Update with a pinch of added randomness

[essayel]

Can I just go on record here that Hypericum is a useful little plant with lovely yellow flowers, interesting leaf colour in autumn and seed pods that are nicely sculptural when dried.

Also, alarm call outs while providing a welcome addition to one's rather strained finances play merry hell with one's sleep patterns. I've had two recently, one at 4 am and one at 1 am and am beginning to get a little bored with them. Ruined castles on pitch black nights are not the most comfortable places to be even if, as on the 4 am one, one takes a daughter and a huge hairy black dog as backup.

Speaking of the huge hairy black dog, he got out today and by the time I found him, he was in the park, trying to shag a cross-bred collie. The collie was growling a bit but made no real effort to get away and, as soon as it realised I had dog biscuits for bribing purposes [Sizz just ignored them and me, he was having FAR too much fun] was perfectly happy to stand still and be mounted as long as I gave him a biscuit. Dogs are SO embarrassing!!!! However, Sizz's preoccupation was sufficient to enable me to grab him before he could go all the way and the collie got his biscuit anyway.

I had one of those little moments the other day - you know the ones - where I felt all persecuted by someone's misconceptions. My second cousin, or something, paid a visit to my mother and apparently asked what I did for a hobby [he was taking apart a grandfather clock at the time being a keen amateur horologist]. Did I play any sports, or a musical instrument etc etc?

Mum said that I drew and painted a bit but mostly I wrote fiction and he immediately asked what I had had published.

This isn't the first time I've been asked that. Now, forgive me for being picky but if you tell me that you enjoy playing the piano I don't immediately ask where I can get one of your recordings. Nor do I ask hobby footballers which team they play for. Horseriders don't generally get asked how many races they have won. So, please God, why is it that 'people' make the assumption that the only valid reason for writing anything is to get it published? Why is it perfectly acceptable to say "I'm learning to play the flute" but writing is something 'people' assume that you just do, straight off, without having to go through the long and painful process of learning your craft. Sometimes I am tempted to cobble together an ending to one of my original stories and bung it up on Lulu.com just so I can give a flip answer if I get asked that again.

And, if I do, I'll make sure it contains plenty of slashy subtext. So there.

Comments

[metallumai.livejournal.com]

Give the huge hairy black dog AND the daughter a big kiss from me, and tell them that I am thinking of them and hope to see them this summer. Sidmouth organisers willing.

Good to see you back in my friends' page, cranky or not. <3

[essayel.livejournal.com]

Wheee. I was pointing Sidmouth out to Paul on the map and he seemed interested in the festival so you might see more of us than you expect.

Jen and Sizz kiss back, one rather more slobbery than the other.

[innerslytherin]

Your huge hairy black dog reminds me of the first fic of yours I ever read. :D

People always ask me that, too, when I say I write. What's funny is I know a lot of people who write and have no desire to be published. Me, I write and have a huge desire to be published, even though I know I would write even if I would never be published. But still. People think publishing is the automatic end result of writing...

[essayel.livejournal.com]

Black Dog *sigh* yeah. That has been tweaked so much over the years. I've even done some bits to the prequel but I don't know if I'll ever get back to writing proper fan fic. My original stories have eaten my brain.

I am sure you will be published. It's a question of getting the right story to the right slush pile then crossing your fingers and hoping that the reader you get likes it. Sadly luck plays a big part in getting published these days so never never give up.

[innerslytherin]

Ah, the early days of my fandom participation... :)

I wish that my original stories would start eating more of my brain, and that my fandom stories would eat less of it. I want to try to bring a couple of my WIPs to a close this year, because as much as I love fandom, it really does eat a lot of time, and this is the year I want to really begin concentrating on my original writing--and hopefully make it a career.

And thanks for believing in me! *hug* It's amazing how much people's encouragement means.

[essayel.livejournal.com]

I think the worst curb to getting down to original writing is RP and it's associated wank. If I could ditch that, and turn my IM off, then my time for proper writing would be increased enormously. On the other hand there's nothing more lonely than writing something non-fandom related that it's impossible to find readers for. They queue up to squee over Snarry, Clex and Macshep, whatever that is, and, as you said, feedback is enormously encouraging.

Never stop believing in yourself. We can support and reassure you but you need that diamond of assurance of self worth to deal with the world of agents and publishing.

[katbeseroc.livejournal.com]

Oh dear. There is a point where the extra money, while appreciated, isn't enough to conpensate the loss of sleep. Especially if you are prone to sleep pattern interruption problems. Hopefully whoever or whatever is tripping the alarms is sorted out soon. Kudos to your daughter and dog for the assist.

Ruined castles on dark nights are a classic setting for a horror movie. My logical brain would be telling me that the dangers are of the human variety. The little childish primal part that will never stop believing in fairy tales would be screaming about ghosts and werewolves before muttering under it's breath about hearing the minor key playing in the background. (http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/2/20/)

Poor Sizz... so CLOSE to getting a bit of fun and you had to pull him away.

You are right. The assumption of writing with the goal to get paid or published is a rather odd one. I took up knitting but that doesn't mean I'm going to knit sweaters for cash any time soon.

I usually answer, "Just on my personal website." or "On my blog." That usually quiets them. If they get insistant and they ask for the address I either tell them straight off that what I write isn't their cup of tea or miswrite the address. :)

[essayel.livejournal.com]

I must admit that there are nights when, as I lock the rooms in the museum, I find myself moving faster and faster. Don't know why. Most of the time I'm fine, but sometimes my hackles rise and I can't get out of there fast enough. The primal terror is never far from the surface.

Good move about the writing answers. I've said 'blog' then had to explain what a blog is.

[erised1810.livejournal.com]

yay! *bounce*
and the black dog in a ruined castle is avery familiar image heh... is it a he or a she though? sorry. i couldn't tell fro mthe name or perhaps i didn't pay enoug hattention adn i thought the collie was a he not that that matter s much. i have astory abouta neutered ( isthat the word) male seeing-eye-dog who was n a farm and the male farm-dog jumped r ight on top of him.

[essayel.livejournal.com]

My big black dog is, inevitably, called Sirius. My husband chose the name for the Dog Star not for fandom purposes but we shorten it to Sizz any way.

Neutered is indeed the word. And I believe both male and female dogs jump on each other to demonstrate who's boss.

[erised1810.livejournal.com]

yeah see? al lmy puzzles solved. what a coinsidence that e's caleld sirius though. andalso that he livesi nwales *wink* does any of yo uwever walk him late at night?

[yakalskovich]

I think that a huge hairy black dog in a ruined castle on a dark night at four AM is easily much scarier than anything else that might be there, in an ordinary course of things. So as long as he's on your side, you should be good -- scariness-wise. The interrupted sleeping pattern, of course, is highly regrettable.-

[essayel.livejournal.com]

Big black dog with a big deep bark is a good thing to have at your side. An intruder wouldn't know that the reason he is on his hind legs straining at the leash is because he wants to lick their face rather than to rip out their throat.

[yakalskovich]

And they're not likely to hang around to find out -- they'll run like hell! Unless they're too scared to run and ask you to arrest them. Then, it would get difficult.

Damn misconceptions...

[zaoben.livejournal.com]

Good point. Don't do the Lulu.com thing, you'll just be lowering yourself to their level. Be amateur and proud, I says. Also glad to hear Sizz is up to his ol' tricks!

Damn tricks

[essayel.livejournal.com]

This morning I came downstairs with my hair in a towel and Sizz stole it. As far as he's concerned all the towels belong to him and are to be used to wrap him up and rub him dry - even if he isn't wet.

Stephen King has used lulu.com. I'd be pleased to lower myself to his level. However that means finishing a story and I doubt I'll get round to it.

[mcgonagalls-cat.livejournal.com]

So... what was the outcome of the call outs? Why had the alarms gone off? Were either something real, or just the wind breaking the contact in a remote window? (How do they "secure" the chimneys?)

Beta, beta, beta, beta, beta, beta, beta, beta, beta, beta, beta....


.

[essayel.livejournal.com]

The first alarm went off because someone hadn't shut a door properly, the second because a connection was faulty. And the chimneys are filled with concrete so all the fireplaces are dummy.

If you would like to beta, what would you like to beta? More of David and Gwyn? 250,000 words of unfinished explicitly slashy contemporary vampire novel? A slowly growing historical novel set in the Ukraine in 390 BC? A Regency romance that stalled at 40,000 words and I really should finish one day? It's all there just - festering.