Uber Underlings

Seems I shouldn't have to say it, but if a Tart has World Domination Aspirations -particularly World Domination Aspirations as important as NAKED World Domination Aspirations (which clearly she does), she needs MINIONS-- a large army of followers set to disperse over the world and spread the plan. You know... cause otherwise the whole thing is just WORK, WORK, WORK. But just because I am an Empress/Dictator type, that DOESN'T mean I don't LOVE MY MINIONS!


Now I love a lot of people who aren't really quite underlings... I have friends set on SHARING this World Domination Role, and provided they are committed to the NAKED part, I am a sharing kind of gal. Most of my fellow Burrowers, for instance... total co-Leaders in World Domination Plans...

But what about these Younger people who will lead when she retires to her private island with her seventeen Cabana Boys? Surely there is some GROOMING involved... making these future leaders READY to promote Nudity and rule with a kindly, but sure hand.

There is also a line in my mission statement about corrupting young minds (yes, I have a mission statement—you think I'm just fooling around with all this?) And so combining these goals—molding minions and corrupting young minds has long been a part of my Naked World Domination Strategy.

Okay, so maybe the Naked World Domination Plan is a metaphor of sorts... *shifty * If you ask me tomorrow, I won't admit it... but what it is REALLY about, is encouraging the inner writer. You see, my writing roots are a little less lonely and began a little less... prestigiously than some. I began in the Fan Fiction Arena. And you know what? I will never regret it. THIS is one of the reasons.



Giving Back (A Digression)

In my day job I work with young researchers, graduate students, medical students, and sometimes undergrads. Working with them can take a significant amount of time—teaching them what to do, supervising, redirecting, teaching some more. But usually when they are done, they understand a lot more about research and have achieved something (whether it's a presentation, a poster, or in the case of the medical students, a co-authored journal article). They are then ready to go out into the world and fly a little higher, and our group is left feeling warm and fuzzy and able to say we helped launch them.

I see this writing thing as similar—somebody farther on the achievement spectrum offers some advice, or even a true hand (encouragement, critiquing, introducing, helping), and we in turn offer the same. But SOMETIMES when you offer back that help, the gratitude can be one of those things that sort of knocks you on your BUTT.

It is just such a fabulous, warm, and surprising little thing to find out there.

So today I am being Thankful for being Thanked—how is that for taking the long way to get to the point?

Kassy with a K

I met Kas when she was 17 and was writing an unlikely romance version of Book 7 in which Draco and Ginny are thrown together—both feeling outcast and desperate, and ending up helping each other. Now I don't READ romance, for the most part, but her emotion was so infused with realistic feeling, and her plotting to get this unlikely pair into a frame of mind where they might actually consider each other was so detailed (and psychologically accurate) that I fell in love with her writing and began encouraging her.

We've moved along and progressed. She is now a 20 year old college student in Psychology (my own field) and we've stayed friends. This Christmas she sent me the sweetest card, thanking me for the encouragement, and not too long ago her mom even sent me a facebook message thanking me—that floored me a little. My encouragement has moved her enough to talk about me in her REAL life, which in turn moves ME to be a sniveling idiot about it—yes, I cried.

So Kas, I love you! Good reminder for all of us to let the people who've encouraged us know, because it feels good!

Leesh

I haven't known Alicia as long—we really got to be friends during the NaNoWriMo this year—I encouraged a number of HPANA people to just on the bandwagon, and she was an early taker (and the first one done). She reminds me a little of ME, oddly enough. I think he mind is capable of the twisty, bendy thing (she certainly seems to appreciate it) but she also has that tenacity to take a project and dive in with full force.

She took a blogging break recently, but on Thursday (Earth day) in honor of the Au Naturale aspect, dedicated her RE-dive-in to ME. Probably appropriate—being delusional Thursday and all.


So I love you, too, Leesh!

And for all the rest of y'all—don't forget to thank those who've helped you a bunch, and encourage and help those who come behind—this is the BEST part of this cycle!