...and I'm totally not joking: I am in the Land of the Egg Salad Sandwich right now. Seriously, NO ONE makes an egg salad sandwich like a Japanese convenience store. You've never had eggs so perfectly cooked, mayo so creamy, or bread so fluffy. And it's from a convenience store, which means when you're drunk and walking home at 3AM, you can stop and get the world's best sandwich!
For those of us used to filthy, horrible, American convenience stores, the Japanese 'Konbini' is like heaven. And those egg salad sandwiches...
Sorry, I promise I'll quit talking about them and give you guys a real post soon :-)
Gonna see YokohamaMama on Tuesday, too!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
A Lovely Egg Salad Sandwich
First, I must tell you about an amazing contest over at Editorial Ass! Moonrat is celebrating the 500,000th blogviewing, by giving away a 20-page critique of your WIP! Go there! Now!
OK, back to my post...
I have this little joke that I make, about an egg salad sandwich. I think it is the height of hilarity, but then I remember that no one really has any idea what I'm talking about or why I'm cracking up. The problem is, it's an inside joke-- one that came about from a real circumstance, got blown up into a joke among friends, and then I forget that not everyone was there. And without the backstory, it just isn't as funny.
(Keep in mind that this may actually be funnier if you were there...)
One day, many years ago, hubby Matt was telling someone about the egg salad sandwich he ate for lunch. It wasn't exciting, it wasn't anything special, and he was as bored talking about it as the other person was listening to him prattle on about egg salad sandwiches. So he stopped. In the middle of the sentence, he just stopped and wondered out loud why the @#)! he was talking about egg salad sandwiches. The other person agreed.
So these days, whenever someone is talking our ears off about THE most boring subject ever, we just say, "I had an egg salad sandwich..." (and sometimes we mention the creamy mayonnaise, or the fluffy bread, or another boring detail)
Hilarious to us, but probably confusing to others.
I do have to congratulate Valerie Geary for getting the joke when I used it to describe my feelings toward most Twitter posts, but for the most part, it confuses people.
Which brings me to my writing-related point: making sure there is nothing in my WIP that is an inside joke.
When you cut and paste and rework and rewrite as much as we all do, a lot of wordy backstory gets edited out. BUT BEWARE! If you cut all that backstory, you may do it at the expense of clarity. This is probably the best reason to use Betas (or at least have other eyes reading your WIP), because they can spot things you can't-- namely, when you've removed a chunk of backstory which has left your character doing something that doesn't make sense. You don't notice it yourself because it is like the egg salad sandwich. You have all the context and backstory in your head, but remember, your reader wasn't there. So drop the inside jokes! Or for crying out loud, at least explain them!
OK, back to my post...
I have this little joke that I make, about an egg salad sandwich. I think it is the height of hilarity, but then I remember that no one really has any idea what I'm talking about or why I'm cracking up. The problem is, it's an inside joke-- one that came about from a real circumstance, got blown up into a joke among friends, and then I forget that not everyone was there. And without the backstory, it just isn't as funny.
(Keep in mind that this may actually be funnier if you were there...)
One day, many years ago, hubby Matt was telling someone about the egg salad sandwich he ate for lunch. It wasn't exciting, it wasn't anything special, and he was as bored talking about it as the other person was listening to him prattle on about egg salad sandwiches. So he stopped. In the middle of the sentence, he just stopped and wondered out loud why the @#)! he was talking about egg salad sandwiches. The other person agreed.
So these days, whenever someone is talking our ears off about THE most boring subject ever, we just say, "I had an egg salad sandwich..." (and sometimes we mention the creamy mayonnaise, or the fluffy bread, or another boring detail)
Hilarious to us, but probably confusing to others.
I do have to congratulate Valerie Geary for getting the joke when I used it to describe my feelings toward most Twitter posts, but for the most part, it confuses people.
Which brings me to my writing-related point: making sure there is nothing in my WIP that is an inside joke.
When you cut and paste and rework and rewrite as much as we all do, a lot of wordy backstory gets edited out. BUT BEWARE! If you cut all that backstory, you may do it at the expense of clarity. This is probably the best reason to use Betas (or at least have other eyes reading your WIP), because they can spot things you can't-- namely, when you've removed a chunk of backstory which has left your character doing something that doesn't make sense. You don't notice it yourself because it is like the egg salad sandwich. You have all the context and backstory in your head, but remember, your reader wasn't there. So drop the inside jokes! Or for crying out loud, at least explain them!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Art that Makes Me Wanna Write a Book!
Yes, it's finally time for another installment of Art that Makes Ann Wanna Write a Book!
It seems to be the only thing I get around to blogging about these days, but I feel some 'real' blog posts coming soon! I am going to be hanging out with YokohamaMama in the land of the rising sun next week, and two sisters+cherry blossom festivals= a good, old-fashioned blog post!
So anyway... This week's art is from Lani Imre, an artist originally from British Columbia, Canada. Her work makes me think 'book covers'. I see so much emotion in the eyes of her painted characters-- it really could fill a book!
And while much of the art I have previously posted is of a specific scene, and I spend time daydreaming about that scene and the story on either side of it... Lani's characters are solitary, lonely, almost existing in a vacuum.
There are no clues about what is happening to them, and yet it makes me yearn to know who they are... and that makes me wanna write a book!
It seems to be the only thing I get around to blogging about these days, but I feel some 'real' blog posts coming soon! I am going to be hanging out with YokohamaMama in the land of the rising sun next week, and two sisters+cherry blossom festivals= a good, old-fashioned blog post!
So anyway... This week's art is from Lani Imre, an artist originally from British Columbia, Canada. Her work makes me think 'book covers'. I see so much emotion in the eyes of her painted characters-- it really could fill a book!
And while much of the art I have previously posted is of a specific scene, and I spend time daydreaming about that scene and the story on either side of it... Lani's characters are solitary, lonely, almost existing in a vacuum.
There are no clues about what is happening to them, and yet it makes me yearn to know who they are... and that makes me wanna write a book!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
No, really! I have an excuse this time!
Seriously! I got a really great commission to do a jewelry piece for a talented celebrity that I love, I had Japanese houseguests for two-and-a-half weeks, and then I got diagnosed with asthma! Yah, see, Matt and I were going on this short bike ride, and when I coughed and wheezed for 8 hours afterwards, I decided it was time to talk to the doctor, and... wait, you're not listening anymore, are you?
Your eyes glazed over after the first excuse? Really? All these years, I thought the excuses were working... turns out you're just thinking about texting your other friend who wants to go out for drinks later.
OK, fine, so I don't really have a good excuse, other than the fact that I am easily distracted at times. It has been a good month since I really focused on my blog, and at least two weeks since I really dug in on my WIP.
I defer to Laini Taylor's great post on this subject. Also my sister's post, which proves that we are eerily identical despite being 3 years (and several thousand miles) apart. Turns out I'm not the only one struggling with keeping my focus, and the fact that I'm not alone in this... thank goodness.
And thank goodness for my inhaler, which will allow me to contemplate a more active lifestyle for the first time in my life. (Notice I said 'contemplate'-- we're not committing to anything here!) Still, it will be nice to be able to actually complete a bike ride!
I just have one question: where can I get an inhaler for writing? You know, so I can finally complete this manuscript?
Your eyes glazed over after the first excuse? Really? All these years, I thought the excuses were working... turns out you're just thinking about texting your other friend who wants to go out for drinks later.
OK, fine, so I don't really have a good excuse, other than the fact that I am easily distracted at times. It has been a good month since I really focused on my blog, and at least two weeks since I really dug in on my WIP.
I defer to Laini Taylor's great post on this subject. Also my sister's post, which proves that we are eerily identical despite being 3 years (and several thousand miles) apart. Turns out I'm not the only one struggling with keeping my focus, and the fact that I'm not alone in this... thank goodness.
And thank goodness for my inhaler, which will allow me to contemplate a more active lifestyle for the first time in my life. (Notice I said 'contemplate'-- we're not committing to anything here!) Still, it will be nice to be able to actually complete a bike ride!
I just have one question: where can I get an inhaler for writing? You know, so I can finally complete this manuscript?
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Art that Makes Me Wanna Write a Book!
Hello again, here is this weekend's installment of 'art that makes me wanna write a book', even though I didn't get it posted on Saturday.... (houseguests. you know how that goes.)
Anyway, today's art is by one of my favorite Japanese artists, Shohei. I've posted his work before, and talked about his famous animator father, and his colorblindness, and I'm still blown away by the fact that he uses only ball-point pen to draw....
Yah. It's sort of shocking to see someone draw like that with a ball-point pen....
Which leads me to one of my favorite pieces by him: "Ping-Pong Geisha"
I love the movement, the playfulness, the details... She's so modern and so traditional all at the same time. I want to know why she wears sunglasses and who put a lock around her waist. I want to know why she plays ping-pong instead of practicing shamisen or dance. I want to know who the person on the other side of the table is. Maybe she is being controlled by a gangster... maybe she is sick of being a geisha and is breaking free.... So many possibilities and story ideas come to mind!
Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Anyway, today's art is by one of my favorite Japanese artists, Shohei. I've posted his work before, and talked about his famous animator father, and his colorblindness, and I'm still blown away by the fact that he uses only ball-point pen to draw....
Yah. It's sort of shocking to see someone draw like that with a ball-point pen....
Which leads me to one of my favorite pieces by him: "Ping-Pong Geisha"
I love the movement, the playfulness, the details... She's so modern and so traditional all at the same time. I want to know why she wears sunglasses and who put a lock around her waist. I want to know why she plays ping-pong instead of practicing shamisen or dance. I want to know who the person on the other side of the table is. Maybe she is being controlled by a gangster... maybe she is sick of being a geisha and is breaking free.... So many possibilities and story ideas come to mind!
Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
And the Winner Is....
Christine Danek!
congrats Christine, the monster is yours! :-)
just email me at annfoxlee(at)gmail(dot)com and let me know your address. I'll get it out in the mail to you next week!
congrats Christine, the monster is yours! :-)
just email me at annfoxlee(at)gmail(dot)com and let me know your address. I'll get it out in the mail to you next week!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Recovering from Olympic Fever/ Saturday Art
Sorry I've been away from my blog for a couple of weeks here... I've been suffering from Olympic fever, and have been rabidly following Johnny Weir's great performances (oh, the politics of judged sports! He was robbed....)
Anywho, now that I'm back, it is time for a contest!! The details will be later in this post :-)
Also, starting with this, I'm only going to be posting one art piece. On a rare occasion I may put up more than one, but I've got to be a bit more measured in posting the art, or I might run out!
This piece is an interesting one for several reasons. First, it is a collaborative piece. Naoshi (an artist from Japan) did her work first, and then Martin Ontiveros (a Portland Artist) finished with his painting of the monster. Second, while Martin's part is painted, all the rest of the piece-- the cake-head girl, the background-- is done in colored sand. YEP! Colored sand. It is an old Japanese technique called Suna-e, and if you go to Naoshi's website, she has drawn out a tutorial on how it is done. It makes it seem easy, but really, all those perfect little lines...hard!!!
I love that the piece, being made of sand, is so sparkly that you kind of want to eat it. And I am amazed that Martin could paint his monster so perfectly over the sand, and somehow keep it sparkly too.
Each time I look at the poor cake-headed girl being tickled under the chin by that colorful monster, It seems like the middle of a children's book to me. Kind of like the spot where Red Riding Hood realizes that the wolf is in grandma's clothes.
It is a dangerous scene, where she just might be eaten!
So now, on to the contest!
CONTEST RULES:
After the contest is closed, I will use the Randomizer thingy online, pick a winner, and post it by 9AM!
Good Luck to all!
Anywho, now that I'm back, it is time for a contest!! The details will be later in this post :-)
Also, starting with this, I'm only going to be posting one art piece. On a rare occasion I may put up more than one, but I've got to be a bit more measured in posting the art, or I might run out!
This piece is an interesting one for several reasons. First, it is a collaborative piece. Naoshi (an artist from Japan) did her work first, and then Martin Ontiveros (a Portland Artist) finished with his painting of the monster. Second, while Martin's part is painted, all the rest of the piece-- the cake-head girl, the background-- is done in colored sand. YEP! Colored sand. It is an old Japanese technique called Suna-e, and if you go to Naoshi's website, she has drawn out a tutorial on how it is done. It makes it seem easy, but really, all those perfect little lines...hard!!!
I love that the piece, being made of sand, is so sparkly that you kind of want to eat it. And I am amazed that Martin could paint his monster so perfectly over the sand, and somehow keep it sparkly too.
Each time I look at the poor cake-headed girl being tickled under the chin by that colorful monster, It seems like the middle of a children's book to me. Kind of like the spot where Red Riding Hood realizes that the wolf is in grandma's clothes.
It is a dangerous scene, where she just might be eaten!
So now, on to the contest!
CONTEST RULES:
1. contest begins now and ends 8AM Pacific, next Saturday.
2. to enter, you have to add a comment on this post.
3. adding a comment on this post= 1 entry
4. being or becoming one of my followers= 2 more entries
5. mentioning and posting a link to this contest on your blog= 3 more entries
6.getting someone else to comment that they followed your link here= 4 more entries for you, 2 more for them
3. adding a comment on this post= 1 entry
4. being or becoming one of my followers= 2 more entries
5. mentioning and posting a link to this contest on your blog= 3 more entries
6.getting someone else to comment that they followed your link here= 4 more entries for you, 2 more for them
After the contest is closed, I will use the Randomizer thingy online, pick a winner, and post it by 9AM!
Good Luck to all!
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