Deirdre Saoirse Moen

Sounds Like Weird

One down

08 August 2004

Finished a new short short tonight and it’s off to its first market. Wish it luck! It’s not really my usual kind of story (as if I have something typical that I write), and it may already be too late for that market. But, one can always hope!

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Worldcon: It's Almost Time!

03 August 2004

I skipped TorCon last year, so I’m really glad I’ll make it to Noreascon 4 this year.

Here’s some really good tips about enjoying a fan-run convention like Worldcon. There are a few omissions.

At BayCon, we call it the 6-2-1 rule: 6 hours of sleep, 2 meals a day, and 1 bath or shower.

Another thing to remember if you’re a newbie writer: you may not remember every single person you see, but if you do something incredibly stupid or say something horrifically insulting, odds are you did it in front of the person you shouldn’t have. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t talk. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t express opinions. Just get the lay of the land first.

People get overwhelmed by large events. Not everyone in the SF community is super-social. I start showing my “I want to be alone, but I also want to hang out with this person” mode about halfway through day one.

One of the great things that happens at cons is the ability to make an off-the-wall comment (especially about science or technology) and have someone come up with another, similar cool wrinkle. It’s like jazz, only with science. You never know when you might bump into a researcher in your field — no matter what your field is.

Fandom can be exceedingly cool.

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The Updated Word Count

03 August 2004

The article I was working on at the end of July is currently on hiatus, waiting for next week when I can get back to it. The paper I’d finished a draft of in mid-July has been put on indefinite hold. It’s not that I don’t think it’s salvageable, it’s just not something I can work with within the given time constraints, especially since it relies on other people giving it a thumbs-up.

Thus, everything else I was in the middle of is currently in a logjam while I write a new paper. Said new paper is currently up to 1,447 words.

Go, me!

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r.a.sf.c pins

02 August 2004

I just ordered two of the pins for rec.arts.sf.composition, which are to indicate that someone is a member of the tribe while at Worldcon or some other gathering.

The pin refers to a common writing-avoidance activity known as “cat vacuuming,” a term coined in 1999. The initial reference, to cat waxing, came from Teresa Nielsen Hayden:

Writer’s Displacement Activity? Is that the term? We call it “waxing the cat”. As in, you’re supposed to be writing, but first you have to wash the dishes. And sweep the floor. And then the dust on that shelf really gets to bothering you. And while you’re at it, you could wipe the grime off the switchplates and the door moldings.
Next thing you know, you’re eyeing Fluffy and saying “Gosh, how long has it been since I got around to waxing the cat?”

Without further ado, here’s the pin:

![cat-vacuuming](http://web.archive.org/web/20041015142527/http://www.zanzjan.net/writing/rasfc-pin6.gif)

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Argh!

30 July 2004

I have a headache bad enough to make writing difficult. Ibuprofen has only made a dent. Bad day #5, but I’m starting to feel better.

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Feeling Snarky

29 July 2004

It’s day #4 of being in a total and complete bad mood. Grr.

It’s not what happened, it’s that it happened six weeks too late.

Grr.

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A Bit More About Roz

28 July 2004

I’d mentioned that she’d died, of course, but I was a bit fuzzy on how long she’d been fighting cancer. My initial recollection was that it was 3-1/2 years, but I came to doubt that number, especially given the super-invasive form of brain cancer she had (glioblastoma multiforme).

Due to the PayPal settlement, I had cause to go searching through old email for some information. It turns out that my memory was off by almost exactly a year. I’d remembered that it was right after a holiday. Turns out it was right after New Year’s, 2002.

I remembered that her illness is what motivated me, in part, to apply to Clarion. Better now than later, I said. And, when it seemed that I might get a job offer that would mean I couldn’t go, I chose to attend Clarion. I was half-relieved when I didn’t get the job. 🙂

I also applied for, and went to, Viable Paradise that same year.

Somewhere in the midst of grad school, I lost some momentum. Alas.

But I’m picking back up now.

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