A Quokka Dreeds its Weird

Vass asked about emergency preparedness, which is an interest (and former occupation) of mine. If you click on the tags, you will find a number of stories in which cars and other objects burst into flames (this seems to happen often in my vicinity), and in which I locked myself in my bedroom, set my pants on fire while I was naked and dripping wet, etc. (Moral: Do NOTHING before coffee.)

Information about the physical aspects of emergency preparedness (what to have around, where to store it, what training to get) is widely available and also localized. What you need depends on what you're likely to face. I have no idea what to do in case of tornados, because we don't get them where I live; a resident of Louisiana doesn't need to know about earthquakes. So I'll skip that part and instead discuss psychology, which is universal.

My experience is that not very many people are interested in emergency preparation, on any level, but that the people who are interested are very interested. And also that the people who are not interested tend to think that the people who are interested are deluded - that there is no actual value in being prepared, but that it functions as a mere security blanket of false comfort. I can't tell you how many times I hear, "Well, if it makes you feel better..."

Naturally, I find this quite annoying. I have used my training and equipment many times, and have very likely saved at least one life. It does make me feel better, but that's not its sole purpose. I also find it aggravating that the security blanket implication suggests that anyone who needs it is a coward. People interested in emergency preparedness frequently either have dangerous jobs or live in dangerous areas - that's how they got interested in the first place. If you ever take a class geared toward people who are there voluntarily, rather than being required for work, there tends to be a heavy emphasis on not being foolishly heroic. That's because the people taking the class tend to rush toward the danger, rather than running away. You don't need to warn people about things they'd never do anyway.

(Those of us who are interested can also annoy those who are not. That tends to go in the direction of "Just wait, you'll come running to me to save you when things go south.")

The most important aspect of preparedness is psychological. The place you start is believing that bad things happen, that at some point they will happen in your vicinity, that you may well be capable of doing something that will have positive results, and that you want to do so. People often don't believe (or don't want to contemplate) any or all four of those ideas. But once you consciously believe all those things, everything else follows.

(Number three is conditional because there's always the possibility that, for instance, the first thing that happened in the earthquake was that a brick fell on your head.)

The first time or first few times you're in an emergency situation, it's natural to freeze. It's also natural to freeze if something completely unexpected happens, no matter how experienced you are. If you deal with similar situations regularly, you stop freezing. However, the important thing to remember about freezing is that it's normal (so don't blame yourself) and it's temporary (so don't panic).

The freeze reflex is there, I believe, to force you to evaluate the situation rather than blindly plunging into counterproductive action. If you recognize it as that, you can use it to your advantage. So you're standing there thinking, "Oh my God, what's going on?!" Remember that this is the freeze response. Stay where you are (or take cover, as relevant) and see if you can figure out what's going on and what you can and should do about it. You only need a few seconds to evaluate. Take those seconds.

Many emergency situations are simple. Many useful and lifesaving responses are simple. Call emergency services. If someone's bleeding a lot, stop it. If someone's in danger of being hit by incoming traffic, stop the traffic and (if they don't have a possible spinal injury) remove them to a safe area. If someone does have a possible spinal injury, don't let them move. If things are falling, take cover. Stay away from live wires, including any conductive substances the wires are touching. If someone's having a psychological crisis, stay calm, listen, and let them see your sincere concern. Don't be afraid to ask if someone is suicidal. If someone says they intend to harm someone, believe them. If you're not sure whether or not someone is in trouble, ask. Etcetera.

Welcome to the question-a-day month meme! You can still add questions. Check the LJ version for the most current schedule.

Lokifan asked what media I’m looking forward to. I look forward to Orphan Black, season three. This is one of the best TV series I’ve ever seen: great characters, great dialogue, consistently unpredictable and well-structured plotting, and one of the very best performances I’ve ever seen on TV.

I thought for ages that this was an anime because the title sounds like one, but it’s actually a contemporary sf series. Sarah, a down-on-her-luck young woman whose child is being raised in foster care and is fleeing an abusive boyfriend, sees a woman who might be her double commit suicide by jumping in front of a train. She grabs the dead woman’s purse, finds her bank account and keys, and steps into her life.

That’s the first half-hour of the first episode. Things get complicated from there. Very, very complicated. Sarah finds out that she and the dead woman are clones… and there’s more clones out there. Some know what they are, and some don’t.

I don’t want to reveal too much, because as I said, the plot is consistently surprising. But Tatiana Maslany is extraordinary playing the various clones. They are all so distinct and convincing that you can tell when she’s one impersonating another – and are all also fascinating, complex characters. Great supporting cast, too. I especially like Sarah’s foster brother Felix and her own foster mother, Mrs. S. The characters have fascinating relationships with each other, and the show is often very, very funny. (I almost died laughing at some of the scenes in the rehab, not to mention Alison’s musical.)

Highly recommended. Contains some graphic violence and disturbing themes, including but not limited to children in danger, sexual violence, and non-consensual medical experimentation.

Feel free to put spoilers in comments, where I am happy to discuss in more detail. If you have not yet seen the show up to the end of season two, DO NOT READ COMMENTS. It’s best watched as un-spoiled as possible.

Welcome to the question-a-day month meme! You can still add questions. Check the LJ version for the most current schedule by clicking on the month meme tag.

Dhampyresa asked about the process of publishing a book, from first idea to publication. There’s actually several different roads for this, depending on whether it’s traditional or self-publishing, or whether I write solo or collaboratively. For this, I’ll assume you mean solo, because I’ll write on collaboration later.

In the beginning is the idea. I have lots of these. If I stuck just to the novel ideas I have right now, I’d have enough to keep me busy for the next ten years. So it’s not so much getting an idea as prioritizing an idea.

Due to laziness, I tend to prioritize the ideas that won’t take extreme amounts of research or worldbuilding. (This is why the lesbian dragonriders book got pushed back – it requires both. Anyone have good, vivid references for WWI-style dogfighting and aerial strategy?)

So, I’ve got my moderate-worldbuilding, moderate-research idea. I then contemplate and outline, then start writing. Eventually I have a manuscript. Here’s where paths start diverging.

If I’m going to self-publish, I polish, proofread, write a blurb, and create keywords. I get other people to do the cover and formatting. I usually solicit some reviews from bloggers. Then I publish. Ta-da! Once it goes live, I send out a message to my mailing list to let them know I have a book out. If it’s a sequel, I update the previous book to put a link to the sequel at the end of it. I will probably also put the first book on sale, to lure new readers. Once the manuscript is ready to go, the rest of the process takes anywhere between a week to two months. The difference depends on things like whether you had the cover done in advance and your formatter’s schedule.

If I traditionally publish, I send it to my agent to submit to publishers. This part takes between one month to one year, but could be longer. (If an agent can't sell a book in a year, it may not sell at all. Submitting without an agent takes far longer.) If a publisher or publishers wants it, they send a contract, which I and my agent ponder. It usually goes back for revisions/requests. Contract negotiations can take six months. Then the editor asks for revisions. I do them and send them back. The editor will usually do at least one round of that. This part takes between three months and two years. If it takes longer than four months, most of that time is spent after I’ve sent back my revisions and am waiting for the next set of notes.

Eventually, the manuscript goes to copyediting. It will be sent back to us with a bunch of corrections, from typos and grammar errors to questions about word usage and catches on continuity errors, like characters’ eye color changing. I fix the problems, answer the questions, and send it back. Then it goes to proofreading. I again get the proofread manuscript to check and do my own proof. Then it goes to ARCs – Advance Review Copies. These are sent to reviewers, and may have errors. My first book’s ARCs had a MISSING CHAPTER. (Usually errors are not that bad.) This part takes about three months, I think. Finally, the finished book comes out, and everyone rejoices.

As you can see, a big difference between traditional and self publishing is time. You do most of the same things either way— writing, editing, proofing, formatting, getting a cover, sending out review copies, etc— but because there’s so much less waiting between tasks with self-publishing, the whole process is significantly faster.

I totally failed to do this last year, due to, if I recall correctly, a stalker making the prospect of posting a source of dread rather than enjoyment. Sorry, people whose questions I never answered! You can ask them again if you remember what they were.

I am posting this in the hope that 1) I will actually answer them this go-round, 2) ensuing conversations will remind me that the internet includes friends and good conversation as well as stalkers and threats.

I'm putting this up for January, as I need to be working on deadlines and my Yuletide story (have not yet started reviewing canon; BEARS) rather than LJ posts. Propose a topic for a day, and I will attempt to write at least one paragraph about it.

1. Yuletide reveal.
2.
3.
4. My first Yuletide.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. Favorite h/c tropes.
11. Emergency preparedness.
12. Narrative therapy.
13.
14. Five most horrifying plot twists.
15. New or new-to-me Gay YA.
16. Favorite narrative tropes or AUs.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26. Lizardable anime/manga recs.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31. My favorite book of the year.

Okay, I'll do it for January. Pick a day and ask me a question, propose a topic, etc, and I will write about it on that day. (I have started it with January 1, because I know for sure that's what I'll be posting on.)

1. Yuletide!
2. Best recent food discovery.
3. Why I love Los Angeles.
4. Emergency preparedness.
5. Current thoughts on the User's Guide to PTSD.
6. My favorite pair of shoes.
7.
8. Dragonriders of Pern.
9. What I remember most about Japan.
10. Favorite song.
11. Favorite and least favorite literary tropes.
12. How therapy school has changed me.
13. My favorite books by Robertson Davies, Dick Francis, Georgette Heyer, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Mark Saltzman.
14. My cats.
15. Creation of identity.
16. The weirdest thing that ever happened to me.
17. Food and travel.
18. Clothing.
19. Martial arts.
20. Influential books.
21. The best movies I've seen this year.
22. Nail polish.
23.
24. How I found fandom.
25. Three people I'd like to meet.
26.
27. Fast food.
28. My hobbies other than writing.
29. College, young and old.
30. Shounen manga and slash.
31.