TECHNOLOGY RELATIONSHIP

I [love/hate] my computer.

It [saves me so much time/wastes hours of my day].

It [is so empowering/makes me feel like an idiot].

It [enables me to/hinders my progress to] develop new skills.

I [could not live/would be a happier person] without it.

BUD SKETCHES

This morning truly began with a ray of sunshine. Two rays, actually. Two Buds, to be precise.

I received two different colored sketches of Bud the Bunny from the illustrator. There is variation in style, colors, shading, line width, expression and details. There is much to praise, discuss, and think about. There is a decision to be made.

And there is the realization that I so very much cannot draw.

INTERPRETATION

Writing is about expressing ideas, yourself, others, a world (which isn't necessarily the same thing as reality), feelings, and more. An artist uses pictures, a writer uses words.

And yet, the interpretation of the words is completely left up to the reader. The writer has vocabulary and pacing and various other tools to convey what they mean, however the reader views the words through their own experiences and biases.

Then again, the writer may very blatantly leave it up to the reader to follow through on some aspect of the story, or the very ending of the story itself. Was it the lady or the tiger?

And yet, even when what is written is clear to the author's mind (one hopes), it is possible for the reader to have an entirely different interpretation. Such is the burden of our calling, to try and create as best we can with the expressions at hand. And know that some where, out there, some one will see it differently.

Then again, if they are really at odds with your creation, they will take it upon themselves to write it correctly, and you, too, will be the inspiration for fan fiction.

NANOWRIMO

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

50,000 words in 30 days. Or 1,666 words a day, plus 2/3 of a word on one of those days. Which is really only 69 words an hour in a 24 hour day. Or 104 words an hour if you insist on sleeping for 8 hours.

And while I have been aware of and kept up with NaNoWriMo for the past 2 years, I have never committed myself. Perhaps this year, with a full 4 months of mental preparation, I will be up to the challenge.

With indigo minions to assist me.

HAZARDS - PART II

Back from a brief holiday that involved a road trip, a convention, and a day off from work. At the convention, I purchased several writings from various authors. On the day off from work, I read some of them while enjoying the fresh air and sunlight available in my backyard. During reading pauses, I would admire the butterflies that drift from flower to flower, and would ignore the weeds that grinned evilly at me, knowing in their dark green hearts that they were safe from any retribution on my part.

I lost track of time, as often happens when I venture into other's worlds. After completing a selection of stories, I returned inside to continue productivity. It was not until my lover went to kiss the back of my neck that I became aware of the state of the flesh of my back. The fiery red, though not yet blistered skin of my back. The hidden skin under the straps of my top are as thin, bleached highways through a radioactive desert of bright rust-colored sand. Human epidermis should not achieve this vibrant a shade of red. At least not mine.

Which brings me to the topic of this post: sunburn, an often over-looked hazard of reading. And writing, although hopefully I will have learned my lesson from this little foray into the realm of abnormal skin color and not repeat the experience.

At least this summer.

HOLIDAY

Going on holiday for the weekend.

If the hotel has online access, I may jump on and paddle my way over here to drop a pithy post or two. If not, I will enjoy the physical isolation that comes with not being able to check email, research writing topics at the click of a button, and discovering myself reading about how the words "even bigger" should not apply to a woman's butt when spoken by a man who has even the slightest intention of ingratiating himself to her. In self-defense, I will say I started out reading about world politics.

Lying is considered a defensive tactic, for those who did not know.

HAZARDS

One aspect of being drunk on writing is that eventually one might find oneself passed out on one's keyboard. It is not a pretty sight, from the checkered pattern imprinted upon cheek and forehead to the 99 page manuscript that consists of 89 pages of "aaaaaaaaaaa" or whatever character one's head happened to impact first upon the loss of consciousness.

Then again, no eye will be punctured by a keyboard, a definite danger in the age of the quill. And ink in one's hair is not a possiblity. Therefore, in the light of the historical writing hazards mentioned above, the keyboard really is a bit of a lightweight, isn't it?

ISBN RESEARCH

Sometimes it amazes me how much reading is required to self-publish a book. I have spent the past hour reading FAQs and forum posts on the lovely topic of ISBN numbers. lulu.com has a basic and plus ISBN service, each for a different price, and each providing different services. And while the basic package costs less money, it does not include some listings I was anticipating. And while the plus package includes such listings, it limits the size and interior hue of the book, which is not something I will compromise.

Having found unsatisfactory answers, I will continue to read until better options present themselves, I discover I truly have only the choices I dislike, or I must abandon this attempt and shut down my computer and conscious mind for a period of restoration. My mind, not the computer. Unless it crashes. The computer, not my mind.

DIALOG

The creation of dialog, the words one character speaks to another, is my favorite aspect of writing. My writings often begin with snippets of dialog. Partial conversations voiced by entities that have only the semblance of form and personality. Yet the more they speak, the more they are defined, and in their definition lives the conflict and comfort of the story.

My non-fiction writings do not contain dialog and are therefore not as much fun to write. Pray do not tell them I ever said such a thing, for they can be petty and spiteful.

SCHEDULE

Last week in an effort to simplify my life and expand the amount of time I spend writing, I created a schedule. It was broken down by the hour. It was filled with notes of how I would spend each unit of my day. It had color headings. It printed prettily. It was utterly inaccurate.

Other than the hours I spend in self-imposed enslavement (for I do adore indoor plumbing, heated water and a consistent flow of electrons), the other hours of the day are in flux. The evening meal can occur at any time between 7 pm and 9 pm. Email is insidious and takes over entire blocks of time without even a by your leave. Sleep, an obvious necessity, can be restricted to certain hours, although it will retaliate in earnest if confined for too long to too short a span of time. And the randomness of a migraine can turn any day into a wasteland of unproductivity and pain.

The new schedule uses the labels "work" and "other". It has a much better chance than its predecessor.

COMPLETELY COMPLETED

Someone asked me the other day, "Why a children's book?". The practical answer is it is a writing that is complete.

I have many, many writings in various stages of completion. Some are actually completed, however they are based on the creations of others. Other original writings languish in the limbo of uncompletedness, some mere hours from being fulfilled, while others are light years from such a fate. Bud the Bunny, on the other paw, is done. Finished. Copy approved and signed off.

Which is half the book. The dummy book I created contains the thoughts and characteristics of the illustrations that will bring Bud to life. So, in my mind if not yet on paper, the children's easy reader book entitled 'Bud the Bunny' is complete.

For the rest of the world, Bud the Bunny will be complete and available for purchase by the end of September 2006 from lulu.com.

DEGREES OF STORIES

The vocabulary I use for the majority of my conversations, online and off, is not spectacular. I try to avoid "like" and "very". I relish the opportunity to use "minion" and "indigo", although they are few and far between.

When speaking of types of stories, there is a vocabulary that implies the degree or scope of the plot. And I am not talking about word count or the difference between a novel and a novella.

Something can be just a story, although that is a rather generic term. A folktale is a more specific kind of story, and an old wives' tale something different from that. Then all the elderly married women moved to the outskirts of a major metropolitan city and urban legends were born. Moving up the scale and getting lofty, there is the myth. And while it may encompass a legend or two and some myths, there is vast scope expected from an epic.

And to be truly grandiose, one could write a mythical legend of epic proportions.

With indigo minions.

ILLUSTRATOR - THE MEETING

Tonight I met with a student illustrator to discuss Bud the Bunny. While creating the dummy book to indicate copy and illustrator ideas, I discovered that I cannot draw. Photoshop manipulation of files for fun and profit I have done. However, when I contemplate changing the copy because I cannot draw the small plastic stick one blows through to create bubbles, I realized I truly did need an illustrator.

And due to the quite finite budget I am working with, it will be a student illustrator. The meeting went well and I am looking forward to seeing some concept sketches of Bud in the coming weeks.

Now I just need to finish the business plan.

After a few hours of sleep.

And breakfast.

Or maybe lunch ...

THE GREAT EQUALIZER

Man, woman, child, rich, poor, or any of the other random adjectives we use to describe ourselves ... it doesn't matter. There are only 24 hours in a day.

And it's really just a measurement, one of many that were created by mankind. 24 units to measure the time it takes for the planet to complete a single rotation. There are 60 units per each 24. And 60 units per those units. And 24 or 29.97 units per those units, dependent upon which media is being used.

Regardless of the segmentation of the unit, no more of the concept it measures can be created. Once it has past, it cannot be recovered. And that is the finiteness of our lives. I believe it is what causes regret. While we cannot change the past, perhaps if we had more future in which to repair/redo/relive, we might not regret so much.

And so I write. For me, it is a way of using my limited time allotted to create something that will still exist when I am gone. Technically my socks will also exist when I cease to, however they are far less interesting than my writings. At least, I tell myself this is true.

BUSINESS PLAN

In an effort to make my first foray into self-publishing a success, Ellington Hawke convinced me that I needed to create a business plan. And it is indeed as much fun to write as you may imagine. Several aspects of it had already been thought through and, while not recorded on paper (remember the theme of the previous post?), were sufficiently clear for me to move forward on my own. Having started the process of actually committing these thoughts to a more durable and lasting format, however, is assuring I will move much father down the path than had I not created such a map.

And this document will never been shown to an investor, nor a banker, nor any one else, really. Bud may take a look at it since it is his book, after all. It is the process of its creation that makes this business plan a worthwhile effort. It is a record of the concept, timeline, implementation and marketing plans, projected revenue and expenses. It is the starting point from which to measure the degree of success I will achieve. It is likely chapter 2 in the "how to self-publish a book" PDF I plan to write about this little endeavor.

For all things a purpose, and a re-purpose if possible.

UNWRITTEN WORDS

While over 50% of my day is spent in front of a computer, precisely less than 1% of that time is spent writing for myself. And the definition of "writing" in today's post does not include email, functional specification documents, email, procedural documents, or email. It does include this blog and stories and non-fiction creations.

And yet I consider myself a writer, albeit most of my words are as yet unwritten. The shower knows the some of the characters. The 80 minute round trip ride to work knows some of the plot lines. The time before unconsciousness when I go to sleep in the evenings (or extremely early mornings as the case may be) knows the real reason Fire Bear has issues, among other secrets.

I have a binder from grade school and junior high filled with assignments from my creative writing classes. I have fan fiction online, written under an alias. I have thick notepads that contain two to three pages of dialog. I have bits of paper with scribbled notes of people and places and things that lurk beyond the edge of vision scattered throughout my house. I hope I can still read them when I find them.

And I have thousands of unwritten words in my head that need to come out. Perhaps that is why I have migraines - all those words pushing against the inside of my skull, demanding to be released.

BLOG TITLE

I initially tried to use the entire quote as my blog title, but it was truly too long. Therefore, I have included it in this post so you will not be left wondering as to how I achieved such literary excellence. I did not. Ray Bradbury did.

"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you."

And while I have never been drunk on alcohol, I have been on drink on writing. I have written from the dark of night until the room lightened with rays of the rising sun. I have been buzzed with characters achieving their own voices, with scenes manifesting themselves before my eyes. I have not prayed to the porcelain god because of the written word as of yet, and hope to avoid such supplication. Although winning a Newbery or Caldecott Medal may very well do it.

GOOD DAY

Having just set up my website, Lloyd-Quinn Books, I decided I also wanted a blog to chronicle my adventure into self-publishing. And thoughts on writing, being a writer, the transition to being a published writer, and other random musings that happen to occur to me.

Updated as much as I can, given being a writer, having a full-time job, slowing getting a part-time business into maintenance mode, and a boyfriend.

Don't even ask about the state of my house or the yard. I will lie and say it is spotless and well groomed.