Greetings, friends!
At least, I think we're friends. Although "acquaintances" might be a more appropriate term, perhaps... where's that line at, you think? I mean the line between friendship and acquaintanceship? Great, now I have to track down definitions... brb...
ac*quaint*ance (n): a person known to one, but usually not a close friend.
Hmm.... is there anyone reading this blog post right now that would consider me a "close friend"? So would "friend" be sort of an in between stage between 'acquaintance' and 'close friend'?
friend (n): one attached to another by affection or esteem.
Hmm... affection or esteem. Can you be a friend with someone you've never met in person, you think? There's several of you that frequent this blog that I've never actually met in person before. Some of you I've met and have known for quite a while. Friends? Acquaintances? Close friends? How liberally do you apply these terms? I'm trying to think of a list of people that I would consider close friends... hmm... short list. How long would my list of "friends" actually be? Again, where is that transition line between acquaintanceship and friendship, and between friendship and close friendship? How long is the list of people that I would actually call or contact if I was having trouble with something and needed to talk? Would that qualify as 'friend' or 'close friend'? Is there anything wrong with being an acquaintance? It almost carries with it a backhanded insult, doesn't it?
Greetings, acquaintances!
Did you feel insulted? Less-than? Like I'm implying that you're not worth the time it would take to push you into the "friend" realm? "If I liked you enough, I'd make the effort to be your friend, but you're not cool/interesting enough, so you're just a lowly 'acquaintance'..."
Do you have any acquaintances that think you are their friend? Or vice-versa? Have you ever introduced someone you know to a third party as your acquaintance? "Hey, Bill, this is my acquaintance Dave the Goof. He's not interesting or important enough to be called my friend."
I guess I shouldn't over-analyze it, eh?
Anyways, hello all, whatever you are. Sorry for the tangent.
I have a confession to make. I've been reviewing my fantasy novel, mapping out what I've written thus far into a big timeline... so I've re-read vast portions of it. My confession? It's really good, lol. Surprise! An author likes his own writing! Shocker! But, actually, I really do think it's very entertaining. I've decided to actually schedule blocks of time to work on it instead of going with "whenever I feel like it", and it's working out wonderfully. In fact, my writing this blog post right now has been scheduled... Wednesday nights (and Saturday afternoons) will be blog-writing time. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday from just after dinner to 10:30 pm will be novel-writing time, and Thursday and Friday nights (same time frame) will be to work on my movie screenplay.
I'll let you know how it goes. So far so good.
Room with a view, eh? Dang... how'd you like to wake up to that in the morning?
One cool side effect so far of scheduling my time better is that 'play time' is a lot more enjoyable now. I don't have the undercurrent that I should be doing other, more important things.
Of course, one of the drawbacks of scheduled blogging time (as is painfully apparent in this post so far) is writing when you really have nothing of substance to say! In which case it is best to resort to posting overly-cute photos of kids and animals in an effort to subconsciously appeal to your soft heart...
Aww, so cute! Especially the panda bear at the end there!
So I read a short book recently by Ted Chiang called The Merchant and the Alchemists Gate, which was very cool, dealing with time travel, set in medieval Baghdad. Worth the read, if you can find it for cheap/free like I did. The Kindle edition is currently $3, and I'd say it's worth it. Here is the review of it over at Strange Horizons, if you want more info.
I've moved on to reading The Ten Thousand by Paul Kearney, which I also got on crazy discount. Very good so far. By the way, if you like fantasy books and don't want to spend a lot getting them, then check in frequently at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist, which is a blog devoted to the fantasy/sci-fi genre. They routinely highlight books that are cheap/free for limited times, including some noteworthy titles, with links to buy them (from Amazon, usually). I've obtained a large percentage of my library for free or next-to-free by monitoring that site.
I think that's all for me tonight. I'm scheduled to post again Saturday. Let's see if that comes to pass!
Dave the Structured
9 comments:
Aw, Dave...taking a shot at my FB post? For shame.
I'm glad you're enjoying your own novel. It's what you're supposed to do! And getting more structured too...you're on a roll. I was going to get on that roll, but fell off trying. Oh well, I shall try again. I expect great things on Saturday, btw.
Your friend.
My Friend....first a beard and now structure??..be careful dear..and keep me posted..Clabber G.
The distinction between "acquaintances" and "friends" is most definitely blurred and a situation that needs careful consideration ;)
And "The Merchant and the Alchemists Gate" sounds good...it's now on my To Read list.
Good luck with the writing/editing of your awesome novel!!
I am so glad you are back on a roll with your novel. Can't wait to hear how things go with it!
I know what you mean about how some people regard each other differently. I've known people who talked about their best friend and when I talked to that "best friend" they had no idea their importance to the other person, lol
Anon Friend: Not sure if you're Beth or Havah! So I shall now go look over both of your FB pages to try and figure out which of you thinks I took a shot at you! Sheesh!
Mom: The Beard scares some people... but I think I'm man enough to handle it! Now structure, on the other hand...
Mel: I hope you like the Chiang story. I think he's a great writer. Thanks for the encouragement!
Rebecca: Hopefully, I'll get around to posting a sample chapter or two... then y'all can tell me if I'm out of my gourd...
Thanks to everyone for the encouragement on the writing shtuff...
Dear Friend, I thoroughly enjoyed your tangent concerning friends vs. acquaintances.
yay, glad the novel is coming along! I enjoyed the snippets I've read and I can't wait to read more!! Good luck with the structure :) And don't forget that you could have a pal (probably closer than an acquaintance) and a comrade (probably between friend and close friend) :)
As for the friend v. acquaintances: There are other variables introduced via electronic versions. For example, we would not be friends in person, I think, but we are able to be e-friends. Additionally, people whom you may not want to have in your daily life can be kept at bay - hence, acquaintances.
I love time travel books! I shall take the $3.00 plunge.
Keep on keeping on.
Beth
Paula: Thanks for popping by, friend! Yes, I said friend... I did. I said it. It's done.
Abbie: I hope you like what I'm doing with your character in my story, Abbie. Pal! Comrade! Now you're really confusing me!
Beth: I hope you like the Chiang short novel. I know you've had mixed results with my recommendations before...
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