This may be it...

[lagilman]

Most of the winter so far we've gotten "Ooh noes! teh terribuhl snows is coming!" from the weather critters, and woken up to a measly inch or three on the ground and yawns all around. Last night, the news critters started saying "hrm, looks like we're going to get a nor'easter. Might be up to a foot of snow in your area. And today in politics..." Went to the supermarket this morning to pick up some oj, and the lines were normal, the crowd was actually a little light, and no sense at all of panic or even "do we have bread and milk?" worry.

Yep. The swamp Yankees are mellow. All the signs point to a major nor'easter hitting Connecticut tonight. (for those of you who aren't from eastern US coastline, a nor'easter is [very roughly] when the storm comes in off the ocean [south and east of us], slams into cold air held by the mountains to the north and west, and hammers us with high winds, sideways precipitation, and dangerous tide surges. Think a lake effect storm on steroids. It doesn't always involve snow -- ice storms are the really scary ones, actually). Stay warm, dry, and inside, if you're within the NYC-Boston coastal corridor!

Meanwhile, I had to pull an entire half-chapter from TPEMB yesterday. Well-written, with some nice character development and world-building detail...and it pushed the story in a direction I wasn't happy with. Grrr. (for those of you who knit, this is akin to having to unravel an entire row because you realize you dropped a stitch somewhere). Time to pause and do some research to make sure I get a detail right before plowing on. 20,000 words to-date, which is a little light on where I wanted to be but still respectable, about 1200 words a day. Once I start getting feedback from the beta-readers [that was a hint, guys], we'll know how well it's working...

And speaking of which -- back I go.

(hey, has anyone here ever done any stone-working or brick-laying?)


ETA: we've been downgraded to "6-8 inches of total snow accumulation." Still respectable. Pity New Haven's so damn flat, otherwise I'd haul the sled out...

Comments

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

You realise now, that you'll probably have to explain lake effect snow.}:P

speaking of, poor Green Bay was getting that last night.

[lagilman]

I'll let the Midwesterners handle that...

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

Gee, thanks.}:p

Oh wait!
I don't live there anymore, so I don't have to! WooHoo!}:P

[otterdance.livejournal.com]

"Meanwhile, I had to pull an entire half-chapter from TPEMB yesterday. Well-written, with some nice character development and world-building detail...and it pushed the story in a direction I wasn't happy with. Grrr. (for those of you who knit, this is akin to having to unravel an entire row because you realize you dropped a stitch somewhere). "


What an apt comparison! I threw away half of the second Tamir book after thinking I was half done, for just that reason. Argh! The other day I had a mitten 3/4 done when I realized that the cuff was an inch too short.

Do you ever spend time going in a direction you are sure is right, only to find yourself suddenly going slower, and slower . . . and slower? Until you finally smack into the wall and realize that you've painted yourself into the wrong corner. Took me several books to recognize the symptoms.

[lagilman]

Do you ever spend time going in a direction you are sure is right, only to find yourself suddenly going slower, and slower . . . and slower? Until you finally smack into the wall and realize that you've painted yourself into the wrong corner. Took me several books to recognize the symptoms.

oh yes. Learning to know the difference between "slow because you're crafting" and "slow because your lizard brain knows damn well this will end badly" is a major craft-step. It's especially painful when what you've done is good...just wrong. And then having the, hrm, maturity? chops, maybe, to accept and sigh and go back and redo the entire section, not trying to cheat and shoehorn in what you've already done. Nope -- unravel that row and do it again.

Thankfully, being a professional does not mean you don't get to bitch, moan, whine and whinge while you're doing this.

[otterdance.livejournal.com]

"Thankfully, being a professional does not mean you don't get to bitch, moan, whine and whinge while you're doing this."

LOL! That's the best part!

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Is true. And now we have the internets, we can do bitchin', moanin', whinin' and whingein' right on cue and to people who understand us, thereby not losing the few real-life friends we still cling to...

Yay for connectivity!

(Also, I can distract myself when I am so meant to be working, because keeping up with writerly journals is so obviously a legitimate business expenditure of time...)

*insert proper fan slavishness here*

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

YOU wrote the Tamir books?!?

Wow. I... just... wow. O.O

Re: *insert proper fan slavishness here*

[otterdance.livejournal.com]

Yep. *bows* ;-)

Re: *insert proper fan slavishness here*

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

Bravo!
can we expect more? }:P *hopeful puppy dog eyes*

Re: *insert proper fan slavishness here*

[otterdance.livejournal.com]

A new Nightrunner book is coming out in June ( have snippets over on my LJ *tempt tempt* I have another under contract, and after that? Who knows?

Re: *insert proper fan slavishness here*

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

Yeah I saw that, that's how I figured out what Tamir books you refered to}:P I'll have to find those too, as I don't recall seeing them when I was looking for the others. But then, when I'm looking for a book, I can be rather singleminded, lol.

[smoemeth.livejournal.com]

When it comes to OMGWEREALLGONNADIE weather forecasts around here, I refuse to believe it until I see it.

That said, I'm still going to stop by the store on my way home from the radio station this evening and pick up something for dinner tomorrow. :} This one does look like it's gonna be for reals. (Fine with me ... I got nowhere to be but excavating in a closet, and wojsvenwoj can work from home.)

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

I've given up on the weather people here. They say snow, we get sun. They say sun, we get rain.}:P

[lagilman]

Did you get your "ve vill tow you" phone call?

[neutronjockey.livejournal.com]

I have some experience with masonry ...

[lagilman]

e-mail me your particulars (what sort and when), and I'll see if your brain's worth picking. *grin*

[neutronjockey.livejournal.com]

and I'll see if your brain's worth picking
Worth picking?
Choice of choosey Zombie-moms everywhere!

(mail sent to sff box)

(hey, has anyone here ever done any stone-working or brick-laying?)

[shui-long.livejournal.com]

Well, I did once rebuild a brick wall - one of those jobs that looks so easy when the experts do it, but I can assure you it isn't. It takes practice to get the right amount of mortar on each course and each brick, and to seat each brick properly. Yes, mortar will fill up the gap if you don't lay every brick absolutely right, but it shows: a good bricklayer can achieve a visibly superior, even finish - and select his bricks for an overall colour to the wall. What I found most difficult was keeping each course in line (horizontally and vertically) so that the face of the wall doesn't develop a bulge ... mine did.
These days I restrict myself to looking at the brickwork on old buildings and trying to sound knowledgeable (I can just about remember which is English bond and Flemish bond).

JP