Sherri Cornelius

So I printed out my whole novel yesterday. Ever since Maggie stuck some toys down in the printer several years ago, it hasn’t wanted to feed the paper. The last time I printed a novel I had to feed each page by hand, and oh em gee, was that an exercise in tedium. So this time I was like, I’m gonna fix that bad boy before I even start. A few days ago, I took it apart (not easy, I don’t recommend it) and cleaned it thoroughly, made sure all the parts were free, and narrowed down the problem to a smooth roller which wasn’t gripping the paper.

I thought for a while about how I could enhance the gripping power of that roller. Double-stick tape would stick to the paper, too. I could wrap a rubber band around it, but finding one the right size would be tedious. How about if I roughed up the surface of the roller, by scraping it with a steak knife? But then it hit me: rubber cement. Rubber cement is rubbery (hence the name) and dries fast, and if you get it anywhere it shouldn’t be it rubs right off once it’s dry. I didn’t have much faith it would work. It was too easy.

But it did work! Woo! I printed out all my files with only one bad page. I didn’t run out of ink or anything.

I’m really glad I printed it out. I’m a total Scrooge when it comes to the printer. The cartridges are $20, and that’s for crappy remanufactured ones. The kids don’t print except on special occasions. I don’t print my writing. Now I’m thinking I need to do it. I really don’t think electronically. I’ve known for a long time that I work best with my hands, so why not get writing out here in the real world where I have some tactile input? Because I’m a total Scrooge, remember?

Well, no more. The words don’t look the same on a computer screen. I think it may be because I read so many others’ words on the same screen, it lessens the immediate response of my brain to my own words. But when I have my story on a bunch of pages in front of me, mine are the only words there. Also, I can rifle through to find the page I want, instead of having to remember which file it’s in.

I don’t know how much work I’ll be able to do on it today. Today the focus was going to be this Eternal Press story I’m editing, and I was going to do the sorting of pages when I needed a computer break. My sinuses are acting up, though, so I don’t know how much eye time I’ll have. We’ll see how it goes.

Again I’m at the point where real life is more interesting and busy than my digital one. I’ve neglected Facebook over Twitter, yet I haven’t disconnected the link between the two, so it looks like I’m updating Facebook all the time. I don’t mind except I miss FB comments and look like a douchebag. (I know the word “douchebag” doesn’t usually apply to ladies, but I do love it so!) So I guess I should do a run-down of the low-down. Here’s what I’ve been up to in a numbered list, so in your comments you can merely reference the number of the topic. You’re welcome.

1. I typed so much on my beautiful new/ancient typewriter that my bad finger refused to type anymore. Back to pecking the keyboard with my patented left hand/right index finger technique, and only when absolutely necessary. (yes, this is necessary.)
2. I’m about halfway through Brian D’Amato’s (you say D’Amayto, I say D’Amahto) In the Courts of the Sun, about a modern Maya guy who travels back in time to save us from whatever disaster 12-21-12 has in store. The subject matter is way dense, but it’s something which has always fascinated me, and the language is just light enough to keep me afloat. And I do mean just. Even the lightness is dense at times, if that makes any sense. But overall I like it.
3. Ummm, let’s see…Oh yeah, speaking of dense, I spent two whole days cleaning all the viruses off my mom’s laptop. (It wasn’t her fault, btw.) She hasn’t been able to use it for months, so she said if I could get it working I could use it, because…
4. An editor expressed interest in BVA but wants to see a 15-20 page synopsis, so I had to get crackin’ on that. I started writing by hand, thought of switching to the typewriter, but since I want to get it done a.s.a.p. I’d prefer to put it right into Word.
5. Which reminds me, I have to get that installed on here somehow…
6. I’m back to weaning myself off processed foods and sugar. It’s not so scary the fifth time you do it. I’m convinced that reducing the toxins I take in with my food will help my body process the toxins I take in through the environment. I can control the former, but not the latter. Join me.

That’s not all I have to talk about, but I have to save my finger. I’m going to steal an idea from Ian‘s blog and let you ask me questions for a future post. Anything you want to know, about writing or politics or my personal life? How about if I make it interesting and say that I will anwer any question you throw at me. Dare I promise that? Sure, why not? I’ll answer anything. Might not be he answer you want, though…

I’ve mentioned my Dell Latitude’s iffy power jack. Well, I was talking to Darcknyt about it last night, and he mentioned hot glue. I thought it couldn’t hurt to try. I mean, if I mess up, hot glue is pretty easy to peel off after its cooled, yet it could take up the space inside the jack and thereby stabilize the cord. So this morning I smeared a little hot glue around the plug, slipped it into the jack, wiggled it till I got a connection and held it there for a couple of minutes till the glue cooled. After waiting a few more minutes for good measure, I picked up the laptop and moved it around, akin to the movement of my lap, and voila! I didn’t lose connection once. Woo!

You may have noticed I moved my sidebars around, added some new links to my lengthy blogroll and cleaned up some dead links. If you are my friend and I removed your link, it’s only because you never post. (Looking at you, Benti.) I added an RSS feed to some writing blogs that I like, and with 20 blogs to choose from, the feed randomly selects which posts to display. Those should refresh every day, maybe every time you refresh the page.

I also have a couple of new pages. (Page tabs are at the very top, above the header.) My “contact” list is so long with the various social networking sites that I decided to give those links their own page. Another page I added is dedicated to the various blog awards I’ve received, as well as the images people have made for me. They are dear to me and deserve a special place.

So click around and see what’s new, and if there’s any feature you enjoy on other blogs that I haven’t included here, let me know and I’ll check it out.