Getting things done through the fugue state.: seanan

Getting things done through the fugue state.

So let's review, shall we? I started this week a) exhausted from a comic book convention, b) with my back doing its best to murder me in my sleep, c) under deadline, and d) with the announcement that I am on the ballot for the 2010 Campbell Award. The first two have been sorting themselves out—I've had time to sleep, and my back is recovering, since I'm taking things relatively easy—but I'm still under deadline, and I'm still on the ballot.

(This whole thing feels a lot like when I first sold the Toby books. All I wanted to do was go up to strangers and be like "I just sold my first series!" All the strangers wanted me to do was leave them alone. So my friends wind up with a lot of really random-ass interjections. "What do you want for dinner?" "A tiara in Australia!" "Yes, but other than that, what do you want for dinner?" "I'm on the ballot!" "So we're having Baja Fresh again?" I try to keep this as non-offensive as possible, but really, it's like a constant GOTO loop at the back of my brain right now.)

Last night, I sat down with the goal of banging out 2,000 words on "Through This House," a Toby short set between Late Eclipses and The Brightest Fell. It's potentially for an anthology, and I wanted to make some definitive progress before I allowed myself to watch this week's episode of Castle. When I came up for air 4,000 words later, the first draft was done, and I felt vaguely as if I'd been hit with a brick. Tonight, I'm going to try to pull the same trick with "Build a Better...," an Alice/Thomas/colony of over-excitable pantheistic demon mice short (being written as the other option for the same anthology). Then, this weekend, I'll try to get three out of three by whipping through "Last Dance With Mary Jane," the Sparrow Hill Road story for June.

Sleep is for the weak and sickly.

In the cracks between the rushing, I've been dealing with taxes, trying to clean my room whilst entirely incapable of bending (it's a good thing I have flexible toes), and revamping both my websites, since the whole "on an internationally-published ballot" has been shoving a lot of traffic in my direction. It's fun like hysteria! And to be honest, I really am loving every minute of it. I am a sad, sad bunny-girl sometimes. So sad.

Next up, a webcomic endorsement, a Feed giveaway, some weird monkey noises, and a funky little dance. Whee!

vixyish

April 8 2010, 15:44:00 UTC 7 years ago

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*joins you in funky little dance*

seanan_mcguire

April 8 2010, 15:51:05 UTC 7 years ago

Do the funky fox in the chicken house!

spectralbovine

April 8 2010, 15:52:45 UTC 7 years ago

Ooh, I look forward to this webcomic endorsement. WHAT WILL IT BE?

I continue to be amazed at your ability to just crank out stories by sitting down and writing them.

April 8 2010, 15:53:48 UTC 7 years ago

But...

But...

But how else would you do it? I mean, does the Story Fairy come if you set out biscuits and bourbon?

April 8 2010, 16:09:51 UTC 7 years ago

That hasn't worked for me yet.

Well, I've tried milk and cookies.

April 8 2010, 16:34:48 UTC 7 years ago

My muse is very alcohol-oriented.

deire

April 8 2010, 16:16:00 UTC 7 years ago

I could try cookies and bourbon INSTEAD?

7 years ago

ladymondegreen

markbernstein

vincentursus

April 9 2010, 00:29:14 UTC 7 years ago

According to Phil Foglio, you contact the Ideas Board of Des Moines, Iowa.

dornbeast

April 9 2010, 15:29:17 UTC 7 years ago

Considering how much time she's spent practicing writing, it doesn't seem amazing at all from my view.

April 8 2010, 16:15:28 UTC 7 years ago

Hm. Not so much a GOTO loop as a meerkat on caffeine. :POP UP!: "TIARA!" ;)

April 8 2010, 16:35:44 UTC 7 years ago

Yeah, pretty much.

Sleep is for wimps!

murgyt

April 8 2010, 16:16:07 UTC 7 years ago

Sleep is for wimps! Happy, healthy, well-rested wimps, but wimps none the less! :)

(I think I stole that from MadMike, but who knows...)

Re: Sleep is for wimps!

April 8 2010, 16:46:33 UTC 7 years ago

Sleep is for the weak, sickly...and alert.

kyburg

April 8 2010, 17:10:46 UTC 7 years ago

*snickers* My friend

dewhitton came up with a gem this morning. You heard about the sea kittens, right? Try this Aussie-flavorted variant on:

"In an effort to market Australia as a safe place to visit, funnel web spiders are now known as funnel web kittens. See also: Eastern Brown Kittens, Box Jelly-Kittens, Blue Ringed Kittens, Estuarine or Salt-Water Kittens and red-bellied black kittens."

(He does animal rescue/rehab and I absolutely adore him.)

April 8 2010, 17:25:51 UTC 7 years ago

Oh, NICE.

Deleted comment

April 12 2010, 15:28:37 UTC 7 years ago

I don't think I have blase in my genetic makeup, really.

I know you didn't ask for opinions, but

maverick_weirdo

April 8 2010, 18:09:59 UTC 7 years ago

With you mentioning a possible anthology, I wanted to say that if an anthology had Happy Endings in it I would buy it.

Re: I know you didn't ask for opinions, but

April 12 2010, 15:29:12 UTC 7 years ago

I think I know the story you mean, and sadly, the transition to the current InCryptid continuity rendered it non-canonical.

herewiss13

April 8 2010, 18:12:54 UTC 7 years ago

I really hope you get to publish your cryptid series soon so these constant mentions of a colony of sentient mice stop haunting my dreams. :-P

April 12 2010, 15:29:22 UTC 7 years ago

Me, too!

gwynnega

April 8 2010, 19:14:21 UTC 7 years ago

Your productivity continues to be awesome. I bet even your clones could use some sleep by now!

April 12 2010, 15:29:43 UTC 7 years ago

I keep them going through liberal application of caffeine. It's an imperfect system.

April 8 2010, 19:20:03 UTC 7 years ago

I hope you were able to treat yourself to this week's episode of Castle. It's hugely fun.

"No, because then this would be Scooby Doo, and I'm not Velma."

By the way, I just lent my copies of R&R and ALH to my son and daughter-in-law.

April 12 2010, 15:30:24 UTC 7 years ago

I always make time for Castle. And this week, I get to make time for Glee!

I hope they enjoy the books. :)

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Getting things done through the fugue state.

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Sleep is for wimps!

Re: Sleep is for wimps!

I know you didn't ask for opinions, but

Re: I know you didn't ask for opinions, but