Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Disappearing writer


It's that time again. Writer needs to vanish into words. I'll be gone anywhere from a few days to a week. Depends on the words--how fast and how many. Y'all make yourselves at home here in my absence, of course, and if you need me, e me. I'll invisibly check in now and then to see if the place needs cleaning, or the coffee pot needs new filters. Katiebird also has a key to the place.

Here's the site from which I grabbed the cheshire grin, and here's a fun site (optical illusions) to entertain you if the beer runs out.

xxoo
Np

56 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is not acceptable. At the very least you should make a bunch of posts that you can schedule for your days away. Those of us who come here for sustenance and fellowship should not be disappointed. But really, you shouldn't be away.

(Well, I hope you get some good writing done. Care to divulge any more info about it?)

AndiF said...

Don't know why but I imagine Nancy going off like

  some poor orphan against a storm

of words buffeting her along the road to the end of the story.

Wow, I made an allegory on the banks of the Nile.

Larry Kollar said...

Ah, bummer. Nancy's disappearing again?

rummages in pantry

Aha, here's the flour. Guess I'll make a batch of little french rolls to go with the coffee and beer. Put a Trance{}Control CD in the player… not too loud; we don't want to disturb the Famous Novelist At Work, right? :-)

Nancy P said...

lol! You guys are too funny. And how much discipline do I have if you've lured me out of lurkdom after only three comments?!

I Will Tell All when I return.

Byeee. Really. This time I mean it. I do.

Family Man said...

I hope you get all your work done so you can spend all you time with us afterward.

Great picture Andi. I guess you'll have to send the pack out into that to guide Nancy back.

Maria Lima said...

Ta, Nancy. May I say the thought of something new from you makes me grin?

Andi, that pic is now what I'll envision when I think about hunkering down writing. :)

Hope everyone is having a lovely evening!

boran2 said...

Cool, Nancy's absence leaves me time to snoop around. < sound of opening and closing cabinet doors > Where does she keep the good stuff?

katiebird said...

(eyebrows raised)

Did she leave any chocolate??

katiebird said...

Oh, there's good stuff? Like what?

Anonymous said...

You mean there's good stuff BESIDES chocolate?!

I wish I had your will power to shut out the internet world, Nancy. I know I'd get my work done a lot faster...but I'd be lonely!

Maybe in my next life I'll have some self-control. Good luck - see you when you emerge.

katiebird said...

(hmmmm)? There MUST be... But what?

Anonymous said...

Can it be one of those molten lava chocolate cakes, served warm with gooey chocolate inside, covered in chocolate sauce? Maybe with a little whipped cream on top? There was one on the menu at Ruby Tuesday's tonight, and I SO wish I had one!!

katiebird said...

ah, one of THOSE.... Of Course!

Rick Bylina said...

Seek ye the words to fill the next book. Though the journey is long, I know you'll find the path. Take the magic pen; it is mightier than the sword and lighter than a howitzer. Be sure to keep clean paper by your side and the good book of words nearby. Do not be pulled by the magic box. It is evil. And guard the magic chocolate pills, savoring only when the spirit weakens and the enemy casts spells of unworthiness.

Though the journey is hard and long, your friends and fellow word keepers will be sending positive thoughts while consuming every last doughnut and cup of coffee you left behind.

Write on! Write on!! Brothers and sisters, amen. Write on!!!

AndiF said...

Morning all.

For those who didn't get to see the eclipse, you can head on over to olivia's place (linked on the front page) for a couple of very nice shots.

katiebird said...

(waving) I'm still pre-coffee, but I couldn't resist coming in to wave and lurk.

Goodmorning Andi -- you were right about Olivia's photo -- it was beautiful.

Maria Lima said...

Morning, Andi & KB!

Andi, thanks for the heads up on the eclipse photo. Sadly, I couldn't watch this for myself last night as we were overcast and snowy.

Day opened clear and cold. Just the kind of day I like to spend writing. Too bad that I have to go to work. ::g:: (Of course, I do like the steady paycheck!)

Cheers, all!

katiebird said...

Good Morning Maria, Are the streets clear at least? I'm really hating this winter. I'm a broken woman.

They were saying last night we'd have sleety-icy-rain for rush hour this morning.

{{shudder}}

Larry Kollar said...

Ick, KB. Slush-storm is what I call those.

Well, if there's no chocolate, and the weather outside is crappy, maybe we should just turn up the stereo and dance!

BTW, Olivia's eclipse shots are better than mine. No surprise there; she had fewer clouds & better equipment.

Maria Lima said...

KB, we only got wimpy snow, so the streets are okay.

We're supposed to get the sleet/rain tonight/tomorrow. I'm thinking I should work from home tomorrow. :)

katiebird said...

Pure icy-sleet all over the roads and highways. I'm exhausted, just getting here.

Luckily the cinnamon-roll guy was here and I got a shot of sugar.

(but don't tell anyone)

Anonymous said...

Pure ice on our roads too kb and more coming down. I decided to work from home. Why did you go out in this?

They weather people on teevee just said that if any of us made it to work this morning we should turn around and go home because worse was on the way. Of course the weather people tend to be melodramatic.

Morning all the non-ice covered people!! And great eclipse last night. I'm heading over to Olivia's to check out the pics.

katiebird said...

Ah, Mary -- it's great to see you. Why did I go out?

Because our bad weather policy is that if I don't come back with a doctor's note, I don't get paid. No excuses.

Kelly McCullough said...

One chapter left and then the epilogue. Will be lurking but mostly running silent.

Anonymous said...

i held my rifle at the hip as he limped from the shadows of a stand of weather beaten ponderosa pines dried mud mixed with blood caked the left side his arms reaching for the dark sky blue eyes covered by bent wire rim glasses and a shock of red hair directionless in the windless night the moon slipping into a full lunar eclipse

dude ranch clothes shook over his wiry frame as smoke held him like a foggy apparition

Sprechen sie Deutsch

Forty years ago maybe but this is New Mexico not the black forest

his gaze locked onto my meager supper I nodded he lowered his hands and went for the too hot coffee hands wrapped around the cup like a precious Christmas gift sipped I hoped he liked it strong my mouth watered

Winifred snorted as a small black horse hobbled into camp eyes wide saddle half off trailing sage brush and branches a rope hung down one side with a money bag hanging on at the end like a crude anchor

i held out one of Winifred's carrots she complained the young horse approached scared and unsure took the small carrot backed off i pulled out another and held it closer to my body he took it i stroked his forehead Winifred protested the young horse tongued the hand dryly asking for more but needing a drink i gave him one more and held the harness the German moved the horse pulled but i did not let go

the derringer glinted in the fire light

Sitzen

-cormac mccarthly

katiebird said...

!! Kelly, I LOVE epilogues.

I'm so glad you're reaching the end of your novel -- the sooner it's done, the sooner I can read it!

Happy Lurking....

Anonymous said...

Many congrats, Kelly - that must feel great!!

maryb said...

kb - I understand. I hope you make it home without too much stress. I'm fortunate to have the flexibility to work from home occasionally.

But, now, I'm finished for the day. They closed our office at 3:00 so I figured I'd shut down too!

They also said check voice mail before coming in tomorrow. The weather people act as if the whole city will be shut down. God I hate ice.

katiebird said...

{{shudder}} we've had sleet & snow all day, but it looks like traffic is moving.

What a mess, Mary. I'm glad they give the flexibility of staying home. I can work from home -- but only on evenings & weekends! I've still got to show up on time at my desk....

(I think I'm the only one I know who doesn't speak German....)

maryb said...

uh... German?

Switching topics (but staying international) all the stuff in the news today about Kosovo reminds me of a book I read in 2003: "The Hemingway BookClub of Kosovo" by Paula Huntley. Did anyone else read it? I remember really enjoying it.

katiebird said...

(It was just an aside...) From above:

"Sprechen sie Deutsch"

No.

Family Man said...

Good afternoon everyone.

We've had nothing but rain here since last night. I'm not complaining though, because of the drought we need it.

Spent all day in the city. Both FMom and I had medical tests to be run and she had a doctor's appointment. It wasn't too bad except there was a very long wait (3.5 hours) between the tests and doctor's appointment.

We got through that, and I'm back home slacking extra hard (can you do that?)and FMom is resting.

Hope everyone's day has gone good and everyone with the ice, be careful if you have to go out.

Kelly McCullough said...

3,700 words and going to keel over now.

P.S. Thanks for the good wishes KB.

boran2 said...

Congratulations Kelly!

katiebird said...

FamilyMan, I'm glad you got home safely. Dr. Visits are exhausting, even if they don't involve hours of driving & spending all day waiting.

I hope your slacking is going well and you and fMom are both rested after the experience.

Kelly, 3,700 words?? Wow. Wow.

(Waving at Boran2)

AndiF said...

Scribble, scribble, eh Mr. McCullough? (You too, Ms. Lurker)

Happy weekend everyone.

Larry Kollar said...

Wow Kelly, 3700! That's got to be exhausting.

It's Friday & I'm arsing myself to get out and drive to work in this rain that's been going since noon yesterday. It mixed with sleet for about five minutes, but at this elevation there shouldn't be anything but rain.

I left the laptop folded up last night & edited a 200-page manual. I hadn't sat down and gone through it page-by-page like that in a couple of major revs and it showed. The problem is, I have a 500-page behemoth that needs the same treatment. I'm going to use it as an excuse to keep me out of the chicken houses this weekend.

katiebird said...

(stumbling in the dark)

Coffeee....

I need coffee ....

(squinting) Is anyone else here?

Anonymous said...

Morning, everyone. Catching up on mail and blogs before diving into work. Hope the coffee's good this morning, and the roads not slippery. And the weekend's just around the corner!

Maria Lima said...

Morning, all!

We're right on the verge of ice this morning. 32 degrees and rain, which is supposed to turn to sleet.

I'm working at home today to avoid the mess.

At least it's Friday!

katiebird said...

Good Morning, Andi, FAR & Beth!

The world sure looks better through coffee-colored glasses.

FAR that's great about the editing. And (it seems to me) anything that keeps you out of the chicken-house HAS to be a good idea.

Andi, should we sneak into the back room and post a new photo? Do you have a suggestion?

(waving madly at Beth)

AndiF said...

Morning Far, kb, Maria, and Beth.

kb, if you want to change it, I've got a nice sunset picture that is sort of appropriate for a "disappearing writer" post.

LINK

katiebird said...

Andi, that's gorgeous! But, I'm on the run now. I think it'll work this evening too. Don't you?

xxoo

Rick Bylina said...

Morning all...Of in a few minutes to secure a Kenmore Dryer heater element (8565582), coffee, and chocolate, and not necessarily in that order (see blog for the truth, the whole story, and nothing but the truth).

And since it is a cold rainy day, I'm going to see if I can pump out a couple thousand words after being inspired by Kelly's 3700 words.

Y'all have a good one.

Kelly McCullough said...

Good morning all. Thanks for the congrats of various flavors. I think that may be my best word count day since I started having a real clue about what I'm doing, and in the top 20 no matter what. For the record, just under 5k is the max to date (short story in '98 or thereabouts).

Oh, and exhausting, hell yes.

Off to the hot tub for the weekend in a few hours. In the meantime, I've got 3,000 words left to put this thing in the bag and I'm hoping to get at least another 1,000 before we leave, so I'm off to do that now.

Rick, GO, GO, GO. Happy to provide whatever motivation I can.

Hope everybody has a lovely day!

Conda Douglas said...

Hi all,

Here, we've had a meteor, an earthquake and my internet service has been down. Now it's snowing, 2 inches so far.

Please tell me it's not Armageddon.

Rick Bylina said...

Conda...Come on now, two inches of snow! That's a flurry out west. Earthquakes...nothing new, the Rocky Mountains are a young range and still rising. Internet interruption!! My niece in Rexburg says it's as common as a day without sunshine in Ahba, Suadi Arabia.

Now...My neighbor set the woods on fire despite a state-ban on outside burning because of the drought. Four guys in weird costumes on black horses keep charging up and down the dirt road near the Holy Church of Brimstone that borders my property. Some outlandish creature ate the moon the other night. Haven't seen it in two days (could be because of the cloud cover). And there must be a thousand birds sitting on my deck railing staring at me as I write this. Perhaps they're the new age spellcheckers. I don't know. But I do know it's not the apocalypse in Idaho. It's just another fun day in paradise.

Rick Bylina said...

Also, it is my understanding that alien doughnut makers are fastening Princess Leia cinnamon buns to the side of NP's head to make her write faster. Coffee is injected intraveneously.

Mind you. It is just a rumor.

Conda Douglas said...

Thanks, Rick, it's good to know it's YOU who's having the end of the world. Just as long as it's not me!

Anonymous said...

As long as you guys keep it up there, and it doesn't ooze down the Florida peninsula, I'll be happy!

Good thing it's not in Montana, Conda, or people WOULD think it was the end of the world!!

maryb said...

Conda, I thought that meteor was really cool. Do you know if there was anything left of it that hit the earth? Or did it completely burn up?

Sympathize on the white stuff but since I'm looking at a world covered with sleet and ice, let me tell you things could be worse. I'd take snow any day over this.

katiebird said...

Yikes -- I totally missed the part about your meteor, Conda!

Finally this horrible (or horribly long) week is over.

Should I open a new room?

Anonymous said...

Whatever your little heart desires, kb. YOU are the BOSS! And it's Friday!

Hopefully you have something fun planned this weekend, and are feeling better, and the sun will come out tomorrow and warm your cockles.

(if your cockles haven't frozen off already!) :-)

boran2 said...

A meteor, earthquake and snow? Has the apocalypse arrived? We've had 6-8 inches here but nothing else of note. It's not quite done yet.

Anonymous said...

Hope it stops soon, boran. And you can build a snowman, or do something else positive, with it. Be safe!

boran2 said...

Thanks beth!