We’ve been inspired watching Eco-Challenge 2019 – Fiji (released in August 14, 2020). I think that there are lessons writers can take from ultra-athletes and I encourage you to watch this show. In any adventure race or ultrarun you see the same sorts of people. There are the leaders of the pack who know that…
Month: August 2020
The Critique
I brought the first 3,000 words of my Viking naval short story to my critique group and they honed in on the exact things that were bothering me about it (but that I couldn’t see how to fix) and pointed to solutions. I went into tonight’s critique with a lot of foreboding because I knew…
Stormy Internet Access
Yesterday was a lost day, characterized by fights with two computers, one phone, and problems with the internet. I made progress writing, but not enough. The cable guy came out to see us yesterday. Here is our situation: The box that houses the connections for our neighborhood is damaged. Our connection lives on the damaged…
In Caedmon’s Voice
I am taking Dean’s Advanced Depth class with a friend and we’re on the lecture on Voice openings. This is actually my third time dealing with this lecture, though just the second time officially. The first time I didn’t send any homework to Dean because I didn’t have time to deal with it. I thought…
At Sea with Caedmon
I normally take Mondays off from writing and use it as a rest/recovery/cleaning day. Today I’d like to spend a bit more time in my Thule naval story, so I’ll do that. We continue to have internet problems (I’m using my phone’s hot spot again.) It’s a bit more serious today since Steve needs to…
Data Issues and an Update
It’s Sunday and like many Sundays since the pandemic started, my WIFI connection is down. For many years now we’ve chosen inexpensive options for both our internet access and our phones and banked the extra money: first to save enough for me to leave my job to write. And then once I had left, to…
Poetry for Resilience
I looked this morning for Eliot Cohen, who is a thinker on international affairs respected by my husband. He has a Twitter account which makes it easy to find his latest articles, unlike many of the thinkers my husband admires who stay away from the hoi polloi. I wanted his take on recent international affairs….
Characters Who Know Too Much
One of the challenges of writing from the perspective of Caedmon (and why I’ve avoided it until now) is that he is too smart. He is supposed to be a master strategist and a reservoir of calm. He is the opposite of my preferred protagonist, Magnihild. She is a Viking stereotype: passionate, aggressive, loyal, and…
Fleet Tactics
I wrote my naval battle scene today and passed it by my husband who gave it his tentative approval. He noted some things I didn’t realize I’d gotten wrong, but he said I did ok on the Viking fleet tactics. It took longer than it normally takes me to write something because I kept looking…
The Battle for Verisimilitude
In the possibly immortal words of Pepé Le Pew, “I am a lover, not a fighter.” Seriously, I’m not a fighter. This is my weak spot as a writer. So if I were going to only write what I know, I’d be in deep trouble. And as much as I want my work to be…