7Wannabe5- Take 6

[RooBadley]

don’t worry about the commas,

it's your diction that's so nice.

[Dream of Freedom]

So that was why you removed the murder mystery from the journal. That's the book. Got it.

There, is? editing for. a reason

[daylen]

I'll proofread it if you want.

[classical_Liberal]

Sorry your friend passed. Good luck with the book project, I hope it come to fruition!

[ertyu]

Books are good because even if you don’t end up finishing them, having worked on them will have done its work in and of itself

[7Wannabe5]

Thanks guys! I might need some help with some stuff to do with the fact that two of my main characters are quite young and tech savvy. For instance, do people under 30 still refer to internet porn as "internet porn" or just "porn?" And what slang term(s) might a young person who was moderately technologically literate use to describe a person who was extremely technologically literate and expert coder? Would most Zillennials be familiar with the lyrics to "Shorty Wanna Ride?"

As always, obvious risk that I will start but not complete this project. However, although I have probably read maybe 2000 novels, I have never seriously attempted to write one, so maybe I will be able to stay in the zone. Does 5 pages/day seem like a reasonable pace? Maybe I can power through in a couple months just brain-dumping flow of diction, but then the editing is likely to kill me in the end.

I think that maybe watching my friend die has inspired me to take on this project, because time to complete my own life list is feeling shorter. Although the story of his life and death would be worthy of Dickens, the events are too raw to be processed into my current writing. To the extent I am drawing on life for characters and experience, I seem to only be comfortable making use of those now at some distance removed.

Encouraging List of Things I Seem to Be Reasonably Good At So Far
1) Diction
2) Humor
3) Sex scenes

[1taskaday]

I always read your posts because they are a nutty but very funny way of viewing everything.

I would definitely buy your book if you wrote one...now more than ever everyone needs a good laugh.

[EdithKeeler]

Obviously, one of my problems with this project will be that I never mastered punctuation due to liberal 1970s public education experience and/or the fact that I generally don't take a breath while I am talking, so it is hard for me to know where to put a comma when I am writing from my free verbal center.

I was an English major, and I'm the ultimate grammar Nazi, so if you want me to look at it, I'll be happy to. I also write, and I know it's important to have readers who will give you useful feedback. Good luck with the project! One of these days, I'll have a manuscript to send to somebody...

[daylen]

A. just porn
B. techie, power-user, super-user, tech guru, computer geek, tech savvy, tech god
C. may recognize it but will probably not know lyrics

Devote minimal processing power to editing until it is at least 80% complete. As long as you can follow what you write down later then that is what matters. Try to write nearly as fast as you can think to ease cognitive friction. An alternative to typing is to make the first pass using a voice recorder. As an ENTP, allow your process to branch out into alternatives instead of attempting to work backwards from a detailed conclusion/climax (as the INTJ Stephen King would by leading with Ni). Save everything you write and try to avoid erasing.

[Alphaville]

to all this i’ll just add:

I generally don't take a breath while I am talking, so it is hard for me to know where to put a comma when I am writing from my free verbal center.

do precisely that. that’s your voice, molly bloom. (you’re not molly bloom. but she didn’t punctuate AT ALL)

[7Wannabe5]

...now more than ever everyone needs a good laugh.

...and also a hawt sex scene!

One of these days, I'll have a manuscript to send to somebody...

Thank you for your offer. I would love to read your manuscript.

[7Wannabe5]

@daylen:

Thanks, helpful. I am pretty much already doing as you suggested. I type pretty fast, I have no clue how I am going to end the thing, and I am even jumping from one chapter or scene to another leaving rough breaks to be knitted together later.

@Alphaville:

Yeah, I used to be a totally blocked, highly self-critical writer, so I know that I just have to let it dump on out, only re-reading for prompts.

[AxelHeyst]

And what slang term(s) might a young person who was moderately technologically literate use to describe a person who was extremely technologically literate and expert coder?

If in the milieu of a tech/startup or tech-adjacent scene (e.g. anywhere near the Bay Area/Houston/Boston/etc), they might call the person a 10x'er (aka 10x faster/better than a status quo coder), because that also confers the recognition of their elite-level compensation. "A 10x'er" is to coders as "unicorn" is to startups-- it carries mythological weight. Wouldn't use the word "user" (as in power user etc) if the person is a coder (because coders make the stuff power users use). Honestly it's either "10x'er" or "a pretty good coder" followed by a list of what startups or projects the person is known for.

[daylen]

True, my list is oriented towards tech literacy. Most people could not tell the difference between someone writing code and someone editing a configuration file, though.

[7Wannabe5]

Interesting. What automagically popped out of my head was the phrase "not a code-head like him." My intended audience is more likely those who enjoyed "Angus, Thongs, and Snogging" than those who enjoyed "Neuromancer", but one of my main characters is an AI.

[Alphaville]

haaahaaahaaaaaa

dont talk about it, just write it, or the energy will leak out of it

[fiby41]

Since you've already did this see if it is of interest to you

The Miami-based startup Papa was formed in 2018 to pair older adults and families with “Papa Pals” for companionship and assistance with everyday tasks. Papa works through insurance carriers such as Medicare, Medicaid and employer benefits.
Papa is already operating in 17 states and will use the new funding to be in all 50 of them by January. The new funding will also be used to add health plans, employees and Papa Pals, people who are licensed and join Papa as gig employees.

[7Wannabe5]

@fiby41:

Thanks, but no thanks. I am completely burnt out on “papa care” and certainly wouldn’t choose to undertake it for “up to $15/hr.!” as gig work. The marketing paints it as playing checkers and arranging flowers, but the odds that you would wind up encountering some very sketchy situations would be quite high.

In the situation with my friend who died, I was more in the position of the middle class, middle aged daughter he never had. I had a credit card and hired other people to come in and do aide tasks such as helping with toileting. It was very difficult to get this help at any price, and almost impossible to hire private licensed nurses, so I was the one who had to administer morphine round the clock.

[7Wannabe5]

I haven't even been tracking my spending this year, so I went over my records and determined that my decades long level of approximately $800/month has not budged. It's kind of interesting that I stick here even when I'm not paying good attention. If this were the case with my diet/caloric intake, there would not exist a backpack filled with nothing but too-good-to-donate-clothes-that-almost-fit-me taking up space in my otherwise minimalized to totally fit in Smart Car collection of belongings

In better news, I have decided that I now have enough dough in my roll, to declare myself semi-officially, very semi-retired for good. IOW, given most minimal calculation of S.S. benefits, I can likely scruff along for the rest of my life only working something like a couple days a week for maybe half of the year. I was shooting for enough savings to afford myself the optionality of paying cash for a house for myself, but now I am going to chip in to buy some up north property with my sisters instead. This will afford me the option of being able to travel more readily, and will also make it seem like less of a waste if I end up mostly shacking up with some old guy in his house, boat, or camper most of the time. I also considered trading my Smart Car in for a Van or RV, but I decided I would rather buy a very good tent and accoutrements. I generally fit the literal definition of "Happy Camper" no matter what, but I feel like at my age I deserve a bit of comfort. I need something 4 Season worthy which won't take up too much room in my micro-mobile. Suggestions welcome. Since all of my other belongings now fit in my Smart Car, I even have the option of easily storing my car with some of my belongings in it in a very small space, if/when I travel by other means.

Of course, if I can manage to get my expenses/spending down below $800/month then I could either save more towards more optionality OR work even less. I think one of my main sticking points is that I have to have something like "a room of my own." So, even when I am basically paying no rent, because inhabiting domain of other, I always end up spending money on some combination of car, office/warehouse-space, vacant lot with decrepit camper parked, or just table rent at coffee shops. If I could find somebody who would not bother me while I am reading, writing, working on projects, or drinking coffee and thinking, with their needs for better dishwasher management, empathetic listening, or companionship on yet another exciting trip to Harbor Freight, then maybe I could save some money in this realm, but I am not holding my breath.

My novel is coming along pretty well even though I switched gears to go "on the lam" on a hiking trip up north for a week. I am so happy to finally be pain-free enough to move around again. The weather was great, the scenery was gorgeous, and the wildlife were abundant (including a rather tame red fox I encountered twice on the trail), but there were also quite obvious indication of climate change effects. The water levels of the lakes are so high, the beaches are disappearing and a last-stop peninsula for migrating birds is practically being split down the middle. In a few more decades, the dumping rains are likely to move even further north, and then the water levels are predicted to recede below normal. In the meanwhile, the nearby agricultural areas seem to be benefiting. Makes for some interesting investment calculations.

[Alphaville]

If I could find somebody who would not bother me while I am reading, writing, working on projects, or drinking coffee and thinking, with their needs for better dishwasher management, empathetic listening, or companionship on yet another exciting trip to Harbor Freight, then maybe I could save some money in this realm, but I am not holding my breath.

with covid confinement/wfh we needed an extra room in our apartment. the solution was pricey noise-cancelling headphones. yes, they’re very pricey as headphones go, but cheap compared to more real estate plus the cost of moving. i guess it’s the achoring cognitive bias at work when you start with “we need a new apartment!”