Thoughts from Watching Tomorrowland

If I had watched Tomorrowland when it came out, I absolutely would’ve gotten myself a red NASA hat. I guess, by coming to it late, I’m saved from having a hat I can’t wear.

I wish this went without saying but it really, really doesn’t — not only does Tomorrowland center on a little girl robot & teenage girl chosen one, it does not sexualize them AT ALL. Think about that — girl robot & girl teenager who are allowed to simply BE AWESOME. Continue reading “Thoughts from Watching Tomorrowland”

That

That feeling when you’ve almost worked through all of the novel critiques you’ve received, and then one of them says, “Do a global search for ‘that’ and delete as many as possible.” And it turns out there are more than 1000 of them in your manuscript.

Spaceship Logs Concerning Engine Extraction

Spaceship log: the main engine is 100% powered down and ready for extraction. All life support has been transferred to power from the auxiliary engine. Extraction and upgrades to the main engine to commence in one half cycle.‬

Spaceship log: supplemental green energy and ultraviolet force fields have been deployed to shield essential systems during the impending engine upgrades.‬ Continue reading “Spaceship Logs Concerning Engine Extraction”

Conundrum

It’s frustrating that “uselessly wasting time before going to bed” and “gearing up to do a bunch of sudden, surprising writing” can look so much alike while they’re happening.

Any moment now, I could redeem all the time I’ve been wasting by just writing a quick passage. Any moment.

So, if I go to bed, I’m admitting I was just wasting time. If I double down though… I could get some real writing done! Or waste even more time… Hmm…

Also, apparently, I’ve reached the time of night where my writing involves a lot of ellipses… so… there’s that to consider…

Sequels and Cliches

I’m working on the sequel to In a Dog’s World… and I really need to just sit down and reread the first one rather than having to stop every few minutes to look up which characters were what breed of dog and lived in what dorm and who was who’s roommate…

Working through the critiques I got on my latest novella — apparently, “like a hot knife through butter” is too cliche. Thus, “a hot knife through blue raspberry jello.” That should be less cliche. Nailed it. Fixed. On to the next thing.

From Very Online to Very Offline

My main character in World of Warcraft hit level 90 and summoned herself a new demon!‬

Restart World of Warcraft, stay up until 5am… yeah… that seems about right.

I’m going to be entirely off the grid — no internet, no electricity — for much of this weekend. I think I’ll bring a notebook and try to figure out outlines for a furry ghostbuster novel and a cats with magical mutant powers novel.‬

An Aldebaran Sugar Cookie for Star Shaker

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Fantasia Divinity Magazine, May 2017

“Chirri wanted to give her hero something, as a kind of thank you. She dug one of the cookies out of her bag; it was star-shaped and glittered with grains of Aldebaran sugar.”

The asteroid amphitheater rocked with applause as the suspended final note of Star Shaker’s encore vibrated the atmo-bubble over everyone’s heads.  The reptilian pop-star bowed and spotlights shone off of her rainbow-colored scales, making her glitter like the stars all around.

Chirri had loved Star Shaker’s music since she was a little kitten.  Once, she’d even shaved off her fur and drawn little Vs all over her naked skin, hoping they’d make her look like she had scales.  It had looked awful, but she’d been too young to care.  All she knew was that it had made her feel closer to her hero. Continue reading “An Aldebaran Sugar Cookie for Star Shaker”

Talking to Creeks, Buying Praying Mantises, and Moving Boxes

The four-year-old, speaking of a creek we found: “I want to talk to the water privately.‬
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I told him I was going to stay here, but he could whisper to it. So he is.‬

Me: “What did you tell it?”‬

‪Four: “A secret!”‬ Continue reading “Talking to Creeks, Buying Praying Mantises, and Moving Boxes”