OTOH, I like what I’m doing. That part feels good. It’s just that there are sooooooooooooo many things to track so the reader won’t have to wonder that I am on serious overload.
I did a reading for Jane last night and her comments were immensely helpful. I spent the day fixing what she said and feel really good about it.
But it means that my brain is marshmallow at the moment, and I am not going to be worth much intellectual. Nope. No brain left.
Erm, if you have no brain left, its really not that big a problem, you CAN get by on the right one!
*ducking and running*
My job leaves my brain fried too –typing, reading, editing and correcting medical reports. I find that a comfy chair, something easy to knit and some nice music helps.
((Marshmallow + chocolate + graham_cracker) = smores) or ((marshmallow_creme + peanutbutter +graham cracker) = ‘unknown_named_treat’)
Either way, the end result is good.
Of course, I don’t know if you have to write in order to eat, but how about taking six months off to recharge and recuperate? We don’t want you to wind up like the Japanese office worker who works himself to death.
thinking and brains.. are highly over-rated… know this from much personal experience. our culture is soooo NOT molded toward the intelligent, informed or gifted… and forget about the truly gifted/ genius- they are the most neglected and abused of all demographics. the suicide rate of gifted kids is higher than the gay students/ kids. It peaks around age 15. That statistic alone drives home 1- just what our culture thinks of our best and brightest, and 2- how totally Fk’d the educational system is. sidenote- the A students ARE NEVER the truly gifted- they are just obsessed with the right-answer game…
so yeah.. let those neurons rest a bit… i’d make suggestions re adaptogens and holistic support.. but know this is not the receptive audience for it:)
horsewisevt: I’m curious about how you define ‘gifted’. I grew up with and interacted with, and was perhaps a teeny bit like those kids who were SO interested in a topic (like zoology) that they studied all on their own way above their grade level and didn’t really have to work to absorb new knowedge in the field. It had absolutely nothing at all to do with being ‘obsessed with the right-answer game’.
re: ‘adaptogens and holistic support’ – I think a lot of us consult naturopaths to deal with our physiological quirks when the allopathic world doesn’t meet our needs.
haika- I can send you some links that discuss the nature of giftedness.. not sure if posting external links is appropriate, esp not without permission. shoot me an email or find me on twitter ( same handle).
giftedness can be slippery to identify, esp as the very first and most powerful lesson many gifted kids learn.. is how to be a chameleon and blend in with the crowd. not to stand out, particularly the younger ones. I suspect this is what creates some of the dire rebellions later on.. how long can a person suppress the essence of who they are, without it costing a vital piece of their soul?
so re figuring out if someone is gifted.. can be a combination of factors.. it sounds like you are wondering if you fit into this niche… which might explain a lot of about your personal experiences? like.. oooh… that’s why ( fill in the blank:)… and oh yeah… that WAS me… — since based on your above comments.. you are harbouring this suspicion…
and why do they call it gifted anyway… bc.. it’s no gift- trust me:)
I don’t care if I personally have any ‘gifts’….at this point it’s not particularly important. I continue to learn new things on a daily basis, and have obsessive interests and keep up with new knowledge about those critters which interest me the most. I was responding to your comments from the perspective of someone who works with children who love animals on a regular basis since we do it here at work as an outreach activity. The love of learning/SELF-motivated study is an awesome thing. And yeah….I have a Secondary Teaching Credential (biology/oceanography) but never used it as I was offered a research position instead. I got bored with teaching in graduate school, although I’m good at it….teaching the same subject matter every quarter….boring.
hi Nest,
The gifted kids are FAR more likely, statistically proven, to be drop outs, drug addicts or dead.. than an A student. These are not my numbers. I coasted through, under the wire, but never loved school and never fit in.
this is because the truly gifted are wired differently. period. this is proven. They arent motivated by what is right or wrong. They aren’t motivated by finding out if they *can.*.. for them, it is about *want*. Are they interested, connected in some way. When they are- they will get a PHD level of information on whatever that is. Chances are real good though, that it ISN’t what the teacher wants. And further, when it does happen, teachers are often unconsciously very threatened by this level that surpasses their own parameters by light years. My teenage nephews case in point- have long since learned to completely shut up, even when they KNOW their teacher is completely incorrect. I asked them why they didn’t politely ask and supply information. They said if they did they would get sent out of class for being rude ( my wording).
Anyway- this really isn’t the forum for this discussion. I wasn’t speaking from an uniformed position on this though. and my BIG soap box is that teachers are NOT the best and brightest, and that by nature- sets the parameters for every student in the room. period. For a gifted kid, it is like sitting in a room where they are all speaking in a foreign language, or being forced to sit in a right-sided chair as a lefty. this all tracks back to Renzulli’s work on gifted kids, that keeping them in the classroom raised the scores of the rest of the room- BUT, he NEVER advocated keeping them in the mainstream full time. Schools took the political route of ooh raised test scores. so a gifted kid gets done early, he gets to help the other kids. HOW is that teaching the gifted kid to the fullest of HIS needs? and we wonder why our country is in such a mess? we are teaching to a mediocrity and culling the herd of all the innovative thinkers who might find a way out of the quagmire…
oky- done here for now. didn’t mean to go off on a tangent. but I also didn’t want to not address the response, either:)
If we don’t write, we don’t eat OR have a house to live in. And since the crazy book market halved our income some years back, it does get interesting from time to time. My mistake cut our extant annual income seriously this year, right when we had bills, and we won’t get that back, so I get up at five, work til I drop, and do it again tomorrow: only way to catch up. There really are no vacations, nor have been for years. If you know anybody who’d like this site who doesn’t know about our e-books, do let them know we’re here. Sigh.
have been chatting with another author-friend of mine.. about the whole book-author dilemma.
building following- but mostly.. especially with Ebooks.. the trick is going to be offering value-added, that they wouldn’t or couldn’t get from barnes and noble or amazon.
ebooks with the “directors” cut versions of added info. readers love that stuff.. especially the sci-fi readers. I loved hearing the interviews and commentaries of battlestar galactica almost as much as watching the episodes.
inserting additional graphics, author notes, maps or character histories. and- it is something they can only get HERE… this is assuming that an author has rights reverted back to them. if not, then maybe short stories, new, set within that world/frame.. that do retain ownership.
the trick re current marketing trends is building following, which is where FB twitter, linked in serve very well… then it serves as the megaphone. new fortress story out, with special author features available only at:… and bring them back to the mothership:)
Nothing against homeopathic or other than Western medical know-how here. 🙂 if it works, it works for a reason.
And… Being one of the geeky, brainy kids, when I was in school, I’m very much in favor of them. — I had not seen stats saying that gifted kids face higher rates of depression, suicide, bullying, and the like. If so, and if that’s higher than the terribly appalling situation faced by LGBT or perceived LGBT youth…words fail me. Horsewisevt, your input here is valued, appreciated. — And…I know from personal experience what it’s like to face the pervasive negatives faced by gay, gay-friendly, perceived, or questioning youth. It can do lasting damage. At least there are people giving supportive messages now, in ways that can reach at-risk youth. You know, I’m thankful some of those are in science fiction books and shows. Hopping down from my soapbox for now. 🙂 but with the caution that I wish my school-age self could have understood more fully the *positive* messages, or the whole truth of his own feelings, and not just what appeared to be or was said to be.
The writing, design, and publishing fields just have to improve. People still want and need to read, to be entertained and find something to think about, and to see a well designed work of arts and craftsmanship while doing it. For anyone fearing the loss of that urge to literacy, I’d point out that there are huge numbers of amateur, talented writers and artist on the web, and opinions requiring literacy to say them. There’s a lot of baloney, but some bright gems too.
Besides, I want to be gainfully employed too. I also want to keep up with skills.
BCS- just a very warm thank you.. your response was very sweet:)
and a short note.. I wasn’t signing out… running away, whinging.. just that since this is what I do, professionally… that this isnt the forum for it.. and I forgot one of the cardinal rules… “did they ask?”- very simple. if someone doesn’t ask… then it isn’t my place/ someone’s place.. to push/ press/offer…:)
You’re welcome, horsewisevt. Glad to understand now what you meant. 🙂