Writing Dare 2001, Week 12

michaeljasper.net

"Another Wrecked Web Site"

May 22, 2001

New arrival!

Today's Progress:

Yawn...

The Official Dare Page

Special delivery!! We interrupt this writing journal for important news about the arrival of Paige Jasper, our newest niece. After a rough night last night, she arrived at 9:45 p.m., at a whopping 9 lbs., 10 oz. Mother and baby are doing well, and Elizabeth and I are going to see them at lunch today, hopefully. We stayed there from about 5 to 10, I think. We didn't get a chance to see Paige, so we get to meet her today. Can't wait! I'm just glad Lori and Paige (and Matt and Anna and everyone else!) are all doing fine.

So after last night, a little perspective is needed. All this crazy writing stuff I'm doing sort of pales in comparison, you know?.

So yeah, I'm a little tired and unfocused today. Can you believe it???

I'm trying to refocus. I've been really caught up in this whole sending-out of submissions for the past week. It's addictive. Elizabeth finally understands now why I get so excited about getting the mail (she hadn't realized that when I get a self-addressed-stamped envelope in the mail, it can contain acceptances as well as rejections! She'd thought -- reasonably enough, since I've gotten over 300+ of 'em -- that the SASEs were rejections only...). But it can be a crazy cycle to get caught in.

And yesterday, just as I'd gotten Autumn's Fall out the door, I got a note back from the agent I'd sent it to -- very quick response, which I really appreciate! -- saying she didn't handle YA (young adult) books. So that stung. I don't think the book is strictly YA -- I think it can be enjoyed by all ages. I sent her a follow-up to tell her this, and to let her know I was planning on sending it to the same fantasy publishers as I would if this were an adults-only book. We'll see what happens. It kind of makes me want to stop writing, thinking that I won't be able to find a publisher for it, but then I come back to my senses and realize that once I write it, it'll get published eventually. It just has to find the right home. Right not I need to be focused on the writing process, not the publishing process.

I'd like to get one more new story out in circulation -- right now I have 7 -- preferably something I can send to the big SF markets. I think my Buddha story would be good for that. I just haven't had a chance to really think about that one for a while. I may have to extend this Dare to the end of June to get everything done that I want to get done! I know that these Dare deadlines are completely phony, but I need them to stay focused. I think I can do a story and finish the last 175 pages of my fantasy novel in that time. Maybe?

So that's my latest news. No writing done this morning, though I may try to get something done this afternoon... we'll see (if so, I'll try and do an update). And I'm reading Linda Nagata's "Goddesses" right now, the Nebula winner for novella. It's pretty dang good so far. See ya later.
mjj

May 21, 2001

And it's away!

Today's Quote:

“Looking for this?” a guttural voice said, dropping a bullet onto the quilt. Five more bullets dropped onto the wood floor next to the bed.

Today's Progress:

Took a trip to PO...

The Official Dare Page

Okay, I know if you're reading this you're getting tired of seeing the same sort of entry over and over, but today is it -- the horror novel is going out to a publisher. This should be the last entry related to that for a while (until the acceptance entry -- yeah!). I'm ready for something new.

I had a couple last-minute change of plans. First of all, I thought about printing it in Courier (I'd read that somewhere that submissions should be that way, and I read Derek's sub that was printed in Courier and liked it). So I printed out the first 4 chapters in Courier (which looks like a typewriter's font, very square and blocky letters) and kinda liked it. I had to go to the expert then. I asked my co-worker Kathy which she preferred, and she went right for the one in Times New Roman (the font that's the default font in MS Word). Fascinating story, eh? I'm just trying to cover all my bases. A drawback of Courier is that it uses up more space on the page -- I can squeeze 4 chapters in Times into 30 pages, but in Courier it's closer to 40.

Long story short, I used Times New Roman. Why change now?

The other change I made was to not send the editor the 60 pages I'd been planning on sending. Instead I sent about 35 pages, the prologue and chapters 1-4. It ends on a nice note, I think, with the guys arriving back in Rosecroft after racing each other, stopping at the cemetery where their buddy is going to be buried. I think that'll be less overwhelming to an editor.

So as soon as I get to the PO, the submission package will be away! And it's ten days ahead of schedule!

What's next, you ask? The fantasy novel. I've added 9,000 words to it so far in this Dare, and I need to at least that much more before the month of May is up. Then I have less than 2 weeks in June to crank out the remaining chapters in the draft (probably 30,000 words or so). I think I can do it.

I just need to get some rest. Didn't get home last night until midnight or so, after Cammie and Josh's wedding. It was a great, great time. It was outdoors, at the Preston Woodall House, a historic home and bed and breakfast in Benson, NC (check out the portrait of Scarlett in the foyer!). I have a feeling Josh and Cammie and company are just now rolling out of bed now -- did you guys finish off the wine after we left last night? Cammie was a beautiful bride, and Josh was very cool and handsome in his slick tux. Everything they did, from the flowers to the house to the outdoor wedding and the jazz band at the reception was very much "Cammie and Josh." The event fit their style perfectly. Now if we can just break it to Cammie's sister Vanessa and her grandmother that I'm no longer available... (inside joke -- not to worry, Lizzie!)

And I just have to say what a great job Elizabeth did as the wedding director -- she had everyone organized and the entire ceremony went off without a hitch (even the silent reading I did!). She did such a fine job that the owner of the house asked for her business card! So she may have found a little side work to do in the future -- she loved it. I wasn't surprised that she did such a fine job. Elizabeth is truly a people person and especially enjoys working with older people. It was a fun night, and worth being tired as a dog today at work!

Tomorrow, I'm back to my writing schedule! Later.
mjj

May 20, 2001

Finito!

Today's Quote:

"Yeah. You could say I'm running from a demon or two," she said.

Today's Progress:

DONE with horror novel, cover letter, and synopsis!

The Official Dare Page

With not much time to spare (we have a wedding in a couple hours - yay for Cammie and Josh!), I finally, finally have finished my work on Autumn's Fall!!!

All I have to do is print the whole works up and slip it into the envelope and take it to the trusty PO. I did the last 100 pages of edits, and Lizzie had some good comments for the cover letter and synopsis, and -- barring any last-minute comments from Greg -- this query package is ready to go.

Whew.

What a nice feeling. I don't want to think about working on anything else for a while, though I'm sure when I get up tomorrow I'll be reading and raring to go on the fantasy novel. I was supposed to do more on that this weekend, but had no time. Maybe we can keep out schedules a bit more open next weekend and we can relax more, less running around. Summer always seems to be a crazy, crazy time. But we wouldn't have it any other way, I guess. Otherwise we'd be bored...

Talk to you later, and wish us luck on our novel submission! Thanks for following the progress here. I'll definitely keep y'all posted as soon as I hear something.
mjj

May 19, 2001

Almost ready for prime time...

Today's Progress:

Revised almost all of horror novel (final), prepared synopsis and cover letter

The Official Dare Page

Just a quick note to let you know what's up. Today was a catch-up day, all too short. I'm 100 pages away from being done with Autumn's Fall for now! It's a good feeling. We've put a ton of work into this baby. Over a year and a half, dating back to Halloween of '99. I'm planning on getting the query package in the mail on Monday.

All I need to finish up with for that is the synopsis. After a lot of tweaking, I think it's almost there. I sent a draft to Greg for his take on it, and I added and subtracted a bit more tonight. I'm gonna have Elizabeth look at it and see if it makes sense at all.

Tomorrow I should finish it all off. I'll have to print it out at work, 'cause I have yet to get more computer paper, plus the laser printer there is much faster! ;) I know, I'm bad.

So by Monday I should be ready to jam on the next project... Have a good rest of the weekend.
mjj

May 18, 2001

Back at it!

Today's Quote:

As Mexico rattled off his plan for fixing the tracking software and getting the servers up and running again in the too-quiet control room, Azure paced around the mess of equipment next to where York was still working on the Cloud Engines. Azure's eyebrows raised a fraction of an inch when he heard what could have been an engine in the floor above him try to rumble back to life. Then York, still perched in front of the circuit board, pulled his hand away from a giant white spark.

"Crap!" York said, rolling to his feet and shaking his hand, which was giving off a tiny puff of smoke. "Crap crap CRAP!" He spun and lumbered out of the room toward the restroom, holding his hand above his head like a smoking trophy.

"So," Azure said. "I guess that is your status report, Mr. York."

Today's Progress:

1,000 words!

Drafted ch. 20

The Official Dare Page

All right, this is more like it. I rolled out of bed at 5 and pretty much got right to work. After all of my distraction of the past week, it was fun to just sit down and write some new wordage. No editing, no revising, no addressing envelopes and printing out cover letters (which I coudn't do anyhow 'cause I'm out of computer paper!). Just good old fashioned first-draft writing. Ain't nothing more fun, or more rewarding.

Toward the end of my session (I'm running late, actually, right now), I was hitting the old Word Count function every other sentence, trying to hit 1k for the day. I came close enough...

This chapter was fun, because it was with the "bad guys" -- Azure and his two henchmen. They're trying to put their office and all their high-tech equipment back together after Jersey pretty much fried everything, ruining the Cloud Engines and launching all sorts of viruses on the computer servers. One of the operatives, York, nearly gets electrocuted, but by the end of the chapter, through a stroke of luck, the other operative, Mexico, gets things running again.

Final sentence of the chapter: "The Fist was back in business." Fun times.

Speaking of fun time, Elizabeth and I had a great time last night, meeting Tim and Meg. I was a little apprehensive at first, just 'cause I get a little nervous meeting new people, even if I do know them through e-mail and stuff, but it turns out I had nothing to worry about. Tim and Meg are very cool folks, and we had a lovely dinner at Chapel Hill's Rathskeller, in the Cave section of the restaurant (there are six or seven different sections of this basement restaurant, and many of the waiters have been there for decades -- it's a great place to hang out).

We ended up eating and sitting around there for a couple hours, talking about The Lord of the Rings, writing, grad school, Scientology (Lizzie had fun with this one!), traveling, books, the Sandman, contemporary fantasy, conventions, and just about anything else under the sun. I realized all over again that my wife is truly a wonderful conversationalist -- she tells a fun story, and she includes everyone in her conversations and asks lots of great questions. I had nothing to worry about with Elizabeth at my side! Hopefully Tim and Meg weren't overwhelmed by our chattiness -- I think we both needed a chance to get out! It was really fun, and we'll have to do it again.

Now I need to get Tim to send me his novel so I can read it! I especially want to read about the Santa Cruz earthquake in '89.

Which leads me back to, um... me! (Don't you love these self-indulgent entries???). Tim had mentioned sending his novel out to the publisher where I sent The Last of the Hand way back when -- Feb. 21, to be exact (hey, it's in my Palm Pilot!) -- and he said they're usually pretty quick about responding. But if they respond fast, that usually means no. If it takes a while, that's a good sign... So, I'm coming up on 3 months with this one. A good sign, but I can't read too much into it, y'know. Plus I have to finish the book first. That news was a good motivation to get my butt up today and write. I figure if they want to see more, I can jam for a week or two (maybe taking some personal time off work, if possible) and get the draft written pretty fast. Right now I'm averaging a chapter at a sitting. Short chapters, yeah, but complete nonetheless.

Okay, I'm rambling. When I start using words like "nonetheless," that means it's time to wrap it up for the day...

But first, one more thing. Since I wrote about horoscopes yesterday, I had to check mine today. This little snippet was in there, and I found it quite fitting in light of what I've been working on lately, and my life in general: "Try to bring more magic into your life."

I think I've been doing more and more of that lately! Have a good one. Later.
mjj

May 17, 2001

Star- and navel-gazing...

Today's Progress:

Nuttin'!

The Official Dare Page

My horoscope for today: "The current Moon-Jupiter square may make you feel like you are riding a fast train to success. Remember that success can be measured in many different ways. Today it is important that you consider your emotional success, and how your personal feelings fit into the overall equation of your life. You may discover that the train you are on is actually running perpendicular to the train you should be on. Don't be afraid to get off at the next station and transfer to a different line. Ask the stationmaster for directions."

Horoscopes are funny. They're just specific enough to make you stop and think, but general enough to fit almost any situation. In any case, I guess I'd better start looking for the stationmaster. And who would that be??? Maybe, in the words of The Cure's Robert Smith, I'm just "jumping someone else's train."

Oh boy. I'm quoting The Cure. I am in trouble!

Not much writing going on today. I'm just resting up for the weekend, Saturday specifically, when I plan on getting all the revising and editing done to the horror novel and get it ready to send out. I'm ready for some closure on that. I've worked my tail off the past 2 and a half months on that bad boy. I think we'll be ready shortly. I'll take it to the PO on Monday, I hope.

Then I can truly focus on the fantasy novel. I may even do a short story or two. Writing that story about the 'burbs really whet my appetite. I feel like I need to build on my recent successes and write more, more, more!

That's how I deal with success -- I try to set myself up for more of it. Immediately. At the expense of everything else. Makes for a lot of work for myself. I need to learn to slow down and enjoy the process. I've been feeling very distracted and irritable lately. I know I shouldn't be, but I feel like I'd be better off at home working on my writing and reading more instead of coming to work. The Day Job is sucking my positive energy. But I have to remember that I am fortunate to have job in the tech field the way the economy has been lately. I know of a lot of people out of work right now. So I need to buck up at work and refocus. No more putzing around there.

It's harder than it sounds sometimes. But I'll get there. I just need to take a break from the writing race for a day or two and recharge.

Maybe that's what my horoscope meant -- all my diversion from my fiction writing successes has been taking away from my what's really important: enjoying my life and not being all stressed. I'm sure Elizabeth can attest to the fact that I've not been myself this week. I've been trying to do too much and not having fun.

Tonight I plan on having fun -- we're heading to Chapel Hill to meet up with Tim and Meg and a good meal at the Rathskeller. See ya.
mjj

May 16, 2001

Misc. stuff, etc.

Today's Progress:

0 words

More busy work and revising

The Official Dare Page

Very briefly, today was sort of a hodge podge of various activities. I trimmed one story by 300 words ("Working the Game"), and still like what I have there quite a bit. I'm getting ready to send that one overseas, to a magazine called The Edge. Check them out online at their slow-loading website. I read a couple stories there, and I think my story would fit in well there. I recommend the stories by Christopher Fowler and Kim Newman.

I'm also trying to find time to make the fixes to Autumn's Fall, but it looks like that'll have to wait 'til Saturday. I just don't have time for it 'til then. Unless I feel really ambitious and pull out the laptop tonight... but I think I'd rather read more Perdido.

And, last but not least, I have another acceptance to add to my growing list!!!

Strange Horizons accepted my story Explosions after holding it a month or so (I guess they've been slammed with subs with the recent publicity they've been deservedly getting). I was sort of expecting it, as I'd revised the heck out of the story once already, and I really quite liked it by the time I'd sent it back to them. But it's still a great, great thrill.

So I spent my morning messing with additions to my website, adding the SH logo to my Explosions excerpt page, and doing some general piddling here and there. Perhaps tomorrow I will actually write something new... Later.

Home

mjj

	michaeljasper.net *"Another Wrecked Web Site"*
May 22, 2001 New arrival! *Today's Progress:* Yawn... The Official Dare Page	Special delivery!! We interrupt this writing journal for important news about the arrival of Paige Jasper, our newest niece. After a rough night last night, she arrived at 9:45 p.m., at a whopping 9 lbs., 10 oz. Mother and baby are doing well, and Elizabeth and I are going to see them at lunch today, hopefully. We stayed there from about 5 to 10, I think. We didn't get a chance to see Paige, so we get to meet her today. Can't wait! I'm just glad Lori and Paige (and Matt and Anna and everyone else!) are all doing fine. So after last night, a little perspective is needed. All this crazy writing stuff I'm doing sort of pales in comparison, you know?. So yeah, I'm a little tired and unfocused today. Can you believe it??? I'm trying to refocus. I've been really caught up in this whole sending-out of submissions for the past week. It's addictive. Elizabeth finally understands now why I get so excited about getting the mail (she hadn't realized that when I get a self-addressed-stamped envelope in the mail, it can contain acceptances as well as rejections! She'd thought -- reasonably enough, since I've gotten over 300+ of 'em -- that the SASEs were rejections only...). But it can be a crazy cycle to get caught in. And yesterday, just as I'd gotten Autumn's Fall out the door, I got a note back from the agent I'd sent it to -- very quick response, which I really appreciate! -- saying she didn't handle YA (young adult) books. So that stung. I don't think the book is strictly YA -- I think it can be enjoyed by all ages. I sent her a follow-up to tell her this, and to let her know I was planning on sending it to the same fantasy publishers as I would if this were an adults-only book. We'll see what happens. It kind of makes me want to stop writing, thinking that I won't be able to find a publisher for it, but then I come back to my senses and realize that once I write it, it'll get published eventually. It just has to find the right home. Right not I need to be focused on the writing process, not the publishing process. I'd like to get one more new story out in circulation -- right now I have 7 -- preferably something I can send to the big SF markets. I think my Buddha story would be good for that. I just haven't had a chance to really think about that one for a while. I may have to extend this Dare to the end of June to get everything done that I want to get done! I know that these Dare deadlines are completely phony, but I need them to stay focused. I think I can do a story and finish the last 175 pages of my fantasy novel in that time. Maybe? So that's my latest news. No writing done this morning, though I may try to get something done this afternoon... we'll see (if so, I'll try and do an update). And I'm reading Linda Nagata's "Goddesses" right now, the Nebula winner for novella. It's pretty dang good so far. See ya later. mjj
May 21, 2001 And it's away! *Today's Quote:* “Looking for this?” a guttural voice said, dropping a bullet onto the quilt. Five more bullets dropped onto the wood floor next to the bed. *Today's Progress:* Took a trip to PO... The Official Dare Page	Okay, I know if you're reading this you're getting tired of seeing the same sort of entry over and over, but today is it -- the horror novel is going out to a publisher. This should be the last entry related to that for a while (until the acceptance entry -- yeah!). I'm ready for something new. I had a couple last-minute change of plans. First of all, I thought about printing it in Courier (I'd read that somewhere that submissions should be that way, and I read Derek's sub that was printed in Courier and liked it). So I printed out the first 4 chapters in Courier (which looks like a typewriter's font, very square and blocky letters) and kinda liked it. I had to go to the expert then. I asked my co-worker Kathy which she preferred, and she went right for the one in Times New Roman (the font that's the default font in MS Word). Fascinating story, eh? I'm just trying to cover all my bases. A drawback of Courier is that it uses up more space on the page -- I can squeeze 4 chapters in Times into 30 pages, but in Courier it's closer to 40. Long story short, I used Times New Roman. Why change now? The other change I made was to not send the editor the 60 pages I'd been planning on sending. Instead I sent about 35 pages, the prologue and chapters 1-4. It ends on a nice note, I think, with the guys arriving back in Rosecroft after racing each other, stopping at the cemetery where their buddy is going to be buried. I think that'll be less overwhelming to an editor. So as soon as I get to the PO, the submission package will be away! And it's ten days ahead of schedule! What's next, you ask? The fantasy novel. I've added 9,000 words to it so far in this Dare, and I need to at least that much more before the month of May is up. Then I have less than 2 weeks in June to crank out the remaining chapters in the draft (probably 30,000 words or so). I think I can do it. I just need to get some rest. Didn't get home last night until midnight or so, after Cammie and Josh's wedding. It was a great, great time. It was outdoors, at the Preston Woodall House, a historic home and bed and breakfast in Benson, NC (check out the portrait of Scarlett in the foyer!). I have a feeling Josh and Cammie and company are just now rolling out of bed now -- did you guys finish off the wine after we left last night? Cammie was a beautiful bride, and Josh was very cool and handsome in his slick tux. Everything they did, from the flowers to the house to the outdoor wedding and the jazz band at the reception was very much "Cammie and Josh." The event fit their style perfectly. Now if we can just break it to Cammie's sister Vanessa and her grandmother that I'm no longer available... (inside joke -- not to worry, Lizzie!) And I just have to say what a great job Elizabeth did as the wedding director -- she had everyone organized and the entire ceremony went off without a hitch (even the silent reading I did!). She did such a fine job that the owner of the house asked for her business card! So she may have found a little side work to do in the future -- she loved it. I wasn't surprised that she did such a fine job. Elizabeth is truly a people person and especially enjoys working with older people. It was a fun night, and worth being tired as a dog today at work! Tomorrow, I'm back to my writing schedule! Later. mjj
May 20, 2001 Finito! *Today's Quote:* "Yeah. You could say I'm running from a demon or two," she said. *Today's Progress:* DONE with horror novel, cover letter, and synopsis! The Official Dare Page	With not much time to spare (we have a wedding in a couple hours - yay for Cammie and Josh!), I finally, finally have finished my work on Autumn's Fall!!! All I have to do is print the whole works up and slip it into the envelope and take it to the trusty PO. I did the last 100 pages of edits, and Lizzie had some good comments for the cover letter and synopsis, and -- barring any last-minute comments from Greg -- this query package is ready to go. Whew. What a nice feeling. I don't want to think about working on anything else for a while, though I'm sure when I get up tomorrow I'll be reading and raring to go on the fantasy novel. I was supposed to do more on that this weekend, but had no time. Maybe we can keep out schedules a bit more open next weekend and we can relax more, less running around. Summer always seems to be a crazy, crazy time. But we wouldn't have it any other way, I guess. Otherwise we'd be bored... Talk to you later, and wish us luck on our novel submission! Thanks for following the progress here. I'll definitely keep y'all posted as soon as I hear something. mjj
May 19, 2001 Almost ready for prime time... *Today's Progress:* Revised almost all of horror novel (final), prepared synopsis and cover letter The Official Dare Page	Just a quick note to let you know what's up. Today was a catch-up day, all too short. I'm 100 pages away from being done with Autumn's Fall for now! It's a good feeling. We've put a ton of work into this baby. Over a year and a half, dating back to Halloween of '99. I'm planning on getting the query package in the mail on Monday. All I need to finish up with for that is the synopsis. After a lot of tweaking, I think it's almost there. I sent a draft to Greg for his take on it, and I added and subtracted a bit more tonight. I'm gonna have Elizabeth look at it and see if it makes sense at all. Tomorrow I should finish it all off. I'll have to print it out at work, 'cause I have yet to get more computer paper, plus the laser printer there is much faster! ;) I know, I'm bad. So by Monday I should be ready to jam on the next project... Have a good rest of the weekend. mjj
May 18, 2001 Back at it! *Today's Quote:* As Mexico rattled off his plan for fixing the tracking software and getting the servers up and running again in the too-quiet control room, Azure paced around the mess of equipment next to where York was still working on the Cloud Engines. Azure's eyebrows raised a fraction of an inch when he heard what could have been an engine in the floor above him try to rumble back to life. Then York, still perched in front of the circuit board, pulled his hand away from a giant white spark. "Crap!" York said, rolling to his feet and shaking his hand, which was giving off a tiny puff of smoke. "Crap crap CRAP!" He spun and lumbered out of the room toward the restroom, holding his hand above his head like a smoking trophy. "So," Azure said. "I guess that is your status report, Mr. York." Today's Progress: 1,000 words! Drafted ch. 20 The Official Dare Page	All right, this is more like it. I rolled out of bed at 5 and pretty much got right to work. After all of my distraction of the past week, it was fun to just sit down and write some new wordage. No editing, no revising, no addressing envelopes and printing out cover letters (which I coudn't do anyhow 'cause I'm out of computer paper!). Just good old fashioned first-draft writing. Ain't nothing more fun, or more rewarding. Toward the end of my session (I'm running late, actually, right now), I was hitting the old Word Count function every other sentence, trying to hit 1k for the day. I came close enough... This chapter was fun, because it was with the "bad guys" -- Azure and his two henchmen. They're trying to put their office and all their high-tech equipment back together after Jersey pretty much fried everything, ruining the Cloud Engines and launching all sorts of viruses on the computer servers. One of the operatives, York, nearly gets electrocuted, but by the end of the chapter, through a stroke of luck, the other operative, Mexico, gets things running again. Final sentence of the chapter: "The Fist was back in business." Fun times. Speaking of fun time, Elizabeth and I had a great time last night, meeting Tim and Meg. I was a little apprehensive at first, just 'cause I get a little nervous meeting new people, even if I do know them through e-mail and stuff, but it turns out I had nothing to worry about. Tim and Meg are very cool folks, and we had a lovely dinner at Chapel Hill's Rathskeller, in the Cave section of the restaurant (there are six or seven different sections of this basement restaurant, and many of the waiters have been there for decades -- it's a great place to hang out). We ended up eating and sitting around there for a couple hours, talking about The Lord of the Rings, writing, grad school, Scientology (Lizzie had fun with this one!), traveling, books, the Sandman, contemporary fantasy, conventions, and just about anything else under the sun. I realized all over again that my wife is truly a wonderful conversationalist -- she tells a fun story, and she includes everyone in her conversations and asks lots of great questions. I had nothing to worry about with Elizabeth at my side! Hopefully Tim and Meg weren't overwhelmed by our chattiness -- I think we both needed a chance to get out! It was really fun, and we'll have to do it again. Now I need to get Tim to send me his novel so I can read it! I especially want to read about the Santa Cruz earthquake in '89. Which leads me back to, um... me! (Don't you love these self-indulgent entries???). Tim had mentioned sending his novel out to the publisher where I sent The Last of the Hand way back when -- Feb. 21, to be exact (hey, it's in my Palm Pilot!) -- and he said they're usually pretty quick about responding. But if they respond fast, that usually means no. If it takes a while, that's a good sign... So, I'm coming up on 3 months with this one. A good sign, but I can't read too much into it, y'know. Plus I have to finish the book first. That news was a good motivation to get my butt up today and write. I figure if they want to see more, I can jam for a week or two (maybe taking some personal time off work, if possible) and get the draft written pretty fast. Right now I'm averaging a chapter at a sitting. Short chapters, yeah, but complete nonetheless. Okay, I'm rambling. When I start using words like "nonetheless," that means it's time to wrap it up for the day... But first, one more thing. Since I wrote about horoscopes yesterday, I had to check mine today. This little snippet was in there, and I found it quite fitting in light of what I've been working on lately, and my life in general: "Try to bring more magic into your life." I think I've been doing more and more of that lately! Have a good one. Later. mjj
May 17, 2001 Star- and navel-gazing... *Today's Progress:* Nuttin'! The Official Dare Page	My horoscope for today: "The current Moon-Jupiter square may make you feel like you are riding a fast train to success. Remember that success can be measured in many different ways. Today it is important that you consider your emotional success, and how your personal feelings fit into the overall equation of your life. You may discover that the train you are on is actually running perpendicular to the train you should be on. Don't be afraid to get off at the next station and transfer to a different line. Ask the stationmaster for directions." Horoscopes are funny. They're just specific enough to make you stop and think, but general enough to fit almost any situation. In any case, I guess I'd better start looking for the stationmaster. And who would that be??? Maybe, in the words of The Cure's Robert Smith, I'm just "jumping someone else's train." Oh boy. I'm quoting The Cure. I am in trouble! Not much writing going on today. I'm just resting up for the weekend, Saturday specifically, when I plan on getting all the revising and editing done to the horror novel and get it ready to send out. I'm ready for some closure on that. I've worked my tail off the past 2 and a half months on that bad boy. I think we'll be ready shortly. I'll take it to the PO on Monday, I hope. Then I can truly focus on the fantasy novel. I may even do a short story or two. Writing that story about the 'burbs really whet my appetite. I feel like I need to build on my recent successes and write more, more, more! That's how I deal with success -- I try to set myself up for more of it. Immediately. At the expense of everything else. Makes for a lot of work for myself. I need to learn to slow down and enjoy the process. I've been feeling very distracted and irritable lately. I know I shouldn't be, but I feel like I'd be better off at home working on my writing and reading more instead of coming to work. The Day Job is sucking my positive energy. But I have to remember that I am fortunate to have job in the tech field the way the economy has been lately. I know of a lot of people out of work right now. So I need to buck up at work and refocus. No more putzing around there. It's harder than it sounds sometimes. But I'll get there. I just need to take a break from the writing race for a day or two and recharge. Maybe that's what my horoscope meant -- all my diversion from my fiction writing successes has been taking away from my what's really important: enjoying my life and not being all stressed. I'm sure Elizabeth can attest to the fact that I've not been myself this week. I've been trying to do too much and not having fun. Tonight I plan on having fun -- we're heading to Chapel Hill to meet up with Tim and Meg and a good meal at the Rathskeller. See ya. mjj
May 16, 2001 Misc. stuff, etc. Today's Progress: 0 words More busy work and revising The Official Dare Page	Very briefly, today was sort of a hodge podge of various activities. I trimmed one story by 300 words ("Working the Game"), and still like what I have there quite a bit. I'm getting ready to send that one overseas, to a magazine called The Edge. Check them out online at their slow-loading website. I read a couple stories there, and I think my story would fit in well there. I recommend the stories by Christopher Fowler and Kim Newman. I'm also trying to find time to make the fixes to Autumn's Fall, but it looks like that'll have to wait 'til Saturday. I just don't have time for it 'til then. Unless I feel really ambitious and pull out the laptop tonight... but I think I'd rather read more Perdido. And, last but not least, I have another acceptance to add to my growing list!!! Strange Horizons accepted my story Explosions after holding it a month or so (I guess they've been slammed with subs with the recent publicity they've been deservedly getting). I was sort of expecting it, as I'd revised the heck out of the story once already, and I really quite liked it by the time I'd sent it back to them. But it's still a great, great thrill. So I spent my morning messing with additions to my website, adding the SH logo to my Explosions excerpt page, and doing some general piddling here and there. Perhaps tomorrow I will actually write something new... Later.
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