[Writer Post] The Reset
The last little while my Day Job has eaten my life. My niece got married. Went to TWO different memorial services. And I swear doctors get paid by the “you really should do something about your weight” lectures. But I made a promise to myself about this time last week that on Monday, July 18th, everything would RESET.
I gave myself until this Monday to finish dealing with the commitments, to decompress from the stress. To remind myself that regular word counts, exercise, and my “typical” routine make me happy. To decide that I never want FOOD to be the focus of my life — in either an emotional overeating sense, OR in the hyperfocused, must pay attention to every gram/morsel/etc.
And you know what? It’s been a pretty decent week so far. I’ve not written a TON of words this week, and some of them are complete crap — but crap words are still words. I’ve hit my blog posts on time. And I’ve still been able to get some stuff done at home.
We FINALLY got our bedroom furniture delivered – which meant disassembling and reassembling TWO rooms – and discovering a WHOLE other dog’s worth of hair behind the bed. Ick. But clean, new furniture with some clothes purging and stuff.
I even managed to fix a glitch that would’ve made ArmadilloCon…untenable. But ArmadilloCon is a go. We’ll see everyone in Austin next weekend!
It’s a good reset (for everyone but the dogs, they’re a bit freaked by the change). I’m looking forward to seeing where the reset takes me. Hopefully I can make the time up to make the novel deadline. Let’s do it!
[Pen/Pencil Review] The PaperMate InkJoy – GREEN – 0.7mm
Today’s blog post is a revisit that isn’t a revisit. Today we meet the Paper Mate InkJoy GREEN GEL pen. This retractable pen is something that makes me happy -it’s a solid, dark, vibrant green ink (even if I can only get ONE in the 0.7mm).
The ink is really good. I do give Paper Mate that. I bought the fashion colors for the first go round. I picked this one up at JetPens.com – because they will sell the 0.7mm pens in singles. Though I do prefer the 0.5mm, I couldn’t (yet) justify the major mulitpack that comes with THIS PARTICULAR COLOR. I’m hoping either PaperMate will do a Red/Black/Blue/Green pack or JetPens will sell the 0.5mm separately at some point.
The Paper Mate InkJoy gel pens are 5.75″ long retracted and extended. The barrels are slightly thicker than your typical retractable stick pen. The barrel is smooth and is mostly rubberized plastic for a comfort grip. There’s a clear-ish hard plastic front panel that lets you see the level of ink in the refill that also includes the clip – which could snap if you mess with it long enough. The tip is conical and metal, and so is the plunger on the retraction mechanism. The tip screws off to refill the ink and sets smoothly to avoid any ridges.
The deal with the InkJoy gel pens is supposed to be really smooth and quick drying – compared to Pilot G2 (which is a lofty goal – G2 is pretty much THE standard). So do they measure up? Actually yes, they do. These pens have good ink reservoirs with rich tints to the ink. The conical tips are smooth and lay down a solid line. The feel is good. The ink does seem to dry quickly – except in my moleskine calendar which has really slick pages. EVERYTHING smears on that. GREEN is a particularly difficult color for inks – most of the time they are LIGHT. Or fade easily. Or something that lessens their appeal. Not THIS ink. This is a serious green ink.
Finally an InkJoy that DOES bring me joy. If you don’t want to invest in multipacks, JetPens is selling 0.7mm individually for $2. I’ll be getting some more of these.
To the numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 The ink is AMAZING, and comes in decent point sizes. The retraction mechanism is solid
2. Grip and feel – 1 – It’s fairly basic retractable pen, but long like a stick pen. The rubberized plastic goes all the way around and up the back of the pen to give a comfortable fe
el for long-term use.
3. Material – 1 – It’s rubberized and translucent plastic pen. It’s solid for what it is.
4. Overall Design – 1 – It’s an InkJoy that I can get behind. The pen is colorful, comfortable, and solid.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – These run close to $2 a pop which is about on par but seems a touch high. They should be refillable, but I’m not seeing refills for these yet. If they do end up having the refills, then they will be a solid pen for everyday use.
4.5 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
[Writer Post] AFK
The last week has been rough. I’ve been away from the keyboard as much as possible. Some of it has been okay – Jimmy’s best friend was in town from Colorado. Then my Day Job came crashing down around our heads. As all of you know from either my social media or, say, the national/international news… and, I won’t lie to you. I’ve not written a word.
There was also a memorial service for one of Jimmy’s former co-workers. This weekend we have my neice’s wedding and another memorial service. We’ve had 11 people in our house for dinner on Monday.
There’s been a lot of stress. There’s been a lot of emotion. And I’m going to be able to use some of it in stories down the road. Met some really cool people – both at work and around this family dinner. I did manage to get a pedicure and buy an outfit. I have not been able to get fiction written.
We are starting the “new normal” at the Day Job starting today. I still have no idea what the “old” normal was, but I’m looking forward to getting back to “routine” which will include adding words to current projects and typing up what I’ve written. There’s still a lot to be done in the upcoming week.
Totally looking forward to going to Austin in a couple of weeks for ArmadilloCon. I will need it as much (if not more) than I did SoonerCon. Come see me there, would you?
[Pen/Pencil Review] Day Job Takes Precedence This Week
I was going to do my best to do a blog post today… It’s not going to happen.
This is my Day Job Life right now – through early Wednesday, at least. And there’s a bunch of family descending on my house tonight for dinner. Bear with me.
Even though I have the tons and tons of pens to inventory – I’ve actually done a small JetPens order, so even more things to write about once normalcy returns.
Please bear with me. Everything will return to regularly scheduled programming.
[Writer Post] SoonerCon Report
Better late than never, I suppose. SoonerCon was two weeks ago, and yes, I’m just now getting around to this. Only because of crazy busy life stuff – that doesn’t end until October. Right, then. So, SoonerCon was something that I both needed and needed to be great. I was not disappointed by either criteria.
My convention schedule is a bit light this year – these things go in cycles – so my opportunities to sell books are more limited than in the years where it seemed like I went to ALL. The. Shows. That’s partially budgetary (conventions are expensive – especially the comic cons) and partially looking at ROI (to be buzz-wordy). If a convention/show is no longer worth the investment for whatever reason, then you have to rethink attending. And then at least one convention I normally had in my schedule didn’t happen this year. All these together make the shows I am doing more important.
SoonerCon was the first convention I’ve done since February. That’s…a while. I was feeling the need to be back among “tribe” more than just yoga or FenCon meetings. This is also being around fans, fellow writers, and artists. We all get a good recharge from being around like minds. This was no exception. Loved being able to catch up with friends and colleagues – and meeting new folks like Ron Cheney – Lon Cheney’s grandson. There’s always networking and business doing – I’ve mentioned my whole conversation with Tex Thompson that’s leading in new and different directions. The panels were fun, thought-provoking, and generally bizarre — and that’s just from the panelist side. Most were well-attended. A couple were small but still generated good conversation.
Was it perfect? No. No convention is. EVER. SoonerCon, like ever other fan-run convention, has turn over and post shuffling every few years. This was one of those years. They kept the problems and chaos to the background. Likely I wouldn’t have noticed at all except for two factors: 1) I’m married to an art show who helps out here – so those things are visible to me; 2) I’m a conrunner myself and good friends with SoonerCon’s people, we help each other out and talk out things. Collaborative efforts, baby, not just for artistic endeavors. But these issues are transient and not deep rooted. No plan survives the first encounter with the enemy. But SoonerCon LEARNS. They evolve. They GET IT.
I’ve said many times before that SoonerCon is the convention to emulate. They combine the best of the “Old School” literary conventions with the relevancy of what “New” fans might want. The hybrid of media con with literary without sacrificing anything – having to spend more time sucking up to potentially high-maintenance media guests at the expense of the writers/artists who built the convention to begin with. They are fans. They’re professionals. They’re some of the most welcoming, open-minded folks I’ve ever met. And they’re doing pretty well at the Reed Convention Center — for now.
I will continue to support SoonerCon as long as they will have me, and I encourage anyone in the region to check them out next year (and the year after, and the year after). We need SoonerCon and they need us. Let’s keep making it happen!
[Pen/Pencil Review] Inventory
HAPPY JULY 4th — USA!
Last week I mentioned one of the things I need to do to for this blog is take an inventory of what I have so I know what needs reviewing, culling, or keeping.
THIS IS WHY! (And this isn’t nearly all – some of the pics are blurry) You’re seeing the mass of writing instruments. Many have been reviewed. Many have not. And there are new ones coming in all the time (because I have an addiction, I know it.)
So, here we are. I’m starting a “time to get rid of things” mode. I don’t do “SPRING” cleaning (or Fall) because that’s when it’s okay to be outside in Texas. I do Winter and Summer – because that’s when we’re stuck INSIDE.
Anything that doesn’t work will be tossed. Many of the “gently used” but still in decent condition (like the things that come in multi-packs) will be donated to anyone who wants them.
Yeah… this is happening! And if I go back to former patterns, my function tests will be in my fiction word counts – which creates a win/win in the productivity side of life.
So here we go. Crazy ride ahead.
[Writer Post] What’s on YOUR Post-It Note?
Hello, Wednesday and blog post day. It’s been quite the week. Major Day Job deadlines have been met with time to spare. Survived SoonerCon (which was an amazing bit of fun). Took an interesting step when I got home from SoonerCon – which was to sign up for DFWCon (a writers CONFERENCE – totally different, and a significant financial outlay). Which leads to this post – instead of the basic convention report (which will come).
After having an interesting conversation with Mark Finn and Shawn Scarber at the Koffee Klatch on Saturday, I had another interesting conversation with the amazing Tex Thompson on SUNDAY morning about DFWCon, what’s going on in the DFW area, and how we are all involved. Which then led to a follow up email from Tex asking an interesting and thought provoking question: “What are your goals for this year?†UM…. Um… I had to come up with something more than “write more/better†(because while that’s an answer, it’s neither specific nor accountable enough). So, here I was, still in SoonerCon Recovery mode asking myself, What ARE my goals for this year?
Here’s basically the answer I gave Tex. I want to finish the YA novel I’m working on (which has been given an arbitrary 3rd party deadline of September 1st) and then make PROGRESS on three major projects that I’m asked about:
1) a long-term collaborative effort
2) another book in the Tarbox universe
3) more reality ending fairy tales.
That’s the PLAN, but plans don’t matter if there’s no implementation. And Tex is so very enthusiastic that I have these goals. I mentioned my To Do list – and she shared her Post-It Note goal list on her computer. Because apparently we can have tons of things on our lists, but she finds it amazing that the REAL GOALS can fit on a 2X2†post-it note.
So I’m not sure if she was really thinking I’d do it – but here are our Post-It notes. What on YOUR Post-It note?
[Pen/Pencil Review] Plans for Moving Forward
Today is Monday, and though there is yoga class and post-convention brain fade, I’ve come up with a plan for this blog. WOOT!
You see, my yoga class (initially running through tonight) has been extended. We will have July off and then return on Monday nights in August. Which means, I need a more sustainable plan for dealing with Monday blog posts and writing in general. Fortunately, I’ve had some moments of clarity this morning before hitting the wall of exhaustion. There are 2 things I need to do during July Yoga Haitus to change plans to practice.
1. Inventory – I have so many pens of all types, colors, shapes, etc. in a HUGE box. I need to go through them and do research on what I HAVE, what needs to be REVIEWED, what needs to be CULLED. Some will be thrown away if they don’t work. Others will be given away (if you have need of some slightly used writing instruments, let me know!).
2. Scheduling – The most awesome plan I came up with in the car this morning was to write my pen blogs on SUNDAY (probably night) and set them up to post on Monday. Duh. Should have been doing that all June long, because it makes the most sense, rather than waiting until Tuesday and completely spacing on it. Fortunately, I will HAVE the month of July to get that habit going before we hit August.
That’s it. That’s the plan to get me back on track as a productive member of the blogging community. Now, let’s hope I can pull it off, because ever since Hannibal Smith first led the A-Team, I do love it when a plan comes together.
Tally ho!
[Pen/Pencil Review][Writer Post] I Suck — As A Blogger
Because of crazy random happenstance I totally missed doing both my blogs this week. So… oops. In my best Stephen Amell/Green Arrow voice… I have FAILED. THIS. BLOG! At least this week.
And… SoonerCon is in A DAY AND A HALF! Eep! But bright side? Tomorrow is my Friday at the day job — and I have a plan to make the deadline on a team project (in which one member has done NOTHING) before I leave. YAY! That’s been weighing on me — I was assigned to be the team lead. Yay.
Yoga’s gone well. I have one more week – then a month off before it starts again in August. I’m determined to keep it up through FenCon, just because this is the busiest most stressful time of the year, and I want to see if it helps. Love the class, and I can use July to figure out blog stuff and work on the book I have “due” on September first.
Now I need to do a quick revision on a piece I got back today, then starting anew tomorow kicking butt and taking names.
See you in Oklahoma.
[Writer Post] New Experiences. New Challenges.
Yesterday I was asked to do something I’ve never been asked to do before. NO! Nothing like THAT! Come on! This is a family-friendly blog.
Though I can’t go into detail yet (hopefully soon, but not yet), this is the culmination of one of the most surreal writing experiences of my life. I can’t wait until I can tell you all about it. SO STOKED! Wait? Do people still say that? Can I even pull that off? Anyway, seriously, y’all, this is so weirdly cool…
And I needed a weirdly cool. June has decided to bust out ALL over with Stuff To Be Done RIGHT NOW! I’m steadily chipping away at those deadlines (some of which are dependent on OTHER PEOPLE doing their share), there’s still some flailing going on – resulting in a few days of No Word Counts FOR YOU! BUT…but…these are things we live for (and a good reason for the yoga class I started).
Was on the receiving end of some Day Job Kudos this week (which was unexpected) – but that leads in to a VERY long day tomorrow and an odd day on Friday. I guess it’s good to be needed and appreciated, but it does result in challenges for the writing side. I will make the time. I will get it all done. Just have to get through the next 9 days. Then it’s all about SoonerCon.
SO VERY MUCH looking forward to SoonerCon. And if you haven’t seen it yet there’s a nifty link to my schedule — please come see us and hang out. SoonerCon is one of the best fan run conventions in the region. I look forward to EVERY YEAR. Besides, unless my Oklahoma friends have come to Texas or ordered online – you haven’t had a chance to see Tarbox Station live and in person yet!
Come see us. Buy Books. End of pitch. 😎