michaeljasper.net
"Another Wrecked Web Site"
August 28, 2000
Today's Quote:
"Watts wasn’t a scrag. He came in at just below Nat’s point level, keeping the number of senior workers high for safety and order. If he continued working his current eleven to twelve hour days, Watts told them five minutes after meeting them, he would go over the wall in exactly 452 days, sixteen hours, and ten minutes. Give or take an hour or two, he added with a grin."
1000 words today
Back on track, for good I hope. A little bit itchier, but motivated to get lots of writing done on two stories before LA. I really want to go to that week-long workshop with a pretty clean slate, so I can come up with some cool new stuff. So far I've got a list of 3-4 ideas for stories, but I'm sure from the exercises I've read about from past workshops, I'll have lots of new material there.
Had an interesting afternoon yesterday. I sat in on a Board Member's meeting for the upcoming SF convention in Durham. Not only am I a guest there (woo hoo!) but I'm also writing an article about it for the paper. So I got to see some behind the scenes stuff. It's all top secret, though, sorry. ;) It's fascinating learning about some of the different things out there - in addition to genre books and panels, there are going to be gaming tables (like Dungeons and Dragons) and movies, plus live action roleplaying (LARP), which I can't wait to see. If I understand correctly, players in LARP have the run of the hotel, and they use different items in the game, somehow, though the don't interfere with non-players. And I believe they're in costume. Should be quite interesting! The whole experience has been eye-opening and fascinating.
Oh, and I'm itching because I've got about 50 chigger (red bug) bites all over my legs, plus some more on my arms, shoulders, and chest.
The quote on the left, by the way, is from "Working the Game." I'm pretty psyched about this story. It takes place in future Raleigh, with the rich techies hidden away from the poor tech-have-nots by a massive wall. I'm focusing on one guy, Marcus, who works outside the wall and wants badly to get on inside. It's fun working on a story for a change. Much more maneagable! See ya later.
mjj
August 27, 2000
Today's Quote:
"Already streaking toward the opposite basket, Peter intercepted the ball with only four seconds left. At three he was dribbling past half court. At two he was lifting the ball from his waist to shoot from beyond the half circle of the three-point line. And with one second, Peter Warner launched his shot. When the final buzzer sounded, his four teammates were there to scoop him up as the ball fell soundlessly through the hoop."
Hello Lori and Shelly! I'm finally updating this journal - ain't ya glad??? It's nice knowing someone's reading my irregular rantings.
I just got done preparing a bunch of story submissions, along with five envelopes addressed to five different agents. I'm just going to bite the bullet and send them the first 3 chapters of Prodigal Sons and see what happens, the hell with writing a query letter and waiting for their reply. Maybe I'll win the Carolina Novel contest and it won't matter anyway... Yeah. We'll see 'bout that. I wonder if I'm just spitting in the wind with my longer works sometime. And the wind keeps blowing it back on me. Another lovely image!
In any case, I'm also about caught up on my revisions to Autumn's Fall, at least for now. Time's running short now, so I'm going to focus on short stories for a couple weeks, before and while I'm in LA. I think I'm a bit burned out on the novel. I know there's a ton of work I want to do, but I also have a bunch of other smaller projects I'd rather be doing. And I wonder sometimes if it's really worth it. It's a pretty good story, I guess, and I really like the characters, but I don't think it's at the publishable level yet, and won't be for a while...
On a sidenote, Elizabeth and I went to get my tux for the big, "Hollywood-style" awards ceremony for the WotF contest. It's pretty cool - almost all black except for a silver tie. I don't wear black much, but I may start. I kind of like the look. I think it'll be a fun time. We don't get dressed up often (the last time I wore a tux was our wedding, over 3 years ago!).
mjj
August 22, 2000
Today's Quote:
"In the blackness behind
his eyes, he saw her on the sidewalk, cars stopped all around her.
Nobody would do anything to help. He pictured himself leaving his old
BMW with the engine still running, and bending down next to the
silent girl. Her eyes were already swollen shut, her face darkening
with a massive bruise. He had wanted to say something, but all he
could think of was getting her help."
400 words, AF
Nice uplifting quote on the left, there, huh? Hey - I'm writing a horror novel, so there has to be some creepy, freaky stuff now and then, okay? And for this novel, I really needy some juicy stuff early on, as the really weird stuff doesn't happen till the midpoint of the book.
So. Got up at 5 a.m. again today, and it wasn't too hard. Though I'm feeling it a bit right now, trying to stay awake as I read some long technical documents. Luckily, Elizabeth and I started a new yoga class last night. Don't laugh - it's incredibly relaxing, and a pretty good workout. A lot of it's mental, instead of physical, and it's all based on breathing. I think I fell asleep a couple times. But that's okay. I know I slept better last night than I have in a looong time.
I was able to get through a bunch of pages on the novel this morning. I'm trying to get the first couple chapters in really good shape. I'd like to send it out to publishers soon, just to see what they think. And I need to put together some query letters for The Prodigal Sons soon, but I can never seem to find the time. I plan on sending both novels out to 3 publishers apiece before I leave for LA.
That's my plan. Always have to have a plan. But the plans are always changing.
What can I do? You just have to roll with the punches and hope for the best. And try to stay outta trouble. Later.
mjj
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August 18, 2000
Today's Quote:
"What force is more
potent than love?" -- Igor Stravinsky, on my Inspirational
Calendar at my desk at work...
Hmmm. It's getting harder and harder to keep up with this online journal, at least lately. Don't expect daily journals, that's all I've got to say. Unless I can streamline this process, which I'm trying to do today, getting rid of all the extraneous code from good ol' RoboHelp and basically hand-coding everything from now on, using HomeSite basically as a text editor.
I can see you're fascinated by all this.
In any case, the writing is sort of at a standstill right now, for good reason. I've sort of let the other things in my life slide, the things that matter, as I got caught up in work, both the new job and the ever-present job of writing. Sometimes being a fiction writer feels like working 2 jobs, the job that pays the bills and the job that matters (which doesn't pay much at all, except for the occasional thrill of publication, the rare trip to LA, and the continual joy of creation, which ain't nothing to sneeze at). Working two jobs over an extended period of time will burn anyone out. You end up not doing very good work at either job as exhaustion sets in. And the rest of your life suffers. I don't believe in suffering for my art, not in that case. I'll push myself, but I won't let it take over my life, though I must say I've come close in recent weeks (months?).
It's all about balance. And I've been off-balance and wobbly for a while. Time to regain that perspective.
mjj
August 14, 2000
Today's Quote:
"Titus clicked off his cell phone. His fight with Janice, the lost accounts in Chicago, the backed-up work waiting for him in his office, all of it could wait. He punched in the number to his travel agent, giving the older man sitting next to him his biggest, fakest grin as he waited for the connection to be made. The five from '85 were now four, Titus thought, and there would be consequences. Many consequences."
Yes, I am still around. Just busy, of course. It's a bit of a change of page for me to actually have to work a full day. Takes some getting used to... But I can't complain. The work is really challenging, and it's interesting as well. I read a 170-page technical manual for the new software we're developing and it even made sense. I'm on my way, I guess.
I've also been doing some catch-up with the horror novel. Thanks to an idea I gleaned from Ron Collin's excellent website, I learned that it's best to revise a novel in a couple weeks, instead of spreading it out over years (like my first one).
Why? That's about the length of time I can hold all the elements of the story in my head. Too true. So I went through the whole novel yesterday, all 366 pages of it, and made what I called a Chapter Breakdown list. It's like an outline, breaking out each chapter by scenes and by whose point of view (POV) we're in. Since I have four main POVs, plus two other minor characters towards the end, it's nice to have this sheet handy for reference. And in the process, I familiarized myself again with the story.
And I'm enjoying it again. I realize now that critiquing a novel in process is a dangerous thing to do. Almost a stupid thing to do, in the wrong group. You get too much conflicting advice. So with my writing group, it's stories only. I like the characters in the book a lot, and I think I can even make the ending work...
Right now I'm on pace to finish revisions by Labor Day, September 4, doing a chapter a day during the week, 3-4 on the weekends (I redid the chapters, so instead of ten we have twenty-four!).
When it comes to Autumn's Fall, I always seem to do things by major holidays. Visited Nebraska over Memorial Day. Finished drafting on Independence Day after starting on Halloween. Maybe we can get it published by Christmas...
mjj