Shawn L. Bird

Original poetry, commentary, and fiction. All copyrights reserved.

and that’s a wrap! December 31, 2012

Filed under: Pondering,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 3:16 pm
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So! In a few hours 2012 will be history.  The hysteria of the end of the Mayan calendar passed, and now our calendar is finished, too.

My hubby was given two calendars this year, and I received one.

One of his is an inspirational one, about challenge.  He’s going to put it up in his office to inspire young clients who need all the help they can get.

The second was is Scottish scenery.  I’m hoping that one inspires him to wear his kilt more often, and perhaps take a trip to Scotland some time.

My calendar arrived in the mail today from Finland.  The photos are stunning and it makes me ‘kotiikava.’ Koti is ‘home’ and ikava is ‘melancholy’ or ‘longing.’  The term is more a propos to the circumstance than our English homesick , don’t you think?  I also received a card from the wife of my Rotary exchange counselor, asking when I’d be coming back to Finland.

I’m making plans for 2013.  I will be applying for Master programs in the next month or two.  One could see me in Finland, studying educational theory and practice.  One won’t.   I have a novel project floating in my brain that involves Finnish mythology, but I think I’d better get Grace Beguiling dealt with first.  Finland is floating in my future, but so are a lot of other things.

So the old year is wrapped, and we lead into the next.

Teaching, writing, studying, growing, reading, learning, laughing…  Those are my plans for 2013.  What are yours?

 

reading, reading, reading… December 22, 2012

Filed under: OUTLANDERishness,Reading,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 3:25 pm
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At the moment, I’m listening to the last chapter of Diana Gabaldon’s Echo in the Bone which will wrap my eighth trip through this series (some 8000 pages) since I discovered it October of 2011.  I read constantly: novels for adults, teens, and children, magazine articles, e-books, knitting instructions, blogs, and research material.  I knew it was ‘a lot,’ but I wanted to quantify it, so this time last year I signed up on Goodreads.com with a challenge to read 100 books in 2012.  I am at book #98, and as today is the first day of Christmas holidays, I should have no trouble surpassing my goal in the last 8 days of the year.  (I only got to count the Outlander series the first time I read each book in the calendar year, which definitely has impacted my totals).

I read somewhere on her blog that Diana Gabaldon herself reads 3 to 400 books a year.  That seems super-human!  At the Surrey International Writers’ Conference author Chris Humphreys casually remarked in a workshop that “Diana doesn’t sleep.”  I know that she works at night, but it seemed to me that she must be both a fast reader, and one who incorporates reading into most of her daily activities.  I just came across this blog post of hers that tells exactly how she does it.  Précis: books are everywhere, and her nose is always in one!

I feel like she does, that a house without books is weird.  Moreover, they feel kind of ‘wrong’ to me!  There is not a single room in my house that doesn’t have a few books in it!  Bathrooms have a book or two on the back of the toilet tank, bedrooms have them on shelves or night tables, kitchen has cookbooks, living room has my latest research material, writing books, and a stack of whatever I’ve got from the library.  The basement has travel books, craft books, and hundreds of university books. (I was an English major, so my classics library is prodigious).  I haven’t read *every* book in the house, but I’ve read most of them.  Ones I haven’t read yet, I hope to read someday soon!  (Except John’s psych text books).

DianaGabaldoncaughtreading2 (1)I had felt pretty good about accomplishing my 100 book goal this year, amid writing two novels, keeping a ‘more-or-less daily’ blog, and teaching full-time, but apparently I have a long way to go! 😉  Diana is an excellent role model, however.  She both reads daily, AND gets a thousand words written each day on whatever novel or short story project is in progress.

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Here’s Diana, reading at SIWC.  This is a photo for Word on the Lake’s “Caught Reading” promotion, which you might want to be part of.  Stay tuned!  (I should have used a better camera for this!)

 

Yay me! December 1, 2012

Filed under: Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 11:52 am

 

Winner! November 30, 2012

Filed under: Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 11:15 am
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https://i0.wp.com/files.content.lettersandlight.org/nano-2012/files/2012/11/Winner-120x240.jpg Well, I did it.  With just an hour to go in my time zone (the Marshall Islands, for the purposes of NaNo!), I finished the sentence that put me over 50,000 words during the month of November.

I am exhausted.

A couple times I flipped back to see what I’d written, and I was pleasantly surprised by what was there.  Even though it was written only weeks before, sheer volume erases the old before too long.  Or else I have a terrible short term memory.  There are 107 single spaced pages in  Times Roman 12.  That’s a lot of pages!

At any rate, I won.  I took on the challenge and I met it.   I battled sickness, a fulltime job, report card writing, parent/teacher appointments, book club read/moderator responsibility, reading 3 novels, and I persevered.  I thought 1667 words per day was obnoxiously fast, but after being ill, I had to do a week of 3000 words a day to finish on time.  I barely managed to finish, but I did!  Now I can catch up on the housework, groom the dogs, finish that sweater, and celebrate hubby’s birthday today!  😀

I shall continue puttering away on the three pieces that are my NaNo project, fitting the scenes where they belong and writing to fill out what remains.  I will not do the next 50,000 words in a single month, but I will keep writing on the project.

For now, I am going to bed.

NaNoWriMo Day 30: 2991 words  (November total 50,005)

 

living dangerously- the latest NaNo snippet November 28, 2012

Filed under: Grace Awakening,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 11:42 pm
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Things are heating up!

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“I don’t care how nice her shoes are, she’s stupid.” Tanis said, clenching her teeth as she set her cafeteria tray down on the table.

“I’m sure she doesn’t mean anything by it,” Georgia said, sliding in beside her.

Tanis’s eyes flashed.  “I think she definitely means something by it.”  She glared at Georgia, “You should be worried.  It is your boyfriend she was just making out with.”

Georgia shrugged.

“Ryan is no Ben, Georgia.  He was kissing her back.  You understand that, don’t you.”

Paul looked at me, but I just shrugged.  I wasn’t wading into the middle of this debate.

I looked around for Grace, but there was no sign of her.  I sat down beside Paul.

“I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation, Tanis.  Ryan isn’t stupid.”

Tanis snorted.

Georgia inhaled and looked over at me.  “Tell them, Ben.”

“Why do you think I know something?”

“You always seem to have an inside track.  People talk around you.  So?  What do you know?”

I shrugged.  “I have no idea what is going on with Misty.”

“It’s like she’s turned into someone else,” muttered Paul.  “Some crazy nymphomaniac or something.”

I lifted a brow at that.  There were certainly draughts and spells that could do that.  Who would be behind it, though?

“You’re thinking love potion, perhaps?” Tanis said, rolling her eyes.

Ryan slid onto the seat next to Paul and leaned across the table to Georgia, “Now before you condemn me, hear me out.”

Tanis gave him a ‘let me scrap you off the bottom of my shoe, first’ look.

He was focused on Georgia, as if the rest of us weren’t there.

“I don’t have a thing for Misty.”

“You’ll make out with anything with breasts, you pig,” said Tanis.

Georgia scowled at her.

“Maybe even without breasts,” Paul observed nonchalantly.

Ryan scowled at him, then turned back to Georgia.  “I don’t know what happened.  I was just minding my own business, and suddenly there was a tongue in my mouth!”

Tanis scoffed.  “Right.  Like that’s possible.”

I coughed, “Actually…”

Tanis shook her head.  “You saw him.  He was kissing her back.”

“I couldn’t help it!” Ryan exclaimed, wide-eyed.  “I did it automatically.  It’s not as if I like her or anything!”

“You are so dead,” muttered Paul with a whistle.

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NaNoWriMo day 28: 3006 words  (November total: 44,012)

NaNoWriMo day 29: 3002 words (November total: 47,014)

This is a ridiculous pace!  Working all day and writing for 4 or 5 hours off and on all evening is exhausting!  Only 2986 tomorrow to finish the challenge though!  Yay! 🙂

 

Another Orpheus visit to the Other Realm November 27, 2012

Filed under: Grace Awakening,Grace Awakening Myth,Mythology,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 10:24 pm
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Here’s a chunk from today’s NaNoWriMo scribblings.  I confess that I have lost a bit of inspiration about what’s going on in Grace Awakening Destiny, (Book 4) I’ve decided that any novel writing counts, so long as it’s new writing.  I have some holes I want to patch in Grace Awakening Myth, (Book 3)  and here is a patch for your entertainment:

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“ARES! I shouted.  “Get out here, you coward!”  I stomped in a circle around a foggy clearing, trying to force it into something less ethereal.

“Shouting is so immature, Orpheus,” declared a bored feminine voice, manifesting a throne behind her..  “Aren’t you a little old for such theatrics?”  She looked down her elegant nose and then added, “But of course, you’re all about the theatre, aren’t you?”

“Hera.  Isn’t Ares a little old to be sending his mommy out to fight his battles?”

She smiled, but it was a dangerous thing, like the tantalizing blossom of a poisonous plant.  “My son is busy right now.  Unlike you, he has important things to do.”

“Your definition of important and mine are rather different.  What is he doing?  Is he fueling some holy war or training up Middle Eastern terrorists?  Doesn’t the Earthly Realm deserve a break from war?”

“The humans don’t want a break from war, silly boy.  Giving up war would mean giving up their quest for wealth and power.  Humans are all about power.  They all want to be in control.  They get it by buying favour.  They get it by killing little men, so they can crawl on their backs, to attain what the little men don’t even dare to dream about.  Their glory is being trodden upon by those climbing over their pathetic lives.  They’re just ants, Orpheus.  And if Ares wants to play with his magnifying glass, why should anyone stop him?  It’s all humans are good for, after all, entertaining us.”  She shrugged, dismissing the entire human race with the slightest of movements of her shoulder.

“My wife isn’t an ant.  My friends aren’t ants.”  I said.

“Wife?” she laughed.  “Now you imagine that she’s your wife?  I seem to recall that she is the prize of whoever wins this challenge, and victory is very unlikely to be yours.  She is not ever going to be your wife again.”  She stepped closer to me, and stared with eyes of ice.  “My son is a god of war, Orpheus,” she spat.  “He is not one of your pathetic little musician friends.  He is not a dancing girl like those Graces.”  She curled her lips and snarled.  “He is powerful, and you will not defeat him.  Now go!  Return to those pathetic creatures and their pathetic lives.  You are not worthy to be in this realm.”

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NaNoWriMo Day 27 total: 4118  (November total 41,006)

Writing furiously this evening, after a raff of medical appointments today.

 

Story November 26, 2012

Filed under: Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 11:16 am
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From Three Views of Crystal Waters by Katherine Govier:

There are  stories.  Stories that are told and told.  They belong to the people who tell them, not the people who are in them.  The one who is the storyteller is the one who collects.  Maybe he is lame.  Maybe he lives alone and has no one to talk to .  Then he will remember them, go over them in his mind, so the stories are not lost.  This is an old tradition.  Now not so many will follow.  When the story teller is ready, he will tell the story.  You may be in the story.  It is not finished.  You may be part  of the story…

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NaNoWriMo Day 26 1537  words  (November total: 36888  13,112 to go in the next 4 days!)

 

cheap thrills November 25, 2012

Filed under: Grace Awakening,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 3:54 pm
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I am still new enough to this whole writing/publishing thing, to be thrilled and amazed by the every day aspects of it.

There are three copies of Grace Awakening Dreams & Power presently in circulation in our library system.  I check periodically to see whether they’re signed out.  It makes me ridiculously happy that so far, whenever I’ve checked, all three copies have been signed out, and there is a waiting list. 🙂

According to the Okanagan Regional Library website:  “Established in 1936, the ORL serves over 360,000 people across an area covering 59,600 square kilometres through 29 branches. We also offer various services online through our website. Membership is FREE to people within our library regions, giving you access to the 16th largest library in Canada.”

One copy is at the Mission branch.  I attended Okanagan Mission Secondary.  It makes me happy to know that kids who attend my high school are reading my book!    Another copy is at the Armstrong branch.  At the moment, I teach at Pleasant Valley Secondary in Armstrong.  It’s a really lovely place.  The third copy is in Westbank aka West Kelowna.  I have never been in a high school in West Kelowna, but if anyone wants to invite me, I’d be happy to come! 🙂

If you would like to read Grace Awakening Dreams and Power but don’t have the 99c for the ebook or $20 for the paperback, why not request it from your local library?  If they don’t have it, they might put out an inter-library loan request for it, or they might buy it for their collection.  Share the love!

Just for fun, here’s a presentation made by the OKM Media class for your entertainment: OKM Gangnam Style

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(It being a small world, while I don’t personally know the camera man/editor, Harrison Mendel, my parents were best friends with his grandparents back in the day, and I knew his dad, uncle and aunt.  This tenuous link between the past and present also makes me happy. 😉 )

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NaNoWriMo Day 25: 1819    (November total 35,351)

(par is 41,650 so I’m 6299 behind.  I have 5 days to get 14,650 words.  Wish me luck!)

 

both ears to the ground November 23, 2012

Filed under: Reading,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 8:53 pm
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I appear to be moving through a bit of a fog the last few days, quite drained of energy.  Not sure why, but it’s brought my NaNo efforts (and apparently, also my blog entries) to a screaming halt.

Here’s a token for today, care of Ian Weir’s Daniel O’Thunder which is full of beautiful prose.

It’s to his friends he’s saying things.  He’s saying them in private, but of course nothing stays private for long, does it?  Not in the world we live in, no indeed.  And not when a man keeps his ears to the ground.  Both ears fixed firmly to the ground, Daniel, for this has always been my way.  Consecutively, of course, not simultaneously, which would involve an anatomical impossibility.  (p. 183)

Now, if I think about that, I’m sure I’d have something to say about privacy, humour in literature, narrative voice, or some such.  However, I really feel too blurry for any such contemplations.  Instead, why don’t you tell me what you think?  What does that quote make you ponder?

 

let’s pile something else onto the plate, shall we? November 19, 2012

Filed under: projects,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 11:34 pm
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For the first time since Day 4 of NaNoWriMo I am actually above par.  Whoo hoo! I should be at 31666 and I’m at 32,058.  The last couple of days I’ve done several hundred extra to catch up from some slower days.  There is no respite when you’re heading to a goal.  If you slow down, you just have to work harder later.  Steady, consistent effort is less stressful in the long run.

I recently found a gorgeous knitting magazine called Filati Handknitting.  It’s a marketing and design vehicle for Lana Grossa yarns, which though it sounds Italian, comes from Germany if I read the abbreviations correctly.  I found 3 projects I love in the magazine, and decided yesterday to start on the first one, this coat:

So here’s yesterday’s effort.  To get gauge I ended up using 12 mm needles, which is really speeding the project along! Instead of buying the very expensive mohair yarn recommended for this pattern (Elle, total $235 Cdn), I am mixing acrylic yarns.  The silver blue chenille I purchased in a liquidation style 5 lb bag of unlabelled yarn at a department store and I am mixing it with on sale James C Brett Fusion Chunky, which is a grey/pink/purple varigated  boucle with threads of yellow and orange twisted in.  I think the combination is quite interesting, and I suspect it will be even nicer than the model’s coat when it’s done.  Here’s the first 12″ of the back, showing the varigation through all three colours.

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Day 19 NaNoWriMo total: 3486   (November total, 32,058)

Actually, about 800 words of this total was actually written yesterday, but my internet cut out before I could update the count for the day.