So I need to bust said rust. The thing about working in a mail room - any place that deals in shipping, really - is that things pick up a lot during December. There are holidays, and whether you celebrate them or not those holidays affect what your life becomes. As little writing as I got around to doing, looking back I'm very lucky to have done what I did. I'm even happy with a few parts of it!
I'll try to post more in the coming days, since I have quite a few of them off coming up. Maybe I'll post my loot list, and a few other things I plan to work on. Right now, my brain is fried.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
I May Be In Trouble
I first realized this at the beginning of the week, when immediately after my health screening I spent twenty minutes saying everything I had wanted to say that was smartass-y, only afterward realizing that I had just said them to my boss, and if she had been anyone but my best friend I'd be fired by now. You'll be delighted to know that I'm in excellent shape - I believe they're going to name the Highlander gene after me.
It takes an average of 2,000 words a day to make NaNoWriMo happen, and I am well well short of that. The odd thing is I'm getting much closer as the process goes on. It's getting easier to start a segment, harder to stop until it's done, and my excitement builds the more I get into it and find the shape of the story. It's a lot of fun, writing this novel, so I'm almost certainly doing it wrong. On the other hand, what a fucking coup it would be if I could DO something with it, right?!
I have extra motivation to make progress, as I promised my co-conspirator in the movie biz that I'd shift focus onto the screenplay after NaNoWriMo.
So yeah. Trouble.
It takes an average of 2,000 words a day to make NaNoWriMo happen, and I am well well short of that. The odd thing is I'm getting much closer as the process goes on. It's getting easier to start a segment, harder to stop until it's done, and my excitement builds the more I get into it and find the shape of the story. It's a lot of fun, writing this novel, so I'm almost certainly doing it wrong. On the other hand, what a fucking coup it would be if I could DO something with it, right?!
I have extra motivation to make progress, as I promised my co-conspirator in the movie biz that I'd shift focus onto the screenplay after NaNoWriMo.
So yeah. Trouble.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Video Games
I might have mentioned this before, but for those to whom it's new, I used to be addicted to video games. They're what I did in high school, and little else. I spent my weekends with Mega Man X and Samus Aran, I admit it. I got a taste of life without the controller in college, and afterward made a concerned effort to put myself away from them. I've slipped every now and then, but I thought I was doing well.
So well that when the holidays came around last year, with people coming by that I hadn't seen in years and myself with a new job, I figured it'd be safe to buy a 360 and a few games to be sociable. Since then I'd been worried that I was relapsing, since my library is mostly narrative-focused, single-player games like Mass Effect and Prince of Persia, and what multiplayer I do play is with select friends only. I don't think I've joined a random game more than three times.
Well, after my spending spree two weeks ago, and Dragon Age: Origins out last week, I may have to shut the hell up. I'd been excited about DA: O for the better part of this year, but I have only put in maybe 12 hours, not enough to get through one of the four big chapters after the introduction. I've had Brutal Legend on for the soundtrack whle doing laundry, I've played Borderlands twice, and Fallout 3 - a game of the year - isn't out of the plastic wrapper yet.
I enjoy them all, and I feel like I will get to them eventually, but after a full work day and some stolen writing time, I just don't have the energy. High school me wouldn't recognize today me.
So well that when the holidays came around last year, with people coming by that I hadn't seen in years and myself with a new job, I figured it'd be safe to buy a 360 and a few games to be sociable. Since then I'd been worried that I was relapsing, since my library is mostly narrative-focused, single-player games like Mass Effect and Prince of Persia, and what multiplayer I do play is with select friends only. I don't think I've joined a random game more than three times.
Well, after my spending spree two weeks ago, and Dragon Age: Origins out last week, I may have to shut the hell up. I'd been excited about DA: O for the better part of this year, but I have only put in maybe 12 hours, not enough to get through one of the four big chapters after the introduction. I've had Brutal Legend on for the soundtrack whle doing laundry, I've played Borderlands twice, and Fallout 3 - a game of the year - isn't out of the plastic wrapper yet.
I enjoy them all, and I feel like I will get to them eventually, but after a full work day and some stolen writing time, I just don't have the energy. High school me wouldn't recognize today me.
Monday, November 9, 2009
A Quick Note
I am NOT going to make it through NaNoWriMo successfully, but I will be much closer than last year. I might even have a full story, though absolute garbage.
I'm considering starting a new blog that is made entirely of 50-100 word stories based around my word-a-day mailing list. Not certain yet, but lately I've been giving those emails lip service at best and I think that's a shame, on reflection.
Carry on.
I'm considering starting a new blog that is made entirely of 50-100 word stories based around my word-a-day mailing list. Not certain yet, but lately I've been giving those emails lip service at best and I think that's a shame, on reflection.
Carry on.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Something New
I like the idea of being a focused person. People that can narrow their field of interest and get one thing at a time done seem to accomplish more than average. There've been times in my life where I've been able to get into that kind of mode and have done very well, and during my course in Falmouth that was a nearly essential skill.
But I'm trying something different. A week or so ago I had a really neat idea for a story that I wanted to get out of my head, problem was I'm in the middle of a completely different project and not anywhere close to finishing. It was late enough in the day where I needed to write something then if I was going to write anything at all, and I've had a few nights that I just sat in front of the screen trying not to take the winking cursor in the wrong way. So I wrote what I wanted to, not what I was working on. It's not something I'm going to get back to any time soon, and my current project isn't anywhere closer to completion, but I got over 1,000 words out, and damn it that felt good!
I'm often torn between the confidence that comes from having a masters degree and the fear that comes from having no recent publications. Most of my favorite writers insist that developing your ability with the art of writing is a continuous process, that you will never write as well as you want to, and that this is not necessarily a bad thing. I like this philosophy, for one thing because it's accomodating for when I lose focus. I also believe that it's better to write something each day than only write when the mood fits the project - it keeps one from losing touch with the brain muscles that squeeze the words out.
In other news, I'm trying to upgrade to Windows 7 after a long series of mild frustrations with Vista, but my very compatible machine is being "finicky" about the change, and so I've had to adopt drastic measures to simply clear out the old. I won't find out until tonight if any of it has worked for real, so here's hoping.
And in a bout of weakness, I took advantage of a 3-for-2 deal for video games. I'm going to hold to my "write what you know at the time" strategy in the hopes that I can get enough of the productive stuff done at work to make my playtime acceptable. Wish me luck.
But I'm trying something different. A week or so ago I had a really neat idea for a story that I wanted to get out of my head, problem was I'm in the middle of a completely different project and not anywhere close to finishing. It was late enough in the day where I needed to write something then if I was going to write anything at all, and I've had a few nights that I just sat in front of the screen trying not to take the winking cursor in the wrong way. So I wrote what I wanted to, not what I was working on. It's not something I'm going to get back to any time soon, and my current project isn't anywhere closer to completion, but I got over 1,000 words out, and damn it that felt good!
I'm often torn between the confidence that comes from having a masters degree and the fear that comes from having no recent publications. Most of my favorite writers insist that developing your ability with the art of writing is a continuous process, that you will never write as well as you want to, and that this is not necessarily a bad thing. I like this philosophy, for one thing because it's accomodating for when I lose focus. I also believe that it's better to write something each day than only write when the mood fits the project - it keeps one from losing touch with the brain muscles that squeeze the words out.
In other news, I'm trying to upgrade to Windows 7 after a long series of mild frustrations with Vista, but my very compatible machine is being "finicky" about the change, and so I've had to adopt drastic measures to simply clear out the old. I won't find out until tonight if any of it has worked for real, so here's hoping.
And in a bout of weakness, I took advantage of a 3-for-2 deal for video games. I'm going to hold to my "write what you know at the time" strategy in the hopes that I can get enough of the productive stuff done at work to make my playtime acceptable. Wish me luck.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Missed the Point
I spent the last few minutes writing a new post without mentioning that I spent a good half hour before that reading my first posts.
It was very comforting for me to go back and see where I was this time last year, and what I was doing. Here and now, I can look back at details I forgot and smile. It's been a good year.
It was very comforting for me to go back and see where I was this time last year, and what I was doing. Here and now, I can look back at details I forgot and smile. It's been a good year.
Fast Notes
I'm about to take my first trip to a bar I've lived by all my life. A friend is playing there (or maybe just watching friends play, I'm not sure) for the last event of its kind at this location. To be honest, I've had a frustrating day, I'm sore, I'm poor, and I don't really like dance club music, which is what this is going to end up being, but I've blown this guy off before and I hate doing that to anyone too often - he certainly doesn't deserve that - so I'm going in a few minutes.
I think I mentioned this already, but my artist is no longer mine. I haven't looked for a new one yet because honestly I need to change tracks. I can't stay on any one project for too too long, otherwise myself and my production get stale. The other web comic idea is back in the spotlight... kind of.
Over the last couple of weeks, I've made a few breakthroughs with my novel, one of those being the title change from WordWorld which I never liked to Babel Sphere - a title not as cliche as I thought at first, according to Google. I've plotted out a story that would accomplish the things a first book in a series should accomplish, if I can get a bit more of that done and find some more characters to fill it out, I think this can really work.
By the way, my trip to Kentucky went very well. I had a lot of fun, got a LOT of writing done, didn't see any weddings with only one family attending. The worst part was coming home, because within 24 hours I got majorly ill. Two and a half days off from work, never too far from a bathroom ill. I'm getting better.
I'm playing through Batman: AA again, it's still great and I'm making progress with the freeflow system. As wonderful as the gameplay and graphics are, and for the fine crafting of the story, it's really the tiny details that I love, like finding Ra's Ah Ghul in the morgue, only to notice he's missing when you come back later. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is not so honed an experience.
I think I mentioned this already, but my artist is no longer mine. I haven't looked for a new one yet because honestly I need to change tracks. I can't stay on any one project for too too long, otherwise myself and my production get stale. The other web comic idea is back in the spotlight... kind of.
Over the last couple of weeks, I've made a few breakthroughs with my novel, one of those being the title change from WordWorld which I never liked to Babel Sphere - a title not as cliche as I thought at first, according to Google. I've plotted out a story that would accomplish the things a first book in a series should accomplish, if I can get a bit more of that done and find some more characters to fill it out, I think this can really work.
By the way, my trip to Kentucky went very well. I had a lot of fun, got a LOT of writing done, didn't see any weddings with only one family attending. The worst part was coming home, because within 24 hours I got majorly ill. Two and a half days off from work, never too far from a bathroom ill. I'm getting better.
I'm playing through Batman: AA again, it's still great and I'm making progress with the freeflow system. As wonderful as the gameplay and graphics are, and for the fine crafting of the story, it's really the tiny details that I love, like finding Ra's Ah Ghul in the morgue, only to notice he's missing when you come back later. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is not so honed an experience.
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