Welcome to the website of Barbara J. Webb
Below, please find links to some of my hobbies, projects, and friends.
Kittens, Rainbows, and Unicorns - LiveJournal.com
Setting goals
So tonight I mapped out the rest of my writing year. I basically have two goals: finish this draft of Shadows by WFC at the end of October, and then take November and December to work on a rewrite of Commandment.
What I did tonight was work out exact wordcounts this requires and set up tasks in Omnifocus to reflect that. I have words due every day, but I can earn days off by writing ahead. Easy enough. If I can stick with it.
This would give me a couple months away from Shadows before I come back to it in January for revision passes. With maybe an eye to start sending it out in March. *
As of tonight, I am 15,000 words in. I'll post progress as I go.
* of course, all this changes if someone wants to buy St. Pete.
Well, I'm back.
While I thoroughly enjoyed each and every trip I took this spring and summer (except for the buybacks, but they paid me for those), I am pretty sure I'm never going to do that again. Today's special word is "overbooked."
But I'm home now, and sorting through my life and projects and trying to get ducks in a row. How fortunate our apartment complex is crawling with ducks.
(And here I would cleverly insert a duck picture, but the last time I had any sort of picture organization was back in April, and truthfully, I've still got trip photos from December to organize and upload. /sigh)
After two workshops and GenCon -- all of which included a great deal of hanging out with other writers -- I have a huge list of recommended books to read.
I stumbled across the new 4th edition of Legend of the Five Rings at GenCon, and it evoked in me a longing to run an L5R campaign.
I haven't gotten near enough writing done over the summer. I still hope to finish a first draft of Shadows by the end of October, and then spend the rest of the year playing around with a rewrite of Commandment.
Getting back to writing while walking on the treadmill and looking into a personal trainer at the University Gym. All of this has taken on a new urgency as my sister wants to go steampunk for GenCon next year, which means I'll need to look good in a corset.
So as you can see, plenty of things to keep me occupied. Plus the usual computer gaming and cooking explorations that fill in gaps in my time. The biggest lesson I gained over the summer is that I really can do without hours on the internet every day. It's one thing to check LJ once or twice a day. It's another thing to keep clicking back and forth between Ars Technica and Metafilter to see if anything new was posted in the last 30 seconds. If I'm going to be wasting time, at least let it be wasted getting through Dragon Age or decorating my house in EQ2. :)
But no question it's good to be home. Good to spend time with Seth. Good to play with Sophie. Happy to have some time to settle in again.
Ready to go home
Approaching the end of my third week in Kansas, and I've about hit my limit. I'm tired, cranky, and generally over-stimulated. Workshop-brain is in full force, which means I am worked up about story and plot and hyper-critical of any words (my own or others') put in front of me.
The dorms here are just plain clammy. I'm tired of that too. And missing Seth. I'm usually very ready to head home at the end of three weeks here, but coming on top of my intensive two weeks away in June, my brain is just done now.
Except it isn't. Two-and-a-half weeks now I've spent tossing out story suggestions and helping the workshoppers tear down and rebuild their novel plots. In between, I've gone through the usual love-hate back-and-forth as I stick post-its on the wall for Shadows. I put words on the page. Hit the chapter four barrier. Was ready to throw the whole book aside for something -- anything -- that would be more fun. Preferably with lizards. Something with emotional depth and a character I cared about.
And I would have gotten away with it, too, if not for arantzain -- damn kids. (To be fair, lanerobins would probably have stopped me before I got very far, too.) As I was staring at my plot-sheet and its soulless lines of post-its, lamenting the fact Ash lacked any emotional hook, she threw out the perfect suggestion. And, dammit, it was brilliant. Bringing energy the first few chapters lacked, motivation where it was missing, and the sexual tension of which this book has been painfully bereft.
So, fine. Shadows gets to live another week. I will not let sparkly distract me.
Speaking of sparkly -- Inception holds up beautifully on second viewing. I really love this movie. Dragged the repeat offenders to it this evening, along with kijjohnson and mckitterick . Kij suggested it might be the best science fiction movie ever. I might agree.
July 8, 2010
July 8, 2010, originally uploaded by zhidarkivel.
Fishbowling in high action. We've been in high action and the walls are filling. That's my Shadows on the black paper (it seemed appropriate). I think at this point I've got 100k worth of stuff on the wall. So now it's down to writing it.
Day 2 and still trucking
It's almost nine and the main group isn't back from dinner yet. Our novelists are supposed to get their first lesson in fishbowling tonight, so it's going to be a late night if they don't show up soon. <cue evil laughter>
Four crits today -- two in the morning and two in the afternoon -- and I think they all went well. The first day is always a bit nervous, as people settle into the discussion format and figure out that they're allowed to ask questions. But the back-and-forth picked up quickly and both the alphas and omegas seem to be gelling. It's going to be a good workshop.
Kij and I snuck over to Blue Springs to go climbing tonight. When she first introduced me to the sport, back in November, I was new and unsure and terrified and never once climbed more than halfway up a wall. Now I've had six months of off-and-on bouldering to build both skills and confidence. Which means that tonight, for the first time ever, I climbed on-rope to the top of a route. (Although I must offer credit to Kij, who, when I tried to stop about ten feet from the top, said she refused to lower me down while I still had footholds. She made me finish.)
I found a plot key for Shadows this morning that I think will pull me through the muddy middle that's been vexing me. And last night I got the first scene revised to my satisfaction. Then I sent it to Lane and this afternoon I did some more work and got it revised to her satisfaction. Ready to move on. This first chapter is going to make or break me -- it has to be razor sharp. But I think once I get it all smooth, the rest will be easy. My tentative first draft goal is the end of September.
We'll see how that goes.
On the first day, we created...
No critiques on the first day. We're easing people in. Instead, we spent the morning deconstructing Gateway and bashing a new novel.
I keep forgetting how much I love Gateway. It distracted me, as Kij was talking, I'd get snagged by a page and look up two minutes later to realize I'd been reading, not listening. With everything else I've needed to read these last couple months, I hadn't reread it this year, and I realize I need to.
Building a novel from scratch is always fun, although I was sad the direction it took. The romance doesn't end happy. Bleh. This year's demo novel was a space opera based on a random scene Kij wrote three years ago. The exercise is a chance to talk about plot and to give workshoppers the tools they'll be using all through the workshop as we cover the fishbowl walls with butcher paper and post-it notes.
Afternoon off today, but the KU gym is closed for the 4th, so Kij and I will just go for a walk. I'm pushing for Mad Greek tonight, and then I'll be putting Shadows up on the wall and really fine-tuning the plot. By the end of the workshop, I want to have a solid outline and revisions done on the chapters that got Toolboxed.
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Settling in
Sunday night pizza and the CSSF workshop is launched. We've gone round the circle with introductions and Jim is talking about critiquing and more general concepts of managing reader expectations.
Our Internet here is nonexistent. The closest wireless is 5 floors down and we've got nothing in our rooms. Which will be good for productivity, bad for keeping up with the world.
Serious storms are moving through Kansas. Bears are unlikely here, but tornadoes are possible, so this workshop is not without it's dangers. We'll stay on our toes.
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June 30, 2010
June 30, 2010, originally uploaded by zhidarkivel.
Not the best picture in the world, but you can make out the bird's nest right outside the kitchen window. It's been gaining an egg every night. We've seen the mom flitting back and forth, but in the day it's warm enough I guess she can go hunt.
Lucy, who is three, finds this all very exciting.
Survivoring
I darted up to Lebanon yesterday to sneak in a visit with Susan and the kids before I head off to Kansas.
We played some hide and seek, utilizing both floors of my grandfather's house and the front and back yards. I was better at hiding than the six and three year olds were at finding me, but we discovered it brings a fun new layer to the game if I texted clues from my hiding place. (To Susan's phone.) Although Susan tried to ghost me by texting me back and telling them to listen for the ring, but I had remembered to set it to vibrate.
Michael's cat Marie has settled in well here, and Daddy Herb seems to have bonded with her. It's nice they both have company, and Marie has always been happier without other cats around.
The big event for the evening was fishing and our cookout out on the farm. I have to say, the evening was perfect. The weather cooperated better than we could have hoped for -- low 80s with a nice breeze and (for Missouri) low humidity. We head out around 4:30, so the sun wasn't intense. The fish were biting. We hadn't planned to keep any -- this was strictly recreational fishing -- but we caught a few decent sized bass and probably could have pulled of a fish dinner. Everybody got to catch a fish. Alex, particularly, wrestled in one of the larger catches. We took pictures and threw them back and everyone was happy.
Around six, we built a little fire over by the Collins pond. We set up a card table and used the bed of Daddy Herb's pickup to spread out hot dogs, chips, carrots, watermelon, and s'mores fixings. Hot dogs cooked over an open flame are the best. I was on primary fire duty, but the kids helped, adding little sticks and being generally excited about their first fire. Alex decided he didn't like toasted marshmallows, but I guess we'll let him stay in the family anyway. Mother did some more fishing as the rest of us stuffed ourselves on marshmallows -- it's really impossible to stop while there are remains in the bag -- and caught another few bass. And not a single mosquito or tick harassed us the whole evening.
A successful outing, all round.
June 29, 2010
June 29, 2010, originally uploaded by zhidarkivel.
One match. No paper.
June 19, 2010
June 19, 2010, originally uploaded by zhidarkivel.
Last shot of the mountains. I'm going to miss this view out my window. Walter suggests New Mexico is one of the best places in the world to live - looking at this every morning, it's hard to argue.
So here's something that never happens in Kansas
A bear just walked by our meeting room.
Seriously. A freaking bear.
There were three of us in there, working on homework. I looked up and right on the other side of the window from me, a bear. I called the guys' attention to it and we watched it waddle on past, strolling along the deck as though it were just going out for pizza.
No shit. A bear.
More from the Toolbox
From Saturday:
There seem to be no bugs up here, and no need for climate control. We spend a lot of time with windows and doors wide open. I can see why people choose to live here, despite the inconveniences (like no boiled eggs and a 45 minute run to the grocery.)
The first week is over, and we celebrated last night with pizza, Master & Commander on the TV, and then a good couple hours in-and-out of the hot tub. Everyone seems to still be in good spirits, still friends, and eager to get to work on next week’s assignments.
My own crit session went very well. Everyone at the table had good insights into what I could do to improve the work, and Walter and Nancy were especially helpful.
This morning, we took a trip down to the Taos Pueblo. One of the oldest continuously occupied settlements in the US. I have mixed feelings about it, that I’m not ready to put into words yet.
From this morning:
A weekend full of activity.Carrie Vaughn came in Friday night and gave a talk on Saturday evening. She touched on quite a few topics, including how to approach writing as a career (which I know Walter and Nancy are going to be talking about more on Thursday) and how to manage a series. Then we all went to a Mexican restaurant that had the best salsa and chocolate cake (not at the same time) I have ever tasted (the chocolate cake had a strong cinnamon flavor which was more awesome than I could have imagined). I’m excited we’re probably going back this Friday.
This (Monday) morning I receive my second round of crits. And later this week I get my private conference with Walter or Nancy. More lectures this week and more stuff from other people I need to crit. Plenty of work still to come, definitely.
I’m starting to think about home again. The two weeks I’ve got there before I head off to Kansas. How to balance all the things I want to get done in that time. Revisions. Climbing. Critting. Somewhere in there, it might be nice to spend time with Seth.
Exercise 3
Behind the cut, my rewrite of the ending of the Muppet Movie, as done for Exercise 3 out here at the Toolbox.The Muppet Movie The tipping point — Kermit is approached by a disguised Max, who tells him that Doc Hopper has hired a frog-killing specialist. My change — instead of going to a showdown with Hopper, Kermit continues to avoid him and heads on to Hollywood. Except, the movie continues to play out as it did. With the confrontation with Hopper in the town and the progression on to Hollywood, up to the reprise of Rainbow Connection. And then: CUT TO:INT. SMOKY BAR -- NIGHT KERMIT sits on a stool with a line of empty shot glasses in front of him. A pretty young lady bartender leans towards him, listening attentively. KERMITMakes a good story, doesn’t it? Young frog grows up, becomes a man. Faces his fear.
KERMIT slams back another shot.
KERMITTrouble is, it’s crap.
BARTENDERSo what really happened?
KERMITI ran away.
KERMIT taps the bar. BARTENDER pours him another shot.
KERMITSure, I went to Hollywood. I made my movie. But every time I turned on the TV, I could see his face. Those terrible ads. I started to dream.
KERMIT drinks again.
KERMITTiny little crutches…Tiny little crutches.
BARTENDERExcuse me?
KERMITPiggy left me first. She couldn’t…my drinking… They all found excuses. Better jobs. Rowlf and his solo album. The money didn’t matter. My fault. All my fault. But I couldn’t stop thinking about the millions of frogs -- I could have saved them, maybe. If I’d been brave enough. If I could have…something.
KERMIT finishes his last drink and lays a fanned trio of twenties on the bar.
KERMITGreen.
KERMIT rests a flipper over the bills.
KERMITAll I wanted was to be rich and famous. Was that so terrible a dream?
KERMIT slides off the barstool and walks away. On the TV screen behind the BARTENDER, we see the movie opening, KERMIT singing on his log.?
June 11, 2010
June 11, 2010, originally uploaded by zhidarkivel.
Walter Jon Williams prepares to blow the Horn of Summoning at the end of a break.
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