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Recap of the week...
Well, it was one of Those Weeks.
The ones where everything takes twice as long to do, your thinking is molasses, you can't sleep, and you try to kill the cat. (He tried to bite my face. He says that he momentarily forgot that it was his pet human and not a scary unknown monster under the sheet. We called a truce. I won't kill him, he won't bite my face. But no more sneaking up on me with his whiskers -- I'm sleeping with my arm over my face!)
Saturday topped it off, where I went out to go five places -- the library for a hold, the tea place, the material shop,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lasofia's house and the grocery -- and managed to forget the 50% off coupon for the material, forget the Garmin for finding the tea shop from my friend's house, and discover that La Sofia was not home. I did get to see T, her neat mom, the pack of small ones (becoming tall!) and D, which was very nice. Although I was too unfocused to be interesting to the smaller people, and owe T2 a chance to destroy me at air hockey. I did bring mandarins in apology, tho.
I decided to face the music and figure the universe is telling me not to start up anything new, even my niece's graduation present, until I remove a few more things or get a few more things moving. So blew off the tea store and the material store, visited with T a bit, and then hit the grocery and home. Forgot my Powerball ticket, so it wasn't my night to win!
Got home to find out that, after double-checking the pub dates and a few other things at my libs, I find out that Petty Treason by Madeleine Robins may be the **second** book of Sarah Tolerance, and I have spoiled the first by reading the first twenty pages. This made me, in a word, Cross. I proceeded to make dinner, and read the entire blasted book. It was good -- let's call it Regency Noir -- and shall be reviewed eventually. Dinner was the beef stew created yesterday, which pleased me, and Rainbow Chard with Sherry Vinegar and Walnuts from a Whole Foods recipe, which was forgettable. I may toss the rest in an omelet once I get more eggs -- the remaining eggs are for cookie dough Sunday (at least that's the plan.)
I returned to Allie 3 this week, read and edited the five chapters that exist, and got rolling on chapter 6. I was very worried that I was not writing the same way, but discovered in re-reads that I am writing in the same style -- it's just not coming out the way it used to. The form of creation is slightly different. All I care about is that it works, the quality is as high or higher, and I can make it work continuously. So not complaining -- just writing!
Reference works being read or dipped into this week:
The Reshaping of Everyday Life by Jack Larkin
Larkin was the chief historian at Old Sturbridge Village (a place that is a great source of early Americana info -- someday I shall get there!) when he wrote this book. A few Amazon reviews said it was dry, but I'm not finding it that way at all. He uses a lot of first sources, and seeing these years from the viewpoint of the people who lived it, plus from our perspective on it, is A Good Thing. My conscious approach to history and the Alfreda books is, do not let history get in the way of the fantasy I want to write. But don't intentionally get too weird without reason. Sometimes real would be confusing -- as in "receipts" and "recipes." The first would be correct for the time, but just confuse people today. So -- recipes.
I want enough reality for people to want to go looking for more history, enough whimsy that they have enjoyed their stay in Allie's world of magic.
1812: The War that Forged a Nation by Water R. Borneman
Time to let my long term plans for the War of 1812 in this world take root. No, I'm not reading any other fantasy writer's take on this -- except an article by Walter John Williams on navigation in the Great Lakes, if I can find the copy of the article he so kindly gave me. And that is something from his historical hat of work. Have been reading weather in the period!
Starting from Scratch: A Different Kind of Writer's Manual by Rita Mae Brown
This last was recommended by writer CJ Mills, because I am an INTJ and so is Brown. Since I am afraid I've forgotten how to write (I'm afraid I've forgotten how to think -- the writing is just a part of it) and the LBb ADD may be a huge magnification of a problem I had but had systems for dealing with, I'm just doing a little spot checking to reassure myself that I know what I'm doing.
I'm reading a lot of BVC writers so I can talk intelligently about their work. I covet Althea but have no money, so I checked Petty Treason out of the library. Just finished Jaydium, and was stunned how contemporary its concepts are. Reviews will appear!
And now -- going to try and write. Very restless today.
The ones where everything takes twice as long to do, your thinking is molasses, you can't sleep, and you try to kill the cat. (He tried to bite my face. He says that he momentarily forgot that it was his pet human and not a scary unknown monster under the sheet. We called a truce. I won't kill him, he won't bite my face. But no more sneaking up on me with his whiskers -- I'm sleeping with my arm over my face!)
Saturday topped it off, where I went out to go five places -- the library for a hold, the tea place, the material shop,
lasofia's house and the grocery -- and managed to forget the 50% off coupon for the material, forget the Garmin for finding the tea shop from my friend's house, and discover that La Sofia was not home. I did get to see T, her neat mom, the pack of small ones (becoming tall!) and D, which was very nice. Although I was too unfocused to be interesting to the smaller people, and owe T2 a chance to destroy me at air hockey. I did bring mandarins in apology, tho.I decided to face the music and figure the universe is telling me not to start up anything new, even my niece's graduation present, until I remove a few more things or get a few more things moving. So blew off the tea store and the material store, visited with T a bit, and then hit the grocery and home. Forgot my Powerball ticket, so it wasn't my night to win!
Got home to find out that, after double-checking the pub dates and a few other things at my libs, I find out that Petty Treason by Madeleine Robins may be the **second** book of Sarah Tolerance, and I have spoiled the first by reading the first twenty pages. This made me, in a word, Cross. I proceeded to make dinner, and read the entire blasted book. It was good -- let's call it Regency Noir -- and shall be reviewed eventually. Dinner was the beef stew created yesterday, which pleased me, and Rainbow Chard with Sherry Vinegar and Walnuts from a Whole Foods recipe, which was forgettable. I may toss the rest in an omelet once I get more eggs -- the remaining eggs are for cookie dough Sunday (at least that's the plan.)
I returned to Allie 3 this week, read and edited the five chapters that exist, and got rolling on chapter 6. I was very worried that I was not writing the same way, but discovered in re-reads that I am writing in the same style -- it's just not coming out the way it used to. The form of creation is slightly different. All I care about is that it works, the quality is as high or higher, and I can make it work continuously. So not complaining -- just writing!
Reference works being read or dipped into this week:
The Reshaping of Everyday Life by Jack Larkin
Larkin was the chief historian at Old Sturbridge Village (a place that is a great source of early Americana info -- someday I shall get there!) when he wrote this book. A few Amazon reviews said it was dry, but I'm not finding it that way at all. He uses a lot of first sources, and seeing these years from the viewpoint of the people who lived it, plus from our perspective on it, is A Good Thing. My conscious approach to history and the Alfreda books is, do not let history get in the way of the fantasy I want to write. But don't intentionally get too weird without reason. Sometimes real would be confusing -- as in "receipts" and "recipes." The first would be correct for the time, but just confuse people today. So -- recipes.
I want enough reality for people to want to go looking for more history, enough whimsy that they have enjoyed their stay in Allie's world of magic.
1812: The War that Forged a Nation by Water R. Borneman
Time to let my long term plans for the War of 1812 in this world take root. No, I'm not reading any other fantasy writer's take on this -- except an article by Walter John Williams on navigation in the Great Lakes, if I can find the copy of the article he so kindly gave me. And that is something from his historical hat of work. Have been reading weather in the period!
Starting from Scratch: A Different Kind of Writer's Manual by Rita Mae Brown
This last was recommended by writer CJ Mills, because I am an INTJ and so is Brown. Since I am afraid I've forgotten how to write (I'm afraid I've forgotten how to think -- the writing is just a part of it) and the LBb ADD may be a huge magnification of a problem I had but had systems for dealing with, I'm just doing a little spot checking to reassure myself that I know what I'm doing.
I'm reading a lot of BVC writers so I can talk intelligently about their work. I covet Althea but have no money, so I checked Petty Treason out of the library. Just finished Jaydium, and was stunned how contemporary its concepts are. Reviews will appear!
And now -- going to try and write. Very restless today.
no subject
Also, nifty! http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-rec1.htm and ~drool~ http://www.osv.org/visitor/directions.html
perhaps we could content ourselves with an afternoon here: http://www.frenchlegationmuseum.org/ then bop by the RedRiver hot tub on the way back across town?
no subject
I've never managed to get to the French Legion when it was open, I'd love to go sometime. Ponder a good day -- we could even do tea at the Ziti on Bolm road, I think. They are open 11-4 on Saturday and 12-5 on Sunday.