Finally, finally, finally, I finished my story for Writers of the Future. Just got it out before the post office closed. I am so spent. I still have to finish another story for the Baen Memorial Contest by tomorrow. Man, nothing like a deadline to motivate a guy. I don't think I would have self-imposed these kind of deadlines for myself.
I have to thank my writing group, Writers of the Weird, for all their support and comments. I leaned heavily on their critiques to revise my story.
These are pretty bare-boned stories. I don't know if that's good or bad, but they're concise. It seems to be the kind of writing I'm doing lately. Well, at least there's nothing superfluous in them and they leave the reader wanting more. I'm much more focused now, so I don't think the wait should be so hard this time around.
But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
ABC Ruins LOST
ABC ruins LOST with annoying V countdown
I am so angry with ABC, I could spit!
Posted using ShareThis
I am so angry with ABC, I could spit!
Posted using ShareThis
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
One Down, One to Go
I got some really good critiques of my new Writers of the Future story from the Writers of the Weird on Sunday. I had to rush out of there for a Pre-Passover dinner with my family. I didn't get back to the story until Monday afternoon. It is much shorter now, more than half as short as my honorable mention story, "Simian D." Speaking of which, I planning on revising "Simian D" and submitting it to Clarkesworld. First, I have to make sure this new WotF story is up to par before sending it in. I have another story for the Baen Memorial Contest that needs a lot of work. That isn't due until Thursday. Plenty of time ;)
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Dunna, Dunna, Dunna Dunna...
Ugh, two deadlines swiftly approaching like a great white from the murky depths, dunna! Could I procrastinate more? I think not. I seem to work best with a deadline, sometimes up to the last moment, but I'd like to get some feedback so I've got to get this done... tonight. Well, maybe tomorrow morning. Time for a self-imposed deadline. Tomorrow by high noon! One of these days I'm going get that whole Hemingway thing down, and write for four hours straight every morning. Definitely gotta pick up the pace to make some mullah and get some notice. Getting a novel done would be the penultimate.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Luddite or Techno Geek
File conversion is beginning to piss me off. Whether it's Illustrator and Photoshop files to PNG and jpegs or Screenwriter files to Word and rtf. jpegs suck but are standard for the web. Word and rtf files don't preserve my formatting, PDFs do but not everybody can read or edit PDFs. I fully embrace digital technology but I'm a bit of a throwback, too. Which one am I? You be the judge.
I'm an unabashed Machead. I type, illustrate, and edit video on the computer. I don't have a typewriter. I take notes by hand with a pen. I don't dictate, digitally record, or take notes on a iPod, Palm or such computer. I use email, almost never snail mail unless required to for work, which is becoming rarer and rarer. Seems everybody prefers email, even for business. I text. I tweet on Twitter, I face-off on Facebook. I write a column for Examiner.com. I blog. I prefer reading paperbacks and hardcovers to ebooks or stories on the web. I bought Clarkesworld (Realms) to read their short stories even though they publish on the web for free. I know the Dewey Decimal System but hardly ever use it. I don't go to the library anymore. I do tons of research on the web. I get my news from NYTimes.com.
I sweep with an old straw broom and use a cheap Hoover. I'd love to have a Dyson again, though. I wash dishes by hand and use a dish washer. I like to do food prep and a lot of cooking. Don't like microwave meals. I use the microwave to heat up pizza, leftovers, and make popcorn. I prefer analog watches (the ones with hands) to digital, but prefer digital clocks to analog ones. Why, I don't know. I love sailing, don't like to flying or cruise ships. Prefer opening windows in the summer to the AC, even though it means being a bit hotter. I love hiking, walking. I don't like bikes, scooters, skateboards, skates, etc. I like to grill with charcoal rather than gas. Prefer gas stoves to electric ones. Like real fireplaces. I don't use an electric toothbrush.
I have glasses and don't use contacts, though I have in the past. No LASIK. I love live pets, not robots. Don't especially like electric blankets. I love IMAX and 3D movies, though they give me headaches. I love my HDTV. I use more incandescent lightbulbs than compact fluorescents. Sue me.
I prefer wood, cotton and wool to synthetics.
Hmm. Can't think of anything else right now but that seems like a
pretty exhaustive list.
I'm an unabashed Machead. I type, illustrate, and edit video on the computer. I don't have a typewriter. I take notes by hand with a pen. I don't dictate, digitally record, or take notes on a iPod, Palm or such computer. I use email, almost never snail mail unless required to for work, which is becoming rarer and rarer. Seems everybody prefers email, even for business. I text. I tweet on Twitter, I face-off on Facebook. I write a column for Examiner.com. I blog. I prefer reading paperbacks and hardcovers to ebooks or stories on the web. I bought Clarkesworld (Realms) to read their short stories even though they publish on the web for free. I know the Dewey Decimal System but hardly ever use it. I don't go to the library anymore. I do tons of research on the web. I get my news from NYTimes.com.
I sweep with an old straw broom and use a cheap Hoover. I'd love to have a Dyson again, though. I wash dishes by hand and use a dish washer. I like to do food prep and a lot of cooking. Don't like microwave meals. I use the microwave to heat up pizza, leftovers, and make popcorn. I prefer analog watches (the ones with hands) to digital, but prefer digital clocks to analog ones. Why, I don't know. I love sailing, don't like to flying or cruise ships. Prefer opening windows in the summer to the AC, even though it means being a bit hotter. I love hiking, walking. I don't like bikes, scooters, skateboards, skates, etc. I like to grill with charcoal rather than gas. Prefer gas stoves to electric ones. Like real fireplaces. I don't use an electric toothbrush.
I have glasses and don't use contacts, though I have in the past. No LASIK. I love live pets, not robots. Don't especially like electric blankets. I love IMAX and 3D movies, though they give me headaches. I love my HDTV. I use more incandescent lightbulbs than compact fluorescents. Sue me.
I prefer wood, cotton and wool to synthetics.
Hmm. Can't think of anything else right now but that seems like a
pretty exhaustive list.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
WotF New Deadline
It seems that the Writers of the Future deadline is actually March 31st, not April 1st as I had thought. One less day. Maybe they changed it. Anyway, gotta kick my butt into high gear.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Deadlines
There's two weeks and counting till the deadlines for Writers of the Future and the Baen Memorial Award contests. I have two stories selected, one further along than the other. After attending Neil Clarke's presentation last Saturday I am planning on submitting a story to Clarkesworld in April. I might even submit a poem to Asimov's if I can get a handle on it. A few more stories are in the works. The next step would be to develop a novel and I've got a couple screenplays that are ripe for adaptation. A new novel idea, (pun intended), would be a good thing, too.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Writers of the Weird
I attended my first Writers of the Weird meeting on Sunday, a very talented group, indeed. My story was critiqued, the only story that was hard sf. The comments were extremely useful and I am definitely going to incorporate many of the suggestions into the revision. I joined the parent organization, Science Fiction Association of Bergen County (SFABC).
Overall, people generally liked the story and I have been getting positive reviews so far. I'm not really used to having such approval and I'll try not to let it go to my head. Instead, I feel encouraged to make sure that I make the work better. Just one month until the deadlines for WotF and the Baen Memorial Award contests. I think I'll go over my honorable mention story again and submit it to one of the prozines.
Overall, people generally liked the story and I have been getting positive reviews so far. I'm not really used to having such approval and I'll try not to let it go to my head. Instead, I feel encouraged to make sure that I make the work better. Just one month until the deadlines for WotF and the Baen Memorial Award contests. I think I'll go over my honorable mention story again and submit it to one of the prozines.
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