first:  Tomorrow! CIVILIZED BEHAVIOR: Adventures in the Liaden Universe(R) #36, featuring three short stories set on Colemeno of recent memory, a speech, and an author’s forward will be released tomorrow in ebook from All of the Usual Suspects, and! in trade paper from Amazon.

Wednesday. Trash Day (holiday schedule). Cold and still. It snowed! overnight.

sigh

Breakfast was naan and hummus and grapes. I haven’t had naan or hummus, either, since Forever, but I went to the Other Grocery yesterday (where I got carded*, all 73 years and every silver white hair of me), because I was so tired of the Usual Grocery’s mediocre veggies and fruits, and also because I thought the Other Grocery would be a surer source for turkey fillets.

I was wrong about the turkey fillets, but I may have gone overboard on fresh stuff, and the problematic bottle of wine, and the hummus was right at my eye level as I turned a corner, and they had helpfully staged the naan right with it and — I was doomed. And it made a lovely breakfast, and I regret Nothing.

Today is another Real Life Day — Physical Therapy in a little over an hour, then a visit to the Usual Grocery to get the stuff the Other Grocery doesn’t carry (or, to be fair, that I forgot about yesterday). Then I have some phone calls to make — Fidium again! All three of the — repeaters? — are out, what fun — and then I need to adjust my Anthropic claim on account I have to Prove that Steve is dead.

I hate having to prove this particular equation, though to be fair, I’m not having to do it nearly so often as I had to, last year this time.

Tomorrow is also my last stained glass class, so I hope I’m discovered to be a soldering wizard.

Friday, Sarah will be by in the morning to help the cats clean up, and it looks like after that I’ll have Friday afternoon through Monday morning cleared to write new words.

If I was a smart writer — a point often in dispute — I’d not only work on doing the correx from the six-day sprint, but also sketch in the scenes that need to be written going forward.

I tried to watch TV last night, but had no brain (this is pretty bad, when you don’t even have enough brain left to sit passively and be spoon-fed a story), so I cuddled on the couch with the cats and listened to music until they jumped down for a snack and I went to bed.

So! All that said — how’re y’all doing this morning? Any snow at your place?

Wednesday morning cat census.
_______
*Busted:

Tuesday, with dinosaurs

Dinosaurs first:

Well, that was a surprise. One thousand five hundred new words between Jen Sin and the Uncle.

I have tasted the Hiberian Breakfast tea, and it was pleasant; a step up in whatever it is I seek in tea from the standard Irish Breakfast.

I then had a cup of Scottish Morn, which — may not have been wise. That’s — yeah. Quite a cup of tea. I’ll give it a chance on its own in a couple of days. Might be I’ll have to put milk in it, something I never thought I’d be doing.

Dental appointment at 1 pm, after, and depending on the state of the predicted “rain and snow,” I have a couple of errands, including the grocery, then back home and I’ll see where I am about what. It might be Enola Holmes tonight. I didn’t watch anything last night in favor of reading an article about old people “embracing” the single living lifestyle, which was — ultimately unenlightening. The article affected some astonishment regarding the fact that widowed men are more likely to remarry than widowed women. Which I find Not Surprising At All, though I have friends both male and female who have remarried after losing a spouse.

USPS would like me to believe that I am getting two deliveries from itself today. I will be surprised if that happens.

And I think that’s all the news from here. The cats all trooped back to Steve’s office with me this morning, took up their comfy spots, and I think that’s where they all still are.

I think that’s it for me. What’s it for you?

 

 

End run

6:30 am: The workday begins

Later that same day: Taking a break to make myself a pot of lentil soup for today and For! The! Future!

The cats are still all back in Steve’s office, having, as the barbarians they are, not the least little bit of interest in lentil soup. Barbarism aside, I have done my duty to themselves, taken a short walk, and also accomplished a few diddly little things while I’m in this side of the house.

USPS allows me to know that I can expect delivery of my tea order today, so that’ll be interesting, going forward.

Last night’s movie was “Vengeance Most Fowl” which is as far as I know the “new” Wallace and Gromit. Those who had been wanting to know about this new??? Wallace and Gromit will do well to remember that I don’t get out much, and in acknowledgement of that I did quotate “new”.

Tonight, I may (re)watch “Enola Holmes,” which I enjoyed the first time I saw it, and which will be pleasant to see again over a glass of wine.

Tomorrow — is Veteran’s Day. There is therefore, no trash pickup, no needlework (the library being closed), and, I think?, no mail. There is, however, a dental appointment. In case anyone was looking for evidence of Life Not Being Fair.

And! My lunch appears to be done. I’ve just added some red wine, and will let that perk a bit while I cut bread and pour ice tea and such like.

How’s Monday treating y’all?
#
The end of the six-day run, and what a run it was.

The manuscript has shrunk, but that was expected, and some of the shrinkage was only due to a particular exchange being in the wrong place, so those words aren’t gone, they’re only on-hold for awhile.

I still have about 200 pages of corrections to input, which will now have to take a back seat to Real Life, but! it’s much easier to sit down for a half-hour between Stuff and input a couple pages of corrections than it is to try to work out a whole scene in spits and spots.

On the topic of Adjusting Mine Environment — I was being sufficiently oppressed by the darkness — especially in Steve’s Wing — that I thought to add to tomorrow’s errands a trip to Home Despot or wherever to buy some twinkle lights to install in the laundry room.

Then, as I was wandering the house earlier, I snapped on one of the many “neon” tube lights we have around here, leaning in corners for quick-lights, and I said to myself, I said, “Self? We don’ need no farkin’ twinkle lights.”

I installed a blue tube and a … pink, I guess it is. And boy! don’t they light up the space! I did hang them up with the brackets that came with; fingers crossed they’ll stay where I put them.

Harney’s came through with the tea, and I have 50 sachets each of Scottish Morn and Hiberian Irish to test drive, starting — tomorrow morning, because now?

It’s wine o’clock.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I’ll check in tomorrow.

Sunday Wrap-up

All righty, then!

I have finished reading and marking up the WIP, and tomorrow I can start on entering All Of That. It will not be finished tomorrow, but I can make a good start. I feel much better about the whole project now, even though there are still Miles To Go. At least, I’m marching in the right direction.

My pens continue to behave themselves, even after I refilled them this afternoon. Yay and also? YAY!

Coon cats have had Happy Hour. I have a vague notion that I’ll watch the “new” Wallace and Gromit this evening. After reading all day, it’s kind of hard to get excited about reading before going to bed. Wallace and Gromit, however, are always in order.

Hopefully, there will are no Early Morning — or any — crises on the schedule for the next Very. Long. While.

And that? is All The News.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe.

Writing and the art of fountain pen maintenance

Discursions first:  There are some great titles out there in the word. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds are two of my favorites.  What are some of your favorite titles?

Onward.

I’ve got about 100 more pages of WIP to read, which I’ll do tomorrow, and then get with actually making the changes I’ve notated.

The last three days have been awesome; being able to concentrate on the story, and not have to interrupt my thought processes to cope with RL is priceless. It’s what Steve and I were able to give to each other — whoever was lead got as much relief from RL as it was possible for the other to give them. Living the Life of the Mind, Baby.

Next week is RL’s Revenge, but I still have tomorrow and Monday to work.

I can also report other accomplishments on the day. Three of my four TWSBI ECO demonstrator pens, that I love beyond all reason, have lately become very … drippy. I couldn’t write a page without blots, and it was getting worse. I really was at the point of thinking I was going to have to go back to roller pens, which are — OK, but they’re not fountain pens. So — long story short — I looked on the internet and found out that pens that are dropped a lot (those would be my pens), sometimes the nib gets loose, and the ink can’t flow properly, and blots happen. If my pens were blotting, maybe try pushing in the nibs.

Figuring that at this point, I had nothing to lose, I pushed the nib in on the first (leaking the most) pen.

SNAP! the nib reseated itself. My heart rose, and I did the same thing with the second and third pens — SNAPSNAP!

And the pen that hadn’t been giving me any trouble? No snap.

I’ve been writing with the former worst offender all afternoon, and nary a blot.

Y’know? When the internet works, it’s a good tool.

So, a satisfying and productive day here at the Confusion Factory. The cats have been Extremely Good and even now, with Happy Hour on the horizon, they’re only making the verymost quietest suggestions that Saturday Happy Hour could happen a little earlier?

Hope everybody had a good day, which is segueing into a good evening. Stay safe; I’ll see you tomorrow.

Supervisors on duty. Yes, I am a pawful.

 

 

Saturday business with coon cats and yam

Business First: Amazon allows me to know that the paper edition of Civilized Behavior “is scheduled for release on 11/13/2025. On this date, your book’s detail page will become visible to readers to purchase your book on Amazon everywhere you have territory rights at 12:00 a.m. UTC.” This release is concurrent with the ebook release.

So, that‘s a thing.

Saturday. Dim and damp. Up at 6:15, breakfast bar and tea at the desk.

I hit a rough patch in the WIP, where I wobbled a bit. I removed two scenes, which has gotten me back on-course. The irony is that one of those was a touchstone scene that I started the book knowing I had to include. Proving yet again that writing is a Science.

Ahem.

Taking a break now to get myself some lunch — I’m thinking the yam, an onion, garlic, maybe a can of white potatoes, too (so I can have leftovers tomorrow, for breakfast, maybe, with an egg), sauteed, and cottage cheese on the side.

After, I’ll do my duty to the cats and get back with the WIP.

I hereby give myself permission to not finish the read-through today. Yes, I know that was The Plan, but it’s no sense bringin’ killin’ into it.

The cats have been Very Much Approving of me spending more time in Steve’s office, so that’s another thing. I’m enjoying having a dedicated writing, and only writing, computer, and a space that’s not cluttered with Business I Have To Get To, so this was actually a Good Move.

Last night, I worked late to get the first 200 pages read, then collapsed into bed after my dinner, and put Black Cat Jazz on ‘way low. All of the cats joined me and we just sorta zoned out and purred..

So, that’s what’s happening around here. What’s happening with you?