Lynne Simpson

If I had some kinda fancy science fiction-y device that’d bring great men back from the dead, I think this guy would be the first on my list:

For twelve years this Nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing Government. The Nation looked to Government but the Government looked away. Nine mocking years with the golden calf and three long years of the scourge! Nine crazy years at the ticker and three long years in the breadlines! Nine mad years of mirage and three long years of despair! Powerful influences strive today to restore that kind of government with its doctrine that that Government is best which is most indifferent.

For nearly four years you have had an Administration which instead of twirling its thumbs has rolled up its sleeves. We will keep our sleeves rolled up.

We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace — business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.

They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.

Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me — and I welcome their hatred.

– Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 31 October 1936

I’m not going to turn my personal blog into some kind of political rant-a-thon, but refraining from posting about something that has me SERIOUSLY worried would be, well, lying. If it pisses people off, so be it. This may well be the most important election of our lives, and I’m willing to risk ruffling a few feathers.

I mean, hell, it’s not like I don’t already have enemies. :-) Talking about politics is going to make that worse, uhh, how?

For anyone who’s heard the bullshit rumors that your taxes will double or triple under Barack Obama’s tax plan, try out the handy Obama Tax Cut Calculator. Also, the Washington Post has a side-by-side comparison of the Obama and McCain plans.

Polar Bears For Obama!

I think Joe Klein’s article on community organizers is well worth reading. Guiliani’s and Palin’s sneers at community organizers were tacky, mean, and downright STUPID. Any remaining shred of respect I had for John McCain was utterly destroyed by his disastrous choice for running mate or, as he called her, his “soulmate.” Oy.

I can think of half a dozen more qualified Republican women he could’ve picked. I still wouldn’t have voted for him, but that last little smidgen of respect would’ve hung on.

This year, I’ve been having a lot of “Doh!” moments. One of them was realizing that the alchemical correspondences in my fantasy series had a HUGE flaw in the way I’d aligned the elements of Air and Spirit. I’ve had to rearrange the order of the books, which meant putting a story that’s only a detailed outline in the second slot and moving a much closer to done book to the end of the series. Ouch.

But hey, I do have some time to get book #2 finished, and when I’m on a roll like I am now, things cook right along. I’m not worried. Mostly, I’m amused that I REFUSED to see this mismatch for so long. It was more convenient to put a closer-to-baked book right after the first one, so I just kept plugging away, vaguely aware all along that something wasn’t right.

I had another “Doh!” — probably also “Duh!” — moment this week. I’ve realized that I work much better with fixed, limited writing time. If I tell myself I’m going to write for, say, two hours on weekdays and four hours on Saturday and Sunday, then all I have to do is fulfill my commitment to myself, and after that, I am free to do whatever I want, including absolutely NOTHING. When I don’t set myself hours goals, I tend to feel bad about any so-called free time I don’t spend writing. What kind of life is that? :-)

I’ve tried setting page count goals, but for some reason, that doesn’t work as well for me. Picking a window of time during which I will write about *something* is typically enough to do the trick. Most of the time, I’ll end up meeting or even exceeding whatever page count goals I would’ve set, anyway. And then when I’m done, I can go watch History International or read a magazine or whatever — and not feel bad at all. :-)

Of the decade, even. While reading an excellent article on why a writer needs an agent, I ran across this quote:

Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.

Ain’t THAT the truth. I could come up with enough examples from both my careers to fill a hundred blog posts. But I won’t. :-)