The writer is brain-fried. Too much Real Life has been happening for the last week and I’m doing well to remember where I put the books I’m reading. Not to mention where I was in them, or the notes I wanted to copy from The Grand Turk, or the points I wanted to discuss on the book club about The End of the World is Just Beginning, or… well, the romance novel at least is no problem, since it requires very little significant brain activity, but if I’d known how this week was going to go I’d have picked one of the Georgette Heyers I’ve already memorized for my escape reading. And it hasn’t really been that bad a week; it’s just that my tolerance for things like medical procedures and family fights is way, way down. A little of that stuff can derail me for a day and a half. And there’s been a lot of it lately.
So all I have to say about writing is that Sarah’s post two days ago was right… almost. Yes, you have to do it. But sometimes you can’t.
Oh, and I’m stealing Amanda’s snarly cat picture because it’s the way I feel and because I also can’t do images right now.
Mad Genius Club 
I frequently re-use other people’s images for the same reason. Cedar giggled at me the day she realized I’d re-used one of her cat pictures. …I may have offered chocolate for the right to use her IP.
Shoot. I have a house to clean, guests arriving at uncertain ETA, and 3 hours of sleep to plan the line of attack on clutter and dirt. Um.
Not enough coffee in the world, some days.
You two aren’t not-picture-braining, you’re conserving storage space!
Recycle and reuse!
:nodnodnodnod:
I’ve tried NaNoWriMo as a prod. It didn’t do much for me – I have figured out that it’s best to prep for it and have some ideas/a basic outline before you start. Also, the happy “I did X thousand words today!” updates did NOTHING for my self esteem.
Sometimes real life grabs the steering wheel, so to speak. Do what you have to do.
Life happens. I can guarantee that there are six weeks (two batches of three) that I will not write anything that isn’t in colored pen on paper, almost. Then curl up and mentally play dead for several days. Or write a “Nobody loves me, everybody hates me” scene, or a snarly fight scene, just to get it out of my system (depending on how those weeks went.) And those are the ones I can predict!
Hang in there. Life happens, especially when you are making other plans. (And the opposition/enemy/other team gets a vote, alas.)
Yeah. That was where the “tea party with an axe crazy vampire” came from.
Not exactly my favorite headspace…
Hopefully the family stuff and the medical stuff all works out well in the end.
Yeah, some stress I write like mad to shut out. Some is overwhelming an can’t be fooled. Family fights are the worst. Medical procedures have a whole different mechanism for stopping the words. Doubling up? Pat the story ideas on the head and tell them you’ll get back to them in a little bit.
I’ve seen some of Zeihan’s videos. I’d love to hear what you have to say on the book.
“For the end of the world was long ago/And all we dwell today/As …” (GKC)
I tripped over Peter Zeihan on YouTube. I bought his first book (published in 2014) to see if I wanted to read them. It was very good (and reasonably prophetic, which is basically his thing). I’ve since read them all, including the latest. Very good, albeit somewhat depressing. He does recapitulate, so I think the latest book _mostly_ stands alone. I recommend the entire set, but if that’s out-of-budget, reading just the last one is probably more worthwhile than just the first.
The first two books _should_ be mostly common knowledge, since they’re about how America won the Cold War. I found them full of new information. If you’re not aware how (or even that) the US basically bribed the world into an anti-Soviet alliance at Bretton Woods, you might want to start with the first book. Even if you don’t believe his predictions, his perspective on how we got where we are is valuable.
I can tell I’m stressed when I switch between stories all the time.
I’m stressed, because I just heard about the COVID policy of an organization whose summer conference I’m attending next week. From the website:
“Masks will be required – 3 Ply surgical masks, KN95, N95, Kf94, etc. to cover attendee’s mouth and nose during the entire conference unless actively eating or drinking.
Proof of full vaccination will be required (Moderna, Johnson and Johnson, Pfizer, etc.)
Attendees will be required to submit a vaccination record via an app.
Booster shot recommended.
Social distancing during the meeting in all meeting spaces.
Attendees must complete a daily health assessment via the app each morning or before arriving at the registration area and meeting spaces.
All AAPT COVID-19 Health and Safety Policies will be in effect for all summer meeting offsite events.”
The problem with the masks (other than the reality that it’s a stupid policy) is that they pull on my hearing aids, interfering with the reception, knock them out of my ears regularly, and have been known to cause them to go flying when I remove the mask to eat or drink.
I’m going to pull the ADA requirements ploy when I get there.
Good luck.