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June 22nd, 2008

08:30 am - WOW vs. FF -- and what does gaming have to do with writing books? As it turns out, more than I thought. And inspiration and revelations come at the strangest moments in the oddest places. Just to show you that you have to keep your eyes open, you ears ready, and your mind flexible. It was at the bank. A casual exchange with a slightly stuttering teller, on the occasion of my daughter's birthday. As it turns out, he likes video games, I like video games, and we both speak computer. We came to the quick conclusion that the main reason we preferred console-based games like Final Fantasy to online games like World of Warcraft is that we liked story-based games where we discover a plot, a motivation, and a resolution rather than fantasy worlds consisting of quests of increasing difficulty. Mind you, nothing was said about the relative merits of either system, and I'm still not saying anything. I could make long and involved comments about the amazing graphics in online games, and the fascinating online communities they generate, and the whole folklore of it... It's all about personal preference. It was one of those moments. Because I truly love surfing the Internet, lurking in all sorts of geeky forums, and learning more about all kinds of software. But I really have no interest in getting sucked into the world of online games. I'd been telling myself it was an act of self-preservation. The truth is that I'm simply not interested. In a video game, as in a book, I look for a story to unfold. In movies, unless there's a strong storyline (mind you, I didn't say it had to be plot-driven), I get quickly bored. I want stories. I tell stories. In my view, the whole world is about stories. But that a whole other... um, well, post. Current Location: Home Current Mood: contemplative Tags: creativity, gaming, life

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June 16th, 2008

08:51 am - I've been tagged. List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to. Enter Sandman - Metallica Orion - Metallica Wind of Change - Scorpions Dust in the Wind - Kansas Wherever I May Roam - Metallica Of Wolf And Man - Metallica Nothing Else Matters - Metallica I'm in a mood, can you tell?? I tag Anna, Shereen, and whoever else feels like playing. Tags: life, music

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May 19th, 2008

09:12 am - AWOL again -- Blame Life I'm not dead. No one's sick. Well, unless you consider this http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA050708.OLLU_Fire2.EN.40426d0.html an illness. Yes, there was a major fire at my place of work. No, my office (or my building) was not affected, but many faculty members of our division have been displaced, have lost something (if not everything) in the fire, whether to the flames or to water damage. There are more links here: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/specialcoverage/ And some striking photos here: http://www.mysanantonio.com/multimedia/photogallery/News/stories/MYSA050608.fireOLLU.ENss.d67eb363.html There's also a MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/ollucommunity It's been (still is) a very strange time. In the meanwhile, I still had to do the final edits to The Brightest Heaven, and keep up with the family. I feel like I am indeed recovering from a long illness -- and it's only been a couple of weeks (oh, add a few family long-distance health concerns to that, and it's been one of those months). What I really want to do now, I go visit my werewolves, but darn it if I can find a means to travel to that world. Help! Where's a wormhole when I need one? Oh, oops, wrong story. Current Mood: stressed Tags: creativity, life, publishing

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April 15th, 2008

03:58 pm - Blogging over there... ...just because I can: Alien Places: On a not-so-nice day Check it out. Current Mood: tired Tags: life, writing

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April 8th, 2008

06:31 am - Proofreading and the writer What's in a typo? Literary agent Kristin Nelson gives a humorous answer in her blog today: http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2008/04/whats-in-typo.html I read her post post after a friend sent me a series of hilarious photos of unfortunate logo creations. Don't people look at their own work with a critical eye? (Or maybe, just maybe, at least one of those logos was an act of revenge; the notion appeals to my twisted imagination.) Which leads me to ask: How much do you proofread? Do you proofread your letters? Do you proofread your email messages? Do you proofread your blog posts? Surely you don't proofread your chat responses. The latter is the one and only exception I accept to my proofreading rule. Sometimes chats just happen too fast to allow for the checking of typos. But everything else? Yes. Absolutely. Every time. Does it make everything I write perfect? Definitely not. I still miss things here and there. And sometimes I even make spelling mistakes (nooo... I'm not full of myself; of course not; I'm just a writer). It took me quite a few years to convince my daughters that in writing, spelling was as important as grammar, and that they should pay attention to spelling even in their drafts. I don't think they really understood the importance of spelling until they started paying attention to my submissions... and rejections, and started wondering what made a good query letter... and a bad one. At least I have them convinced now. Next battle: good writing (and spelling) on MySpace. Current Location: home Current Mood: amused Tags: life, writing

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March 31st, 2008

01:21 pm - Sick and sleepy ... and doing nothing for three days. To tell the truth, I didn't exactly know what what wrong with me for the last three days, just that I couldn't concentrate on anything. My story is right there at the back of my mind, I really want to get it down on the page, but nothing has been coming. And then yesterday, I spent a lot of my time sleeping, and then I completely lost my appetite. If you know me, you know that's very unusual. I have to watch every bite I eat, so I look forward to every meal. Skipping one is a sure sign that something is wrong. Guess what. I'm not at work today. I've spent the morning... sleeping. How weird that LJ's writer's prompt of the day has to do with being sick. There's only one thing I like about it: no one asks me to do anything. No one wakes me up. No one reminds me of chores or deadlines. But it's not like I can catch up on anything I really want to do. Ack. I'm going to veg out in front of the TV for a while. Current Location: home Current Mood: crappy Tags: life

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March 5th, 2008

06:14 am - Toothpaste Dreams Some dreams are odd. Some are inscrutable. And then there are the moments when you wonder whether you were dreaming at all. I woke up thinking of toothpaste. No, it wasn't because it was morning, and, well, you know. I woke up thinking that the toothpaste my husband got wasn't the wrong brand after all, and that I had grumbled for no reason last night, so I should check it out and tell him. So I did. He didn't pick the wrong brand. The one I really hate. So I told him. I must have been dreaming of toothpaste just before I woke up. Or maybe the bathroom. Or maybe the store. But before that, I had a dream within a dream. Yes, I had a dream that I was dreaming. In that dream, I woke up and realized I had been dreaming. Usually, this will make me open my eyes and wake up almost all the way, and reconnect with the waking world. But last night, I stayed comfortably asleep and thought about my dream while still dreaming... and then I woke up. My life isn't confusing enough. My dreams have to be confusing. I don't mind weird, odd, and mixed-up dreams, because a morning after a good night's dreaming is a creative morning. But confusing dreams? That's just funny. And I'm not a comedian. Current Location: home Current Mood: confused Tags: creativity, dreams, life

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February 25th, 2008

10:47 am - Writing Hard So this is what happens when you actually have a deadline looming on a signed contract. You disappear. Forget posting. I don't think I checked my mail this weekend. And I still didn't manage to finish polishing the first draft of my last chapter. Ack. I whined. I sulked. I pulled the covers over my head and tried to disappear. My kids, wisely, avoided me. Yeah, sometimes, even teenagers behave appropriately. My husband just hugged me, told me he loved me, and other nice things. The right things. What would I do without him? So back to that last chapter... Current Mood: cranky Tags: life, writing

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February 4th, 2008

02:21 pm - Superbowl One more Annual Superbowl Party for the Academic Crowd -- or the Superbowl for the Modern Languages Department and Friends. It was, naturally, rather international. We had a Chinese (Taiwanese) guest, a German-born one who's more interested in the ads than in the game (she does Communication Arts), the usual assortment of Russians, and of course, all the applicable accents in various strengths. English, Russian and German were freely spoken. At other times, at such parties, we've heard Chinese, Spanish, and French at our house. The food was definitely local: chips, dips, picadillo, and chili. Beer and soda, and of course, considering the crowd assembled, a choice of wines. But most of all, fun was had by all. And the game was good. Maybe I should note this date as the Superbowl when I actually sat down and got stuck watching football. All right, not all the game, just the riveting (actual) half hour (something like 3 minutes on the clock, but maybe I'm exaggerating just a little bit), but that's a lot more than I've watched in the last, oh, ten years or so. I mean, really, in spite of all the teasing I get for hosting games and disappearing to do "my thing", I can appreciate a good play. I did use to watch soccer with my dad, and once upon a time (also when my dad was alive), I used to sit through every men's singles French Open match. So our weird little academic, odd, book-laden family had a fun, ordinary, Superbowl Sunday. Except for the teenagers, who did their thing around the laptop of my oldest daughter and watched some videos. But then, that's a teen thing on a Superbowl Sunday. No one really expected them to hang around their parents, except to get a refill of snacks and sodas. Current Mood: pleased Tags: life, superbowl

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December 13th, 2007

09:29 am - Happy Birthday to Mom. 82 Yesterday. It was a workday and a school day and a full-out, gotta get those graduating seniors' grades out day, so it wasn't a big to-do. Which was probably all for the best, because Mom doesn't do well with big to-dos anymore. Instead, the kids behaved and were smiling and pleasant and attentive with grandma. I cooked dinner. We had cake, and I believe she enjoyed the cake. What really matters is that she was smiling, even though it's also the anniversary of my sister's death, 18 years ago. Knowing my sister, who had a very no-nonsense view of life, the universe, and everything, she would be pleased. Now that I have the time to think back, I believe she was with us, celebrating. And her daughter, my oldest niece (only 4 years my junior), called yesterday to wish Mom a happy birthday. Yes, I think it was a good day. Happy birthday, Mom. Current Mood: thankful Tags: family, life

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