Day in the Life of an Idiot

 I'm back to posting on UnJust Cause finally, so if you want to check that out, it's up on Wattpad now:  "To Err is Human (and Tomorrow is Another Day.)"  There's not a lot there, not too much more than 500 words, but I needed to get back in the habit.  Honestly, what I really, REALLY need to do with this is what Rachel and I just spent three weeks doing to School for Wayward Demons (SWD)... I need to take all the parts and get them into a huge document and start to really examine the whole shape of it.

Because if I'm going to make it into a book, it needs that.  I am learning, somewhat the hard way, that writing one's way into a book (and not planning it out like I used to do) might be hella fun, but it means a lot of work on the far end, the finishing end, as it were.

It's good for me to experiment with different ways of writing, though.  So no regrets.  I have learned much.

Besides, despite my belly aching, it's a well-known fact that I'm a heavy reviser no matter which method I chose: pants-ing or outlining.

In other news, Mason and I had some fun yesterday.  Shawn had to work late, so we went to our usual favorite hang-out place when we have time to kill but it seems foolish to go all the way home: the Roseville Library.  Mason tore through the shelves and took out old favorites and a few new-to-him books.  I'd settled down at a table and was starting to write when he did that kid thing, "Can we go to the coffee shop and get a scone??" I didn't think we should.  You know, it's money and treats, but then I thought about my own treat: a mocha, and so I was convinced.  As we were waiting for the staff to ring our stuff up and make my mocha, we overheard two guys behind us starting up a game of Munchkin. If you're unfamiliar, feel free to check out the Wikipedia article I linked to, but the short of it is that Muchkin is a card-game version of D&D.  Instead of role-playing you pull various cards and move through a very random "dungeon" as part of gameplay. It doesn't matter.  What you really need to know about the game is that 1) Mason LOVES it, 2) it is ridiculously geeky and often involves, like the best D&D games, arguing the rules, and 3) Mason constantly begs us to play and Shawn and I... well, we like it, but don't LOVE it, if you get my drift.  So, when these two nerdy college-aged boys asked if we wanted to join them, Mason was over the moon with joy.

I decided to opt out and sat nearby with my computer.  At one point one of the boys came over and said (in such an adorkable outgoing nerd way, honestly) "Your son is a delight." To which I replied, "Isn't he just."  But when nerd-boy looked baffled at that I said, "Yes.  Thank you."  Nerd boy wanted to let me know, too, that Mason was not only keeping up with them but, "talking just enough smack."  Which I honestly found deeply delightful to hear.  I wanted to say, "That's because I raised him right," but merely nodded and thanked them again for inviting us to join.  Because I mean, Mason is 11, I bet these two young men were twice his age: 22.

Mason was so happy afterward he not only nerdgasmed about the game play all the way home, he kept dreamily and happily muttering, "They argued the rules, Ima.  They argued the rules."

"Yes, my son," I said.  "You have found your people."

It's Tuesday, so there is a new Tate installment: Bringing Balance and Force in which we learn the TRUE mission of the demon Internal Affairs agents. Dun-dun-DAAAAHHHHH.

There is also new story up on my co-writing project with Rachel Gold/Calish called, "Demons, Demons Everywhere" and is the introduction to the character of Erin.

All of this is late getting to you because my morning was IN-teresting, as we say in Minnesota. I knew I didn't have much time to get everything done because I had to go pick up Shawn by 9:30 am to get to an appointment with our lawyer. We haven't changed our wills and such since being married, so we figured we should get that all taken care of finally. At any rate, I'd just settled in and stared writing when there was a shy knock on the door. I figured it had to be too early for Mormons so I opened the door. I discovered the eldest neighbor kid. He wondered if it would be possible for me to give him and his brother a ride to school. They'd overslept and they didn't have enough cash in the house to pay to take the city bus. I hemmed and hawed, but, seriously... it seemed like the thing to do. So, I ended up giving them and their dad (who, if you have been following along is a genderqueer person named Ebony.) They use the 'her' pronoun, but call her dad. So, there you go.

Ebony joined us because... everything is more fun when Ebony is involved.

As I told Shawn later, the thing that amuses me about every interaction I have with Ebony is that I feel like we could use subtitles provided by Urban Dictionary. Plus, she is so much bolder than me. I have exactly ONE question I want to ask. "What is your preferred pronoun?" It's not a rude question and with her kids in the back saying, "Hey, Dad..." this and "Hey, Dad" that, it seems like I could just pipe up and say, "Speaking of that, do prefer he or she or yo or what?" But, somehow I never manage this.

Ebony meanwhile, just asks all the things, shamelessly.

I ended up telling her all about how Shawn is Mason's birth mom, how I ended up warming up the vial of sperm in my hand during the insemination process, and all sorts of crazy things like that. SUPER personal stuff!

On the other hand, I found out more than I wanted to about their financial situation--none of which actually surprised me (they use the food shelf, etc.) but which just made things a little more awkward (if that's possible?) Shawn and I are very rarely food insecure, but that's because we made a decision in college that we would sacrifice nearly everything to be able to buy what we wanted for food. This is why we have no cable. This is why we don't have an X-box or flat screen TV or more than one car. We dumped all those things so that we can, if we want, buy our bread at a nice bakery and put decent dinners on the table and go out eat and have pizza every so often.

We do the same thing to keep ourselves and Mason in books.

But, we *do* have the luxury of that choice. It's very clear that our neighbors don't.

Ebony, who already works ungodly hours at the Wendy's down the block, is now trying to get a second job for the holiday so they can afford something really nice for Christmas for her kids. I heard all about Nicole's health problems, too. I have a lot of respect for them. They're really working it to make a go of things.

So... that was my morning.

I should pull out the best Ebony conversational moment though:

Ebony: (after learning Shawn was Mason's birth mom) "But he really favors you."
Me: (using internal translator) "You mean he looks like me?"
Ebony: Exactly.

At first, I thought she was telling me she thought that Mason liked me better/had bonded better with me than Shawn, but given my experience with "stud" I decided to double-check.

SERIOUSLY. I need subtitles.

At any rate, I managed all that and got us off to the lawyers in no time. Tonight is going to continue this running around trend because Mason and I have Japanese class tonight AND a new book he's been waiting forever for is out today. So there's a quick stop at Barnes & Noble too. Busy! Busy!

 And... it's a bit messy.  

This is my way of saying that I've had some epiphanies about my work-in-progress, but since I'm writing this 'out loud' I'm having to wrestle the plot back under control in a very public way.  Still, I think this whole thing is kind of valuable.  I mean, how often do you, as a reader, get a chance to watch a writer figuring a novel out as she goes along?  

I feel like this is clunky, but it will be interesting to see what my regular readers make of it.  Because, maybe, it's not as obvious as I feel it is.  It's hard to say.  Go see what you think, if you'd like.  

I will admit that I nearly named this chapter, "Part 23: In which things come to a head and a decision is made..."  a very A. A. Milnes kind of chapter title, but I decided instead to call it "Part 23: Word Up."

I have to dash off to work... but I'm pleased to have managed this, warts and all!  :-)

Nana Spider speaks in riddles and rhymes, but Alex finally gets some vital information about her true nature: http://www.wattpad.com/62506189-unjust-cause-part-18-said-the-spider-to-the-dragon

That's right, folks, the newest installment is up on WattPad for your enjoyment.  It's a little shorter than usual.  My apologies.  But this morning was eaten up by Mason's "celebration" (read: faux graduation) from Elementary School.  Certificates were handed out, applause were applauded, and there was cake.  I had to laugh though, because martial arts has kind of ruined my child.  We haven't been to Kuk Sool in well over a year, but after all the belt ceremonies and whatnot, it's still very ingrained in Mason that you shake hands and then you bow.

So, there goes my child to shake the principal's hand and then he her offers her a bow.

Afterward, he kind of realizes he's done something a bit off, looks vaguely awkward, and yet, when his teacher hands him the certificate and shakes his hand, he does it again.

It was kind of cute, especially given that none of the kids of Asian descent did anything remotely like that.

Yep, it's that time again. There's another short adventure for you to enjoy up on Wattpad:


http://www.wattpad.com/59880996-unjust-cause-part-16-a-dragon%27s-prison

There's a lot of magic happening in this bit, as Alex finds herself arrested for assault and tossed into a holding cell that seems to have been built to hold a very specific thing....

---

Sorry I've been absent from here. There's been a lot going on, and, for some reason, I was having a lot of trouble uploading pictures lately. I really wanted to show off some more cool con photos I took as well as me in my fancy new Renji shirt. Plus, this morning I was thrown for a loop as Bleach came out early and so I've been rolling around in the aftermath of that... like you do.

(Yeah, I just tried uploading again and got the same problem. It seems to say its uploaded 100%, but then never finishes the process so I can actually put the image in. Very weird and irritating.  I had this problem previously, fixed it by moving things to dropbox and going from there, but then it fixed itself.  I'm kind of being lazy about Dropbox because, honestly, I think I may have filled my free capacity and, I never remember my password....)

ANYWAY, enjoy the Tate thing.  I'll be back with more tomorrow.  Mason and I are going to record our podcast tonight, so I might put that up immediately after its done or first thing in the morning tomorrow.  Thing is, when you're doing this kind of immediate commentary, it can get stale if you don't post ASAP.  And there's a LOT to talk about with this week's Bleach as well as the new Ao no Exorcist (which you should be reading, if you're not.)

I just got that comment for something I posted over on AO3 and I just... wish that I could get the same kind of gushing enthusiasm (and its converse quick to point out flaws--you should have seen the wonderful pile on I got when I made an unpopular decision about a character's age) over at WattPad.

Here's the installment by the way:

http://www.wattpad.com/56251842-unjust-cause-part-13-a-dangerous-rush-of-power

I have to remind myself that OF just doesn't have the built in community that fandom does. I also have to remind myself that even when I started writing Bleach fic, I didn't get the kind of comments/kudos that I do now. It takes a lot of time to build an audience.

But today was a bit tough, because I finished posting a tryptic of fic over at AO3 that was filling up my in-box to the brim, and then I go over to WattPad and all I can feel is 'meh.'

Thing is, I KNOW it's unfair. I'm slowly building an audience and that's the point. I just have to let it happen.

*IS IMPATIENT*

*STOMPS FOOT*

Okay, now that I've had my little tantrum, I'll say that I'm still enjoying making myself do this though. It's good to go back to Valentine and Alex. In fact, in today's episode Alex's magic wells up... and she manages to curse a friend--friends, actually: Jack and Sarah Jane.

As I wrote it I could totally hear "Let it Go" playing in my head....

First of all, the newest installment in my serialized work-in-progress UNJUST CAUSE is up on WattPad. This one is called "Maggots and Magpies" and follows as Alex and Jack investigate the second drop victim who was found on the side of a county highway by Mac's motorcycle gang.

http://www.wattpad.com/51990582-unjust-cause-part-10-maggots-and-magpies

Secondly, you know that thing that goes around the internet that says: "How to Start a Fight on the Internet: 1) post and opinion, 2) wait"? Yeah, well, after yesterday, I feel like I could change it to just, "1) post, 2) wait" because SOMEHOW I managed to press the OMGYOU'REANUNREPENTANTPUPPYKILLER button by mentioning that I'm a klutzy gardener.

Really, I was posting about how I managed to dump mulch THROUGH the hole in the knees of my jeans and how funny it was that I had to use my leg as a mulch spreader, but, apparently, by mentioning the type of mulch I happened to have bought I became the target of three separate, well-intentioned... let's call them 'advice-givers.' One of whom even felt the need to stalk me on IM and harangue me about my mulch choices.

The problem I have with this is not with these people's passion. You love your dogs. I love your dogs. You don't want your dogs getting hurt. I don't want your dogs getting hurt. But, I don't have a dog, my backyard is fenced, and, MORE IMPORTANTLY, St. Paul has very clear leash laws.

You are very worried about my mulch hurting your dog because it smells like yummy, forbidden chocolate and it has trace amounts of the same poison. Okay. Fair. But, if your dog is in my backyard eating my mulch right now it's either because you're standing there watching them do it while holding his/her leash... or your dog is roaming leash-free.

My VERY urban neighborhood has much, much more serious hazards to puppies and dogs who are off their leash than my mulch, namely: cars!

Yes, we both agree that keeping dogs safe is a HIGH PRIORITY. If you have a dog, don't buy this mulch! BUT ALSO, KEEP YOUR PUPPY IN YOUR FENCED BACKYARD OR ON A LEASH AS THE LAW REQUIRES!!! St. Paul also has plenty of safe places for urban dogs to play off-leash. Go there. Avail yourself of those parks and playgrounds. If they have this mulch, you have my permission TO FREAK OUT. I will help you organize a letter-writing campaign. I will sign your petition.

Buying this mulch and using it is not illegal. It *is* illegal in St. Paul to let your dog roam free without a leash (for its own safety.)

*sigh*

I probably shouldn't even post my re-cap of this. Because people are wrong on the internet and I'm one of them.

So, that means that I've posted Tate's latest installment. It's sexy times again... because Alex and Valentine have rushed back to Robert's house to try to play at a little B&D. And... let's just say Alex is not very EXPERT at the whole dom thing....

http://www.wattpad.com/49931265-unjust-cause-part-8-of-tops-and-bottoms

Because you know what? It's not all 69 Shades of Awesome. I don't know about you, but I'm lucky to be able to THINK during sex, much less plan out how to get someone tied to the bed. And, part of the fun of this particular experiment in self-publishing is that I get to write sex the way I want. I'm personally very fond of silly, vaguely-awkward, (more like my real life experiences) sex. I mean, I still hope, one day, to write the super-hot, yet not, scene in which the cat interrupts the sexy times, because YOU KNOW you've had that happen, and far too often we don't celebrate that stuff for the wonderfulness that it truly is.

Plus, I queered things up some. Not just by queering the dom/sub status of the traditional male/female (which I ultimately don't do in this one, but which I plan to by the end of this story), but also when Valentine is talking about this former lover, who is a phoenix. This person is reborn presenting as different gender with each fiery rebirth, but Valentine is VERY ADAMANT that Jin never CHANGES gender, just presents differently.

This is very important to me.

I suspect, if I were still being traditionally published, this would be one of those things I would have fought with my publisher about, and more likely than not, eventually capitulated on. To this day, I'm bummed that I gave up the fight for Matyas' queerness in the Garnet Lacey series. In the book in which Garnet gains the power to see people's inner gods and goddesses, I'd wanted Matyas to have a goddess inside. It wasn't going to change anything about him, not one thing, but I got a very firm 'NO. IT IS NOT DONE.' Boys had to have gods, and girls had to have goddesses, full stop. I THINK I managed to have a waiter in Paris who had a goddess, but that was okay because he was just a throw away character. Because GOD FORBID someone people liked be just-so-very-slightly-hinted at having queerness of any kind!! Dude was sleeping with a girl at the time, even. Though one, I might add, who wore sensible shoes and had a dog, but we won't talk about how CLEARLY I WAS SIGNALING HER QUEERNESS. (This was Izzy. In my head she was a butch bi-woman.)

Not that I have FEELINGS for REASONS.

Sometimes it's so very hard to remember that it was science fiction that taught me the radical notion that you can't judge who you'll love by your lover. A story written by Theodore Sturgeon in 1953 called 'A World Well Lost' was my very first exposure to a sympathetic queer character. I found much more relatable men and women in Elizabeth A. Lynn's books, and, a lifesaver, given that I grew up int the 1970s in a smallish town (though to be fair to LaCrosse, there was at least one gay bar, and my father had an out lesbian colleague at his Catholic college.)

And I did write queerness into my science fiction, rather blatantly. It was just less okay in romance. I will say, this is why I tended to capitulate on fights about this stuff. I mean, I always felt I was trespassing into a foreign land, anyway. (As some of you know, I was lucky to remember to include certain bits of male anatomy.)

Anyway, it's nice to be able to stretch a bit in this. Of course, now we have to see how it goes over with "my public."

So, first off, I proudly present the next installment in the continuing adventures of Alex Connor, Hughes County Coroner and magical detective: Part 6: A Dragon's Confession. The teaser this time: "In this chapter, Valentine makes a startling confession..."

Oooooh, what could it be? Go find out!!

In other news, I got asked to participate in an SF Signal's Mind-Meld again, so I'm going to be composing my answer to that soon. When it's posted over there, I'll link here. This one is actually kind of meaty, so I've been doing a lot of thinking, pre-writing. Hopefully this will NOT mean that I'll be scrambling the day before it's due (which is Sunday).

Speaking of this weekend, I'm also going to be making an appearance at the Ramsey County Library not as a page... though in a PAGE related way! I'm going to be the presenter for the Loft's "First Pages Program."

Here are the details from my website:

On Saturday, May 3, 2014 from 2:00-3:30 pm I'll once again be the Loft's "First Pages" instructor for te "Read to Write" program. This time it will be a little closer ot home at the Roseville Library (where I work as a page!). The library is located at 2180 Hamline Avenue in St. Paul, MN. For more information call (651) 724-6001 or check out: http://www.rclreads.org.

The description for the program (which is a repeat of the one I did in Chanhassen) goes like this:

Can reading The Hunger Games teach you to be a writer? You bet it can! By reading as much fiction as you can get your hands on, available right here at your public library, you can become the writer you've always wanted to be! Come learn what Harry Potter can teach you about world building in fiction; what Neil Gaiman can teach you about creating memorable characters; and what Veronica Roth's Divergent series can teach you about plot! After this 90 minute session you'll be inspired to write your own mind blowing fiction.

Which isn't AT ALL DAUNTING as a the instructor...

Last time in Chanhassen, I had a blast, but I can't say we stayed 'on topic.' I think in preparation for this event, I may solicit ideas from other people about which books taught them what. I tried to do this with the students I had on hand at Chanhassen, but that conversation petered out really quickly. We ended up having fun talking about other writing challenges and trying out some bizarre story prompters, but it wasn't 'as advertised' and I feel a bit badly about that.

So... thoughts? Are there books that taught YOU something specific about writing?