My mother the engineer taught me the value of mistakes (also the value of avoiding them, but since she was bringing up someone with WriterBrain, not EngineerBrain, she finally realized that more mistakes would be part of my life than hers.) “You have to notice a mistake before you can fix it,” she said. “Admit Read More…
Tag: life beyond writing
Encouraging Spikes in WriterBrain and Other Oddities
Weight continues to drop, though as is typical, not as fast as I want it to. 23 pounds down, in total. My morning walks are longer and faster, but I have acquired a sore toe that demanded I skip two days or else. Was back out with the circuit that includes something around or slightly Read More…
Checking Boxes
Scene revisions completes in past week: three. Scene revisions still to be done…???? All so far have been more complicated than just weed-whacking away excess. I read it, re-read it, re-read it again, finally realize that it’s a multiple-layer problem, and devise ways to fix it. What kinds of things are complex problems? Characters not Read More…
Day by Day by…o look, squirrel!!!
Yes, it’s been like that. And tonight, after a somewhat unusual day, in which things did not go to plan At All, I failed to check before my last meal how many calories I had left…and promptly overshot the limit. The milk, which I need for calcium (dairy culture background; I absorb it better from Read More…
The Plot Thickens and the Writer Thins
Somewhere, somewhen, a philosopher or other authoritative person said that if you’ve learned something (was it something new? Anything?) you’re obliged to pass on that knowledge to someone else. The process is of course unequal and therefore stressful to the recipient of the knowledge/skill being passed on, so the good news is that reciprocal exchange Read More…
The Joys of Post-Midnight Character Intrusions
Sometime last night between 3:30 and 4 am, or maybe it was three….I woke up. There’s the usual “Do I have to get to the bathroom right now or can I have another bit of sleep first” but that issue didn’t seem urgent…what did was being wide awake. WIDE awake. I tried my usual “drift Read More…
Truth Leaks Out; Lies Gush
Yes, another political post. You can skip and my feelings won’t be hurt. Reviewing January 6: Consider an imaginary President Good. What would a non-traitorous President and staff have done in face of a threatened attack on the Capitol? A non-complicit Secretary of Defense, a non-complicit Chief of Staff of the Army? How have such Read More…
Sockin’ It
First pair of socks knitted start to finish (9:30-something tonight, begun in the mists of mid-concussion recovery) since the 2018 concussion are DONE. And on my very, very grateful feet. They’re a rich, deep, but vibrant blue. No pics, because they’re *on my feet!!* and it’s late and I’m really tired but celebrating with hot Read More…
Some Thoughts on WriterBrain, First Rock (with a few decorations)
On another site, on which I’d written a long comment about the statement “ignorance is bliss” someone complimented my writing (always pleasant to hear) and thought my “story-writing brain” was completely back in service. Which–though much improved–it’s not. That’s not a venue in which to explain how many different components and levels a fiction writing Read More…
Flower, Flower, in the field…
Last spring we discovered a new-to-us non-native flower growing on the place, several patches of Scarlet Pimpernel (which in Texas look orange, not scarlet, but do have striking magenta down near the ovary. It looked like this: Today, R- found a similar looking flower on a different-looking plant, and so far we’re uncertain Read More…