Monday, July 31, 2006

Another Ramble by Lara Zielinsky

Yes, an end to another month is here. A warm July is finally over. With that we are privileged enough to have Lara once again ramble for us. Now to be honest she gave us two rambles last month and told us to use the one we liked. Well both were excellent so we chose to keep this one for a July wrap up ramble. So with no further delay here is the one and only Lara Zielinsky.
"I'd write if I had time."

I have no idea how many times that has been the comeback line when I mention I write. My gut response has become "Make the time. If it's important to you, MAKE the time."

Distractions can be many in the writer's life. Unless you write full time, the paying job is one. Unless you're single, family is another. Add to that list things like housecleaning, ringing phones, eating and sleeping, a lot of things cut into the time I have to write. It would never get done if I didn't schedule it. I put the doctor appointment on the calendar. It's important, right? I put the pre-school meeting for Sunday School teachers on the calendar; that's important too. Why wouldn't I treat my writing with the same importance?

It's time for my lunch break where I work. I smile and turn off the dictaphone. Work gets set aside, the answering machine goes on, and out comes the laptop, or on the rare days I've forgotten it, the notepad, for a little writing time.

I have come to really enjoy these write-at-lunch sessions. With a sandwich from home, a soda from the break room machine, putting on that answering machine, I even leave my desk to go to a favorite sunlit spot outside, or at least hide in an empty back office. These all serve to tell my mind it's okay to let go of the real world, and time to fly off to the fictional world of my writing.

After years of doing this, it's become habit for me, as well as my inspiration. I can feel my current bevy of characters inside me beginning to wake up, knowing that I have time for them now. They have my full attention to share their lives' happenings, their worries, their trials and tribulations with my undivided attention.. Each writing session doesn't necessarily produce postable results, but the effort keeps the lines of communication open between my inspiration and the time I have to write that inspiration down.

Today's plan - and there does have to be a plan, otherwise I am the worst procrastinator and will check email and bulletin boards endlessly frittering away my lunch hour - is to write the final 5 pages on one story I've been working on for two months. When I finish that, I'll return my chair to its upright position, and come in for a landing from my flight of fantasy.

From one thing or another, I might not be able to take a lunch break every day. Sometimes I have errands to run. But two or three days each week is better than none. I have set aside other times during the week - Wednesday nights from 7p to 10p and Saturday mornings until noon (everyone else in the house sleeps in) are nearly regular as clock work. Traveling, or weekend plans can alter these, but the other thing my "regularity" breeds is respect from others who might want or need my time. They respect this time that I set aside for what I find important and know that they have my undivided attention the rest of the time.

People make and keep dates for what's important. With their favorite TV shows. With their friends, children, spouse or girlfriend. I respect my writing. If I didn't no one else would either. So I make dates with my writing and we're all very happy.

Lara Zielinsky
www.lzfiction.net

author of Turning Point
coming in March 2007 from PD Publishing


If you get a chance I highly recommend checking out Lara's website and, as luck may have it, she even has a Yahoo group that you are welcome to join and get her early updates and her words on a regular basis.

Now off to the updates, enjoy.

Elisa

Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Pheasant McNuggets Contest Ramble Starter

I'm going to kick off this bad food ramble contest with an experience of my own.

When I was a kid my mom frequently had to travel to Washington DC as part of her job. With mom gone we had to fend for ourselves in the food department. Fortunately I'd been helping her in the kitchen for quite some time and was more than able to throw together edible meals. My dad liked to get in on the action once in a while even though I'd never seen the man cook anything other than bologna eggs (disgusting, don't ask).

One evening he got it in his head that we should have enchiladas for dinner. We had some canned enchilada sauce and tortillas and cheese. What we didn't have was any meat. I'm a cheese enchilada gal myself but at this time in his life, my dad liked eating red meat and the hamburger was frozen solid. I suggested putting it in an iron skillet with a little water and a lid. That usually thawed and cooked the meat quite nicely. I'd seen mom do it before.

Nahhhh, we didn't need to mess with that. We had something better. Something ready made and already cooked. We had Spam. Felt a shudder go down your spine, didn't you? Yes, Spam, that wonderful rectangular conglomeration of ham and spices and stuff you just don't want to think about. Dad grew up on Spam and we always had a can or two for whenever he got a craving.

My brother and I weren't too sure about this Spam enchilada idea but dad was insistent so we went with it. I grated the cheese while dad cubed the Spam. We dipped tortillas in the heated enchilada sauce and rolled each one up with a little diced Spam and cheese. We also made some plain cheese enchiladas. We made rice and beans to go with our enchiladas and after they heated in the oven for an appropriate amount of time, pulled everything out to eat.

As you've probably already guessed, our first bite of Spam enchiladas wasn't a good one. Nor was the second. Spam and red enchilada sauce do not go well together. The man who could eat bologna eggs (and Spam) even admitted they weren't that great. Thank goodness for the cheese enchiladas. Without them we would have been fighting over the last bit of rice and beans.

To this day I can make my brother shudder whenever I mention our run in with Spam enchiladas.

Tamara

Posted by at No comments:

Saturday, July 29, 2006

A Rant from E

I'm like many folks and am on quite a few Yahoo groups from authors. Recently one went off and explained why she was closing her group. By all means it should be done if that's her choice. However, she went on to rant about why. Weirdly enough I agreed with so much of it. Her ability to look at other authors and slam them for their writing styles and such seemed right in line with how a odd of reader I feel at times. Her reasoning proves to me why she should continue with the group writing from a perspective of difference.

Mind you, even with that opinion, I'm not sure I'd like to meet this person outside the online world. She takes negativity to new heights. Her ability to cut down someone to the core without ever looking in, is scary and completely self-absorbed. She complains about narrow-mindedness and yet she boxes, generalizes and stereotypes as much from another direction.

I so wanted to speak up on her list and say rah rah for her words and agree with her viewpoints. But, at the end of the day, I couldn't get past the fact that her words fall apart by sliding into the same pitfalls by stereotyping, generalizing, ostracizing and downright meanness of those she isn't fond of. Her slamming of TV shows, fan fiction and authors of such showed a clear negative view of someone who sees the glass empty on your side of the table, but damn full on hers.

I think I would rather share.

She slammed a forum which brought her existence to the forefront. I wouldn't have found her words, bought her book and stayed on her list if it weren't for those things she managed to slight. Perhaps her arrogance may be her downfall yet?

In her rant she left out the acceptance of what the online world has done--bring forth all of us. Yes, much of what is out there is not to my liking. Yes, much of what is out there is problematic and, unfortunately, seems to be growing. Yes, some folks that get published probably wouldn't be if it weren't for the fact they are gay and they write gay stories with horrible grammar, editing and even plot. But, in the end, that's not up to me. Some folks may totally love it.

Art is subjective. Clothing is subjective. Hell, food is subjective. Why should writing be any different? As with all life, beauty is still in the eye of the beholder. Perhaps some need remember that.

Off my soapbox and back to your updates, enjoy.

Elisa

Posted by at No comments:

Friday, July 28, 2006

Ramble from Beth and a Contest!

Hallelujah! We've conned...er cajoled...a friend into rambling for us tonight. Beth recently moved from Texas to Wales and we've been bugging her to start rambling for us about her experiences getting used to a new country. Here is, hopefully, the first of many rambles from Beth.
Housewifery

I recently packed up all I owned, including my two dogs, and traveled 6,000 miles from Texas to Wales to move in with my partner (sweetie, that she is.) Now, after being a working stiff since the age of 13, I suddenly find myself rather blissfully unemployed and playing the housewife.

It's really kinda fun, most days. The very best part is that I can have a nap when I need it, and after battling a chronic fatigue problem for the past 8 years that's no small blessing. I also love the fact that I can be sound asleep, yet still accomplishing something - for reasons I don't really understand, our washing machine takes two hours to do a load, so I can wander off while it's at it and not feel like a total lazy bum.

Not every day is fun and games, though. I cleaned out the oven yesterday - it hadn't been done in far too long, and I had the misfortune to discover my partner's repulsively impressive collection of rancid grease. It took me as long to clean up the mess from cleaning the oven as it did to clean the oven!

One role I despise however, is that of cook. Usually Val handles that and I do the dishes, but she's working really late this week so I've taken on the chore myself. So far, I've stayed pretty close to my standard scrambled eggs repertoire, but tonight I'm venturing into the uncharted territories of Sloppy Joes. Keep your fingers crossed for me, and actually, feel free to offer any advice you have on removing Sloppy Joe stains - chances are I'm going to need it!

Beth


Beth is familiar with the online fiction world from being an avid reader and beta for a few authors. She also writes a wee bit. Go read her wonderful Life With Granny essays here: www.e-scribblers.com/goodman/. Pay particular attention to Pheasant McNuggets.

In keeping with Beth's ramble for tonight (and Pheasant McNuggets) we thought it would be fun to have a little ramble contest. What we'd like to hear from you is your worst cooking story. You can be the perpetrator of the cooking disaster or someone near and dear to you can have done the deed. It doesn't matter who dealt it, we want to hear about it.

Ideally we'd like to include these as rambles at Uber Etc. for everyone to read. If you're up for that, email us. If you'd like to post anonymously we can do that but please let us know when you send the story.

The deadline for the Pheasant McNuggets Contest will be August 31. After August 31, we'll round up all of the winners and have an update with links to every entry so y'all don't have to go hunting through the archives. The winners will be selected by the folks who visit this site and choose to vote.

Okay, I hear you asking me, "Tamara, just what the heck is in this for me?" Well, besides the praise and admiration of your fellow femslash addicts you could be the proud owner of some lesbian fiction. I must be honest here. You're gonnna get lesbian fiction that E and I didn't care for that much. We figured it was a good way to clean out books we didn't enjoy and maybe, just maybe, a book we didn't like will become your favorite. Stranger things have happened.

So...sharpen your pencils, limber up your typing fingers and send us those cooking horror stories.

Tamara

Posted by at 2 comments:

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Comfortable

Been thinking today all about comfort. The different levels which are present during our life and how that changes throughout. We'll do things we never thought possible when we're comfortable. Whether mental or physical, doesn't really matter. Odd how it happens. Not surprising why sales folks are so important and good ones are completely dangerous. They are also sometimes known as politicians, but hey, that's another story.

Okay, ramblin' has stopped, off to your updates. Enjoy.

Elisa

Posted by at 2 comments:

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Ramble by Strongsouljah

Strongsouljah aka Tonya S. Coley sent us some good news.
First, I would like to thank all of you who sent me words of encouragement and emails of concern as I recovered from personal tragedies and knee replacement surgeries. I would also like to apologize for the long delay between updates. I can only offer up TAH, my muse, as an excuse.

You may ask what TAH stands for. Those are her initials as her name is Trifling Ass Ho. Yep, I said it, and she had indeed lived up to that name. There are times when a muse takes a leave of absence, but this has been ridiculous.

I tried everything to get her to come back sooner...promises of alcohol, sex, money, my first born...nothing worked. I think she got pissed off when I stopped smoking. Selfish ass, isn't she???? Why do muses get offended when you make changes in your writing habits? We used to stay up all night... her whispering and me typing... smoking and drinking Pepsi. Once I stopped smoking like a chimney she left me, shameless hussy she is.

I don't know what she's been up to, all these many months, but she finally came back to me. YAY!!!!!! So all of you who have been waiting for Fourth and Goal keep your eyes open for updates. Uh oh, here she comes. I gotta go for now. Oh yeah, do me a favor and let's just keep this between us. Wouldn't want to do anything to piss her off.

Strongsouljah


Coolio. I'm looking forward to seeing what Tonya and TAH bring us. Not familiar with T's work? Go here: www.e-scribblers.com/strong/. She's also got a Yahoo group called Da Playground. 'Tis a wacky place and T always posts her work there first. Join it and be prepared for a little mayhem with your fiction.

Tamara

p.s. We don't cover poetry here at Uber Etc. but one of my favorite fanfiction authors gave in to my nagging and posted some of her poetry online. I'm looking forward to reading more. If you're at all interested in poetry that doesn't suck, check out S Berry's poems.

Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Think Rain

I really love being able to say that and knowing others might actually want it as well. One is sending some cooler thoughts for all folks stuck with yet another day of heat. Let's hope for a break soon.

Until then, stay cool and remember to think those good thoughts and who knows what can happen. Seems to be a year of surprises and change. Hang on tight, the future of unknowns may take us all for a ride.

Go read, relax and enjoy.

Elisa

Posted by at 3 comments:

Monday, July 24, 2006

Literal Cal

Me upon seeing Cal walk into the computer room stark naked: "Why are you naked?"

Cal, sauntering in without a care in the world: "Because I don't have any clothes on."

Yep. That about sums it up.

If you're at all weird like me and love looking at vacation pics, here's a few from my SC trip last week.

Another good mix of updates tonight. Once again, enjoy 'em, and holler if you know of a site we should be checking and aren't.

Tamara

Posted by at 4 comments:

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Whew!

I survived the return trip with the kids. By the end of it Cal was a wreck but, fortunate for us, he fell asleep on the drive home after dropping mom off at her house. You have to love the ability of a three hour car drive and two plane changes to completely exhaust a three year old.

I'm still on South Carolina time because I woke up at the horrible hour of 7:45 on a Sunday. That's wrong. I made up for that, however, by doing absolutely nothing today. Okay. I did get the pictures off my camera. And organized them by day. Plus I added my mom's pics in. That was fun considering her date/time stamp seems to be off. I had to go through and check what everyone was wearing very closely to match up some of her pics to the correct day. Luckily she didn't take near as many pics as I did.

Our dog Max is also home from his vacation. He stays with my friend Tracey and her dog Hoss. Max is a medium sized dog--chihuahua/beagle mix. Hoss is a big dog. And I do mean big--he's a rottweiler crossed with something huge. He's a softie though and he and Max have the best time together. Kind of nice to know that while you're off having fun your pet is having a grand time too.

I'm still uploading pics from vacation but I'll get together a few showing some of our highlights. I'm sure you'll be on pins and needles when I tell you we actually saw the Kiss Coffeehouse. Yeah, I'm being sarcastic again.

It's a good mix of updates tonight. Enjoy 'em.

Tamara

Posted by at No comments:

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Finally

The last day of rambling without my editor extraordinaire's help. Been a long week, or was it just me? Hence a few more of my words and then tomorrow you will be graced by Tamara's.

This week is closing on a heat wave in my city. I actually think in many of the cities across our planet it ends with warmth. Global warming, what global warming?

In Seattle when we see numbers close to three digits we get worried. Currently I am worried and very hot. Unlike some folks that see these numbers and think summer, I see them and think hell. I live in Seattle for a reason. I love rain. Sun not always my favorite, give me the nice overcast gray drizzly day and peace is about. Yes, I am that strange.

So with no further complaints I hope you all enjoy the update and I will chat at you next week.

Enjoy,
Elisa

Posted by at 2 comments:

Friday, July 21, 2006

A Ramble from Nikki & Julie

Good Evening and yes, I am once again off the hook! Better yet, a totally fun ramble/chat by two writers. These are the two fun authors behind the curtain of JS Odds and Ends.

The Great Writing Ramble

By Nikki and Julie

Nikki: well, wanna try to get a ramble started and see how it goes?

Julie: sure : )

Nikki: so, I only vaguely remember how I got started with all of this, what about you?

Julie: this being what? Writing, the ramble, um more specifically fanfic, um our specific stories? And how vague is vague :-)

Nikki: lol

Julie: ok first line and you lost me already - I am bad sorry : )

Nikki: no worries

Julie: You have your work cut out for you...

Nikki: let's see, I've always written things

Nikki: and I wrote some fanfic before I knew that it was a thing that people did/read. What I don't really remember is how I started with the roleplaying and the writing with others

Nikki: what about you?

Julie: direction - yay, I can do this - and well writing in general - yeah that I've always done too, I mean I can go to my diaries/journals/etc. and find poetry and short stuff in amongst the preteen/teen drama filling those pages - fanfic, I am the same - I have stuff I wrote based on just about any TV show I would watch - I'd kinda half write though - like a screenplay but not... so there'd be pages of just dialogue and not the description stuff (I assumed anyone reading would know that was Kelly garret that said that - lol) as to roleplaying and writing with others

Julie: that I do know - red moon rising (a Buffy 4th season AU RPG I started three years ago) was my first :-) I really came late to the whole fanfic and RPG - I mean I did dungeons and dragons and stuff but nothing like writing based RPG

Nikki: I was into that rpg only just before you

Julie: I was scared to death to be honest, this was the first time anyone but my sisters had read anything I wrote

Nikki: it took longer for me to figure out how to deal with sharing ideas and avoiding controlling people/writers than to find out how easy it was to slip into the roles

Nikki: I did a lot of acting growing up and everything, and my only regret was that I had no say in what the characters did/said

Julie: yeah I agree

Nikki: rping gave me that option

Nikki: and I shared some of the stuff that I used to do, but not very much of it

Nikki: but the rp is great

Nikki: because you have the option of using existing characters and sharing how you see them and/or bringing in your own characters, but either way you already have a world to pull them into, and that makes it too easy sometimes, so even that much can get played with - like Hell and Earth (a buffy group in an alternate future where demons have significant power in a 3rd-world type of environment)

Julie: Yeah, I was going to say I like RP for a similar reason as well because you do not have to write EVERYTHING (I know that makes me sound lazy) but others are writing as well. It is like writing for a TV series, which I would love to do. Or writing a novel based on a series (another thing I secretly would love to do) - you have rules to follow but some play. Having the canon or rules actually makes the writing harder and thus a little more fun sometimes. It also is a sneaky way to help improve writing because you have to work with certain things and people and thus can't just do anything... not sure that is making sense

Julie: I also like the RPs that are more third person/story oriented as opposed to the more first person (more like a Sims game). That goes back to the fact I like to write as well as act (writing for an RP with other people is often like acting/improv as much as it is writing)

Nikki: and it's a lot of fun, because you have choices, but you still have those guidelines, an outline, and you know you have to follow it, because as a writer, you have some say in that plot

Nikki: as much as you improv, there's even more planning going on behind the scenes. You have to develop stories, and plots, new characters, and bad guys. It's not just playing one person (though I try to cheat on that, sorry julie) it's playing an entire cast. With our little duo approach, it makes it that much easier, and also explains why we have so many one-on-one scenes

Nikki: after that we still tend to stick to even numbers

Julie: (hehe sure now who is being lazy j/k)

Nikki: I prefer the term 'honest' thank you very much

Julie: hehe

Julie: Yes, that is one thing about the RP and writing that I always try to shy away from - that is torturing or really interacting with my own characters in an RP (Sitting there having a full out conversation with myself strikes me as odd sometimes - lol)- which is why working with someone else is something I prefer as well. It provides a better flow for dialogue, for me at least, (and I admit, I am not a strong or rich dialogue writer. That is one area where Nikki really excels and thus really makes the story better because she has strengths in an area I lack - it also means I learn as I write with her because I watch how she builds a scene (response) and also we talk about how the dialogue and writing is going - the behind the scenes stuff she mentioned earlier

Nikki: yeah, while I leave plotting and baddies to you

Nikki: I'm good at the talking

Julie: Hmm that could be interpreted in another way, just teasing - and your character development is phenomenal as well - especially the areas sometimes listed on bios as emotional history, or um characterization - the motivation pieces - why would my character do this? type thing

Nikki: we also have different things in mind when we create/develop new characters, I think that's why we make a good team. We have different strengths and weaknesses, so we can really build off of each other

Nikki: I think the motivation goes back to acting, you have to understand the why, or at least discover a way to justify it

Nikki: otherwise you aren't staying true to your character

Julie: Yup (and I am so being good and not mentioning or trying any type of dom or who wears the pants in the writing relationship jokes in here - aren't you proud :-P

Nikki: so very proud

Julie: :-D - and yeah - a lot of times people get caught up in a scene or neat idea (I am guilty of this big time) and do not stand back to check the ripples - meaning if I do this in an RP/story what will it really mean and how will it look.... a lot of plot holes and weird RP/story stuff and even a break down in RPs and plot happen, I think, because of overlooking that - plus then your character looks well outta character

Nikki: I like to think that I'm good at making you remember the big picture

Nikki: but it also gives you more choices for plot twists

Nikki: screwing up a scene is sometimes good for the plot. Occasionally you have to chuck one, but generally it just makes you more creative in getting back to the plot

Julie: Yeah. Also the neat thing about talking over motivation and plot ideas is as you consider actions/reactions, a lot of scenes/ideas will actually pop out. Plus once you get over the idea, "Okay this is a really bad idea. yes I needed someone to tell me that." Having someone to reorient your thinking helps to keep your writing and characters from getting stuck, in a dead-end or in a place you really find boring or not fun. I think being willing to chuck one is actually an important thing I have learned working with others. I have watched people/stories that don't flow or are willing to plot or are willing to create a plot that is open and it really kinda gets stagnant fast. Working with someone helps keep the story open because you are working to include people in scenes.

Julie: I also like working with Nikki because having played in RPs and writing a number of things now with her, I trust her. I have a lot of ideas and stories that I would never have shared, and actually still won't share or would be hesitant to with others. But I would/do with Nikki because I know I have a place to go and sound things out with her... (sorry about that Nikki, lucky you : ) ) So no matter the idea it is comfortable talking to her about things. Thus some cool ideas end up coming out, things I might not have shared or written otherwise (no, not might, I know I would not have without working with/interacting with her).

Nikki: right

Nikki: I feel that way too

Nikki: b/c you always need a sounding board

Julie: side note - I am glad to hear that because I hoped you knew that and such : )

Nikki: of course

Julie: yeah and not just a sounding board but one that is willing to make honest remarks back, if that makes sense

Nikki: yes

Nikki: and suggestions

Nikki: always good

Julie: It makes it more than just RPing, it starts to take it to the writing/publishing side of things, having that interaction (plotting, talking, critiquing)

Nikki: yeah, which is why we work well together, it's like having an editor who is a writer to, which is really just a good editor

Nikki: ha

Julie: : ) I like that

Julie: Another nice thing is (as evident perhaps by the rambling) my brain multi-tasks (okay no using ADD initials when talking about me - lol) but having various stories running and someone like Nikki willing to jump around is very important to me.

Nikki: someone who's also aware that you have to be in the right mood to work on certain stories/scenes

Julie: Yes, a definite plus of working with others and working with Nikki - having someone who can move to or chat about different characters/stories based on interest, mood, scene ideas that pop up as I drive to work, etc.

Julie: It is also fun sometimes because one story or scene may actually pop out from what we are working on, something that is like "Oh man this would be so awesome if we used this in this story and with these characters" And that spins off into other plots and such and we really bounce off each other well, kinda leaping from topic to topic

Nikki: right

Nikki: so basically, we like working with each other, b/c we think exactly the same and completely differently


Okay, folks, let's all thank the goofballs Julie and Nikki and make sure you take the time to read their words. They have some good ones. Don't forget to let them know what you think.

Now off to your update, enjoy.


Elisa

Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Almost Home

Yeah, I'm off the hook for words tonight. Here's another vacation ramble from Okie.
I'm pooped. Should vacations make you this tired? We've got one more full day in South Carolina and I'm planning on using it to rest and swim.

I'm happy to report the kids have gotten used to the ocean. Duncan discovered he likes riding the waves on an inflatable raft. We bought a styrofoam 'boogie board' but it fell apart after about an hour. The $6 raft was a better investment by far. Calvin likes the ocean when he's taken out on the inflatable raft but being battered by the waves still isn't his favorite thing. He, more often than not, will choose digging in the sand or heading to the pool.

I'm okay either way and I'm very pleased that I haven't lost my glasses. Yet. *knock wood* I do have quite a good stash of shells and I even scooped up a bunch of stuff from the shell midden for E. She's going to be getting a very heavy, damp package in about a week.

Today we went to Georgetown and rode around on a boat. It was a pirate themed tour. We figured the kids wouldn't find that quite so boring. The four guys working the boat put on a good show. They really played the pirate stuff up to the kids and told a few scary pirate stories. The view was beautiful but damn was it hot. By the time the boat ride was finished we were hot and ready to consume vast quantities of water and a small bit of ice cream. Mine was black cherry--yum.

All in all, I'd have to say this has been a successful vacation for the Hodge Lodge. Barring a few kid meltdowns and the all-consuming hatred I now bear for the electric stove in the condo, we've all gotten along just fine. Now if we can just survive the trip home....

Tamara

LOL, her hatred must have been built up over time, she always seems fine at my place.

Enjoy your updates, see y'all tomorrow.

Elisa

Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Simple Into Complicated

Life can be so simple and yet so completely complicated and you may have no idea how to change any of it. To go through the daily routines and bop along in a usual manner with no large stumbling blocks ahead and yet one can feel overwhelmed in the thick of it.

When looking, a person may never see another's complexity. We use vision as a guide but in reality it may not be a very good navigation tool. What we see and what reality is may be very different. Keep that in mind when judging another.

Who are we to judge anyway? Accept it we do. The best you can do is try and be realistic in that moment of judging and keep your mind open to a completely different possibility or reality.

The greatness of each of us is our ability to change and adapt, remember to use it more. Seek past the front gate and look inside.

Beauty like Reality lays below the surface. Once that is accepted, you'll find a wider variety of possibilities will exist for them. It all has meaning but only as much as we give it.

Peace.

Enjoy your updates, there be a lot of them.

Elisa

Posted by at 2 comments:

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Technology

It's grand. Here we are every night and then some nights (as in last night)...poof! We seem to dissappear. Well we are here. Our ISP had some issues that kept us off for a few hours, but hey it's a computer and it's bound to happen once in a while. So back we are and this brings up a grand point. The Yahoo group has each of the dandy updates as well. You can always join on no mail and have it as a back up for yourself.

So one will hope the middle of the week has gone well and now you can say (or at least some of us can say) the weekend is in sight!

Enjoy your updates,
Elisa

Posted by at No comments:

Monday, July 17, 2006

Sand in Unusual Places

Lucky me, I am off the hook for words tonight. Tamara got her crappy connection up and running.

The Hodge Lodge is in sunny South Carolina and so far we haven't killed each other. I'm only kidding. We're here with my mom, my aunt and uncle, and my brother but we all get along just fine. Probably the most fractious moments come from Duncan and Calvin. Gotta love that sibling rivalry.

We've been spending a lot of time at the beach. The kids didn't know what to make of the ocean at first. We do come from a landlocked state after all, the wildest body of water we have to swim in is a lake. Lake water doesn't burn your eyes nor does it taste horrible. After the first hour in the ocean, the concensus was that pools are better. But after a few days of seaside fun, they're sold on salt water and waves. Me, I'm old and set in my ways...pools are the way to go.

Now don't start thinking I'm not having fun here. I really do like the ocean. I love how warm the Atlantic is here and searching for cool shells is fun. But I do so love my glasses and the deeper I go into the waves the more paranoid I get about being knocked over and losing those glasses. Yeah, yeah, I know I can take them off or buy one of those attractive stretchy band things that I used to wear when I played basketball. I'll stick to being a wuss thank you very much. Waist deep water and waves are fine with me. Besides...that's where the best shells are.

Tamara


Well here is hoping the Okie wuss shares more with us later. I do want to know more about this sand issue though...as for pools pffft.

Enjoy your updates,
Elisa

Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Blank.

Words seem tough to find today, hence rambleless. So an early update and I see y'all on Monday.

Have a splendid evening.

Elisa

Posted by at 1 comment:

Saturday, July 15, 2006

60 days and rolling.

We officially have hit our two month mark at Uber Etc. So how we doing? Let us know, comment at will. We hope to have fulfilled our statement of "we check 'em so you don't have to". If we're missing an important site you think we should be checking, please let us know.

Once again we thank you all for joining us nightly.

Enjoy your updates,

Elisa

Posted by at No comments:

Friday, July 14, 2006

A Ramble from Archaeobard

I am very pleased that tonight's author chose to ramble for all of us. One can only hope it enlightens more of you to the incredible talent of not just this writer but all the Fingersmith Fever folks and the one and only Sarah Waters. Definitely worth everyone's time.
I've been asked by Elisa to write a few words about my writing and the Fingersmith fan fiction web site I am maintaining at the moment. I'm not entirely sure what a ramble involves, but I am assuming it is a brief authobiographical blurb and discussion of my current activities. That said, here I go:

My personal web site is located at: www.geocities.com/archaeobard/

The Fingersmith Fever website is located at: fingersmithfever.com/

I started writing fan fiction in late 1999 based on the Xena genre and soon discovered that my favourite characters were Janice and Mel. I think that's partially because I was an archaeologist at the time and liked the idea of Janice. Consequently some of my better Xena material is based on those characters. Alternatively I look at what I wrote back then and physically cringe although some things such as the unfinished Bodice Ripper Series make me laugh. I sincerely hope my writing style has improved. I also wrote an article published in Whoosh! on sexual cliche in Xena fan fiction of which I am sort of proud (www.whoosh.org/issue56/davis3.html).

Since my Xena days I have dabbled in a variety of other genres. I've done some fan fiction and poetry for Bad Girls, which I enjoyed writing. I think I actually stayed up all night once watching the entire third season of the show on DVD. Sorry, I like a Scottish accent. Sometimes I can be a little sad.

I've written one Battlestar Galactica (new series) story but wish I could be inspired to write more. I love the female Starbuck character and hope she will talk to me more than just once. Obviously I didn't impress her very much.

I've been stuck for about three years 50K words into an original novel based on Celtic folklore called The Dark Huntress, although the writing is atrocious. I had someone edit it and they ripped it to shreds, which is a good thing. I may improve if I can ever pluck up the courage to start writing it again.

My most current inspiration comes from the Sarah Waters novel Fingersmith. I was first introduced to Sarah Waters when I saw the BBC TV adaptation of Tipping the Velvet. I loved it and went out and bought the book. I loved the book. I even ordered books from Amazon about Vesta Tilley (a male impersonator of the times) and then sought to get my hands on anything ever written by Sarah Waters. She has such a wonderful, warm style of writing. I then went backwards and read Affinity.

I actually forget when I bought my copy of Fingersmith, but it must have been soon after reading Affinity. My copy of Fingersmith cost me seventy-five pence, can you believe it? Someone actually gave this book to my local charity shop (I hunt there for books all the time, comes from having been a student I think). I devoured it in a single day and eagerly awaited the broadcast on the BBC. A friend taped it and lent it to me as I was busy at the time. At first I was not so impressed but it grew on me. Not being satisfied, I bought the DVD when it came out. Still not satisfied, I started hunting about the net for Fingersmith fan fiction. I couldn't find any. I found a vague reference to a single story from an interview with Sarah Waters but could not locate the story. Frustrated, I did a search on yahoogroups and found a Fingersmith group. I joined it on the 15th of March 2006. This is the start for me of Fingersmith Fever.

Having written material in the past for other genres I started putting pen to paper for Fingersmith. I posted some poems and a short story. Lo and behold, other people started posting their musings as well. I thought this was fantastic. People who had never written anything before in their lives were coming out with the most beautiful words based on Fingersmith. Personally I am floored by Ruby and Elizabeth. Basically anything that helps people express themselves is a winner.

After a month it was decided that enough people were producing material that we should start a web site and Fingersmith Fever was born in April 2006. It seems we have grown from there. We are still babes at the moment with only 8 fan fic authors, 6 poets, 3 artists, 3 music vid makers and a couple of people working on articles for the site that are yet to be published. However in time I hope we will grow. If that is the case I shall buy a domain name...a first for me. I am excited by this new web site and have high hopes for it. I am very proud of the people who have come forward to offer their ideas and inspirations and have the guts to have them published to the web.

Although the Fingersmith fandom might be quite small and selective it is certainly out there. I think that in this novel, Sarah Waters has appealed to us. She has introduced a very real set of emotions. The period in which the novel was written is not that far removed from us in time. The house I live in was built in 1890 and still has the outhouse outside although I use it as a garden shed at the moment. The loo makes a good shelf. Sometimes I turn off all the lights in the living room, draw the curtains, and cover the TV with a throw and light candles. I block out all the sound from outside and pretend I have travelled back in time. Then I cast my mind to Briar and Sue and Maud start talking to me....

Archaeobard


My advice is check out the Fingersmith Fever site. While you're there thank all of them including Archaeobard for sharing her words and talent with us. I read some of the stories yesterday at lunch and I can say these writers have captured a true piece of the splendor of Fingersmith.

Now off to your updates and enjoy.

Elisa

Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Ready to Go

I'm pretty much done with packing clothes for all four of us. Today I didn't get to spend much time preparing for the trip due to Mat Tots for Cal and Duncan's obligation of mowing my mom's lawn.

I did, however, get to the library and picked up some of my books for the trip. Turns out I'm taking more than four. And, in response to an email request, I'm going to share those titles with you. Aren't you thrilled? Yeah, I'm a smartass.

Under the Eagle by Simon Scarrow (I'm a sucker for fiction about Rome.)

BtVS: Creatures of Habit by Tom Fassbender & Jim Pascoe and Brian Horton & Paul Lee (The line up is so long because it's an illustrated novel.)

Glasshouse by Charles Stross (Read about this author's books in my SFBC newsletter. I was in the mood for some "hard SF" and decided to give his work a shot.

Accelerando by Charles Stross (Started this one already and it's good so far except I'm having a hard time getting used to the story being told in present tense. That bugs the heck out of me for some reason.)

Shakespeare's Champion by Charlaine Harris (She's one of my favorite mystery writers not so much for complexity in her mysteries--they're fairly straightforward--but for her characters. Lily Bard is one of my favorite creations of hers.)

A Fool and His Honey by Charlaine Harris (The Aurora Teagarden series isn't my favorite but I must admit to liking the fact that her lead character is a genteel, Southern belle librarian. I started this book a while back and have never finished. It hasn't grabbed me like her others.)

So that's it. My reading line up. I'm sure I won't get to them all but I do like to be prepared. Plus I figured Mike might liked to read the Charles Stross books. Wow. Once again I've blabbed quite a bit. Good news. You've got E and a ramble tomorrow night.

Tonight's update is chock full o' Buffy because the three main BtVS sites we check all updated. I love those Buffy fanfic writers. Especially that Kinetic-Kid. Every time we get a huge update with KK's work I wonder how in the world they can keep so many stories going at the same time. It's amazing really.

Enjoy 'em.

Tamara

Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)