Writerly Persuasions

Memorable Books Meme

2009-05-08T02:22:04Z

Saw this on birdsedge and thought it would be fun to do and it'll give me a post here. I cross posted to my book blog, so if you read both, sorry for the repetition.

"This can be a quick one. Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes."

In no particular order, and in longer than 15 minutes because I couldn't remember titles and drew a blank on one author's name and had to Google it:

Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue
Cat trilogy by Joan Vinge (Psion, Catspaw, Dreamfall -- I think of them as one long book)
Spares by Michael Marshall Smith (the first of his I read and it spurred me to read everything by him)
The Shape of Snakes by Minette Walters (the first of hers I read and I've devoured every other book she's written that I can get my hands on)
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
Shardik by Richard Adams
The Church of Dead Girls by Stephen Dobyns
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter Miller
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
Nancy Drew, The Dana Girls, and Trixie Belden books. Some of them are among my all-time favorite books, especially The Clue in the Crumbling Wall and The Ghost of Blackwood Hall (Nancy Drew) and The Secret at the Hermitage (Dana Girls).
Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy (assigned in school, my fave of Hardy's books)
Midnight Nation by J. Michael Straczynski (A comic book maxi-series, it came out in trade as a graphic novel, so I'm counting this awesome work.)
Under the Skin by Michel Faber

There are so many more, but this is a nice, eclectic mix. I keep thinking there are 3 or 4 others that should come before these, but their titles are just beyond my reach for the moment, so this list will suffice. Good books all.

To My Friends List

2009-04-01T04:14:32Z

I've just read that LJ is beta testing a new friends page that will have automatic lj cuts for long entries. I rarely read posts with lj cuts. I much prefer to just scroll through my fl and not have to click anywhere unless I feel an urge to leave a comment. It's the only way to get through my long fl in a timely fashion. Clicking takes too much time.

So, if this is implemented and there is no way to opt out of it, I will be reading a lot fewer posts from all of you. Just thought I'd let you all know.

Now, if the part of the post is enticing enough, I might click through, but that doesn't mean "teasers" or other less than informative come-ons. I really hate those. I almost never click links that say "you'll love this" or some such, without telling me what the thing is, and I'm not likely to click through an lj cut preceded by "what a great day I had..." or similar intro.

They say on the LJ News page that this is something people overwhelmingly want, so I guess majority rules. But I don't like it. I really hope there's an opt-out option.

I'm Still Here

2009-03-09T04:02:51Z

Really. I am. Just not posting. I got a bit obsessed with a silly little game on Facebook called Pet Society. I got obsessed about moving up to the next level so I could get a 6th room in my pet's house. It's like a virtual dollhouse. Now that I've gotten the room -- and possibly, though I'm trying to not get my hopes up too much, getting a bit better, health-wise -- I really do plan to get back to working on the WIR.

I just have too many interests. And I've already given up crafting, only to replace it with more toy collecting and Pet Society. *sigh*

In the Beginning

2009-02-02T14:41:04Z

My recent post on rasfc about prologues that I want to save, so I'm posting it here. I've probably posted similar things here over the years, but that's never stopped me before and won't now. ;)

In response to a post about immediacy of books that don't have prologues.

I've read prologues that quickly set up something intriguing that turns out to be in the past yet will play a vital role in the actual story and I've read openings that are first chapters that read like infodumps or meander through setting up the ... uh, setting. Many books without labeled prologues have them. They end up being the first few paragraphs or the first scene of the first chapter. Even the use of a "Galactic News" or "Encyclopedia Galactica" item at the start of a chapter serves that purpose.

I've always read prologues as first chapters. Just because there's a particular label on it doesn't make it any less a part of a book. Some books start in the wrong place but that's true for ones with a labeled prologue or that start with chapter 1. Some books don't even have chapters.

One of the more delightful books I've read in years -- and a first novel, I believe -- is The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue, a fantasy that starts with a few pages of first person narration explaining hobgoblins and what they prefer to be called and so on. I thought it was a slow start, yet it was intriguing enough for me to keep reading. Fortunately, it wasn't too slow and I was well rewarded for sticking with it. And given how much info the opening pages covered that were vital and how much more info needed to be covered as the book progressed, it worked. It set the tone, and pulled me into the story. Everyone I've recommended it to has loved it.

And I think I knowing something the characters don't doesn't eliminate surprise because there are all sorts of other things to discover. Books with multi povs work that way. In my WIR, I have pov for the protag plus one of the not so good guys and the reader, due to reading scenes from the not so good guy's pov, knows things the protag doesn't. Yet I like to think I have surprises there, too, because I don't show everyone's pov.

I would think omni offers challenges in that area, too.

Just in Case

2009-01-08T21:39:24Z

Just in case LJ goes belly-up, and I don't think it will, even though I don't like it much and probably would just use Blogger, anyway, I created an Insane Journal to reserve the username, in case I ever decide to use it. I'm nycshelly there. But I'm not posting there now.

I'm in it for the Icons

2009-01-07T02:43:34Z

My FL is full of woe re: LJ being on the ropes. This seems to now be an annual event. Maybe this time, the reason for the panic has merit. Maybe this time LJ really will fold. People are backing up posts. They've got VOX journals/blogs just in case. I have a VOX, but I don't like it. Well, I like how easy it is to add books I've read to the sidebar, but I can refer to my Library Thing for that. Also, the link list is limited, and NO ICONS. No Userpics! No real individuality!

If LJ folds, and I want to write about writing, I'll go back to my Blogger writing blog. I have a lot of Blogger blogs. One for reviewing and writing about books. One for writing about and reviewing comics. One for photos. Etc. But they're public, so if I lose my LJ, I won't post writing progress or personal posts except in rather vague ways. I won't post excerpts of my writing. I won't name my characters. I don't blog publicly that way.

Not sure how I'd cope without my 176 and counting LJ userpics.

Iconage

2008-12-30T04:26:45Z

I'm at 176 of 195. It's been fun to make icons again and know I can actually use them. I really hate deleting to make room for new ones. I'd pared down my icons to the ones i couldn't bear not having available, and it was still 150 or so.

So, I have a userpic (I can never decide if I should use the official "userpic" name or the popular "icon") now for plotting. I still need one for discussions about characters and character development. An appropriate image has yet to come to me.

All of which means I'm hoping to be back to revising and writing in the new year, and posting about it. Well, that is the plan.

Pirate Icons

2008-12-29T05:00:01Z

The next International Talk Like a Pirate Day isn't until September, but I've been meaning to make a pirate icon for myself, and got carried away as usual. Here are some for the taking. Just let me know which if any you take. Credit is nice, but not necessary. These were made from my photos.

1. 2. 3.

4. 5.

The Internet, She Has Returned

2008-12-27T00:37:21Z

I think I need an icon/userpic depicting my joy in all things broadband internet. Two f'in days without it and me, off from work for those two days! Argh. Still feeling sickish, couldn't concentrate to work on the WIR, so I rediscovered my addiction for FreeCell. Let me tell you, I was never so eager to return to work with its T3 line (although, sometimes, internet is down there, too).

I've skimmed through my FL, didn't comment much. Two days of posts, even with a major holiday, do add up.

Oh, I made some icons, too. And now I've uploaded them, plus some old ones I'd taken off because I was running out of room. I'm at 172/195 now. When can I have 200, please? :)

EarlyWord: The Publisher | Librarian Connection

2008-12-19T06:10:53Z

EarlyWord: The Publisher | Librarian Connection

I'm trying out LJ's new Send to LJ Bookmarklet that lets you do a post directly from a website you want to share. Blogger's had a Blog This button for ages, Facebook has a browser share button, and you can get buttons to send pages to your delicious page. And I'm sure other sites let you do it, too. And now, LJ has added the function. You just click the button, or pick it from your bookmarks if that's where you saved it, and a post window opens with the link already there. This is one added feature that can be really useful. And it rocks.

Writing Icons

2008-12-18T05:17:52Z

I'm back in an icon making state of mind, now that I have room for more. I made a few extras, in case anyone is interested.

You can use them as is, or add text. They're made from my photos, so if you take any, please credit nycshelly . And do let me know if you take any. Enjoy!

1. 2. 3.

For Fun

2008-11-27T22:00:37Z

Feel like crap (recovering from colitis brought on by an infection), so am making icons.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Five nature pics (3 from Central Park) and some bokeh beads to use as bases or icons. No credit needed, but let me know if you take any. They're all made from my photos. Enjoy.

Stewie and Steve Show Off their Jack-o'Lantern

2008-10-31T03:01:52Z

Stewie and Steve Show Off their Jack-o'Lantern
Originally uploaded by ShellyS

Wishing everyone a Happy Halloween.

LJ Housecleaning

2008-10-18T03:27:11Z

I just went and edited out all the graphics from my LJ Profile that were stored on my website. It felt weird. My profile looks a bit naked. There are a few graphic thingies still there that are stored elsewhere, but i doubt I'll put anything graphical back into my profile. I'll save my graphic efforts for user pics. Just feels like the end of an era or something. *sniff*

Halloween Icons

2008-10-09T17:41:52Z

A couple of icons/bases for Halloween. Do with them what you will, but please, don't hotlink. Credit is nice but not required. And please, let me know if you take any. Enjoy.

1.

2.

It's Talk Like a Pirate Day, Arrrr!

2008-09-19T23:22:48Z

The King

2008-07-20T16:42:44Z

jersey_lion did this, and the results were accurate, so I figured I'd give it a try. My results are less accurate, but close, but so many of the questions I could have answered either way, so this was tough.

Your result for Which Chess Piece are You Test?...

The King

Congrats! Only 3-5% of the population score as this!

Kings direct their energy towards the outer world of action and word. They are organizers using logical principles with a tendency to control life. They’ll gravitate to organizing systems and people to meet goals and attempt to improve upon the way things are done. This can be expressed with finesse. The king requires very little to implement plans and very little will stop them. An overstatement of the worse type: “I’m really sorry, but you have to die.” The more sensitive souls will chuckle if they read this and know of a King. They are decisive, they know what needs to be done, and they are great at directing others.

The King prefers objectivity when making any decision. They are concerned with truth, principles and justice. They are analytical and critical thinkers and use this to govern the outer world. By thinking of the masses needs they tend to ignore the individuals feelings. Because of their knowledge of what needs to be done – being questioned can result in an icy response, or worse an icy silence.

Kings strive for excellence. They can focus heavily on the task at hand and keep others on track. They may issue orders without giving reasons and are prone to introducing too much change. Kings are excellent with the business arts. They are generally assertive, outspoken, confident, outgoing, energetic, full of charisma, and hardly stopped by conflict or criticism. They can appear argumentative, insensitive, intimidating or outright controlling. They can simply be overwhelming because of their willingness and capability to shape the world around them. But remember, every time the King shakes your hand, or offers a gift – there is great emotion invested in that one act. They downplay their gifts to others and they downplay their emotions to guard them. The King is second in rarity to the Queen.

Take Which Chess Piece are You Test? at HelloQuizzy

Because I Needed a Post

2008-03-18T01:37:21Z

It occurred to me that I haven't posted for a while. The reason is because I haven't had anything writerly to say and still don't. But here's a recent pic to brighten your week.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T04:49:53Z

This should give you an idea how I've been spending my time. I also got my teeth cleaned this morning, then came home and cleaned the apartment a bit. And took fun photos of stormtroopers.

Icon-ectomy

2008-01-24T04:54:45Z

I just deleted icons. It was more painful than killing my darlings in revision. I now have 133 of 140. Room for 7 news ones. Plus, I refreshed "Chocoliciousness" and perked up a couple of others, then added "Patricia the Wise" to my userpics. Which means I have room for the 3 I want to still do and still have room for more. Icons: They're addictive!

Sometimes, Change is Good

2008-01-22T22:22:25Z

And sometimes, I just get sick of looking at the same thing, in this case, the layout. So I changed it. To one that's ready made. No tweaking on this one. If I have the time, I'll fiddle with some CSS to up the font size and darken the colors in the sidebar, but the truth is, I'm far more comfortable playing around in Blogger's templates than I ever got with LJ's customizations pages.

I moved the counter to the Sticky Post, since there aren't extra sidebar boxes in this layout. I also moved a few things to my Profile page aka User Info, or About Me, since they vanished from the sidebar, too, and I wanted to keep them somewhere. I don't much care about the rest right now, because the way LJ works, we rarely visit each other's journals. We read our friends page, which is our own layout, and click through to follow an LJ cut or to leave a comment. What I have in my sidebar, especially now that most of my entries are flocked and I doubt many folks not on my FL are visiting, is probably not getting seen by more than a couple of people, and therefore, aren't likely to be missed.

I have saved the sidebar items, tho, in case I switch to a layout that will allow me to add them back in.

Zine for Sale

2008-01-13T22:54:04Z

I'm weeding my zines collection again. This week, up on eBay, is the Rat Patrol zine Just Deserts One from 1985. In case anyone's interested. Upcoming will be another war show zine and a couple of Tales of the Gold Monkey zines. I'm doing one auction a week or so to keep down the stress level.

Nuff Said

2007-12-11T04:19:23Z

Revision, Part 2

2007-12-04T20:18:04Z

After I shut down the computer last night, I pulled out the hardcopy of the WIR and all the notes (the printouts of the beta readers' comments and my scribbled notes on a half dozen scraps of paper) and wrote out on one sheet the main points/questions I need to address. It's neat and organized and I feel more in control. I think I'll work beginning to end again. That's mostly how my brain works. But at least now I feel like I've done something, reviserly.

An Apple for the Horsie

2007-11-08T06:32:00Z

An Apple for the Horsie
Originally uploaded by ShellyS

Sometimes, I crack myself up. The clothes are from a Bratz doll. They might have big heads, but their itty bodies are small enough for much of their clothes to fit 6-7 inch action figures. Sure surprised me.