C. L. Norman

Reading

This week I read Caitlin Kittredge’s Street Magic. I am an avid fan of her Nocturne series and have been wanting to try out this other series for a while and finally broke down and bought a copy.  I tried to be all responsible and read it only at night after I had finished the things I needed to get done but by the third night I was heading to bed earlier for more time with my book and the next morning I finished the book before getting anything else done. It was different but exciting. The central mystery of the story was engaging and well thought out. I really enjoyed it.

Tax Season

We finally filed our taxes this week and I learned a valuable lesson. We have always had H&R Block prepare out taxes and I have always been satisfied with their work. This year, my writing is in the shady area where I might be able to claim some deductions because of it and the tax preparers were not prepared to handle those questions. I learned that I can’t trust professionals to know everything about their fields. A good lesson to know. Hopefully I keep this information in mind when I meet with other professionals in the future.

Dr. Suess

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess. It is such a wonderful thing that children across America celebrate the birth and career of an author every year. I helped with this tradition by reading Green Eggs & Ham and The Foot Book during this week’s storytime. The children never seem to tire of the words of this wonderful writer. A personal thank you to him for One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. I was reading this book when I was 4 years old. Dr Seuss is the author that launched me into the world of books that I live in today.

Revising/Rewriting

Up to this morning I always thought there was something wrong with me that I never rewrote on as massive a scale as everyone else I have heard of. I touch up grammar and word choice, delete repetitive sentences, and in general only clean up my first draft. I don’t delete huge passages or shift around large blocks of text or any of those other drastic measures revision seems to involve. This morning I read an entry in Dean Westley Smith’s Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing series and am now in the process of letting go of that feeling of wrongness, embracing my method, and working up the confidence to believe in my words despite them being the result of only one or two drafts.

Birthdays

My second child turned 13 this week. That brings the number of teens in the family up to two. I am bracing myself for the fallout of that event. Two teen daughters and only two parents. Things could get wild and crazy around here for a few years. I’ve been told my kids are easy and others are jealous, I have my fingers crossed that that trend continues.

How ’bout your week? Did it go well? Learn anything new?

        

Happy Valentine’s Day

Today is the day for remembering your loved ones, especially those you have romantic feelings for. As always my Valentine’s day is not filled with flowers and chocolates (that is a Mother’s day tradition) but with Magic cards and writing panels. Which leads me to my next topic.

Radcon

Every year since I was a sophomore in high school I attended the local sci-fi convention, RadCon, and this year is no different. I use to go for a mix of panels and gaming, in particular the Delver’s Bash. However for the last few years I go to attend every writing panel I can squeeze into so that I may glean every nugget of knowledge about the craft and business of writing I can.

This year I also participated in a Writing Workshop put together very nicely by Deby Fredericks. As a result of some attendance issues, I had the full attention of both Dean Wesley Smith and Darragh Metzger for the entire hour. And I’d like to thank them for the insights they gave me on my writing and on writing as a career. It is much appreciated and I hope to put your encouragement to good use.

Cavalcade of Authors

The first day of the con, or to be more precise the morning of the first day of con, an event was held for local middle school and high school students. This event had students in workshops with several authors including Patrick Carman, Ben Mikaelson, Suzanne Selfours, and more. My daughter was a participant and had a lot of fun. I helped out with Barnes & Noble, selling books and enjoyed observing the excitement in the kids at the opportunity to speak with and learn from their favorite authors. A very successful event in my opinion.

Reading

This week I reread Transformation by Carol Berg for the third or maybe fourth time. Transformation is the first book in a series of three. I adore the world building in this series of books. So many peoples and cultures are included, some are spotlighted and others fill in all the nooks and crannies around the edges. Even more I love the two main characters, Seyonne and Aleksander. They live and breathe and make mistakes. They have undesirable traits and heroic hearts. A lot is going on in this story but it is presented in such a way I don’t have to slow down my reading to keep track of it all. I highly recommend these books to fantasy or adventure lovers.

My week went well, how was yours?

        

Our friends come over and admire our tree. They ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ and tell us how cute the ornaments are that our kids made, how funny the three wise mice are, and then they exclaim “Cool!” as they catch sight of the Millenium Falcon swooping down from a branch high up in the tree.

That’s right. We have a geek’s tree.

On our tree we have Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, C3-PO, an  AT-AT and the Millenium Falcon. We have the Shuttlecraft Galileo with Spock on board wishing everyone happy holidays and ‘live long and prosper’. Indiana Jones cracks his whip on another branch. And not to ignore the fantasy side of our geekiness, we have a dragon wrapped around a castle and a wizard hunched over a crystal ball.

On Christmas day, our geeky side is revealed even further when the wrapping paper comes off. Gaming books, collectible card game boosters, minis and figurines, dice, and movies all reveal that side of our natures. That side that is more at home at a gaming table than a dinner table set with crystal.

What about your tree? What kind of ornaments do you display on yours?

        

I love December. The holidays are almost here. Snow is far more likely to fall in my corner of the world, even more likely in January. I wake up and rush to the window to check the ground and then the clouds to see if those wonderful white flakes have fallen or might be falling soon. Usually my Christmas shopping is almost done–this year I am horribly behind. Christmas decoration are everywhere. And my birthday is just around the corner.

I feel like a kid at this time of year. Very excited about the season and anxious to see what might happen. Plans are being made to see family or at least talk to them if travel arrangements aren’t in the cards. Everything sparkles–not the way Edward does, more like white twinkling lights. Everything is magical.

Magical. That is how this time of year always feels to me. Like maybe there really are unicorns in the woods, fairies and elves in the gardens, and wizards and witches living among us.

Sounds like Halloween, right?

Not for me. Halloween has never had that sense of magic in it for me. Sure it’s fun and a great way to mark the season. But it lacks magic.

What part of the year feels magical to you?

        

On Monday, after the dark of the night had covered the land, the fair brown eyed girl returned home from another practice of the dance with an important message for her furiously writing mother.

“Mother dearest, Coach requires us to obtain a uniform for dance and we must gather these things before Thursday or all is lost.”

“Dear child, I will help you in your quest but as I must labor in the bookstore all Tuesday, all must wait for Wednesday to arrive. What exactly do you need?”

“I desparately need the following: a plain white T-Shirt and white tights–”

“Not a problem”

“Two gloves. One blue, one white.”

“Harder, but not impossible as mitten season fast approaches. Anything else, dear daughter?”

“A pair of blue sophie shorts.”

“A pair of what?”

“Sophie shorts.”

“Shorts in winter? This will be difficult. I cannot guarantee it will be done but we will try.”

Wednesday arrived, cool and clear. The mother awoke early and appealed to Sir Google for more information about these so called ’sophie shorts.’ Sir Google returned with the kind message that the correct spelling of said shorts is SOFFE. He also reported that through the magical window of the laptop, soffe shorts could be purchased at two stores that have smaller outlets in the mother’s small town.

The mother used the communication device known as a telephone to speak with said stores and discovered, as she had worried might be so, that they had clearanced out said soffe shorts to make room for winter clothing.

The mother at the suggestion of the increasingly desparate daughter then called the Mart of Wal and asked them if they perchance had a pair of Soffe shorts. The kind lady who used the communication device had never heard of such an item but they did indead have shorts for the purpose of exercising in.

Mother and daughter got in their Mobile of Old and journeyed to this Mart. Purchases for dinner must be made and two birds could be hit with one stone.

Alas! The Mart had shorts in the color of grey and for someone twice as big around as the fair daughter. Daughter pointed across the road to a large red Target.  “Mother, perhaps if we hit the target across the road with our mobile of old, it would open and inside might be a pair of shortsof Soffe.” While the target was opened, no blue shorts resided inside. To home they returned.

Again using the telephone, the mother called her sister who has some expertise in the matter of clothing for dancers and cheer persons. The sister suggested a gymnastics establishment and so they were duly contacted and again no luck.

The search for Soffe Shorts was not going well and time grew short. Appointments were scheduled for the evening and the clock ticked ever closer to those times. A trip to a studio of ballet netted the information that it were possible the Big 5 which sold goods of the sporting variety might have said shorts. They were located within viewing distance of the boutique and the Mobile of Old was put into service once more.

The search of Big 5 took several moments. They did indeed have shorts of all varieties and sizes and colors. The mother was beginning to think a substitution could be had. And then, in the very back, at the very bottom of a rack of other clothing (not far from a display of the speedo for men) a row of shorts could be seen. A row of shorts with a little tag hanging from them that simply said, “SOFFE.”

And there was much rejoicing. “Yay!”

        

Week 1 ended yesterday and I am already a bit behind. Not loads and loads behind like I was worried I would be. Just enough that I have to put a bit of extra push to write a bit extra every day I can squeeze in the time.

Reasons I got behind in no particular order:

• A family emergency pulled away my husband and oldest daughter for four days. I depend on these two people in my life more than I realized and without them here to help keep the family running smoothly, time and concentration were compromised.
• Work called. Don’t get me wrong. At this point in time and life, I need the hours at a paying job more than hours at a keyboard creating stories that might or might not be seen by anyone but me. I thought I had a very light work schedule this week and so I had time to get ahead a little bit before the end of the month approached. Bringing with it, Thanksgiving and more hours to handle all those Christmas shoppers. Work called and needed me to work and I needed the hours and so I went.
• Writing is like exercise. I have mentioned before I have a hard time putting in the work needed to write and finish large projects. I am using NaNo to help me develop the habits and focus I need to write those novels that have been haunting me. I have discovered that not being use to it is showing. Just like stepping into an advanced aerobics class cold turkey and ending up with sore muscles, so have I ended up with a sore brain trying to keep up with the daily goals.

Reasons why I am happy with my progress:

• I’ve written over 10,000 words on a single project. Wow. I start so many projects and get a couple thousand words in and the energy dies and I move on to something else. Writing this much on a single idea is actually starting to fuel itself. The energy I feel to keep going is now both external (the nanowrimo event) and internal (I’ve gotta know what happens next). It is exciting.
• At least 1,000 words every day. I may not have written the 1,667 words required daily to reach the monthly goal of 50,000 words. However, I have written at least 1,000 words every day. It means I am writing steady and daily. The habits are starting to form.
• The story. The portion of my brain that is furiously outlining the story ahead of the words on the page is working overtime and I am excited by what might be coming along and can’t wait to see it on the page. I occasionally forget that I am the writer of the story and wonder how the author will handle that scene coming up and then remember that the author is me. And I have to handle it and get a bit spooked. Then I think, just get the bare bones down now and revise, polish and flesh them out later and it will be good.

I would like to send a special thank you to all my friends and family that don’t understand what I am doing but still are giving me a thumbs up when they see me. Even if that thumb is up in front of a fake smile because they think I have lost my grip on sanity. Thank you to my glorious husband who asked me how my writing was going even while dealing with the loss of a special person in his life two states away.

End week one and my word count is at 11,334. 

Off to add to my word count. I may be back later. Mouse doesn’t like to be kept quiet for long and she has more to say.

        

Yesterday, I found myself choking up as Star Wars: Legacy Revealed ended on the History Channel. I asked my crybaby self what in the world would make you cry at a documentary about Star Wars. The answer I came up with had everything to do with why I love the movie so much.

When I was a little girl (don’t most Why I love Star Wars stories start when they were young?) one of my favorite days of the year was the day that Star Wars aired on TV. This was before cable so it only happened once a year. And it was before we even thought about owning a VCR player. It was magic.

This night was a holiday for the family. Everyone would gather around the TV, anywhere from two to five siblings, Mom and Dad, and we would watch Star Wars.

My favorite part then had Luke swinging across the retracted walkway with Leia in his arms. He was a prince and she was the princess. It was very romantic. Of course after I saw the other two movies and learned they were siblings it lost some of its luster. But then, when I was starry eyed, sitting in the darkened living room, repaired TV from Goodwill flickering with wonderous images, I loved that part of the movie.

The family also use to go to the Drive-In all the time. I don’t think we ever saw Star Wars when we went (I was little more than 3 years old when it was released and my memories of those times are fuzzy) but I did see something very cool at the concession stand one night. One image that remains with me still. Darth Vader standing next to the payphone, bucket of popcorn in his gloved hand, staring down the passersby. He was the first celebrity I ever saw in person and I remain in awe of him to this day.

The above picture was taken in Victoria, BC in 2007. I had never been there before and it was my first trip out of the country. Darth Vader playing the violin was the first street performer I saw. And he played my instrument. I played the violin for all through junior high and high school and I could tell, Darth Vader had talent.

Tomorrow night, I hope to spot another Darth Vader, stalking the streets, seeking treats. And if I start sobbing at the sight, don’t mind me. I am just remembering nights spent with the family, together, in front of the TV.

        

I’ve been thinking on the future a lot lately, especially as my 8 year old has been mapping out his life.

This last week he has started designing the house or should I say mansion he will be living in when he is grown. He has picked out names for his first two children (a boy and a girl), figured out the timeline for when he will be married (3 to 4 years after he graduates from college) and planned out his career. He is going to invent toys and be an engineer. He has plans to design cars that fly using wings like airplanes and jet technology. He also wants to design buildings that float, though he will leave historical buildings such as the Space Needle alone. He also plans on having several appointments with the President in the White House to discuss upcoming projects he will be working on.

Wow.

When I was that age I thought I wanted to be a doctor. That’s it. No further plans, no further goals.  Just a vague notion I wanted to help sick people.

Sometimes I think about all the inventions and discoveries yet to be made and I feel sad. Sad to think that I will miss out on so many wonderful things that will happen in the distant future. It is so exciting to think of the things that are yet to be. Like flying cars or floating buildings or colonies on other planets.  I wonder what it will be like then and what kinds of people will live in that world.

It is at times like that that I think I could write science fiction. At least soft sci-fi.

Maybe one day I will. When my son has those two kids and is meeting with the President.

        

How many of you work or have worked retail? Come on, raise your hands. I know most of you have at one point in your life. Have you noticed how the holidays start earlier and earlier every year?

It use to be the new calenders didn’t arrive until fall and now they are arriving weeks after the old calenders have been clearanced out. Halloween titles and product start arriving in the store in late July. Followed very quickly by the Christmas titles and product.

Yesterday I set up a required display in the store. A display sent down from on high (ie New York) with a required title list. This list only has 7 titles on it. The date is September 29th. Three, yes three, of the seven titles on that list were Christmas titles. Happy Holidays!

You may think I am complaining about this and while it does strike me as weird, I love it. I was born in December and I love the whole holiday season and if it is getting longer that is just more to enjoy.

My parents were divorced before I was three and during the holidays my sisters and I celebrated everything twice. Once with mom and once with dad. Then you throw in my birthday, again once with mom and once with dad, and the holidays were the best time of the year. I saw my parents, my grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, that strange gentlemen in the corner I have no idea how he is related to me, everyone. I also received presents of course. Never a bad thing.

Now many people in my life have passed on and the holidays are not so full of family but I still see my dad and my sisters and some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. As for the strange gentleman in the corner, I know his name now. I do more giving of presents than receiving as I have four kids of my own and many neices and nephews and cousins once removed. The holidays are good times.

Now I need to figure out four costumes, two girls and two boys before the month is up. And find my Christmas music.

        

Sorry I haven’t posted more recently. I have been  pushing myself to finish a short story to meet a deadline I set for myself. Then my stairs happened.

That’s right. They happened. Or rather fell apart.

We live in a split level home so the stairs are very necessary to moving about the house. The bannister for the upper portion of the stairs has been loose since we moved in. A few weeks ago the newel post came loose from the rail.

I begged my husband to reattach it until we could afford to do all the repairs needed. When he didn’t, my mother in law who does so many wonderful things for me, decided she would fix the problem.

First things first, the newel post had been installed (if you can call it installed) on top of the carpet. This is not a good thing. Secondly after they removed the newel post but left the rail, removed the carpet covering the stairs and left the unfinished wood underneath bare, my daughter tripped at the top of the stairs.

She must have the quickness of the ninja because she not only caught herself on the remaining newel post, she knocked the railing loose and with her free hand caught it and held it until someone could come help her put it down safely. Wow.

So now the railing is completely off and the old boards were pried up. Boards which were two thinner pieces glued together and installed, nasty stuff. The new treads are placed on the stairs now but not quite attached, so everyone is being very careful ascending and descending in my house.

Myself? I am being most careful of all. I am freakishly phobic of heights and so I go out to the deck and wince and cringe my way down those stairs and come in below the stairs-under-construction.

Today the construction should be complete and the hammering and noise and worry about someone falling should cease with it. Then I hope to frantically finish this short story and polish it as best I can and send it off. I will let you know how it goes.