Better Late Than Never & Black Holes In The Dryer

I know, I know, I know. I’m late.  I never posted the Thursday Talkabout.  Does it help if I make excuses? I have an laundry list of them ready for you- I got busy and the day got away from me, I was working, it was the season finale of Burn Notice (oh, Fiona, how I adore thee!), it was bedtime before I knew it…I can go on. No? Okay, then let’s just move past it.

The truth is, I was going to post about a ‘Mainstream’ blog, one over on MSNBC, and the delay actually led to an interesting new post over there.  But we’ll get to that in a minute.

This week’s Talkabout Blog is the Cosmic Log, something most of my family and friends have never heard of.  Its a lesser known part of the MSNBC website, but one of the highlights.   If you’ve never come across it before, it’s written by Alan Boyle, a winner of the AAAS Science Journalism Award, the NASW Science-in-Society Award and other honors; a contributor to “A Field Guide for Science Writers”; and a member of the board of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing.  Rather than bore you with a list of reasons I love to read Boyle’s blog, I’m going to simply share this, an excerpt from today’s Cosmic Log:

“Last weekend, an eminent panel of theorists (including myself) gathered to reflect upon “cannibalistic socks” and other riddles at the SpoCon science-fiction and fantasy convention in Spokane, Wash. I think we may have made as much headway as the Solvay Conference did back in Einstein’s day. Here’s the rundown on our results:

Where disappearing socks go

Some people have suggested that socks go missing in the laundry because a space-time warp somehow transforms them into belly-button lint and dust bunnies that appear out of nowhere. That’s only half-right. Take a look at this diagram of the modern clothes dryer, then note the similarity to this picture of the ATLAS detector at Europe’s Large Hadron Collider. Is that mere coincidence?

I didn’t think so.”

Interestingly enough, had I posted this Talkabout yesterday (you know, like I was SUPPOSED to..lol) we would have had a totally different topic and the quote would have been more like this:

“Scientists are improving their technique for bending DNA into origami shapes. The latest twist uses custom-made chemicals to turn bunches of molecules into smoothly curving circlets and gears – a trick that eventually could set the stage for practical nanomachines.”

Since today’s topic was much more entertaining, I’ve begun to wonder.  Do you think it was a ripple in the space-time continuum that caused me not to post yesterday?  Some Dr. Who– like stroke of luck that aligned my procrastination with the forces of the universe, creating just the right atmosphere for a better blog? Perhaps, my friends, perhaps.

On a side note, I’ve been thinking a lot about those nanomachines.  At first they creeped me out (yay for scientific advances, but I’d like to avoid living out I, Robot, thanks!) Then I decided that if they can proof and edit manuscripts, I’m in!

All kidding aside, the Cosmic Log is a wonderful place to visit on your coffee break, a source of inspiration and education that, as a writer, I see as wonderful fodder for the next great Sci-Fi tale!

Mondays aren’t my favorite

I’ve never been a fan of Mondays.  Don’t get me wrong,  it isn’t as if I really hate them.  I just find it hard to transition back into work mode after spending so much time with the family and out in the world.  This morning, I’m making pancakes and sausage for the kids, listening to The Mamas and The Papas and planning all the work I have to get done.

The Mamas & The Papas – Dream A Little Dream Of Me

Vodpod videos no longer available.

I have a lot of work to get done; several articles that need proofing and some photos to shoot to accompany them.  I also just lost one of my long-standing freelancers, so I’ll be posting a few job openings here in the next couple of days.

In other news, there’s a new challenge ready for you on SheWrites in the Flash Fiction group.  This week, we’re writing Postcard Fiction with the theme Foreign Places.  I can’t wait to read everyone’s pieces.

So what are you up to this morning? Do you have any tips for transitioning back into the work week?

Have you ever noticed

Have you ever noticed that no matter how much time you spend proofing and/or editing a piece, the second it lands in print you end up finding something you’ve missed- a comma, or maybe you were supposed to type ‘then’ but only have ‘the’.

I’m not sure where these little imperfections originate, but I do know that I’ve seen them in many professionally edited and published volumes, in Classic books, in modern romances, even in other magazines. So I think its fairly safe to say that everyone suffers from this problem.

The question then becomes simple: How do you deal with them? I used to fight them, sending my work around to a list of various people, each skilled at detecting a different type of error. But these days, I’m less uptight about it, freer with my words. You’d be surprised how much personal happiness you can find when you let go of those little imperfections, embrace them even.

They’re going to happen. You can’t stop them. Tha is the beauty of it all.

Yes, I know, my ‘that’ is a ‘tha’ but somehow, today, it just doesn’t bother me.

Alone in a Crowd

I’m suffering from a painful form of writers block today: waiting for a review.  Every so often, I reach a point in the piece I am working on (no matter if its my novel or an article) where I can’t seem to move forward without getting the opinion of someone I trust. I’m not really sure why this happens. The majority of the time I’m given the green light with the piece the way its written, yet until that feedback comes in I seem frozen inside a random fold in the space-time vortex- one that prevents any further work.

Worse yet are days like today, when I have two separate pieces waiting for feedback. Sure, I’m pleased to have finished them, yet none of the people I trust are around to read. I feel abandoned, isolated and lonely.

This situation doesn’t happen often, but when it does its quite painful.  I go through an inner struggle that could only be described as the cliche angle and demon fighting over how to proceed. The good girl says to be smart and patient, while the little devil child cries out that we aren’t alone- we’re ONLINE!  She then sends powerful urges to take a risk and simply post my piece online at one of the forums I visit.

When faced with this dilemma, I have always mustered up my willpower and resisted. The fear attached to allowing other people online to read something that isn’t publication ready is strong in me. I’m also very leery of posting something only to find it in a bazillion other locations by the end of the day- with the name of someone else in the author spot.

I can’t help but wonder, though, if I’m alone in this.  Do other writers go through this need for a feedback process? Are they as afraid of posting online as I am?

So, today I’m doing research on a new project rather than finalizing the edits on the two completed pieces.  Maybe I’ll even spend some time dreaming up some crazy characters to include in NaNoWriMo, which I’ve committed to this year.