Laziness

I haven't got so much sleep in months. Usually, I don't need more than 6 hours, which I usually don't get. 5 is the average. (My mother keeps asking whether writing is causing me those troubles. *sighs*)
But here... Incredible. Fell asleep in front of the TV at about 10 p.m., was briefly woken by Janine who declared I'm utterly boring (she's right, of course) and then stumbled into bed at about 10.30, to wake up at 7.15 a.m. Oh, bliss!

Must remember to put on sun screen today. Why do I have to be cursed with hypersensitive skin? All right, I don't have age lines etc., but *everything* shows on that skin. Fortunately, I discovered that I'm allergic to cosmetics containing menthol, although that took me quite some time. And lots of other things, too. 1/2 hour in the sun, and I'm bloody red! Not really burned, though.

Yesterday's thunderstorm was a blessing. The night was much cooler than the previuos ones, although still not cool enough to even think of covering myself with so much as a sheet. Autumn has always been my favourite season, and one of the reasons is that, while still keeping the windows open during the night, you can get the duvet out of its summer prison and pull it up to your chin, snuggle into it...

While having coffee this morning--a short aside: people will give you such strange looks if you turn up for breakfast with a laptop but not clad in a pinstriped suit. It simply doesn't fit into any of their categories--I finished the first part of TSO ch.27. I hope I won't have to throw it away. Not because it's bad (blessed be my arrogance) but because there's that nagging doubt as to whether it's credible. I suppose I'll have to go back by two chapters, re-read them and then re-read ch.27 to answer that question. And leave the rest to the readers.

And an afterthought

This bothers me. To be exact it makes me angry and feeling that I'm inadequate. Why, oh, why is it that books I read, say, three or four years ago (read carefully, attentively etc.etc.) aren't much more than shadows in my memory? I perfectly remember the feelings/emotions/sensations thy caused me while reading them, I remember bits and pieces of plot, characterization etc., but the overall impression is hazy. That irks me to no end. I mean, I can't go and re-read everyting I've read in my life. Besides, I don't want to.

Is there a point to this rant? I doubt it.

Well, to be completely honest, yes, there is. Why can other people quote what they've read and I can't?

Please, help me get rid of excess maturity, I just can't cope with it.

Inane musings about reviewing

The discussion over at WIKTT seems to have died down once again (this morning was the last time I looked).
I'm still wondering. As this is semi-public, I probably shouldn't. Then again, who cares? I just don't understand some authors' and readers' reactions. Impossible to describe the feeling of total absurdity at Ramos's comment about the ongoing altercation concerning Hinge of Fate. This whole business of communicating via the written word without ever seeing each other *is* strange. The lack of immediacy is both jarring and beneficial. What I find so disturbing sometimes is that, if somebody says 'Continue your discussion, but please note that I couldn't care less about your comments', there's no intonation or expression or whatever that might tell you whether the person reacts that way to protect herself or because she really doesn't care. When I read a review of ch.4 (I think) of TSO III that practically implied that the story was turning out to be a Regency Romance (because of Hermione/Nimue at Malfoy Manor) I was completely thrown. But maybe it's worse with a WIP. Maybe, when something's finished, you really don't care that much. Hmm...

What I think would be really interesting is how the authors themselves rate their works. Not rating in the sense of R or NC-17, but in the sense of what *they* think is their best and worst. Probably their own evaluation would be quite different from the readers'.

I just had a look at www.showerscene.net/phoenixawards. It seems that they chickened out--blank page. Understandable reaction. I for one wouldn't want to decide whether Buried Life or The Other Side of Darkness is the better fic. So maybe it's all for the best.