I’ve finished chapter 18 of my novel, which I started back in the beginning of July.
However, on Thursday I set a goal to write every day in order to finish the novel before the World Fantasy Convention at the end of October. That gives me 61 days.
Meeting my word-count targets will be tough, but it’s possible.
If I seriously want to be a novelist, I can’t write only when the mood strikes me; I have to write consistently.
amazon(1592121772, L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Vol. XX) (August 2004) Read the rest of this entry »
Well, last night I watched the latest three episodes of the show, so I’m caught up. Warning: spoilers ahead if you haven’t watched the latest episode.
(Incidentally, I ran into Amazing Race contestant Charla at the hotel I was staying at in Hollywood, and she seemed nice enough in person — even invited me to join a group of people who would be watching the show that night, but of course I couldn’t go because of Writers of the Future stuff.)
Colin is obviously starting to stress out way too much. I mean, he pushed that confrontation over paying the taxicab driver until it almost got him thrown in jail, which would have lost the race. Because of that, and the way he kept blaming Christie for not supporting him when he was acting irrationally, their team has moved down on my list of favorites. So I’d say Chip and Kim are now the ones I want to win.
OK, first of all, let me point out that my note-taking method leaves a lot to be desired. I generally just write down things that strike me as being interesting or important, and that I don’t feel I already know. So the notes are by no means comprehensive. But if what’s being said is too interesting, I may get caught up in listening and forget to take notes. So these notes can’t even be considered as the highlights.
I’m not just going to include my notes about writing, but rather will include things I remember about the whole experience.
I’m going to break these notes into several part and post them over the next several days.
Read the rest of this entry »
I don’t know that I have any readers in the Los Angeles area, but if there are you’re invited to the Writers of the Future book signing at the Borders bookstore at Sunset and Vine in Hollywood. Along with the other authors included, I’ll be signing the brand-new Writers of the Future anthology (Volume XX). But we’re not the big names: some of the WOTF judges will be signing, including Anne McCaffrey, Jerry Pournelle, Kevin J. Anderson and more.
The signing will be from 1:00 to 3:00pm on Saturday, August 21. If you come, be sure to mention that you read my blog.
Well, I’m off to Hollywood to seek my fame and fortune as a writer.
No, I haven’t quit my day job. I’m going to the Writers of the Future workshop for the next week, after which I will return home. But the workshop is held in Hollywood, so I’m sure I’ll be rubbing shoulders with the stars. Or at least be close to places stars have been.
Back during the Cold War, my family and I lived in England for a few years. My best friend while we lived there was neither American nor British; he was Finnish.
Those who know me may be aware of my political conservatism, and I’ve been a conservative for a long time, so it will not surprise you that I was anti-communist even as a teenager.
One day, my friend asked me an interesting question. What would I do if I found out my father was actually a sleeper agent for the Soviet Union? Would my loyalty to my father take precedence over my loyalty to the United States?
I thought about this question a bit before answering. To a great extent, my political beliefs as a teenager came from what my father had taught me. What if he’d only been pretending to be a conservative, so as to mask his true communist beliefs?
I told my friend that I would attempt to persuade my father to turn himself in to U.S. authorities and become a double agent, but failing that I would turn him in. (Dad, if you’re reading this, you did a good job of turning me into a loyal American. Hope that was what you wanted.)
Well, the Cold War is over, so the question is pretty irrelevant now. But what brought this to mind recently was Mark Hacking’s brothers telling the police about his confession. (A similar thing happened a few years ago when the Unabomber’s brother tipped off authorities.) It must have been very difficult for them, but I’m sure it was the right thing for them to do.
I just want to tell my brothers (and sisters, too) this: if you ever have evidence that I have committed a serious crime and are wondering whether to tell the police, I know where you live (well, except you, Michael, because you just moved and I don’t have your new address), so it should be easy for me to hunt you down and wreak my vengeance upon you. go ahead and tell them.
I figure I’d better post something, because otherwise Jim Dedman will start calling me a deadbeat blogger.
I’ve finally finished the revisions to “Resonance,” so I sent it back to Analog this morning. It’s a better, more balanced story now, so even if the editor decides not to buy it, thanks to his suggestions I think I’ve increased its chances of selling elsewhere.
Today, someone from the Orem Police Department delivered my Buffy the Vampire Slayer book, more than two weeks after it was misdelivered by the U.S. Postal Service.
An explanation of the saga of the book was blogged earlier.
Although the packaging material was delivered along with the book, there’s no trace of a white powder.
