Bill Murray from Stripes (BTW- There is no meeting.)
I was going to make a witty title, but that might get missed by some. I’ve mixed this request for volunteers with other posts. Probably shouldn’t have done that. So this is just a simple:
Help announce ‘Crossing Bedlam’ when it goes live in February!
That’s pretty much it. I’m still aiming to release on the 12th, which means the email with the post should be going out that weekend. It won’t be long since this isn’t a series like Windemere. Probably the basics. Always happy to get some help.
I’m scheduling this one instead of writing it tomorrow. The reason is because we’re supposed to get 6-12 inches of snow. Yes, people are getting worse elsewhere. Yes, people overreact to winter storm warnings. None of that matters because I still have to shovel away whatever lands on the walkway, driveway, and sidewalk. Helping a neighbor out too, so I’ll be working hard. Might not even get back before this goes live, which is another reasoning I’m scheduling this.
I already see people online teasing others about panicking about the storm. Here’s the thing though. What if those who are worried end up being right? One can still lose power and that means no heat or hot food unless you use gas. Sure, there’s a good chance that the media is overhyping the storm and it’ll be small. Then again, if they ever downplay a storm and it hits like cannonball to the scrotum, people will cry bloody murder that they weren’t prepared enough. My point here is that it’s better to be overprepared and cautious when facing the unpredictable elements than got caught with no heat, no hot water, and only a box of saltines to eat for two days.
In other news, I’m editing and realizing I don’t move as quickly as I used to. I’m getting worried that I’m slowing down or something. My energy drops by late afternoon and a nap only makes me groggy. Probably caused by the cold and being stressed to the point where I don’t sleep well. I’m unconscious, but I get the feeling that it isn’t a healthy type of sleep. Part of me wonders if a day of hard work shoveling will reboot the system since I tend to feel more energized after biking.
In regards to editing, I haven’t gotten as far as I’d hoped. Delays happen and there are nights where I just can’t get the mojo working at the right levels. I want to finish editing these books by February 19th. That way I can dive into Book 13 of Legends of Windemere after the kid goes back to school. Crossing Bedlam should be out by then too. Reminds me that I need to make a volunteers post for Sunday. Eh, this is the plan and I’m limping along already.
FYI- This coming week will start the Crossing Bedlam hype posts. You get a look into the characters and their world as well as a few themes. It was going to be this week, but I think the topics I switched in worked better. Especially the one about what you can do for authors in your life.
For those who don’t know what the above video is and didn’t play it, this might not make much sense. In all honestly, most people look at cartoons as stuff for kids with no substance and total immaturity. Those aimed at adults are crude, potty humor with no intention other than to make laughs. Some don’t even have a plot or any sense of coherency. But enough about those because I’m going to talk about how some comedies can spin you around and give you a punch to the emotional breadbasket.
To be fair, it isn’t always cartoons. I remember there being some powerful ‘Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ episodes and more recently I saw an episode of ‘Mom’ that was rather gut-wrenching in its rawness. Still, I can’t even think about Futurama’s ‘Jurassic Bark’ episode without getting teary-eyed. Heck, I had to find the above video and make sure it carried the impact I wanted. Don’t want to know how many I went through to find the one I wanted. It may haunt my dreams. Anyway, this is a very strange and rare event in these days. At least to me because it feels like most comedies, especially cartoons, aren’t trying for emotional impacts.
Is this a good or bad thing? I know many who don’t want a comedy to be serious because they feel it’s preachy. Even if there isn’t any actual preaching, which makes me think the people saying it don’t know the term. Still, it makes sense when we haven’t seen the episode before. You sit down for laughs from beginning to end and leave yourself open to the humor. Unknown to you this leaves you vulnerable to other emotions. I mean, some people will cry if they laugh too hard or get too happy. So we may already be close by the time the finale happens and we’re left tearing up because it touched something. Maybe a sense of loss that can never be recovered or a decision was made that is revealed to have been the wrong one, but the character will never know. Imagine if Fry did clone Seymour instead of thinking his dog lived a happy life afterwards. You do it because I don’t think I have the strength.
Maybe we don’t like the crossover. Something about our source of laughter making us cry can come off as a betrayal. We’ll still come back for the next episode, but we now know that this place is one that can turn serious. Sure, you may go for 20 more episodes before another tear-jerker turns up. You may even have dropped your guard by then, but there’s still a change. The funny thing is that a comedy can probably leave a more lasting impact than shows that are predominantly serious topics. You become numb to the emotional body blows, character deaths, and horrible events in shows that try to only make you wince and cry. So it loses its effect. Yet a comedy will only do it occasionally and you’ll always remember when it happens because it stands out among the ‘laughs only’ episodes. You could even go back and catch a little seriousness in older episodes that you thought were only laughter.
Anyway, this is my opinion on this topic and I know it varies. I’ll leave you with another Futurama clip. I mean, I already showed ‘Jurassic Bark’, so I’m sure you’re safe:
No! Not Adult in ‘that’ way. But a whole lot of fun all the same.
Description
Coloring is not just for kids. It has been proven to be an excellent way for adults to destress, create mindfulness and slow down from daily life, all while enjoying an activity that you can truly make your own.
There is no right or wrong way to color in the images in this book, and you are free to choose the tools you wish to work with. Markers, paint, colored pencils, pens – the choices are unlimited.
Sit back and unwind and let your stress melt away while you spread color across the page. All pages are single sided to avoid bleed through.
Part of me thinks I already did a Questions 3 on editing, but I’m too lazy and tired to search for it. Probably because I’ve been scrambling to edit this week. Not easy to do when it’s so cold that I want to hibernate and the most comfortable position I can find is kneeling next to the bed. Honestly, I’ve seen a lot of authors are in editing mode, so maybe this will be more fun than I realize. Let’s move on to the questions.
What is one piece of an advice you would give someone to make their editing easier?
What is the most frustrating part of editing for you?
Edit spelled backwards is Tide? How would you say this is appropriate?
Answer for 3: I feel like I should answer this to be fair since I’ve answered the other two several times over the years. I think the backwards spelling is appropriate because you’re washing out the mistakes and stinky stuff from your manuscript. Like how the tide going out will carry stuff away. Then again, you could be left with a dead whale on the shore and that’s just upsetting.
