[Conventions] ConDFW Schedule
My ConDFW Schedule starting next Friday, February 10, 2017
Rhonda Eudaly
Friday
READING
Friday, 5pm: Rhonda Eudaly, Patricia Burroughs
PROGRAMMING 2
Friday, 6pm: How Many Last Jedis Are There?
Panelists: Tracy S. Morris (M), Mark Finn, Rhonda Eudaly, Michael Ashleigh Finn, T. M. Hunter, Bradley
H. Sinor
We all know the title of the upcoming Star Wars VIII film to be “The Last Jediâ€. However, Jedi seem to grow like weeds in the novels – Order 66 got a lot of them, but there were always those few who hid on Coruscant, or Dagobah, or on a ship sent out of the galaxy, or…you get the drift. It’s time to speculate and debate on the Star Wars Universe. Try not to wreck the room with lightsabers.
Saturday
MAIN PROGRAMMING
Saturday, 10am: Unlikely Sources of Inspiration
Panelists: A. Lee Martinez (M), Gloria Oliver, Lillian Stewart Carl, Rhonda Eudaly, Patricia Burroughs,
William Ledbetter
In this day and age of the Internet and wide exposure to many cultures, there are plenty of strange and unlikely sources to inspire you to write, draw, costume or even perform. From anime to webcomics to taking bus trips to strange locations, the human condition can express itself in many ways. Our panelists relate some of the more unlikely ways they get inspiration.
MAIN PROGRAMMING
Saturday, 12pm: The Best Books Nobody Ever Heard Of
Panelists: Patricia Burroughs (M), Carole Nelson Douglas, Rhonda Eudaly, A. Lee Martinez, Dantzel
Cherry, Paul Black
The primary rule of this panel is this: NO SELF PROMOTION. Bring examples, and audience participation is welcome as well! Be prepared to be grilled ruthlessly on why you like the book, of course! Bring paper and pen so you can take notes, and hopefully you’ll find some great reads.
AUTOGRAPHS
Saturday, 2pm: Rhonda Eudaly, Patricia Burroughs, Michelle Muenzler, Beth Teliho
PROGRAMMING 4
Saturday, 4pm: Redheads of the Apocalypse
Panelists: Rhonda Eudaly, Julia S. Mandala, Linda Donahue, Dusty Rainbolt, Mark Finn
The always entertaining Four Redheads of the Apocalypse talk about their latest publication, as well as many other topics!
PROGRAMMING 3
Saturday, 8pm: Yard Dog Road Show!
Panelists: Christopher Donahue, Linda Donahue, Rhonda Eudaly, Melanie Fletcher, K. Hutson, William
Ledbetter, Julia Mandala, Tracy Morris, Ethan Nahte, Gloria Oliver, Teresa Patterson, Dusty Rainbolt, Rie
Sheridan Rose, Bradley Sinor, Sue Sinor, Mel White
The fantastic authors of the Yard Dog Press put on their always entertaining Road Show! Make sure not to miss this.
Sunday
PROGRAMMING 3
Sunday, 11am: What Tickles Your Funny Bone?
Panelists: Melanie Fletcher (M), Rhonda Eudaly, Paul Black, K. B. Bogen, Tracy S. Morris
From simple fart jokes to more esoteric strangeness such as Dirk Gently, humor is always subjective. Thus, let’s find out what our panelists think is funny, and see if the audience agrees! Of course, vice versa also applies.
[Writer Post][Write the Story] A Combined Post
So, yeah, everything’s off a day – so to kinda get everything back on track, I’m going to talk a little bit about ConDFW being next weekend and then post a story. If you’re in the area, you gotta come out to North Fort Worth. There’a new anthology doing a sneak peek with the publisher, editor, and several authors in attendance.
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My word counts have suffered this week, but I promised I’d post some of these writing exercises which run about 200 words.
Prompt: A Family Mystery Uncovered
Words: Sunday, secret, wallpaper, swap, sister, curiosity, island, notebook, marathon, demandA Family Mystery Uncovered
Sister Helen tried hard to concentrate on the homily as was demanded during mass, but that Sunday she struggled. After a marathon research session, the previous day, her curiosity wouldn’t be quenched.
Her convent sat on a beautiful island – nearly a paradise on Earth – but she knew it held secrets within its walls. Just the extent of those secrets remained to be determined.
Not that Helen could talk. She had her own ghosts she’d left behind when she took her vows and her new name. All the sisters did. But now she wondered if the swap was as good a deal as it seemed, not that she regret her decision one bit. The convent and the order had saved her.The question began with a loose edge of wallpaper in her room. She’d peeled back the layer to reveal words and symbols written on the plaster. Now her notebook overflowed with arcane sigils and geometry and question after question. Her restless sleep punctuated by magical dreams of Templar Knights and religious mystism.
She didn’t know what it all meant to her family of God, but one thing she did know…
DAN BROWN GOT IT ALL WRONG.
Written 1/6/17
[Pen/Pencil Review] Faber-Castell Grip Plus Ball Pen
NOTE: This is a day late because I’ve been hitting the blog pretty hard lately…
A few weeks ago a good friend (Hi, Tim!) texted me about his plan to start bullet journaling and asking me for a pen recommendation. Whoa. That took a minute to sink in – and was hugely flattering.
Then we had the breakdown – fountain, gel, fiber tip, or ball point? He specified ballpoint that would work well on good journal paper. Though there are many great ballpoint pens out there, my recommendation was the Faber-Castell Grip Plus Ball. It’s one of my newest acquisitions from Christmas and a good pen.
The Faber-Castell Grip Plus Ball point pen comes with a 1.0 mm (M) blue ink. The barrel is refillable. The pen is about 5.25†long (retracted and extended) with a plastic barrel with a strong plastic clip and metal accents on the push plunger and conical tip. The black rubber grip has a triangular “feel†with ribbed sections that fit comfortably at the typical grip pressure points for an ergonomic, non-slip grip.
The ink is rich and smooth. There’s no skipping, glopping or smearing on either plain paper or journal paper. I would put it up again the Pilot Dr. Grip any day – though the grip is slightly less “squishyâ€. The prices are comparable as well.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 – It works well. The ink flows well with minimal smearing. The retraction mechanism is solid.
2. Grip and feel – 1 – This is a pen designed for ergonomics. The grip is designed to prevent fatigue and delivers with the ribbed areas hitting pressure points. The barrel is long enough for comfort and balanced well.
3. Material – 1.0 – For a plastic barrel pen, it’s pretty well-made. It doesn’t feel cheap. The ink is rich, fluid and has minimal smearing. The metal accents
4. Overall Design – 0.5 – It’s a good design. I’m not going to knock it for having a bright metal clip on an otherwise black pen. But it does what it says – it’s comfortable, it has good ink, and it is suitable for long-term writing5.
Price Point – 0.5 – Considering this is Faber-Castell, the price is still pretty good. The Faber-Castell Grip Plus Ball is $9 but has metal accents. It’s comparable to Pilot’s Dr. Grip which runs about $10.
[Personal] A rare speaking out post
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.†― Edmund Burke
I don’t talk much about politics or religion in public in general. However, things change. In the past I’ve let some labels apply to me. No longer, especially in charged time where the Bat Crap Crazy extremists have appropriated those groups/labels. I have never supported those who call those they don’t agree with names – like Repugnicans/Repugnants or called the First Family “Obummer” or “Moochelle” (that one hurt a lot as a larger woman), nor am I fond of “Cheeto in Chief”. We can do better than name calling.
HOWEVER… though I know why some people voted the way they did: Supreme Court appointees, promises of economic recovery, etc. I *hope* they didn’t see this coming. I think the “hope” was The Candidate being controlled by Party (which isn’t perfect by a long shot). BUT…now we’re seeing what he is capable of and it’s not pretty. I’ve grown up believing in Christian principles and Biblical teachings. I stand by “love your neighbor as yourself” and “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” as FUNDAMENTAL Truth. I’ve not seen that lately. That’s not okay.
Nor is the blatant hypocrisy. I watched while there were shouts of “Executive Overreach” in the last eight years. I didn’t agree with a lot of what Obama did, but where are the shouts now? These harmful executive orders aren’t bringing out the same outrage by the same people. And make no mistake, they are harmful in both short and long-terms, we saw one this weekend. Our country was founded on immigrants and refugees – that needs to continue. Does the mean our system isn’t flawed? No. It needs work and thoughtful overhaul – AS DOES OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. You can’t just disband something or build a wall or detain legal travelers JUST BECAUSE. That’s not how things work.
I’ve grown up respecting the Office of the President. I still do. It’s an awesome responsibility. I do not respect the current occupant because he’s ALREADY broken the Oath of Office. He sees only the power but not the responsibility. I cannot support the actions he’s taken. Trying to silence people who disagree with you is never an answer – though I figure my friends list will be lighter after this .
I stand with the scientists and workers who are working to keep truth in the hands of the people – we have a better shot at this than in the regimes being mentioned because we have the internet. We have ways of connecting that weren’t ever available before. I’ve followed all the “Alt” accounts. I’ve not been a “write/call your congressman” person. That will likely change. If scientists and academics do run for office in the next cycle, I will do my part – as I have done my adult life.
I will not be a good person who does nothing.
[Writer Post] Processes
Or…why I probably can never meet Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Jose Molina…
Okay, so writing is a moderately occupation – just you, the voices in your head, the clicking of the keyboard, and/or the scratching of a pen. Hopefully leading to a big ole pile of words that don’t necessarily suck. Throughout the years many people have made money off telling young writers HOW YOU should write, WHEN YOU should write, for HOW LONG YOU should write, and if you Just Follow These Rules you will be PUBLISHED (AKA rich, thin, and the person of your choice will love you!).
To that I say, POPPYCOCK! Pure, unadulterated HOCKUM. Or… BULL CRAP (it’s a family blog).
So what do I have to say about PROCESS? What makes a good process? Do you produce words? Do they create a beginning, middle, and end at some point? Congratulations! You have a process. Your process is YOUR PROCESS. If it works for you, it’s a good process. Yay, you! (Yes, this year is all about the small, every day successes. Some days that’s all we can hope for.)
And guess what? Your process? It’s probably like someone else’s process – because even though details may shift in shipping, no one is original. If you can’t write unless you have exactly six red Skittles and a shot of tequila before you write, that’s pretty specific, but there may be whole writers groups out there who have do the same thing (just maybe with green Skittles and rum). For the record, SO NOT my process.
My process isn’t elaborate. It’s not weird. It’s not even unique. In fact if you listen to this episode of Children of Tendu — you’ll hear 90% of my process. Because it’s (seriously) almost identical to Javier Grillo-Marxuach. The advice on taking advice from other writers or writing books? Jose Molina echoes most of my advice (which was taken from yet someone else) which is “take what rings true to you and discard the rest”. But Jose’s process is one I know many writers also follow – and guess what? We all get along. We all write. We all get the job done.
Which is why I should probably never meet these gentlemen in person. Because I would, very likely, be the world’s biggest, gooberiest (shut up it’s a word) fan girl on the entire planet. Seriously, I’d embarrass myself and I’m a grown, professional woman (shut up! I am, too!)
So. No matter where you are in your writing life – embrace your process. Revel in it when you find like-minded writers, no matter what the genre or style. NEVER, ever let anyone tell you your process is wrong. Likewise, NEVER, ever tell anyone THEIR process is wrong. There’s no right way to do this. There’s no wrong way to do this – as long as you’re doing this. That’s the only key. If you’re a writer – write. Period. Full Stop.
Now…back to work.
[Pen/Pencil Review] Castell 9000 Perfect & National Handwriting Day
So I couldn’t do the WHOLE review in an image – but hey, National Handwriting Day! You need more info in a readable format. Also, as a long-time Phineas and Ferb fan and a SF geek, CASTELL 900 Perfect is an AWESOME name.
The CASTELL 9000 Perfect cap is about 2.5″ long and comes with one of Faber-Castell’s classic green pencils, so the initial length is about 5.5″ long with a white, smudge-free eraser– with the cap posted to the eraser end, it makes the pencil itself about 7.5″ long. The remaining super cool thing? The twisty looking top? It pops out as a sharpener. So you ALWAYS have a SHARP wooden pencil. The lead in this is a soft “Bâ€, which means needing more sharpening for a strong point.
I tried the cap with generic pencils – both round and hex. The round pencil was a bit tight, but they both worked. So you don’t HAVE to use the Faber-Castell pencils with the Perfect Pencil – but they are really NICE pencils. So you COULD – the brand recognition alone makes this amazing.
This is the mid-grade, more expensive than the purple one, but totally worth it version. I still love this concept and product as a writer. If I were an artist I wouldn’t use anything else.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 It’s one of those things that if you love wooden pencils, it will blow your mind. The cap is secure. The sharpener does a good, tight point.
2. Grip and feel – 1 – There’s no real “grip”. It does make shorter pencils easier to use and regular pencils a bit long – but the plastic is kind of light so it doesn’t throw off the balance too much. It’s not overly bulky.
3. Material – 1 It’s strong quality plastic with a decent metal-bladed sharpener that seats securely. Clip feels strong and unlikely to snap off.
4. Overall Design – 1 – Seriously? You don’t think this is something that will make a difference, but it does. If you’re an artist, please check this thing out.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – Considering this is Faber-Castell, the price is still pretty good. The Faber-Castell Green “9000” is $10 but has metal accents. It’s not the highest end but it’s also not the lowest end.
[Writer Blog] Wednesday Muddle
Wow. It’s Wednesday. It’s January. And I’m trying to shoe-horn everything (it feels like) before February. Busy-ness consumes all – which in a way is good because… Job Security – but there has to be a balance. We had a friend stay with us for a week, which was awesome but also throws everything off (we are all creatures of habit). But now…getting things back to something resembling “normalâ€.
Fiction is still slow. Still debating typing up the “Write the Story†exercises – which will make me do them more. But I wrote some last night after eating and getting my brain back from the Day Job. I go home with my brain full of STUFF (not mucus anymore, thank goodness, or at least as much). There’s so many projects with different data sets playing handball in my head. AND we have to be concerned with the Inauguration.
I’m talking with the people who made the planner I was excited about this Christmas. It’s got a manufacturing defect. I also find I’m not using all the features I thought I would and maybe something…simpler would’ve been better. BUT… I hate thinking I wasted money (not the cheapest thing) on something that should’ve been awesome but might not turn out to be… so muddle! But the customer service response has been quick (when I found it) and polite just not “greatâ€. They’re offering a partial refund and coupon for my next order. Which is fine but not great, because do I really want to spend MORE money with them? Ponder. Might talk more about this on Monday.
THANK GOODNESS I have a yoga immersion weekend this weekend – getting there close to “We start RIGHT. NOW.†But I will be there! For now, getting through Day Job. Getting some words down on paper. And looking forward to ConDFW in February.
[Pen/Pencil Review] Holidays on Mondays
So, two things have derailed today’s blog post:
1: My dear friend, Nora, is in town and staying with us through tonight, no we have spent the whole day poking through resale shops. So, tired, hungry, and probably playing one last round of Settlers of Catan: Cities and Knights.
2: MLK Day off — which allowed for the above to happen (and the sadness of my yoga instructor being ill and canceling class tonight) which also distracted me from getting stuff done.
So, in my excuse-filled absence, go check out Tokyo Pen Shop, through February if you put in the code RHONDAEUDALY they will give you 10% off your order.
I need to take advantage of it myself. Enjoy the rest of the holiday, I will get back on track.
[Writing Post] Writers Life for Me
OMG, what day is it? Oh right, it’s Wednesday and blog day. I tried to write one earlier…and here we are. Confession time, my word counts have been…sporadic…at best. The reason – which I am still working on – is because the Day Job is piling higher and higher with important and transferable skill projects all hitting this month and stretching through April (and probably beyond).
One of the big things is that I’ve been assigned to basically be a “con chair”. I’m planning the 2nd largest event our department does in a year that deals with the public and private sector partners. It was something I kind of wanted to do…so kinda yay, but it’s going to be a lot of work ALONG WITH all the other stuff I have to do. In fact, I get to pick the day of this event. I’m planning it to be just before we go to SPECTRUM in Kansas City so I can be mushy there.
No excuses but there are times when we all have limited brain bandwidth. I’m trying to figure out the magic mixture (because this all hit just after we got back from the holidays) that lets me get everything done while still remembering things like how to tie my loafers (yes, I know you don’t tie loafers, that’s the point of the full brain) and making sure there’s coffee in my system.
This is what writers deal with on a daily basis. I will get my act together – because honestly, I don’t have a choice. Right now, it’s overwhelming, but I’m processing. Several of the bigger deadlines are sort of staged and spread out – but several are right at the end of the month. So if I know this is a specific crunch time (which it totally is) then I can work with that. Tiny word counts, a couple of the exercise stories, maybe even just some notes and writing doodles, but it’ll keep me on track for when the load starts lightening. Then look out! Full steam ahead – I just have to get to the rail switch.
There it is. Yes, if you’re serious about writing you do what you have to to make it work. I am doing that. The words may not be EVERY day, but the commitments are there, the professional development (okay, industry-related podcasts) is there, but what’s important is knowing my limits. There are going to be days where tying loafers or hitting the button on the coffeemaker is just ONE TOO MANY THINGS. Then let it be too many things. I’m also committing to spend less time playing a game I’m totally sucked into because – dude. BUT…but there’s also a time and place for that (usually for me last thing of the day to help kind of clear the brain hamsters – the less obnoxious cousin to the brain weasels. I just can’t let it be a bigger distraction than it can be.