The Cantina Staring Back At You From The Abyss

Yay, shadow!

Woohoo!

So, less than a week after I finished my last novel, I'm fired up for a new one. Sure, it started out as a short story idea... but somehow, I vomited a synopsis and wrote an opening scene. How does this just HAPPEN???? I didn't want to tackle another novel yet. Maybe I'll prep this one for NaNoWriMo. Yeah, that's it! Let it percolate, plan, and refine for the next month, give myself some rest and editing time for the last one... then tackle it November 1.

It's a plan.

I need a better title than "Time Tourist Outfitters", though, I think. Maybe not. Anyone want to read the opening chapter? And/or the synopsis?

Shadowflame - Hooray for storyness!

greendragon - Congrats on the new idea! And that seems like a fine working title to me, at any rate. Assuming your story involves time tourist outfitters, that is. If it's a chapter book about iguanas or a literary novel about an arborist discovering a new species of tree fungus, not so much. Unless time tourists are illegally transporting primordial iguanas across temporal lines, thereby spreading a new species of tree fungus.

Friday afternoon, and nothing much worth reporting. Just chillin' after work and before dinner.

Brightdreamer said:

Unless time tourists are illegally transporting primordial iguanas across temporal lines, thereby spreading a new species of tree fungus.

Click to expand...

*turns flamethrower on plot bunny that threatens to rise*

- - - Updated - - -

Because that is NOT going to be a new Jane/Az story.

Or Liam and Yde.

Brightdreamer, I hate you now.

tiddlywinks said:

Brightdreamer, I hate you now.

Click to expand...

That's okay - I'm used to it...

Dinner existed (thin steak with veggies), now I'm debating whether to boot up a game or kill some time on Amazon Prime or Netflix. Feeling rather vegetative right now; must've been the veggies. (If it was the steak, I'd be feeling thin, which has never been a term applied to me.)

I'm a wanderer, always drifting from place to place. Never staying in one town for long, never keeping in touch, never looking back.

And yet I keep finding myself here. How's everybody doing? Been like what, three years since my last post?

*waves to Nivarion*

Saturday afternoon, and a soggy Saturday at that. Got the room swept, started a laundry, and read and reviewed a book. Also made the mistake of checking in on the scale; going the wrong direction on that. Should probably up my exercise routine. Was alternating foot pedaling and overall moving/stretching for 20-25 minutes, which evidently is not enough to stop the creep. Dang it...

Off I roll. Need to get something resembling exercise in before I have to start dinner.

Hail and well-met, Nivarion! And all other newbies and delurkers.

Ooof, what a week. Studying and getting equipment for New Job, anxiously watching bank account before first New Paycheck, and finishing up/designing new artwork to take advantage of fall sales trips by my art reps. No writing to speak of, but things are percolating. I'm looking forward to a steady largish paycheck and the days off to be creative.

That 'starving artists make more important work' trope is complete bullshit.

Filigree - Yeah, the "starving artist" myth is like the "alcoholic writer" myth; it might have a certain romantic cliche appeal from the outside, but nobody actually in that state produces much of anything. Fingers crossed things work out, there, and may the paychecks be fat and plentiful!

Saturday night, and I tried upping the exercise stint to nearly 30 minutes, which I'll see if I can maintain for a while. Doubt it'll help... just plain eat too much, I suppose. (Belt hadn't felt any tighter; I want to delude myself that some of the extra poundage might be muscle, but I can't have packed on that much muscle without noticing, I fear.) And it probably didn't help that I spent much of the rest of the evening sitting on my rear watching The Dragon Prince on Netflix. Still got three eps left, but it's definitely got me hooked - superior on every level to Disenchanted, which could've used some serious trimming.

Off to reading/bed, I suppose, after some poking about in Word; need to do some spitballing, and still looking at old story files trying to make new words fall out. (Had another danged story dream last night, one of those where I was actually holding a book I'd written even as I dreamed/experienced it - sort of a steampunkish space opera set on a vast gas giant with layered levels of civilization floating in miles-high gaseous bands, but by the time I woke I couldn't remember more than the name and the general swashbuckly feel. Stupid subconscious... could at least let me write the blasted thing instead of toying with me like this.)

Brightdreamer said:

Off to reading/bed, I suppose, after some poking about in Word; need to do some spitballing, and still looking at old story files trying to make new words fall out. (Had another danged story dream last night, one of those where I was actually holding a book I'd written even as I dreamed/experienced it - sort of a steampunkish space opera set on a vast gas giant with layered levels of civilization floating in miles-high gaseous bands, but by the time I woke I couldn't remember more than the name and the general swashbuckly feel. Stupid subconscious... could at least let me write the blasted thing instead of toying with me like this.)

Click to expand...

I HATE it when my subconscious lays out a whole story like that, complete with astonishing setting, fleshed out characters and mind-shattering conclusion, and then I forget it all within 30 seconds of waking up. Thanks, brain.

lilyWhite said:

I suppose, in such a case, it'd depend on whether it's something the character would say. Also, as you mentioned, it is stuff that the viewer is already aware.

Click to expand...

Point.

I'd jokingly say something about pantsing, but I do actually have a loose outline-of-sorts for one WIP, an episodic-esque fantasy adventure about a young woman with a gift for healing discovering what purpose she might have for her gift.

The other major WIP I'm prodding is my magical-girl fantasy/romance thingy, which I think might need one more draft after the fourth, but just for minor edits and whatnot. Then...I dunno what I'll do with it then.

Also pondering maybe something science-fantasy, or some kind of chosen-one fantasy playing on the four-elements trope, or something with sheep-sirens. Or the possibility of snowballing all that together.

Click to expand...

I suddenly want to read everything you've ever written.

I'll admit, I'd expect the person receiving such a threat to make some sarcastic quip in response.

"Your skin will make a nice shirt." "It's got a few stains on it, though..."
"I'll eat your spleen while you watch." "Someone's not watching their calories..."

Click to expand...

Lol. Would depend on the importance of the threatee, but I'll definitely make note of that.

Nivarion said:

I'm a wanderer, always drifting from place to place. Never staying in one town for long, never keeping in touch, never looking back.

And yet I keep finding myself here. How's everybody doing? Been like what, three years since my last post?

Click to expand...

We'll welcome you back until the end of days, as many times as you fly away and come back.

'lo Cantina. Hoping the best for other AW folks in Ontario who're affected by power outages.

Albedo said:

I HATE it when my subconscious lays out a whole story like that, complete with astonishing setting, fleshed out characters and mind-shattering conclusion, and then I forget it all within 30 seconds of waking up. Thanks, brain.

Click to expand...

Or worse, when you remember the general idea of the plot, but know know know the town it was set in had a really cute name but you can't remember the town.

(said dream being about a half-sylph moving to a town that mysteriously attracts magical beings...)

Religion0 said:

I suddenly want to read everything you've ever written.

Click to expand...

... #^_^#

Filigree said:

Hail and well-met, Nivarion! And all other newbies and delurkers.

Ooof, what a week. Studying and getting equipment for New Job, anxiously watching bank account before first New Paycheck, and finishing up/designing new artwork to take advantage of fall sales trips by my art reps. No writing to speak of, but things are percolating. I'm looking forward to a steady largish paycheck and the days off to be creative.

That 'starving artists make more important work' trope is complete bullshit.

Click to expand...

I completely agree. More likely, starving artist DON'T produce art at all as they are too busy doing other jobs (usually meaning either production work, dayjob, or don't have the $ for art at all) just to keep afloat.

Speaking of which. I will be glad when Sept is over. Hubby had reduced hours this month so I picked up an extra day at dayjob. This meant that I've been hustling double time just to keep ahead of 3 promotion pushes, rewriting a Patreon page, usual duties, and a bit of writing. I've made it but barely.
Good news it I might have 2 new clients starting next month. That means I can not only drop back to my old schedule (4 days a week) but I might be able to drop another one (which would bring me down to 3 days a week). I'm getting closer to being able to drop a dayjob completely again! WOOT! lol

And got my first official rejection. I am some degree more of a Real Author now.

Sunday morning, and looks reasonably sunny after a very wet Saturday. (One of our overloaded apple trees fell over from ground saturation... maybe helped by the bears. At least it missed the well house.) Need to get some site stuff done this morning, and maybe clean the car this afternoon (for no real reason other than it really needs to be cleaned... that, and I want to put a new bumper decal on, so that works best on a clean surface. Oh, the thrills of my life...)

*waves to various people*

Hello, Cantina!

Work has turned into (what feels like) a massive game of dodgeball -- not juggling, because when juggling you at least know how many flying objects are supposed to be involved. Progress is being made, but there's enough to figure out in not much time that it's eating up most of my brain-space lately. I've gotten at least some MadLibs-ish story snippets written.

Lovely gray day today. Rain here comes burrahobbit-fashion, lots or none at all, and it's been set on "lots" lately. Nice to have fall actually feel like fall.

Hiya, Cantina. I FINALLY finished organizing all my built-up story notes yesterday. Only took, what...half the month? *wince* Remind me to never let notes build up like that again. If I write something down about a story one day, I need to put it in it's proper place the next day, not dump it in a take-care-of-this-later doc with 25 other random thoughts.

I think today will be a crafting day as I really just want to crochet and watch a movie seeing how rainy and cool it is out. I love autumn, I would just like the rain to shut off now. Tomorrow, I'm going to get serious about researching for my Sleeping Beauty retelling and really trying to get that written beginning to end.

Sunday evening, and a rather nonproductive day. Didn't even wash the car, though the weather was against me there. But I got some site stuff done, and read a little, and I finished watching Netflix's The Dragon Prince. (Anyone who grew up watching cartoons in the 80's, this is a must-watch. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and it just kept getting better.)

Now I need to spitball. Keep wondering if I should try recreating that dream story from nothing but vague impressions. Can't possibly get me less far than I'm getting right now.

Gah, please tell me that's not another mouse... already trapped two today. Weather shift drives them indoors. So much for peppermint oil repelling the jerks... (Anyone who rooted for the mice in cartoons as a kid never lived with them. Nasty, destructive pests.)

lilyWhite said:

'lo Cantina. Hoping the best for other AW folks in Ontario who're affected by power outages.



Or worse, when you remember the general idea of the plot, but know know know the town it was set in had a really cute name but you can't remember the town.

(said dream being about a half-sylph moving to a town that mysteriously attracts magical beings...)



... #^_^#

Click to expand...

So aggravating!

Sometimes I wonder if dream ideas aren't actually that awesome: that we just dream that they're awesome. I've definitely had a few that have lasted all the way through a shower and halfway through me putting my socks on, thinking hot damn, this is the next Lord of the Rings I've got here, and then I realise they're actually DUMB AS CRAP. Stupid dumb crap with stupid dumb dream logic plotlines and characters that were actually people from my high school and also the MC was naked.

I had a dream last week where I was a vampire starting high school, and within the dream I was so convinced it was the most brilliant idea I'd ever had, and I couldn't wait to wake up and start writing it.

Not to say a vampire starting high school can't be a great idea, but since it doesn't suit my oeuvre I took this as a sign that inspiration from the subconscious can sometime be overrated.

Albedo said:

So aggravating!

Sometimes I wonder if dream ideas aren't actually that awesome: that we just dream that they're awesome. I've definitely had a few that have lasted all the way through a shower and halfway through me putting my socks on, thinking hot damn, this is the next Lord of the Rings I've got here, and then I realise they're actually DUMB AS CRAP. Stupid dumb crap with stupid dumb dream logic plotlines and characters that were actually people from my high school and also the MC was naked.

Click to expand...

It does often take some serious reworking to drag a dream idea into daylight, but I often find the imagery and broad-brushstroke feel, the sensory immersion and feeling of being in the flow as the plot unfolds, even the way ideas come together in unexpected ways to be inspiring; it's how I feel when I hit that golden vein and a story just pours out through my fingers as I visualize it, a too-rare feeling in waking life. If nothing else, a dream can provide a starting point from which to explore, like a story prompt from the subconscious.

Plus the FX can be awesome.

There's always the sense of having lost work when one "writes" a full story - at least, full in dream context - and wakes up without having had a chance to save it.

themindstream said:

And got my first official rejection. I am some degree more of a Real Author now.

Click to expand...

Welcome! It's a lovely club. We have snacks. Stevebot has drinks.

I like the idea of smuggling being part of the plot points... maybe not primordial iguanas... but a dangerous fungus that is also a delicacy? That might just become the vector for my mystery disease... yes, excellent...

The local powwow this weekend was disappointing in terms of weather and sales. It was cold on Saturday, and not many people came out. Sales were miserable. Slightly better on both weather and sales on Sunday, but what had been an $1800 day event two years ago became a $400 over two days event this year. BUT, it's my last outdoor event of the year, so at least there's that.

This week I'm traveling to Hickory, NC for an interview (travel paid by company). I get to take the company shuttle flight, so I have to travel Tuesday morning and come back Thursday morning (it only flies once a day each direction). However, that leaves some lovely alone time. I plan to take that to do some deep editing on my completed WIP. Might as well use the time wisely! This weekend I'm setting up in Robercon, a small scifi/fantasy convention in Binghamton. Then starts busy month at work. Yay.

Monday morning, sunny, and I hope to get the car washed.

It's sad that that's the height of my ambition...

Also need to dump another mouse out of the trap. And I heard another one this morning. I so need a cat...

Eh, well... wanderin' off to get the day started. Don't want to deal with car washing until someone else is around to keep an ear on the phone, or until family is back from a doctor appointment; habit cultivated from years of driving unreliable cars.

Name change! Do-si-doh!