My Passions
Manga: X, CCS, Basara, KKJ, Rurouni Kenshin, Sensei!, Naruto, Juline
TV: Buffy, WWF, Home & Garden Network,  Iron Chef
Reading: Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones
Biography: Mustafa Kamal (Ataturk)
Biseinen:  Kusanagi (X), Fuuma (X), Touya (CCS), The Red King (Basara), Cho (RK), Itou (Sensei!), Kakashi (Naruto), Bob (Husband)
Cat of the moment: Hickory
Fanfic in progress: "Elemental" (X) "The Other Woman" (X),  Untitled sequel to Wings of Desire (X), "Shinjuku" (X), "Operation Hiko" (RK), "White Devils" (RK)

Where I go
Fortune's Fools
Dreams of Sakura
Sekai Seifuku
Elitist Bastards!
X Island
Anime on DVD
TheOneRing.net
Cyber Shrine
Vulpes.org
Cat-chi Cats (Japanese Bobtails)
Cyber Shrine
The Queen of Cups
Green Man Press (Charles Vess)
Kaluta Studios (Mike Kaluta)
Pitas.com

Who I know
Satsuki-chan +++ pointless +++
Lika Under Thlyali's Thrall
Ammie Castle of Briars
Alison Shinken
Kerianne The Space Between
Kristin Kudaranai
Hokuto-chan Ruby Cookies
Font of wisdom Subterfuge Archives
My Fanfiction Sedition

Ordinary World
Well, going on week 3 of being a hausfrau. What's scary is: I'm enjoying it. We'll see how long THAT lasts, though.

Looks like I'm going to go ahead and subscribe to Asuka. That was my X-mas present from Bob. He's also letting me subscribe to Betsuma Margaret (gooey shojo romance manga) for my birthday. Saves him from having to shop. (He hates shopping for me, says I'm too picky! Poor guy!)

Satsuki-chan, an SUV is a "Sports Utility Vehicle". I don't know if they're popular in Europe, but they're all over the roads here. They're huge, lumbering, gas-guzzling road-hogging nuisances. I didn't finish taking the evil test...it was toooo stupid.

Lika, good luck on this new semester! Study hard! I'll be cheering for you!

Ammie-chan! It was so great to chat with you yesterday! Glad you're back, looking forward to more Octopus-tie hi-jinks!

Glad you're feeling better, Kerianne! I was worried there, you sounded kinda down.

Oh, am adding two more blog links: Hokuto-chan, who's written a couple of nice fics that you may have seen on XOthers or CFFML, and Kristin, who I don't know really, but she writes excellent dog-fic (mainly HP, but I loved that hourfic featuring Inuki), hunts down the neatest Japanese HP fanart sites and also lives in the Land of Corn. You can find her fics here: read 'em, they're excellent.

Tuesday, January 8, 2002 12:18 p.m.

Part Deux

Hmmm, okaaaay. We obviously will not agree upon this subject, but a few points need to be addressed.

1. Of course there are no hard feelings, and I know very well you weren't referring to my writings (if you've even read my stuff), as I don't tend to write fics of that nature. However, the part about "if you don't like it, don't read it" re: your rant was a little unwarranted. I don't get over to the Technomancy blog too often, but when I do, I usually enjoy reading your rants, because they are interesting (even if I don't always agree with what you have to say). So certainly, I read your rant. I just happened to disagree strongly enough to actually say something (which is kind of rare for me--I usually can't be bothered).

2. I ranted myself about writers begging for reviews...here about halfway down the page under the entry called "Couple o'Rants" Saturday, Oct. 13th. (Please forgive lack of permalinks, my web-skills are minimal and self-taught, and if someone wants to email me on how to do them or point me to a web tutorial on them, I would be grateful!). So, actually, I agree with you on that point.

3. "If you don't want to improve--why write at all?" Huh? I don't write to improve, I write to tell a story. Okay, I admit, I try to do better, especially with the longer fics, but mostly, I'm writing to get an idea from my head onto paper (or screen). Sometimes, I'm just trying to verbalize an idea, or get a clearer picture of a character's motivation (see Choice or Reflection). The current fic I'm trying to finish "The Other Woman" is me trying to address the Aoki/Karen situation, from the pov of Aoki's wife, Shimako. This was brought on by a discussion on the DOS board that made me think: I'm a wife, how would I feel if it was Bob in this situation? Improvement as a writer is not really the first thing on my mind, here. The idea, the story, THAT is what is important and THAT is what should ALWAYS be foremost in a writer's mind. Not to say that the rest isn't important, but only that the purpose of writing is to present a story, even if it is silly or poorly written.

4. "Because when people are more concerned with being the Self-Esteem Police and not hurting "tender fledgling egos" than in actually sparking a desire for improvement, we wind up with the same impulse that has led to a generation of students who don't understand math, they understand New Math." *wince* Ah, I was one of those students. Trust me, you learn to get along just fine. Look, I really don't believe that nit-picking someone else's writing (UNLESS you're a beta-reader or editor who has been asked to do so) is going to "spark a desire for improvement." If I feel I have to criticize someone's work, I'll usually point out the things I like, then say "You know, you might want to...etc." I used to write poetry, when I was in junior high, back in ancient times. It wasn't bad, for a 11-12 year old. It was even printed in the local paper once. Then a teacher criticized it, tearing it apart and saying that "it was stupid." I was crushed. Now okay, I was an extraordinarily sensitive child (of course! I wrote poetry!), but still, that was a teacher and despite many other people saying they liked my poetry, that one teacher's comments led me to stop writing poetry for a long time. Even today, I'm hesitant to show my poetic works. Now, I'll be damned if I do that to someone else. Now, if that makes me the Captain of the "Self-Esteem Police", then it's a title I'll wear gladly. Personally, if someone praises my work, it inspires me to do better, to improve, so that I'm worthy of such praise.

5. You know what really improves writing? Writing. The more you write, the better you become. Reading also helps. When I get stuck, I'll pull out James Joyce's THE DEAD or Stephen King's NIGHT SHIFT (a collection of his short stories: I'm not keen on King's novels, but his short stories are exquisitely crafted) or one of my many books on folk-tales and get into what makes a story WORK. I listen to people talking to improve my dialogue. Sometimes, I just sit still and watch life around me, because even fanfiction benefits from the use of texture. But nitpicking criticism has never helped me. Ever.

Again, no hard feelings. We must agree to disagree, yes? I thank you for writing that rant, it certainly has done what it was supposed to and made people think. But please allow that there is more than one path.
Monday, January 7, 2002 11:34 a.m.

re: Tolkien

This was an interesting rant. While I understand and appreciate the author's dismay about Tolkien slash (being a long-time Tolkien fan, who's actually read and ENJOYED his works), I can't agree with the assertation that an author need bury herself in the original work in order to derive a good fanfic, or that really good fanfic need be written in the style of the original. I'm sorry, but that is just being elitist.

In my own works, yes, I tend to absorb as much as I can from a series before I try to write within it. That's just how I write. My original works of fiction (and I do write original works occasionally) also tend to emerge after I've been immersed in an experience or a book/movie/manga. But not everyone works that way, nor should they. Some stories are not meant to be that way.

Writing is an art but it's also a form of enjoyment. Sometimes we write to create a thing of beauty (and a well-crafted story is always a thing of beauty to me). And sometimes, we write simply to enjoy ourselves, to play with an idea or to amuse others. I don't like to write slash fiction myself, but a silly story, like Sake was never intended to be an exercise in classic fanfiction literature. It was written as an amusement for other fans, putting our favorite couple in a situation that would never possibly occur. Someone (obviously) is amused by slashing two handsome characters together, and wrote up a story about it. Sometimes it's not even a good idea, or well-written, but why rain on someone's parade? Let people have their fun!

Now, not to be hypocritical, but I, too, have rolled my eyes (sometimes in pain) at some of the stories I've run across in fanfiction.net, but then, I pull out some of the fics I wrote while I was in my teens and remember that I was worse than that, back in the days of yore. My first fanfic was based on THE THREE MUSKETEERS, except that the characters became female and bore a startling resemblence to myself and my three best friends (I was D'Artagnan, of course!). Looking back, it was very bad, but as this was before the days of the web, few people were bothered by it. Had fanfiction.net existed then, no doubt, I'd have posted it there. And no doubt, someone like the author of this rant would have flamed me.

I guess that what really makes me burn is that, dammit, it's hard enough to be creative, without having to deal with purists. If you don't like the fic, don't read it. Pretty soon, you can tell from the summaries, or from the authors, what stories will suit your fancy. But don't trample on the dreams or feelings of others, just because you have inflated ideals about what writing should be.

Friday, January 4, 2002 11:15 p.m.

So now you know (more)

Take the "What kind of Squirrel am I Test!"

Grrr

Evil Pitas ate my entry!

Ah, well. Sick hubby=mucho snoring=insomnia=weird fic. Don't worry, Lika, I'm still working on the Karen lemon, although it's harder to write than I anticipated. I'm no prude, but it's difficult to verbalize sex in a way that's readable!

Parents didn't show up yesterday as planned. They'll be here Tuesday, instead. Gives me more time to fic...er...clean house! I can't complain. They're bringing up a dining room table and hutch that I inherited from my grandparents, so it's a real favor. Grandparents are still alive, btw. They're just downsizing into a smaller house, and this stuff won't fit.

Ammie-chan! I'm so happy to see you back! *glomps* How were your holidays?

Alison, what other series run in Asuka? I'm thinking about getting a subscription (for my birthday), and I've never been able to get ahold of a single issue (they're always sold out when we go by the manga store in Chicago). I'm trying to decide if I want to get it or not.

Kerianne, that fic that you and Hokuto-chan did was very cute. However, I have to agree that Karen and Aoki should have gone ahead and had mad, passionate nookie, right there in the kitchen, however uncomfortable as it might have been. Yes, I am not for adultery (I'm married myself! Any woman who lays a paw on my man is asking for Trouble!), but as this IS fiction and those two ARE so cute together, I say: "Go for it!"

Am I the only one who finds katakana harder to memorize than hiragana? *tears hair* At least, I don't have to deal with the Evil that is Kanji until I get a little further along...

Monday, December 31, 2001 10:44 a.m.

Howl!

Lika, I just finished reading "Howl's Moving Castle". It was absolutely lovely. Of course, now that means I have to track down more of Diane Wynne-Jones' work....anyway, THANK YOU for the book!!!

Sunday, December 30, 2001 03:04 p.m.

Briefly

Real quick update, since my folks called and said they're coming into town tomorrow, so must get guest beds ready. I wish they'd give us more notice!

Alison, I'm loving your new X/YnM fic, very clever, like the premise that Sei-chan infiltrated the DOE. Looking forward to seeing more, as always, fingers are crossed for a Kusa/Yuzu appearance.

Satsuki-chan, coooooooool layout! The grey is a nice touch, very subdued, very much in character with those two. I've been inspired to do some artwork myself, but the scanner is down...grrrr!

Lika, I'm so sorry, I was hoping to have my Karen lemon done by the New Year, but parents' coming to town has pushed that back. Never fear, I AM working on it!

Anyway, that's all for now, must clean house now so parents will think I'm a responsible adult. Hell, at my age, I really shouldn't care, but parents have a way of making you feel like you're a 12 year old kid again.

Oh, and everyone, please send positive healing energy towards my poor hubby, who is down with a major cold. Thanks!

Saturday, December 29, 2001 03:34 p.m.

Trolling for Votes

Because I'm shameless!

The voting has started on the CFFML CLAMP Fanfiction Awards 2001. I have two fics nominated: Smiles of a Summer Night for Romance/WAFF and Wings of Desire for Series, as well as both of them in General. If you liked either or both of those fics, please feel free to vote for 'em! Oh, and if Fanfiction.net is acting up again, you can find all of my fics archeived in my little directory here.

Also, I would like to give my endorsement for Alison's fic Heart for Comedy catagory and Lika's fic Clearance Sale in the Oneshot catagory. And that's not only because I love both of them to pieces, but also because those are very cute stories!

Anyway, shameless self-promotion over! Life is good, finally saw X10 and loved it. Yuzuriha is soooo cute, she's such a delight to watch. Kusanagi seemed more jumpy than usual. He seemed almost scared of Yuzuriha at first, although he soon calmed down. She's certainly fallen hard for him, although he's not showing the same regard that he did in the series. Still not sure if that's because he's not interested, or because he's being manly. He doesn't come over as someone who's talked much to people, much less a cute girl. He seems more taken with Inuki than he does with her, but knowing our Yuzuriha, she'll find a way to win his affections. Daisuke continues to be a wonderful surprise...he has Aoki's sly sense of humor and is nowhere near as grim as he was in the manga. I still think they need to set Keiichi on him. As it is, he seems to be developing a crush on Yuzu-chan. Too bad, hon, her fancy's caught elsewhere! Aoki made a short appearance, but we didn't get much character development on him at all, except that he's a really nice guy who works too much.

Can you tell I'm loving this anime?

Had a great deal of fun surfing to the Betsuma Margaret page, in my eternal search to find out more about Sensei!. It's always fun to try to read a Japanese page through Altavista's BabelFish translator.

Monday, December 24, 2001 05:55 p.m.

So Now You Know

Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!