Vacation

We’ll be out for North Karelia early the day after tomorrow. There, beyond a very long drive, lies a little lake. Over the rounded cliff on the lake’s eastern edge one finds two small raw timber cottages. There lies my newest Paradise on Earth (also known as my in-law’s family summer cottage).

From previous experience I know that wifi or 3G (no hope of 4G) or even mobile phone calls seldom work out there. It’s very remote and the nearest link tower is blocked by the rough terrain. There’s also some ore in the soil there, as even radio channels tend to get a little choppy.

Personally, I’m from the very west of Finland which is very even and in places also rather treeless. The western Finns made their forests into permanent fields when the eastern Finns used a burn-farm-leave -tactic. In the west, there are less lakes or hills but the river valleys provide better soil than the rocky eastern territories. In the ancient times, the farming strategies made sense. In the modern time, they ensure that it looks like a different country going from eat to west or west to east.

The East is lake territory. There are also the worn down roots of an ancient mountain range, worn to it’s last by the last Ice Age. This means there is a lot of hills, cliffs, boulders and rubble. All the lakes tend to take the same direction, north-west to south-east, also due to the movements of ice some 25k+ years ago. All the hills go like that too, in little strings. This picture is one very very good example, although replace hills with island.

From Ukko-Koli, a view that has inspired many famous Finnish painters. Photo from personal archives.

Also due to the farming tactic mentioned earlier there is a lot more and a lot older forest there than elsewhere in Finland. I wish I’d had the sense of getting a pair of good rubber boots there so I could go wander around in the woods and not worry about snakes (or pits I could get stuck into or thorny bushes or old Russian bombshells or whatever else I could stumble upon, because rubber boots can take it all, for reals). Maybe I will this year.

I don’t know if there’s really any chance of any bombshells there, but whoever knows? All kinds of crazy things happen during wars.

Also this year my parents will be visiting us there, so I guess I’ll be playing the hostess. Funny being a hostess to your own mother somewhere. I mean, when they came to my apartment they started doing the dishes and vacuuming (which I had already done, thank you very much). I doubt they’d do that there, or anything similar as I don’t think there’s a vacuum cleaner there. Surely not?

(My husband’s grandparents are hoarders or something very close. There’s tons of crap at the cottage no one dares to throw away before they pass away. I counted four coffee makers the last time we were there, and you wouldn’t want to use one of them.)

Now, just so you understand, this post has absolutely no other point than for me to inform you that for the next two weeks updates are unlikely and only remotely within any realm of possibility. I’ll be writing something while there, undoubtedly, to be published later.

That is, if I’ll have the time from all the relaxing, drinking and bathing in the sauna.

On Critique

I happened to notice yesterday that my fanfic (as mentioned before) has been added to a community. This particular community seems to be a listing by one user. Apparently, the sole purpose of this list is that the person adding to it thinks that the stories added are rubbish. I quote:

Stories gathered that appear to be Mary Sue, Fallen Into M.E., Poorly written or things along that nature. I wanted to group them because I would never read them. Is your fiction here?
I am a writer irl and I get a lot of help in my writing. People feel their writing is flawless and after churning out just a few hours or work it is epic. So they whine to me it does not belong here instead of using this chance to grow as a writing and fix it. I admit I’m not the best writer. Can you?

From the second sentence of that quote I come to the assumption that they’ve not actually read any of the stories they add.

They say they get a lot of help on their writing from others, but I cannot remember ever receiving a constructive critique from the user that added my story to this group. Probably because she has not read the actual story. They are willing to judge without reading what they judge, and everyone questioning the reason for them being on this list are labeled as whiners.

I wonder why this person won’t take the time to actually read and and give critique to those they add to their little hate-list (little is used liberally, there are over 500 stories in the community). Perhaps judging a tale by a summary is easier than actually taking the time of reading the first couple chapters and finding out if the story is worth reading or not. I don’t particularly like some stories but then I just stop reading and move on. There’s something for everyone, someone else might enjoy a story I don’t care about.

I do not presume to call myself a writer. I do write, and I would cite writing as a hobby. I cannot support myself by writing alone and it is not my profession – though I sure hope it would be. I can admit I am not the best writer (those are some enormous boots to fill), but then, one would have to be very conceited to think they were.

I am also the first to admit that the story is nothing particularly astounding. It is a very basic romance, but that is all I wanted it to be. Sure, there is a lot I should change (and maybe some day I’ll get to it, but the story needs to cool down a bit first) and a lot to expand on, but all in all, it’s better than many other stories out there. First of all, for a non-native speaker I think my text is written in good grammar and vocabulary. I have tried to weed out every typo I could find, and there really isn’t a writer alive who wouldn’t occasionally typo something. The story is sound, sure there are clichés, but who can avoid clichés when writing a romance?

I do not see my main character as a Mary Sue. She might not be the most in-depth heroine ever, but for the purposes of the story she is perfect. She grows through the tale. She is not perfect, which is one of the key traits of Mary Sue-ness. She most certainly is not me – hey, I would certainly roll in the hay with Éomer, were he not a fictional character – and I would not want to be her. I must remember to write a post about Mary Sues in the future.

This is an excerpt from their profile. This particular profile hasn’t published any stories so I assumed it’s only for the sole purpose of providing silly “criticism”.

It’s really hard to write and I find it funny so many people get defensive thinking their writing is so amazing and try to defend it with bad writing, unrealistic facts or situations, the same thing written in another light(over and over), over angst, fluffs, Mary Sues, falling into the plot by a magic portal and so on. Instead learn why it is not liked and make it better or you’re really not writing for anybody but you. If that is the case why are you posting it on the internet? If it is just because you like it and you’re not going to learn how to write or make that story better then put it on pen and paper and read to yourself. People here are always going to have an opinion and they will voice it. It is really up to the person if they will work and grow for their writing or if they will whine why people do not like it.

I have read some fantastic girl-falls-into-Middle-Earth -stories in my time. Apparently, just because of one major plot device the whole story is poorly written and should never see the light of day. It seems to me that this particular person needs to lighten up. Fiction shouldn’t be taken so seriously, especially when the site is named FANfiction. One doesn’t need to be a Literary Nobel laureate to write a fanfic. Just a very patient person with a basic grasp of grammar and lots of free time.

(And apparently the skin of an elephant.)

Allow me to explain: Not so very long ago I had a conversation with another writer. She does dabble with romance novels and they are published. Feel free to roll your eyes if you will when I say romance novels. However she is a great writer with her research in two ways. One she would search dictionaries and the net for her perfect words so you are not reading the same words over and over and to find words that stick with you; that are stuck in your mind. Two she throws herself into that real life situation (easily being she writes mostly modern). […]

I mention this to explain how engrossed you must be in research to make it real to your readers. Nobody expects anybody here to be published. If a writer expects everybody to love their writing when they have not even taken the time to research their topics they will only have an audience that is as much the novice as they are. Keep in mind you are publishing on the internet which is public and if you cannot suffer the slings and arrows tossed at you then you would never be a writer. Choices are to do something and do it well are entirely up to each person but do not expect respect for something you did not put research or effort.

Engrossed in research? You say this when you add stories to your little list without even reading them?

I did my research. I read the entire History of Middle-Earth series (which I bought specifically for research, might I add), studied maps (The Atlas of Middle-Earth <3), re-read the books, underlined paragraphs, took notes… I hope one can see that I didn’t take the easiest route if one takes the time to read a chapter or two. Oh wait.

I wasn’t that upset after I first noticed the community and read the manager’s profile. But today at word the absurdity just started to peeve me. I mean, I’m basically told two years of work is garbage because I cannot write a good summary. I cannot answer to this critique-less criticism because then I’m a whiner who should grow as a person and learn to see I’m not as good as I think I am. (BTW, then I would have to be pretty crappy, I don’t think that highly of myself…)

I cannot deny that I have room for improvement. But I don’t need to be told that by a person who sits on a horse so high they can’t see down. If you want to criticize others you will have to offer some insight as to where you’re yourself at. I would love to read a sample of this person’s own writing, but alas I’m not offered the chance.

Well, I think that’s all I can say about the subject. I know the addition of my story to the community is baseless (by the criterion set by the manager themselves), but I’m not going to try and do anything about it. It isn’t deserving of my attention past this post.

Basically, I wrote all this to rail at a perceived injustice. Anyone is free to judge my story for themselves. I have and I am aware of its faults.

Game of Thrones

I bet most have already watched the latest episode. If you haven’t, and you’re going to eventually, stop reading here. There will be spoilers. Now that you’ve been forewarned, I’ll get on with this.

I read an article just now on Vanity Fair (there’s spoilers there too, you curious you / it was on my facebook feed) about Hodor and G.R.R. Martin’s (speculated) plans about how the particular plot point goes down in text.

I won’t touch on the article all that much, but there was a point I disagreed with so strongly I really had to pick up the point.

The writer, Joanna Robinson, feels that there’s little Martin can do to surpass the emotional strength of the scene. I quote:

There will be no emotional music, no rapid cuts back and forth. And there’s no way anyone who has seen the show will be able to read Martin’s version without seeing the interplay between Kristian Nairn (old Hodor) and Sam Coleman (young Hodor) in their minds.

A good writer and a great writer can be separated by their ability to control the emotional involvement of the reader; by being able to make the reader feel strongly, to sympathize with the character. I have every faith in Martin’s ability to execute his version of the events in a way that will have me to tears. I definitely do not need emotional music or rapid cuts to get me into the mood.

The TV version made me sad and horrified (towards the whole chain of interconnected events) but I did not cry. It may be that my Finnish psyche is that bit different from the American type that the way the scene was handled didn’t trigger in me the same emotional response. I didn’t particularly enjoy the cut (do not be so hasty), but in purely logical level everything made clear sense.

In general, I haven’t been very satisfied with how the show has handled the whole series. I dislike the character renames and I’m totally not happy with plot changes, especially on such major things as the whole Dorne substory. I was unhappy already when they changed Jeyne Westerling into some foreign nobody. I didn’t particularly enjoy how Loras and Margaery have been portrayed, even when I’m very satisfied with the actor choices. I would have been happier had Renly’s and Loras’ relationship been as implied as it is in the books. (And I really do not need to see all those boobs unless relevant to the story – mostly they haven’t been.)

The logical side of me understands that TV is totally different as a medium as written text. I just feel that much more could have been done to keep the story closer to the original. Being original and doing something new is important, yes, but if you’re going to do a TV show about an excellent book, keep to the point. The writer of the book knew what they were doing. Seriously. (I’m experiencing here the same issues I have with Lord of the Rings books and movies.)

I also feel that had the show producers had the inclination they could have slowed down a bit and incorporated some more details from the books to give Martin time to finish his work first. The two previous seasons have felt a bit rushed and this ongoing season has experienced some issues of that kind as well. Also the unconfirmed information that the last two seasons will be only a few episodes in length has left me grave doubts about how things’ll be handled.

I personally feel that the show could easily have at least four more seasons had the things been done the ‘proper’ way.

I think this about sums up how I feel about the particular subject. Don’t get me wrong though, it is an absolutely fantastic TV show compared to many others. There’s just no way it could surpass the books.

 

 

Springtime Blues

I’m not a spring person.

I don’t mind the winter, even though the Finnish winter is very long and very dark. But when the winter starts to draw to an end I’d just want to skip the next step, be done with ice and snow and cloudy weather. Snap my fingers one morning and get a sunny sky and warm weather.

Of course it will never work like that and I have to live with melting snow revealing all sorts of gross things hidden underneath until grass starts to grow and hides it again.

Nature is starting to get all creative, but all my creativity goes down the drain. All I’d want to do is sleep, the more the better.

Getting myself to start doing anything during springtime is next to impossible, all I get going is procrastination. That is also one job no one ever gets finished with, curious that. Always something more to do in that regard.

There’s only one known upside to this: it’ll be over eventually. By the end of April the weather will be reasonably mellow, trees get some leaves going and not everything is monochrome anymore (apart from the 70’s-80’s apartment buildings, but those are monochrome all year ’round).

So, yeah. I’m going to sleep until April’s over (I wish, gotta go to work every day anyway). Unless I get a totally unprecedented spurt of inspiration before then, I doubt I’ll get much done. I don’t really think it fair I push out something mediocre and uninspired only because I feel I should.

So, see you in a few weeks.

Status update

This post is totally unrelated to anything, mostly just me venting about certain things. If you don’t care to read a rant about how my boss is a bitch, feel free to skip this one.

So, as I might have mentioned, I spent most of last year running from doctor to doctor due to issues with my right hand. Last November I finally got permission to go back to work after two and a half months of sick leave.

Last week I had to go work the registers at my job. It was going fine up until the last hour or so, when a client with a huge load of groceries came up to my till. That’s cool and all, except that my hand totally disliked it. So, knowing that I had another cashier shift next week I went to the manager and told her I couldn’t do it with my hand.

She told me I should really consider finding another job. Legally she cannot fire me because of my health unless I spend a whole year on sick leave. It is also legally my employer’s task to find me something I can do until I fully recuperate, no matter how many times they try to say they have nothing I could do.

She went on that cashier duty is part of my job, the same as everyone else. The truth is that there are many people with other work-related injuries and also many healthy individuals who never have to work the registers, no matter the fact that they have the training to do it. It has also been the recommendation of my doctor that I should not work as a cashier due to the repetitive motions and heavy load it puts on my hand. It seems I’m the only one to whom the rule applies. In the three years prior to my injury I also never had cashier duty. Suddenly after my doctor has forbidden it it’s of the utmost importance.

I feel like she’s trying to make me quit my job. If I won’t do it willingly and go quietly I’m certain she will start fabricating warnings for me as she has done to many others.

I’m just asking, is this really what five and a half years of dedicated work is worth? I’ve never said no to any task that’s been within my abilities, I’ve been willing to stretch and give up my free time to do my job. Until my health problems – that were caused BY my job – I’ve had much fewer sick days than the average employee.

But hey, she can try and get me fired. I’ve got the union at my back. She should really think long and hard whether she and the company want to go through a law suit over something so menial. I refuse to go down quietly, I refuse to quit when the law is on my side. Sure, if they’re willing to pay me (let’s say a year, year-and-a-half worth of pay in the least) I think we can work out an agreement… but there’s a snowball’s chance in Hell of that.

That’s the rant, for now. I’ll be posting something more relevant in a couple of days, hopefully. Until then, ta-ta.

Media Criticism

For quite a while now I’ve been thinking that people just cannot tell whether a newspaper, internet site or even TV news are telling the truth or whether they have an agenda of some sort. The other day my doubts were confirmed. A large newspaper around here had an article last week about how kids cannot tell the difference between reliable sites and others that have ulterior motives.

A study by the University of Jyväskylä found that only about a third of 12-year-olds can assess information sources with necessary criticism. In the study, the kids were shown two texts, one a university paper about the health effects of energy drinks, the other a press release by a company manufacturing said drinks. Almost all could tell that the university paper was reliable, but only one in five could tell the latter text was commercial.

The researcher conducting the study thinks the results are worrisome, especially since the results do not seem to improve with age. Even 16-19-year-old students seem to have issues with media and source criticism. She says in the article that a majority had no criticism towards what they read. So that means that they basically believe everything some half-wit puts on paper? Wow.

The article continues by saying that even grown-ups have difficulties with discerning what the actual source or agenda of a story or article really is. I can totally vouch for this. As I may have mentioned, I work at a huge supermarket. We sell quite a variety of different gossip magazines and other such material known for less reliable sources and variable quality of writing. I’m regularly amazed at how many people take everything printed on that trash seriously and think it’s true.

There is a historic backdrop to this. Not so long ago (20 years back, even), Finnish media was rather reliable. You wouldn’t hear similar half-truths or direct lies in any respectable newspaper or on the TV news as you can today. Not everything was turned into a huge issue overnight like seems to happen all the time today. OMG, the prime minister made a happy tweet the same day (hours before) some huge disaster took place on the other side of the globe: he must be totally disrespectful of human suffering! (And unfortunately that’s not just an example I made up.) From this perspective, it’s really not so surprising that some people think the media is still the same. Newsflash: it is not.

From where I’m looking at this situation, some people have totally relinquished their free thought. The press (especially the yellow side) has taken up petty sensationalism over other, more important things. Now, I don’t want to sound like a total conspiracy theorist, but it can’t be a total coincidence that when there’s something that should really be discussed something minor and inconsequential (some person’s 20-30 years younger new spouse or a messy divorce of some useless celeb) takes precedence and the important stuff is just glossed over.

Then there’s the issue of social media bubbles. People only have friends who think like they do, who only share news they can agree with. If you have the wrong opinion you might even get unfriended (is that a word?) or at the least lynched by people who disagree with you. These people just bounce around their thoughts from other similarly-minded friends and start thinking everyone must think the same way (because everyone they know does!), even when they were in a minority.

So, is there a solution for this? Trying to tell the truth of things or to even moderate the shitstorm rarely works. Teaching kids media criticism will likely have a positive effect in the future, but what do you do about all those grown-ups who can’t be made to learn? They’ll just happily prance around with their bubbles firm in place until one day they drop dead… unless some personal experience forces them to learn it the hard way.

That sounds horribly depressing, but I guess that’s just the way of things. The subjects change, but some general themes just stay the same

Happy New Year and stuff

First off, Happy New Year to all and everyone.

My unofficial but very real holiday break is now over. Unofficial because I really didn’t say anything about it to anyone, and real because I spent both Christmas and New Year’s eve in places without internet connection.

(I also had no recollection how stressful and tiresome my line of work is during the holidays, even after 6 years on the job. If you think shopping before Christmas is bad, try working retail.)

First post for 2016 then! I don’t have anything really new to post – my parents made a point of not letting me bury myself in books over the Christmas weekend and my husband’s drunk friends aren’t really conductive for doing research either. I’m sure you know how someone pushing a beer can your way and insisting you go out for a smoke and shoot rockets is way more fun. At least until the next morning arrives.

So, I figured I’d write a word or two about Goodreads. I’m sure you’re all familiar with the site, but here are some of my thoughts on the matter.

Few months ago I finally got around to registering. I’ve no major beefs with the site, per se, just that when you’ve over 460 books and you’ve read maybe three times as many the managing of said literature turns out to be a bit of a hassle.

I downloaded the app for my tablet (I think it’s unofficial? Hasn’t been updated in ages…) and tried adding books while watching TV. Well, the app goes unresponsive after 4-6 searches. Don’t use it unless you really buy your books one at a time. Or if you only want to use it to see what you already have (that you’ve put up with something other than the app).

Unsurprisingly, there are no apps (at least any that seem trustworthy) for Windows phone. That really is not a surprise, but it would have been handy to have a list of your books wherever you go to. You know, because of all those inspiring conversations you have with people until you can’t remember the name or author of that one killer book. You never have that happen? Well, aren’t you the first person ever – or just equipped with way better memory than me (either way, I’m jelly).

But yeah. So I’ve been procrastinating adding my books (160/463~?) because when I add them on the tablet I have to go over them on my PC to make sure stuff is where it should be and making sure I’ve got the correct edition chosen out. Work in progress, at this pace never to finish.

Maybe someday I will have all my books up (even those I haven’t found in the database yet). Until then, if you’re interested, my shelf can be found over here.

If you happen to have any useful tips send them this way. Could really use some.