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[personal profile] rolanni

What went before ONE: So, that's +/-690 new words this morning before I quit to do some necessary chores and find out what's for lunch. The Manuscript Entire is presently at +/-55,765.

I may or may not get back to the manuscript this afternoon after we get back from the vet. I may instead do the cat box change out in the basement, and take an early evening.

Trooper is now smacking me in the arm, demanding another snack, so that's my cue.

What went before TWO: Rookie the Cookie, 16 months old, weighed on the Vet's Official Scale, a cool 13 pounds-point-nothing. He is pronounced Healthy, Well-Grown, Solid, and Drop-Dead Gorgeous.

He has gotten his three-year distemper, and his rabies vaccine.

I regret to say that he swore loudly and with feeling all the way to the vet's. He was much quieter on the way home, where I made myself strawberry shortcake with whipped cream, and Rook got a splurk of whipped cream. He is now sleeping the sleep of the guy who just got home after an adventure, and I'm going downstairs to change out the necessaries, after which it will be a shower and maybe some embroidery for me.

Everybody stay safe; I'll see you tomorrow.

So! Thursday. Dim and damp and not as cool as I would like. Maybe tomorrow.

Breakfast was the last slice of roast beast with the last slice of Swiss cheese on multigrain bread with a side of cherries. Second cup of tea to hand. Lunch will be -- ah. Strawberry shortcake? Oh. With ice cream. And chocolate sauce. That's all the food groups, isn't it?

Rookie has bounced back from yesterday's adventures and vaccines. He was not so much inclined to Cat Dance last night, being content to watch Firefly and Tali show off their moves, and he went to bed in the loft in Steve's office early in the evening. But he's on the move this morning, so all's well, and we need Never Speak of It Again.

I worked on my current embroidery project last night while I finished listening to These Old Shades. I don't think I had realized that this was Heyer's second Regency; it's such a leap forward from The Black Moth that I had always assumed she had written it much later, even given the Easter Eggs from Moth that are included.

The embroidery is going very quickly; it's really simple, being mostly straight and back stitches. I have another couple kits, and I have some transfers coming. Maybe I'll embroider a shirt next...

I had not reported yesterday that someone had tried to dig up the rosebush on the overnight. I repaired the damage, thought about putting gravel around it, but didn't do. It looks undisturbed this morning, so -- fingers crossed there.

Critter relocation has not called back. Need to call the next on the list today.

Also today, meeting friends for coffee this afternoon. Before that -- one's duty to the cats, and some writing are on-board.

So! What's for lunch at your house today?


larryhammer: pen-and-ink drawing of an annoyed woman dressed as a Heian-era male courtier saying "......" (argh)
[personal profile] larryhammer
The trip to Switzerland to see my brother-in-law and the niblings (and Alps) was lovely (especially the Alps).

Finding out that, while I was gone, my company made another round of layoffs, including me, was not so lovely.

Sigh. Time to retool my resume to cater to current AI analysis patterns and ascend the Job Search Alps (which are not the lovely kind).

---L.

Subject quote from Runaway, Kanye West.
rolanni: (Default)
[personal profile] rolanni

What went before ONE: I am going to have to prevail upon the goodwill and kindness of the firemen to help with the smoke alarm. It is perhaps that an inner shield was not removed when the device was installed, and my hands are too week to turn the damned thing and open it.

I fear that's also going to be the case with the electric broom, though I'm pretty sure the firemen won't fix that.

Onward. I have made a cup of mocha, because I can, and have been through what I wrote yesterday, which remains good.

What went before TWO:

How Many Cats Are In This Picture?

What went before THREE: So, the generator guy pronounces the generator in good shape. He of course had to switch the power, so I'll now have fun resetting all the clocks.

But that's not why I called you here this afternoon. I am horrified by my new embroidery project.

#1: The thread is not embroidery thread; it seems to be Just Thread wound around a thread keeper, one strand and it's all kinked up because it's been wound on the card for ... some time. I figured to iron it, to make it straighter and thus easier to work with, and? It melted. MELTED.

#2: One strand of this weird thread, doubled to make the two strands called for in the pattern, means a smaller needle than I usually use, and I am not certain at all that I'm going to be able to keep the dern thing in hand.

So! Definitely something I'll be working on away from home. Or, I can possibly do a refrib, replace the stoopid thread with Actual Embroidery Thread from the Stash, and tally-ho.

That may be my best option.

But first?

The clocks!

What went before Three-point-one:  Summing up.  The weird thread is said to glow in the dark.  As I got the kit from a friend who was thinning her stash, and have no investment in the finished piece glowing in the dark, I have found appropriate colors in my Big Bag of cotton floss, and will be continuing with them.

What went before FOUR: Back from needlework. I got really involved in my project and the time flew. Good company helps.

Coon cat happy hour has been served up and I've poured myself a glass of wine.

I did a little bit of tinkering with the WIP today, but my real problem is how the scam is going to work, so I'm letting the boys in the basement work on their Powerpoint for awhile. I'm really like where this is going.

The only thing on tomorrow's schedule, aside, yanno, one's duty to the cats, and eating, and like that, is Rookie's Annual with his vet in the afternoon. I hope to write in the morning hours, but if the guys are still working, it's no big deal.

I think I may finish the green bit while I listen to These Old Shades -- this will be New Territory; I've never listened to a book while I was doing something else. I wonder how that will work.

Everybody stay safe; I'll see you tomorrow.

Wednesday. Sunny and going for warm/hot-ish.

Once again, I am Up but not At 'Em. I hope to find Motivation in a mug of Republic of Tea's strong Irish Breakfast, as soon as it's even remotely cool enough to drink.

Trooper has had his first snack of the day, with medical inclusions.

My breakfast, once I get to that part of today's agenda, will be half an everything bagel and, oh, a slice of Swiss cheese; cherries on the side.

Slept hard, but with many disturbing and complex dreams, none of which I can remember of course, except that one had something to do with Alma Alexander and a car.

Notes on the day just behind us:

1 How Many Cats Are In This Picture of course comes from Highlights for Children, where it was a recurring puzzle. I don't remember much else from Highlights for Children, but I do remember that. Obvs.

2 Listening to an audiobook while sewing is a Dangerous Game. I sat over my needle much later than I had intended, listening and stitching in an Altered State. If I'm going to make a Habit, I'm going to have to set a timer.

2a Last night's experiment, ref #2, convinces me that listening to a book while driving is not going to A Thing for me. Good deal that I like to listen to music when I drive.

I didn't have much of a plan for the day, but whatever it was, I have now taken the Command Decision to reduce it to: Breakfast, Cat Box Duty, Write until it's time to swoop up Rook and take him for his annual check-up.

. . .and my tea is gone. Best find some day-clothes.

Who's Up and At 'Em this morning?

Today's blog post title comes to you from Mr. John Mellencamp, "Lonely Ol' Night"


larryhammer: Yotsuba Koiwai running, label: "enjoy everything" (enjoy everything)
[personal profile] larryhammer
The last time I posted about Yue Xia Die Ying, I had just read one of her xianxia novels and really enjoyed it. Since then, I’ve read two more of her historical romances. TL,DR: two thumbs up.

The first one, Like Pearl and Jade, is a more serious, if low-key, drama with romance. Technically the female MC is a transmigrator, but this identity has zero impact on the story and is used only as a framing device. The story and romance are both quite good, and I like how the frequent small digs at the patriarchy build to (small) actions that improve the status of (some) women. This is about the same size as I Am Average and Unremarkable, or about half of Journey to the West.

The second one, though, this one is a delight. The half-again longer* The Times Spent in Pretense I can only describe as a Chinese analog of Georgette Heyer. Its tone is relatively light, despite a redonkulous number of assassination attempts,** with a sheen of satire. More to the point, the male MC is outright Heyeresque, one of her Mark II models by Heyer’s classification, and his several brothers are as eccentric as any Heyer cast.*** The female MC, meanwhile, spends most of the first half playing several roles that are funny enough in themselves, but that eventually start colliding with each other, resulting in comedy gold.

Unlike Like Pearl and Jade, its feminism is baked in from the start. The female MC’s parents are both generals and military heroes. Her mother in particular is a badass beauty, with adoring female fans who proposition her in public — behavior viewed as more déclassé than scandalous. Way less hetereonormative than usual for a straight romance from mainland China. Meanwhile the female MC’s initial life goal is to acquire an estate near the capital where she can “raise male pets,” i.e. collect a harem of consorts — and her family quietly supports this, as it’s not an unknown hobby for noblewomen, though not one that gets publicly flaunted. The differences from our history are highlighted by contrast with a neighboring kingdom with traditional NeoConfucian values, where they look down on this degenerate place (while being baffled at how happy and prosperous it is despite its grave moral lapses).

I am also greatly amused by a minor character, part of a rival’s girl posse, who makes repeated metatextual commentary based on genre tropes.

Possibly best of all, though, the female MC never fades into the background, as happens all too frequently in Chinese historical romances, but is an active plot participant all the way through the climax.

Both recommended, the second highly so.


* So about three-quarters of a Journey West.

** Spoiler: not a single assassin succeeds.

*** My favorite is the would-be artist. The female MC’s first reaction to one of his landscapes is “What on earth was this painting? A bunch of heavily inked blobs and lightly inked blobs mixing together as friends?” Which is funny enough, but eventually it comes out that everything about this scene are even more examples of pretenses.


---L.

Subject quote from …Ready For It?, Taylor Swift.

In which the wine is damned good

Jul. 15th, 2025 09:50 am
rolanni: (Default)
[personal profile] rolanni

What went before: That was a quick 1000-ish words. I must be on the right track. The WIP entire now tips the word meter at! +/-55,075.

I'm done for the day. Tomorrow's treats include the arrival of Ideal Electric, to subject the generator to its annual inspection, and, in the evening, needleworking at the library. We will also be looking for temperatures in excess of 90F/32C, which is never fun.

And on that note -- everybody stay safe. I'll see you tomorrow.

SNIPPET:
"The wine is well-chosen," she murmured in Liaden, then slanted a look up into speculative silver eyes, and added, "Damn, that's good."

"That the refreshment pleases you must gratify me," Shan answered politely. He sipped, sighed, and murmured, "Ain't it, though?"

Tuesday. Sunny, already warm, and aimed for hot, the first of three. Curtains are closed, station air is on; trash and recycling are at the curb.

Breakfast was roast beef and Swiss on whole grain bread with a side of cherries. Lunch will be, err, something.

Trooper is currently in the bathroom, eating his second snack on the day; my second cup of tea is to hand.

I woke up just before 7, but did not start the day with jets hot. There was, for instance, Tali to be stroked and murmured to, as she's decided that a little morning spoil before arising is good for her complexion, then Rookie got shut in the bedroom closet -- I swear to GHU I'm puttin' a bell on that cat -- Firefly made a Formal Solicitation to be brushed, Trooper had to have his first snack, and so on.

Looking at the to-do list, I may not get any writing done today, though if things go faster than expected, I may be able to grab an hour.

I called a critter removal service yesterday, but haven't heard back yet. I'll give them today, then move on to Number Two on the list.

And that's it -- another day in the exciting, drama-filled life of a working writer.

What's your day looking like?

Flashback to yesterday afternoon:  All paws wanted to inspect my new haircut:


larryhammer: a symbol used in a traditional Iceland magic spell of protection (icon of awe)
[personal profile] larryhammer
For Poetry Monday, another bit of Japonisme:

On Seeing the Daibutsu, Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Long have I searched, Cathedral, shrine, and hall,
To find a symbol, from the hand of art,
That gave the full expression (not a part)
Of that ecstatic peace which follows all
Life’s pain and passion. Strange it should befall
This outer emblem of the inner heart
Was waiting far beyond the great world’s mart—
Immortal answer, to the mortal call.

Unknown the artist, vaguely known his creed:
But the bronze wonder of his work sufficed
To lift me to the heights his faith had trod.
For one rich moment, opulent indeed,
I walked with Krishna, Buddha, and the Christ,
And felt the full serenity of God.


Wilcox (1850-1919) was an extremely popular American poet with, shall we say, a mixed critical reception. She visited Japan in 1911. This is from her collection Picked Poems (1912), and is about the same statue as Kipling’s Buddha at Kamakura.

---L.

Subject quote from The Sign, Ace of Base.

The aim of waking is to dream

Jul. 14th, 2025 08:07 am
rolanni: (Default)
[personal profile] rolanni

SNIPPET:

"We ain't so full up at Jelaza Kazone right at present," she said.

"No." He turned on his heel to gaze at her. "The clan is much reduced, I know. In my day, you could buy cousins in lots of a dozen. Come into the kitchen at any hour, and you would be certain to meet a hand or more of them, eating, drinking, playing, as I said, at cards; reading – and quarreling, naturally. We are a quarrelsome lot. Or were. Perhaps our manners are by necessity better, without numbers to back us."

What went before: Well. It has been an unexpectedly productive day. I haven't quite finished the laundry, though there's still time for that to happen. I fed myself lunch, cleaned up the kitchen, put the clean towels away, did my duty the cats, took a walk, and!

Wrote. I really REALLY like this scene, at +/-780 new words, which leaves the WIP entire a breath short of +/-54,000. Perhaps tomorrow, since I know what the scene after this scene is -- though not exactly after this one, but -- oh, never mind. I'm declaring a victory for the write-what-you-like school of drafting today.

I also need to check in with the smoke detector, which failed to start screaming when I opened the oven to retrieve lunch and a billowing cloud of olive-oil scented smoke emerged. Possibly, it was unset during dusting and needs its button pushed. If it needs a new battery, I will be very cross, since it's supposed to have a 10-year battery onboard.

I discovered when I was folding socks last night that I was missing one, and, as mandated in The Manual, went back to make sure it wasn't still in the dryer, or in the hamper, or on the floor, but could discover no sign of it. Well. I hadn't paid the Portal Tax for a while, so I was ... unhappy, but not distraught. This morning, when I moved the towel hamper to start loading the washer, I found the missing sock behind it. I call Feline Shenanigans. Which is, I admit, better than the Portal Tax.

Anywise. I have to do some desk prep for tomorrow -- new to-do list and whatnot. And eventually, it will be Coon Cat Happy Hour. But, really, I'm done for the day, and well-satisfied with my accomplishments.

Everybody stay safe; I'll see you tomorrow.

Well. Monday, I believe. Cloudy and said to be on and off rainy. I'm up but not at 'em and am drinking a motivational cup of tea while I address the internets.

The rosebush has survived its second night in the garden.

Trooper has had his first snack of the day, the one with the probiotic stirred into it, and is now resting comfortably on the copilot's chair. Firefly is staring at me from the observation table next to the window, possibly attempting to indicate on the Cat Telepathy Channel that she, too, would like a bowl of Delectable gravy. Tali (Wrasslin' Name TaliBOOM) and Rook (Wrasslin' Name Rookie the Cookie) are alternatively wrasslin' and zooming.

The writer, Yr Hmbl Correspondent, is really struggling to keep her eyes open, here.

sips tea

On today's menu -- a haircut! The timing of this blessed event suggests that I'll be stopping at Holy Cannoli to pick up something to take home for lunch, or perhaps I'll opt to eat there, and sit in the window, brooding over Main Street in the Grand Romantical Style. We shall see.

Also on today's task list: one's duty to the cats, playing with the smoke detector (I failed to finish that yesterday, having found the instruction booklet), and trying to figure out why the electric broom (essential to my plan to keep the basement stairs free of dust and fur) doesn't, err, suck. Also, I want to write.

That seems like a full day, right there. Of course, I deliberately maintain a low bar.

I do think that's all the news from this location. I really need to finish my tea and go find pants. And a shirt, too, I suppose. And then I hope to be awake enough to hunt the wily Everything Bagel.

And how are you this morning?

Today's blog post title brought to you by e e cummings "in time of daffodils"


More Murderbot Articles

Jul. 13th, 2025 11:41 am
marthawells: Murderbot with helmet (Default)
[personal profile] marthawells
A really thoughtful essay on Murderbot: ‘Even If They Are My Favourite Human’: Murderbot Just Explained Boundaries

https://countercurrents.org/2025/07/even-if-they-are-my-favourite-human-murderbot-just-explained-boundaries/

“I Don’t Know What I Want”: The Line That Changed Everything

In the final moments of the season, Murderbot says: “I don’t know what I want. But I know I don’t want anyone to tell me what I want or to make decisions for me. Even if they are my favourite human.”

This is not a dramatic declaration. It is confusion wrapped in clarity. A sentence that holds discomfort and self-awareness in equal measure. It reflects a truth often ignored in stories about intelligence and emotion: that it is okay to not know, as long as that unknowing belongs to the self. In a world that constantly demands certainty, this line opens up space for uncertainty without shame.



* And a great interview with Alexander Skarsgård!

https://collider.com/murderbot-finale-alexander-skarsgard/

So, it just wants to start fresh and get away, and figure out who it is and what it wants. It doesn't really know that. I quite enjoyed that Murderbot didn't end up having answers to all the questions or knowing exactly what it wants. It's more messy and complicated than that. But it definitely knows that it needs to find its own path and make its own decisions, to make its own mistakes, and not have the Corporation or anyone tell it who it is or what it wants.

Every day you get more more yard

Jul. 13th, 2025 09:38 am
rolanni: (Default)
[personal profile] rolanni

What went before ONE: The rose in its new home. I have done many foolish things today and it's not even 10 am.

What went before TWO: So, while I was outside anyway, putting a rosebush into the ground, I weeded, and cleaned up the mess on the deck, discovering in the process that the pot the rose had been in was broken in the fracas.

When I came back in, after having expended some frustration, I swallowed some muscle relaxants, and iced my back while listening to These Old Shades. After lunch, I took a smol nap, with Firefly's expert oversight. I sat with the WIP for a bit and actually recorded an idea I had through an app on my phone, and sent! the! transcript! to myself at Gmail. It's really quite a good transcription. I'm impressed.

We are now nigh on to Coon Cat Happy Hour. Once that's served up, I'll have something to eat in order to buffer another dose of muscle relaxants and retire to mine bed with a cup of tea and These Old Shades and hopefully get a good night's sleep.

Everybody stay safe; I'll see you tomorrow.

Sunday. Cloudy and damp.

I am pleased to report that the rosebush has survived its first night in the front garden. I managed to have some solid sleep on that same overnight, and! have an idea for a scene that should be fun to write. Yes, yes, I know: a novel is not just a string of amusing scenes, but at this point, I'll take what I've got, reminding myself that Salvage Right was a string of amusing scenes, which I then had to patch together with a series of bridges. So, it can be done.

The first load of towels is in the washer.

Breakfast is just about finished with the cooking part -- sausage and cheese on a biscuit. Tea is brewed.

. . . and there's the bell. BRB.

. . .and back. Breakfast was good. Not healthy according to the cancer ladies, but I ate breakfast and that's a win. I have at least one yam, so lunch is covered; arguably, even a healthy lunch.

I wish to mention here that Rookie the Cookie's Best Trick Ever is coming when he's called, and if he cannot come when he's called, by reason, perhaps, of having gotten himself locked in a closet again, he will call out in answer multiple times, if necessary, until he's let out, whereupon, he will stand up on his hind legs and demand a cuddle.

This brought to you by Rook got locked into the linen closet while I was changing out the towels, and had no idea he was even in the hall.

My back aches the tiniest bit and I have, out of an Abundance of Caution, taken one more dose of muscle relaxants, and That -- fingers crossed -- ought to be the end of THAT.

So, I got When the Moon Hits Your Eye out of the library last Tuesday, and I've been reading a chapter or two at lunch to distract myself. So far, so good, though I did not expect a retelling of recent current events couched in metaphor. Notice me heroically avoid "whey."

My quandary is that I'm also reading These Old Shades in audio; I've read the first chapter of A Gentleman of Questionable Judgement; and! the first few pages of Stone and Sky, and that's too many books open, especially for someone who used to be a One Book At A Time reader. Given that I'm also writing a book, that's a little too much to keep in my head at once, so I'm cutting back, and will finish ...Shades and ...Moon, then flip a coin -- actually, no, I won't flip a coin, I'll go back to Stone and Sky, because the arrival of Peter's entire family, plus representatives of The Folly, with a fox, was too funny to put on hold for long.

All that said! How's everybody doing? And -- bonus question -- what are you reading?

Today's blog post title brought to you by Mr. Tom Petty, assisted by Mr. Eddie Vedder, "The Waiting"

Photo from yesterday afternoon:  Disheveled and Marvelous


Murderbot Interview

Jul. 12th, 2025 03:05 pm
marthawells: Murderbot with helmet (Default)
[personal profile] marthawells
Here's a gift link for the New York Times interview with Paul and Chris Weitz, who wrote, directed, and produced Murderbot:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/arts/television/murderbot-season-finale-chris-paul-weitz.html?unlocked_article_code=1.V08.exvw.M_qE37ROOT58&smid=url-share
rolanni: (Default)
[personal profile] rolanni

What went before: Eight hundred-ish new words today, bringing the total WIP to +/-53,200.

I have some bills to pay tonight and some accounting to bring up to day, but more or less I'm done for the day. Tomorrow, I'm free to write, so that's nice, though I could always throw in a load of laundry and pretend to be keeping house.

It looks about ready to rain here, so I'm clearly in for the night.

Everybody stay safe; I'll see you tomorrow.

Oh, hey -- have a snippet:

"Did the master trader receive any more letters?"

"He did not. However, I have had a letter from my brother Ren Zel, who shares news of kin."

Priscilla settled her head more comfortably. "Is Anthora well?"

Shan raised a finger. "Who is telling this?"

"You are," Priscilla said, not at all contrite. "Please do bore on."

"Thank you. Where was I?"

Saturday.

So, I've been more awake than asleep since 2:30ish, and finally gave up on the whole idea of getting any more sleep at 4:15ish. I refilled the dry cat food, which, yes, you could see the bottom of the bowls, fed Trooper some of the gravy he favors with the probiotic mixed in, made myself a cup of what I suspect will be MANY cups of tea for the day, opened the curtain in my office to survey the carnage wrought on my rose bush, drank my tea, wrote in my journal, and now I guess I'll throw in a load of laundry and survey the front garden for a good place to dig a hole to try to save the rose bush's life.

One of my other tasks on the day will be calling a critter removal service. Because, yes, I am feeling a tiny bit vindictive.

In service of not spreading my black mood around, I will be shutting down social media for the day.

Everybody stay safe.


Adventures in jewelry

Jul. 11th, 2025 12:44 pm
rolanni: (Default)
[personal profile] rolanni

What went before ONE: So that's scary. I got up to walk around the corner and get something out of the printer, and -- one of my earrings fell out.

But that's not the scary part. I found the earring, but I can't find the back -- yanno, just one of those tiny little silvery lock things? Looked everywhere with my friend Mr. Flashlight, looked inside my shirt, looked, yeah, everywhere, because who knows when it went AWOL and I just hadn't moved my head sharply enough to dislodge the ring?

Finally wound up vacuuming the whole house, and still no certainty that I found it. It's not the loss of the backing I'm worried about; it the loose piece of metal on (possibly) the floor with four floor inspectors on-paw.

Argh. Now I get to breathe deeply and try to get back to work.

And I say again -- argh.

What went before TWO: Six hundred sixty-one new words today.

Didn't finish my scene, and also didn't find the back to my earring. The WIP is now +/-52,400 words and the little piece of silver is on the knees of Bast; I've done everything I can.

I hear there's supposed to be a splendid full moon tonight. Of course, it will be cloudy here in Central Maine. Honestly, you could make a calendar.

Speaking of calendars -- one of our needlework members is newly arrived in Central Maine from Arizona and she was remarking on how late it stayed light here. Which -- official sunset is 8:30, but it's not really DARK until 10/10:30. Turns out in Tucson, sunset is at 7:30? In JULY? How is that even a thing? And then I remembered back in 1999, when I had to travel to the San Antonio Worldcon, and I'd gotten up at Maine Rising Time, and -- it was still dark out. On account the sun don't be rising in San Antonio until 6:45, Texas Time, and at home, where we do these things normally, the sun rises at 5 am, but it's light enough to drive at 4.

So, that's the news and babbling from hereabouts.

Tomorrow morning, I have errands and an appointment with the chiropractor, where, this being the end of my second two-week adjustment plan, I'm hoping to receive good news. Tomorrow afternoon, I hope to complete today's scene and maybe start another.

Everybody stay safe; I'll see you tomorrow.

So. Friday. Cloudy and damp. Once again the call is for rain. We Shall See.

I have been to the grocery, the post office, Reny's, Day's, and the chiropractor. I tried to stop at the latte truck, but they weren't open when I went by at 8:30ish. Probably just as well.

Consultation with the chiropractor has produced a schedule of weekly visits, stretching out to every three weeks. First session of the new schedule being next Friday (unless something goes bad before that). And we'll see how that goes. Fingers crossed.

Took on a crazy flowered shirt at Reny's, as well as sox, butter chicken sauce, jasmine rice, and hangers, since I apparently have a hanger-eating gremlin infestation in the laundry room.

At Day's, I acquired new backs for the earrings that I lost one back to, yesterday. The new ones made a very satisfying CLICK when I shoved them onto the post, so I have some confidence that these will stay where they're put.

The butter chicken sauce and the jasmine rice will join the last pork chop in the joyous celebration of lunch. Honestly, I don't know how people can be enthused about eating three times a day, every day, 365 days a year. Hoping that the slight weirdness of today's lunch will renew a flagging interest in food. I'm trying to stave off the part where I'll take anything -- ice cream! a doughnut! -- as long as I've eaten something.

Once I finish this dispatch, I will throw a load of shirts in the washer, make (and eat) lunch, then get with writing.

How's everybody doing today?


New Murderbot Short Story

Jul. 10th, 2025 09:33 pm
marthawells: Murderbot with helmet (Default)
[personal profile] marthawells
The new Murderbot short story is up at Reactor Magazine:

Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy

https://reactormag.com/rapport-martha-wells/

Edited by Lee Harris, art by Jaime Jones.


And Murderbot was renewed for a second season!

https://deadline.com/2025/07/murderbot-renewed-season-2-apple-tv-1236453764/

“We’re so grateful for the response that Murderbot has received, and delighted that we’re getting to go back to Martha Wells’ world to work with Alexander, Apple, CBS Studios and the rest of the team,” Chris and Paul Weitz, said in a statement Thursday.

. . . I found it all on my own

Jul. 10th, 2025 10:26 am
rolanni: (Default)
[personal profile] rolanni

What went before: Today's writing was tweaking what I wrote yesterday. Maybe, a net gain of 200 words, when all's said and done. Tomorrow! A new scene.

Everybody have a good evening; stay safe; I'll see you tomorrow.

Thursday. Cool and damp and said to be fixin' to rain. Windows open, because? Anybody? Yes? Yes, you there in the orange sleeveless tshirt. Correct! Because cats.

Tuesday night, I got about four hours sleep, mostly due to Trooper needing All The Cuddles, and None of the Cuddles on about a 20 minute rotation. Last night, I collapsed early and was let to sleep for damn near nine hours, and honestly, I could do it again, right now. This not being feasible, I'm taking on caffeine.

Breakfast was tomato and cheese on anadama bread with a side of grapes. Lunch will be fish, because I have once again fallen off the fish wagon. It's been a real eye-opener, how close Steve watched the menu and made sure of the rotation of various foods.

Among yesterday's few accomplishments, I ironed my finished project and put it in the embroidery book, and! I chose my new project, which is pictured below.

Today, aside from the making and eating of lunch, and the various duties that attend a cat parent, I do intend to write. That's is -- one good intention at a time.

Who else has good intentions today?

Today's blog post title brought to you by Stitch

The new project:


mbarker: (BrainUnderRepair)
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Writing Excuses 20.27: The Lens of Why 
 
 
Key Points: The lens of why? Authorial intent. Why did you write this book? Theme and meaning? Meaning is what the reader brings to the book. Approach them as questions. Theme is what the author puts into a book, meaning is what the reader gets out of a book. What am I trying to say with this book? Theme and meaning and authorial intent are just a coffee coaster. Help? A story or story structure is a pitcher, that you can put anything in that you want. The reader brings their vessel, a cup, which you fill from that pitcher. A story asks a question, while a polemic answers it. Theme as a series of questions? Moments of discovery of what my theme is? Rewriting can be a joy. 
 
[Season 20, Episode 27]
 
[Mary Robinette] This episode of Writing Excuses has been brought to you by our listeners, patrons, and friends. If you would like to learn how to support this podcast, visit www.patreon.com/writingexcuses.
 
[Season 20, Episode 27]
 
[Mary Robinette] This is Writing Excuses.
[Howard] The Lens of Why. 
[Mary Robinette] I'm Mary Robinette.
[Howard] I'm Howard.
[Dan] I'm Dan.
[Mark] And I'm Mark.
 
[Howard] We are joined by our special guest Mark Ashiro here on Navigator of the Seas...
[Mary Robinette] You will have already been listening to Mark on some of our earlier episodes at the beginning of the year. Because we time-travel. We haven't recorded those yet, so we don't know what we've talked about.
[Howard] We're quite sure they're awesome.
[Mary Robinette] Brilliant. They are brilliant.
[Mark] I'm going to tank those ones on purpose now.
[Laughter]
 
[Howard] Mark, will you take a moment and tell us about yourself?
[Mark] Of course. I am primarily a young adult and middle grade author. I have seven published books, many more to come. I'm also very lucky in that I am a multi-genre author and I get to genre hop. So I like taking deep dives into genre structure, all things nerdy.
 
[Howard] Outstanding. Well, let's talk for a moment about the lens of why. This is a category we're using to describe tone and frame, authorial intent. Theme and meaning. All kind of wrapped up under the question of why did you write this book? Why did you write this book? And I want to begin by focusing a little bit on just theme and meaning, because I always struggle with these. So I'm going to ask the question to my fellow hosts. How do you differentiate between theme and meaning?
[Mary Robinette] I… This is my own personal take. And I think about both of those as things that are not necessarily for me. So, theme, for me, is something that people who are writing essays or reviews are about, that it's big, sweeping arcs of stuff. Meaning, for me, is what the reader brings to it. There's stuff about the book that means stuff to me, but it's often a personal thing that never surfaces for the reader. So I tend to, when I'm going into this, approach them as questions. What is the question that I'm asking? And I think that that is essentially what people are talking about with theme. That… Like, I will… The novel that I'm working on right now, the question that I'm asking is how many times can you lie to someone you love? That's not… It's not my intention to answer that question. My intention is to explore it. And I think that's what people are talking about when they talk about theme. But, for me, theme… Like you, Howard, is an amorphous thing that someone… Because I also see people like, ah, yes, thematically, they've used the color blue throughout this. I'm like, or they liked it.
[Chuckles]
[Mary Robinette] It was on sale.
[Howard] Okay. I'm going to… I need to one trick pony this. My one trick is metaphors. Theme is how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie pop. And meaning is the owl doesn't care about the question, the owl is just going to bite the Tootsie pop. Meaning doesn't answer the question, necessarily. Meaning provides an answer in a different way, and theme asks the question without necessarily providing an answer.
[Mary Robinette] I think in another way you've demonstrated my thinking here, which is, with your metaphor, you've used a metaphor that kids these days won't get. And so you've got a meaning that is important and meaningful to you, but they're going to bring a completely different meaning to it when they read it. What are you thinking, Mark?
[Mark] So, my way into thinking about this is very similar to yours, is when I'm starting a project, it almost immediately always has a meaning to me. This is the reason why I want to write this, this is what I think is interesting. I don't often know the theme until much, much later. Because the theme will then diverge very much from the meaning that I intended or the meaning that I had for it. I think it's also interesting, as someone who is writing kid lit and is constantly interacting with readers, how often the readers, these kids will go on long five-minute tangents to me about what this book is about or what this story's about. And I'm just sitting there, nodding my head, like, that's totally what I intended. And seeing the way that someone can read something and find 20,000 different things you never intended, you never thought of. And so, for me, that's meaning. That's where meaning is. It is also fun, though, when you have these experiences where someone does see the theme that you have written in there, that is intentional. But, yeah, they don't always match up. I think it is fun, though, I will say, when the two, your meaning and the theme, matchup, and someone catches it. Those are the [garbled], that beautiful trifecta moments you have.
[Mary Robinette] Yeah.
[Howard] At breakfast today, Kate McKean said… I asked the question…
[Mark] Yeah.
[Howard] She's going to be on some episodes with us this year.
[Mary Robinette] She will have already been on episodes.
[Howard] She will have already been on episodes…
[Laughter]
[Howard] With us this year.
[Mark] Time travel!
[Howard] Sorry, I keep forgetting to use the future has been tense.
[Chuckles]
 
[Howard] She said, oh, yeah, theme is what the author puts into the book, meaning is what the reader gets out of the book. Which is also a convenient definition. Dan, you were going to say something?
[Dan] I just thought… I'm really fascinated by this conversation, because I think I'm the opposite of you, Mark, entirely. I think about theme a lot. Theme, to me, is what is this about. What am I putting into it? I can't think of meaning… I can't think of a book I've written where I know what it means. Like, that is a completely foreign concept to me. What does this book mean? I don't know. Whereas the theme, what is this about, what am I trying to say with it, that's something that I do think about very consciously.
[Mary Robinette] Yeah. I think about… I think this is why I liked the umbrella term of the why. It's like…
[Mark] Right.
[Mary Robinette] The why of the book. Why is this important to me? Why is this a book I want to tell? Why is this a journey that my characters want to go on? Because theme does have so many different meanings for so many different people.
 
[Howard] There's… We have in a couple of weeks an episode about specifically authorial intent, and, for me, the Venn diagram of theme and meaning and authorial intent… Boy, depending on what angle I'm looking at it, it's just a coffee coaster. It's just one circle, they all fit in the same thing. And so I struggle a lot with these definitions. Help? Help me.
[Dan] We all thought you were going somewhere with that.
[Laughter]
[Howard] I am going somewhere. I am asking you a question.
[Mark] We thought you were providing us with guidance, and then you're like, I need the guidance.
[Mary Robinette] So this is something that… A metaphor that I use when I'm talking about a structure… Structure, but also the relationship with the audience. And I probably talked about this in an episode at some point, but… Hello, we're going to revisit. That when you're thinking about a story, a story structure, that it's a pitcher, that's a container. It contains whatever it is that you want to tell. Pitchers come in a bunch of different shapes and you can put anything in them you want. You can put gazpacho for reasons. You can put a Pinot Noir, you can put apple cider. You can put anything into that pitcher you want. Depending on the genre you're in, the pitchers may have different shapes. You may decide to become a glassblowers and make your own. That's the story as you intend it. When the reader comes to you, each reader brings their own vessel. And when you're looking at the vessel, a Pinot Noir glass is designed to shape the way you're experiencing Pinot Noir so it hits your palate in a specific way, brings out all of these bouquets and things. So if I have a Pinot Noir in my pitcher, and I pour it into your Pinot Noir glass, you are experiencing the story as I intended it. You're getting my theme and meaning. But if you come to me with a red solo cup, you're still going to enjoy that. If I've got hot apple cider, and you come to me with a ceramic mug, perfect! We got a good match there. If you come to me with that Riedel glass, which was so good for the Pinot Noir… It's likely to shatter from the hot apple cider. Which is not my intention. And so, for me, when I'm thinking about it, I'm thinking about who in my writing for? But I'm also not… Like, I can't also think about, oh, I have to think about every possible vessel that may come to me. So, when I'm thinking about that meaning, like, for me, the meaning is the way the reader experiences the story. That's… And sometimes, as Mark was talking about, they do line up perfectly. So this is why I have found that if I think about the what question am I asking, why am I telling this, who am I telling it for, that those give me measurable things for myself that I can use to make decisions. I can measure against the is this going to make so-and-so laugh? Then that's… Yes. And that was… That's my intention. That's my… The meaning for this moment. Great. Then I can measure against that. If I want this… If I want a laugh here and it's not going to make them laugh… Other people may also laugh at that point, but also, sometimes, you put in, like, an in-joke that is for one very specific cup.
[Mark] I want to jump in here, because now you just triggered sort of a memory that might help with differentiating between theme and meaning. So my first book, Anger Is a Gift, I wrote… a secondary character is a trans-racial adoptee, like myself. If you're listening and unfamiliar with that term, it is someone who is adopted out of their ethnic and racial culture and into another one. It usually describes kids of color who are adopted by white people. So I have a white adopted mom and a Japanese Hawaiian adopted father. And so I wanted a dynamic I have almost never seen in fiction. Because usually adoption narratives are just… There's an adoption, it's usually not transracial, you might see foster care, orphans,  or whatnot. But that specific experience is so specific, you don't see it. So I wrote this character who's dealing with being Latino who is adopted into a white family and the privilege that comes with that. That's my theme. The themes of privilege and how this person who is a person of color is in a very white society… Not only that, but in the neighborhood she lives in, and then how she interacts with her friends who are from a poorer neighborhood. That's my theme. What I'm talking about, what's the authorial intent. The second day this book was out, I was at a book event with Jason Reynolds in DC, and a man came up to me and said, "I read this whole book last night and I loved it. But I need you to know, like…" It was an older white gentleman and he's like, me and my husband adopted this young black girl, and I think I need to, like, talk to her, because I don't think I've raised her right. And I'm like holding this book open and I'm like, who do I make it out to? Like…
[Laughter]
[Mark] That man got the theme, but it had a different meaning. Because… And I love that you're talking about [garbled]
[Howard] And it had a very powerful meaning.
[Mark] Very powerful meaning, but, also, I was like, that's not it. I do… This is not for you. I was not writing for you, but that is a thing where the liquid I'm pouring out went into… I won't say the wrong cup, because I don't…
[Mary Robinette] Yeah.
[Mark] Want to make that judgment call…
[Mary Robinette] No, no.
[Mark] But a cup that shattered. And it was fascinating to me, because I'm like, I love that you did get the theme of this child's parents did not treat them well… Whoa, that is not the meaning I intended at all. Sorry if you happen to be listening and had an existential crisis for the last six years, but…
[Chuckles]
[Mark] But that's interesting because it's someone who understands the theme, but the meaning was still different for them.
[Mary Robinette] Yeah.
[Howard] But if that individual came away from your book and what they came away with first and foremost was I need to have a conversation with my adoptive daughter…
[Mark] Yeah.
[Howard] About transracial adoption and parenting. I don't see parents having conversations with their children as a bad thing.
[Mark] Oh, yeah. No.
[Howard] That's… I would not say that cup shattered. I think that someone got meaning from it that you didn't expect, and had a very powerful experience that you didn't intend, but that was probably a net good.
[Mark] Yeah, I agree. I agree with that.
[Mary Robinette] Yeah. I also don't think that sometimes a cup shattering is always a bad thing, because sometimes you need a different cup.
[Mark] Yeah.
[Chuckles]
 
[Mary Robinette] The thing that I was thinking about was a conversation that I had with Elizabeth Bear years ago. It was, like, one of those conversations where you're sitting around at a convention, and someone drops a… Just a one sentence thing that blows your mind for the rest of time. And she said that a story was something that ask a question, and a polemic was something that answered it. And so, when you were talking about the questions that you are asking, how does she relate to the people that she knows, how does this impact… Those are all questions.
[Mark] Yeah.
[Mary Robinette] And what you're showing is one way in which it might be experienced. But I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say you're also showing multiple ways, multiple answers to that. And that is, I think, where you… For me, the thing… Thinking about theme in that way, as a series of questions as opposed to a series of answers, is that it allows space for the reader. And I think any time you can allow space for the reader to come into the story, any time you can invite them in, that you do have the potential for a more powerful meaning.
[Howard] And on the subject of space for the reader, our advertisers don't actually read this, but we're going to give them some space.
 
[Howard] I have an experience I want to share about when I thought… When… I look at it now and think back at it. And I think that learning my theme, learning my meaning, caused me to change what I was writing. Early Schlock Mercenary, I did not realize… This is going to sound a little silly, I know… I did not realize that I was writing social satire. Once I realized I was writing social satire, a lot of lights came on, and now I had, as a writer, I had a sense of purpose, a sense of meaning. I knew what certain themes were going to be. My question for you, my fellow hosts, have you ever had a similar moment of discovery, where you realized, oh, wait. This is what this means. This is what my theme is. And you changed your course?
[Mary Robinette] Mark, I just watched you nod all the way through that, so [garbled]
[Mark] [garbled] And I love this too, especially because, it was for a book that was contemporary, and the theme could only manifest as speculative fiction.
[Mary Robinette] Ah
[Mark] So, my most recent YA book, into the Light, is a secret speculative fiction book, where the speculative fiction twist does not happen until like 325 pages in, when you realize you've been reading speculative fiction the whole time. Which, by the way, actually has made people very angry when they read it…
[Chuckles]
[Mark] Because it's so [garbled unlike]
[Howard] Dan has no experience with this.
[Laughter]
[Mark] Yes. And I'm sure you can speak to (one) it is a very creative… Creatively satisfying thing to do, but I even knew when I realized what the theme of this book was actually going to be, that it was going to be an unnerving and upsetting experience for the reader, because you thought I was leading you into one story, and your very much not being led into that story. And people… I do get why people go into a book and expect one genre and you don't get that. But I had written multiple drafts, I'd figured out structure. But I was having this problem with the two main characters where I was very frustrated because they sounded a little too similar. And what was it about the two of them that made them different enough to warrant this being a book? I had my meaning before I started the book. I had my meaning before I even started outlining it or brainstorming. I knew what the theme was before I started drafting. So I felt very secure in what I was about to do. But when I was actually writing these two narrators, something wasn't right. They felt disjointed, they felt angular. I was like, they're not clashing in ways that are interesting, their clashing in a way that's just upsetting. Why can't I get them to be what I want them to be? It was in a conversation that I was having that I… On the phone with my editor, where I said something very similar, like, they cannot be what I want them to be, and I was like, oh! That's actually the theme. The theme is of this whole…
[Mary Robinette] Yeah.
[Mark] Kind of why I was struggling with this is it is a book about religious repression and rejection, it's about two kids who are tricked into conversion therapy. And they go through very different experiences with it. And the theme that I was struggling to vocalize is, for some people in this world, you'll never be good enough.
[Mary Robinette] Yeah.
[Mark] And I just was sitting there and I'm like, I'm doing it now, I'm saying they're not good enough and they aren't fitting the mold that I want them to. And I'm like, oh, my God, that's it! And I mean, unfortunately, you have that moment where I was on the phone with my editor, Miriam Weinberg at Tor, where she's like, you're going to have to rewrite the whole thing, aren't you? And I'm like, yeah…
[Chuckles]
[Mark] This is the third rewrite, and I'm like, yeah, I'm going to have to, but I know what it is, in the way I figured out how to… Without spoiling it, was it required something extremely bombastic and very, very speculative fiction. But… And I'm curious to hear, too, for people who have had this, that moment of, like, oh, this is right, this is it. I'm exactly where I need to be.
 
[Howard] I shared with a student yesterday morning… We were talking about the necessity for rewrites, and I said, yeah, I got bad news for you. If you love having written, finding that you need to rewrite the whole thing is terrible. But, if you actually love to write, the opportunity to make this discovery and go back and rewrite it can be a joy.
[Mark] Yeah.
[Mary Robinette] Yeah.
[Howard] Because now you get to do it again.
[Mark] With… At least for me, this sort of, like, infectious certainty.
[Howard] You get to do it better.
[Mark] Yeah.
[Mary Robinette] Yeah.
[Mark] Where you've [sussed?] out as you are making decisions, and then you get to make even more because you feel good about the decision you made.
[Dan] I've talked about this a little bit before, but I've had this experience with three of the John Cleaver books. Four, five, and then, in between them, a novella called Next of Kin. Which I think of as my basically Alzheimer's trauma books…
[Chuckles]
[Dan] Because they were about memory. The kind of basic premise of the John Cleaver series is that there are monsters who lack something and they steal it from us. And I wanted to have one who didn't have his own memories and so he had to take ours. And does that by… Does that in order to survive. And realized very quickly once I started writing that, that I was trauma dumping my grandfather's Alzheimer's experience all over the readers, and I… Then had that moment of, well, I need to go back and make this a little more palatable and a little more acceptable, but also, wow, I didn't realize that that's what this book was about, and it absolutely, that's what this book is about. That's what all three of those books are about, is me trying to work through my own history with loss of memory and the impermanence that this creates in your life and the other people around you. And having that experience halfway through really changed how I saw what those books were and what their theme was.
[Howard] All right. Well, if we have answered for you the question about what theme and meaning are, and how they are different from each other, please let me know, because I still am not confident in that. But I'm okay with not being confident in it. I feel like this is a place where the definitions we each come up with are going to function as the lens of why.
 
[Howard] And I have a homework for you which should be fun. Take a popular book to film or book to TV adaptation and ask yourself if the film changed the meaning or changed the theme of the book. And then, ask yourself in what ways it did it.
 
[Howard] This has been Writing Excuses. You're out of excuses. Now go write.
 
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