We had snow this morning and now the sun is out, streets are white and skies are blue. It’s lovely. I have work to do but I’m grateful to be able to carve out a little time to drink tea and read by the fire.
Happy Saturday!
* * *
Posts Tagged ‘#365Ways’
My Wish for You, Too
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, home, Thoughts, yay on December 4, 2021| Leave a Comment »
When Sharing Isn’t Caring
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, drabble, Drabble Dabble Do, Fiction, inspiration, short stories, Thoughts, writing on December 3, 2021| Leave a Comment »
As mentioned the other day, I recently read a book starring interesting and complex retirees.* It got me thinking, and now I have a new drabble.
Enjoy!
When Sharing Isn’t Caring
There’s a lot to be said for the “sharing economy.”
My granddaughter DeeDee introduced me to the idea. Say, if you need to cleanup around the yard but don’t have all the tools. Because the neighbor is kicking up a fuss (and poor Mr. Kittikins), wasting Saturdays complaining about trees overhanging his fence.
And the things you can borrow these days!
Order up a tool here or there, pay a reasonable delivery fee and voila, the item comes right to your doorstep.
Like this nice policeman.
“Such terrible news about the neighbor. And no, officer, I don’t own an ax.”
* * *
* Disclaimer: I also happen to be related to a number of interesting and complex individuals of a certain age, but they are in no way associated with mysteries or mayhem!
* * *
How to Win by Losing
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, nanowrimo, sff, Thoughts, writing, yay on December 2, 2021| 2 Comments »
To Whom It May Concern,
Enclosed please find my NaNoWriMo after-action report. Please be advised that this AAR is a summary document of an ongoing project and may be reassessed upon future review.
* * *
Project: NaNoWriMo 2021, Modified Edition (a.k.a. NaYes, a.k.a. NaNoFinMo)
Overview, or The NaNo Plan-Mo
- Goal, Part 1: Plan a story
- Did I do this? Yes!
- Goal, Part 2: Let’s just focus on Part 1, shall we?
* * *
Analysis
Looking back, how did it go?
- After years of NaNo pantsing,* was planning the story a good idea? Yes, to a point. It got me out of being stuck mid-month, but then I went a little overboard and realized that I was probably planning myself into a corner. Backing off, making sure I had a solid foundation under the piece, getting inside the heads of my characters, that made the most sense. (And that wasn’t always easy. One of the characters is an alien space mouse.)
- Was I efficient? Not so much. Taking the word count pressure off was great in many ways, but also allowed me to spend too long vacillating about which awesome idea was the most awesome of all the awesomes. And then writing, backtracking, and writing some more. Not helpful.
- Was I creative? Yes. See the aforementioned space mouse.
- Did I accomplish more than a big fat zero? I did!
- I began the month writing countable words and considered putting out enough verbiage to qualify for the formal challenge. This option was rejected because 50,000 words to no apparent purpose? No thanks!
Notes on the process, using previous related posts and their goals as guides:
Yes, I took on the challenge. Go me.
No, I did not actually finish said story. And yes, I will expect this fact to be reflected in my end-of-year bonus package. No need to remind me.
I am happy to report that I fixed the stopping and restarting problem, picked one idea and rolled with it for the rest of the month.
About halfway through the month I decided that project parameters be damned, I really didn’t care about the word count. At all. What I wanted was a platform to act as a springboard for next steps. So that’s what I did.
* * *
Recommendations & Action Items**
What would I change for next time?
- Skip the prep reading; it was helpful but now I’ve crossed it off my list.
- Go faster, not spend the whole month on one idea, develop more stories, spend more time noodling, more wandering the neighborhood thinking up fun stuff.
- I considered a reading hiatus but then all my library books arrived and I just didn’t want to, frankly. Probably would have helped, though!
- Make December the official followup month, where actual writing shall occur.
* * *
In Conclusion!
Experimental or not, this year’s NaNoWriMo actually went pretty well. My main takeaway is not to stress very much. Or at all. I’m much more productive when I’m having fun.
Because I didn’t bother with the 50,000 words I didn’t count this NaNo as a “win” in the formal sense. I do count it as a win in the “getting things done my own dang way, thanks very much” sense, so yay.
I may be the only one in this particular race, but still. I win!
* * *
* * *
* A guide to NaNoWriMo strategies, including pantsing. I suppose you could say I’m a “plantser” at this point, but really, that’s a pretty terrible word.
** I just wanted to say “action items” because it’s ridiculous and fun.
Ghosts and Fairies and Angels and A.I.
Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, Fiction, free fiction, genre fiction, sff, Thoughts, writing on December 1, 2021| Leave a Comment »
I’m a little too caught up in work to write the piece I was planning for today, so instead we have a free story via Slate’s Future Tense Fiction. It’s long, so save it for when you have time to do a little thinking about the environment, technology, and society.
“Ride,” a new short story about climate change, A.I., and social credit by Linda Nagata, with a non-fictional response by Henry Grabar, a journalist who reports on cities and autonomous vehicles.
Jasmine’s thoughts turned to the boy. He’d claimed he’d met someone on a shared taxi ride, a nameless stranger who’d told him about the Easter egg—a hidden bit of code embedded in the programming controlling the city’s autonomous taxi fleet.
Probably, the boy had been stringing her along. Yet there had been something about him, a sweetness, a rare sincerity that made her want to believe him—and anyway, what was the harm?
* * *
It’s Tuesday, Please Hold
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, random facts, Thoughts, Tuesdays on November 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »
While you wait, here’s a little something to keep you entertained:
I’d Rather Be Baking
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, baking, cookies, creativity, home, learning@lunch, Thoughts on November 29, 2021| Leave a Comment »
I’m working today but I’d rather be baking. While in Montreal last week I picked up some sugar cookies. Mediocre, not good, stale cookies. They were, to put it mildly, a disappointment.
I hate disappointment. What do I like? Recipes that are satisfying, easy enough to make whenever I want, and showcase flavor rather than perfection. A little flash doesn’t go amiss, either.
We’re watching The Great Canadian Baking Show and I am reminded that there are so many interesting things out there to learn. So while I’m looking for the perfect sugar cookie recipe, I may also start building a list of essential* recipes and methods I don’t already know.
And then start baking.
* * *
* My definition of essential will almost certainly differ from yours, but I’m aiming for techniques that can be used in a wide variety of recipes, help build flexibility into both recipes and bakers regardless of skill level, and eschew fiddly for fun. That said, how have I never made a pithivier? Also, buying puff pastry is absolutely acceptable in my book.
* * *
Sunday Funday
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, creativity, Fiction, inspiration, murder and mayhem, Thoughts, woodturning, Writers on November 28, 2021| 2 Comments »
I’m heading into the workshop for the first time in ages. On the menu, bottle stoppers and finding the on switch for my lathe.
Later I’ll get back to reading The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman. Murder, mayhem and complicated septua- and octogenarians come together in a touching, humorous and well-written package. What’s not to love?
If you’re interested, start with book one in the series: The Thursday Murder Club.
Delightful!
* * *
Today’s Game
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, #amwritingscifi, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing, yay on November 27, 2021| Leave a Comment »
“Read books. Care about things. Get excited. Try not to be too down on yourself. Enjoy the ever present game of knowing.”
― Hank Green
* * *
Love This
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, fall, sustainability, Thoughts on November 26, 2021| Leave a Comment »
From Black Friday 2020, but still relevant. Here’s to staying positive!
* * *
We Earned This One
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, family, holidays, home, Thoughts on November 25, 2021| 1 Comment »
-
Recent Posts
She Said, He Said
-
-
Favorite Posts
Archives
Categories
It’s All So Random
What I’m Reading
You must be logged in to post a comment.