Up to my ears in words

A writer's life.  Forget those visions of someone sipping a smoothie in front of their pc in their pajamas all day.  Someone still has to pay the bills, do the laundry, and call the oil company before the tank runs dry (something I forgot to do last month).  Someone has to answer e mails, the phone, and the doorbell for the UPS guy.  Someone has to call the doctor and the cable company.  Someone has to tell Verizon they screwed up on the monthly bill by charging them for 611 callbacks made to them in Mexico.  Add to that the myriad contests, agent queries, submissions, and the act of writing itself, and it's easy to see how writers' friends often wonder if they're agoraphobic. Who has time for a social life?

So, in the interests of MAYBE getting to a movie this weekend I'm going to keep this short and hunt down a market for one of my short stories.  No pajamas.  No smoothie.  Just me.  Up to my ears in words.

Getting back on track....

John Lennon once said: "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans."  And has life been happening to me lately!  In the space of about a month, all my technology went wonky - Bluetooth broken, camera doing odd things with my pictures, GPS died, computer power supply fried (with THREE hard drives failing to back up the info before this happened).  I felt like a little black cloud was following me - and it was electrically charged.

Well, now that I finally have a pc again, I find that I've lost my groove.  The Top Gear drive I was experiencing pre-crash is gone.  I used to get up and get on the pc first thing.  Breakfast was an afterthought.  I'd stay up until 3 or 4am.  I lived in a perpetual state of dehydration with dark circles under my eyes.

Now I'll  admit this tack wasn't very healthy, jangled my nerves, and tended to make me want to kick the person in front of me who had 11 items on the "10 items or less" line at Shoprite.  But my new groove - sleeping in and getting distracted by every little time-sink the internet offers - is very unproductive.

Well, I'm still getting used to Windows 8.1.  Yeah.  That's it.  It's the new OS.  I'll be back to slave driving myself and being obsessive about my characters again in no time.  Once I stop playing the free sessions of X box games.

Mermaid wannabe....

Those who know that I hate crowds might think it anomalous that I try to go to as many cons as time, finances, and energy will afford, until I point out the homogenous nature of these gatherings.  When I go to a con, I know I am definitely going to have at least ONE thing in common with the people there so, even if I'm in a crowd, I kind of feel at home. I'm with kindred spirits at a con, be that writers, mermaids, or geeks. 

Last summer I went to Florida for a mermaid con called Merpalooza.  I was decidedly not the best dressed person there, not even close to authentic.  I was nervous about this because I knew that droves of gorgeous young women were going to show up in silicone tails that cost upwards of $2-4K.  And there I was, a mermaid wannabe in a last minute, jacked up $27 costume from an online discount costume merchandiser.  Would they think I was a mermaid sychopant?  Would they make fun of me?

Happy to say that my efforts were warmly welcomed.  I got compliments from the real mermaids.  They "got" that I was a sympathizer, a kindred spirit, golden in heart if not in pocket.  I wasn't authentic but they knew that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Later, on Facebook, I assured a gal that she too would get a warm welcome for her sincere efforts if she went tail-less to a mermaid event.  She had been to a pirate event (another con I have in my sights) and someone had chastened her for her lack of authenticity.  I assured her that would not happen at a mermaid con (even though I only had one experience to judge by).

When I posted pictures of my mermaid costume on Facebook, another woman who had friended me on the basis of my mermaid photo told me I was a sham!  (Uh, lady, did you notice that my mermaid profile pic says "Face In Hole"?  I'm not exactly trying to project a pro image here.)  She pointed out costumes that cost thousands of dollars and basically told me that I had some nerve presenting myself in my Cinderella rags in front of these real merfolk who worked so hard and spent so much time, money, and effort on their tails.  I was a little taken aback.  Not so much for myself as for the gal I had just advised to feel comfortable with  her "mermaid sympathizer" gear.  What if she saw this blatantly negative appraisal of my efforts?  Would she be deterred from attending one of the mer-cons?  I couldn't let that happen because the folks I met at Merpalooza were amazing, warm, and welcoming, and I didn't want to discourage the first timer.

I deleted the negative post and the person who sent it. 

I am a fantasy writer.  I often write about mermaids.  I am never going to be a professional mermaid.  That doesn't mean I can't rejoice in all things mermaid, advocate for ocean conservation, or wear a $27 mermaid costume. 

I can't wait to see all my merfolk friends at the next con.  They'll understand.