[Caelum's Scrapbook] Use Your Words.

[Caelum]

Day 17: How to mansplain. 1. Have poor reading comprehension. 2. Freak out a little because a deadline’s been arbitrarily upped. 3. Vent about it to your female coworker. 4. Refuse female coworker’s offer of help. 5. Explain that it would take longer to explain what you needed her to do than it would for you to just do it yourself. 6. Fail to notice her eyeroll. 7. Interrupt her when she patiently attempts to tell you that she did your job for the last company she worked for. 8. Freak out a little more. 9. Wonder why your coworker has stopped engaging in the conversation with you. 10. Explain why you are freaking out. 11. Show female coworker a copy of the email of your snazzy phone that talks about the deadline changes. 12. Realize you misunderstood the client and they only want a project summation by the mentioned deadline, not the project itself. 13. Smile and tell your female coworker how relieved she must be that she didn’t have to learn a new skill to help out. 14. Walk away, ignorant of being flicked off by female coworker.

[Caelum]

Day 17.5 I just got back from a lunch meeting and the guy came over to ask me if I had time to do his project summation for him. It took everything in my power not to ask him what made him think I had grown more competent than he believed me to be this morning. I did, however, tell him that I would edit his draft of the summation. I refuse to actually write it, however. Refuse! Gosh, I’m glad it’s Friday.

[Elysium]

You are a stronger woman than I, my friend.

[Gossamer]

I suddenly feel the need to search your house purse and car for firearms and replace them with really good vintage bottles of wine.

One can never be too safe.

[Caelum]

So. I must have been talking to Wrenmae too much lately because I am sick again. This time I have a pretty bad fever. First it was bronchitis and flu, then an admittedly mild cold, and then I was totally fine for about three days. And now this. I realize that it is illogical to link quitting smoking with all this nastiness, but come on, universe.

Long story short, I'm in and out until I can shake this and become a human being again. Just typing this is increasing my headache. Bleh.

This is a really negative post. Hm. Okay, the cool things going on in my life right now are as follows: cuddly cat, nosy puppy, delicious constant comment tea, this stupid cool iPad, fuzzy blanket, a worried mother calling to tell me to drink water, some really amazing threads to reply to when I feel better, um, and netflix.

[Caelum]

Quote of the week. Or something. Hope is not the expectation that things will turn out well, but the conviction that something is worth working for, however it turns out. - Vaclav Havel.

[Caelum]

A cry for halp. That's right. Halp! I need speculative fiction recommendations preferably with first publication dates 2000 to present. Adult, no YA, no "it's really more of a crime novel, but hey". Help? Please? Annnnd go.

[Traverse]

My top of the mind recommendation without checking my books would be Lilith's Brood by Octavia Butler, I think it was first published in 2000, but I could be wrong.

[Caelum]

Thanks, Traverse! I missed that one, in fact. Good call. An additional note about goals. Goals. Give them to your character. How many times have I said this? Probably a hundred on this forum alone. By now anyone who bothers to read my scrap knows that their PC needs a goal. Story follows character, and character follows goals. Goal + Conflict = Plot and all of that. Simple as that. We’re not going to talk about why you should give your character a goal today. It’s a dead horse. If you don’t believe me, if you think I’m oversimplifying or am silly or who knows what, well that’s okay. Whatever. You’re right about one thing: I can’t help you. (I do wonder why you’re reading my scrapbook, though.) Instead, we’re going to talk about how. A few players have talked to me in the past months about ascertaining their PC goals. Again, not OOC goals, but IC goals. Trust me, Caelum doesn’t give a flying fish if I intend to write him another solo or two this season or if I’m gonna tie off that thread or make him a master in herbalism or whatever. Those are my goals. He is solely concerned with his. (Or, well, that small ranuri problem aside.) There are only four ways I know how to give a PC a goal, guys. It goes like this. 1. They just showed up in my head with one. (Yeah, yeah. I hate those people too.) 2. Ask your PC what they want. Seriously. Ask them. What do they want? WHAT DO THEY WANT FOR GOD’S SAKE. Ahem. If they’re one of those people who have no idea what they want or want for nothing, then either a) you haven’t developed them enough or b) why are you interested in writing them again? 3. Still stumped as to what they want? That’s okay. There is this old school exercise called I Dream of Heaven, I Dream of Hell that is totally worth a shot. Even if you think you have a pretty decent handle on what your PC wants, I recommend doing it. It’s fun and occasionally enlightening. The concept is simple. You write your character’s idea of heaven, and then you write their idea of hell. That easy. If that doesn’t tell you a thing or two about what they want and don’t want, well. I got nothin’. Save this – 4. Be a writer and just assign them a goal. Like, seriously. They aren’t real. They don’t control you. In fact, they can’t do anything at all, not to you or anyone, save what you allow them to. You control them. You made them up. CHANGE THEM. Give them a goal that helps further your own. Boom. You’re fixed. Write on, Katie.

[Caelum]

Hey guys. On phone so quick. Had an emergency Thursday night and am in the hospital. Going to be here for a few more days at least. Not dying or anything crazy like that. Just gotta heal up. Might come to read things, but I'm not likely to respond to even PMs until home.

-k.