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March 16, 2020 · 6:00 am

The Rant from Ground Zero #amwriting

I live and write in the Olympia area of Washington State. We are a short drive from Seattle, the epicenter of the Corona Virus outbreak. Four of our children live within a few miles of the nursing home where 27 deaths have so far occurred that are linked to this disease. One of our daughters is a health care professional in that part of King County, a Reflexologist.

I will admit that it has been difficult to focus on writing.

In December, I wrote a short story with the theme of “Escape,” tailoring it specifically for an anthology with that theme. It is a dark story, detailing a virus that brings humanity to its knees.

Two weeks ago, I had just clicked the “send” button when the news of the nursing home deaths burst, and the Pacific Northwest went mad—panic shopping ensued.

Yesterday I made the decision to pull that story from consideration. I don’t think the world needs another dark tale about viruses, especially one with no happy ending.

I submitted a different story, one that is not necessarily happy. However, it’s optimistic and deals with a girl in 1950s America hoping to escape her difficult parents. The theme in the new submission fulfills the intention of “escape.” I don’t want to read anything that’s a downer right now, so I suspect that readers of an anthology won’t either.

I don’t see any reason to “panic shop.” I’ve been poor, and I know how to function in a world that isn’t 21^st century America “clean.”

As far as housekeeping goes, those wipes and all that sanitizer aren’t really that useful, but they make people feel safer. I’ve never used them, as I’m allergic to chlorine bleach and use a mix of 1 cup white vinegar to 3 cups of water in a spray bottle for spot cleaning doors and even windows.

I’m old and officially began adult life at the age of 19 in 1972. I know that a sink or bucket full of hot, soapy water cleans most surfaces in my home well and doesn’t leave a nasty chemical residue.

White vinegar is an acid, and in a strong solution, it disinfects as it cleans. See this article: Does Vinegar Kill Germs?

Plus, it’s cheaper.

So how do we go forward as a people during these strange times? Here in Washington State, Governor Jay Inslee has worked tirelessly. He’s made hard decisions to ensure that our state does all it possibly can to meet this threat.

From this point on, we will admit that we can’t depend on those in our national government to respect us here in the Northwest. We know they won’t be honest with us, nor will we count on them to supply the country’s health system with what it needs.

We will learn new habits that will change how we interact with the world. We denizens of Ground Zero will elbow-bump but won’t shake hands, or hug, or kiss cheeks when in France. We won’t spread viruses if we can avoid it, and we’ll try to avoid getting them.

Panic shopping will settle down as this passes. Here at La Casa del Jasperson, we have enough to get by, and if we run out and the stores are empty, as I said at the beginning of this rant, we will manage. During the Reagan years, we were financially challenged, and since those days I’ve always been prepared for emergencies.

In the meantime, I have a large virtual community of writer friends, and we communicate through various boards on social media. My Tuesday morning writing group will be meeting via Google Hangouts. We have a Discord Channel for Olympia NaNoWriMo.

It is allergy season. Today March 15^th, the tree pollen index is low, but with the advent of spring, that will change. My allergy to Douglas Fir will kick in as soon as the lovely green dust of tree pollen begins to cover the cars.

This year I will take allergy meds because a sniffly nose is a bad thing in this day and age. If the meds don’t work, I’ll have to stay home and dream about the new, remastered version of Final Fantasy VI I.

Or, I could play the old, classic version again…heh heh…. I can probably still do that even if the meds work as they’re designed….

Never mind.

I have books to write and a house to clean.

Again.

Credits and Attributions:

Wikipedia contributors, “Final Fantasy VII Remake,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Final_Fantasy_VII_Remake&oldid=945625103 (accessed March 15, 2020).

Wikimedia Commons contributors, “File:Bottles of vinegar at a supermarket.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bottles_of_vinegar_at_a_supermarket.jpg&oldid=218865788 (accessed March 15, 2020).

Wikimedia Commons contributors, “File:Jan van Grevenbroeck, Venetian doctor during the time of the plague. Museo Correr, Venice.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Jan_van_Grevenbroeck,_Venetian_doctor_during_the_time_of_the_plague._Museo_Correr,_Venice.jpg&oldid=213078370 (accessed March 15, 2020).

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Tagged as #writerlife, cleaning without chemicals, Corona Virus, Covid-19, writing, writing despite the distractions

November 4, 2019 · 6:00 am

I #amwriting despite the distractions

November is here, and NaNoWriMo has begun. Despite the twists and turns of fickle fate my project is on track. I am getting my word count in my writing session every morning.

One of the twists my life has taken in the last few days is the addition of my younger brother to our household. He had been working and supporting himself but fell ill with a bone infection. He was hospitalized for three months, during which time he lost his job and his home.

Like the majority of homeless people here in the US, he suffers from chronic health problems. This has kept him in poverty and on the thin margins of society for several years. So, I now have a third person in the home again, which means I must set boundaries that protect my writing time.

I am good at that.

Another diversionary twist is happening on the National level. This is one that is not under my control: I’m talking about the ongoing “fiesta of squirrels” that is the semi-functional website at www.NaNoWriMo.org.

The new website has been rebuilt from the ground up. They have been gradually rolling it out over the last few months. But heavy user traffic makes it a difficult process.

At this point, the website is operational but not user friendly.

The good people in the Office of Letters and Light (NaNoWriMo headquarters) know this better than anyone. Very likely, they are buried under the mountain of complaints from thousands of users.

I assure you, these wonderful people are doing their absolute best to resolve all the issues, but it will be at least a year before this site functions as well as the old website did.

So, I will ask you to be patient if the site is showing you the wrong stats or your halo for donating hasn’t appeared.

We are all seeing wrong stats on our pages. Several functions we were used to being able to access are not yet available, such as regional statistics for Municipal Liaisons.

We are all finding it difficult to update our word count. Discovering where your regional forums are can be a challenge. Once you do find them, bookmark them.

As I said, I set firm boundaries to ensure that despite the distractions, I can get my hoped-for word count every day. I’ve worked through worse Novembers and gotten my word count every time.

I may bounce around between manuscripts as the day progresses, but I do get the words written on my new project. Then I update my word count every day at the national site.

In case you are curious, this is the screen shot for where you update on your dashboard:

This year I am laying down the first draft of a new novel. I write between the hours of 06:00 and 10:00 a.m.

Then, I take a break, and do some housework. After lunch I work on the other manuscripts I have in various stages of completion. I sometimes write new material on these when the inspiration hits. Those projects are going well also.

I average 2500 words each morning on the new manuscript, so I don’t bother to count the bits I add to the others later in the afternoon.

I hope your writing is going well, and that the words are flowing. Keep making time to write every day.

It takes discipline and determined effort to end up with a finished book.

And that is what NaNoWriMo is really all about.