Where the knots in tales become untangled…
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Soooo…. remember my post “Making Things Happen” from two weeks ago? Yeah, I’ve already been derailed. Kind of. I’ve been working on the Faylinn organization and upload to World Anvil, although it hasn’t been as regular. I’ve been lifting my weights, although that too has not been regular.
But honestly, right now, I’m an emotional wreck.
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While the New Year gives us a measurable marker for change and the passing of time, it doesn’t fundamentally mean anything. The calendar may have changed, but we have not. I’ve overloaded myself before with grandiose plans and meticulous lists that end up crushing me and coming to naught. That’s pretty depressing and I really don’t need any more of that right now. With the pandemic and unsettled political climate still raging, I can’t expect the chronic, low-level stress and anxiety to go away with the turn of a page.
I need a plan.
But I am also very bad at planning.
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So. Here we are. It seems appropriate that my final Cat’s Cradle entry for 2020 falls on the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, and on the day of the Great Conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn. Pretty epic, right?
Like most people, 2020 has not been a particularly good year. Mine has been filled with relatively minor annoyances and constant low-level anxiety, so I’m not comparing it to the true horrors that far less privileged folk have faced. I’ve had it easier than many, but that does not mean it was easy. I learned a few things I wish I hadn’t. The level of physical and mental decay that I’ve sunk to came into stark relief. And my creativity and focus pretty much collapsed into a black hole.
The bright side is that I think I can crawl back out of it. It’s hard to make changes when you have no energy. It’s hard to plan for a future when you aren’t convinced that you’re going to have one. But there is still a small spark of resistance guttering somewhere inside me and with a few well-placed twigs and kindling, I may get it started again.
So, if any of you read my last Cat’s Cradle entry “Writing During Covid-19” or follow me on the Legendary Novel Writing Challenge blog, you’ll already know that National Novel Writing Month did not go very well for me this year due to a variety of factors. However, I did finish with 40,000 words out of my 50,000 word count goal, and the majority of it did stay on topic. Many thanks to everyone who followed along with me, giving likes, comments, and encouragement!
Also, there was something kind of fun that I did want to share in the aftermath:
I work in a public library, and because of the pandemic, all of our programs are currently virtual. For November I ran a series of NaNo writing events on our Facebook page, and while I got almost no engagement on the posts, it was something that I did keep up with every day during the month. Our library Facebook page is changing soon, so I wanted to preserve those posts and their pictures here for posterity. (Note that “LTN” is an abbreviation for my library, so “LTNWrimos” refers to folks from my library who are participating.) All pictures that are not personal photographs came from either Pinterest or the National Novel Writing Month Pep Talks.
Enjoy!
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I thought I could do it.
And for about nine days I did. Consistently.
But then the fatigue set in and the stress from external pressures began to mount and so here I am, in the final week of National Novel Writing Month, 8000+ words behind where I should be. A few times the writing has been fun or enjoyable, but mostly its been a slog and I’ve used scraps of “author laments” to pad out the word count enough so that I am updating my word count every day, even if I don’t reach the goal.
Why has this been so hard?
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Sometimes the hardest part of writing a story is where and how to end it. Unless you’re doing something really risky and experimental, most readers want an ending that is satisfying, something that ties up the loose ends and fits both the tone and the theme of the story. If most of the book has been light and happy, then ending with something grim or terrible will feel jarring and out of place. On the contrary, if you’ve been writing something that is heavy and realistic, then ending with a fairy-tale-like happily-ever-after will likewise feel out of place and perhaps even cheapen the sacrifices and suffering of the characters.
Which brings me to Animorphs.
Back in July 2020, I wrote an entry on the Animorphs book series by K.A. Applegate for my Obscure Books From Childhood blog series on Second Unit Reviews. This prompted me to reread the entire series, which consists of 62 volumes (54 regular books, four Megamorphs books, the Andalite, Hork-Bajir, and Ellimist Chronicles, and Visser, plus two “choose your own adventure” books called Altermorphs, but I don’t count those because they don’t contribute to the main story). I just finished the final book very early this morning and… I have some feelings.
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Autumn is here, a time of year that I’ve grown increasingly fond of, despite my aversion to the cold. I enjoy the colors more, the justification to wear heavy sweaters and buy cold-weather items like blankets, mugs, tea, hot chocolate, candles, and fuzzy socks. We’re also only two weeks away from National Novel Writing Month, which I’ve been part of for the last ten years (although I’ve technically only participated nine times. I did the Camp NaNoWriMos for 2013, but skipped the November NaNo for some reason I no longer remember.)
Due to my lack of focus, I don’t think I’ll be able to work on anything too heavy or serious this November. So I’ve decided to work on a lighter, more fun and childish book that’s been kicking around in my brain for a long time: DragonFriend. This is one of the stories that I used to play out parts of with my toys, so there’s a bit of absurdity to it, but also a lot of exploratory wonder, which is something I need right now. Not that there isn’t dark stuff that happens in this story (because there is) but the overall feel is more like going on an adventure than a dramatic epic. Here’s the description:
A Fairy Tale for Grownups (Or Anyone Else Who Likes To Sneak Into the “Adult” Section of the Library and Read Whatever Interests You)
This is the story of Hagan, an innkeeper’s son with a talent for languages and an interest in magical fauna. After an encounter with dragons, he decides to become a wizard and study these fantastic beasts. His travels garner him many friends, some foes, at least one reluctant ally, and a motley collection of tales from the beings he encounters.
I swear, I came up with this idea long before Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them was a thing. I might have read the first Harry Potter book at the time, and both the name of the main character and the look of the toy he’s based on bear some superficial similarities to Hagrid. But aside from their looks and a love of magical creatures, they are very different people. At least, I think so. DragonFriend will allow me to meander among all kinds of different characters and their stories, weaving them all together, so it should be a fun book to write. (And I desperately need something fun right now.)
Whoops, looks like I haven’t posted here in a month. Guess my motivation is still pretty low, not to mention not having much to really talk about in September. But October is here, and now I have a little smorgasbord of topics to touch on:
I’ve been participating in Inktober, which is a month-long challenge to draw a picture using ink each day. They offer a list of prompts, which I have been following so I don’t get artist block. If you’re interested, I’m posting my daily efforts on my DeviantART page and on Twitter. But there’s something I’ve learned after drawing for only a few days:
This was supposed to be written and posted yesterday on Labor Day, but… that would have involved labor, so I didn’t.
I jest. In truth, I’ve had real trouble focusing lately, and this weekend in particular, so I spent my time taking walks, eating apple pie, and playing more Okami HD. I did get a little further along in editing/polishing Okami Amaterasu as well.
But I do have a small piece of news. I submitted a short story for possible publication for the first time in almost five years. Originally I was going to write an entirely new story, “The Undead Midwife,” but my lack of focus would have made it a half-baked effort, since the deadline for submissions is tomorrow, September 9th. I’m not willing to send in a story in such a state. So instead I revised and fleshed out my flash fiction story “The Distal King” from my stint with Story-A-Day in May in 2019. It turned out pretty well and I hope the folks at Uncanny Magazine like it. I’ll find out in 2-4 weeks.
Also, I’m finally in a good enough financial position to actually help support some folk on Patreon. So I decided to support my favorite podcast, “Let’s Know Things” by Colin Wright (which I’ve been listening to since it aired in 2016) and “Synthetic Worlds” of J. Michael Straczynski who created my favorite sci-fi TV show Babylon 5 (and also has an amazing autobiography out called Becoming Superman which I highly recommend.)
I’ll try to post something with more substance next time. ^_^
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Today is the last day of my vacation. Yes, I took a vacation because the low-level but persistent stress of 2020 gets tough to deal with, and fortunately, I’m in a position to actually have and use some of that accrued time.
I kicked off my vacation with the #FCPLBookBall, a virtual library fundraiser where you make a monetary donation to the library to “attend” and then just sit and read all day. It was, in a word, glorious. I highly recommend curling up someplace quiet and comfy with one of those “10 hours of ocean waves” tracks from YouTube running in the background. Since I can’t go to the beach this year, this was the closest equivalent, and it actually worked very well:
I’m going to have to try to do something like this once a month or something, a dedicated “Read & Relaxation” day. It worked wonders to help calm and recenter myself. (Also, Saturday August 22nd was the Ray Bradbury Centennial, and there’s a Read-a-Thon of Fahrenheit 451 available to stream until September 5th if you want to check it out!)
Continue reading “Book Balls, Fan Fiction, & Other Endeavors”
The Cat's Cradle : On Hiatus! 