Writing Routine

I've been on a fairly consistent writing routine since 2002.  Get up in the morning, bounce around the house while getting ready, get on bus, head downtown, sit in coffee shop, write.

It worked for me because I didn't have to worry about being late for anything (I'm right downtown!), and the most important part of my day was over by 8, 8:30.  I tried evening writing for a while, but that really didn't work out.  I was too tired to muster up the extra creative energy. Evenings, however, were awesome for editing, since at some point during the day I'd usually stumbled on my brain and stuck it back in my head. (Drafting doesn't require my brain, mostly because I'm a mean editor of my own words.)

Now, after more than a decade of being downtown, I will no longer be heading there in the mornings, which means that I'll be trying to find a new writing spot.  There's one not far from where I'll be going, but it only opens at 7. That's a bit late for me.  So I'm thinking I might try to switch it up.  Maybe write at home in the mornings, in my awesome kitchen, sipping flavoured coffee brewed in my Roomy-gifted Keurig machine.

My main worry is that I'll get lazy.  If I only have to head downstairs, will I start to get up later? Getting up, especially in the winter, is already hard enough with a bus schedule to stick to.  Will I get distracted by life?  A coffee shop is great because I'm not expected to do the dishes, clean the counters, wash the floors, fuzz the cats (no that they usually have those, but, you know...)  Without a book under contract, will I see it as a chance to goof off?  To regain some of my social life, cast aside in favour of putting word to paper or screen?

I'm honestly not sure.  I'm trying to figure out ways to stop myself from losing that routine and letting the days slip by into weeks and months without new stories.  The trick is to implement fail-safes. Maybe I'll start reporting word count on my blog. Maybe I'll give myself harsh deadlines - I work best under pressure. Maybe I'll get Roomy to take away the Keurig machine if I'm bad.  No, wait, that would kill all productivity.

Lots to think about. Help a girl out. What are some of the fail-safes that work best for you?  

The Comic Book Shoppe

(It's a busy world, so I'm going to start providing carefully crafted executive summaries on my blog posts.  Today's executive summary is: "I heart the Comic Book Shoppe.")

When I first moved to Ottawa more than a decade ago, I looked for my new "geek outlet" store.  Where one buys their comic books and geek ware can help make or break their love for a city, after all.  It was made clear to me by other geek girls that the Comic Book Shoppe was *the* place to shop in Ottawa.  I heard things like:

• "They actually have girls on staff."
• "They carry titles by girl artists and writers."
• "You don't feel like you're on display while shopping."
• "You can browse comic books without wondering who's browsing you."

All stellar reviews, if you ask me. Over the years, I've shopped there on and off, but recently, with way too many cool things to get, I'm there at least once a month. Roomy and I enjoy our comic book nights.  I've always believed it was a great place to shop, but lately they've become a shining star for the Ottawa geek community, at least in my books.  A few reasons:

• The Comic Book Shoppe 2, located on Bank Street, is in Ottawa's "LGBT Village." (I don't know if it has an official name - please let me know if it does!)  When DC said that a well-known aggressive homophobe would be penning the next series of Superman, Rob Spittall, co-owner of the Bank Street location, said he would not carry it, out of respect for the community he serves and the ideals the geek community strives to achieve.  He would still order it for the fans, of course, but he wouldn't put the money forward to carry it on his shelves. It was professional, thoughtful, and well-executed. Some people called it a breach of freedom of speech, but Rob has that right, too, and he supported it with grace.  I was impressed.
• Last month, they hosted the Masked Mosaic: Canadian Super Stories book launch, and it was one of the best venues I've worked with in town. They were friendly, accommodating and professional. We packed the place and they cheered us on.  What more could we ask for?
• Last night cinched it for me.  They hosted their second Geek Girls Night, and it was a ridiculous amount of fun. They had a mini concert, vegan treats, manicures, grab bags and massages, and some great discounts. The event sported a relaxed social atmosphere.  They had pulled the female staff from both stores, making sure customers had plenty of assistance to find the cool they were looking for (or were hankering to discover!)  I supported the event by spending way too much there...

It strikes me how lucky we are to have the Comic Books Shoppe.  There isn't an establishment like this in every city, or not one that's such a beacon for the community.  I can't thank Rob, Cherry and everyone else enough for all of the work they put into maintaining such a great establishment.

Ottawa is better for having you in it.

Everything Changes

My brother and I were working on a script together this week and part of the inspiration was: "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

Right now, I'm hoping that's true.  I've been in an upheaval of changes lately, adapting to new situations personally and professionally, one tiny or major change at a time.

On the personal front, the main change is of course the new house!  Roomy and I absolutely love it but it's a heck of a change.  Our old routines are gone, and our house, only half (okay, a quarter) unpacked, is not yet welcoming of new routines. We're figuring it out, and it is fun decorating the new place one tiny section at a time.  It'll be a while yet before we can host a housewarming party!

One of the major changes in my routine is losing my morning Klingon bus buddy. He was my first human contact in the mornings, so it's strange to no longer have him there on the bus, waiting to stand up and let me sit next to the window (so I wouldn't go flying out - I guess he grew weary of me latching on to his arm every time the bus took wild turns. Which was all the time).  I miss our early morning geek chatter. It was an awesome way to start the day.

The other major change is that, for the past eleven years, with only one year off, I've been writing downtown every morning.  Over the past two years, I've gone from solitary writing to group writing. That in itself took a while to get used to (people!  People in my space!)  After some resistance  I got used to it and now I really enjoy it (or I'm suffering from stockholm syndrom).  At the end of next week, on the same day that marks my 35th birthday, I'll no longer be trekking downtown on weekdays, so I lose my writing buddies.  They're already working on finding me a new group, so I have high hopes on that end. Still, I'll miss Derek, Nicole and Brian, just like I missed Peter when he upped and went to China (although I enjoy making people believe he's a figment of Derek's imagination).

All of these changes in my daily social interactions come at an interesting time.  For the first time since 2008, I have no writing contract.  Not one. For the past four years and a bit, I've been working at finishing my two series, and I'd write short stories for anthology editors who specifically requested one from me. That approach worked for me. Now, there isn't another book under contract. And a whole slew of books that I've been ignoring are clamouring for attention, each puffing its feathers to entice me to dance with them.  So many awesome books that I get excited just thinking about it!

First, however, I want to cleanse my palate a bit.  Some short stories would do me some good. And then I'll decide what my next book will be.  I'm getting excited just thinking about the possibilities!

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  The writing community in Ottawa is growing, or at least coming out of the woodwork at a steady pace, so I'll always get to meet new writers and find new writing buddies.  My home is lovely and as homey as ever before, because it's still full of cats and books and ponies and a Roomy (just one).  And the writing still whispers in the back of my mind, enticing me to drop everything else and run away with it, if not to a convent then at least to the confines of my mind.

As for a Klingon bus buddy?  ... well, the world can only provide something so cool so often.  Sometimes, it's good to lower expectations.

We're Moving!

So, after a year of discussions, Roomy and I finally bought a house!

We realized that we had both being thinking in a rather traditional way about house purchases (first comes the husband, then the house!)  So, the husbands haven't showed up for either of us, and we enjoy living with each other, so we decided to just go for the house.  Of course now we'll both meet Mr. Right within a few days of moving in...

But anyway.  The house. We spend one day with super agent (and mystery writer!) Peggy Blair and saw seven houses during a snow swept day.  We fell in love with the last house we saw.  Fully finished and renovated, move-in ready, and the kitchen! I want to live in that kitchen!  I'd post a picture here, but pictures do it absolutely no justice.  You should probably just start being envious of our kitchen as of right now.  It's the only way to go.

Roomy signing the offer! ... yes, we took pictures of each other signing the papers.  Her picture (and probably signature) turned out better. I look like I'm signing papers and singing about it at the same time. Which is really too awesome to share on a blog.

It was a smooth process with absolutely no bump or horror story to report.  A bit dull, I know, but in this case, I'm more than okay with that.   We gained possession on March 1. 

And now we're homeowners!!!

I'm sure it would be to no one's surprise if I reported that Roomy's ponies have already moved in before us. Is anyone surprised? Didn't think so. That's her in our new living room with another pony collecting friend. Friends who encourage each other to collect should help move collections - that's our philosophy.

On Friday, the movers are coming for the rest of the stuff. We're busy packing and getting rid of lots of junk.  Lotsa.  We never merged our households until now, so we had doubles of everything in the basement. Enough of that!

Turns out that unsprung cat traps are just as effective as their built peers. 

We're trying to strike a balance between eating crap and eating veggies, whining and praising, packing and sleeping, patting cats and shooing them away.  Needless to say, we're completely failing, and the eating crap, sleeping and cat patting are totally winning. We're more on the praising side, but that's because of the kitchen. We praise the kitchen.  (Feel the kitchen envy!)

There's a monster living in the backyard next door.  It's pretty awesome.

And so, this blog is on official hiatus for the rest of March. We need to get the Internet back up and find the computers again after they've gone missing, so that'll take time.  I'll try to keep an eye on my e-mail, but please have patience - my systems are not all go!

If you're in Ottawa and can come out on Saturday to the Masked Mosaic: Canadian Super Stories book launch, that would be great. I'll be reading from my story The Kevlar Canoe.  It's a flying canoe, so you know it's a good story!

Have a great beginning of March!

I leave you with a disembodied cake pony head.  Because I'd hate for you  to think we were all work and no play.  Oh no.  That's just not how we roll in this house, or the next!

This and That and What?

Warning!  I'm totally going to be serious for a minute here.  I don't usually do this, but I'm proud, and I want to share. I'll keep it short. Not many words are required, really. As always: My blog, my rules!  (Having a blog is turning me into a power mad dictator. A power mad caffeinated dictator. FEAR ME!)

THIS
Yesterday I was featured in an article in the Globe and Mail on women and science-fiction.  I count Madeline and Nina among my friends, and I was stoked to share page time with them.  I'm in good company!

THAT
The comments of course became sexist and stupid on the Globe and Mail. You have to sign in to sound like an idiot on this site, so that's why there were only five comments. Stupidity requiring effort often gets tossed to the wayside.  Let us now all be grateful for the small blessing that is a user account.

WHAT?
Regardless of the stupidity of random comments, I did notice that not one person on Facebook or any of the groups I belong to (which pretty much cover SF/F in Canada) made a stupid sexist remark. No one even refuted Madeline's comment on how a low-cut dress is at times the only thing that gets her noticed on otherwise all-male panels (I've been there, sister). And let's pay attention to that lack of comment, instead.

It shows that at least in this community, we're acknowledging the existence of sexism/wrongful gender perceptions.  And acknowledgment is a great place to be and to move forward from (keywords: move forward from).

I love this community, flaws and all. Thank you for being so supportive!

Stop Moping. Celebrate, Instead!

Happy Valentine's Day to all of my single friends, and those in couples or multiples!  This is where I tell single people not to mope.  Because I'm also single, and I feel you're propagating poor messaging on the state of being single. 

Valentine's Day seems to be used as a Klingon pain stick by some single folk who think they're unworthy of celebration on this Chaucer-defined "day of love" (and chocolate). 

Give yourself more credit!  Seriously.  Love the company you keep, every hour of every day, and you won't mind this society-imposed label of "singlehood."  (Cue dramatic music.)

Contrary to what I may project at times, I love a good romance.  I love the whirlwind of it all, the surprises, the making out...  but I don't hinge all of my life's decisions on whether or not a worthy mate happens to be around, available and interested.  I love romance, but I hate, and I mean *hate* pretty much everything about how it's portrayed in popular media.  It's so... trite and dull, for the most part.

And, more than that, I'm not a fan of how society (and marketing) tends to label someone who's single as someone who's "incomplete."  Think about it.  You've used the phrases too - I hear them on a regular basis:

• "Oh, you're so nice, I'm sure you'll find someone!"
• Roomy, who is also single, enjoys answering that it's because she's single that she's so nice.
• "I don't understand why you're still single."
• Um, sometimes, we choose to be alone and happy instead of in a relationship with somebody.  Just like I choose to write books and I choose to tell stories. Seems simple enough.
• "Are you married?  No? Ooooh, sorry..."
• ... sorry about what?  I'm not.  But go ahead.  What the heck.

What that does, essentially, is put "singlehood" into a category that should be viewed with horror and perhaps even reviled.  Fear the singles!  Or worse: Pity them. 

Singlehood does itself no favours on days like today by whining.  Moping.  "Oh, I'm alllll alone today on Valentine's Day, I'm soooooo saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadddddddddd...." 

That's worse.  For crying out loud, didn't your mama teach you some independence? (I argue my maman taught me a bit too much, but it's worked out okay.)

Don't fear being single. Don't hate it.  Heck, embrace it! Be kind to yourself as you would be with a lover.  Enjoy the routine that's yours and yours alone. Wine and dine yourself, even.

I've been single for a few years, now.  I've been on a few dates, most of which were unsuccessful.  Last year, I decided I'd go on one date a month, until I got tired of having to punch boys.  I have a wicked right hook, and apparently ill luck with meeting strangers. 

Then, among the writing, travelling and just generally being alive, I forgot that being in a couple was such a "necessary" trait.  I forget it.  I honestly do.  It's not something I'm actively seeking, though I like to at least think I'm open to it (some people may disagree with me). 

But boy am I reminded of it daily.  By well-intentioned friends, co-workers, strangers on busses - it seems no one is above saying "I'm in a couple, I'm awesome!"

Well, okay, that's your reality, and everyone should think they're awesome.  My reality is this: I like myself, and I think I'm awesome!  And I have sooo many friends who are AWESOME that it makes me ridiculously happy. On days like today, when we celebrate love, I want to celebrate all of them.  Allll of them.  My family, my friends, my writing buddies, my Facebook friends, casual acquaintances, the Bridgehead dude who pours my coffee in the mornings.... I want to celebrate them all for making each day, every day a little bit more awesome and filled with caffeine, laughter and love.

I'm single and I have no problem with it.  At all. If you're single, I hope you don't, either.  Because you have so much of yourself to give, to share, and people like me?  We love you for it.  So very much.  I want to hug you all, but I can't. You're there, I'm here. 

Celebrate the chocolate!  Watch a horror movie (my fave activity on this day!)  Wine and dine yourself at home by candlelight.  Send yourself some flowers. Do something *for you.* For your family. For your friends. 

But don't wallow.  Don't put yourself down.  Enough people do that on a regular basis, so show yourself how much you care about yourself today.  If it's a day of love we're supposed to be celebrating (marketing, whatever), then remember that you can only control what you give, not what you get.  So give some loving instead of some moping.

It's the little things that make all the difference.  Make that difference for yourself.

Workshop this Weekend

Edit: The workshop is from 10 to 5, NOT 9 to 5. Cheers!

On Sunday will be the full day workshop on Editing your Fiction, given by Derek Künsken and myself, and all proceeds will go to the local sci-fi con, CAN-CON.  For those of you who don't yet know, CAN-CON is hosting the Aurora Awards this year, so it's a particularly important (and expensive) year. In 2012, other members of my writing group, the East Block Irregulars, gave workshops to help fundraise for the con.  This year, I'm happy to be in the ring with them.

For those of you who were wondering what the heck we'd talk about for a fullll day, here's some insight:

• Derek will go on about accepting that first drafts are shit and editing will make them shine.  I shall support his point, perhaps make fun of some of them, and then add a few more. 
• Structural edits
• Character arcs
• My favourite: adding tension!
• Language edits
• All with some exercises and practical examples!

I'm pushing for Derek and I to play good cop/bad cop when it comes to editing, but I think we're both pretty bad cop about this, so that's a no go. The reason we're intense about this, however, is that we both feel strongly edits make manuscripts shine AND publishable.  They're a good set of skills to learn and then master.

I believe there's still some room in the workshop, so don't miss out! We'll be at the University of Ottawa from 10-5 on Sunday, and it's only $40 for the whole day.  And did I mention that it's all going to support CAN-CON?  To register, contact Elizabeth at can.spec.lit@gmail.com. 

I can't wait for this. I love playing bad cop.  Fear me!