So, here I am a couple days back from vacation. Of course there's a ton of work to get caught up on, even though I was only gone for four days and I took some of the work with me.

And there are the computer problems, but at least some of it is working better now, and I have the feeling a few more tweaks of programs and hardware will settle the rest.

It's hard to sit here and work, though, when I have about 400 more pictures to sort through, resize, etc. I've had to make myself do Vision Editing between groups of pictures, and a lot of hand written daily goals while Russ works on and with the computer.

I had a wonderful time in Colorado. Hell, I even had a wonderful time in western Nebraska, which is a completely different ecology than here by the river. Dry, desert like areas, buttes -- and those views where you can see forever. I love looking through the pictures and remembering the moments.

However, other than that, not much going on. Tons'o'work to finish up and a lot of writing to get to. I have some great notes. And I can't wait to get back to Sooma. But first... work on Vision and the site.

And maybe a few more pictures.

I should probably never try for good, solid 'this is what I'm going to do' plans. I swear, every time I settle in with a nice plan, something comes up. At least in writing.

What came up this time is a returning back problem -- spine actually -- that led to incredibly bad headaches for days. They're still there, building up again, but it's not constant. So I can work. But concentration is shot to hell.

Which makes writing new material very hard. I have the outline for Farstep Station, and that's helped me keep moving on it. Creating outlines for other material is not easy, though, and I've let them slip for a few days. Editing Eliora's World isn't bad. Editing Mirrors has turned out to be a lot of fun and diverting.

But even Farstep started to get difficult. So I went looking for something easier to work on. Maybe an older story that I needed to rewrite and get on computer so I had more than one copy....

I found something. I can't say it's easier, but at least I'm having fun.

I wrote the original Sooma story in about 1971, I think. That copy got lost in a flood, but I did somehow save a rewrite I did in 1981. Handwritten, by the way. I pulled it out while I was in chat and the people there talked me into typing it up. IT'S ALL THEIR FAULT!

Sooma I, handwritten, is 1770 pages long. About 100 words per page. Yes, easy math there -- around 170,000 words. And it's the first of four, though the following three are shorter.

I got through the little intro note and started on the chapter. I kept telling myself that I would only type it up. No rewrites. No rewrites. NO -- hell, I couldn't stand it. The entire first two chapters hadn't a single bit of dialogue. The characters fought a massive battle in the first chapter. I'd never read anything so dull. If there was ever a sign that I'm a better writer (for whatever that might mean) it's here in this twenty-three year old handwritten monster.

So why bother?

Because something in it still calls to me, oddly enough. Sooma was my very first original work. I'd done Star Trek, High Chaparral and a few other odds and ends. I hadn't done Sangre yet, which was something of a joint effort anyway.

Sooma was my first brush with creating my own world, my own characters and my own (rambling) plot. I doubt I'll be able to do more than make it barely readable. But you know, you shouldn't forget your first love in writing.

This is fun.

So here is a snippet from the opening, part of a journal:

I am old now. The Eternal Children are gone, and I am an old rambling heretic high priest who feels the end near, and must -- for the sake of his soul -- tell the truth, even if it is only on paper.

I will write here all that they told me, as well as what I learned from my father and grandfather. This is not the tale of the Gods as it is written in the Official Creed of Sooma (which I also wrote). No, this is the story of four people who chanced to be immortals, and found life as much a curse as a blessing. They paid dearly for their gift.

I write this as I wait here on Alofi like any other pilgrim who traveled the stars to see this world. And a thousand times a thousand years from now, when even the name of Sooma is finally forgotten, perhaps then this journal can be found and read -- and understood.

We were a young empire -- insecure, barbarian -- and when they left, we needed something.

They gave us Eternity.

Come seeking, but do not pray to Sooma.

Pray for Sooma.

So, when did politeness become evil?

I've just had a long and unpleasant conversation with someone who protested that they are required to be polite at the site and not purposely cause flamewars over the death of Reagan. The odd thing was that we agreed on the politics -- I despised Reagan and consider him and his administration as one of the worst things that ever happened in the last century. I think he did more to polarize the country and force people to take sides instead of joining together than any other president, and he started the ball rolling with the lovely Iran/Contra deals that has led the presidency to a position where the people feel they can't trust the person they elect to the post. I think he proved that too many people wanted mediocre 'stars' and not leaders.

Edited addition: Okay, maybe Nixon was worse. But still...

People seem to forget that even Holly called me a 'flaming liberal.' My husband is the local Democratic Party coordinator. I am not a follower of Reagan.

That doesn't mean that I am required to be impolite to those who are, or respect the fact that there are inappropriate places to rant and shout about it.

It's the same problem I've seen everywhere, though. ME ME ME and screw what anyone else feels, as long as I can say what I want whenever I want. I am so tired of children who throw tantrums if they're told this isn't the time and place for the ME ME ME behavior. Hell, they shouldn't have to be told -- but apparently politeness and respect of others beliefs is evil.

I can say these things about Reagan on my blog. But saying it on the site, or in chat for that matter, is just an invitation to start a yelling war, create anger, and not do a damn thing for anyone on either side. I know that a good many people don't agree with me and I respect that they have their own opinions. I also respect that people come to Forward Motion and remain there because they are not going to be attacked for their politics. Personal politics is not important to what we do at Forward Motion.

Purposely going in and attacking Reagan in a chat room the day after his death is just plain damned impolite. But according to a few people, respecting the fact that others at the site do not have the same beliefs as you is evil, and the death of someone loved by millions is the best time to jump in and tell any of those millions who happen to be around that they're idiots, and he was evil incarnate.

Don't do it at Forward Motion. If you want to be that immature and try to start a shouting battle, go do it at some other site. I can think of at least one where you would likely be welcome and have a great time.

If you can't agree to be polite and take your arguments elsewhere, just don't bother to come around the site. Sorry, but we're not going to miss you, especially if you are one of the people who sit in chat and pretend that makes you a part of the community.

You want a site where you can tell people their idiots, revile someone because you don't believe in the same politics, or a place to just plain be impolite -- go start one. But if that's why you are at FM, then you're in the wrong site. Move along.

Well of course this works for me....

I've not been getting things done in writing. Oh, I write -- always -- but I keep finding myself with new projects, and not getting many of the older ones finished. We're looking at half way through the year. I decided it was time to get things organized.

I worked out the numbers until I had nine projects in three categories:

First Draft (Farstep Station, Sangre 2, Only A Novel)
Edit (Eliora's World, Mirrors, Ada Nish Pura
Outlines (Resolutions of Trust, Darkness Falls, The Wind and the Sand).

The first piece in each of those is the prime material and I work on it no matter what. But if I get a minimum number of words written or pages edited on it, I can go on to the next one.)

I am a multiple project person. I've always known this. I get a lot of work done when I can look at lists of things and know that there are specific projects that need finished. And since I don't start anything I don't like (and I make sure the plots remain things I like) it's really fun for me to work on them.

Now, you will no doubt notice that there is nothing Forward Motion or Visionish in this list. Those remain on my daily to do list, which generally runs from 10-15 items. I never really get through them all, but it is going pretty well.

This morning when I checked my blood pressure, it was as low as it has been in all year.

I'd say I'm starting to get things sorted out. We'll see how well it goes.

Had a lovely convention, had a great time at the wildlife refuge, and I don't even mind being home again, despite that everyone seems to want me to do something for them right now.

Some of it I'm just not going to get to. By the time I get through all my email, online posts, and private messages some of it will just be out of date. Oh well. Sometimes you just can't get it all done, no matter how hard you try. I've done remarkably well today, considering how little sleep I've had.

I've come back from a nice convention where we talked writing and I wan to get back to it. So I'm going to start forcing myself back from some work at the site and such and turn that sort of attention back to my writing. I have too few things out in submission right now (Three? Maybe only two.) and a pile of material to be edited. I have four outlines to work on and a couple unfinished novels. I wrote ten short stories last month for the dare (would have loved to do more, but no time, of course) and I actually like three or four of them. A couple of them seem to have developed 'longer' pretensions. We'll see.

The convention was great. I got to speak with friends I only get to see once or twice a year. People bought my chapbook and had me sign it. Even Stephe Pagel of Meisha Merlin bought it and had me sign a copy.

Okay, the tornado warning that sent everyone in the hotel to the basement was odd, but the rest was a great deal of fun.

The only other convention I have planned for this year is in November. Of course that's NaNo month, so that should be... interesting. (grin) That's only six months away now. Amazing how fast time goes. But I'll have outlines done before then and shouldn't have much trouble getting a good run in the first three weeks.

Anything else? Hmmm.... I need to write. I really need to sit down and work now, so off I go...