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Remembering 9/11/2001
It’s been two months now since I started my blog, but rather than talk about what I’ve managed to get accomplished in the past month, I thought it important to do something else.
Remember 9/11/2001.
We all know where we were on that tragic and senseless day; we all remember seeing the Twin Towers burn, the Pentagon get hit (but not critically), and remember the drama, heroism and self-sacrifice of the firemen and rescue personnel who flooded the New York city area afterward.
It’s now been nine years since that historic day, and yet, what have we learned as a nation?
We’ve learned that even the worst of tragedies can be exploited for political gain.
We’ve learned that crazy lunatics who call themselves “pastors” or “ministers” want to burn the holy books of other religions in order to somehow strike back at the terrorists who caused the Twin Towers to burn and fall.
And we’ve learned that the mainstream media will exploit even the craziest of idiots one way or another, while the diplomats and soldiers scramble to contain the damage the idiots can’t help but cause in their wake.
Somehow, I do not believe this is what anyone had hoped we’d be thinking about, nine years after the worst terrorist-caused disaster to ever hit the United States of America — and it’s sad, and beyond frustrating, that this is so.
The Terry Joneses of this world, who claim to be doing holy work, seem to be much more interested in the press clippings they amass rather than saving people’s souls or bringing anyone closer to the enlightenment of the Deity. That at least two other Americans have vowed to also burn the Koran, the holy book of the Muslim faith, on 9/11/2010 goes beyond shame, beyond any sense of retribution for what happened on 9/11/2001 — instead it appears to me to be all about the publicity, all about the fame, of those who would burn the Koran for gain.
Our soldiers overseas will have problems due to this — they are already having problems, from what Afghanistan Commanding General David Petraeus has said. And our State Department, which heads up our diplomatic branch, can only do so much to contain the outcry around the world — which is sad, considering we’re talking a very few crazy idiots who believe burning a holy work is a good idea.
But out of something this bad, this shocking, can come a slight silver lining. This week I heard representatives from both parties condemn this action in advance. President Barack Obama said that burning a Koran is a “recruitment bonanza for Al-Qaeda,” and conservative commentator and former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin said that burning the Koran is a horrible idea; that it’s unAmerican. They are both right.
Diplomacy is the art of the possible. Yet the Terry Jones of this world make it closer to impossible; what a shame, and a complete and colossal waste, that Terry Jones and these others must grandstand on such a day of mourning for the world. Because it undercuts the sacrifice of those who died on 9/11/2001 when others must grandstand for shock value — and it makes the United States of America look like a bunch of unschooled, uncivilized morons.
At any rate, remember 9/11/2001. Remember the sacrifice of our brave men and women who died that day, and the self-sacrifice of the rescue personnel who flooded the New York city area, and the national outcry of mourning. And do your best to ignore the idiots, while saying a fervent prayer that the yahoos who’d rather burn the Koran to make whatever statement they feel they’re making do not end up getting a bunch of innocent soldiers, diplomats, and civilians killed.
My blog’s one-month observance, 8/11/2010.
As of tomorrow, 8/11/2010, I’ll have had this blog for one full month now. So as Dan Patrick often says on his radio show, “What have we learned?”
So far, I’ve learned that there really are people interested in reading what I have to say on a variety of subjects — imagine that! And I’ve realized that even with my limited resumé to date with regards to fiction writing, I have something to offer those who haven’t been writing as long — namely, the voice of experience. (Though in small letters, not caps. Calling me “the Voice of Experience” makes me feel old.)
So far, I’ve done my best to frame the narrative, express my opinions on various subjects, and discuss my book, ELFY. (Thus the name for the blog site, “Elfyverse.”) I’ve also discussed publishing, e-books, writing, a few sports figures, persistence, oddities in commercials, and not to be outdone, I discussed the whole issue of how LeBron James attempted to frame his narrative — but failed — after his disastrous ESPN “The Decision” special.
Not too bad for one month’s work, eh? (What a shame I’m not getting paid for it. Then again, it does serve to keep me occupied and reasonably amused, so it has that much going for it.)
As for the state of the Elfyverse, I’ve completed two more chapters during the past four weeks for AN ELFY ABROAD, two more for KEISHA’S VOW (ELFY prequel set in 1954), and have completely looked over ELFY. I now have the option of figuring out where ELFY may best be split to perhaps interest a few publishers (ELFY is 240,000 words long, which is very long for a first-time novelist. Yes, Susanna Clarke got away with it in her novel JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR. NORRELL, but she had already sold at least one story in her alternate history prior to selling her novel, and the publisher knew it would have audience appeal and the backing of many critics. Or at least was willing to bet on the latter while hoping for the former. I have no such backers for ELFY, just my own will and strength, and of course the words and faith of my late husband Michael which must never be discounted or ignored.) — at any rate, such is the state of the Elfyverse at this time. More updates as they become available.
But be sure to stay tuned. ‘Cause I’m just getting started.
Barb Caffrey, who writes the Elfyverse — and anything else she pleases.
Persistence Pays Off — How Writing Compares to Brewers Pitcher Chris Capuano
Talking about persistence — the refusal to give up and give in — may seem like an odd topic for a writer’s blog. Especially when compared to Milwaukee Brewers left-handed pitcher Chris Capuano’s personal experiences — that is, if you don’t know anything about Capuano, who came back from a second “Tommy John” ligament replacement surgery on his pitching arm and fought his way up to the major league level earlier this year.
But the two things have more in common than it might appear at first, because we writers need to refuse to give in to the small voice inside us that says, “You’ll never sell another thing. No one will ever read what you’re writing, so why bother?” And Chris Capuano needed to say to his small voice, “You know what? I don’t care how long I’ve been injured. I don’t care what you, small voice, are saying, because you are wrong — I’ll make it back to the big leagues, and I will win.”
Tonight Chris Capuano won for the first time in three-plus years. He did it because he overcame adversity and made his way back to the bigs, and then by refusing to give up on himself as he was only given one start back in June, then placed in the bullpen, seemingly to languish. But Capuano didn’t take no for an answer — in fact, he seemed pleased to be back in the majors, and was not worried by the length of time his comeback was taking.
We all could learn a great lesson from Chris Capuano. And that lesson is, persistence pays off. We just need to keep trying, because if we can just keep working away at our writing, slowly but surely, and trust enough in ourselves to know that it will matter in the end.
Here’s the story of tonight’s win:
And here’s a relevant (albeit lengthy) quote from that article, including some words from the hero of the day, Chris Capuano:
Starting in place of the injured Doug Davis, Capuano (1-1) notched his first win in the big leagues since he beat the Nationals at Miller Park on May 7, 2007. He would spend all of 2008 and 2009 recovering from his second career Tommy John surgery, a grueling elbow procedure from which some pitchers never return.
But there he was in the box score with a “W” next to his name for the first time since Ned Yost was the Brewers’ manager and Monday’s catcher, Jonathan Lucroy, was a Draft hopeful at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. Now 31 and married to his college sweetheart, Sarah, who was in the seats Monday night, Capuano allowed three hits over five innings. He struck out four and issued one walk, which led to Pittsburgh’s lone run.
“The winning and losing part of it becomes a lot less important when you’re faced with, ‘Am I going to be able to play again?'” Capuano said. “Going through a time like that, where you’re not sure if you’re going to be able to make it back, it really puts the bad stuff in perspective.
“So, coming into this year, I wasn’t really thinking about [the winless drought]. But tonight, pitching in the game and then coming out [to] watch the rest of the game, I surprised myself how much I was aware of it, how anxious I felt. And how good it felt for the team to get that win.”
We, as writers, need to believe in ourselves. And remember that no matter how long it takes, the only one who can take you out of the game is you.
Believe in yourself. Be like Chris Capuano. And live to write another day.
My first post — about me. (aka “Why this blog, and why now?”)
Hello, strange new world and all the creatures in it.
I’d never set out to write this blog. It seemed rather hubristic, to my mind; maybe I’m crazy, but a writer with only five published fiction/poetry credits doesn’t seem to be one worthy of following, if you catch my drift. And even if you add in all the non-fiction stuff I did for my college newspapers, the op-eds and the arts and entertainment articles, not to mention the occasional sports or general purpose article . . . well, it still doesn’t a professional writer make, if you understand my tangled syntax.
I trained in music, but I always wrote. I’ve been writing since at least the age of nine or so, and I’ve always enjoyed it. Mostly I wrote science fiction or fantasy, too, as that’s what I’ve most enjoyed reading over the years . . . at any rate, that’s what I’m still writing and no doubt will be writing until Hell freezes over.
So, I’m a writer, I’ve been an editor for the Written Word (an online magazine, now either defunct or on hiatus, depending on how upbeat I’m feeling today) and Masterpiece Comics, and I’ve run the online writing community Barfly_Slush (a Yahoo Group) for seven years. I also am an active participant at the Forward Motion Writers group (www.fmwriters.com), and have been for (you guessed it) seven years.
As for me, personally? You could call me the “living half of a husband-wife writer team,” as I’ve done my best to keep my late husband Michael’s writing alive as well as my own. Or you could call me “outrageously persistent,” “seriously, dementedly persistent,” or if you’re not into unusual and unnecessary adjectives, the word “persistent” will probably do well enough for most practical purposes.
As an example chosen not necessarily at random — my novel, ELFY, was completed in 2003, edited in ’03 and ’04, then . . . the worst happened. My husband Michael passed away suddenly, and my world collapsed.
Luckily, I still had his work, and mine, left behind, which helped me to focus. I kept writing, if not always submitting; I got the job at Masterpiece Comics in ’05 (a limited, part-time gig, but it helped me learn how to edit with dispatch), sold a story in ’05 (one of Michael’s I helped to finish), sold a poem in ’06, sold another story in ’07 (one Michael and I had completed together before his passing), then picked up the editing gig at the Written Word after all of this, in late ’07. And then, after a long drought (where I was submitting and writing, but not garnering much except a few “we like your writing, Barb, but we don’t care for this overmuch” comments — those are good, but don’t put bread on the table), I sold another poem in late ’09.
I’ve done my best to make adversity into something that’ll work for me — as I lost my part-time job in 2009, and haven’t been able to find one since (though I have been looking!), I have re-entered the world of submitting ELFY to agents, while making good progress on AN ELFY ABROAD (direct sequel to ELFY) and KEISHA’S VOW (ELFY prequel set in 1954), all in between scouring newspapers and the Web for job postings.
You might be asking, “So, Barb, how does this all relate to this new blog?” I’m getting there — really.
What I’ve found in the past year or so is that agents seem to really be interested in authors, even mostly-unknown ones, having blogs.
I don’t know why this is — you’d think there’s more than enough verbiage cluttering up the Web as it is, without having even more of it — but I suppose it has to do with agents wanting to see a new author behave and act in as close to professional of a manner as is possible to devise. (If not, it’s just another hoop to jump through. And now that I’ve done so, let the laughter commence.)
At any rate — I write. I edit. I comment. And I am a keen observer of the world and all the creatures in it, around it, and perhaps surrounding it — or at least those I might wish could surround it — which is why this blog, and why now.
Barb Caffrey, who writes the Elfyverse (and all points in between)
Barb Caffrey's Blog 