Where Personal and Professional Life Collide...

http://www.lauraannegilman.net/a-reminder-for-you-and-for-them-and-for-me/

"How do I do this? How do YOU do this? How does it get done, this book-writing, storytelling thing? I keep starting and stopping, getting distracted, getting bored, getting broken.... what's the secret?"

The following paragraph has long resided in the sidebar of my Livejournal blog. Some days (weeks, months, years) it's useful to shake it out and look at it again.

You sit down. You tell a story. You do it any damn way it comes out that works consistently for you. You hope people like it. You hope people pay you for it. You do it again. And again. That's all I got. Zen and the Art of Writer Maintenance. You can cheer me on and I can cheer you on, but in the end? In the end it's down to how you get your getting done, done. So get it done.

You still need specifics? Ass in chair (or feet planted on the ground). Fingers on the letters (or wrapped around a pen). Small goals over and over again until you're done. Everything else is personal, and subject to change as the writer changes. Stop looking at me. Write.

Oh Friday. You came too soon, and yet I am so very glad to see you. Not huge gains in the writing front, but steady progress, and a lot of pending freelance work finally wrapped up. And the laundry was done. You know you've been putting off the laundry for a while when you start loading the fifth machine....


Interestingly, this has been a week of Cooking Dinner, which was a nice change from last week, when I seemed to be grabbing whatever could be eaten straight out of the pantry (almonds should not qualify as dinner, mmmjustsaying). Nothing fancy or complicated, but actual soothing-to-the-brain cooking.

Tonight: oven-"fried" chicken with a paprika-panko coating, and garlic-sauteed haricot vert, and a green salad with grana padano dressing. And a glass of Côtes du Rhône red. Not the best match for the meal, but an inexpensive bottle I didn't mind opening for a glass or two.

EtA: and Boomer seemed convinced he wanted some green salad, to the point of trying to put his paw down on it. I finally gave him a leaf and he was all "wait, what? No, I don't want this!"

Meanwhile, I feel I should issue a PSA (not that most of you need it, but...)

If you disagree with me, fine. I hold my opinions strongly, and know that other people do, too. But for the love of whatever you hold holy, do not then come in and request that I provide you with publicly-available data (like, of, the full text of a recent Senate bill) because you don't agree with my conclusions.

I am not your PA, your paralegal, nor your secretary. Do your own damn research.


[in today's instance, I had already given one link to directly support the numbers I quoted. That link led to a site that had links to the info requested. But that would have required HIM doing the work, so...]

I get a lot of e-mail. I get a lot of e-mail Asking For Things. And so when I get a letter asking me for help, be it as a private citizen or in my guise as Somewhat Known Author, I do three things:

1. I read it, to see if it sets off any of my "scam" alerts. That includes a misspelled or inaccurate use of my name, content that is utterly unconnected with me ("As you are a major supporter of Organization I've Never Heard Of" or mention of Christ Our Lord), or glaringly obvious misuses of the English language (yes, I know not everyone is a writer. But if you're going to write a Beg Letter, it behooves you to come across as a professional).

If it checks out, I go on to #2:

I determine if this is an organization or individual I have heard of, or have some connection that would indicate why they reached out to me (We follow your blog, and know that you share our interest in..."). Or, similarly, they are referred to me by a known third party.

If the letter clears that hurdle, or at least has reasonable justification, I go on to #3:

I enter their name and/or organization into a search browser, and see what comes up.

If, on doing #3, there is no mention in the first two pages of results, or -- on finding a website that connects to your organization but there is no mention of your name or campaign on it -- then the odds are high I'm not going to respond. And I am sure as hell not going to open any attachments you send with your email.

So if you sent me a legitimate request in the past 6 months but haven't heard back...you might want to reconsider your approach.

Gentlemen, consider this a PSA. While women might not have the direct eyes-to-groin brain bypass guys claim, we DO in fact notice your bodies. And you might be a great guy, but if you treat your body like crap, that's what we're going to see. Dress appropriately*.

The day has been evenly split between work and the new Laurie King, with a pitcher of iced tea as accompaniment. A nap may have been taken at some point. My one foray to run an errand reminded my why I particularly love my tree-shaded section of the city.

I have spent much of the day, in fact, trying not to get upset at the crap of the world, but focusing on the good things. Tree-lined streets and the people who care for them. Ice cream trucks that play non-annoying music. Good books. Iced skinny vanilla lattes. Buses and trains that are air conditioned. Old tech that still works. Fountain pens, and good paper. Thoughtful people. Floor fans that cool the apartment at half the cost of a/c. Goofy penguin-styled ice buckets. Sleeping cats who don't fully wake up when you move them, because they trust you that much.



Tonight is just calling out for gin & tonics. Anyone want to join me?





*I have another rant about people, mostly female, who think wearing something a size too small makes them that size, but nobody triggered that one today

For many years I lived with someone who could not stand even the hint of fish (raw or cooked). I've been making up for lost time since then, and have discovered a great range of piscine dining choices -- healthy and delish!

However, the fishing industry is... not always kind to this planet. The Monterey Bay Aquarium maintains a list of sustainable fish, and alternatives to overfished species here:
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_alternatives.aspx

If you eat fish, or buy it for your household, this is a really useful quick-check list to help you eat sustainably, for now, and for the future.



[aside: oh hey look at that! It went up to 13 degrees! Heat wave!]

In case one or two of you were wondering, the varietal of choice while writing THE WEIGHT OF STONE seems to have been zinfandel, with occasional forays this summer into sauvignon blanc. That surprised me, as I thought it would be shiraz or tannat blend. Live and learn...


An Update to the December 5th Signing in Binghamton, NY:

Yes, you can order a signed copy of ANY BOOK OF MINE IN PRINT, even if you are not in the area.

As per the store manager:
"If folks need it shipped to another Waldens, they just need to let me know which one (mall it is in, city, something. Store number if they are feeling super helpful and want to ask the folks at the store for me so I don't have to hunt it down). If they don't have a Waldens, I will ship it to them directly."

Remember, folk, the holidays are coming up! A signed, personalized hardcover makes a fabulous gift -- and so easy to gift-wrap! (and if you ask, we'll even wrap it for you! But be warned, pbray is picking the paper...)

For those who've been saying "oh, I meant to join the Word War group...." we're at it again. [or will be, once the caffeine kicks in]

For those who missed the memo and are intrigued, Word War is simple: one chatroom. As many people as show up. 30 minute bursts of dedicated writing, followed by a ten minute stretch-and-chat session, then another burst of writing. Whoever accomplishes the most in each burst gets bragging rights for ten minutes. It's not for everyone, but a lot of us find it suits the "must work"/"need socialization breaks" needs of a day.

My blog entry at SF Novelists (delayed by 24 hours due to technical SNAFUs) is up, talking about authorial grist for the mill, and why it's important to dive into things, rather than sitting on the sidelines.

Hopefully, I was coherent, interesting, and useful. Or at least amusing.

And now, a full day of work is tapping impatiently on the door, muttering about "vacations" and "deadlines" and such scary things...

This morning I spent a few minutes paying all the bills that will be due while I'm away at World Fantasy next week. Among the envelopes there was a small one that paid for no utilities, no already-consumed consumer goodie.

It was from my local food bank.

Long-time readers know that, along with blood donations, food banks are an ongoing concern to me. Nobody should go to bed hungry. Especially, no child should go to bed hungry. Ever.

In good times it's easier to peel off $25 for a donation. But it's in tough times that those donations are most needed.

If you can, give. If you need, go. We can't cure cancer yet. But we can cure hunger.

http://www.feedingamerica.org/ or enter "food bank" in your search engine of choice.

I'm late to the watch-this party, so I'll just say that if you haven't already viewed/heard Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama (and his rather beautiful takedown of McCain' attempted smear campaign and scolding of the GOP (of which Powell is a respected member), why not? Forget about your own vote -- it's a lesson in putting together a coherent argument and making it stick, without getting shrill (and yes guys, you get shrill too) or whiny.

Meanwhile the post-Giants throat has come to haunt me. I sound like a bad parody of Marlene Dietrich *cough wince* despite application of cough drops and tea during the game. Kids, if you're going to be shouting and yelling and letting out stadium-appropriate noise, don't schedule a phone interview for the next morning. I'm jut sayin'...

But there is News coming in the next post...