And now for a special message from the coronavirus…
A Special Message from the Coronavirus
Category: Uncategorized
Living in a Michael Crichton Novel
Hello, friends!
I’m sorry for not having a Sciency Words post for you today. Also, I was supposed to announce my A to Z Challenge theme earlier this week, but… well, it’s been a rough week.
Part of the problem is, of course, the coronavirus. Right now, I feel like we’re all trapped in a Michael Crichton novel (specifically, this Michael Crichton novel).
Part of the problem is also work. In my day job, I work for a local T.V. news station. At times like this, working in the news business can be a mixed blessing. On the upside, I’m still employed. I’m still getting paid, and I can still pay my bills. A lot of people can’t right now. On the downside, covering a crisis like this is extremely stressful, as I’m sure you can imagine, and it has taken a real toll on me.
So as I said, it’s been a rough week. At this point, I have to reevaluate my plans for this year’s A to Z Challenge. In the past, I’ve picked science-heavy, research-heavy themes. I was going to do that again this year, but given the current situation, I don’t believe I’ll have the time or energy to do the job properly.
But I still want to do something for A to Z. So this weekend, I’m going to sit down with my muse, and we’re going to pick a new theme for this year’s challenge. One option would be a “behind the writing” series where we’d talk about the creative process. Another option would be a series about the Tomorrow News Network universe, where I’d introduce you to the story world I’ve created for my upcoming book series.
If you have a preference, let me know in the comments. I’ll announce my decision on Monday.
Giving the Gift of Coronavirus
Hello, friends!
I have recently returned from my trip to visit family. My grandmother just turned 100 years old. Happy birthday to Grandma Pailly!
But today’s post isn’t about that. Nope. For today’s post, I have some new artwork to share, artwork that was inspired by that one guy—you know the guy I mean. I’m talking about that guy in the public restroom who never washes his hands.
Of course I didn’t say anything to that guy. Instead, I did the most passive aggressive thing I could think of: I made art about the incident and posted it on the Internet.
But I mean, come on! It’s always gross when people don’t wash their hands after using the restroom. But seriously, at a time like this? Seriously?!?
#IWSG: Editing on Valentine’s Day
Hello, friends! Welcome to March’s meeting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. If you’re a writer and if you feel in any way insecure about your writing life, click here to learn more about this amazing group!
This year, I was fortunate enough to spend Valentine’s Day with my one true love: writing.
Well, actually I spent Valentine’s Day (and many other recent days) reading and reviewing the notes from my editor. I had to invent an elaborate color coding system to keep track of everything. I marked changes I agreed with in blue, changes I disagreed with in orange, and changes that I had questions about in pink. Thank goodness I bought all those pens in pretty colors a few months ago!
Having my manuscript professionally edited has turned out to be a slower, more contemplative process than I expected. My editor has given me a lot to think about. It’s tough. But I’m not going to dwell on that today, because if you’re a writer, you already know how tough every aspect of the writing process can be.
But I do want to share something about this process that I wasn’t expecting. For those of you who feel anxious about turning your manuscript over to an editor, this might help alleviate some of your fears. There were several sections of my manuscript that I was especially worried about. I’d agonized over these sections for months and couldn’t find a way to make them any better. To my surprise, my editor did not flag these sections as problems.
At our last meeting, I asked about this. My editor read through a few of those sections again, shrugged, and told me I was worried about nothing.
Writing is still tough. Editing is still tough. But to have a professional look at my manuscript and tell me to stop worrying about this part or that part or those other things—what a huge relief!
Next time on Planet Pailly, we’ll compare a real scientist to a movie scientist.
Final Post of 2019
So this is going to be my last post for 2019. There are several reasons for this. First off, I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather. Secondly, it’s Christmas season, and that is always a bit distracting. And thirdly, I have big plans for 2020, so as soon as I’m feeling better, and once all the presents are wrapped, I want to get straight to work on stuff for next year.
Seriously, I am so excited for next year. Some of you can probably guess why!
In the meantime, here are some pictures of my Christmas tree, fully decorated with Star Wars action figures, as has been my custom for many years now. Because Christmas is about love and family and stuff… sure. But we all know it’s really all about the toys.
And I’ll see you all on January 1st for the first Insecure Writer’s Support Group of 2020!
Correction: January’s I.W.S.G. has been postponed until January 8th, so I’ll have something else for you on January 1st!
Space Girls
I’ve been feeling a bit discouraged lately. I’ve gotten a little off track with writing these past few weeks, and I have a lot of catching up to do. But I recently saw this short film, and it inspires me to keep going.
There are those who would say that science has taken all the magic out of life and all the magic out of the world. I don’t see things that way, and clearly these intrepid young space adventurers don’t see things that way either.
The Turning Test
A friend and I were playing with the auto-complete functions on our phones. This comic is inspired by one of our auto-completed text messages.
Google Knows I’m Thinking About Quantum Physics
Ever since my Schrödinger’s cat post last week, I’ve had quantum physics on the brain. Some Google algorithm must’ve deduced this somehow, because suddenly YouTube started recommending videos like this one:
If quantum physics is a subject you’re interested in, and if you don’t mind sitting through a little math (not a lot of math, just a little), then this video is worth your time. It’s a demonstration of a quantum physics experiment you can do at home.
Yes, you read that correctly. You can do a quantum physics experiment at home!
Buy Me a Coffee?
I feel kind of weird about asking for money, but I’ve heard a lot of good things from other writers about Buy Me a Coffee. So yesterday, I signed up. If you’re interested, you can click here to see my (very sparse) Buy Me a Coffee page, or there should now be a button over on the left side of this website.
I really don’t want to pressure anybody or make any kind of hard sell. If you like what I do on this blog and you feel like throwing a few dollars my way, that’s cool, and I really appreciate it. If not, that’s cool too. I’m grateful to everyone who reads my posts and shares in these sciency adventures with me.
I do feel like I should issue a brief disclaimer, though, to anyone who does decide to donate: I don’t actually like coffee. I’m more of a tea person, although I don’t drink much tea either. So any money you donate will go toward art supplies.
This is sort of an experiment for me, so we’ll see how things go. If you have any thoughts or recommendations about Buy Me a Coffee or other forms of crowdsourcing, let me know in the comments. This is very new to me, but I am (as always) committed to learning more.
Early Holiday Break
On account of me being sick this weekend, I didn’t get much writing done, and I don’t have anything prepared to share with you this week. Since I was planning to take a little time off for the holidays anyway, I figure I may as well start my break a little early. So I’ll see you all in January!
Planet Pailly 