Summer summary

It’s been a strange summer. Weather-wise, it’s been crappy. Any Norwegian will tell you so. Then again, any Norwegian would tell you that any summer, pretty much, and for the most part we are right. We do have a lot of weather in this country, and most of it isn’t of the nice kind. But even if we’d had a warm, sunny summer (not that we did, mind you), we wouldn’t call it a nice summer. We forget easily, in this country. And one rainy day easily translates to “three weeks straight”. If the weather is one of your main conversation topics (and in Norway, it definitely is), it is, after all, much more interesting to speak of bad weather than sunshine.

But I’m not here to talk about the weather.

The summer has been especially strange for me, I guess. I went from a busy life in Tokyo to the slow-as-ever sleepy small town life in Norway. I went from an exciting, interesting and challenging job where I felt I made a difference, to unemployment and application writing. From feeling useful to completely useless. From being a social butterfly to spending most my time on Facebook (which is not the same thing, no matter how you try to justify it for yourself). I went from having too many plans to handle, to having none at all. As of now, I have vacation for the rest of my life – in theory, at least.

But I’m not here to talk about my unemployment.

Norway in general had a strange summer. On July 22^nd the unthinkable happened. Terrorism. In Norway. 77 people brutally slaughtered down, by one man and his hate. A hate that took us all by surprise, and that we’ve been struggling to understand ever since. Maybe we’re not supposed to understand; maybe we don’t even want to. The debate that surfaced after this ranged from “we need to analyze his manifest to make sure others like him cannot go unnoticed” to “we need to give his ideas less attention to avoid copycats”. Principles of freedom of speech have been discussed. We all agree we need to protect this right, now more than ever, but there are different opinions and interpretations what this right should entail. How much can we allow? How far should anonymous online debates be allowed to go before the danger signals flare?

What made the strongest impression on me in the middle of this, however, wasn’t the stories of the horrors at Utøya. Not the controversy about whether someone like this culprit (whose name I don’t like mentioning, despite Harry Potteresque wisdom of not letting him become another “You-Know-Who”) could have been stopped, and what measures would be an appropriate punishment (nothing, clearly. Nothing is appropriate. So we have to stick to the options already provided in our laws).

No, none of that. What made the strongest impression was how people came together after this. How it suddenly didn’t matter where you were from, what you did, how much money you made. We were all one. We stood by one another and acted a little nicer, spread a little love. The rose sea, spreading across the country. In Oslo there are still roses everywhere, a sad and yet encouraging reminder of what happened. Terrorism and hate was met with democracy and love.

But I’m definitely not here to talk about terrorism.

In current events it’s been a summer mercifully free of cucumbers. (An old expression in Norway – “cucumber news” was when the newspapers during the summer did not have anything real to report on, so they wrote about the cucumber prices.) I suppose there were some cucumbers with the e.coli breakout in Europe early this summer. But apart from that we’ve had nice, proper news. Prime ministers have left their jobs (the Japanese, for instance. Today, in fact, after months of anticipation. In Norway we’re happy because the new guy’s name creates possibilities for puns just as the old one’s did. From “Yes, we Kan” [but he couldn’t] to “Hva nå da, Noda?” [that last one doesn’t make sense in English. Sorry, guys. But knowing Japan, I’m sure there’ll be a new guy with a punnier name within a year]).

In addition the Strauss-Kahn (he couldn’t either) case made nice headlines all summer, Libya and Syria (oh, who am I kidding – the Middle East in general) still ensure that trees are being chopped down to produce paper, and most recently, of course, a little lady called Irene got loads of attention (all jokes aside, hope you’re all safe).

But I’m not here to talk about current events either (and still not the weather).

What am I here to talk about, then?

Frankly, I’m not too sure. I meant to say something meaningful about blogging. Blogging on this blog, specifically. If you think it’s been kind of quiet here lately, you’re absolutely right. If you think that’s caused by irreconcilable differences within the group, you’re absolutely wrong. If you think it’s caused by a slight tendency of burn-out and summer business, you’re closer to the target.

We’ve been blogging approximately five days a week for a little over a year now (we even missed our own bloggiversary, that’s how preoccupied we’ve been!). We’re eight individuals, trying to coordinate across despite living in different countries, time zones, continents. We have different schedules, backgrounds, different ideas about blogging. In a way, I think our diversity is what makes the mix interesting. But it also makes it challenging.

Thus no one complained when a summer vacation was suggested. A vacation that allowed us to take a much-needed break from blogging. In order to not leave the blog hanging over the summer, however (no telling what crazy shenanigans it might have gotten into then), we decided to post once a week. Thus, this summer have seen fewer posts at the BB&B blog, but I think the posts that my dear colleagues put up were more than top quality wise.

Maybe that is why I had such reservations about my own post… What in the world could I write about that would be equally interesting as the previous posts? Trust me, the sleepy small town life doesn’t provide interesting blog fodder…

My solution was to post about our blog schedule. To explain why we took a break, and when we will return to normalcy. But (you thought I was gonna write “I am not here to talk about…” didn’t you?) even if I wanted to be here to talk about that, it is easier said than done.

You see, we haven’t made up our mind! Every now and then, we make some (smallish) changes here on the blog. Like setting up alternative schedules when we tire of our old topics. This is a golden opportunity for doing just that. So, the debate is going in the Burrow. What will we do now?

But I’m not here to reveal any secrets…  

When fiction is NOT okay

Say what? Isn't this a writing blog? We're all fiction writers, are we not? We make stuff up all the time. Here's the thing, though - when we make stuff up, we let people know that's what we're doing.

Now, I admit it - I'm not really a very good blogger. I suck at getting links and pictures into posts, I barely pop 'round to read a few others, and most of those are either writing or humour; hell, I don't even have my own, I just share this one with the Burrow crew. But it has come to light under even my narrow view that there's quite a flap happening over one particular blog this week - A Gay Girl in Damascus, to be specific. You'd have to have had your head under a rock and your ears plugged with dirt to have missed what's been going on in the Middle East lately; this blog (a very popular one, by all accounts) was purportedly by an out lesbian living in Syria - not the safest situation.

From what I can tell, there was a message posted, supposedly by a cousin, that the blogger, Amina, had been kidnapped. So, all kinds of uproar and people trying to help track her down. Then came the first big shocker - that the photographs she'd said were of herself were actually of a woman living in London who'd never heard of her. Facebook page? More stolen photos. IP addresses? Hang on, they're coming from Scotland? (Now, y'all know I love Scotland but it sure as shite ain't Syria.)

Turns out this whole thing was an immensely wide-ranging hoax, with parts of the internet persona dating back years (in addition to the Facebook profile, there was one from a dating site and - possibly most worrisome - a Canadian woman she was supposedly in a long-distance relationship with {and it's not the gay part I'm disturbed by, let me tell you}). 'Cause the Syrian-American lesbian is actually a white dude named Tom from good ol' Georgia (and studying in Scotland, hence the IPs). Looks to me like that kidnap message was an excuse not to blog for a few days, 'cause oh, oops, he's on vacation in Turkey with his wife.

There is a time and a place for fiction, buddy (actually, many times and many places), but this is sure as hell not one of them. For further reading, check out this article by the Washington Post, as well as this discussion thread.

Lessons from the A to Z blogging Challenge

On Arithmetic

A lot of you probably know that I run (and those of you who don't - now you do). Unlike my fellow running burrowers (Hart and Leanne), however, I started running only when I was well into my late 30s. Though I love running, I am not particularly fast, even after making allowances for my age and the fact that I started late. But what I lack in speed, I make up in tenacity - if I start something, I finish it, somehow.

Which was what I did during my first (and only) full marathon. Less than six months before the race, my hypothyroidism had been diagnosed, and I had subsequently gone through a hysterectomy. A couple of weeks before the race, I had fallen ill again, and was struggling to even climb stairs. And yet, come race day, I pinned up my bib, laced up my running shoes, and lined up with three thousand others at the start line. Less than mid-way into the race, I realised I could either keep running, or finish the race - I couldn't do both. I chose to start walking. Two-thirds into the race, the road was thrown open to traffic, and I got off the road and onto the pavement. People all around me dropped out, but my feet took on a life of their own and refused to stop till I crossed the finish line.

On Bucket lists

This year's A to Z Challenge was no different from my first full marathon. My life was spiraling out of control when I signed up for it, but I hoped I would get some order into it by April. In the second half of March, I was thinking of taking a sabbatical from blogdom, because I could just not manage all the things that I was required to do. But before I could formally announce by break, April was upon me, and I decided to write a drabble "On Arithmetic", and take every day as it came. On April 2, I had no idea what I was going to write about, and wasn't even planning to push myself to think of an appropriate B post- but out of nowhere, a drabble "On Bucket lists" floated into my brain, and almost wrote itself.

The rest of the month was no different. On most days, till lunch-time I would not have any idea what I was going to write about, but by evening, an idea would germinate, and the drabble would get written. Twenty-six non-Sunday days, twenty-six drabbles. None pre-scheduled. All posted before dinnertime. Almost all of them exactly 100 words on first attempt.

On Zero

It was only when I reflected on it after the month was over that I realised the magnitude of what I had accomplished. For no reason other than sheer necessity, I had converted myself into a reliable drabble machine. Whether it was an internal editor at work, or a writer who had exactly understood her brief, it was almost incredible that the first draft was always between 97 and 106 words long, and those few words took only a minute or two to get added or subtracted (or both simultaneously).

Which only goes to show that writing is a skill like any other, and practice does make you get better and better at it. If I could do it for the A to Z Challenge, I wonder why I can't do it otherwise. Maybe I just have to force myself into a chair for half an hour a day, Everyday!

Who AM I?!?

When we sat down to review our blog schedule last autumn, we decided to incorporate “Who am I?”-Fridays, where each and every one of us could describe a place, an activity or other things related to who we are and what we do, as a way of taking this blog to a more personal level (also – we realized we weren’t the best motivators, so “Motivational Friday” often risked turning into Demotivational Friday…).

Confused? Yeah, me too...

Anyway, due to a series of (fortunate?) events, today is my first “Who am I?” post, even though the feature has been running for a while on the blog, and regular visitors thus ought to be fairly familiar with it. I am, however, not. As I started pondering what to write under this headline, an existential crisis hit me. After all – what sort of a question is “Who am I?”, and how in the digressiosphere am I supposed to answer that in just a short blog post?!?!? (<-- Interro-KABOOM)

I suppose that part of the problem is that I’m in a difficult part of life in that respect. In December I finished my Master’s Degree, which means that I (probably) am done studying. This might not seem like a big deal to you, but to put it into perspective: I have been a student for the last 18 years (and to expand the perspective further: that is about ¾ of my entire life…). Without much time to think of the life-changing event that was, I rapidly started packing after having completed the degree, and left my home and country. Even though I’ve been to Japan before, it is still very much an extremely foreign country to me. The mega-city Tokyo even more so. I only have a temporary contract here, though, so come July I have absolutely no idea what I will do or where I will live (though I do have a plane ticket for Oslo, so chances are I will at least land there before making my way into the world again, if so should happen).

Thus, “who am I?” can in many ways be summed up in the following few key words: girl/woman, 25, Norwegian, nomad, educated but not enlightened, temporarily occupied but soon to-be unemployed, penniless, homeless, alien/gaijin, unbound, untied, untidy, unsure, unconvinced.

Blurry? Yeah, me too...

Don’t worry. I realize there are several advantages to many of these things, and at the moment I am appreciating them to the max. My lack of ties is what allowed me to take a leap and accept a position on the other side of the world. My nomadic tendencies can only be satisfied through traveling, and I appreciate my Norwegianness all the more if I leave my home country from time to time. Being unemployed is exciting, in a way, since it opens up all sorts of possibilities for future positions; and my current meager funding is probably useful in the long run: I could definitely do with a stricter financial plan.

Thus I am enjoying my identity crisis even if it wears on me. I realize that I will have plenty of time for the rest of my life to find stability (that’s it, isn’t it? What we all crave in one form or another – even if your particular brand of stability is called “variation”…). I will have a permanent home, a permanent job, a permanent life. “Temporary” will be a sweet memory from the past, and I am sure I will miss it once it’s gone. I try to remember this, and remember that I am privileged. I even try to remember that I enjoy my new (if temporary) life in Tokyo – the city, the job, the people, even the ascetic living quarters – and that I wouldn’t take back my decision to come here for all the digressions in the world.

Ah. Do you see a pattern? I am confused. That’s who I am. Confusion embodied, not certain whether I love my current state enough to enjoy it properly, or if the things I want in the future are calling my name so loudly I cannot ignore them.

Who am I (Friday)? Ask me again in March. Until then I only have to mull over Reading (Monday), Writing (Wednesday), current affairs (Topical Tuesday) or the occasional Delusion(al Thursday). They all seem like a piece of cake in comparison…

Uprooted? Yeah, me too...

Images:

#1: sneakily taken in a Japanese park. I would appreciate translations, as my current guess is: "Beware! Goose crying in sleep might result in shaky and teary cat and doglike creatures. Let's make happy with together!"

#2: blurrily taken from a tall, tall building, trying to capture the essence of "Tokyo by night". Frankly, I think I nailed it...

#3: shadily taken from www.boredpanda.com, where the artist Sarolta Ban is duly credited (and worth a visit too).

Requests? Are you MAD???

I've definitely partaken of the crazy stuff this month, no question, so taking my turn at Delusional Thursday is very apt. Of course, I'm usually pretty loopy on any given day anyway, so why is this particular month even more crazy than usual? Well, it's pretty simple really. I decided to take up the NaBloWriMo challenge (which basically means posting a new blog entry every day for the month of October).

Now, I didn't officially join as such, because you're supposed to register in order to do it properly, but because I know how easily I fall off the blogwagon I decided to play along unofficially.

Unlike my good Burrowing buddies Tami and Rayna (who blog pretty much every day of every month anyway), or even Chary and Mari (who blog perhaps not every day, but still a heck of a lot more than me), my blog participation is sporadic to say the least. I started off well, and blogged almost every day for a couple of months, but then I left it for a while and have never really got back to it properly.

In an effort to get my dithering butt back into gear, I thought I'd give this blog challenge a go. Not sounding delusional enough yet? Don't worry, I'm getting there.

Most of my blogging problems stem from the inability to think of a subject to blog about, so with this problem needing addressing immediately, I required topics to ramble about if I wanted to complete the challenge. Fabulous Facebook was very useful here. *nods* I posted a status asking for five topics from six people (and also made the same request on my blog) so that I wouldn't have to worry about what I would write for the coming month. My friends were fantastic and stepped up to the challenge swiftly, and this is the schedule that was formed:

October 1 – Maria - Lost loves
October 2 – Maria - the people you see every day on the street (the ones you don't know)
October 3 – Maria - your favourite childhood hideout/ or fort/ getaway space
October 4 – Maria - your thoughts on a topic that you are not qualified/have no business discussing (oh I don't know nuclear physics, genomics?)
October 5 – Maria - Your thoughts on pickles
October 6 – Natasha - Wedge heels v/s Sneakers, or either of them
October 7 – Natasha - Everyone loves a good Fireworks Display, or plain Fireworks
October 8 – Natasha - Ashes, of the Cricketing variety
October 9 – Natasha - Of Birds and Bees
October 10- Natasha - Let's all be friends
October 11 – Tami - Do some romantic 'ships' across books... you know... introduce Mr. Darcy to Scarlett O'Hara or something...
October 12 – Tami - Take us to some of Cardiff's (or Wales') entertainment spots and show us around
October 13 – Tami - Put your writing and editing plans OUT THERE (the accountability helps me--I may go slower, but if I've put it out into the ether, I try to follow through)
October 14 – Tami - A LIST of the writing distractions
October 15 – Tami - A good old fashioned rant: you decide about what.
October 16 – Weesa - Advice to beginning writers
October 17 – Weesa - Purple
October 18 – Weesa - Knitting
October 19 – Weesa - Viggo (Mortensen)
October 20 – Weesa - Imagination
October 21 – Mark – Ice skating
October 22 – Mark - casseroles
October 23 – Mark – Ron Weasley
October 24 – Mark - darts
October 25 – Mark – Noel Edmunds
October 26 – Dave - coke
October 27 – Dave - wotsits
October 28 – Dave – Cheryl Cole
October 29 – Dave – X Box
October 30 – Dave - Maids
October 31 – summary of month.

Still not getting the delusional vibe? Let me ramble a bit more then.

You might think that having the subjects laid out for you would be most helpful. For the most part it is, don't get me wrong. but there's one teeny disadvantage when you have a specific topic to blog about. What the hell do you do when you don't know anything about the topic in question?

Okay, there's always trusty Wiki to fall back on, and the internet in general is a perfect tool for finding out stuff. But I'm very lazy, you see, and I don't really like to research. *shifty* Plus there are certain subjects that I'll never understand, or will ever be remotely interested in. It's pretty hard to write about something that falls into either of these categories, and when your nature is to put things off, especially when it doesn't interest you, well... you can see my dilemma.

The thing is, when I promise to do something, I really hate letting people down. It has happened, of course - sometimes it is inevitable - but as a rule I try to keep to my word. I'm up to date so far, and have posts scheduled up to the 14th (I'm writing this on the 12th as I have work commitments on Wednesday and Thursday), but I've got some kooky subjects coming up that may well end up stumping me. I'll do my best to come up with something, but chances are that several of my October posts are going to end up being pure gobbledygook (rather than the sometimes gobbledygook that they normally are).

Obviously I am mad, which is why I term this as delusional. *nods*

But I am now one post short of the half-way point, so I'm not going to give up. And if my wotsits post ends up being cheesy (if you know what wotsits are, you should be rolling you eyes at that one), or my X Box ramble doesn't make any sense at all, then so be it. No one said these posts had to be brilliant pieces of literature, did they?

Just as well really...

Image courtesy of publicdomainimagesdotnet

Saturday

WEEKEND!!! If you're Canadian, Happy Thanksgiving! If you're American, Happy Columbus Day (which is utter bollocks, but whatever, we get a day off). If you're from somewhere else and you don't get a holiday this weekend, sorry...

Now, I'm sure you've all already checked out today's new drabble over at The Burrow, right? If not, go do that, I'll still be here when you get back.






All set? Okay, good. Your next assignment is to go read up on what those Burrowers who have individual blogs have been getting up to lately. See, October is National Blog Writing Month, or NaBloWriMo for short (and very fun to say). And most of the crew is participating, because they're completely bonkers or something like that, I don't know. *shakes head* As far as I can tell ('cause I'm not doing it, not having a blog of my own, which is why you're reading this ramble here), the only rule is to post at least one blog entry a day for the entire month of October. I think it's supposed to be a warm-up for NaNoWriMo (y'all know that one, right? National Novel Writing Month? 50,000 words in 30 days? Yeah, that.), but it also means that, in addition to the daily dose of - erm - whatever it is we're coming up with over here, you can also check out Tara, Natasha, Mari and Tami all by their lonesomes (some with pen names, even!).

In the mood for trouble? Struggling with general writing issues? You need to go have the Tart whip you into shape (possibly literally, but it doesn't hurt... much...). Clothing discouraged, but bringing pudding would be a good idea. So get naked, and then click here.

You never quite know what Mari's going to come up with next - you may find reasoned discourse on Nobel prize winners, paeans of praise for giraffes, thesis rants, or anything in between. If you bring Starbucks, you get bonus points (because believe it or not, there are no Starbucks in Norway!!!). Got your coffee and your slug saddle? Then you're ready to click here.

Speaking of coffee, drop by for a cup with Rayna, who frequently showcases original photography, excellent drabbles, and hilarious anecdotes featuring her adorable sons (I can say that, 'cause they're not mine). Whatever you find, be prepared for a good long think afterward - so get comfortable, and click here.

Last but not least, it's the Queen of Taff, Lady Tara herself. We'll figure out which of us is the worse procrastinator... errrm... later. Meanwhile, all of this month's topics have been suggested by her readers, so it's a wild grab-bag and thoroughly excellent for aiding and abetting one's own procrastinating tendencies. Find something to do, then click here instead.

And I would be remiss (and probably yelled at) if I failed to mention Chary, who, although not on the NaBloWriMo wagon, still has a darn good blog of her own that you really should go read. You know, like now. Why are you still here? Oh, sorry, my bad - click here.







What, you're back? Sorry, that was pretty much all I had to say for today. Oh, all right, here, have some bouncing otters. Happy now?

Blogifits!

*shifty *

I should probably only make up words that don't look like they are synonyms for seizures, but never mind. I have a friend who is a disbeliever on the benefit of a blog for writers. [And I can't SAY the word disbeliever without thinking of the Charlie the Unicorn video where Charlie's friends say, “Shun the disbeliever! Shun! Shun!” (yes, my children are as twisted as I am) But I don't want to shun. I want to BE RIGHT! (Okay, so some personal failings related to always needing to be right might be showing).] However, what I ALSO WANT is to show you the benefits...

 I thought, we shouldn't be asking, “What can I do for my blog?” We should ask, “What can my BLOG do for ME?!”

So here we have it...


Public Accountability

Personal goals are lovely and all, but if you don't do what you need to meet them, who knows? If, however, you DECLARE your goals in PUBLIC, then you get

1) a little embarrassment if you don't make them.
2) Some peer pressure in the form of 'so how's it coming?' from readers.
3) Some peer MOCKING if you don't make it (I spanked Simon just Wednesday)
4) Some major cheerleading if you DO make it (oh sure, they may cheer after the fact if they didn't know, but if they DID their excitement is more real).
5) Just the act of going public does it for some (myself included)

These public goals can be word count, deadlines, habit forming, query sending... ANYTHING. This also goes with just developing a daily writing habit—some people have only been in the habit of writing when inspired—a blog builds the frequency of just getting WORDS down.


ADVICE

Having trouble with something? You have enough readers, SOMEBODY will know the answer. Just throw it out there. But if you are reciprocating and reading blogs, you run across great advice ALL THE TIME.

When I think of how much I've learned in the last 17 months, I can't BELIEVE there are people who GET THERE without this system. They are a darned lucky bunch of people—that's all I can say about that. Because without this gained knowledge, I was doing EVERYTHING wrong. I was NOT done editing. I did NOT know how to write a query. I didn't have a CLUE how to tighten a plot. There are still a great many things I don't know, but there are a whole lot MORE I didn't used to know. I believe I've received some modicum of expertise in... AT LEAST how to FIND the information I need (if I can maintain my patience and just look for it).

Before blogging... I frankly didn't know I didn't know... Who knew?

The Fabergé Effect

Not the egg... the 70s Shampoo... They told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on and so on (man those commercials used to bug me). But there was a POINT. Having minions... erm... friends... to pass on the word (any word... even, say... Hing, or Knonle) and the trickle effect... can be... WOW. I've had a couple experiences of blogs that go viral, and it is a major trip to see your hits expand exponentially and to be approached from all sorts of directions. Heck, on Monday, one of the AUTHORS Leanne reviewed popped in—THAT is cool!

And when it is time that you REALLY need it (a book release, a promotional event), this can be ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL to success (and these networks CAN'T be developed overnight).



Win Friends and Influence People!

I know it seems like a hokey bit of pokery, but if you are in the same spot regularly, and the same people drop by to visit, it is inevitable you will find some like minds. Even UN-like minds can be great fun to get to know. It has baffled me, really, diving into what seems an impersonal world and realizing the OTHER bloggers out there are people TOO! (who knew?)


Finding Your Voice

When you sit down to write those early works of fiction, it is very tempting to sound like you think you OUGHT to sound. In reality, the way you OUGHT to sound is distinctly like YOU. That is the way to be fresh and original—that is the only thing nobody can copy. It is the ONLY THING ORIGINAL with most stories. Sure there are fresh details and twists, but the main plots have really all been DONE. What is FRESH is the TELLING. The VOICE. A blog, because there is no fiction to it... is just YOU talking to your READERS. What better way IS THERE to learn how to sound like yourself?


The Side Door

And the big Kahunas... SOMETIMES a blog can do something PHENOMENAL. Look at Julie and Julia. A project that becomes something larger than it is... but here, I can even add my own example. When I started blogging, I had written one genre-defying family suspensish thingy... I was working on a very large, unruly mystery... I soon wrote a legitimate suspense... But one of my readers—a cozy mystery writer, said, 'Your voice is perfect for Cozy Mystery.' It had never occurred to me. For starters, mysteries always seemed smarter than me, but really... I hadn't even heard of Cozy Mysteries... I'd READ some, but I didn't know it was a distinct genre...

She niggled me a bit... and a few months later... an opportunity arose... and I seized it. I had an audition, and a contract, and just Wednesday, I got my first advance... so there you have it...

The BIGGEST benefit to blogging, is those unexpected bonuses...

De_Monocerote Unicorn permission
Faberge Egg Permission