You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with until you understand who's in ruttin' command here.

Jayne ,'The Train Job'


The Great Write Way, Act Three: Where's the gun?

A place for Buffistas to discuss, beta and otherwise deal and dish on their non-fan fiction projects.


erikaj - Feb 16, 2020 12:18:48 pm PST #6603 of 6681
Always Anti-fascist!

( continues...) although I must be careful not to romanticizing rustic poverty.

As I come into midlife with a disability, aside from the sense that my future feels both fuzzy and nebulous since I'm single and neither changing diapers or waiting for the raise that some boss promised me three years ago, the most challenging part is that it's all challenging parts. I can't really separate my life from facing challenges for much longer than it takes to eat lunch, watch a show on television, or post these thoughts to the judges or my blog, but when the news was less troubling and overwhelming to the point that it overshadows some of my smaller goals I could pretend sometimes.
Maybe Americans, as the country starts to lose some of its exceptional stature, continue to look to disability stories for inspiration, not to feel superior, as I believed when I was younger and less secure, but maybe they need to believe there's someone, somewhere, that makes hanging on by a thread look elegant instead of scary. As crazy as it is to think that way (and dangerous to policy outcomes) part of me is still sad that I'm not her: some lovely updated screwball heiress that faces uncertainty with a drink and a smile, making the impossible look easy, instead of slightly less impossible.
On top of everything else, that seems like it would be a lot more fun than just getting through things. A lifetime of television in my eager youth did not prepare me for how often the same struggles would get in my way, without an indulgent relative or a super-crusading teacher moving heaven and earth to soften the blow.
Or a contest that offers the exact amount of the money you owe, or any number of half-hour quick fix solutions of which I absorbed thousands, sometimes as rewards for good behavior. I hate to admit how old I was before I stopped looking for real life to reward me in similar fashion, often based on one effort, as if I were on sitcom with my name on it. Maybe if we prepared more people for struggle, it wouldn't have taken into my mid-twenties to learn resiliency or stop longing for a glossy-magazine standard of perfection that even the people in the magazines don't live for longer than when the photo was taken.(I should be clear that I would never suggest that preparing for there to be struggles doesn't mean not fighting for what is right…knowing a struggle can be long with occasional moments of victory makes me a better activist, as it insulates me from minor flubs and setbacks. Sometimes, like anyone else, I get some good luck or a piece of synchronicity and am surprised when something is less difficult than I envisioned. With time, however, I've learned not to live as though the break, celebrated at whatever size or duration, is real life and the trials are the aberration. While there are times that are better than others, as daytime talk show host Phil McGraw points out "Life is managed, not cured." This is doubly true of those of us with chronic conditions or mobility impairments. Maybe even more. That's why the acceptance of those in similar straits, even offered across the miles means so much. Rather than blaming myself for an act of disability discrimination, over-thinking my own behavior and taking in the shame, there is power in knowing that others have rolled in my tracks, as it were. .While individual situations wax and wane, there won't ever be a situation where my life becomes a living vacation, no matter how much pleasure-seeking parts of my soul might long for it to be(although an occasional fantasy to take the edge off proves essential sometimes)However, just as it can't be Christmas all the time, no matter how much twinkling lights brighten spirits in the darkness of winter, you don't want to try to take possession and live full-time in your castles in the air. As a fiction writer and generally romantic person, the temptation to prefer my own plots to what life dishes out can be almost irresistible, but I like to keep one foot on the ground most of the time. So to speak. Sometimes, however, a sprinkling of (continued...)


erikaj - Feb 16, 2020 12:18:48 pm PST #6604 of 6681
Always Anti-fascist!

( continues...) denial in what seems like certain doom gets a bad rap. Instead, though, maybe we disabled Americans can serve our country best by being a model of, not uncomplaining sunniness, but action in the face of life largely without the sense that you will dominate it and bend it to your will. Maybe we can help create more inclusive beauty and productivity standards that help us see and value more of what people really have to give so that our struggles won't be compounded by the yearning for perfection. Maybe if we all accept, we are born into challenges, we can stop believing that anyone lives those perfect social-networking images.


Laura - Feb 17, 2020 1:57:29 am PST #6605 of 6681
Our wings are not tired.

insent, erikaj


Amy - Jun 15, 2020 5:42:49 am PDT #6606 of 6681
Because books.

Star Trek writer/fans!

StarTrek.com: Four themes This CBS Entertainment-owned website accepts pitches for essays, reported work, features, and more. There are some evergreen topics they always look for pitches on, which include timely responses to recent Star Trek episodes, interviews with one-off Star Trek guest stars, Trek related essays, personal essays that relate back to Trek, any reported work that ties current events back into Trek, deep dives, and listicles.

For July 2020, they're asking freelancers to pitch pieces specifically linking Star Trek to current events – the BLM movement, Black culture, and Black stories, and they say that going forward, this will be an evergreen topic. They're also accepting pitches for Star Trek and Canada Day (which is on July 1), Independence Day (July 4), and National Video Game Day (July 8). Details at intl.startrek.com/Pitching.


erikaj - Nov 13, 2020 12:07:23 pm PST #6607 of 6681
Always Anti-fascist!

I put a blog post up with an excerpt. enjoy! [link]


dcp - Nov 20, 2020 8:34:33 am PST #6608 of 6681
The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.

Boosting the signal for Alan Dean Foster vs. Disney: [link]


Topic!Cindy - Dec 29, 2020 9:56:58 am PST #6609 of 6681
What is even happening?

Wow, dcp. That's just horrible. And honesty -- how much could Alan Dean Foster's royalties be for novelizations? I don't even understand how they could continue to publish and have the brass not to pay. It's outrageous.

***Cleansing breath***

So, has anyone ever done Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way?

I'm using the book version [link] , not the video course [link] .

I'm only two days in. Morning pages are going fine, but I fear the artist date is going to be a challenge for me, right now.


sj - Dec 29, 2020 12:28:43 pm PST #6610 of 6681
"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."

Cindy, I have. Though not recently. I’m thinking of starting again, but I would have the same problem with the artist dates. So, I was thinking after I can get a vaccine and can go to museums again.


Beverly - Dec 29, 2020 4:17:51 pm PST #6611 of 6681
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.

Post Deleted!


Beverly - Dec 29, 2020 4:19:21 pm PST #6612 of 6681
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.

Sorry, just an oops. No worries!