firecat

stonebender asks

1. What stops you from sending out your fiction?

Laziness. Overprotectiveness ("that market's not good enough for you, dear"). Overanalyzing writer's guidelines and deciding a market won't want my piece so why bother.

2. Tell me about a time you were most proud of yourself.

Most of my proud feelings are in traditional moments where I am getting some kind of official recognition.

I also feel proud privately when I decide to do something just for me, without "it would help or please others" being part of the decision, and especially when it's a bit risky. For example, I felt that way when I decided to pick up and move to California.

3. How did you come to your personal or spiritual philosophy?

It's a long story, involving the minister who taught my confirmation class, the movie The Dark Crystal, a boss, a co-worker I had a crush on, and Esalen.

Summary: My religious upbringing didn't take, but I realized I needed some form of spiritual practice, and I explored various neo-Pagan type alternatives until I found Harner-style shamanic journeying, which is a tool that helps me put together my spiritual beliefs by, um, it feels like "talking to aspects of the universe who know stuff."

There's also a thread of Zen Buddhism wandering through. As it will often do.

4. You are gifted with a dream gadget. What does it do and what do you call it?

Hmm, do you mean a gadget that does something I dream about, or a gadget having to do with dreams?

I'd like a gadget that would let me look inside other people's heads and understand what makes them tick. But I figure this would be too much to tolerate in an ordinary state of consciousness, so it probably only works during REM sleep. I think it's built into a pair of shoes and it's called Dream a Mile in Their Shoes.

5. What is it about 70's rock?

It was my constant companion during the time my brain was being rebuilt by pubertal sex hormones, and I imprinted on it. I listened to it while I was writing my journal, doing my homework, falling asleep, waking up. I listened to it when I was happy, sad, angry, giddy, confused, depressed, horny. It gave me a way to feel things that I had no other way to feel. Now when I listen to it I remember all that in my bones with an overlay of experience and cultural analysis ("eegh, I can't believe I liked those lyrics!"). I guess that makes me feel whole - connected to my younger self - in a way I frequently don't because I've changed a lot over the years.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

stonebender.livejournal.com

Perhaps this is breaking the rules but a couple of your responses prompted some comments. So here they are ignore them if you wish.

1. What stops you from sending out your fiction?

Laziness. Overprotectiveness ("that market's not good enough for you, dear"). Overanalyzing writer's guidelines and deciding a market won't want my piece so why bother.

I'll accept your word for it, but I have a hard time believing it's laziness. Your other reasons fit my image of you a little better. In several books on writing that I've read I've noticed a piece of advice that recurs. "Let the publisher reject your story".

2. Tell me about a time you were most proud of yourself.

Most of my proud feelings are in traditional moments where I am getting some kind of official recognition.

I also feel proud privately when I decide to do something just for me, without "it would help or please others" being part of the decision, and especially when it's a bit risky. For example, I felt that way when I decided to pick up and move to California.

So what made you decide to pick up and move to California?

3. How did you come to your personal or spiritual philosophy?

It's a long story, involving the minister who taught my confirmation class, the movie The Dark Crystal, a boss, a co-worker I had a crush on, and Esalen.

But I like long story's! :-)

Summary: My religious upbringing didn't take, but I realized I needed some form of spiritual practice, and I explored various neo-Pagan type alternatives until I found Harner-style shamanic journeying, which is a tool that helps me put together my spiritual beliefs by, um, it feels like "talking to aspects of the universe who know stuff."

That sounds a lot like talking to the orixa for me.

There's also a thread of Zen Buddhism wandering through. As it will often do.

*nod* Yep.

4. You are gifted with a dream gadget. What does it do and what do you call it?

Hmm, do you mean a gadget that does something I dream about, or a gadget having to do with dreams?

I meant the first one.

I'd like a gadget that would let me look inside other people's heads and understand what makes them tick. But I figure this would be too much to tolerate in an ordinary state of consciousness, so it probably only works during REM sleep. I think it's built into a pair of shoes and it's called Dream a Mile in Their Shoes.

Lol! I like the name.

5. What is it about 70's rock?

It was my constant companion during the time my brain was being rebuilt by pubertal sex hormones, and I imprinted on it. I listened to it while I was writing my journal, doing my homework, falling asleep, waking up. I listened to it when I was happy, sad, angry, giddy, confused, depressed, horny. It gave me a way to feel things that I had no other way to feel. Now when I listen to it I remember all that in my bones with an overlay of experience and cultural analysis ("eegh, I can't believe I liked those lyrics!"). I guess that makes me feel whole - connected to my younger self - in a way I frequently don't because I've changed a lot over the years.

Well, the lyrics reaction is certainly familiar! :-)

From:

firecat

Laziness: It's true. I am very lazy about paperwork. (That's no excuse for not doing electronic submissions, of course.) But yes, the others are bigger hindrances. I've heard that piece of advice a few times. It's a good point.

California: When I was living in New Haven, I decided I wanted to move to a larger city. I made a list that included Boston, Philadelphia, DC, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Seattle, and San Francisco. Then I began visiting the cities. DC and Philadelphia didn't appeal to me and went off the list. When I visited SF, I felt like I must have dreamed the place up all in my own head - it felt like home. I applied for a job at Apple and didn't get it. But one day I was sitting around in my apartment writing in my journal, and I decided to just pick up and move to San Francisco anyway and worry about the job after I got there. Various life events intervened, and by the time I did actually move, over a year later, I in fact had a job at Apple. They even moved my old falling apart furniture for me, which was funny, because my original plan had been that it would be cheaper to leave my furniture behind and buy new when I got there.

Story: I'll write the long story of my spiritual philosophy in a separate entry. For some reason I think it ought to be friends locked.

Gadget: OK, if the gadget doesn't have to do with dreams, it's called Hesitation, and when I point it at someone, it sends out rays that make them stop and think about whether they're doing the right thing. Of course for this gadget to make a real difference there'd have to be a large number of people wielding them all over the globe.