Welcome to the website of Barbara J. Webb
Below, please find links to some of my hobbies, projects, and friends.
Kittens, Rainbows, and Unicorns
Kittens, Rainbows, and Unicorns - LiveJournal.com
Re-Neducation
I had a good trip to Lawrence and Calgary. Spending time with kijjohnson and lanerobins reminded me of the joys and pressures of sitting in the same room with other writers, the constant sound of typing to remind you you need to work. In Lawrence I got to hear Michael Chabon, and that was worth the entire trip right there. In Calgary I went to the zoo, spent quality time with old friends and made brand new ones. WFC was awesome. The food in Calgary was awesome. A truly wonderful week all around.
Among other things, it reinvigorated me. I've been futsing around since I got to Arkansas. I don't have a real schedule I've kept to. I've taken too many days off and put in only a token effort too many other days. It's time to get back to work, for real, time to make some progress. I've been working on it three months now, and that's simply too long to still be mired in the middle.
So here I sit.
54,858 / 100,000
(54.9%)
And forward I go. Time to finish this book.
A Brand New Day
Like everyone else in the world right now, I am blown away by yesterday's events. For the first time in my life, I'm excited about the man who was just elected president. For the first time in my life, there seems to be honest proof that things can change, that things can be different.
Everyone I know is still cautious, though, hesitant. We're waiting for the other shoe to drop. We've been burned before. It's like we're all abused spouses. As Lane said, "We want to have hope, but we're kind of scared to voice it in case He comes back and smacks us again."
I'm determined to be hopeful. Yes, there's all kinds of things that can go wrong. Yes, it's going to be a hard road for him to make the changes we so desperately need. Yes, bad things could happen. But I believe politics is one of those areas where if enough people believe in the good, look for the good, good things will happen. It's a game of perception, and I believe our perceptions have changed.
Yes we can, people. Yes we can.
I voted
And now, as a distraction:
Video clips at Ustream
Of some concern
People seem to be getting tense.
This story takes place in Lawrence, KS, a quiet, midwestern college town. I had stopped to get gas at a main-drag station in the middle of the afternoon. All previous experience led me to believe this would be an uneventful experience.
A little white car was parked along the sidewalk in front of the convenience store door. A large white pickup backed in to one of the numerous open parking spaces a few feet beyond. An older, paunchy white man got out of the pickup and yelled "Get your ass into a parking space" at the young black man driving the little white car. A shouting match erupted while the younger man's girlfriend tried to get him to just leave. The men got in each other's faces. Profanity was exchanged. No physical violence happened, but if it had, I would not have been surprised.
These men were strangers. The white car, while not legally parked, wasn't blocking the drive or the entrance. The older man took it upon himself to instigate this confrontation, aggressively, over the sort of minor infraction you see a hundred times a day.
arian1 discusses another disturbing incident over on his journal. Unlike him, I have no direct evidence this was prompted by politics. But with the tensions brought on by the economy, the divisive campaigning practices and anger on both sides can't be helping.
The Muddy Middle
Middles are the hardest part of a book to write. (Please disregard any early claims I made that beginning are hardest, or any future claims that endings are.)
Beginnings are full of energy and possibility. Anything could happen! The rules haven't been set yet; the characters are new and interesting. New threads, new questions, keep the action moving along and both writer and (hopefully) reader are drawn along in the excitement of figuring out this new world. Sure there's going to be some casting about and false starts, but you can really get away with anything in the beginning.
Endings write themselves. You've done all the heavy lifting already. You know these characters now; you know the problems; you know the solutions. The conclusion is inevitable based on the threads you laid out in the rest of the book. Things Happen! True, here's the section where if you do it wrong, it will be most glaringly obvious, but boldness will carry the day.
The middle. Ah, the middle. All those crazy, disparate threads I threw in the beginning have to start weaving together. All the words and ideas and unique aspects of the world have to make sense by now. I can't get away with things being unexplained any longer, trusting the patient reader to believe I'll explain things later. Later is now.
And I've been writing this book for soooo long now. And the end is still soooo far away. The word count goes up, but every thousand added still looks paltry in the no-man's land between the quick-to-gain 30k and the if-I-work-hard-I-can-be-done-this-week 80k. I'm tired, and the characters are tired, and we both know there's still so much left to do.
I love fall
There's a smell in the air, woody and green and smoky. The early evening chill is refreshing after hot summer afternoons. Windows open and fresh air circulates through the house.
Right now, it's dark and cloudy outside. Raining, but without any wind, so I have windows open to listen to the patter. (One thing I'm noticing about Arkansas -- when it rains, it's hardly ever a storm in the sense I knew them from Missouri and Kansas.) A little while ago, I did some writing out on our covered porch, both the laptop and I safe from the rain, but close enough I could watch and listen and shiver as the barest hint of a chilly breeze brushed over me.
In Kansas, a day like today would be one of a blessed few that would mark the transition from unbearable heat to unbearable cold. I'm hoping the milder winters here mean fall will linger.
Last Sunday, Seth and I went hiking in one of the nearby state parks. I'd brought a long sleeve shirt, comfortable as we left the house, but quickly shed it once we were moving. The woods were green and gold, just starting to turn. What a delightful time to explore our new surroundings.
The tangy, sweet smell of apples in the oven. Another fall smell. Today, I love my home, love my life, love the world.
Pretty pictures
Two new pieces of art arrived this last week, both acquired at GenCon. Added to the wall, they continue our quest to make this place seem like home.
The Green Chapel by LA Williams is in the living room over the couch. The picture doesn't quite do justice to the way this piece seems to glow. I met LA years ago when I was working for his sister-in-law and have been a huge fan of him both as a person and an artist. He's also one of the only fantasy artists Seth will let me hang in the living room. :)
Winter Wings by Nene Thomas. I've loved her for years as well, and am blown away by the way her art has evolved lately. This one is all about girly fantasy, which, when I'm all alone in the darkness, I must admit I am too. It's in the office where I can look at it while I'm working on the PC.
Exploring Fayetteville
Without really knowing people here, it's easy to hang around the house all day, which, as it turns out, is not conducive to getting writing done. So I've been making a systematic exploration of coffee shops around to try to find a place that would be cool go to hang out and write in on a semi-regular basis. Especially once the weather cools off and sitting on my porch isn't as nice.
There's Perk down the street from us. An easy bike ride. They brew their chai like real tea (instead of from a mix), and it is tasty. Downside -- no bike rack or any way to lock my bike while I'm in there. I've been leaning it against the window outside the table I've been sitting at, but still leaves me a little nervous.
On the bus line:
Starbucks. 'Nuf said.
Two coffee shops run by the Uni. Chai is okay. Baked goods are okay. Atmosphere in one is okay (the other, kind of crappy). Nothing to write home about, but will do in a pinch.
Downtown coffee shop -- lovely atmosphere. Delicious drinks. Haven't tried their baked goods yet, but they look tasty in the counter. Downside -- this is the most expensive coffee shop I've ever seen in my life.
So I'm left with one more place on campus to try, then I'll hit a different bus line and try some of the places up around the north Fayetteville area. Although one of those would have to really blow me away to be worth the bus transfer timesink.
For Chris
So you can keep track:
http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/
It also has an RSS feed, so you don't have to keep checking.
Byzarium September issue
I'm quoting ldragoon because I'm lazy.
The bite-sized September issue of Byzarium is here! This month, we have two stories to bring you:
The Mistman, by Michael John Grist. I liked this story because it feels like an old-timey fairy tale: disturbing as fuck and more than happy to crawl into your back-brain and set up residence there. A welcome prelude to the creep-fest that will be the October issue.
An Occurrence at Oakpost Sundries, by Jacob P. Silvia. This was actually initially submitted as a Bad-Fic contest submission. This entry had a little something extra to it, however, that convinced me it needed to be bumped up to a regular submission. And it has zombies. I am a sucker for well written zombies.
Again, I hope you enjoy both these stories. I certainly did.
In Other News...
We got a TON of entries last month for the flash fiction contest -- thanks again to Kiriko-Moth for allowing us to showcase such beautiful artwork. It was very hard to select just one story, but Barbara and I finally got it narrowed down. The winning submission will appear in the October issue.
A new flash fiction contest image will be posted Monday, September 15, and I hope you find it equally inspiring. Thanks again to everyone who submitted such great stories. You did not make our jobs as editors easy ones, I assure you!
The art of the possible
Politics these days frustrate me. Humanity at large and how it responds to politics frustrates me.
But my friend Rob just made a very eloquent and well researched statement about lies being thrown out there into the ether. It's worth a read.
Freakangels
If you haven't seen Freakangels yet, and you like graphic novels, it's worth checking out. They just finished their first story arc and are about to put out a paper volume. It's post-apocalyptic fantasy and pretty cool.
The dragon says so.
Rain, rain, go away
The rain continues and is supposed to keep up solid through tomorrow as well. I guess we're on the edge of Hurricane Gustav, which I find fascinating. Strange to be that far south.
Today I discovered Zoe Keating, a cellist who does electronic music looping. It's really an amazing sound. There's a podcast interview with her, after which I went and purchased her album off iTunes. (She's on iTunes plus, so no icky DRM)
Sat on the porch a while this morning, watching the rain and reading. That was pretty cool. This afternoon I must do dishes and laundry. And, of course, write.
Wordcount on Pax continues to tick upwards. Even on the bad days, the numbers go up, so that's something.
And look: dragons!
On my own
So Seth took off today for a conference in Germany. He'll be gone a week and a half.
I'm too new to Arkansas. I don't have a routine, don't have places, don't have people. The apartment is quiet. It feels empty.
It's not like I don't spend all day alone in the house already, but the silence now has a different tone. It's more oppressive. Harder to work through. It's silence that will last till next Thursday, not silence that will disappear around six, so I'd better get my work done because there's going to be distractions in a few hours. It's silence without a deadline.
I go away all the time. I travel by myself. But then I'm the one out doing fun things, not wandering around an empty apartment that only just became home.
If we were still in Lawrence, I'd have any number of people I could call up, drag over to my house or go over to theirs or go out for pizza or movies or coffee.
Blah blah -- I know I'm being whiny. But it is what it is and I am who I am.
It's dark and rainy and I'm alone.
The angels of our better nature
Back to work on Pax after the GenCon interruption. I've settled into the 1000 words a day goal - 1200 was too much. It's not that there won't be days when I write 1200 or more, but on the bad days, I can't push more than 1000 out of my system.
More bad days on Pax than on St. Pete, but then with Pax's structure the beginning/introduction is much longer than it was with St. Pete, and I think I just have more trouble with those. The setup for the book is still a bit rough, with some potential logic flaws, but at least it's on the page now and on the page can be fixed.
I have people looking over my shoulder on this one now, so hopefully a little added guilt will keep me on track. I'd really like to have the first draft done by the end of October so I can enjoy my trip to World Fantasy Con without obsessing over the end.
Rachel is growing as a character -- enough that I'm going to have to seriously rewrite the first few scenes with her because she's just not that person anymore. I like her better now. Cade is going to have to bring the cool to stay ahead in the favorite character race, but he's got a tail, so that's a solid advantage from the start.
16,400 / 100,000
(16.4%)
While I ponder, my dragon army continues to grow.
Newsfeed display by CaRP
Kittens, Rainbows, and Unicorns - LiveJournal.com
Re-Neducation
I had a good trip to Lawrence and Calgary. Spending time with kijjohnson and lanerobins reminded me of the joys and pressures of sitting in the same room with other writers, the constant sound of typing to remind you you need to work. In Lawrence I got to hear Michael Chabon, and that was worth the entire trip right there. In Calgary I went to the zoo, spent quality time with old friends and made brand new ones. WFC was awesome. The food in Calgary was awesome. A truly wonderful week all around.
Among other things, it reinvigorated me. I've been futsing around since I got to Arkansas. I don't have a real schedule I've kept to. I've taken too many days off and put in only a token effort too many other days. It's time to get back to work, for real, time to make some progress. I've been working on it three months now, and that's simply too long to still be mired in the middle.
So here I sit.
54,858 / 100,000
(54.9%)
And forward I go. Time to finish this book.
A Brand New Day
Like everyone else in the world right now, I am blown away by yesterday's events. For the first time in my life, I'm excited about the man who was just elected president. For the first time in my life, there seems to be honest proof that things can change, that things can be different.
Everyone I know is still cautious, though, hesitant. We're waiting for the other shoe to drop. We've been burned before. It's like we're all abused spouses. As Lane said, "We want to have hope, but we're kind of scared to voice it in case He comes back and smacks us again."
I'm determined to be hopeful. Yes, there's all kinds of things that can go wrong. Yes, it's going to be a hard road for him to make the changes we so desperately need. Yes, bad things could happen. But I believe politics is one of those areas where if enough people believe in the good, look for the good, good things will happen. It's a game of perception, and I believe our perceptions have changed.
Yes we can, people. Yes we can.
I voted
And now, as a distraction:
Video clips at Ustream
Of some concern
People seem to be getting tense.
This story takes place in Lawrence, KS, a quiet, midwestern college town. I had stopped to get gas at a main-drag station in the middle of the afternoon. All previous experience led me to believe this would be an uneventful experience.
A little white car was parked along the sidewalk in front of the convenience store door. A large white pickup backed in to one of the numerous open parking spaces a few feet beyond. An older, paunchy white man got out of the pickup and yelled "Get your ass into a parking space" at the young black man driving the little white car. A shouting match erupted while the younger man's girlfriend tried to get him to just leave. The men got in each other's faces. Profanity was exchanged. No physical violence happened, but if it had, I would not have been surprised.
These men were strangers. The white car, while not legally parked, wasn't blocking the drive or the entrance. The older man took it upon himself to instigate this confrontation, aggressively, over the sort of minor infraction you see a hundred times a day.
arian1 discusses another disturbing incident over on his journal. Unlike him, I have no direct evidence this was prompted by politics. But with the tensions brought on by the economy, the divisive campaigning practices and anger on both sides can't be helping.
The Muddy Middle
Middles are the hardest part of a book to write. (Please disregard any early claims I made that beginning are hardest, or any future claims that endings are.)
Beginnings are full of energy and possibility. Anything could happen! The rules haven't been set yet; the characters are new and interesting. New threads, new questions, keep the action moving along and both writer and (hopefully) reader are drawn along in the excitement of figuring out this new world. Sure there's going to be some casting about and false starts, but you can really get away with anything in the beginning.
Endings write themselves. You've done all the heavy lifting already. You know these characters now; you know the problems; you know the solutions. The conclusion is inevitable based on the threads you laid out in the rest of the book. Things Happen! True, here's the section where if you do it wrong, it will be most glaringly obvious, but boldness will carry the day.
The middle. Ah, the middle. All those crazy, disparate threads I threw in the beginning have to start weaving together. All the words and ideas and unique aspects of the world have to make sense by now. I can't get away with things being unexplained any longer, trusting the patient reader to believe I'll explain things later. Later is now.
And I've been writing this book for soooo long now. And the end is still soooo far away. The word count goes up, but every thousand added still looks paltry in the no-man's land between the quick-to-gain 30k and the if-I-work-hard-I-can-be-done-this-week 80k. I'm tired, and the characters are tired, and we both know there's still so much left to do.
I love fall
There's a smell in the air, woody and green and smoky. The early evening chill is refreshing after hot summer afternoons. Windows open and fresh air circulates through the house.
Right now, it's dark and cloudy outside. Raining, but without any wind, so I have windows open to listen to the patter. (One thing I'm noticing about Arkansas -- when it rains, it's hardly ever a storm in the sense I knew them from Missouri and Kansas.) A little while ago, I did some writing out on our covered porch, both the laptop and I safe from the rain, but close enough I could watch and listen and shiver as the barest hint of a chilly breeze brushed over me.
In Kansas, a day like today would be one of a blessed few that would mark the transition from unbearable heat to unbearable cold. I'm hoping the milder winters here mean fall will linger.
Last Sunday, Seth and I went hiking in one of the nearby state parks. I'd brought a long sleeve shirt, comfortable as we left the house, but quickly shed it once we were moving. The woods were green and gold, just starting to turn. What a delightful time to explore our new surroundings.
The tangy, sweet smell of apples in the oven. Another fall smell. Today, I love my home, love my life, love the world.
Pretty pictures
Two new pieces of art arrived this last week, both acquired at GenCon. Added to the wall, they continue our quest to make this place seem like home.
The Green Chapel by LA Williams is in the living room over the couch. The picture doesn't quite do justice to the way this piece seems to glow. I met LA years ago when I was working for his sister-in-law and have been a huge fan of him both as a person and an artist. He's also one of the only fantasy artists Seth will let me hang in the living room. :)
Winter Wings by Nene Thomas. I've loved her for years as well, and am blown away by the way her art has evolved lately. This one is all about girly fantasy, which, when I'm all alone in the darkness, I must admit I am too. It's in the office where I can look at it while I'm working on the PC.
Exploring Fayetteville
Without really knowing people here, it's easy to hang around the house all day, which, as it turns out, is not conducive to getting writing done. So I've been making a systematic exploration of coffee shops around to try to find a place that would be cool go to hang out and write in on a semi-regular basis. Especially once the weather cools off and sitting on my porch isn't as nice.
There's Perk down the street from us. An easy bike ride. They brew their chai like real tea (instead of from a mix), and it is tasty. Downside -- no bike rack or any way to lock my bike while I'm in there. I've been leaning it against the window outside the table I've been sitting at, but still leaves me a little nervous.
On the bus line:
Starbucks. 'Nuf said.
Two coffee shops run by the Uni. Chai is okay. Baked goods are okay. Atmosphere in one is okay (the other, kind of crappy). Nothing to write home about, but will do in a pinch.
Downtown coffee shop -- lovely atmosphere. Delicious drinks. Haven't tried their baked goods yet, but they look tasty in the counter. Downside -- this is the most expensive coffee shop I've ever seen in my life.
So I'm left with one more place on campus to try, then I'll hit a different bus line and try some of the places up around the north Fayetteville area. Although one of those would have to really blow me away to be worth the bus transfer timesink.
For Chris
So you can keep track:
http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/
It also has an RSS feed, so you don't have to keep checking.
Byzarium September issue
I'm quoting ldragoon because I'm lazy.
The bite-sized September issue of Byzarium is here! This month, we have two stories to bring you:
The Mistman, by Michael John Grist. I liked this story because it feels like an old-timey fairy tale: disturbing as fuck and more than happy to crawl into your back-brain and set up residence there. A welcome prelude to the creep-fest that will be the October issue.
An Occurrence at Oakpost Sundries, by Jacob P. Silvia. This was actually initially submitted as a Bad-Fic contest submission. This entry had a little something extra to it, however, that convinced me it needed to be bumped up to a regular submission. And it has zombies. I am a sucker for well written zombies.
Again, I hope you enjoy both these stories. I certainly did.
In Other News...
We got a TON of entries last month for the flash fiction contest -- thanks again to Kiriko-Moth for allowing us to showcase such beautiful artwork. It was very hard to select just one story, but Barbara and I finally got it narrowed down. The winning submission will appear in the October issue.
A new flash fiction contest image will be posted Monday, September 15, and I hope you find it equally inspiring. Thanks again to everyone who submitted such great stories. You did not make our jobs as editors easy ones, I assure you!
The art of the possible
Politics these days frustrate me. Humanity at large and how it responds to politics frustrates me.
But my friend Rob just made a very eloquent and well researched statement about lies being thrown out there into the ether. It's worth a read.
Freakangels
If you haven't seen Freakangels yet, and you like graphic novels, it's worth checking out. They just finished their first story arc and are about to put out a paper volume. It's post-apocalyptic fantasy and pretty cool.
The dragon says so.
Rain, rain, go away
The rain continues and is supposed to keep up solid through tomorrow as well. I guess we're on the edge of Hurricane Gustav, which I find fascinating. Strange to be that far south.
Today I discovered Zoe Keating, a cellist who does electronic music looping. It's really an amazing sound. There's a podcast interview with her, after which I went and purchased her album off iTunes. (She's on iTunes plus, so no icky DRM)
Sat on the porch a while this morning, watching the rain and reading. That was pretty cool. This afternoon I must do dishes and laundry. And, of course, write.
Wordcount on Pax continues to tick upwards. Even on the bad days, the numbers go up, so that's something.
And look: dragons!
On my own
So Seth took off today for a conference in Germany. He'll be gone a week and a half.
I'm too new to Arkansas. I don't have a routine, don't have places, don't have people. The apartment is quiet. It feels empty.
It's not like I don't spend all day alone in the house already, but the silence now has a different tone. It's more oppressive. Harder to work through. It's silence that will last till next Thursday, not silence that will disappear around six, so I'd better get my work done because there's going to be distractions in a few hours. It's silence without a deadline.
I go away all the time. I travel by myself. But then I'm the one out doing fun things, not wandering around an empty apartment that only just became home.
If we were still in Lawrence, I'd have any number of people I could call up, drag over to my house or go over to theirs or go out for pizza or movies or coffee.
Blah blah -- I know I'm being whiny. But it is what it is and I am who I am.
It's dark and rainy and I'm alone.
The angels of our better nature
Back to work on Pax after the GenCon interruption. I've settled into the 1000 words a day goal - 1200 was too much. It's not that there won't be days when I write 1200 or more, but on the bad days, I can't push more than 1000 out of my system.
More bad days on Pax than on St. Pete, but then with Pax's structure the beginning/introduction is much longer than it was with St. Pete, and I think I just have more trouble with those. The setup for the book is still a bit rough, with some potential logic flaws, but at least it's on the page now and on the page can be fixed.
I have people looking over my shoulder on this one now, so hopefully a little added guilt will keep me on track. I'd really like to have the first draft done by the end of October so I can enjoy my trip to World Fantasy Con without obsessing over the end.
Rachel is growing as a character -- enough that I'm going to have to seriously rewrite the first few scenes with her because she's just not that person anymore. I like her better now. Cade is going to have to bring the cool to stay ahead in the favorite character race, but he's got a tail, so that's a solid advantage from the start.
16,400 / 100,000
(16.4%)
While I ponder, my dragon army continues to grow.
Newsfeed display by CaRP