Sunday Week in Review
Work
Many hours were made available to the employees at the store this last week and I took advantage of them. I took as many as they would allow and as such I kept very busy with that.
As a part of the above, I spent two shifts in the cafe for training. The first day of training on the register left me hopeful that I could get the hang of it all. The second day of training at the bar left me lost and confused. I viewed the machinery and bottles and mixing containers as the paraphenalia of the arcane. Clearly only wizards could understand the vocabulary and methodology behind the mixing of those caffinated beverages the masses crave.
And I am not a wizard. I am merely a mundane temporarily transported into the magical world of the cafe.
Writing
Grrr. Arrgh.
Those words sum it up. Time has been at a premium because of work and other draws on my time. However, I had time to write if I wanted to use it. Instead I spent that time staring at the screen, mentally paralyzed by the fear that what I would write would suck or be so great someone might notice my writing. I need to get over myself and just write those stories that swirl around in my mind and heart. Stop worrying about how bad or good they will be until after they are down and complete on my digital paper.
Open Mic Night
I participated in my first Open Mic Night this week. I read five minutes of one of my short stories aloud in front of several of the local authors. I was scared and excited and very glad I did it. I have never read my stuff to anyone before. I have read aloud to myself before but in front of others things sound differently. New, more awkward, less awkward. Hearing the feedback from audience members afterwords was a bonus. I will definitely be participating in the next Open Mic Night.
Books
I read Spellbent by Lucy A. Snyder this week. While I enjoyed most the story and the characters, I found myself distracted by what I perceived as flaws or oversights in the book.
Early on, Jessie loses an eye and an arm. I thought the details about adjusting to the lack of an arm were done well. However the eye was a cosmetic injury with no affect on the character. I had to wear an eye patch in high school for 2 days and I know that it take a while to adjust to the change in vision and Jessie didn’t have to adjust. I found this oversight distracting.
The other problem I had was with the pacing. The first two-thirds of the book had a nice steady climb in tension but the last third became a frantic race to the end. A race that I had trouble keeping up with.
Macmillian vs Amazon
I read two articles today about this contretemps over e-book pricing, here and here. I am still enough of an outsider I don’t have enough information to form more than a gut opinion on the whole deal. Most importantly though I find this to be a herald of things to come. Upheavals and changes in the publishing world. Something to keep an eye on.
I, myself, am not a consumer of ebooks. Yet. I have tried various devices and feel to distanced from the words and uncomfortable with the medium. However, I do know that many others do not have this problem and ebooks will only get more popular as time goes along. This development is bound to have repercussions and growing pains.
How was your week?
