Back to the Groove

Have you recovered from your celebration yet? This weekend is Pride Celebration in my area so people will be celebrating the Supreme Court decision through the weekend and then diving into the shortened July 4th week. Party on!

I don't know the year, but this pic was taken at a Minneapolis Gay Pride
celebration. I would love to attend but DH would never consider it *sigh*.

But after you are finished with the party, you have to look around and see the uprooted bushes, wilted banners and the empty bottles in the corners of the yard. Then it's time to clean house and get back onto a regular schedule again.

Waking up after the party can be a jolt of reality.

I've been lazy with my writing, having three items on my hard drive in various stages of completion. It's rather like I'm holding my breath waiting for inspiration. So silly! I know that inspiration is all around me, that plots are always knocking at the glass doorway in my head, and I know that I just have to give myself time to listen and play. I hope I'll have a chance to do that over the next few days because I owe it to myself.

My plots aren't always as well behaved as this Playskool line is
in their Apple Store toy, but the plots still are there and progress
as they are allowed through the doorways in my mind. (Love the Segway.)

I took on a second beta job and started that last night. It seems like it will be a slow slog - lots of red. But I want to read into the story a ways and see if it is a worthwhile plot or something where I will limit it to a one-time deal. My time is limited and I have many projects clamoring for each moment I have free, so I want to make sure that I spend my time wisely. I don't mind doing favors and I enjoy the process of editing - every time I edit I learn more about how to structure and improve my own writing too. But I have to weigh the pros and cons. I'll at least work through what she gave me. I should be able to return the first chapter to her by the end of the weekend. In all fairness, I'm NOT far enough along in her story to determine if her character is a Mary Sue or not, but I thought I'd share the pic below anyway because it's fun and amusing.

Have you written a Mary Sue character? Something of yourself will usually come
through in any good characterization because it gives reality to fiction. But
there are ingredients and then there is the whole pie. Don't write the whole pie.

And speaking of weekend - I hope all of you have a wonderful one ahead of you. I don't have anything specific planned except working on Saturday, but I'm sure something will come up. There is always housecleaning and maybe, if I'm really lucky I'll get to finish some of those in-process shorter stories and return to one of the two novels I've been working on in my "spare" time...maybe.

Good Fat Tuesday - Celebrate!

Today is Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras. People throughout the world will be partying as if there is no tomorrow, because Lent and its season of denial begins tomorrow. Now, I wonder if this is human nature. Do we always party when the "end of the world" is facing us? I mean...why not? With the end of the world ahead (although Lent is only a minor inconvenience, let's stretch just a bit...). So...with the end of the world ahead, do we run mindlessly like voles under the eye of the owls? Or do we break the glass to the liquor store, grab a few of their best bottles, and sit with our loved ones in the rooftop garden, drinking and listening to the emergency sirens piercing the air from far below us? The stars are still in the sky, your beloved ones are nearby, and you have good alcohol. I suspect that's a better way to go out instead of running. But that's just me.

Apocalyptic novels have been written for generations based on those who do run, or those who are in locales that are enough out of the way that they escape the nuclear holocaust, the plague, or the invasion. So, when looking for a place to live, do we base our choices on how likely it will be to survive the upcoming, indeterminate apocalypse? Of course not. We choose where to live based on personal contacts such as family and friends, employment opportunities, and housing availability and affordability.

So as you celebrate the end of our season of indulgence tonight and look forward to the season of Lent ahead tomorrow, wear your beads proudly. You celebrated when the minor apocalypse happened, and I firmly believe that partying is a better way to go. And for those of you (including myself) who will wake tomorrow clear eyed without a pounding head from overindulgence, at least we won't have to check YouTube carefully to make sure that our outrageous behavior has not been filmed and put out for public view. Have a safe and happy Mardi Gras.