Patti O'Shea's Blog, page 116
July 23, 2015
Lunch Time Blues
When I worked in Minneapolis, I used to be able to hide off in a conference room on my lunch hour and get some writing in. Usually, I didn't accomplish that much, but even a page helps and even more importantly, it had my brain swirling and mulling and working problems out. I'd usually get home, revise the page or so I wrote at work and then get a few more pages in. It was a vital part of my writing routine and something I lost with the move to Atlanta.
Unfortunately, the Tech Ops building down here is huge, and with a lot more people, space is hard to come by. Spare conference rooms even during lunch? Not often.
I reached a conclusion a few weeks ago, though. Even if I can't do actual story writing during lunch, maybe I can work on notes or plotting out ideas for scenes. Anything to get my brain in the story and get it working on the book.
Day one was today. It started out really well. I went through sheets of questions about the book and characters. I even came up with a nice piece of character torture that I hadn't come up with already.
I was excited. This idea of mine was scathingly brilliant if it's going to lead to ideas that will push my heroine into a tougher position. :-) Hey, I only torture them because they deserve it. They all torture me. Endlessly. And as I'm thinking about this a little harder, someone walked in our cube to talk to one of the guys. (We sit in four-person pods.) The engineer had a quick question. Good, I thought, he won't interrupt me long.
After working with engineers as long as I have, I should know better. He parked himself there through the rest of my lunch and beyond. And right as he left, someone else came in the cube. Not that it mattered by then anyway. Lunch was over.
I'm calling this plan a qualified success. As long as there is constant traffic in my pod, I guess a few minutes of deep thought is about all I'll be able to get. Kind of a bummer, but I'll try again tomorrow.
Unfortunately, the Tech Ops building down here is huge, and with a lot more people, space is hard to come by. Spare conference rooms even during lunch? Not often.
I reached a conclusion a few weeks ago, though. Even if I can't do actual story writing during lunch, maybe I can work on notes or plotting out ideas for scenes. Anything to get my brain in the story and get it working on the book.
Day one was today. It started out really well. I went through sheets of questions about the book and characters. I even came up with a nice piece of character torture that I hadn't come up with already.
I was excited. This idea of mine was scathingly brilliant if it's going to lead to ideas that will push my heroine into a tougher position. :-) Hey, I only torture them because they deserve it. They all torture me. Endlessly. And as I'm thinking about this a little harder, someone walked in our cube to talk to one of the guys. (We sit in four-person pods.) The engineer had a quick question. Good, I thought, he won't interrupt me long.
After working with engineers as long as I have, I should know better. He parked himself there through the rest of my lunch and beyond. And right as he left, someone else came in the cube. Not that it mattered by then anyway. Lunch was over.
I'm calling this plan a qualified success. As long as there is constant traffic in my pod, I guess a few minutes of deep thought is about all I'll be able to get. Kind of a bummer, but I'll try again tomorrow.
July 21, 2015
Organization Epiphany
I have an endless problem with organization. I really, really want to be organized, but somehow I can't quite manage it. One of the worst places is my computer. I try to be organized there, too, but that's just been a massive fail no matter what I try. It seems my writing notes, pictures, chapters are scattered everywhere.
The other day I found an article on line--Zen and the Art of File and Folder Organization. It's a long article and I haven't finished reading through the entire thing yet, but there was one idea in there that was just mind blowing for me. It was so simple, so easy and I never thought of it.
Put all files that belong together in the same folder no matter what kind of file it is.
It was like I got whacked in the head with a two by four. It was that kind of epiphany. Suddenly, I could see everything I have for a book/story/idea in one place, not a half dozen and it was beautiful! I also felt extremely stupid. Why the heck didn't I think of this before I read it? I'm chalking it up to being organizationally challenged despite my best efforts.
I'll confess that I haven't actually had time yet to implement this idea yet, and maybe I'll fail miserably even with this new-to-me concept. Even so, if it makes it easier for me to find my writing stuff if nothing else, it would totally be worth it.
As I read more of the article, I'm hoping there will be more tips that will work for me and that I can incorporate. I'd really love it if I could tame my computer even if I can't tame my office.
The other day I found an article on line--Zen and the Art of File and Folder Organization. It's a long article and I haven't finished reading through the entire thing yet, but there was one idea in there that was just mind blowing for me. It was so simple, so easy and I never thought of it.
Put all files that belong together in the same folder no matter what kind of file it is.
It was like I got whacked in the head with a two by four. It was that kind of epiphany. Suddenly, I could see everything I have for a book/story/idea in one place, not a half dozen and it was beautiful! I also felt extremely stupid. Why the heck didn't I think of this before I read it? I'm chalking it up to being organizationally challenged despite my best efforts.
I'll confess that I haven't actually had time yet to implement this idea yet, and maybe I'll fail miserably even with this new-to-me concept. Even so, if it makes it easier for me to find my writing stuff if nothing else, it would totally be worth it.
As I read more of the article, I'm hoping there will be more tips that will work for me and that I can incorporate. I'd really love it if I could tame my computer even if I can't tame my office.
July 19, 2015
Why Do We Forget?
Thinking about this too long is sort of scary. How accurate is memory?
July 16, 2015
User Names
Picking a user name is hard online and becomes harder every day as more and more names get taken. In the beginning, I tried to use Patti everywhere, but someone else always had it already and I was on the internet earlier than the majority of people. PattiO was usually a no-go too.
I ended up using my full name on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook, which ended up working out with the writing thing. I kind of stumbled into FB by accident and was on there--again--earlier than a lot of people. At least a lot of people that weren't part of the original college group that had FB to themselves for a while. You used to need a .edu email address to register.
Adding extra difficulty to the question is that you want a user name you can tell people. If someone you work with asks for your Twitter name, you don't want to tell them it's Studmuffin or anything else embarrassing in real life.
What if you really dig the user name and want a website for it? Now it's time to worry about who's registered what web domain name. It's daunting.
There used to be a website that would look at available names across multiple platforms, but I forget what it was called. I also read stories in the news about parents who would register their kids' names for websites and social media so that when they were old enough to use it, it would be there for them and not taken by anyone else.
It's really a hard thing. It becomes an identity the same way a name does, and what's available and sounds cool when you're 20 might not be that cool when you're 40. Then the question becomes do I really want to start over with a new user name? Better to get it right the first time.
Yep, a truly daunting problem.
I ended up using my full name on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook, which ended up working out with the writing thing. I kind of stumbled into FB by accident and was on there--again--earlier than a lot of people. At least a lot of people that weren't part of the original college group that had FB to themselves for a while. You used to need a .edu email address to register.
Adding extra difficulty to the question is that you want a user name you can tell people. If someone you work with asks for your Twitter name, you don't want to tell them it's Studmuffin or anything else embarrassing in real life.
What if you really dig the user name and want a website for it? Now it's time to worry about who's registered what web domain name. It's daunting.
There used to be a website that would look at available names across multiple platforms, but I forget what it was called. I also read stories in the news about parents who would register their kids' names for websites and social media so that when they were old enough to use it, it would be there for them and not taken by anyone else.
It's really a hard thing. It becomes an identity the same way a name does, and what's available and sounds cool when you're 20 might not be that cool when you're 40. Then the question becomes do I really want to start over with a new user name? Better to get it right the first time.
Yep, a truly daunting problem.
July 14, 2015
Shark Week 2015
I used to love Discovery Channel's Shark Week when it started out, but over the years, I've liked it less and less. Then there was the year they did the fake documentary on megalodon and I was disgusted. I skipped that year and the one after that, but I decided I'd give 2015 a shot.
On the plus side, I didn't see any fake shows although there were definitely graphics used that looked real and weren't labeled as being artist renderings or anything. But on the negative side...
There was a lot I didn't like about Shark Week in 2015. Like the fact that people were risking their lives with dangerous sharks just for the sensationalism, not for any scientific purpose. This one guy was an idiot two years running. Last year (which I didn't see), he apparently got on top of an outline of a shark that was floating at the surface while large female great whites got pissed off about this visitor. Really? WTF?
It sounded as if Discovery Channel had a poll for viewers to vote for stupidest stunt. That's not what they called it, of course, but that's what it came down to and guess who won? Yes, the idiot in the paragraph above. BTW, I went to their website and I couldn't find any links for a viewer's choice vote, but maybe that's because it's finished. But if viewers are voting for this crap, Shark Week is never going to improve.
The moments of true science were few and far between, which saddened me greatly. It was all sensationalism and more sensationalism. More unnecessary risks and people accidentally falling into the water with large, dangerous sharks during some attempt at more sensationalism. This is into water that they've been chumming and floating bait fish in to attract the sharks, so it was seriously dangerous. One day someone's going to get killed by a shark doing one of these stunts and it won't be the shark's fault.
Basically, Shark Week was another huge disappointment. You can do better than this Discovery Channel. I want science, not sensationalism.
On the plus side, I didn't see any fake shows although there were definitely graphics used that looked real and weren't labeled as being artist renderings or anything. But on the negative side...
There was a lot I didn't like about Shark Week in 2015. Like the fact that people were risking their lives with dangerous sharks just for the sensationalism, not for any scientific purpose. This one guy was an idiot two years running. Last year (which I didn't see), he apparently got on top of an outline of a shark that was floating at the surface while large female great whites got pissed off about this visitor. Really? WTF?
It sounded as if Discovery Channel had a poll for viewers to vote for stupidest stunt. That's not what they called it, of course, but that's what it came down to and guess who won? Yes, the idiot in the paragraph above. BTW, I went to their website and I couldn't find any links for a viewer's choice vote, but maybe that's because it's finished. But if viewers are voting for this crap, Shark Week is never going to improve.
The moments of true science were few and far between, which saddened me greatly. It was all sensationalism and more sensationalism. More unnecessary risks and people accidentally falling into the water with large, dangerous sharks during some attempt at more sensationalism. This is into water that they've been chumming and floating bait fish in to attract the sharks, so it was seriously dangerous. One day someone's going to get killed by a shark doing one of these stunts and it won't be the shark's fault.
Basically, Shark Week was another huge disappointment. You can do better than this Discovery Channel. I want science, not sensationalism.
July 12, 2015
Plato's Allegory of the Cave
Kendall had Plato's Republic in her bag during Eternal Nights to review Plato's cave allegory.
July 9, 2015
Plotters With Attitude
I checked out this writing book recently that sounded interesting to me. The title made me think that it would help seat-of-the-pants, fly-into-the-mist (AKA pantser) writers merge their style with some plotting. After reading the description and the reviews, it appeared that my take on the book was right and I bought it.
I'm not a pure pantser, but I'm definitely on that side of the scale. I used to be more of a pantser than I am now, but I've discovered that I like having a framework in place before I pants all around it. ;-) Even so, plotting things out before I write them is hard for me and I was hoping for some ideas on how to use my strengths to come up with a way to outline or something.
Then I opened the book and started reading. The more I read the more furious I became. Why? Because the author of the book had a big, huge obnoxious attitude. She all but said that the reason we pantsers bought her book is because we knew the plotter's way was superior.
There might have been steam coming out of my ears and fire from my eyes, I was that angry. Listen up, plotters. You know why pantsers keep buying plotting books? Because jerks who plot continually make us feel our way is inferior. It is NOT inferior, it's different. I didn't buy your freaking book because I thought I was doing it wrong, I bought it because I thought your book would teach me to take my strengths (pantsing) and combine it with some way to work in a solid framework.
I've tried being a plotter and I hated it so much that I nearly quit writing. I DON'T WANT TO BE A PURE PLOTTER! Gah!
This woman isn't alone. When I was a teenager and trying to learn about writing, every how to write book I read had this kind of attitude, that real writers plot 100% of their story. When writers talk, a lot of plotters bring that attitude to the table. They can't comprehend that their way isn't the better way.
You know what? If plotting works for you, it's the better way for you. If pantsing works for you, than pantsing is the better way for you to write. My heartfelt wish is that writers would stop judging the way other writers work. There is no superior and inferior there is only the process that helps you get your words on the page.
And you know what else? I have never heard a pantser judge a plotter the way plotters regularly judge pantsers. It's not all plotters, let me be clear on that. There are a lot of great plotters who understand their way is good for them, but might not be good for someone else. I'm talking about the plotters with an attitude. We've all met them.
My fellow pantsers, the next time someone tells you your way of writing is wrong, don't believe it. Hold your head up and give them a great big, "Whatever."
I'm still looking for a book like the one I thought I was buying.
I'm not a pure pantser, but I'm definitely on that side of the scale. I used to be more of a pantser than I am now, but I've discovered that I like having a framework in place before I pants all around it. ;-) Even so, plotting things out before I write them is hard for me and I was hoping for some ideas on how to use my strengths to come up with a way to outline or something.
Then I opened the book and started reading. The more I read the more furious I became. Why? Because the author of the book had a big, huge obnoxious attitude. She all but said that the reason we pantsers bought her book is because we knew the plotter's way was superior.
There might have been steam coming out of my ears and fire from my eyes, I was that angry. Listen up, plotters. You know why pantsers keep buying plotting books? Because jerks who plot continually make us feel our way is inferior. It is NOT inferior, it's different. I didn't buy your freaking book because I thought I was doing it wrong, I bought it because I thought your book would teach me to take my strengths (pantsing) and combine it with some way to work in a solid framework.
I've tried being a plotter and I hated it so much that I nearly quit writing. I DON'T WANT TO BE A PURE PLOTTER! Gah!
This woman isn't alone. When I was a teenager and trying to learn about writing, every how to write book I read had this kind of attitude, that real writers plot 100% of their story. When writers talk, a lot of plotters bring that attitude to the table. They can't comprehend that their way isn't the better way.
You know what? If plotting works for you, it's the better way for you. If pantsing works for you, than pantsing is the better way for you to write. My heartfelt wish is that writers would stop judging the way other writers work. There is no superior and inferior there is only the process that helps you get your words on the page.
And you know what else? I have never heard a pantser judge a plotter the way plotters regularly judge pantsers. It's not all plotters, let me be clear on that. There are a lot of great plotters who understand their way is good for them, but might not be good for someone else. I'm talking about the plotters with an attitude. We've all met them.
My fellow pantsers, the next time someone tells you your way of writing is wrong, don't believe it. Hold your head up and give them a great big, "Whatever."
I'm still looking for a book like the one I thought I was buying.
July 7, 2015
Turn Down the Volume
Kind of often, I see this picture on the internet of someone following driving directions with their hand on the radio's volume knob and the punchline is like "you turn down the radio so you can see better."
Can I confess this makes me nuts? Turning down the radio has nothing to do with what you see. The reason we turn down the radio when we're lost or need to find the right address has to do with concentration. The music interferes with our ability to concentrate and when we're driving in a new-to-us area, we need to focus without distraction.
Why do people keep perpetuating this meme when the answer is so apparent?
It bugs me, and as you might have guessed, I just saw it again a few minutes ago. It's just so wrong and I'm not sure why it keeps getting repeated.
Can I confess this makes me nuts? Turning down the radio has nothing to do with what you see. The reason we turn down the radio when we're lost or need to find the right address has to do with concentration. The music interferes with our ability to concentrate and when we're driving in a new-to-us area, we need to focus without distraction.
Why do people keep perpetuating this meme when the answer is so apparent?
It bugs me, and as you might have guessed, I just saw it again a few minutes ago. It's just so wrong and I'm not sure why it keeps getting repeated.
July 5, 2015
25 Bizarre Things That Are Illegal in the United States
I couldn't find a good Fourth of July video, so instead...
July 2, 2015
Choreography and Writing and Process
The scenes that are slowest for me to write are the ones that require a lot of choreography. Most often these are fight scenes or love scenes, but sometimes other scenes fall into this category too. I also have to revise through them multiple times, layering everything in because I can't seem to write everything at one time.
I do try to get everything in there on the first draft. I'm used to writing very cleanly and my first draft is usually fairly close to the final version. This is also one of the reasons why I'm a slow writer, but that's a story for another day. :-) So I find it very frustrating that when I reread what I wrote the day before to find it's missing things. Generally, I'm so caught up in who's doing what, where, and how that I forget to thread in emotion. Or dialogue. And anything else that isn't choreography.
After all these years, I've finally accepted that this is just the way it needs to be. That doesn't mean I don't try to get it all in there, but I'm not surprised to go back the next day and do more work. And the day after that and the day after that.
In a way, I envy the writers who can fast draft because they get the story down and then worry about all of that later, but I can't write like that. Maybe some day I'll be able to because I never say never, not the way writing process continually changes, but for right now, I just accept that this is my way of doing these scenes.
I do try to get everything in there on the first draft. I'm used to writing very cleanly and my first draft is usually fairly close to the final version. This is also one of the reasons why I'm a slow writer, but that's a story for another day. :-) So I find it very frustrating that when I reread what I wrote the day before to find it's missing things. Generally, I'm so caught up in who's doing what, where, and how that I forget to thread in emotion. Or dialogue. And anything else that isn't choreography.
After all these years, I've finally accepted that this is just the way it needs to be. That doesn't mean I don't try to get it all in there, but I'm not surprised to go back the next day and do more work. And the day after that and the day after that.
In a way, I envy the writers who can fast draft because they get the story down and then worry about all of that later, but I can't write like that. Maybe some day I'll be able to because I never say never, not the way writing process continually changes, but for right now, I just accept that this is my way of doing these scenes.
