Last Week I Decided to Expand My Writing Community

I registered for DVCON. It was created from #DVPit. I am very excited for the first ever DVCON. I'm excited for the writers that will be speaking, the seminars, the people. It really seems like there's a community there. They have social hours and events on Discord too. 

Also, quick question - Does everyone use Discord now?

I also registered for Boskone 58. It's the convention for the New England Science Fiction Association. The con is all about sci-fi and fantasy. More topics I can be excited about. It seems pretty big. February 12 to 14, there are multiple speakers at every time slot. How am I going to choose?

I did some Pajama Writing with Inkslingers. At various times of the week, Inkslingers is inviting writers to to spend an hour totally focused on writing. Close the door, turn off phones, no social media. Pick an intention/project, post it in the chat and then get to work. At the end, writers are invited to post a line that they wrote (or edited) that evening/morning/afternoon.

What's a talk about writing communities without my own writing community, the WCYR (Writers Community of York Region). I say mine, because these are my friends, colleagues, co-conspirators. I've met so many wonderful writers over the years, people who are quirky, and weird, just like me. I'm registered for the February and March events. I'm looking forward to them. I've gone to many and will be going to more workshops. I love a good workshop. The WCYR also currently hosts two virtual write-ins a week (sorry, members only). MJ Moores wrote about it on the WCYR blog. Even though it's on Zoom, I feel like I've connected with other writers I might not have seen at the in-person events.

I miss in-person events though. I never thought of myself as a big hugger, but I miss hugs.

Last Week A Lot Went Down

A lot happened last week. COVID-19 infection rates are increasing more and more. Though, two people I know have already been vaccinated. There was an attempt to overthrow the government at the US Capital. As I may have mentioned before, I'm a fan of the late night talk shows. I think both Stephen Colbert's and Seth Meyers' takes on what happened are worth the watch. So, last week, I watched. I also watched more news than normal, in general. It was announced that children in Ontario will be home until the 25th of January. However, based on all the other information I've come across, I feel like my children will be home for a couple months. 

Last week, I started reading The Stand again. I actually started it in the summer, but it stressed me out, so I stopped. I've been starting and stopping with this book for a while. When I picked it up, I really wanted to read it, and when I am reading it, I am enjoying it. Then I get to a part about how the survivors of the Super Flu are treating each other, and I have to take a break. For the last couple weeks, in between bouts of The Stand, I have been reading Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2016 and The Collected Poems of Maya Angelou. Two vastly different works, but they both speak to me.

Besides political commentary, I re-watched The Matrix and Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Now that our daughter is a little older, my husband has started taking her on a tour of some of his favourite movies. After a few minutes, he started poking holes in Raiders and I called him "Amy Farrah Fowler" and he laughed. 

I also watched Netflix's Best of Stand-up 2020 and realized I need to watch the specials from Jack Whitehall, Hannah Gadsby, Michelle Buteau, and Bert Kreischer. I'd already watched a few of the 2020 standups, but not these ones. (I like stand up specials.)

That's it for me. Did you watch or read anything good? I'm always adding to my TBR and Watchlists. 

What I Read Last Week #2

  

3 poems from Edgar Allan Poe. Not his most famous (I've already read those). I really enjoyed To Isadore, The Village Street, and The Forest Reverie. As I read The Village Street, I kept thinking that this would make an eerie short story. Every so often, I read a bit from Poe's complete works. I enjoy his poetry, but sometimes I can only take so much creepy.

Serpent & Dove was a book I couldn't put down. It definitely did a good job of distracting me from EVERYTHING. I'm very excited to read the sequel, Blood & Honey when it comes out later this year. - I'm hoping the release date doesn't get pushed back.

Wasted Words was my now weekly (?) Romantic Comedy. It was cute and sad, and had a great ending. It's interesting how the events of our teen years can affect us as adults. Even when rationally, we know we're acting "crazy".

I finally read The Search, the second series of graphic novels from Avatar: The Last Airbender. My daughter rewatched the series on Netflix and it was hard to pull myself away when it was on. Reading this book satisfied the itch for more Avatar. If you want to know what happened to Zuko's mother, this is the book you need to read.

Blog post from the Write Practice. It's short. Kind of helpful. Mostly it made me feel better that in my WIP, I occasionally have scenes that are 350ish words.

A reminder to myself that I only need to read so much about Coronavirus and COVID-19.

What I Watched Last Week

I've been putting some time in on Netflix. Most of us have, no? At this point, I'm happy to have more than one streaming service and some cable. Though I really miss sports. 

I watched the latest season of Castlevania. I was waiting for my favourite trio to get back together... and if I say too much, it'll be a spoiler. I did, however, watch them all survive the horrors of a post-Dracula world. Like, wtf?

I decided to try a new anime too. Beastars had a big banner at the top of my Netflix page, so I watched. The show is weird. I can't say if it was good or bad. Just weird. But once I started watching, I had to finish. I needed to know how it all turned out.

Also, I may have finished YouTube.

I have been enjoying the late night hosts "at home" shows. I like Stephen Colbert's elements theme. Jimmy Fallon's house looks amazing and super fun. His daughters are incredibly adorable. Trevor Noah is basically doing his whole regular show, just from his couch. Unlike Colbert and Fallon, it looks like Trevor Noah's crew is still putting in time, just from home. There's even a "moment of zen" at the end of each episode.

I've been watching a lot of news too. CP24 sometimes in the morning. I have alerts for whenever CBC or CTV says the Prime Minister is talking. I've watched the WHO broadcasts too. I'm trying to keep informed, check my sources, but not become too overwhelmed. There's a lot of information out there.

Helpful links:

Canada Public Health Services - COVID-19: 

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html

WHO - Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pandemic: 

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

What I Read This Week

I needed a happy ending. That lead to Romance, which read to Meg Cabot. I enjoy Cabot's writing, her style, her characters. I knew that not only would I get a happy ending, I would get rich, interesting characters, and maybe a crazy fun plot. No Judgments did not disappoint. Even though the natural disaster the characters are going through is different that what's happening now, I found some of the isolation and attitudes of the characters similar to what we are dealing with.

I finished The Ghost King, by R.A. Salvatore. The Ghost King is the 19th book in The Legend of Drizzt series. It was a great book. Lots of action, adventure. I got to spend time with characters that I've been reading about for years (and will continue to read about as there are at least 15 more books). It's a good thing I sandwiched this fantasy between some happy endings, but this one was and emotional end for me. I yelled at my husband when I closed the book. (He's read all but the most recent of the Drizzt books.) He knew what was going to happen! Not that I'd want him to stop me from reading it, but I had to let that emotion out somewhere.

I also read Chaotic Good, by Whitney Gardner. It's a teen romance, but it's so much more. They play D&D in the book. It was so good. The title, of course, is what first got me. But it's also about growing up as a girl, and as a geek girl. What it's like to feel alienating from the things you love. How much easier things would be if you were a boy. It's also about how evil the internet is. I kept thinking, the main character is a CHILD. She hasn't even started her last year of high school! Honestly, I'm so glad they didn't have social media when I was in high school, but I worry about what it's going to be like for my children. I hope not like this.

I've been reading the Government of Canada COVID-19 website a lot too. Mostly, so I can look at the stats. I want to know how many cases are in Canada and where. My local sites. The WHO website. I have to really watch that I don't read too much of it, because then I'll just go into information overload.

I have also been spending too much time on Twitter. Also bordering on information overload. I do like the photos I saw of the Venice canals being clear though. It's strange how this lockdown / isolation is changing the world around us.

Best Things I Watched Today

To help with our Social Distancing / Self-Isolation / Self-Quarantining, here are some things I watched today which I enjoyed.



I love Stephen Colbert. He's so smart and he makes me laugh. I also love how John Batiste plays us out.



Jimmy Fallon's daughter did the "graphics". His wife's laughter made me so happy.



PIVOT!

Global Lockdown

The world is shutting down, but we’re still here. Don’t forget. Don’t take this lightly, but don’t go nuts. The precautions are real and necessary, but after a few more weeks, a month or two, things will go back to normal. At least normal-ish. 

Social distancing. I love and hate it. I grew up in a culture of hugs and kisses, but I’ve also been more reserved, forcing myself to engage in the expected norms. I’m fine with that too. If I didn’t, I’d be a recluse. I’m still a homebody, so not going out isn’t a big deal. But it is. Events have been cancelled. Baby showers and birthdays. Will my friend’s wedding shower be okay in May? My cousin’s wedding in June? I can’t say for certain.

I just told my Hubby that I’m fine. I’m not fine. But I am.

I’m worried, but optimistic. I think as with SARS and H1N1, this will pass. Is it worse? Something to take very seriously? Yes. It might forever reshape how we interact with each other and the world. I’ve never had a problem placing a grocery order before. I laugh when I think of us ending up like the chair people in Wall-E. But we won’t (probably).

So ya, I’m having some feelings and I’m worried. Life isn’t stopping though. I’m working (from home). I’m talking to my family and friends. I’m cuddling my children as much as I can. I’m reading. I’m writing. I’m going to blog. I’ve just been getting back into it. I’m looking forward, while being aware of now.

Helpful Links:

WHO - Coronavirus

Canada - COVID-19 Updates

*Source your information. It matters.*