Flying On The Fringe

I love those scenes in science fiction where the character sits down to a strange computer—often alien with alien symbols, and with a few educated guesses hacks the computer system and saves the world. My experience with technology is… well, not so great.

In the past week alone I have hit enough problems to make me consider moving back to the not-so-good old days of black and white television (can’t go as far as no television—no thank you) and manual typewriters. OK, well, maybe not that far. I typed college term papers on a manual. What a pain. It took twice as long to type the thing as it did to research and write it, and I was a fairly decent typist.

Here is my weekly list of issues:

My “smart” phone has forgotten how to send photos to my computer. Mind you, I’ve been doing this for years, so it’s not like I don’t know how to do it.

My Kindle decided it didn’t want to open my latest purchase, so it stuck it in a never-ending cue. I’ve tried everything, including a nonsensical series of instructions from Google that included menu choices that don’t even exist. Amazon won’t let me repurchase the item, politely reminding me I’ve already purchased it. The local librarian finally reminded me I could probably download it to my computer. That worked, but is far less comfortable than sitting in my favorite recliner with the Kindle. Oh well, at least I get to read it.

Facebook decided I wasn’t allowed to post anything on my own author page. I got so frustrated with that one I haven’t tried again in a week.

I wanted to submit a story to a flash fiction contest in a Facebook group I belong to. Couldn’t PM the administrator because supposedly we aren’t “friends.” His profile didn’t have an “add friend” button, so he had to PM me before I could PM him back. Excuse me? I am a member of his group!

Technology is wonderful when it works. If you tried to pry my phone or my laptop away from me, you’d have a real battle on your hands. On the other hand, it’s no wonder our stress levels are ten times higher than in the not-so-good old days.

I got to spend this past Saturday with my sons at the Lost Canyon Cave and nature trail in Ridgely, Missouri. Also saw the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum there. I thought the tickets were a little pricey, but turned out to be worth it. The cave tour is with electric golf carts, much better for my knees. It was a much smaller cave than I was expecting, but the trail was beautiful, with several impressive waterffall.

A word of warning, however. Even if you buy tickets in advance, you have to stand in line to wait for the next available golf cart. They were slammed this Saturday, and we ended up standing in line for an hour and a half. Traffic pulling into the place was backed up almost to the highway. The staff seemed baffled as to why they had such a huge crowd, and I noticed it slacked off later in the afternoon. But my advice would be to go early. They said they normally only had a crowd like this on Labor Day. So of course, it would be the day we chose to go.

 

The cave has a little bar inside where you can buy drinks and snacks (expensive, of course).

 

 

 

 

 

They also had a couple of prehistoric skeletons, one a bear (left) and one a cat like a sabertooth (left), which I didn’t know we had in North America.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, there were also impressive rock formation, though no stalactites or stalagmites.

 

 

From the Welcome Center, the cart follows a nature trail winding around through a whole series of waterfalls, about six or seven I think.

 

 

 

 

 

and past some amazing rock formations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum might have been the most worthwhile part of the trip. According to the shuttle driver it’s the largest in the U.S., although that would be in large part because it focuses primarily on the Ozarks. Most of the museum is actually Native American exhibits, with a few skeletons of prehistoric animals thrown in. We didn’t get pictures in there as the lighting wasn’t ideal, and I assumed we weren’t supposed to use a flash, though I didn’t see any signs.

It was a great day outing, in spite of standing in line.

Finally got to see some wood go up. Once they got the concrete poured, they started the framework. We had to have special “earth-contact” lumber, since the roof is barely above the earth, and actually touches in some places. I was amazed at how fast things went once they got the frame up. It seemed like one day there were a few boards, and a couple days later, there was a roof.

 

Probably not really that fast, but after all the digging that had to be done, it was such a joy to see the roof start to take shape.

 

 

 

 

 

The final step was the shingles. We chose shingles because part of the house is two-stories and metal roofs can be slick.

 

 

And here is the finished job—looks like a normal house, but with all the added advantage of the earth-sheltered house. We could still walk up on the roof from the back, if we wanted. It won’t be like before, when we could spread lawn chairs on the roof and watch the meteor showers, but it looks beautiful, and I am so thrilled. We have the best of both worlds, an attractive roof that will be easy to repair in the future, and the insulation of the earth covering.

And once grass grows behind the house, we still have a great view of the stars.

We have a lot of serious damage to the outside of the house and to some interior walls from the major leaks we had. We literally had water streaming down one wall in the living room and coming out through an electrical outlet. You can see some of the exterior damage here–the rough white patches where mold has grown through the stucco.

Last week I showed you what our house looked like when we started. As the men started working, the house held a few other surprises, like insulation along the back wall and under the earthen roof where we weren’t expecting it. Some of the early earthwork was done by a very gutsy driver.

 

But Nathaniel had his men dig by hand all the way around the edges to protect the insulation. It was still hot while this work was going on. Those guys have my sincere sympathy, but I never heard a single complaint.

 

Once they got down to the tops of the original walls, they had to pour a new concrete stem wall to provide a footing for the roof structure. It had to rise high enough to clear the earth covering we wanted to leave in place. Maybe you’re beginning to get a feel for how weird this project was. I’m pretty sure I have the only house like this in the country. Maybe in the world.

Next week you get to see the new roof start to take shape. I’m so excited!

 

I met with my critique group today. They are my inspiration, and they keep me going when I want to quit. So many times I’ve left my computer, with the intention of never writing fiction again.  (I’d say I’ve laid down my pen, but these days, I never write that way). They push me to go back.

Today I got some great tips for rewriting part of the first chapter of my WIP. This from the same people who had me throw out the first three chapters I’d written previously, so the current chaptter one was chapter four. But they were right. It is SO much better. And today, it’s better still.

If you write, I encourage you to do whatever you can to find a supportive group of fellow authors to work with. There are caveats, however, and if your chosen group doesn’t meet the following standards, it would be best to move on.

1.   Ideally, at least some of the members should be farther along in the writing profession than you are. A mix of people at different levels is fantastic, because skilled authors don’t always read something the way those who read a lot, but haven’t done much writing. The more we learn the trade, the more it affects how we assess what we read, and most readers are not writers.
2.   Critiques should be constructive, not destructive. Suggestions should be made with the goal to build you up as a writer, not to prove how much more they know (or think they know.) On the other hand, sometimes it should be tough, just like tough love. If the book has to start with chapter four, they have to have the guts to tell you.
3.   That being said, you as the author have to be willing to accept criticism and use it to your advantage. People who just tell you how wonderful you are won’t really help you.
4.   Regular meetings are important. They keep the momentum flowing, and give you the motivation to keep producing when you’d really rather do something else this week. If at all possible, find a group that can meet in person. There’s something about the back-and-forth flow of discussion in a group that far surpasses what can be done online. However, an online group is better than no group.

Check with your local librarian to see who else in your area is an author. See if the library will allow you to post something seeking other authors (published and unpublished) to start a group if one doesn’t already exist.

Good luck my friends, and keep writing.

Wrote 1500 words today. I rock.

I recently tried to discipline myself to write every day. I did get quite a bit of writing done that way. My greatest fear was that I would write junk that I would end up throwing out, because I normally try to write based on inspiration. So what happened?

I ran the first four chapters by my critique group. They recommended I throw out the first three. So I stopped writing for a week. I decided I was fed up and would stop writing, at least until I could find an agent interested in what I’ve already written. I have two books in my first series edited and ready to submit, and two in my new series ready for editing.

But, as is usually the case, the writing bug has bitten me again, and as much as I would like to ignore it, the bite REALLY itches. So I’ll be back at the computer again today.

Wish me luck.

 

 

Image by Pete from Pixabay.

Well, we got a little rain, but no where near enough. I understand farmers are worried about hay crops for the winter, The fields here have rows of big bales, but I’m sure there should have been at least one more cutting, maybe two. I’m worried about the wildlife as well. Deer, normally pretty elusive, have been hanging out close to the house and eating our garden for the first time ever.

I doubt there will be a nut crop to support the squirrels. The year we moved to our property, there wasn’t a single squirrel on the entire 8 acres, or in the woods behind us. They all starved and froze to death the previous winter. It was two or three years before we spotted one in our yard, and a couple more years before we saw young ones growing up. I hate to think that might happen again this year.

I’m praying for the people affected by this, but I’m praying for the animals too.