Jane Lindskold's Blog, page 11

Setback!

Rainwashed Trumpet Vine

Quick reassurance. I haven’t done anything too horrible to myself, but one of the great problems with recovering from surgery to something like a shoulder, which you use all the time, is that it’s easy to overestimate just how much you can do. That’s what I did a couple of days ago when a rain shower led me to want to be out and about in my yard to attempt to do more than it turned out I should have been doing. So, the next day I found I’d set myself back a bit.

As I sat, alternately reading and applying cold packs to abused muscles, I found myself thinking that recovery from surgery and writing—especially a longer work, although it can apply to a shorter one as well—have a lot in common. Those of you who have been reading these Wanderings for a while have probably gathered that one of my pet peeves is the increasing trend toward viewing writing as something to be measured in work count, said word count to be bragged about as if writing lots of words is the only thing that matters, not the quality of said words or the acknowledgement that sometimes the best writing involves getting rid of words that don’t need to be there.

As with overdoing after surgery, what this “writing as marathon” can lead to is a setback when either the writer becomes worn out from seeking to write more and more so as to have bragging rights regarding their productivity, or depression and decline when the inevitable editing and polishing stage is reached and the writer can no longer brag about their productivity.

My rotator cuff surgery is now more than two months in the past, and I’ll admit I’m really tired of not being able to do more than the lightest routine tasks with my right arm. Even doing tasks where I very carefully rely only on my “good” left arm can strain my frame as I just provided myself with a very painful reminder. So, I’ll remember this the next time I’m tempted to overdo, and also when I get back to writing I’ll remind myself that pushing too hard can lead to creative setbacks as well.

(And, for those of you who’ve read all of this and may have wondered, yes, once again Jim handled the typing for me.)

Cactus Blossom Week

Cactus Blossoms and Thorns

This last week has been full of thorns and prickles, but flowers too. Yes, this is a metaphor that also happens to be a pretty accurate reflection of reality.

Since last week, we learned of the deaths of two friends who also happened to be part of the SFF community.

The first was author John Maddox Roberts, who died suddenly at his home. John was a talented writer of both Historical and Alternate Historical works. I highly recommend his SPQR Roman Historical/Mystery series. These books are, in my not so humble opinion, the best of their type. John was part of our New Mexico writer’s community and one of the sweetest, and yet at the same time sardonic, people I’ve ever had the pleasure to sit on a panel with.

We also lost MaryAnn Harris. To say that MaryAnn was the wife of author Charles de Lint is to undersell this spectacularly talented and energetic woman. MaryAnn was a musician, artist, editor, and founder of the renowned Mythic Café page on Facebook. Despite her and Charles living in Canada we somehow managed to become good friends through infrequent meetings interspersed with correspondence. You can find more about her on-line, I’m choking up and can’t really say more.

On the recovery from rotator cuff surgery front, my physical therapy ramped up in intensity. I’m still not much good for typing or hand writing (yes, Jim is typing this), but with the new exercises I have hope I will be able to do a lot more soon.

So, what does this have to do with cactus blossoms? Well, this week has really been sharp and prickly, but one thing about loss and pain is that if you give yourself a chance you can realize that the rough times are because there was something beautiful (like a cactus flower surrounded by thorns) that you wouldn’t have done without.

That’s all for this week. Take care, be well, and treasure your flowers among the thorns.

Just A Shoulder Wound

Pomegranate Blossom

Today marks the end of the eighth week since I had rotator cuff surgery on my right shoulder. I’m doing a lot better, although my fine coordination in my right hand is still far from ideal, which is why, once again, Jim is typing this for me. Turns out that the old song about the shoulder bones connected to the arm bones, the arm bones connected to the wrist bones, the wrist bones connected to the finger bones has a lot of truth to it.

Over the last eight weeks I’ve thought a lot about what is practically the “safe” injury in a whole lot of fiction, especially detective fiction, thrillers, and westerns. Someone is shot, or sometimes stabbed, and after the blood has been wiped away the announcement is made, “Oh! It was just a shoulder wound!” The injury is then wrapped up in a token bandage and the injured man (it’s almost always a man) charges after the bad guys, or back into battle, or whatever he had been about before this very unnecessary body part was injured.

The thing is, shoulders are not only very essential, they’re surprisingly delicate. As an M.D. friend of mine said when she heard about my injury, “Shoulders are weird!” And in fact they are. I’ll leave it up to you to go look up the details, but suffice to say that there’s a reason that only the most expensive of dolls (or action figures, if you prefer that term) have arms that move anything remotely like actual arms.

I’m still using mostly my left arm, but I’m managing to help out with more and more around the house and garden. I’m still reading a lot, and as I wean myself off of pain medications I also hope to have the energy and clarity of thought to return to the novel I was working on before my surgery. Thanks for keeping up with me. Gee, now I’m thinking about all those “it’s just a flesh wound” comments. After all, paper cuts really hurt!

PT and Pratchett

Mutant Hollyhock

Once again, this is Jane, but with Jim handling the typing. Seven weeks out from surgery on my right rotator cuff I’m no longer required to wear a sling, but I’m a long way from being able to type with my usual speed and dexterity.

When I’m not doing PT exercises or what chores I can help with, I’ve been doing a lot of reading. My latest project is to read all of Terry Pratchett’s Diskworld “witch” books. I started with Equal Rites and I’m currently reading Wintersmith.

In the author’s notes following A Hatful of Sky, Pratchett made an interesting comment about writing. Let me quote just a little bit of it:

“I had to write this book. In fact, other projects had to go on hold to let it past. This was because certain scenes and characters just turned up and camped in my head and wouldn’t go away…. You can’t start on your next planned book when another one is bumping gently but insistently against your brain.”

I really liked what Pratchett said because it’s very much how story telling works for me. I’ll take it one step further. For me, stories very often start with some variation of “what if?”

What if a young woman raised by wolves was dropped into the middle of complicated human politics? What if the game of mah-jong actually encoded not only a complicated magical system, but also a secret history?

Those of you who are familiar with my work will recognize the seeds that led to the Firekeeper Saga and the Breaking the Wall series.

For me, writing isn’t about markets or mechanically-defined tropes, or those rather stiff and formulaic elements that I see far too much of being presented these days as what are necessary to tell a good story. Right now, my biggest “what if” has to do with healing from surgery as in “what if I move wrong and tear something loose?” I look forward to when this particular story lets go and I can get back to writing. For now though, I need to settle on healing and daydreaming.

Six Weeks!

Persephone Has All the News

Future books and rotator cuff update star this week.

(Oh yes, this is Jim writing for Jane. Explanations further on.)

Six weeks is a long time, especially to wear a heavy sling with an abduction pad (yes, even in bed at night). So, you can probably understand why when yesterday Jane was told that she only needed to wear the sling “as needed,” she nearly danced from the orthopedic surgeon’s office to the car.

This doesn’t mean Jane is “all better.” In fact, as her PT requirements intensify, she’s going to be hurting quite a bit more. However, we’re both in really great moods because, for the first time since the rotator cuff surgery, we really feel we’re moving forward toward a properly fixed Jane.

We haven’t been precisely idle. On Monday Jane had a nearly two-hour phone conference with David Weber, and a final draft of their fifth Star Kingdom novel has been turned in to Toni at Baen. Today, Jane printed the 200 or so pages of the manuscript of a new Over Where novel she’d been working on before her surgery, and she plans to read and polish it to get back into the flow of the story. Jane gave using her computer a try and discovered her shoulder doesn’t like either keyboarding or mousing.

(This is why Jim is still typing for her. See, we said we’d tell you.)

We (well, mostly Jim) have been getting the garden in. Jane has planted several flower pots and planters, because she can do that with just her left hand. There’s still a lot to do, but it feels good to know we’ll have a garden again this year, for a while we honestly weren’t sure we’d manage it.

That’s about it for this week. We’ve appreciated your comments and well wishes. Take care. Catch up with you next week.

Coyote Among the Flowers

Forms of Fun

Tortoise at Racing Speed

A novel moving forward, encouraging PT progress, and my first fun outing since the surgery all made last week memorable.

Since many of you came to follow these Wanderings because you read some of my fictional works, I’ll start with a writing update. Shortly before I went in for surgery to repair my right rotator cuff, my collaborator, David Weber, sent me the expanded manuscript for our yet untitled fifth Star Kingdom (Stephanie Harrington/treecat) novel. Last week, I finished reading through the manuscript. I’m happy to say I’m excited to see how it’s shaping up. This coming Monday, Weber and I will have a long chat, after which the novel will take a major step toward it’s final form.

I’m not yet up to writing, but all the reading I’ve been doing is definitely making me look forward to when my right arm will be ready to let me start putting down stories.

I’ve now had a week of doing PT. All the exercises are stretches. I’ve been told I’m doing really well, but I know I still have a long way to go.

This was brought home to me last week when Jim and I went off to the zoo. We had a terrific time, but I was really wiped out at the end. It’s amazing how much not being able to rely upon one’s dominant arm throws everything off.

The day was pretty warm, which sent some of our favorite animals to cover. However, conditions were perfect for bringing out the best in some of the zoo’s residents such as the enormous Galapagos tortoise featured in the accompanying photo.

This week’s focus is on reading and PT, although I’ll be consulting with Jim on getting our garden going. To answer a question, we’ve already been asked more than once, no we haven’t put it off until too late. After something like 28 years of gardening in the same spot, we’re very aware that if we plant too early the high winds and crazy temperature fluctuations simply stress the plants.

Hope this finds all of you well. Thanks for your supportive comments and messages. Catch you next week!

Making Progress!

Nursemaid Persephone

This is Jim typing for Jane.

Today, Jane had her first PT appointment with Armand, the physical therapist. Armand evaluated the current condition of her arm and shoulder in order to determine how to proceed with therapy. Armand carefully moved Jane’s right arm in order to assess her level of flexibility, and seemed pleased with how far he could move it before there was any discomfort. He wants her to spend more time with her arm out of the sling, although she will need to keep it supported on pillows after the sling has been removed. She was given several very gentle stretches that she will be doing several times a day. He strongly advised against her even trying to type for at least a couple more weeks. She’ll have outpatient PT once a week for the next two weeks, then twice a week going forward.

Sleeping is still a bit of an issue for Jane, but she’s gradually moving on to more challenging activities during the day including reading a manuscript of her and David Weber’s next book. She’s still reading a lot for pleasure as well, with works by Diana Wynne Jones and Margaret Mahy high on her list.

Today, we hope to make our first purely for fun expedition since the rotator cuff surgery, heading off to the Albuquerque Zoo. Next week we’ll try to remember to let you know how that went. That’s it for now!

Reading and Recuperation

Irises!

This is Jane with Jim handling the typing since I’m still in the bulky sling, which pretty much keeps me from using my right hand to type.

Today makes three weeks since the surgery to repair my right rotator cuff. I’m doing okay, but I won’t lie, pain and erratic sleep patterns definitely remain part of my daily landscape. Because of this I’ve been doing a lot of reading. We’re keeping a list, and it seems to be averaging out to a bit over a book a day. When I can’t sleep, I’ve been choosing something familiar so I won’t be tempted to read just to “find out what happens next.” During the daytime my choices have been a lot more varied. I’ll admit, at first I chose a lot of lighter works, but as I’ve gotten a little more clear-headed I’ve shifted to new to me, potentially more challenging works. Interestingly, I’ve hardly listened to any audio books because those are usually my backdrop for when doing chores or crafts, neither of which I’ve been able to do as much of as usual.

Rather than listing everything I’ve read over the last three weeks I’m going to pick about a half dozen titles for your amusement.

The Serpent Throne, by D. J. Butler. This fourth book in Butler’s epic fantasy, alternate U. S. history continues to hold my interest. Although the book itself has a satisfactory ending, clearly there is more to come in the series.

Dreamforge Anvil Issue 14. I enjoyed this eclectic assortment of stories focused on possible futures. There is also an interesting hopepunk essay, a couple of pieces about writing, and a poem as a garnish.

House of Daniel, by Harry Turtledove. Depression era minor league baseball with brushstrokes of alternate history and a dash of magic makes for a fun and absorbing read.

Chasing Doctor Doolittle, by Con Slobodchikoff. I bought this book years ago, but it languished on my shelf because I never thought I had time to get into its meaty subject matter. The subject is whether animals actually have language. I wish I’d read it sooner, as the author’s writing style is as accessible as any novel without forgoing ample scientific notations to support his arguments.

Just Stab Me, by Jill Bearup. This seemingly light novel may actually be one of the most subversive works about the challenges faced by a modern novelist in the current environment where stories are all too frequently reduced to marketing hashtags. Read for the admittedly delightful plot, but at least for me what made this a keeper was the commentary on writing.

A Hunger With No Name, by Lauren Teffeau. ARC of a forthcoming short novel I very much enjoyed and am still mulling over the ending. I’ll let you know when it’s out.

The Cat Who Saved Books, by Sosuke Natsukawa. This whimsical novel of self-discovery takes on the difficult question of why in our increasingly busy sound bite world we still need to make time to read.

That’s it for now. Next week I’ll let you know how my first venture into outpatient PT goes. Take care!

Squirrelly Times

Squirrel Discovers Blue Feeder

This is Jim for Jane who still, of course, can’t type.

Today makes two weeks since Jane had her rotator cuff surgery. She had her recheck appointment yesterday, and we learned that she has five holes in her from the arthroscopic surgical procedure. In addition to patching up several tears, the surgeon shaved down a bone spur and did some other repair stuff. No wonder she’d been hurting so much.

Sleeping remains a challenge, and she has very little endurance, but otherwise she’s making progress.

Because of the lack of sleep, she’s still not doing much more than reading. However, bright spots have included our weekly role playing game via Zoom, and a couple of short visits with friends.

Jane will do proper thank yous later, but she’s really appreciated the presents, cards, and good wishes.

That’s about it for now. I’ll check in again next week, maybe with a list of some of the books and stories Jane’s been reading.

Take care and keep those good thoughts coming, they’re appreciated!

Late But Update

First Toad of Spring

This is Jim, letting you know how Jane is doing a week after her rotator cuff surgery. The surgery itself seems to have gone well, but it turns out Jane handles neither anesthesia nor oxycodone well. This meant that for the first couple of days after the surgery Jane felt pretty lousy, and high pain levels (turns out that rotator cuff surgery is really, really painful) meant that Jane didn’t sleep much either. However, we’re learning various tricks and techniques and if everything isn’t “all better,” we’re at least adjusting to the new situation. Jane’s right arm is restricted to an elaborate sling, so basically she’s been reading and not much more.

On the cheerful side, spring is here, heralded by toad song and scattered wildflowers, which does help keep our spirits up.

That’s it for now. Jane won’t be answering e-mails or responding to comments, but I’ve been reading her people’s good wishes, and I think they really help.

Hope to update you next week.