The Disconnect

[handful_ofdust]

So...it's Runrunrunday, and I still feel remarkably shitty, as I have for some time now. Slept a very long time, had weird dreams, woke up with much the same sinus headache I'd gone to bed hoping to cure. Little writing done except correspondence, though some of that was at least interesting.

Yesterday, however, my contract finally came for A Rope of Thorns, so that's something. Need to sign one and send it back, sign the other and keep it. And I did some more Aztec-related research, which kicked up a few more fun monsters, plus a truly demented story about how Tezcatlipoca had his revenge on the city of Tollan which I think very much needs to work itself into the latter part of the book. All I'll say is that it involves him masquerading as a...city gate to city gate?...salesman who routinely advertises his wares by walking around practically naked, covered in bright green paint. God knows, I can see Chess getting behind that sort of action.;)

Oh, and now I note that the Commentators That Be have switched to mocking Gabaldon for having once sent the dude who played Jamie on Doctor Who copies of Outlander, which makes her The Worst Fangirl EVAR, because how is this different from sending Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki that mammoth Wincest mpreg epic you wrote? Uh...because inspiration isn't the same thing as imitation? (Shrugs 'til eyes cross, waves hands in the air) ...Yeah, I guess I got nothing; you don't want to understand, and I can't convince you otherwise. And vice versa.

In case you're wondering, though--no, I personally wouldn't send copies of A Book of Tongues to Ben Foster, for two reasons: A) I can distinguish between characters and actors, because I've been around actors all my life, and B) Chess isn't Charlie, so why would Foster be interested, in the first place? Hell, who knows if he even likes Horror, or Westerns, or black magic gay porno horse opera? Or reading?

(If I later come to find out otherwise, believe me, I'll be both surprised and ecstatic. But I'm sure not counting on it.)

Also, those books cost money, son, even for me. I already owe my publishers $90.00 for three extra hardbacks, and won't be able to pay them 'til my refund comes back; even at discount, I'm not exactly inclined to give them away, except perhaps to relatives. Which I suppose goes right on back to the whole: See? Profic writers are just petty little prostitutes! angle...

Oh, look at the time. Gotta go pick up Cal.

Comments

[sixteenbynine.livejournal.com]

I did my rundown on the whole thing here:

http://www.genjipress.com/2010/05/the-dreamers-of-dreams-dept.html

I think it's less about "old and busted" vs. "new hotness" as it is about two camps who are both using emotional vigor as their main line of defense against the other side. The people on one side who say "you can't take this away from me" are not responding to the other side's declamation of "respect me as a creator and a human being, please", and so on. The two are not really responses to each other.

I chose to sell my writing, albeit in a bit of an end-run around the usual marketing, mostly to see what would happen. I'm leery of making this into my living, because I already make good money at another job that leaves me plenty of time to write, and I'm not sure I want to convert something as fickle as my writing into my sole livelihood. That said, I'd be the last man on earth (apart from Vincent Price, har har) to heap abuse on those who have an agent, a contract, and books on the shelf.

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

The part I love most about your entry:

The one big takeaway for me from all this has nothing to do with fanfic at all. It's the simple tenet that nobody who takes their work or play seriously wants to be lectured about what to do, not do, or how to do it — by fellow practitioners, ardent devotees, or random strangers. You can make your case pro or con, but the more strident the attack, the greater the odds of someone smacking their forehead and saying "My god! I've been living all wrong!" asymptotically approaching nil — and the greater the odds of the other party simply feeling they're all the more justified in dropping anchor in their current spot.

Here is where I, like any annoying fangirl, say: "Yes. This.";)

[sixteenbynine.livejournal.com]

Aha, thank you :D I do think a good panel on this subject with a few people from both sides of the fence (as it were) could be had, especially since people tend to be that much politer face-to-face.

[benet.livejournal.com]

Dear God, am I not the only person whom that idiom grates on (for no good reason I can name)? Whenever I see it I want to grouse "in my day, we said 'word to your Moms', and liked it that way!"

(Posted twice because I'm non-paid and can't edit my own damn comments, and three times because I was so involved with the apology that I forgot to change the original error. Arrrgh! Sorry for spam.)

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

No, you're definitely not the only one. Like most fanspeak, it's getting so far up my nose I can feel it in my sinus cavity.

[kmarkhoover.livejournal.com]

"Which I suppose goes right on back to the whole: See? Profic writers are just petty little prostitutes! angle..."

haha, too true!

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

That's right, and proud of it! Or what are you saying--you don't support sex workers' rights?

[sovay]

All I'll say is that it involves him masquerading as a...city gate to city gate?...salesman who routinely advertises his wares by walking around practically naked, covered in bright green paint.

That rocks.

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

There are three different versions of the story, and they get progressively weirder. Strangely, though, this particular motif seems to stay fairly constant.;))

[moon-custafer.livejournal.com]

Interesting thing is, my first reaction was" "isn't that kind of subtle for an Aztec god?"

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

Oh, it gets less so. Considerably.;)