Fic and Hair Wittering

[hobgoblinn]

Because composing a live journal entry is a perfectly valid form of procrastination, and creating polls is even more so, I am doing both while taking a break from writing my Epic. Under the cuts, to spare the f-list.

Poll the First: Posting more "In Loco Parentis"

I've got some of the next part of "In Loco" corrected based on beta comments. But neither of my lovely betas (hi, research_girl and sahiya) has made it all the way through this much longer section. And because both are wonderfully talented people with Real Lives, they are doing exciting things in exciting places far from home this week. So first I have to decide:
[Poll #1162620]

Poll the Second: hobgoblinn's hair

I wore my hair short as a kid. I didn't start growing it out until college, and it's gotten long several times in the intervening years. I cut it all off when I kicked out my ex (in a pointless but satisfying gesture) and kept it shoulder length for a long while after it grew back out. It's currently about 3/4 of the way down my back, kinda a dark mousy brown with a disturbing number of mousy grey strands starting to make an appearance. I blame Wee Hob for that.

It would be great if I knew how to do anything interesting with my hair, like braid it, or put it up. But I don't, and I haven't the coordination to learn. I usually pull it back in a pony tail, and often wear a ball cap over it as well, when I can't bring myself to take the extra five minutes out of my sleep in the morning for a shower.

In any event, I'm thinking of cutting it radically. But I need others to blame for my bad decisions, which is where you come in:

[Poll #1162621]

Comments

[sunsethill.livejournal.com]

On posting--two weeks is a long time to wait ;-). My answer would depend on how many mistakes the betas found in the parts they got to. If it was flowing well and there only were a few problems, I would go with posting all of it and taking your chances. But if they found several important things to correct (and it does seem that you've had some struggles knowing where to go with your plot based on previous comments), then post the logically ending shorter stuff. This way you feel a sense of accomplishment but don't get trapped with errors.

[hobgoblinn.livejournal.com]

Well, there was a Huge canon error in this section they got to (I fixed it. Kinda. Though I don't have them to bounce the idea off of.) So there may well be something else in the second half.

At the same time, nothing in that second half is likely to change significantly, plot-wise. And I already have demonstrated a willingness to revise earlier sections with new material, when the need arises. I'll see how the poll turns out. More posts means more reviews, and I am nothing if not a review whore, so.....

Thanks for voting, and your comment. (And your Reviews, of course.)

[nemaihne.livejournal.com]

I didn't vote on the first one because I always post warts and all since I have no beta. (Of the ones I did have one is permanently indisposed and one was terrible- she was making 'corrections' that were grammatical mistakes even I could catch.) But I realize no one else likes that method because it makes you look like you have never seen the inside of an English book.

I voted ticky box on the second, because I go back and forth on my hair all the time. I think shoulder length is the way to go. Still long enough to put back when it's annoying but short enough not to be annoying so often. Any shorter than that and you run the risk of having to keep up with the cut. I always forget short haircuts are a lot more troublesome to keep from looking shaggy. So not short, not long. Something in the middle.

[hobgoblinn.livejournal.com]

Betas help me even though I have a good grasp of grammar, to get me in the habit of noticing things I don't know or I don't notice. Antennapedia taught me to watch for repeated words close together (wish she'd taught the same to JKR.) gillo taught me I know squat about London geography and wikipedia/ google maps are no help. research-girl is teaching me British English. sahiya is attempting to teach me the evils of ellipse abuse. The latter two are also entertaining me with their comma wars (different rules/ usage habits). All betas, past and present, have helped by letting me bounce plot ideas off them (as have a number of readers).

In short, betas are of the Good, and if you ever need one and I have time, I'd be happy to do it for you. Because being a beta is the Other way I start to notice things I do that I might want to change.

On the hair-- still not sure yet. Too radical a change and it looks like I'm having a midlife crisis (which, maybe). Not radical enough would leave me feeling meh, though.

Anyway, thanks.

[nemaihne.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't get me wrong. I think betas are great. At least good betas are great. A bad one can make you swear off writing, as I pretty much did. I just have enough problem getting people to read period. Asking them to go above and beyond that is just greedy.
Anyway, are you sure you want to offer- given what happened to the good one? O.o

[fuzzyboo03.livejournal.com]

As for the fic, I voted for posting the short beta'd bit, in part because the poll itself had a goof in it, and because that way you get to post something while still waiting for the betas.

As for the second - I don't know how short you are thinking about, but one of the things that drives me nuts about very short hair is that it is even less tolerant of missing a shower in the morning. So I keep my hair longer (just below my shoulders) while I'm recovering from surgery because I just can't shower daily.

[hobgoblinn.livejournal.com]

Ah, yeah. I think I see the error. One of many, possibly. And I can't edit it, that I know of. Though in my defense, I didn't take as much care with this post as my story. Certainly haven't read it as many times.

And the hair washing didn't matter until I started having to get boy up and take him to school, because I would shower every morning, usually between the first knock on his door and the second. It only takes me about 20 minutes to get up, showered and dressed. It takes Wee Hob Days. But when I could leave whether he was ready or not, and he had to take the consequences of his slowness, he oddly enough was able to move much faster than when he knew I was waiting on him and it was pissing me off to do so. Little power game there.

But he comes off restriction after Spring Break, at which time I can go back to my own schedule again. So it may matter less, then. And Shorter hair dries a Lot Faster (the other reason I had started letting it fall by the wayside this winter.)

Thanks for weighing in, on both subjects.

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

The hair question comes down to how does your look in its natural state. Mine is long also and very tick and wavy/curly. I too am incapable of anything more than a ponytail, but because of the texture, I get a lot of compliments.

Plus wash and wear hair is a big plus in my book.

So, the question is, what is easier/would look better?

[silburygirl.livejournal.com]

I confess that I was probably swayed in my answer to the second by my own recent rather drastic change of hair. However, on a more practical note, shorter does mean that you go through a lot less shampoo.

[veradee.livejournal.com]

I've never had long hair, which is why I opted for cutting it.

I'm a bit obsessive when it comes to my hair, because I wash it every morning. It's not greasy, but I just don't like the thought of it not being washed. I would do the same if it were long, and since my hair is very thick and I have enough hair for two people, I don't even want to imagine how long it would take me to dry it if I let it grow.

[empresspatti.livejournal.com]

Hair always grows back - why not try something new? I chop mine off regular - and within a few months it's driving me nuts again....

[gileswench.livejournal.com]

I'm about to get my hair cut because it's been too long since I had it in an identifiable style and as a lifestyle and fashion blogger, I feel it's sort of important that I have, you know, some style.

My advice? Get yourself a magazine and look at the hairstyles in it. When you find something you like that looks like it will work with your hair and face, slap it down in front of a stylist and go for it.

I remember once going into a hairdresser's with my hair just past my chin and handing them a picture of a girl with hair that was buzzed in back and longer on top. I said that was how I wanted my hair to look when I left. The stylist kept double, triple, and eventually sextuple-checking with me that I wanted it that short. At last she said: "Once I start cutting, it's gone." My reply? "It's hair. It grows back."

As it happens, I didn't keep the style terribly long, but I really enjoyed it while I did.

Amusingly enough, when my hair was down to my waist and I asked to have it cut above my shoulders, the stylist I had gone to at the time just said sure and started cutting. Much better experience, that time. Great cut, too.

But the point is, the great thing about hair is that it does grow back if you decide you don't like what you did with it. Have fun with it.