i hate sundays

Okay, does this ever happen? Finished-fic writer's block?

*boggles*

There's this fic. I finished it. I merrily sent it to beta, as one does. And now I can't write a frigging thing.

It's like, every time I start thinking of the one where Teyla and Rodney get drunk and sit around disgusted while Ronon and John try to outmacho this tribe of half-naked warriors and Rodney realizes he's about a shot of homebrew away from a Pretty Princess Diary entry saying "OMG MY BOYFRIEND NEVER THINKS OF MY FEELINGS" and Teyla in horror realizes the same thing, and I rub my hands together eagerly because, honestly, this will amuse the heck out of me....

Wait, says a voice.

(the voice, I swear, is a metaphor. I am not connecting with my inner schizophrenic)

Isn't there a fic in your folder that is done and not posted?

Me: *blank* But it's in beta.

Voice: That sounds like an excuse. You could go make it better while you wait. Didn't you want to add cerebus in?

Me: ...that doesn't even make *sense*. Wait, Cerebus? That's seriously mixing my mythology.

Voice: It could be symbolic.

Me: Please tell me you are joking.

Voice: How about another stick-fighting scene? That would be fun!

Then I go open it up and add two thousand words I'll probably erase later.

It's *annoying*. And lo, Teyla and Rodney get to carry out no epic plans of either revenge or possibly seduction and I am staring at Word resentfully and trying to talk myself out of a third breakfast taco.

I want a pony. Failing that, I want another inner voice. Something in George Clooney, perhaps. The one I have? Not so great.

Comments

[trobadora]

*pets your inner voice* There, there. I'm sure Jenn still loves you! You'll just have to be nicer to her. :D

[rivier.livejournal.com]

Cerebus the aardvark? Oh my God, I haven't heard that name since I was at university and he was the favourite thing of my old friends the Dross Brothers. Eeee, nostalgia! I want an icon, NOW!

[musesfool.livejournal.com]

Yeah, every time I finish something I sort of look around and go, wah! I can't write! I've worked on [X] for so long I don't know what to do! What do I do next?! Meanwhile, I have 12 stories in progress that could use work, and half a dozen other new ideas that could be started.

[hetrez.livejournal.com]

Christ, yes. Eighteen months, baby.

[driedtreesap.livejournal.com]

Hi! Total lurker coming out of hiding here, but. I was looking around the web to see if I could find any more of your work and I stumbled across this article (http://nyartsmagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1099&Itemid=217).

It really says something about me that I immediately recognized the passage and the author.

While it has nothing to do with your writer's block, hopefully it will be a good kind of distraction.

Also? Insert much gushing and bubbly praise for both your work and creativity and your general kickassness. It is a pleasure to read such vivid, beautiful prose.

[thepouncer.livejournal.com]

Pony!

[out-there.livejournal.com]

That stretch of time between finishing a wip and getting it finally posted tends to screw with me too. And yet, every time I finish somethign long, I like giving myself a couple months between sending it to beta and posting it to be sure it's right. (Mind you, at the moment, I'm more struggling with the "edit the damn thing and *send* it to beta" stage.)

pony

[lastscorpion.livejournal.com]

There, there!

[dalaire.livejournal.com]

Okay, does this ever happen? Finished-fic writer's block?

Three words: The Word Painter.

*headdesk*

[ileliberte.livejournal.com]

I want a pony
I don't remember if I ever actually linked you to this (http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c367/ileliberte/pony.jpg) but since it was born from one of your posts from before, enjoy :) And also, Alan Rickman might make a good inner voice too. mmmm....

[djinanna.livejournal.com]

::lends you my hobby horse::

Hobby Horse

[taverymate.livejournal.com]

That's gorgeous! I can't get a sense of scale, but is that a Friesen? I've never seen a pinto Friesen before, but it doesn't look like any of the other feathered breeds I can think of at the moment (Shire, Clydesdale, Percherons, Belgians). Oh, maybe a Fell pony? Whatever the breed, it's a beautiful horse!

Re: Hobby Horse

[djinanna.livejournal.com]

He is gorgeous, isn't he? He's a Gypsy Vanner (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsy_Vanner_horse) and his name is Fionn according to my notes.

To give you better scale, this link (http://greatlakesvanners.org/db5/00406/greatlakesvanners.org/_uimages/FionnmacCumhaillownedbyWillowWindStables.JPG) takes you to a picture of what I think may be the same horse with a woman handler. I say "may be the same horse" because, while the side markings are the same, it seems like his tail has more black in the other shot.

Mostly, what I know about the breed is what I could find during several late-night googling sessions. I was totally horse-mad as a kid and these lovelies have brought it all back. Especially since they're generally big sturdy horses (12 to 15 hands) that are used for saddle and/or harness; since I'm a big (*big*) girl, there's a lot of appeal to a horse that doesn't make me feel I'll crush it.

They're still fairly rare and thus pricey, which means I start thinking crazy thoughts about playing the lottery.

I want one. I want one bad.

Re: Hobby Horse

[taverymate.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the links! The shot with the handler is also very nice. I recognize the name Irish Cob (from the Wiki link), though Gypsy Vanner is new to me (new to a lot of folks it seems, given how recent the American registry is).

I was horse-mad as a kid too. Still have all my horse books and breed books and my treasured Breyer models. My favorite breeds were Arabians, Lippizaners, and then the draft breeds, especially Shires and Cyldesdales. I was absoluted thrilled when my mom saved up and took me to see the Spanish Riding School on tour with Lippizans when I was ten. *smiles at the memory*

As a sister-in-size and horse-lover, wishing you best of luck with the lottery. *g* Though if you could travel, it sounds like the breed is fairly common in the UK, even if not as strictly defined as the American breed registry. Of course, then you'd have transportation costs, which would negate any discount in the sale price...

If you can actually afford to maintain a horse, but it's the asking price that is problematic, and if you'd consider another breed, horse rescues are overwhelmed these days and you can adopt a horse for an incredibly low fee. Perfectly sound horses are being destroyed or turned loose on public lands because people can't afford them. With the pressure on slaughter houses not to accept horses and more restrictive legislation, it has reached critical mass in many areas. My mum lives in Kentucky and they have a huge problem with feral horses abandoned by their owners.

Re: Hobby Horse

[djinanna.livejournal.com]

At present I can't afford to maintain a horse. My "I want one" was half-wishful thinking and half-future planning, for when my financial situation improves. (When, not if. When! *repeats positive-thinking mantra*)

And your suggestion of horse rescue is a wonderful one! It makes it more likely that, when that financial situation improves and I can afford horse maintenance, I'll be able to have the kind of horse I want. I've been researching small animal rescues for my next house pet, but living in a city at the moment (big city: Chicago), we don't get a lot of large animal rescues mentioned in the local pet/animal companion papers (though, on the other hand, we do *have* a local, freebie pet/animal companion paper, with a lovely 3-page listing of rescue agencies in the greater metropolitan area).

I had heard of the "Irish Cobb" myself, but never seen a photo. When I first saw the photos, they were all called "Gypsy Van(ner)" or "Gypsy Cobb". It took a while to put the two together.

And I also had a thing for Arabians and Lipizzanners (and Andalusions). Even with horses, I'm a hair-slut, I guess. I am lucky in that the Spanish Riding School did frequent local tours here when I was a kid, so I got taken to see them 2-3 times back then as birthday treats. I wish I'd been old enough that I could still remember more details. I do hope to get up to Tempel Farms (http://www.tempelfarms.com/) to see the Tempel Lipizzans perform, maybe this summer. ::knocks on wood:: They do the whole airs above ground et al (there's some lovely pictures on the site link).

And I still remember the first time I "met" a Shire in person. Lincoln Park Zoo has a "farm-in-the-zoo" section, with farm animals - for many inner city kids, it's the only chance they have to see something as "exotic" as a cow or chicken - including a horse barn. And one year, I think I was about 12, there was this ... just astoundingly massive horse that - well, I'd just been at the main zoo and seen the elephants and hippos and other bigbigbig mammals, but that horse was far and away the single most impressive living being I have ever seen. Though, being long-time horse-mad, I may be just a tiny big prejudiced. *wink*

Will you be at VividCon? Come say hi to me if you are (for that matter, you may've been there in the past and we've already talked - my memory is like a rusty sieve).

And, oh dear, I've found yet another horse breed to geek out over, the Haflinger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haflinger_%28horse%29). Was looking up how to spell Tempel Farms and that link came up. Not quite as badly as I'm in horse-lust with the Vans... (I foresee more latenight horse-geek web link surfing/googling in my future.)

Re: Hobby Horse

[taverymate.livejournal.com]

When you are ready for your horse (encouraging your positive outlook *g*) do check into horse rescue. You'd be surprised; many large city Humane Societies or ASPCA chapters will have a large animal rescue unit, even though you might not think it likely. I live in one of the five most populous US cities and we have a large animal rescue that gets a lot of activity, sadly; mostly in the outer suburbs. I know that Crosswinds Equine Rescue is about two hours from Chicago, maybe keep them in mind.

Andalusions - oh, yes, another favorite of mine! And you often see Haflinger crosses in international show jumping or dressage. (Yes, I was watching the World Championships last week, thank you.) Funny, my deepest attractions swing between the hot-bloods and the drafts. (Quick digression - have you ever heard Jethro Tull's song "Heavy Horses"? It's a love song to the draft breeds, found on the album "Heavy Horses" (1978) with a pair of draft horses on the cover.) It's been over 35 years since I saw the Lippizaners and I can still recall the show in vivid detail.

I'll swap a Shire story for your delightful zoo story. We lived in England when I was a child, and my mom has a photo of me about 3-4 years old, sitting on top of a half-Shire, my short little legs sticking straight out and not reaching even halfway across its back. It's a wonder I could ever walk upright again. *g* I swear the smile on my face could have powered London for weeks. A local farmer would come round the neighborhood every so often and offer rides to the kids to make a bit of extra money. Mom was terrified that I'd get stomped one day because I would run up and throw my arms around the horse's leg and laugh and try and climb up onto its back by myself (an utter imposibility given the horse's size). Never a real danger though, as it was the most gentle horse I've met. Loved kids - or more likely loved the sweeties and treats we'd all bring. *g*

And I love the Lincoln Park Zoo - though my favorite exhibits were always the primates, particularly the gorillas and chimps. At one time, I knew all the names in both the gorilla and chimp groups. (My brother has lived in Chicago for decades and I used to visit the zoo when I was in town.)

Alas, I'm not going to be at VVC or I'd be delighted to say Hi. (OMG, I just checked your LJ profile interest list: antrhopology, due South, Elizabeth Peters, folk music, Georgette Heyer, PG Wodehouse, science fiction, Terry Pratchett, wolves...It would have been a lot more than Hi, I'm afraid. *g*) I'd dearly love to attend VVC but can't travel anymore. Still, I'm a huge fan of fannish vids - as my bulging shelves and stuffed hard drives will attest - so the weeks after VVC are always a mad rush to download new vids and see what shown in the various vid shows. Enjoy yourself!

And apologies, Jenn, for hijacking your LJ - but it's neat to find another horse and vid fan with such good taste!

[seperis.livejournal.com]

OHMYGOD that is an awesome horse.

*stares in wonder*

[djinanna.livejournal.com]

Amazing, innit he? The whole breed is like that, too. The amount of gorgeous horse pictures that come up when you google-images for 'Gypsy Vanner' (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=gypsy+vanner&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2) is just stunning.

And check out the link of the horse and woman handler I posted above - the *size* of these gorgeous animals is just, *yeah*. (Also? There's vids of 'em on Youtube.)

Enjoy your virtual "pony", eh?