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Sunday, September 26, 2010
In the Woods Doing Nothing
There are many, many techniques and strategies when you find yourself stuck in your manuscript. All and none of them work, depending on the manuscript and writer. Sometimes it’s best to take the dying WIP and euthanize it, and sometimes it works to run through all the diagnostics and run the gamut of writing medical solutions. Sometimes it works to do nothing.
It’s like if you’re lost in the woods.
Stay with me. Writing is like hiking: you go off in the woods alone with just your canteen, a crappy little compass, and optimism you will return before supper. When you first set off on the trail, it’s fun. You’re excited. You’re walking deliberately and with great enthusiasm. You’re going to set a land-speed record of the fastest, bestest hike ever. I’m not sure when it happens, but somewhere mid-hike, you begin to notice your mosquito bites, you’ve twisted your ankle when you fell off a rock, and your shoes are wet from crossing a creek. But you’re a pro. You’re going to tough this out. It’s good. You’re going to have quite the adventure to tell your hiking buddies at supper tonight. You keep walking. You’re still enjoying this walk, you tell yourself firmly. It’s the best goddamned hike ever. And then you get lost.
You don’t notice you’re lost right away, but around the third time you’ve passed the tree with the three boulders, you think: “Crap.” Then you think, “Don’t panic. I’m prepared. I’m a hiker. I have a canteen. I have a compass.” And you bring out your canteen and realize you’re out of water; and you look at your compass and it’s not working. You’re seriously considering abandoning this hike, except well, you don’t know to get the hell out of this mess. You keep walking. You keep passing the same tree and boulders. You really hate this hike. You promise yourself never to go hiking again. You’re the worst hiker ever.
But you keep walking and circling because you might stumble onto the path right out of here, except it’s not working. So finally you sit on one of the boulders, thinking this is an absolute waste of time. After all, if you don’t figure out something, you’re going to be stuck in these woods overnight. With the snakes and the chipmunks. This is unacceptable. You’re tempted to start down the path you did before, but you know if you do, you’re just going to be back at these boulders again. Anyway, the first rule they teach you about being lost in the woods is to stop walking around lost. Sit some place and give the rescue party a chance to find you.
Now if your rescue party isn’t good at finding you, sitting still and getting your bearings works. If your compass is broken, there are other ways to figure out your north-south-east-west. One of those ways may be exactly what you need to get you back on track.
Lastly, the best reason to stop walking in circles is that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If you want to stop going in circles, then stop walking in circles.
So this was where I was in my woods. I was lost in the middle of my manuscript, and I swear to God I have circled the tree with the boulders no less than four times. I hate that tree. I admit I have done nothing, but not the sort of nothing I mean here. There is the nothing I’ve been doing, which is not writing at all. Watching TV, reading or listening to books, going to the gym—all that I have done; and they’re all necessary, but not to the point of never opening the WIP. I mean the sort of yoga nothing, the hardest nothing to do.
In yoga, you’re supposed to hold a position and not think. You’re just doing, you’re just being, you’re perfectly present. While holding a pose, I admit it’s easier (relatively) to not think of anything but holding that pose, that is if you’re as uncoordinated as me. But you get to corpse pose and your mind is supposed to be a blank slate; and I can tell you mine never is. It’s thinking about what I’ll be eating after class, will I get home in time to see Modern Family, will Deerhunter call me sometime this week.
So you’re lost in the woods and you’ve decided to practice “nothing”, except the whole time you’re thinking “what if the rescue party never gets here and I’m eaten by bears” or “what if I never finish this manuscript, everyone will publish but me.” Not good for practice.
No, the kind of nothing I mean is to sit and become part of your woods. Listen to the surroundings and become in tune. The reason you’re lost is because you’ve lost the point of your hike, being all focused on getting to the destination, concentrating more on your map than your surroundings. When you freak out about being lost, you stop listening to what the woods are saying. You may even realize when you listen, the woods are telling you to go on a path you find too scary and you want to stick to the map. But if you want to get out of the woods, you’re going to have to trust the process. Whatever the process might be this week.
Does anyone else have trouble doing “active” nothing or is everyone better than me at yoga? What do you prefer to do when you’re “lost in the woods”? Anyone else been known to wait it out until you figure out where you’re at again? Anyone else seen the new Harry Potter trailer and absolutely so excited about it that they also can’t think of a remotely original blog?
It’s like if you’re lost in the woods.
Stay with me. Writing is like hiking: you go off in the woods alone with just your canteen, a crappy little compass, and optimism you will return before supper. When you first set off on the trail, it’s fun. You’re excited. You’re walking deliberately and with great enthusiasm. You’re going to set a land-speed record of the fastest, bestest hike ever. I’m not sure when it happens, but somewhere mid-hike, you begin to notice your mosquito bites, you’ve twisted your ankle when you fell off a rock, and your shoes are wet from crossing a creek. But you’re a pro. You’re going to tough this out. It’s good. You’re going to have quite the adventure to tell your hiking buddies at supper tonight. You keep walking. You’re still enjoying this walk, you tell yourself firmly. It’s the best goddamned hike ever. And then you get lost.
You don’t notice you’re lost right away, but around the third time you’ve passed the tree with the three boulders, you think: “Crap.” Then you think, “Don’t panic. I’m prepared. I’m a hiker. I have a canteen. I have a compass.” And you bring out your canteen and realize you’re out of water; and you look at your compass and it’s not working. You’re seriously considering abandoning this hike, except well, you don’t know to get the hell out of this mess. You keep walking. You keep passing the same tree and boulders. You really hate this hike. You promise yourself never to go hiking again. You’re the worst hiker ever.
But you keep walking and circling because you might stumble onto the path right out of here, except it’s not working. So finally you sit on one of the boulders, thinking this is an absolute waste of time. After all, if you don’t figure out something, you’re going to be stuck in these woods overnight. With the snakes and the chipmunks. This is unacceptable. You’re tempted to start down the path you did before, but you know if you do, you’re just going to be back at these boulders again. Anyway, the first rule they teach you about being lost in the woods is to stop walking around lost. Sit some place and give the rescue party a chance to find you.
Now if your rescue party isn’t good at finding you, sitting still and getting your bearings works. If your compass is broken, there are other ways to figure out your north-south-east-west. One of those ways may be exactly what you need to get you back on track.
Lastly, the best reason to stop walking in circles is that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If you want to stop going in circles, then stop walking in circles.
So this was where I was in my woods. I was lost in the middle of my manuscript, and I swear to God I have circled the tree with the boulders no less than four times. I hate that tree. I admit I have done nothing, but not the sort of nothing I mean here. There is the nothing I’ve been doing, which is not writing at all. Watching TV, reading or listening to books, going to the gym—all that I have done; and they’re all necessary, but not to the point of never opening the WIP. I mean the sort of yoga nothing, the hardest nothing to do.
In yoga, you’re supposed to hold a position and not think. You’re just doing, you’re just being, you’re perfectly present. While holding a pose, I admit it’s easier (relatively) to not think of anything but holding that pose, that is if you’re as uncoordinated as me. But you get to corpse pose and your mind is supposed to be a blank slate; and I can tell you mine never is. It’s thinking about what I’ll be eating after class, will I get home in time to see Modern Family, will Deerhunter call me sometime this week.
So you’re lost in the woods and you’ve decided to practice “nothing”, except the whole time you’re thinking “what if the rescue party never gets here and I’m eaten by bears” or “what if I never finish this manuscript, everyone will publish but me.” Not good for practice.
No, the kind of nothing I mean is to sit and become part of your woods. Listen to the surroundings and become in tune. The reason you’re lost is because you’ve lost the point of your hike, being all focused on getting to the destination, concentrating more on your map than your surroundings. When you freak out about being lost, you stop listening to what the woods are saying. You may even realize when you listen, the woods are telling you to go on a path you find too scary and you want to stick to the map. But if you want to get out of the woods, you’re going to have to trust the process. Whatever the process might be this week.
Does anyone else have trouble doing “active” nothing or is everyone better than me at yoga? What do you prefer to do when you’re “lost in the woods”? Anyone else been known to wait it out until you figure out where you’re at again? Anyone else seen the new Harry Potter trailer and absolutely so excited about it that they also can’t think of a remotely original blog?
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108 comments:
I found myself thinking about the tarot card, The Fool...as he nonchalantly, eyes to the sky, steps off a cliff. I think that is more my style of writing when I get lost.
First you fall, then you fly?
Though I have been lost on a hike...I was 15 or so, with a little boy who was 8, maybe. A group of us backpacking, he and I got seperated... I realized we were lost, but I couldn't panic. Because I had alittle boy with me! We backtracked and found the trail, but yeah...there is a real sense of 'uh oh' about it all!
Active nothing? Oh, lord...I may have neared that when bopping about Disneyland...
This is quite evocative of one of my early hikes! :lol:
Course I knew that the compass was useless without a map, but no-one told me that you have to know where you are on the map in order to set a bearing!
With the wisdom of hindsight, I now plot my route on the map before starting and check map reference points with landmarks on the ground.
Seems there may be some advantage to plotting rather than pantzing, if you want to avoid getting lost!
Perhaps plot the major events and then pantz your way between them.
Come to think though, it can be fun to get lost occasionally, with a congenial adorable partner. :wink:
I love this analogy, Hells, and as someone who regularly gets lost, it makes total sense to me :)
I'm trying to revise, and I find this happening to myself. Going over the same section over and over again, getting so caught up in the most absurd, minuscule details that I just freeze up and get lost. Like last night -- my heroine is having a conversation with a man. This man is not important, she's about to leave the conversation to talk to the hero. Yet somehow, I've gotten stuck because I can't figure out an appropriate name for this random guy. At one point, I said he was from the DR Congo. So I start looking for common central-African names. For some reason, West African names are easier to find online. So then I'm freaking out -- what if I use a West African name for a man I said was from central Africa? Will someone notice? And there's all these forums online about meanings of African names, and apparently, in West Africa, your surname says a LOT about your linage. So what if I pick the wrong linage? What if I inadvertanlty use a name that manes some form of royalty in West Africa, and I'm saying he's a gun-runner from the Congo? My facts will not be accurate! I will lose all credibility as an author!
All this, for ONE SENTENCE, in which the man's name wasn't actually important!
I gotta get back in touch with the trees, man *g*
Hellion, did you write this for me? :)
It's no secret I've been off my A-game. The reason you’re lost is because you’ve lost the point of your hike, being all focused on getting to the destination, concentrating more on your map than your surroundings. This is exactly me. And if I'm not preoccupied with destination, I'm preoccupied with minute detail ala Hal above. Is this the exact right word? Is this dialogue exactly what I wanted?
Awful stuff. And totally counterproductive.
I'm still trying to get out of the woods.
I just watched the trailer again and I have to say... I'M SOOOOO EXCITED!! *insert fangirl scream*
I'm not only lost in the woods, I'm ready to set them on fire. I'm out of tune, out of balance, and out of patience. I think it's time to take a breather and say f*ck it for the next few weeks. I'm tired of banging my head against the same damn tree.
Hmmm.... I just checked for a Mercury retrograde but it was earlier this month. So that's not it.
Marn, we just had a full moon a couple days ago.
And I just lost a long post to f*cking Capt Cha code, so now I'm cranky. LOL
I'll recreate my post and then be back in a second!
F*cker.
SIGN. IN.
SIGN. IN. LMAO
Okay, I'm signed in.
*kicks Capt Cha code in the. . .*
Anywho. I love your analogy, Hellie. I'm not a nature girl, and this is a good description of why I prefer to sit in my hotel room, sipping wine, watching everyone else try to find their way out of the woods.
I'm not very good at "active nothing" (one of the best oxymorons ever!) I have what is known as a "monkey mind" since it's constantly scurrying from topic to topic -- but I think that works better for writers.
I wonder sometimes if we try too hard to make writing work -- we're told we HAVE to write every day, HAVE to be devoted, HAVE to make it work. It seems like that takes all the joy out of it -- kinda like people who are trying to get pregnant and they make sex into a dreaded chore. LOL
I was thinking about that exact thing this weekend, Donna. There are many benefits about finding a community of writers online, but one of the drawbacks is the added pressure. You HAVE to do this much and if you're not then you feel guilty or inadequate or, heaven forbid, like a failure.
Sometimes I think it might be easier (again, relative term) to do the hermit thing, hide my head in the sand, and do my own thing at my own pace. (Which I admit, is not much of a pace right now.)
2nd, yes, the tarot card is a good analogy. You start the journey like The Fool, and about mid-point, if you aren't careful, you're the Hanged Man. If you want to be the Victory card or the Emperor, you need to read the cards carefully and listen to what they're saying.
I think I would have stuck the 8 year old in front of us and said, "Do you remember how to get back?" It always amazes me what they're paying attention to--they can get you back. "Oh, look there's the striped rock we passed. The path is over that hill." It's like being lost with Crazy Horse. Unless you've got the 8 year old who is more concerned for their outfit than the walk itself.
Q, I think there is a benefit to a hybrid approach: pantsing and plotting. I think you better have some landmarks on your paper in mind, and even if you don't know the exact way to get to the landmarks, you better have a rough idea so you can start looking for them. I agree with pantsers who say mystery is needed and it's fun to find out the story with the characters, but frankly a lot of my characters are a lot like my brother, who can get started in telling you a story and two hours later he still hasn't gotten to the point of it. If you don't keep him on task, you could die of boredom before he finished. I think plotting is there to cut the unnecessary rambling, so you have just enough to keep it interesting.
*winks* And yes, with the right partner, being lost in the woods can be very pleasurable.
Hal, I love you. I nearly spewed soda at my computer screen reading about the West African Name Debacle. I do this crap far more often than I'm comfortable admitting--I do love name meanings, which is another downfall. I think names are very important to characters. You can't just name them anything. What if they turn out to be someone important? You may have to write a story with them later; and if you name them after someone you used to date and can't stand now, you're stuck with it. Ugh.
And the whole "Will anyone notice if I use the wrong name for the period/location/et al?"--this can go wrong in so many areas. Historical romance writers run into it with readers like me who say, "The word 'clone' was NOT used in the Regency period!" and contemporary series writers run into if they have a series that is supposed to be set in the 90s, but all the technology devices they have is so clearly from 2010.
I think as many people as we make happy with our writing--and there will be thousands, my pets, don't worry--there is always going to be a Debbie Downer at the party, pointing out the flaws. But these people aren't the majority; and they probably bought your book used anyway. They are not your constituency. But we get hung up on pleasing people who cannot be pleased. I think writers are natural pleasers--and we want to please everyone and it's impossible. Please yourself first...and I think the rest will fall in place.
Marn, I think we're just sitting on the same boulder together and didn't notice because we're too busy trying to get our compasses to work. *LOL* I swear to you a month ago I seriously contemplated dumping the 14 chapters I have and starting over. Again. But this time in 1st person. I even contemplated writing it single-spaced in ONE document (instead of the broken out chapters like I usually do and advocate.) I had the document set up and I couldn't get it started. So I stopped again.
Finally I realized it wasn't that I truly loathed what I had before. There were aspects of it that really worked. I was quitting at a part that was hard, a part that would still be hard once I arrived there if I started over again. So I just needed to sit and behave myself a minute--and listen.
Then my rescue party--Bo'sun--showed up and we talked and I decided starting from scratch was definitely not the best plan. But I did scrap what I had for chapter 14. We talked more about the character I'm writing about and by the end I felt a lot better about what I needed to do.
Oh, I almost forgot. *bounces up and down, screaming in excitement with Marn about the HP movie* 52 days!!
I’m not only lost in the woods, I’m ready to set them on fire.
Well, that would certainly add an element of urgency to finding your way back out of the woods if you set them on fire. And you could always then follow the animals right out of there.
I think it’s time to take a breather and say f*ck it for the next few weeks. I’m tired of banging my head against the same damn tree.
House problems?
Ahh, see! There IS a rescue party coming for us. It's our CP's!!!
Hellie, you're so right. There's always a Debbie Downer. Maybe if we get her drunk enough she'll shut up :)
Nope. House is doing great. Just dealing with the angriest PMS this side of the Mississippi. Best if all and sundry ignore me today.
I'll beat Chance to it. I say we feed Debbie to the Kraken.
Donna, I'm not a nature girl either, which is a good indication of why I'm lost. I'm a magnet for anything that can bite me, give me a rash, or send me into cardiac arrest. Rather just sit on my bed and watch cable, eat some chocolate, thanks...
"Monkey mind"--that's what they call it!! *LOL* I'm not sure I agree it's a preferred state of mind for a writer. I can see where it'd be helpful in making connections you wouldn't normally make if you were being stodgy and unimaginative; however, for me, Monkey Mind is a lack of focus/concentration, and I think the more focus/concentration you have, the better you write. You're in the Zone. My monkey mind isn't being typically helpful in "Oh, maybe your lead character is part of a gang!" but in a "Ooh, you have a box of brownie mix. Maybe you should make brownies before you get started. You can use them as a reward." And then after the monkey has gotten you to make brownies, clean your kitchen, and watch a movie, you realize you haven't so much as opened your WIP. My monkey procrastinates.
It seems like that takes all the joy out of it — kinda like people who are trying to get pregnant and they make sex into a dreaded chore.
Way too true. *LOL*
Sometimes I think it might be easier (again, relative term) to do the hermit thing, hide my head in the sand, and do my own thing at my own pace.
Works for JK Rowling.
Of course, hermits don't have internet access.
Yeah, I thought of that too. LOL! The annoying teen in my head (I think Marn's muse sent her) said, "Like you could stop checking your email every 30 seconds."
Bo'sun, maybe you shouldn't have stopped eating chocolate last week.
There’s always a Debbie Downer. Maybe if we get her drunk enough she’ll shut up
I think of DD's as more like gremlins. You know the things you're not supposed to feed after midnight...and never ever get them wet. (My theory is if we get her wet with hooch, she'll just start dumping even more negative theories.) But I can see your theory. Sometimes you spike the drink of a biblethumper and they're dancing in the bar by 10 pm. It's fun to watch. It's possible DD might react in this favorable way. You might have to keep her drunk though... *LOL*
This "monkey mind" concept was conceived far, far before the age of technology and internet, so I'm sorta curious WHAT the heck the ancient yogi was exactly monkey minded about? *LOL*
Forgot to say, I totally have the "monkey mind". And like you, it's a major inability to focus and calm my brain. I'd been doing well and lately it came back, mostly to prevent me from sleeping. Which is probably another reason I'm cranky.
We need to do more yoga on this ship.
Or drink more. One or the other.
What would happen if we mixed the two? A little rum, a little of that downward facing dog thing...
Do I ever know that going-in-circles feeling! I'm at the stage now of muttering to myself and to anyone else who happens to be listening that I never wanted to take this stupid hike anyway and I should have had the good sense to stay at home and read a good book.
Hal, I can relate to the name panic too. i have thirty pages of notes on open heart surgery, the results of researching one scene and a whole composition book filled with such details as what leaves turn first in NC and what time the moon rises in May in Georgia. Obsessed with avoiding error is a mild description. LOL!
Tangent Warning: Yesterday I read the five-year-old grand a book I checked out of the library with him in mind. He listened attentively, helping me by reading all the words he recognized. When we finished, I said, "Did you like it?"
"A little bit," he said. "But next time can I have a book about pirates?"
And, Hellie, I've declared a moratorium on watching the new HP trailer. Fifty-two days seems a long way away.
What would happen if we mixed the two?
You'll break your wrist. Holly was drinking and did some yoga at the Slip and Slide party--now she has a metal pin in her wrist and can't type.
I cannot recommend mixing the two, personally.
I’m at the stage now of muttering to myself and to anyone else who happens to be listening that I never wanted to take this stupid hike anyway and I should have had the good sense to stay at home and read a good book.
Amen, sister!!
a whole composition book filled with such details as what leaves turn first in NC and what time the moon rises in May in Georgia.
WOW. This reminds me of the scene in HP Book 3 where Harry admires the level of work Hermione puts into her homework. *LOL*
And rock on with the grand who wants a pirate book next. *LOL*
52 days does seem like a long time. *LOL* But it's always when it's down to 14 days or 6 days when it feels like the LONGEST. Why is that?
Those 52 days will FLY by. Mostly because I need the next 30 to go slower. And even *I'm* excited about that movie. I showed kiddo the trailer over the weekend and she keeps asking, "We can go see that, right? You'll go, right?"
Just because I've never seen an HP movie IN the theater...
Not to take people away from MY blog, but this is hilarious: http://wordwenches.typepad.com/
I'm excited about reading this debut book. I read the first chapter and it's awesome and different! I hope the rest of it just as good.
But read what she says about this...I about died laughing. If only I'd learn from her mistakes!
What was the biggest mistake you made when you first began writing?
There’s a reason you shouldn’t be allowed to have an eraser until the second grade. My biggest mistake was rewriting the first chapters. I kept trying to apply things I’d learned and rewrite the opening over and over. My mentor kept on telling me to write forward. When I finally finished the first book two years later, I understood why. By cycling around the same chapters, I wasn’t growing as a writer. Sure, I could polish, but I was polishing crap. Crap can only get so shiny.
I read the other day there's only 100 days left in the year -- and since I read it the OTHER day that means now there's LESS than 100 days left. Yikes. Remember when a year FELT like a year? LOL
And "monkey mind" can definitely apply to non-technology things -- I think it's referring to how the little buggers jump from tree to tree, doing whatever the heck they want.
At my last job, we started out each meeting with a moment of reflection/meditation/silence, and my brain would do this: "Okay, just breathe and close your eyes. Is everyone else closing their eyes? I wonder how long we'll do this. Will I hear that chime saying it's over? What if I fall asleep. That would be embarrassing. Whew I'm tired. I could use some more coffee. Wait. I'm supposed to be meditating. Okay, breathe. . ."
Just because I’ve never seen an HP movie IN the theater…
*droll look* Yes, I don't know why she would be worried she won't be able to see it in theaters. *LOL*
“Okay, just breathe and close your eyes. Is everyone else closing their eyes? I wonder how long we’ll do this. Will I hear that chime saying it’s over? What if I fall asleep. That would be embarrassing. Whew I’m tired. I could use some more coffee. Wait. I’m supposed to be meditating. Okay, breathe. . .”
*ROTFLMAO* OMG, this is every meditation moment I've ever participated in!
sure, I could polish, but I was polishing crap. Crap can only get so shiny.
Ain't that the truth?
Oh Donna, that's EXACTLY what goes through my head when I'm forced to be silent. lol. This is why I like Body Pump classes rather than yoga - the super fast pace keeps my head in the game way better than slowing down.
Janga - 30 pages of notes for one scene? This is SO something I would do.
I haven't seen a HP movie in the theatre either. And I can't remember which one was the last one I saw -- maybe the third one? It had a dragon maybe? I need to get caught up I guess. LOL
Donna - That's my brain every night while I try to drift off. I used to say there's a button on my pillow and as soon as I lay down, I push it and the race is on.
Terri, I like the button on the pillow thing -- so true!
And Hal, I try to do yoga, but my monkey mind is obsessed with wondering if my big ass is blocking everyone's view of the instructor. LOL (It's not a very productive use of time.)
There were dragons in two of the films, but assuming you saw more than one, you might be referring to the 4th movie.
Hellie, part of my problem is I like the research, so it's really easy to get caught up in it. That's what happened to me with Fanlit. I started researching Scotland to be sure I had the right names and the right titles for a couple of characters, and the entry deadline passed while I was still researching. LOL!
Janga, I'm a big fan of research, which is probably why I have forty eleven books I've bought on the craziest topics for manuscripts that might never get finished. Oh, and it's not like I've actually READ these research books completely either. LOL
Writing is a disease, isn't it? :)
Oh, and it’s not like I’ve actually READ these research books completely either.
Ditto.
A incurable disease. Yes.
Well, you know how I like the woods. And what happens if you go into the woods with me. You're likely to not come out.
I'm one of those people I just don't have patience to wait on someone. So if I'm out lost, wandering around in the woods, I'm probably going to stay that way. I don't have the good sense God gave a piss ant, but at least He blessed me with a good sense of direction. Although, that direction can't be applied to writing. It's a bummer.
Well, a talent can't always be applied to everything, Sin. That's the way it goes.
And your first paragraph sounds like the tag line to a horror film. *LOL*
Dear Evil Twin,
It's good to see you again. Even if you give me new reasons to be afraid of you.
Very truly yours,
DRD
Donna, don't let her fool you. She was skipping through Hobby Lobby on Saturday like a kid wearing a tiara and singing about unicorns. She just likes to look scary to warn off the timid.
She was skipping through Hobby Lobby on Saturday like a kid wearing a tiara and singing about unicorns.
Actually that made me shiver more than her talking about icepicks. LOL
You should tell stuff like that. Sin has a rep to protect. And we'd prefer you not give her reason to demostrate how she got it.
That was "shouldn't tell..."
I need a nap.
Sin has a rep to protect. And we’d prefer you not give her reason to demostrate how she got it.
Good point. Forget I said anything. *makes swirly gesture as if traveling back in time*
Actually that made me shiver more than her talking about icepicks.
Like a children of the damned effect, huh?
You used your HP wand for that, didn't you? LOL!
I wouldn't mind using that to "revise" some episodes from my twenties. LOL
*hides wand* Don't think you know me!
I wouldn’t mind using that to “revise” some episodes from my twenties.
If you revised them, what would you write about? *LOL*
Hellion - as always, you WOW me with your ability to connect writing to just about anything. Love the analogy.
I've been lost in the writing woods so long I've built a cabin set up house and am enjoying the scenery now instead of worrying how or why I got here!
I just like to add that I think y'all are so far ahead of the game cause you're at least still plugging away. I know it's hard to see others get published and feel as if you need to go faster or find the way quicker. But, if I've learned nothing else from life's various twists and turns it is to enjoy the journey and stop focusing on the destination so much. *Irish's words of wisdom for the month* LOL
Except, I'm with Donna - I'd like our journey to be through 4 star hotels and resorts, not the woods! JMHO :)
Irish, I'm so glad to see you again. It feels like it's been a long time since I've seen your happy comments here. Where have you been? Start of school stuff? Or have you been here the whole time and I've been blind as a bat?
I'm amused you did the Abe Lincoln approach to being lost. Just build a cabin and say you're home. *LOL*
Enjoying the journey is difficult for a lot of people, since most of us are either focused on where we've been and where we're going--and nothing at all for where we are right now. *LOL*
Did you and Donna ever see Tombstone? There is this great line where Kurt Russell (Earp) asks Dana Delany what she wants most out of life, and she says, "Room service."
Did you and Donna ever see Tombstone? There is this great line where Kurt Russell (Earp) asks Dana Delany what she wants most out of life, and she says, “Room service.”
LOL That's pretty much me to a T! My mother has been telling me for years (and even warned my DH before he married me) that I have champagne tastes but a beer budget.
Yeah, RL has been kicking my a$$ lately! I've been a lurking, though.
Irish, I hope when you say you've built a "cabin" you mean a luxury resort, complete with all the amenities such as room service. :) If so, I'm moving in. LOL
Wow. This is what happens when I sleep in after four days of Disney. I'm counting the hike of getting there!
I don't think monkeymind works for me. I think I have a Stitchmind. Detour much? ;-)
Wow, good to see you back, Q! Do visit on Friday, when I'm blogging about Mr. Toad's Wild Ride!
I love the quest for the perfect African name... And yes, let's just build that cabin where we are and call it where we meant to be.
Mercury isn't retrograde anymore? Man, what excuse can I use now?
You betcha, Donna! The spa facilities are amazing!!
While Q was on vacation, he celebrated a birthday and we didn't get to party with him. I say we raise a drink to him today. We'll even switch from rum to scotch for the occasion!
Stitchmind is monkey mind, only weirder and cuter...and with more Elvis.
Let me get out the good stuff...!
Here's to Q! Honorary pirate and fountain of wit, wisdom and poetry! Huzzah!
I do love Stitch. I wonder if there is more of him to be seen at the new Disney Resort in Hawaii?
I found a great Stich pin with him all done up like Barbossa! Even with a monkey on his shoulder, which is really scary. Stitch and the monkey!
Happy Belated Birthday, Q! *lifts glass*
I'm always ready for an excuse to celebrate!
I do love Stitch. I wonder if there is more of him to be seen at the new Disney Resort in Hawaii?
There's a new Disney Resort in Hawaii? When did this happen?
How was Disney, chance? I'm ready for a visit to the happiest place on earth!
I was also gonna comment earlier that I think Donna's monkey mind when it comes to meditation is more common than we think! I always thought that it was my contrary personality that when someone told me to clear my mind I just stubbornly wouldn't!
Happy Birthday, Q!!!
Well, Irish...it isn't a theme park, but more a resort with all the Disney stuff there. Sorta like their cruise line, I think...
Disneyland was too crowded, too hot and we had a blast!
Stitch is funny. I think Lilo & Stitch was a rather underrated movie.
Happy Birthday Q!!! Definitely have some scotch on me!! :)
Irish, are we twins separated at birth? I nearly wept when you said you were a contrarian, because I am too. (Am not! Yes, you are.)
A schizo contrarian. That would explain the monkey mind.
I didn't know about this new resort in Hawaii either. I have enough reward points on my cards to fly to Hawaii for free. For both kiddo and me. I'm trying to figure out where we can fit that in. LOL!
Too many contrarians on the ship. No wonder we sail about in circles!
But more time to drink that way!
Yes, Lilo and Stich was very underrated! He is the king of a writer's mind. Well, my writer's mind, at least! And he's an alien! But can do so much more!
Well, darn it! Bo'sun! I would have picked up some info on it for you if I'd known!
Leave room in that suitcase...I'm coming, too!
I think it's on Kauai.
Never fear, Chance. It's nothing I can't google. Though if I do go to Hawaii, I'm more likely to do NOTHING and just enjoy the scenery, rather than run myself ragged at a Disney resort.
Wow. Uhm, $400 a night. I think we'll pass.
Just wow.
Crap! Really? Well, maybe you can just visit if you're in the area? Wow.
Terri, if we all chip in, it won't seem so expensive. Count me and my monkey-mind as TWO, okay? LOL
Ooohh, Happy birthday Q!
If we split it four ways, that's still a hundred dollars a night. LOL! Plus tax! And that's the cheapest rooms. The next room up is $570 a night.
That's obscene, I don't care if it is Hawaii.
It's not obscene! We're WORTH it. (Of course, it would be more fun if we could get someone else to pay for it. Like a publisher? LOL)
Or a sugar daddy?
We're worth it if it's not filled with children. Think about it. Do you want to vacation in Hawaii and be surrounded by children? I have a child and I don't want to do that. LOL!
I thought, often, this last weekend...this would be so much nicer if there were no kids here...
Evil, I know. But I'd love an adults only day at Disneyland. For one, it would be so much more quiet...and there'd be less rushes of adrenline as one does a backflip to avoid running over an errant toddler...or ten.
Ter, I find the idea of a Disney cruise terrifying.
And I'm pretty sure I heard someone talking about me.. but all I smell is burning wizard wand. OOooh Hellie, you used your wand didn't you?
Back for a hot second to say... Happy Birthday Q!! :)
Well, I would love an "adults only" day at Disney. Not that I have anything against kids. They're going to be paying my Social Security one of these days after all. :)
I remember a few years ago when Las Vegas decided to be a "family destination", which was insane. My sister, who has two kids, hated it, because she said it was the last place left you could go to get away from kids. LOL
Is there a clutch on that wand? LOL!
Sin - No one said anything. Nope, not a thing. Nothing to see here.
*passes ice picks to DRD*
*wipes fingerprints off ice pick before stashing it in an empty rum barrel*
Move along. Nothing to see here. Go ahead and take that crime scene tape down too.
Lucky for you guys I've already hit my ice pick quota of the month.
Don't they consider Vegas the adult Disney?
Another belated happy birthday wish for dear Q. I hope your birthday was terrific, Q, and that this year is a grand one for you.
Hey, Hellie and Marn, did you see that Rowling is going to be on Oprah, Friday?
OMGosh!! Terri, you remembered my birthday!
Thanks everyone for the good wishes ...especially the barmaid. :lol:
I think this calls for a 'Speech by Toad', Chance will understand. :wink:
I gaze in to the amber pool
and caress it with my tongue.
My fleeting thoughts of pirate decks
had kept me afloat on soggy Exmoor.
There is none so fair as a pirate lass
and none so eloquent to boot.
I salute you all and raise my glass
to the bonniest crew of all.
Bottoms up and down the hatch! :D
Q, that is a lovely poem. Thanks for sharing it with us.
NOW we need to hear about your birthday celebration. . .LOL
The cost of a night in Hawaii makes me shudder, but New York is the same way and far less worth it. I remember standing in the hotel bathroom with my friend and we couldn't turn around. The sink looked like it belonged to a dollhouse. At least in Hawaii, you're in HAWAII. When you're in NYC, you're in a place that doesn't know what actual nature looks like.
Does anyone think Q will be able to share the details of his birthday celebrations? *LOL*
She was skipping through Hobby Lobby on Saturday like a kid wearing a tiara and singing about unicorns.
Or My Little Ponies!?
Ooohhh Happy Birthday, Q!
Is it bad of me to admit that I like hiking? In the woods … in the prairie … through the city … and of course the mall.
Is it bad of me to admit that I used to carry a Swiss Army knife with me at all times?
Should I confess that my DD swears that she is going to turn me into Those People on What Not To Wear because all of my shorts say “Columbia” on them?
Do you want to know that I have a snake bite kit?
Is it bad of me to admit that my most expensive shoes are a love pair from Italy? A Simply Gorgeous … …ummm … pair of Gortex heavy duty hiking boots.
And
Lost? I never get lost.
Truth is … you can’t get lost when your not sure were you are to begin with!
Does anyone else have trouble doing “active” nothing
The only time I can do active nothing is when I am hiking.
I am not surprised you have a snake bite kit. *LOL* I'm more surprised *I* don't have one as paranoid as I am about them. :)
And I love the remark about how can you be lost when you never knew where you were in the first place. *LOL* Too true.
I've been reading about Daniel Boone--I read a book about him when I was a kid and it had a profound effect on me for some reason--and he was asked if he'd ever gotten lost while out on his long hunts and he said, "No, but I was bewildered once for about three days."
“No, but I was bewildered once for about three days.”
LOL! Yep, that's me. I'm never lost or confused. I'm just in a constant state of bewildered-ment. Which
Explains the goofy smile on my face ...
And that should read
"Lost? I never get lost.
Truth is … you can’t get lost when you’re not sure where you are to begin with!"
sigh
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