Coming Up Empty

Well, I didn't write a single word today. I just couldn't come up with a single idea of where to start. I don't always need a complete story in mind to start writing, but I've got to have something. So far...nada.

On the other hand, I did figure out how to hook my laptop up to my new HDTV and use it as a Blue-ray player. That right there counts as major man points. Now I have this instinctual urge to run out into the woods in my underwear and strangle a deer. RAWR!!

But I'm a little old and fat for those kind of activities, so Bambi is safe. For now. On the other hand, I have lost four more pounds since last weigh-in so some things are going in the right direction. Although I have eaten so much meat and greens lately, I'm more likely to lose control and attack a potato than I am a deer.

MMmmmmm....potatoes. Hash browns. French fries.

Sob!

Heading for the Well

Well, I'm between stories again and soon it will be time to head back to that well.

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My choices of anthologies with the two publishers I'm used to is narrowing. LL Dreamspell has a revenge themed anthology, while Pill Hill has a monster anthology and a space anthology that might be up my alley. My latest work has gone to Pill Hill, so I think I'll try to come up with something for LL Dreamspellt this time.

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Revenge is a pretty rich field, but at the moment I don't have any ideas for it. Sometimes it helps to ponder on a specific topic for a day or two and see if something comes up. Research revenge as a topic, and see if some article or observation I come across sparks a little inspiration. LL Dreamspell also has a romance anthology open, but my wife is still laughing at the idea of me being able to write one of those.

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On another note, the Super Bowl party went well and we all had a good time. The game was exciting, the food was good, and the kids were only mildly obnoxious. Okay, the kids were actually vibrating with the excitement of us having company, and vying for attention any way they could. But it wasn't too bad. Basically we all sat around, watched football, and complained about our diets. It was fun.

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Now I just need a story.

T minus Five Hours and Counting

The Super Bowl is upon us. The Cowboys didn't make it again this year, so I don't exactly have a stake in this game. Heck, neither of the teams are even teams I hate, so I can't even root against either of them. I suppose I'll just settle for enjoying football.

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On the other hand, we have company coming, and the house is currently a trash dump. The mess is amazing, and time is running out. My first plan, of sleeping in and seeing if the kids would clean it, has failed miserably. So now it looks like I'm going to soon have to settle for Plan B, and pitch in.

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Sigh!

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Oh well... Go Saints! Or...Go Colts! I guess the Saints are closer to Houston, so I'll root for them. Makes sense.

Weekend Visitations I

We're going to be going to my parent's house in about an hour, so there won't be much to post about today. We'll be seeing some cousins of my mine that I haven't seen in years. That will be good.

I suppose I'll use the drive there to try and come up with ideas for my next story. Nothing like a drive through the peaceful countryside to stir up some nice and morbid ideas. Or perhaps the clamoring of the kids will inspire a good murder mystery.

Ah well, it's all fun and games until someone writes a book.

Quiet Today

The kids will soon both be off to school, and Karla is taking the day off. That leaves me to quietly write here on the coffee table with little to no interruption.

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Perhaps with a few solid hours of steady writing I can finish this current short story and start editing it. With a little effort, maybe I can have it finished either tonight or Monday night. There won't be much writing over the weekend since I'll be out of town on Saturday and hosting a Super Bowl party on Sunday.

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I'm beginning to understand why writers tend to be recluses. And childless. But it's too late to do anything about that second part, so I just make the best of it that I can. One can write masterpieces while unplugging stuffed animals from the toilet. I'm sure of it.

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I'm currently working on finishing this. I'm now about four thousand words into it, with a thousand words to go.

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UPDATE: I have finished the first rough draft of "The Warp/So It Ends" It currently has two names, depending on who it is submitted too. It will first be submitted to Pill Hill Press for their Pandora anthology, under the title "So It Ends." If it doesn't fit there, it will be submitted elsewhere under it's previous title "The Warp."

UPDATE 2: Due to the fact that the story was already two thirds written and previously edited, a couple of hours of intense editing was all it took to polish it off. This is exactly why it pays to keep your old unfinished projects on file, so you can come back to them some day.

Reading About Writing

I did some work on a short story yesterday morning, but my time was cut short due to taking my daughter to see her speech and occupational therapists. That gave me nearly two hours to kill, sitting in the waiting room, so I decided to pull out some of my old books on writing and do a little studying.

I think that reading about writing is very important. For one thing it can help reinspire and remotivate the writer, which is of paramount importance. It can also help the author brush up on skills that he might have been letting slide. The importance of both of those things can't be overstated. Just reading yesterday on setting and editing had me going back and looking at my current project with freshly critical eyes. And thats how things get better.

So I just need to remember to brush up on my skills from time to time... and remember to chew my raw spinach salads better. But that's a different story.

More of the Same

It will be another short day, as today is Stinkerbell's speech AND occupational therapy day. So my afternoon is pretty well taken up.

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Working on a short story at the moment. It was inspired by the little piece I wrote for Pill Hill Press's Pandora anthology, and is even a companion piece to that story. It stands on it's own though.

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I've got a busy weekend coming up...Saturday at my parent's house visiting relatives, and Sunday is a Super Bowl party. so housecleaning will also be demanding it's share of my time soon. Sigh, it's not easy finding time to write sometimes.

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But I shall labor on.

Update

Pill Hill Press just accepted my little piece of flash fiction titled "Jupiter Rising."

It's been a fairly productive week. One small short story and two pieces of flash fiction accepted.

Now I need to write something a little more substantial. Not a novel. Not yet. But one or two true short stories might fit the bill.

Porky Presses Onward

I only lost two pounds the past week. Not the results I was hoping for, but I guess things are at least still headed in the right direction. That makes thirteen or fourteen pounds since I started, but I'm still a long way from skinny.

I think the kids enjoyed Snow White last night. I fell asleep and had to go to bed before it was over, but I remember them doing a lot of hooting and hollering over the movie. Rowan laughed at the antics of the animals and the seven dwarves.

I'm thinking of doing a few short stories again before diving into the next novel. I've already done a few flash fiction pieces, just for a change of pace, and it felt good to actually be writing again after all that editing. I'll go through my old shelved short story pieces and see if I'm inspired to finish any of those first.

Today will be a short day because I have to pick up Rowan and take her to her speech therapist. That's okay, my projects for today are all short in nature.

Dinner and a Movie

Tonights dinner will be "sausage de la poo," a mixture of garlic salt and hamburger rolled in a non gluten flour mixture and deep fried. The kids love it. Following that will be a screening of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a movie the kids haven't seen before.

Just been puttering around today.

Writer's Night Out

Cherri Galbiati and I went out to Denny's last night for one of our rare and wonderful Writer's Nights Out. We yacked it up until well after one in the morning, and no food whatsoever was thrown. Overall, it was a great time.

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I wasn't so bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning, though.

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Just got the four year old off to school, and now is that pause in the morning while we relax for an hour until it is time for Karla and Sheridan to hit the road. Sheridan's enjoying breakfast and Karla is enjoying the internet.
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I'm not sure what my plans are for today, yet. I'll need to visit the grocery story sometime, and I might drop by Best Buy and look at some electronics. On the other hand, it's cold out there so I might keep my time outdoors to a minimum. Ah well, I've got about an hour to think about it.

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Good day, folks.