I am all alone in the house, my spawnlings and Mr. Clean having run off to the Gulf coast for a fishing weekend, complete with little sign that reads: Boys Only. The entire prospect made me Squeeeee with excitement, as any sane Woman-with-Spawn would do when gifted with a weekend alone. Are you kidding me? A weekend ALONE? Really Alone?? Really Truly??
My Squeeeeee shrank down to a squawk sometime around midnight last night. That was about halfway through my third movie and a smattering of writing. That was when I realized I'd finished all my most recently acquired books (and some re-reads). I had nothing to read! (Mr. Clean's voice is bonging in my head just now to remind me: "You could always read my Terry Brooks novels") Meh.
And now, I'm supposed to be writing - which I guess I am, technically. And I have ignored the blog for some time now (Reading Reading Reading). Still, I can't help but feel like I'm cheating.
The writing? Nothing truly tangible. I've basically been running in plotting circles like a dog chasing it's tail. You'd think the dog would get tired.... you'd think I would get tired. But I just keep chasing. But! I think all that chasing paid off last night.
If you remember, a lonnnng while back, I was 3/4 the way through a WIP when I hastily decided I hated my main character and wanted her to spontaneously combust into a fiery ball of death. Yeah. Here lately, I've been toying with another plot, but it just wasn't coming together. I really really wanted a paranormal element to it (and I have So Many ideas in that direction) but this plot really, really Did Not Want Paranormal. Booger. It absolutely refused to work and was on the road to making me disgustingly miserable.
Yesterday the main character who was, for all intents and purposes, dead to me, rose up and said, "Ahem... if you mash that plot with my plot and stir it around a bit and then pull out all of that, and that, and ewww, especially that.... you might have something that would really work. And then I might not be dead after all."
I gave it some thought and found she was actually on to something.
I have to intercede here and mention a random bit of confoundedness. I work from home at least 80% of the time. Indeed, I had not been in the office in about a month prior to yesterday. One would think this ease of working parameters would prove extremely useful in my other role of writing. I'm here to tell you, it does not. And I can't figure out why!! Possibly because I read all of your blogs (and many others) instead of plotting/writing on the side. Heh. Even when I don't read blogs while I work, though, I get Nothing... just a vast emptiness of the brain and the lingering feeling that I'm wasting time. The confoundedness comes from the fact that every time I EVER go into the office, I'm lambasted by ideas and clear thoughts and, "ohhh Ohhhh, I MUST write that NOW." It's just strange.
Mr. Clean thinks it's because I listen to my iPod at work and readily identify the pod with the writing. I don't listen to it at home... My spawnlings have homing beacons locked on to the frequency so the moment the ear buds enter my delicate ear holes, they make a mad dash - like a rabid game of leapfrog mixed with defensive football plays - to my office and then wait at my back, fingers stiff and ready to poink me on my shoulder as soon as I'm halfway through the first song. No, I don't bring out the iPod at home.... but perhaps Mr. Clean is on to something there.
Anyhow - digression over. The fact remains, I am now working on throwing both plots into the cauldron and then plucking out all the little bits which won't work between the two of them. Maggie - the previously dead to me character - is standing at the helm, directing things. She's a pushy little thing. "We'll go with your location over mine," she tells me. "I like that small town feel and my loony tunes tarot-reading mother will fit in much better there." She gives the cauldron a stir, plucks out a couple of characters, shakes them off, and then flings them back into the dusty cobwebbed file cabinet in my brain. "I think instead of those two old ladies, you ought to give me a thoroughly eccentric grandmother. One of those weird southern women... you know, the kind who wear worn out men's blue jeans and strange hats." I can only nod and jot down notes as fast as my little cramped fingers can handle (I signed my Johnny Hancock to more than 150 letters at work yesterday... Oy. My poor thumb has a cramp the size of Texas in it).
So, I can't imagine why I'm here blogging instead of kowtowing to Ms. Maggie's demands. It must be the immense guilt I feel at not blogging daily. For my whole three or four readers. Heh. See how much I love you all? Really, I do. *smooch*
Other tidbits around Chez Dragonfly:
Tidbit #1
We were watching So You Think You Can Dance the other night and Shaggy asked why my little cousin... I say "little" and she's in her early twenties, Good Lord my own words make me feel OLD. Anyhow, here's the convo:
Shaggy: Why didn't TinyDancer try out for this show?
Me (shrugging): I don't know. Maybe she did. Why don't you call her to ask?
Shaggy (indignant): I'm not calling her!
Me: Why not? And why say it like that?
Shaggy (turning pink): I'm just not calling her.
Me: But why not? I don't understand. And why are you blushing?
Shaggy (making a getaway as fast as he can on crutches, while mumbling): She's too hot. I hate having hot cousins. It's not fair.
So. TinyDancer, if you're reading this.... Shaggy thinks you're hot. Don't expect any hugs at the reunion. *laughing 'til the tears flow* Gotta love the testosterone poisoning flowing in this house.
Tidbit #2
Naomi Novik. Go Read At Once. I found her first book - His Majesty's Dragon - ages ago and bought it for Mr. Clean, thinking dragons and Napoleonic history would be a good fit for him. After re-reading the last two Harry Potters (in a week's time... can you tell I've been avoiding the writing?), I went on a search for something new and different. My hand fell on that book, still unread (such a pity). I read it.... and LOVED it... and then demanded Mr. Clean accompany me to the bookstore 40 miles away at 8:30pm to go buy the next two. I immediately devoured them as well. I LOVE these books!! Temeraire, the dragon.... he just Rocks.
Then, of course, I found out that Peter Jackson has optioned these books and is seriously considering making a movie. He's even gone so far as to send it over to his CGI folks, to see what they can make of it. If there was ever a dragon I'd like to see on screen, it's Temeraire and then a spunky little thing called Iskierka, from the third book. Anyhow, run to the bookstore and snap these little puppies up and then enjoy.
Tidbit #3
What can you possibly put in the middle of a German chocolate cupcake, which would improve - not impede - upon the taste? I'm thinking perhaps some sort of caramel pastry cream... but I don't know. I need to come up with something quick. Our family reunion is just around the corner and I've committed to bringing cupcakes. We're going with an all German food theme this year so it'll be brats (and all the trimmings), German potato salads, cucumber/tomato salads, etc. We're going to pull out some of my late Grandmother's recipes and then eat heartily. I'll probably gain five pounds over the weekend. *having a thought* My Mema used to make a poppy seed cake that was YUM. Perhaps I'll do plain German chocolate cupcakes and then a poppy seed cupcake with a zesty lemon filling. Ohh, that sounds like an idea! I must get baking. I have not baked in weeks and weeks and weeks.
Well, that's all folks. I've forestalled writing as long as I can so it's back to the cauldron for me; time to go fishing for plot threads and characters. Catch you on the flip side of the weekend, hopefully. Unless the writing is going good -- then it might be another week or so. Pray for a lack of blogging. The non-writing screws with my mental state in bad, bad ways. And no one wants to see that.
My Squeeeeee shrank down to a squawk sometime around midnight last night. That was about halfway through my third movie and a smattering of writing. That was when I realized I'd finished all my most recently acquired books (and some re-reads). I had nothing to read! (Mr. Clean's voice is bonging in my head just now to remind me: "You could always read my Terry Brooks novels") Meh.
And now, I'm supposed to be writing - which I guess I am, technically. And I have ignored the blog for some time now (Reading Reading Reading). Still, I can't help but feel like I'm cheating.
The writing? Nothing truly tangible. I've basically been running in plotting circles like a dog chasing it's tail. You'd think the dog would get tired.... you'd think I would get tired. But I just keep chasing. But! I think all that chasing paid off last night.
If you remember, a lonnnng while back, I was 3/4 the way through a WIP when I hastily decided I hated my main character and wanted her to spontaneously combust into a fiery ball of death. Yeah. Here lately, I've been toying with another plot, but it just wasn't coming together. I really really wanted a paranormal element to it (and I have So Many ideas in that direction) but this plot really, really Did Not Want Paranormal. Booger. It absolutely refused to work and was on the road to making me disgustingly miserable.
Yesterday the main character who was, for all intents and purposes, dead to me, rose up and said, "Ahem... if you mash that plot with my plot and stir it around a bit and then pull out all of that, and that, and ewww, especially that.... you might have something that would really work. And then I might not be dead after all."
I gave it some thought and found she was actually on to something.
I have to intercede here and mention a random bit of confoundedness. I work from home at least 80% of the time. Indeed, I had not been in the office in about a month prior to yesterday. One would think this ease of working parameters would prove extremely useful in my other role of writing. I'm here to tell you, it does not. And I can't figure out why!! Possibly because I read all of your blogs (and many others) instead of plotting/writing on the side. Heh. Even when I don't read blogs while I work, though, I get Nothing... just a vast emptiness of the brain and the lingering feeling that I'm wasting time. The confoundedness comes from the fact that every time I EVER go into the office, I'm lambasted by ideas and clear thoughts and, "ohhh Ohhhh, I MUST write that NOW." It's just strange.
Mr. Clean thinks it's because I listen to my iPod at work and readily identify the pod with the writing. I don't listen to it at home... My spawnlings have homing beacons locked on to the frequency so the moment the ear buds enter my delicate ear holes, they make a mad dash - like a rabid game of leapfrog mixed with defensive football plays - to my office and then wait at my back, fingers stiff and ready to poink me on my shoulder as soon as I'm halfway through the first song. No, I don't bring out the iPod at home.... but perhaps Mr. Clean is on to something there.
Anyhow - digression over. The fact remains, I am now working on throwing both plots into the cauldron and then plucking out all the little bits which won't work between the two of them. Maggie - the previously dead to me character - is standing at the helm, directing things. She's a pushy little thing. "We'll go with your location over mine," she tells me. "I like that small town feel and my loony tunes tarot-reading mother will fit in much better there." She gives the cauldron a stir, plucks out a couple of characters, shakes them off, and then flings them back into the dusty cobwebbed file cabinet in my brain. "I think instead of those two old ladies, you ought to give me a thoroughly eccentric grandmother. One of those weird southern women... you know, the kind who wear worn out men's blue jeans and strange hats." I can only nod and jot down notes as fast as my little cramped fingers can handle (I signed my Johnny Hancock to more than 150 letters at work yesterday... Oy. My poor thumb has a cramp the size of Texas in it).
So, I can't imagine why I'm here blogging instead of kowtowing to Ms. Maggie's demands. It must be the immense guilt I feel at not blogging daily. For my whole three or four readers. Heh. See how much I love you all? Really, I do. *smooch*
Other tidbits around Chez Dragonfly:
Tidbit #1
We were watching So You Think You Can Dance the other night and Shaggy asked why my little cousin... I say "little" and she's in her early twenties, Good Lord my own words make me feel OLD. Anyhow, here's the convo:
Shaggy: Why didn't TinyDancer try out for this show?
Me (shrugging): I don't know. Maybe she did. Why don't you call her to ask?
Shaggy (indignant): I'm not calling her!
Me: Why not? And why say it like that?
Shaggy (turning pink): I'm just not calling her.
Me: But why not? I don't understand. And why are you blushing?
Shaggy (making a getaway as fast as he can on crutches, while mumbling): She's too hot. I hate having hot cousins. It's not fair.
So. TinyDancer, if you're reading this.... Shaggy thinks you're hot. Don't expect any hugs at the reunion. *laughing 'til the tears flow* Gotta love the testosterone poisoning flowing in this house.
Tidbit #2
Naomi Novik. Go Read At Once. I found her first book - His Majesty's Dragon - ages ago and bought it for Mr. Clean, thinking dragons and Napoleonic history would be a good fit for him. After re-reading the last two Harry Potters (in a week's time... can you tell I've been avoiding the writing?), I went on a search for something new and different. My hand fell on that book, still unread (such a pity). I read it.... and LOVED it... and then demanded Mr. Clean accompany me to the bookstore 40 miles away at 8:30pm to go buy the next two. I immediately devoured them as well. I LOVE these books!! Temeraire, the dragon.... he just Rocks.
Then, of course, I found out that Peter Jackson has optioned these books and is seriously considering making a movie. He's even gone so far as to send it over to his CGI folks, to see what they can make of it. If there was ever a dragon I'd like to see on screen, it's Temeraire and then a spunky little thing called Iskierka, from the third book. Anyhow, run to the bookstore and snap these little puppies up and then enjoy.
Tidbit #3
What can you possibly put in the middle of a German chocolate cupcake, which would improve - not impede - upon the taste? I'm thinking perhaps some sort of caramel pastry cream... but I don't know. I need to come up with something quick. Our family reunion is just around the corner and I've committed to bringing cupcakes. We're going with an all German food theme this year so it'll be brats (and all the trimmings), German potato salads, cucumber/tomato salads, etc. We're going to pull out some of my late Grandmother's recipes and then eat heartily. I'll probably gain five pounds over the weekend. *having a thought* My Mema used to make a poppy seed cake that was YUM. Perhaps I'll do plain German chocolate cupcakes and then a poppy seed cupcake with a zesty lemon filling. Ohh, that sounds like an idea! I must get baking. I have not baked in weeks and weeks and weeks.
Well, that's all folks. I've forestalled writing as long as I can so it's back to the cauldron for me; time to go fishing for plot threads and characters. Catch you on the flip side of the weekend, hopefully. Unless the writing is going good -- then it might be another week or so. Pray for a lack of blogging. The non-writing screws with my mental state in bad, bad ways. And no one wants to see that.
We're still here! And we know you're busy, busy. I've got Naomi Novik on my "to read" list now. Thanks for the tip. German Chocolate sounds divine! Oh, I made the Sausage & Butter Bean soup! Turned out great! Thanks again!
So glad you liked the soup!! I love sharing the recipes. :)
Tinydancer came home one evening and I asked her to watch it with me... since she records every other dance show you can think of, I thought she would want to. She refused. She was so mad at herself for not trying out (she was working and didn't put much thought into it) that she didn't even want to watch the show. Too bad... she'd totally have made it. See you in July... so excited!
Awww... see? I thought she'd have rocked on that show also. Tell her to make sure she doesn't miss it next year.
July = Yippee!!! I can't contain myself. I SO need vacation w/ crazy family. *grin*