I took this photo as part of an assignment from friends over on 43Things to take a photograph of "power." I had to think a lot about this one. What do I think is powerful?
Standing up for what you believe, even when it’s not the popular position. Peaceful resistance.
A few years ago in the U.S.--even a few months ago--it felt a little dangerous to say that we shouldn’t be in Iraq. I found out that a few people who I thought of as friends would like to shut me up. They thought I was a threat to the security of our country for saying what I believed.
To me, freedom of speech is at the core of what this country is supposed to stand for. Get rid of that, and you don’t have much left to defend.
As evidenced by the recent elections, some people’s minds have been changed. The large and small actions of hundreds of thousands of peaceful people willing to speak up have made a difference. Oh, and Keith Olberman's comments helped give us courage, too.
It isn't solved, but the ways of talking about it are opening up.
Up and at my computer by 4:45. (It’s also supposed to be good for insomniacs to keep the same schedule on the weekends, so we’ll give that a whirl.)
Day didn’t actually break for a while after I’d started. I was working under some time pressure because I was supposed to get a critique to Braveheart on her fabulously inventive novel weeks ago and I want to a) be an honorable human being and make good on my promises, especially creative ones like this that are actually good for me and b) be able to focus on my NaNo novel; working title: Basura Canyon, just so I won’t take it too seriously.
Time pressure is good for me.
I took Braveheart’s manuscript with me to Panera and camped there most of the afternoon. Saw some other NaNoWriMo writers there, and spoke to one. She had a very cool sticker, which I wanted. But not badly enough to ask for one when I didn’t even have my laptop with me.
I can practically hear the word “FRAUD!” bringing all the activity at Panera to a stunned pause.
Ended the weekend with my word count a little higher than it absolutely needed to be.
Talking the Walk
I got up at about my usual time, between 4-4:30 in the morning, all ready to write. I didn’t have a very clear idea about what I wanted to do, but I have fallen for my two main characters and I want very very much to do them justice, give them witty things to say, and interesting challenges to overcome.
While this is probably the desire of most authors for their characters, it is not a particularly healthy approach to trying to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I took this photo around 8:30 in the morning when I took a break to take down Halloween decorations. I was planning my blog entry, something to do with the haunted house in which my creative spirit lies gasping.
Luckily, Hyrda stepped in with a reality check. We treated ourselves to a sushi lunch, roamed the aisles of Lowes considering projects for our winter vacation, and went to Barnes & Noble. I was just about ready to order a hot chocolate and settle down with copies of Lenswork and Writer’s Digest (there’s an article about structuring a novel, that I thought might just help), when Hydra came up with a package in hand, ready to go home.
I was cranky, but I knew any other course of action would just be putting off facing the inevitable truth that I’d spent about four hours to get about 600 words. Aiiiii.
Fought with the keyboard a while longer, and then Hydra and I went out for a dusk hike. These are particularly wonderful on an evening like last night, when the moon is up and almost full. I’d sworn I wasn’t going to tell anyone about the book until the end of the month, but Hydra has proven a VERY useful plot man in the past so on Day Four I found myself on the trail, talking. We’ve done this before when I’m stuck.
Wow. I told him who my characters were so far and what the main challenge is that they are coming up against, and he asked all the right questions. Like okay, how does she change? Okay, now how does he change? How does the experience make it happen? And he came up with a fabulous twist for the catalyst character. I mean, really fabulous.
The best thing about all this—besides having a built in writing coach in my house—I don’t even mind stealing his ideas because of California’s community property laws. If anything comes of my writing, he gets half and all he has to do is be brilliant every once in a while!
Yes, I'm pulling out the big guns already. NaNoWriMo, Day Two. 
Okay, anybody with a spec of creativity in his or her bones needs to see this film. I went to the Amargosa Opera House and saw Marta Becket’s one-woman show last weekend. When I got home I found this documentary on Netflix.
It is very well done. Tells the story of this amazing woman’s determination to continue with her artistic life of dance, music, and painting. She just made it happen for herself.
It also captures the remoteness of Death Valley Junction and the surrounding areas. I think I am going to need to buy this and share it with my friends.
Sadly, in the five years since this doc was made, Marta has lost her companion and performing partner “Wilget,” and sustained a back injury by falling from a chair while rehanging a curtain. I think we missed the most vibrant of her performances, but even now at 82 and sitting in a chair she’s a pretty moving person.
If you live within 300 miles (LA/San Francisco), you really should get yourself out there and see her.
One-L and I picked up lunch. It came with very good bread and butter. Apparently, each of us went around the office asking if anyone wanted the butter.
No takers.
But some laughers.
We discovered the foundations of buildings and stone steps like these leading to them. Also a cave up these steps and around to the right. There was water there apparently, and from poking around on the Internet, I surmise that this is Wildrose Spring.
It was cool and pleasant there.
Yes, I admit it. We stopped at Randsburg on the way back for another Cherry Bomb (cherry ice cream soda) and to try the hamburgers. Yum. There were a lot of off-roaders stopping in for food and wet stuff.
We got home around 3:30 in the afternoon. I feel like we were gone for about a week. So many wonderful images to carry in my head for the rest of my life. And a great time with my mom, who is so much fun to travel with. We decided whether to do various things that presented themselves and I know that neither of us had to worry that the other would miss something she really wanted to do because of the other.
And all this, including tickets, hotel room and gas, for way under those "cheap" Los Angeles Times Travel Section getaways. About $230 for both of us!It’s really hard to pick a photo, or even two or three, for today.
My mother and I drove to Death Valley Junction to see Marta Becket perform at the Amargosa Opera House and made many, many stops along the way.
One of the best was Randsburg, which is half ghost town, half inhabited. Had a great cherry ice cream soda at the 100 year old soda fountain inside the General Store.
This is part of the old mine works.
