I love listening to and reading stories. Storytelling is as old as language. There is a rich history behind storytelling. To tell a story is as natural as breathing for people. Some are better than others, but we all tell them in one form or another.
Throughout history, narratives were used to entertain, teach, and build a community identity. Storytellers were often revered in their community because they were the source of current news, holder of traditions, the historians, teachers, the holder of religious beliefs, and the entertainers.
Early storytelling combined stories, poetry, music, and dance. Communities were strengthened and maintained through stories that connected the present, the past and the future.
(Jim Tschetter)
Telling stories is natural for us. We use narratives when relaying something to friends or family in letters or notes, or telling our kids tales from our wild childhood. Hunters and fishermen tell some great tales. There are those who excel at telling stories. They have down the embellishments, tone, and method of telling a good story. Those few, just as with the ancients, are the entertainers. The bards of today.
We have storytellers here in the Wisdom. I’m proud of our storytellers who entertain us, whether by a book they’ve written or with the pieces of life they share with us on each thread. It’s all some form of a story that connects the past, present, and future and strengthens the Wombat community.
Our Wombat community is rather awesome. Through it, we are encouraged to tell our own stories. To perfect our writing craft to get our stories to a wider audience. We’re encouraged to take chances—look at those who have self pub, entered contests (yay for Rand, Jill, and Dale), queried for agents and gotten them, or received a publishing contract. It gives us a place to decompress with other writers. A place to bounce ideas or perfect them.
Here, we celebrate successes, soothe the disappointments, offer encouragement to pick ourselves up and try again. That’s pretty awesome, in my opinion.
- Do you feel encouraged to continue writing by being around other writers?
- Writing doesn't always come easy. What keeps you going?
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Comments: 347
Being around other writers is essential.
Did you do the open Mike last night?
I think the level of writing of the group has continued to improve over time as witnessed by the high quality of entries in the contests we've had in recent years. The 'bats are also a great resource in showing the way to get your work in front of readers via a very diverse set of paths.
Very strange, since RSS is very efficient and good at what it does, particularly compared to SPAM infested email. I've been using RSS or ATOM (the IETF standard) since an IETF friend of mine told me about the ATOM working group and it's plan to come up with a standard approach to syndication (i.e support for feeds on blogs and other dynamic content). ATOM finished their work about 4 years ago and it's been widely adopted. Hopefully other developers will fill the breach Google has left.
Just got back from viewing the rental. I want! Putting in my application today. To get to the rental (which is about 20 miles SW of the town of Galveston, but still on Galveston Island), we had to drive through the Spring Break crowds. Lord, it's a mad house. Perfect day for going to the beach, but I will be avoiding it due to the crowds TYVM. I love the beach near this rental which is peaceful, serene and uncrowded EVEN during Spring Break. No one drives that far just to go to the beach, so it's all locals on that end of the island. The house itself is gorgeous. 4 decks on two levels, plus a patio under the house (it's on stilts, of course). It has an amazing view of the bay from the back of the house and an amazing view of the gulf beach from the front of the house. There is also a small lake right behind the house with a fountain in it. The house has 3 bedrooms upstairs. The master suite is AMAZING. Jacuzzi tub that would easily fit three people and a separate shower that would fit another 6 people. Then it has a 4th bedroom and a den downstairs, which I will use for my extensive office area. I LOVE the office area. All of the bedrooms and office have French doors that open to the many decks. And I'm off to fill out my renter application right now. OMG, I'm excited! PLEASE let me get this. Please, please, please.
Keeping fingers and toes crossed for you.
And they wanted my credit report too. I just paid off all my debt a couple of months ago, so that currently looks awesome. It will start to trickle down in a few months as there will be fewer positive changes.
Heck, I'd rent to me. :-) I really am a good tenant because I've owned my own home before.
Come on, homeowner, don't you want to say you have a best-selling author renting your house? You know you do. If you're conservative, just don't tell anyone what kind of books I write. ;-)
Gosh, I'm going to be disappointed if I don't get this. Be prepared with the hugs. I'll need them.
No neighbors thumping or blaring music right beside you on the walls or whatever. Very cool. Pictures please.
But I am still excited. YAY!
btw. I'm so proud to see you made it through to the next round!
I finally dared to download my own excerpt tonight, fearing that the formatting would be all wonky (because the contest platform doesn't allow for "normal" formatting) Relieved to see it looks decent. I also read the contest rules, and though I think the Publishers Weeky reviews determine the twenty five semi-finalists, it does state in the quarter-finals round (which is what we're now in): "Publishers Weekly reviews each Quarter-Finalists' full manuscript. Amazon customers can download, rate, and review Excerpts on Amazon.com, providing feedback to Amazon Publishing Editors about submissions Can't hurt to get the attention of the Amazon Editors. Plus, my submission is looking all lonely with no reviews and that pitiful "Be the first to review this" on the top of my page. So, if you are able to download onto an e-reader, here is my link again. Abbott and Costelnik excerpt
And, I'll take the liberty of adding Rand's as well since last I looked his looked lonely too. The Feast excerpt
thanks
Now I get to eat and write a piece on being Celtic for the blog tomorrow. Oh sure, I'm just so perky...not.
Jill, I'll see what I can do tomorrow. I think the iphone has an e reader.
Verrah nice interview, Sia.
Jamie, the house is phenomenal! Expect a visit. Waggle brows.
I adore being around other writers; they get me. When I talk writing, mine or someone else's with 'normal' folks they look at me as if I were nuts. Whether its because I care about grammar or because my characters talk to me. I love my bats
I finished the iris beds today. My knees are abraded from my wet jeans and my hands hurt from sifting grass roots and snake grass rhizomes out of the dirt. Gah! The day lilies are next, but not for a few days. I need to recover.
Congratulations, Jamie, on getting your dream house! I hope it's an awesome, productive space for you.
Jill and Rand, major congrats on going to the next round of the ABNA! Have excerpts bookmarked!
Sia, will go read the interview!
As to the topic -- for once I have an easy answer. YES! One of the things that I am really enjoying about being in San Francisco is that as everyone keeps telling me, this is a writer's town. There are so many writers, so many author events, and it's all fairly accessible. I've been to 7 events in the last two weeks. I love it!
I'd say more but I'm having that arm/wrist/whatever problem again, so I'd better sign off...
Glad you're enjoying SF. It's a phenomenal town.
Arm/wrist/whatever problem not so awesome.
I was woken at 7 by a flock of noisy birds sitting just outside my balcony door. Noisy creatures! I haven't seen 7 a.m. in months. It didn't help that the cat was very interested in viewing the noisy birds, so was pacing my room and making her strange half-meow, wanna-attack-bird sounds. She can't reach the birds, but she does like to stare at them.
Off to write. Still need to FTDB.
I'm actually in research mode today, and trying to map out where this stupid book (and the next two) are supposed to be going. I've been totally blocked by it because it just looks like a big ugly wall right now. So I'm going back and tearing it into "brick size" pieces so it's not so intimidating, and so maybe I can re-discover where the devil I was going with it (and I'm still trying to decide if there was a war in it. Le sigh. I have WAY too much plot).
Also, the kitchen remodel is total hash and is falling apart and it hasn't even started yet. At least we're starting to get more than just the original sales guy visiting. Yesterday was the owner of the company (who will be doing part of the construction, even though he's going on vacation just as the project begins). He brought along his supervisor, a nice laid back guy. The supervisor came back today with the electrician and the guy who's going to run the gas lines. There was a potential issue with the glass tile I picked for the backsplash but I think the supervisor decided we could work with it.
The cabinets were ordered late (thanks to the saleman/project manager/designer dude) so the owner is trying to get those rushed. The counter was supposed to be in on March 1st. They weren't responding to emails (apparently they only do phones) and then we played tag with them. Finally the construction supervisor got them and found out the counter won't be in until the 20th, which is cutting it razor close.
The job was supposed to take two weeks and now they're saying three. And all I want to do is go home. I've already threatened that if they're not done by the 15th I'm locking the front door and they can start again in October. Even the 15th is making me mad--the rule is that I have to be home by my birthday on the 11th. I am SO not happy.
OK, back to the WIP. Maybe I can at least get a rough outline done by the end of the day.
Good luck tackling your book!
Remodels never go as they're supposed to. They're sometimes harder, my dad used to say, than building a new house.
I have to brave the store now. It's spring break. I do believe this will require a mighty steed, lance, and a full set of shining armor including a shield. That's just to go to Kroger. I don't even want to think about what Walmart is like at the moment.
I advise against writing this way. It's crazy-making! I had another book that insisted on being written in a disjointed fashion and it drove me nuts too. Takes a lot longer to write this way, imo. And once you write the ending, it makes it less enjoyable to fill in the middle. I hope I've learned my lesson. Don't write the ending until you reach the end.
Potty break time and then back to the writing action. Almost at 49K words and will definitely break 50K. This novella is almost a novel. And it spans just one night (and most of the next day). A lot can happen in one night when you're a rock star. :-)
When it's like this, it makes me stop and I then have to figure out, where is this story going? I mean, I know where its going, but the how to get it there is harder.
There goes pantzing and here comes plotting/outlining. I hate outlining, but it's the only way I know to organize it all. More words isn't going to do a thing about making it cohesively move to the end--just adds to the mess. I need to see a clear path from point A to B, or least line up all the main points and shade in the scenes that support them and moves the story forward.
It hurts my head.
Gimme back warm 70's. But nooooo. The best I get is 52 between now and Wednesday. Sigh.
Back to writing. My potty break turned into a left over birthday cake break.
Okay, you can have them until Wednesday night and then I want them back, post haste. You have the cool rain. Do you good. :-)
Good night, 'bats. I WILL finish this damn book tomorrow!!! Dammit!!!
I have a pride of cats that love to look at the birds. I have feeders near the window and there are a lot of windows for them to look out of. I just recently added a feeder right beside my office window. I love to watch the birds come in and chat. My cats are ecstatic.
How are you going to be able to handle not having your babies with you in your new house? I could do it for a few weeks or even a couple of months, more or less, but not for months.
Actually, I've been thinning down the animals. All my cats are fixed and half of them are over 10 and 2 of those are 13 and 14.
After the bout with parvo, my heart went out of breeding my beloved Danes. Then I got sick. I've not replaced any. I'll let Gidget have another litter but that's about it and possibly keep one of her pups. I still have people who call me but I don't see myself upping supply for the demand of good dogs. There is a lot of physical work involved, not to mention the expense of maintaining viable bloodlines and breeding pairs that I did 8-10 years ago.
Same with the horses. I doubt seriously I'll be able to ride as I once did ( 2-3 times a week) and Doctari is still not up to where he was before he got sick. He's been my main riding horse for 10+ years. I love me darlin' Sassy, but I know full well I won't be able to handle her for a riding horse. She has way too much spirit and at this point, I can't afford to take a tumble. Four years ago? Sure.
Well, another corner of my office is now junk free. Yay. I have 3 printers in here. Three. Do they work? That's the $64 question.
Hey Jamie, how did the luncheon go?
Still not finished with the WIP. Back at it!
Later, the sublime turned to the mundane, as I pulled together documents to back up an upcoming tax appointment for my parents. I didn't get any writing in this weekend, but am mostly over my cold, so I got to take a couple of brisk -- read that chilly -- walks.
Tomorrow the snow comes back, but this storm is supposed to be mild. We'll see.
What's not to love?
Oh, I wish I could be there, too, John!
Lots of stuff to get done today. Later 'Bats.
We got 4 more inches of snow last night, which pushed school back 2 hours for my son. He promptly overslept -- after 2 hours extra sleep bringing him maybe up to 8 hrs -- so I had to drive him in. It's messy out there now, but the temps have risen and my driveway is filling with puddles. Ole man winter is still doing his best, but we're getting toward the end soon, right?
Good to hear that you're working on the MS. Still sounds like a lot work to go. :-)
Did I mention the sun is shining? Happy dance.
And I saw a Great Blue Heron today. It was so freaking cool!!!
*hides under bed*
That is all.
Just returned from my Tuesday Night Writers group's Pints & Prose event (left a little early to wrestle a column to the ground that's due tomorrow morning). It was excellent and Queen Lisa rocked (as expected) reading from her new novel ! So fun to have a meeting between my two favorite writing groups.
Again, Lisa, many thanks. I look forward to reading the rest of the book after your provocative "teaser."
Yes, I think hanging out with writers is fabulous, even if I'm not here often right now. Even if I'm not writing much right now either.
But it means so much to know I have you all behind me when I have a problem or a rant or a..... whatever. Right now, I'm tired of the rain and fog but what to do? Not a thing. Comes with the territory.
Soon enough the sunshine will come so I can work outside more. I begin actual therapy on Thursday. It's already been a help just knowing I would be addressing issues. It's given me the impetus to think about what issues need airing out.
Most all is well with family, hubby is good....I had a nasty cat bite from the 'new' kitteh but it's healing up nicely.
That's it for tonight. Hopefully I will be stopping by more often. Reading about all the wonderful things going on in Wombatia is bracing and uplifting...and a little bit shame-making. <3 :-)
BUILDING YOUR AUDIENCE
I'm in a weird spot. Made DS move out of the house. He's old enough to out on his own. Feeling sad we had to make him move. Glad he's gone and it's finally just DH and I. And worried about my man child, even though I know we did what was best for all concerned.
Parenting isn't for the faint of heart or spirit.
In keeping with the traditions of the women in my family, I've been cleaning. Watch out, I might make my way to one of your houses when I'm done here. Shake my head.
Jamie, good news on the house. Glad they were able to work the vacationers into different digs.
I've got a story pleading to be written. Perhaps later today I'll settle in for a write. It's been awhile and I'm ready to take a stab at it again.
Hooray for writing! I just finished with the muse for a bit. Glad she's pestering you now.
Wendy, you're welcome to come to my house anytime--not just to clean tho. :-D
Now I'm curious to see this story.
Between dates with the toilet, I've been working on taxes. I'm tracking down receipts, which isn't fun, but at least I can print them from places like Amazon and Office Depot. I had a lot of them, but discovered that I was also missing a lot of them. so UGH! Taxes. I'm sort of up to December now. My December folder is over an inch thick just with receipts and it doesn't include the two inches of invoices for the book signing. I think December might take me an entire day in and of itself.
I should probably hire a bookkeeper.
Time to get back at it. I'm really going to relish editing once I finish this bookkeeper junk. That's the good thing about doing undesirable tasks. Nothing inspires writerly activities like taxes and housecleaning.
I have to work a long day tomorrow. Ran around like the proverbial chicken getting everything done that I can in preparation. Had to put having my hair done until next week. Was going to get more hay but I checked the barn and we're fine. I am NOT looking forward to this storm or two inches of snow topped with an icy glaze. At least there is warmer temps and rain behind this storm although the word, snow, predominated way too much over the next few days, for my liking.
My Tiger Lillies are about 3 inches high and flowering hedge is budding up, I have blooming Daffodils and my tulips are about 3 inches too.
Our big pond is full to overflowing and we have ducks and geese landing. Nests are being made. All the work of spring is underway, now, if we can just get the dag-blammed weather to cooperate.
Isn't today the first day of spring? Sheesh. But at least I'm not in the heavy snow possible area. Thank the good Lord.
I'm so tired. I think I'll grab my latest Jayne Ann Krentz book and curl up in bed. Who knows, I might actually get two or three paragraphs read.
I feel for your parents. I've been watching this storm as it moves in. We're right on the edge of the 5 inches so far. I'm hoping ours will be just a couple of inches. The next storm, backed up after this one, also has a lot of snow, but they think by the time it gets to us it will only be flurries changing to rain.
Of course, I haven't figured out my Nebraska state taxes yet, so I might have to opt for a generic motor scooter.
I've talked to my stained glass person for the cabinets but she's backed up and likely won't be able to get them done in time. I've ordered new chairs from World Market (Louis XVI style chairs in peacock blue) but waiting for them to get here. I've ordered a curtain from Target, but only got one pair so I could see what it looks like. If it will work, I'll need two or three more pairs, but apparently their shipping is done byh tortoises on valium.
At the same time, I need to get a blurb done for someone, and the author I'm working with is due to send me her revisions in two days (and they are going to be MAJOR revisions). Writing? I have no clue what that even means.
I sure hope they get the kitchen done the way you want it.
This evening I head off to my local industry association meeting again. I've enjoyed all the meetings I've attended this year and gotten quite a few insights about new trends. It's much more uplifting than sitting in my regular work office and dealing with the fallout from my work transition.
Jamie, good news that you managed to cover your estimated taxes. This is an area where geek skills really help. I spent hours crunching the estimated tax numbers on spreadsheets when I had my business.
I attended a LinkedIn job hunting webinar today. Like everybody else, they focus a lot on making sure you've got the right key words in your profile. It seems like Search Engine Optimization (SEO) rules the world these days. It is certainly a must-have skill for a lot of marketing positions and helps for anybody trying to build a platform for the writing business.
The Inbound Marketing book I reviewed on my blog recently is a great resource for explaining how SEO works and how it ties into other uses of social media.
What surprises me is the job offers (or invitations to apply and a few actual notes from people) I've gotten via linkedin. I'm not even trying for another job.
Still, them's lots o' words.
Yay for you Beth!
Words are funny. Sometimes they flow like water out of a spigot and other times it's drip, drip, drip.
Gotta say, John's Pints and Prose event was SO MUCH FUN! I just had a blast, and I made a couple of new friends. Never underestimate how much it means to have friends, folks.
Friends are everything. I look at them as jewels. They sure help you get from point a to b, cheer you on, kick ass when needed, are wonderful for lighting up life.
Good to see you having fun!
Book 5 in the Sole Regret series is making all sorts of "write me!" noises, so today I'm going to do my hard copy edits for book 4 so I can get the "final" draft to Miss Beth, Miss Wendy and Miss Jill. I don't think it needs much work, but I'm sure I'll change my mind after I print it out and the Wombats get hold of it.
I ordered an area rug for my new office and it arrived yesterday. The thing is HUGE. I'm not sure it will fit in the PT. The bookshelf I bought is already in there taking up half the car for the next 9 days. I was hoping I wouldn't have to rent a truck to move my office furniture on the 1st, but it looks like I might have to. Here's hoping the PT's interior is two feet longer than I remember. I'm not moving anything else yet. Just of the office. I plan to use the new house as a writer's retreat for about six weeks while Sean finishes up the semester. Hopefully I'll get a lot of writing done while inspired by wonderful views, isolated from the noise of the city, and without internet service.
Have a great Friday, 'bats! Okay, off to kill a tree with all my printing.
Today, I woke up to January and 3 inches of snow. Pretty. Bracing air. Not spring. and more on the way. Sigh. At least it's not that bitter icy wind. I'm not going anywhere so I've made my mind up to just see the beauty and smell the freshness.
I do know someone who breeds that mix. Or she has in the past. I'll check and see if she still does and if so, I'll pass on her number or email to you. I know she specialized in small dogs. LOVES them.
I encourage local people to come look at my dogs. That way they see the parents, environment, and care I give them all. I'm not a fancy breeder with all the latest gadgets, but I am a good one.
Good on you!
Our snow is melting. We're supposed to get some thunderstorms tomorrow. OOookay then. Sunday, more snow. Interesting Spring.
I'm off to bed. I'm wiped out and I have to work tomorrow. sigh. Sunday I'm off, yay.
Yeah, *grumble, whine* we're hearing the same snowy Sunday forecast. I swear it's been colder here the past two weeks than it's been all winter. Just wicked winds. Spring, hello?
I hear ya Jill. I'm glad we're not getting the wicked cold with it. You really can tell it's spring-ish snow. Just not used to getting snow this close to April. What the hell, it beats a major ice storm any day and we had one of those about 4 years ago (first week in April) that kept many of the trees only half way leafed out. Of course, then we got a tornado not even a month later.
Here, in Missouri, our weather rambles along and then, poof, like a switch one season turns off and the other starts the next day. Seriously.
Today I'm finishing up taxes and typing in my hard copy edits. I finished edits yesterday. I got so caught up in what I was doing, 3 hour chunks of time just disappeared. I easily put in a twelve hour day. My back will tell you all about it. I was out on the balcony all day, but because it was overcast and mostly shady, I didn't get burnt. Good thing, I really was caught up in editing and wouldn't have noticed the burn until it was too late. Today it is MUGGY and FOGGY and warm (75-ish). We might get a thunderstorm later. The rest of the week will only be in the mid-60s, which is below normal for here, but I'll take it! Especially since many of you are still dealing with snow. UGH!!!
Have a great Saturday, 'bats!
Also excited that I finished both federal and state taxes last night. I only owe an additional $55 for federal and $249 for state, so I can definitely buy a car this week. SWEET! We plan on going to the Honda dealership Tuesday after I talk to my new financial adviser. She'll probably advise me not to buy a car. :-) Hey, I decided against the luxury sports car and am buying a Honda Civic. That's not exorbitant, is it?
Very windy here today. Feels cold. The northern Wombats wouldn't feel cold in this weather, but I do! 61 degrees with 30mph wind gusts. Brrrrr! (never thought I'd say that...) I need to put on socks. :-(
Last night, I told my son that I needed a day off and he said that I always have the day off. He also said that no one is forcing me to do taxes. *blank stare* I've been working 14 hour days all week and last I checked I AM being forced to do taxes. Just because I'm home all day doesn't mean i have the day off. Kids!!
But I'm not taking today off, because I have hard copy edits to type into my Word document. MAYBE I'll get a day off tomorrow. I really do need one. And I need to get out of the house for a day. Starting to go a bit stir crazy.
Have a fab Sunday, 'bats.
Back to work with me! Getting this book done will feel so good. Can't wait to start the next one!
I think he's much too sheltered, James. He needs a job.
I'm about 2/3 done with the hard copy insertions. I think I might finish tonight. I needed a little break that didn't involve laundry, cleaning or cooking. So, HEY! What's everyone up to?
I'm in a spectacular mood! My son caught my dancing to Rebel Yell while I was cooking dinner. I think he was ready to send me off to the loony bin. Good thing he missed my booty shaking to Sharp Dressed Man.
Yah, sheltered and even with jobs they make stupid choices. sigh. Time does teach some lessons tho.
Mine went to visit a friend and left before the snow hit. Was supposed to stay over night and they were going to a party. I was to come get him tomorrow afternoon. Got a call. Mom, could you come get me please. wtf? But there was a tone to his voice...so I braved the roads and went and got him. My car handles very well in snowy conditions. Impressed me. Despite not wanting to drive an hour before dark, I did. I've always told my son that if he's in a place that isn't good to be, call me and I'll come if I can. He was and he did.
Not as much snow as predicted. I'm NOT complaining. But I am so over snow. I have tulips and Daffodils are peeking out through the snow. I have a regular feather convention of birds at the feeders. Sounds like windstorm when they get startled and take off. You can actually hear it through the closed window. Startled me more than once. :-)
Yup!
Not that you'd know it by stepping out my back door.
Sia, you are too complaining, and having come through winters such as yours, I don't blame you.
We've had scattered micro snow ball flurries, though nothing is staying. YES! This morning the sun was at just the right angle to shine over the frost on the lawn making it look as if fine gem dust had been sprinkled over it. So pretty.
The pycho weather has been laying me low with headaches. Blech. March madness indeed.
My new client and her family are making my spidey senses tingle. Nothing dangerous, they haven't been honest with us though and that's always cause for concern. I don't like it. There were circumstances which warranted calling a supervisor yesterday . pfft I'm not one to call in reinforcements. What I found left me little choice. They don't understand what they're dealing with. This is when I miss my nurse back up. Yes, I do.
Okay folks, off with me.
My story senses thought of those scenarios too, but added, granny is tired of hurting and wants out so how to make granny look like she died of natural causes so they can get the insurance money.
I agree with James. You're the pro
On the squirrel. Poor thing was in a book case hiding under books. I think her cats chased it in there and it died. This client isn't the one giving me weird vibes. Love her!
This is a new little lady. There is a lot of conflicting information. Pat, I don't think there's anything near so nefarious as you imagine. hehe.
James, one has to wonder if she would be better served with a higher level of care. And the family isn't all on board for suggestions. It's weird, and without face to face time with the other caregivers it's hard to form a united game plan.
Workers or not, you'll find the quiet(er) time to divert your mind with the the MS.
Hugs to you and Ed. Hang in there!
I'm off to start getting utilities arranged for the new place. WOOT! One more week until I move to my personal paradise! Sean will be staying here mostly. Hence, the need for a new car. Plus, I just want one. The PT is almost 9 years old.
Take some pics so we can see.
Did you have them hold it for you until you got back, or deliver it?
The funniest part was at each point, which car? how paying? insurance? I had an immediate answer but the salesman was having sales pitch interruptus.
I walked down the rows of cars, pointed to a red Camaro, and said "Get me that one." No test drive. Nothing. I'd always wanted a Camaro and it was the right color. Hubs looked at the salesmand and said "Let's go write it up." The saleman looked at my (rather young looking) Mother. Then he looked at (my nine years older and balding) Hubs. Then he looked at me. Then he said "Yes sir, your daughter's really going to like that car." All excitement and enthusiasm. Then Hubs growled and said "That's my wife, and that's going to cost you."
I got a great deal on that car.
The it was totalled it in an accident less than a year later. Le sigh.
I'm enjoying the process of catching up with several former colleagues in my networking. I also just got invited to speak at a conference next month, which is another good way to get out and talk to people in my industry. This process has its ups and downs, but I'm feeling pretty upbeat lately.
I have a 3 day weekend coming up and hope that I'll have time to get back to writing between now and then.
Yay, on the networking opportunities. They're gonna pay off for you.
James, you're a trouper. You could have let this job thing get you down and instead you're using it as an opportunity. I'm truly impressed and if I was looking for a job, I'd also be inspired by your example.
We got more snow this evening. The good news is after tonight it should be done and the rest of the week is supposed to be warming up to a balmy 59 by Friday and sunshine! Yay.
John, the only time I experimented with no car is when I was 18. Of course, everywhere we've lived required transportation and some of those places had no reliable pub transport. When I lived in Vallejo, Dan had the car and I either biked or caught the bus to my teaching gig. Not my most favorite mode of travel. Well, the bike was okay when there weren't crazy drivers trying to kill me, lol!
Off to bed. I'm working at 7:30 in the morning. I've loved the time off, including today since the phone line in our small area was damaged somehow and I didn't have a dial tone. Darn, I couldn't work. I slept and rested mostly. I needed that.
Have a good day tomorrow!
If I am not an award winning published author at least I know it's not that I don't have any good mentors/inspiration. Between the Wombats and that little group, I hang around some pretty amazing, inspirational, AWESOME, magical people.
Here's hoping some of that magic finally rubs off on me, and I am inspired to put in the hard work that makes that magic happen!
Did Judi enter this year? I didn't. They don't take kindly to "my kind of books" in that contest.
Puttering around today waiting for my noon appointment with the financial adviser. I was up until 1:30 estimating my 1st quarter taxes so I didn't do something stupid like sink my estimated taxes into a high yield ETF and lose everything. One thing I learned while figuring my estimated taxes that blew my mind: Did you know that if you make a certain income you are not allowed to claim exemptions for yourself or your dependents? WTF? Do I not have to pay bills too? No wonder the rich are so ticked off with the tax code and have to do whatever they can to lower their tax burden. I also don't get ANY tax credits (not even for the kid's college tuition) and they also added a new tier to the tax code. There's now a 38.5% bracket for the highest earners. Don't know if I'll reach it ever, but it ticks me off that it even exists. Why should anyone have to pay over a third of their income to the government? It's not like wealthy people get MORE benefits from being a citizen than poor do. Do the rich get to drive on better roads? Have better protection from public services such as police, fire, military? Have access to better free education for their children? Get free medical care? No. They actually get less benefits as they don't get tax credits or social services. Where's my earned income credit? Huh? I'm starting to sound like a republican. Amazing what paying way more than your fair share of taxes will do to your perspective. Flat rate tax percentage for all. I don't mind paying more tax dollars than the poor. I don't even mind that the poor get more social services. I do mind paying a higher PERCENTAGE of my income. That's plain not fair.
Thus ends my current rant on taxes. Probably not the best place to vent my frustration, but there you have it.
Is it time for my appointment yet? I'm getting bored and don't want to start anything and have to stop in half an hour.
And then I'm off to buy my "cheap" car because I paid so much in taxes that I can't afford a better one. Or the down payment on a house, so I have to rent for another year. But I am happy that I can afford a car at all and will be renting a great place. So use my pile of money wisely US Govt. Yeah right....
There's this.
I think the wealthiest avoid taxes because so much of their income is investment income.
Damn, I really am sounding like a Republican here. And from a ethical/moralistic standpoint I'm not, but from a financial standpoint I'm getting there.
I know the joy of EIC. I used to get it at tax time and it sure made me happy to be able to pay all my bills that month. But it didn't really change my situation long-term. I had to do that myself. Redistributing cash by passing out checks to the poor doesn't fix the problem. As the saying goes, you can give a man a fish...
So what's the solution? Heck if I know. I just know that this isn't it. I'd say teaching all the men to fish is better than giving them all fish, but we're already overfishing our oceans and they're less than a decade from complete collapse so if you get too many lines in the water, it might exacerbate the situation. Personally, I got out of poverty because I sought being taught to fish. No one chased me around trying to teach me. I actively pursued it. I also fished in several ponds until a big fish finally grabbed the line.
This really is not the best place to discuss these things, but heck, my dog doesn't respond when I try to engage her in deep conversation. And I'm working to figure out my new place in the world. It's different from what I'm used to. And frankly, a bit terrifying. I wasn't raised with the skill set to deal with issues I'm currently facing, so again, I'm trying to learn to fish. And these waters have lots of sharks.
I was in business for myself for many years and yes, even then, it was an eye opener come tax time. But, I figure taxes should be fair--proportionate. One shouldn't be penalized for where we stand financially--regardless of which tier we find ourselves in.
I've always been willing to work hard for what I want. I've learned the benefit of being content with what I have rather than focusing on what I don't. *shrugs.
There are no quick answers for economic equality.
My dad used to often repeat the famous quote: "If you're not a liberal when you're twenty, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative when you're forty, you have no brain."
Jamie, I'll banter with you if you'd like. In an email though and it will be civil, promise.
Me? I've got to step away from the computer before I cause myself a stroke over what's happening in my home state. Back away from FB and go to bed. That's what I need to do.
Goodnight Neverland
MOVING FORWARD WITH GINA LAMM
Most writers are more introspective than outgoing. We spend a lot of time lost in the worlds we are creating. We know very well our faults and failings. It's hard not to get tangled up in doubts and worries. Gina’s topic today is how not to get lost in navel gazing aka artistic depression.
What helps to keep you moving forward? Are you a creative type? How do you feed your muse and keep your doubts at bay?
Behold what used to be Sia. Yep. Flatter than a pancake without buttermilk and eggs.
Heading to bed. Catch y'all later.
And although they did put up plastic barriers, I'm sure my asthma is going to be very unhappy about the dust.
And I need to get a blurb finished today. And do editing.