tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57759307196731297312024-03-14T07:04:31.524-07:00Kyle WhiteUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-27258372775133021652014-06-22T17:15:00.002-07:002014-06-22T17:15:32.238-07:00Paul Lamarre: A Tribute <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">If it hadn't been for Paul
Lamarre, I may have never joined the DFW Writers' Workshop. The first time I
visited in 2007, I was nervous. The Workshop seemed so large and everyone
already knew each other. No one spoke to me and I was too shy to initiate a
conversation. I felt ill at ease. Started to leave. Questioned why I'd visited
in the first place. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0MFvqYDSNY3mm4N85Ciix4ngcF_KUeAoRV85G1AmRVicGnBXV4dDdy2I962Fj9r6XN_Tbpff7Orwt6_xVyqORjDbLq7WE8v17xRs9-_UFPEgCpObUBJJfEdZxMS7-IDX39ciEtYI-Emc7/s1600/Paul+Lamarre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0MFvqYDSNY3mm4N85Ciix4ngcF_KUeAoRV85G1AmRVicGnBXV4dDdy2I962Fj9r6XN_Tbpff7Orwt6_xVyqORjDbLq7WE8v17xRs9-_UFPEgCpObUBJJfEdZxMS7-IDX39ciEtYI-Emc7/s1600/Paul+Lamarre.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Then, Paul sat next to me and we
chatted. He wrote science fiction, a genre I also enjoyed. We spoke the same 'language'
even if he was more of a hard SF guy, while I preferred soft SF. Still, I
instantly liked him. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Each week, our friendship grew. When
I finally found the courage to read for the first time, Paul was in the room. No
one told me beforehand that first-time readers received applause. As everyone
clapped, I thought I must be a darned good writer. Then, the applause stopped
and I was shredded during the critique. I doubt I would have ever read again if
Paul hadn't been there to ease the sting. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In time, we began to critique
each others work outside of the Workshop. We texted daily, and celebrated each others successes, including </span><a href="http://www.4starstories.com/4StarStories_Archive_Issue5/story_3.htm" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Paul's first short story</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
sale. More importantly, we kept each other motivated when the rejections came
in faster than the acceptances did. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Paul and I shared a fondness for
SF&F conventions. We always hung out together and made the rounds of the
parties. In 2013, we road tripped to the World Science Fiction Convention
(Worldcon) in San Antonio with our mutual friend, Gabe. By that point, Paul had
endured almost a year of chemotherapy for colon cancer. The trip was a
celebration of his improving health. He was excited to be at Worldcon and to meet
some of his favorite authors such as Kim Stanley Robinson and Ben Bova. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Shortly after we returned, Paul's
doctors advised him that the cancer had spread to his abdomen. Paul continued
to fight with the support of his loving wife, Sheila. It was one of the bravest
battles I've ever seen. His attitude was always pleasant no matter how much
pain he suffered. He joked with hospital staff and thanked them for the care
they gave him. In fact, he was so cordial I would tease him the nurses kept him
in the hospital because he was their favorite patient. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Throughout, Paul never abandoned
his love of writing and was eager to start a Middle Grade novel. He also never
stopped being supportive of other writers. He always asked about their work in
progress whenever they visited him in the hospital. </span></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Paul Lamarre passed away on June
18, 2014. He was a loving husband and the proud father of three wonderful
children, Megan Kathleen, Sarah Elizabeth, and Joshua Paul Lamarre. He served
in the Navy during Operation Desert Storm as a Nuclear Machinist aboard the
nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser USS MISSISSIPPI. A graduate of Dallas
Baptist University, he worked as a Supply Chain manager for Poly America. He
attended Retta Baptist Church in Burleson, and served a term as Treasurer of
DFWWW. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But most of all, Paul was my
friend. One who I will miss more than any words can ever express. </span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-60544963497059338052014-02-16T17:51:00.001-08:002014-02-17T04:47:24.157-08:00I See Dead People in Jefferson, Texas (Or At Least Their Furniture) <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's begin with two clarifications to help understand this post:</span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">February 14 is Valentine's Day. However, having no significant other, I had not reserved a room at the <a href="http://www.historicjeffersonhotel.com/" target="_blank">Jefferson Hotel</a> with romantic intentions in mind. I reserved it because:</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was the weekend of a full moon.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paranormal activity is supposed to increase when there's a full moon. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Room 19 at the hotel is supposedly haunted. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feb 14 was the only Friday of a full moon the room was available*. </span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am one of those people who wants to believe in ghosts but I can't accept them on blind faith. I need proof. This was my fifth trip to <a href="http://www.historicjefferson.com/" target="_blank">Jefferson</a> (purported to be one of the most-haunted cities in Texas - if not the whole USA) in search of that proof. Needless to say, nothing out of the ordinary had happened on any of my previous trips. </span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgixKh2j3fuFRxcXPEZX6818bpF0FGXEY8zmkWpfsfMDpF9dKYliFeikESCFEAoxtKtve1zbFgxK89Tlk1PDcGsw5OlEngO8AnA8HErl0UvdhsFPXzTKPZnNQtWen0SJyHe7N_p2hT9Agwk/s1600/lobby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgixKh2j3fuFRxcXPEZX6818bpF0FGXEY8zmkWpfsfMDpF9dKYliFeikESCFEAoxtKtve1zbFgxK89Tlk1PDcGsw5OlEngO8AnA8HErl0UvdhsFPXzTKPZnNQtWen0SJyHe7N_p2hT9Agwk/s1600/lobby.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the lobby inside of the Jefferson Hotel.<br />
I did not take this picture. I borrowed it from the<br />
hotel's website. I've included the link in this post. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Typically, my youngest son, Jacob, travels with me. He bowed out due to a conflict and my sister, Gwen, agreed to go. Having her accompany me was a little awkward at first, because too many people thought we were married. But we soon got past that and had a really good time. Gwen and I never lack material for a conversation and enjoy each other's company. She makes an excellent traveling companion.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we checked into the hotel and the staff realized we were in room 19, I noticed a hint of hesitation in their eyes. I assured them I wanted the room. I happily accepted the key and hauled our luggage up the stairs. As we made our way down the hall, Gwen examined and commented on each piece of antique furniture. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We entered the room. Based on the stories I'd heard about 19, I guess I expected to feel an overwhelming sense of dread, or to see the bed floating, or at least to have a flower vase hurled at me. Instead, I observed a small nondescript room decorated with stylish wallpaper and antique furniture. No cold spots. No voices telling me to get out. No mists wafting toward me. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just a hotel room. In fact, one so boring I failed to take a picture of it. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0BG4A6Lo2-tHp1V2FZ52r5IH1UTC4hVucl-G1s9wiJQF0W7IPLkVKEVbfP2nv51smq8_sP0a2gltNowLZl3wH1SGwN81epui5ORyU7FF19OjWOZWgHemYknofuFEB6jeZ0zcFFtGnuTB/s1600/Jeffagain2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0BG4A6Lo2-tHp1V2FZ52r5IH1UTC4hVucl-G1s9wiJQF0W7IPLkVKEVbfP2nv51smq8_sP0a2gltNowLZl3wH1SGwN81epui5ORyU7FF19OjWOZWgHemYknofuFEB6jeZ0zcFFtGnuTB/s1600/Jeffagain2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ghost walk went inside a<br />
closed antique store reported<br />
to have lots of activity. This<br />
was the scariest 'monster' I<br />
saw. I think it's a doll, but<br />
can't be 100% sure since the<br />
store was dark. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Later that evening, we participated in the <a href="http://www.jeffersonghostwalk.com/" target="_blank">ghost walk</a>. If you ever visit Jefferson, I highly recommend this activity. Jodi Breckenridge hosts an excellent tour. She weaves the history of this unique little town among stories of the paranormal activity that's been experienced for over one-hundred years. I've taken the ghost walk six or seven times (yes, multiple tours during a single visit) and have always enjoyed it. However, I've never experienced a supernatural event. This time was no different. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the tour, Gwen and I returned to our room. We talked for a while, then she decided to take a bath. I left in search of a bottled water. I met the front desk clerk as she was leaving about 10:30 PM. The Jefferson Hotel is unique because it closes every night. There is no staff onsite until they return in the morning. Just a phone number to call if there's an emergency. The machine had no bottled water, so I settled for a soda and walked upstairs (Queue ominous music here, if you would like.) </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0doSRHqf2oJTj5_4KK6_cz5VEXZ_e6P_Rbkp-1tZ-5Hu7tC6kizgYMzAZgkDdRQL0X6qvT_0dL_oW97Z4vAcGvmvw-HhDgho-SS3H6TL_uKzJxuktlQD20_GWgU2WtKfxI-q79aqmbcQy/s1600/Jeffagain3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0doSRHqf2oJTj5_4KK6_cz5VEXZ_e6P_Rbkp-1tZ-5Hu7tC6kizgYMzAZgkDdRQL0X6qvT_0dL_oW97Z4vAcGvmvw-HhDgho-SS3H6TL_uKzJxuktlQD20_GWgU2WtKfxI-q79aqmbcQy/s1600/Jeffagain3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The phantom chair as I found it in<br />
front of the door to room 19. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I approached room 19, I saw a chair in front of the door. I recalled Gwen's earlier examination of the furniture in the hallway. She had paused before every piece, but this chair had not been discussed ... because, this chair had not been present. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I moved the chair and unlocked the door, but the knob would not turn. Instantly, my mind flashed on the hundreds of horror movies I've seen. I twisted the doorknob harder and it finally gave. I rushed into the room. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Gwen, are you alright?"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Yes," she called from the bathroom. "Why?"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I told her what had happened. She finished her bath and joined me. We both examined the chair and agreed it had not been in there earlier. I moved the chair away from our door and into a far corner. Gwen assured me she was not playing a prank on me. I even opened the door several times just to see if the chair would return. It didn't.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went into the bathroom to prepare for bed. When I returned to the main room, Gwen was staring at the closed door with the strangest look on her face. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"What's wrong?"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Someone's outside."</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Without hesitation, I opened the door. No one was there. I walked into the hallway and the floorboards creaked. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"That's what I heard," Gwen said. "Only it sounded as if someone was jumping up and down."</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"There's no one here now," I said and locked the door. It didn't happen again and we went to bed. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsb_HA6rK_RHWhu77stYOtu78TVfBzbbwgtYcvXTG7KOAVr7kCwbNucOZK_LXx2LEdGVhLTfwGMeSHW41h59wDUeAO9aCwMbtON8atuxppd1UrWrVHxJMU0REMRM3l6zX1dcLhnxyqLysU/s1600/Jeff2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsb_HA6rK_RHWhu77stYOtu78TVfBzbbwgtYcvXTG7KOAVr7kCwbNucOZK_LXx2LEdGVhLTfwGMeSHW41h59wDUeAO9aCwMbtON8atuxppd1UrWrVHxJMU0REMRM3l6zX1dcLhnxyqLysU/s1600/Jeff2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is exactly how we found the chair the<br />
next morning. Neither Gwen nor I put it there.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next morning, I awoke and got ready for the day. I opened the door and the chair was back. Only this time, it was resting face down. Neither of us had opened the door or left the room during the night. Since we shared a single, full-size bed, if one of us had gotten up, the other would have known it. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZyibReTBDZscbuR31J0f2n9jZLKpnIMI-RdW-L-wUjY3ovePcSZb0y1-EQkrhPfaxZW6wSsgaQVePOwBo-F-c4CP3mlkncncYAq7E7hM3NmcCxx-RFmnPdW30BS-Mt-MckILegp9UIDWQ/s1600/Jeffagain4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZyibReTBDZscbuR31J0f2n9jZLKpnIMI-RdW-L-wUjY3ovePcSZb0y1-EQkrhPfaxZW6wSsgaQVePOwBo-F-c4CP3mlkncncYAq7E7hM3NmcCxx-RFmnPdW30BS-Mt-MckILegp9UIDWQ/s1600/Jeffagain4.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gwen with the phantom chair. Notice<br />
she's wearing her jacket. We intended<br />
to check-out when the chair appeared<br />
for the third time before the closed door. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By this point, I suspected the hotel staff had pulled a prank. I once again moved the chair to the corner away from our door and I went downstairs to inquire. The front desk was still closed. The hotel had not opened yet. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I returned to our room and half expected to see the chair in front of the door. It wasn't. We gathered our belongs and prepared to check out of the room. When we opened the door - you guessed it - the chair was back. There was no way Gwen had done it. She'd never left my sight since I'd returned to the room. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I wasn't going to tell you this," she said. "But last night, I felt a tug on my pajama top and a child giggled. I told it to go night-night and it stopped." </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbbRGDle3ynQuLEbp2ciypaP2VDS_qP9OyKJFwjbh3gQfOkwTsNcSQQ3nWr2Sa29MSWH3ismGW_Cg2f8J28YE4_c7cawSLoheM2iSiR-1KkzGtXSKlfs05J1acwJmrPcaL7IYYu6tkgTz/s1600/hallway2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbbRGDle3ynQuLEbp2ciypaP2VDS_qP9OyKJFwjbh3gQfOkwTsNcSQQ3nWr2Sa29MSWH3ismGW_Cg2f8J28YE4_c7cawSLoheM2iSiR-1KkzGtXSKlfs05J1acwJmrPcaL7IYYu6tkgTz/s1600/hallway2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The upstairs hallway of the hotel. I did<br />
not take this picture but found it on the<br />
Internet. No credit was given to the<br />
photographer who took it. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I understood why she hadn't wanted to tell me. She'd been concerned I might be jealous that she had had a paranormal experience and I hadn't. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We left the room with our luggage and happened upon</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> two housekeepers beginning their day. I showed them a picture of the chair and asked if they recognized it.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Yes, but what's it doing in front of that door?"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I told her our experience. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Oh, that's Sarah. She haunts room 4 and 19." </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By this point, my brain with its there-must-be-a-logical-explanation kicked in and I began to sort the 'facts'. </span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first time the chair appeared, Gwen could have staged it while I was gone. However, having been around my sister for 47 years, I know that she is no prankster. It's not in her nature. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second time the chair appeared, it's doubtful Gwen could have staged it. The bed was just too small. We felt each other's every movement with her under the covers and me in a sleeping bag atop them. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The third time, it's impossible Gwen did it. She never left my sight. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gwen had told me about the child tugging her PJ's <i>before</i> we met the housekeepers. In fact, she hadn't mentioned a little girl, just a child. If she had fabricated the story, she would have been more specific. Especially because Gwen had refused to hear any of the stories associated with the room**.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She did not have the time to conceive a plan this elaborate, or to enlist the help of others, because she had agreed to travel with me only a few days before we departed. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most importantly, I trust my sister. She does not lie. She also does not share my writer's imagination. Whereas I might want to trick a friend, she couldn't conceive of doing such a <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgnmLqiPzaren2w6Ll6ChsubuU24xOxe1I_ZeO2iG4bDvLekuRhvYr5BINn_pM7XYq-12i9gJprIwTG7MS5SVzA22oppyZxcJySRNaQi4fzr9sR60yi3bY_t2ViszmoiLQeqgwvBy8WCj/s1600/stairs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgnmLqiPzaren2w6Ll6ChsubuU24xOxe1I_ZeO2iG4bDvLekuRhvYr5BINn_pM7XYq-12i9gJprIwTG7MS5SVzA22oppyZxcJySRNaQi4fzr9sR60yi3bY_t2ViszmoiLQeqgwvBy8WCj/s1600/stairs.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The stairs at the Jefferson Hotel with ...<br />
you decide. Again, I did not take the picture.<br />
I found it on the Internet. The photographer<br />
was not given credit. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
thing. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, the hotel staff did it, but why? </span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tourism drives their business and they need people to spread word about haunted Jefferson. However, I don't believe this one either, because there are more residents in the town who refuse to discuss the possibility of ghosts than there are folks who embrace them. In fact, some of the older residents are downright hostile toward "all that spook stuff".</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The hotel runs on a small staff. They wouldn't have time prank the guests. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was not my first time to stay at this hotel. I've stayed in three other rooms and never had a supernatural experience. In fact, I talked with one guest who said he's stay there over 10 times in as many different rooms and has never seen a ghost. If the staff were staging sightings, surely they would have included him at some point. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That means one of the guests did it. </span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Same question: why? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What was their motivation? No one knew Gwen or me. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To pull a prank you need to anticipate the prankee's reaction. The whole basis of the TV show <a href="http://www.scaretactics.tv/" target="_blank">Scare Tactics</a> is friends scaring their friends. In other words, a prankster needs to get something out of it. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A laugh. Seeing their friend piss their pants. Something. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No other guest at the Jefferson Hotel had a vested interest in spooking us. Even if they did, they didn't get their monies worth. Neither Gwen nor I screamed, or ran down the hall. We were both just curious.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I made the whole thing up - either consciously or unconsciously - because I want to see a ghost.</span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That would be the logical answer.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But it's the wrong one. I did not do this, especially not the third time it happened. The door was closed and locked, and just like my sister, I can't walk through solid wood. </span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do I believe in ghosts now? I'm still unsure, but I know I cannot fully explain what happened to my sister and me. We may have experienced the spirit of a bored child who wanted to play, and that makes me sad. To envision anyone stuck in limbo for an eternity searching for a playmate. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What about you? Do you believe in ghosts? Let me know your thoughts and experiences. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* <i>A</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>nd to get Feb 14 I had to make my reservation way back in May 2013. Yes, the room is that popular. </i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>** I knew the history of the room. However, none of the stories I had previously read mentioned a child haunting 19. In fact, I had expected to see either a woman in a white dress, or a cowboy in a duster. </i></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-31618528837109779072014-02-08T19:22:00.000-08:002014-02-08T19:22:15.261-08:00 Science Fiction: The Cat's Meow <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am not a cat person, yet two cats reside in my house. One of them because when my youngest son came to live with me, he wanted a cat and it seemed like a good idea at the time. The other, because I made a promise to my sister and I keep my promises.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite my lack of cat aptitude, I do my best to care for them. Name-brand dry and wet food. Fresh water daily. Clean litter box. Warm beds (one upstairs and one downstairs). And toys. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During their annual tuneup, the vet told me they both needed their teeth cleaned. Because the service required anesthesia, it would cost me about $400 per cat. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJxV_Es3dtz76QVgHrv1RfHBKrOiJYGcxalCKaONQG76tAhRO4Awb2cfr4XD3rViPxXZpZqecY-1UBYhftVLWNvlaBF23v-SKSCB-GCbOobgYDauOLuwP93SsTnbCA6kAOoC6c3pON_JC/s1600/johnny_automatic_cat_reading.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJxV_Es3dtz76QVgHrv1RfHBKrOiJYGcxalCKaONQG76tAhRO4Awb2cfr4XD3rViPxXZpZqecY-1UBYhftVLWNvlaBF23v-SKSCB-GCbOobgYDauOLuwP93SsTnbCA6kAOoC6c3pON_JC/s1600/johnny_automatic_cat_reading.png" height="200" width="132" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, that wasn't in my budget, so I searched for a more economical way to maintain their pearly whites. The pet store offered toothbrushes and toothpaste made just for cats. Seemed reasonable to me, but not to the cats. It took both me and my son to hold them down. They struggled and fought. We never managed to fully scrub their teeth. I needed another option. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are several brands of cat treats to purport to clean teeth. I bought one brand for a while until the cats grew tired of its limited flavors. Then, I switched to a pricer brand that offered more variety. The </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">TURKEY or OCEAN BLEND or MILK FLAVORED kept them happy and the vet stopped pressuring me about cleaning their teeth, so I was happy. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The thing is, I question if the treats really are varied. Despite the different flavors printed on the outside of the packages, the food inside is all the same size (quarter inch squares), the same color (tan) and smells the same (slightly musty).*</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5SZyXEYPgfO8pJSvaUmdctj5y7lfcl5Uo1hBZ9OVRnZSUcalNg9nLrcINZ56k5zaC93rdejb7t_EK4ZtJan2ziMnvVDOEVqqEoC_QelkkGfMlS_WQ74bml8M3VUBTTHf6P0w5cbMV8MHS/s1600/soylent+green.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5SZyXEYPgfO8pJSvaUmdctj5y7lfcl5Uo1hBZ9OVRnZSUcalNg9nLrcINZ56k5zaC93rdejb7t_EK4ZtJan2ziMnvVDOEVqqEoC_QelkkGfMlS_WQ74bml8M3VUBTTHf6P0w5cbMV8MHS/s1600/soylent+green.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then, a new flavor appeared on store shelves that simply declared itself to be DENTALICIOUS. The food inside was still square and smelled musty, but was a bright emerald color. Upon seeing it for the first time, I thought: "Soylent green is made of cats!" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not that my two would care. They gobbled it down.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I finally arrive at the real point of this blog after such a long setup: I realized that many of the references in my life are framed by the science fiction I've always loved. Growing up, the majority of my Halloween costumes were SF themed. When I turned 35, I naturally thought of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSUAAKFLoL0" target="_blank">carrousel</a> in <i>Logan's Run. </i>At WorldCon last year, the remote-controlled darlek excited me just as much as it did the little kids who chased after it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What books/movies/tv shows/games/etc. frame your life? Therein (I bet) is the real variety. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have not taste-tested them. I'll leave that to the cats.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-87078259282657740942014-02-01T03:42:00.000-08:002014-02-01T03:42:12.968-08:00Sit & Give Me 2500 Words, You S.O.B.<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, as the weather in Texas reached the lower 70's after too many days in the high 20's, I went outside to exercise. As I slogged up hills, down winding paths, and across miles of sidewalks I had an epiphany. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Writing and exercise have a lot in common. Both require time, commitment and dedication. When I walk/jog or lift weights I have to force myself to push just a little harder. To achieve words on the page, I have to make myself sit, write and pretend the Internet (with all its many distractions) was never invented. This resulted in a second, more sobering realization. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am better at encouraging myself to exercise than to write.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, I sit down to write every day. However, my production of new pages is inconsistent. Some days I manage 500 words. Others 300. The worse are my goose egg days where I tell myself editing is just as important as achieving new words on paper.*</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet, when I exercise I manage to walk/jog the same distance as I achieved before; I complete the same number of reps I did last time. Why can't I do that with my writing? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAU69dK0pxnc3gs2Xk9oBrVBp15e4w0Ahix7XW6o1n1gNvoxKf-QA5BpKegeXvoc-cva74sjhNvMfRHSOetRf-5_vbT_f2M9aCLAVcCiwFXs60LhQY45dRFz1Sllby0glJgwnunLIbBEz3/s1600/drill+sergeant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAU69dK0pxnc3gs2Xk9oBrVBp15e4w0Ahix7XW6o1n1gNvoxKf-QA5BpKegeXvoc-cva74sjhNvMfRHSOetRf-5_vbT_f2M9aCLAVcCiwFXs60LhQY45dRFz1Sllby0glJgwnunLIbBEz3/s1600/drill+sergeant.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I decided I need a better muse. Not some woosie Tinkerbell who says "Bless his heart, he's trying" but a drill sergeant bastard who screams "Sit and give me 2500 words!" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What about you? What inspires you to apply-butt-to-chair and produce new words? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*<i>Yes, I know editing is a crucial part of the overall process, but it's not the same as seeing new words that become new stories. Besides, I'm a re-writer at heart. I enjoy editing whereas the act of creating brand, new fresh sentences from nothingness has always been a struggle for me.</i> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-90589997303889614572014-01-25T20:15:00.000-08:002014-01-25T20:20:20.803-08:00"What Type of Romance do You Write?" <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Today, I tired a new
experience and attended a one-day writers' workshop sponsored by the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.dallasromanceauthors.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Dallas
Area Romance Authors</span></a></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (DARA).
There were approximately 75 women in the room - and me. As the only man
present, I started to blog that I 'stepped outside of my comfort
zone', but that would be untrue. Having worked most of my life in the
healthcare industry (which is predominately female)
I'm very comfortable around women. I was not "drowning in an estrogen
sea" as one attendee put it. I do, however, have some observations.</span> </span></span></div>
<ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYuSnh4gOZmzaqsIphaA-R50IjxFVeT8lj8Dm6iVSeV-ZdaQVRxAplcU0_BXpPZQyl7b23a2dbXxxaY5pI3JCzNTveIVn7w31svFZcjk28jMy1_IKAnkJla28HHSc1jHdEa3aNPjKIsfB/s1600/logo_DARA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYuSnh4gOZmzaqsIphaA-R50IjxFVeT8lj8Dm6iVSeV-ZdaQVRxAplcU0_BXpPZQyl7b23a2dbXxxaY5pI3JCzNTveIVn7w31svFZcjk28jMy1_IKAnkJla28HHSc1jHdEa3aNPjKIsfB/s1600/logo_DARA.jpg" height="102" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>As the only man in the room</strong>, I was an oddity. Several women cast sideways glances my direction as if I might be lost, or had mistaken the Holiday Inn ballroom for a gentlemen's club.</span></span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>I dislike standing out</strong>. A friend of mine from DFWWW, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.carolynrae.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Carolyn Williamson</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, was kind enough to save me a seat - right up front where my big ole broad-shouldered, former football tackle self could block the view of 99% of the ladies sitting behind me. Carolyn assured me I was not in anyone's way, but for the longest I felt conspicuous. To say I'm a back-row joe is putting it lightly. At no time in my educational career did I ever sit at the front of the classroom. I made my A's and B's from the back, thank you very much. Of course, I could have moved, but didn't because Carolyn had been so nice to think of me, and the other tables in the room were full. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>The most frequently asked question</strong> of me was "So, Kyle, what type of romance do you write?" I would laugh and respond "I don't, but I believe all stories should have some romantic elements."</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>When DARA advertised a 'Continental Breakfast'</strong> they didn't mean some donuts a member picked up on the way over. They were serious. We had muffins and fruit and pastries and scrambled eggs and fried potatoes and bacon and sausage and juice and coffee. These ladies know how to provide a Texas-sized-stick-to-your-ribs breakfast. Lunch was even better with a similar astonishing array of choices, plus the best cake I've eaten in a long time (I wish now I had had a second piece). And hot cookies for an afternoon snack. I was good and didn't have a cookie despite some teasing from my fellow tablemates. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>Romance writers know their craft</strong>. During the presentation (more on that next) we were asked to preform some quick writing exercises and to share our work with the room.* We normally had 5-10 minutes to complete the task. As writers volunteered to read their efforts, the quality they had produced in such a short time amazed me. Many were as polished as if the author had spent months wordsmithing instead of mere minutes. I've always said the Romance Writers of America offers the best educational opportunities of any professional organization.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></ul>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG47aU4Y9cBtWyMJMMQzUdZkxA1lAH4KMOhhSqNaVJrmzeV0fH_cJxgsVNdl4Le_dm24hdba4Z-f2z_q6dB0zgU7dsTIHp9cRhKpnn1BTAmlPTniYNLdOeeRmwM8yGmJFb7mmGRTAQGjQh/s1600/Ephron2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG47aU4Y9cBtWyMJMMQzUdZkxA1lAH4KMOhhSqNaVJrmzeV0fH_cJxgsVNdl4Le_dm24hdba4Z-f2z_q6dB0zgU7dsTIHp9cRhKpnn1BTAmlPTniYNLdOeeRmwM8yGmJFb7mmGRTAQGjQh/s1600/Ephron2.png" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We
had gathered to learn from successful mystery author </span><a href="http://hallieephron.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hallie Ephron</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. I had read
and enjoyed her books <i>Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel</i>
and <i>Never Tell a Lie</i>. One of the benefits of sitting at the front table
was Hallie also sat there. As such, I learned additional writing tips over
both breakfast and lunch. Some of my ah-ha! moments included: </span></span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>Your protag, villain and suspects</strong> - basically every main character - need a secrete. Some piece of backstory (not dumped, of course) that isn't quickly answered and keeps readers turning the page. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>Don't let suspense go on for too long</strong>. The reader will grow numb. (I am bad about non-stop action that never gives the reader a moment to take a breath. Gotta fix that.)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The <strong>ruby slippers</strong> from the <i>Wizard of Oz</i> were used as an example of an item that all major characters wanted but only one of them could have. This was a new concept I had not heard before. It adds tension to a story and should be an item from the protag's past so its even more significant. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>Sensory details</strong> are a good way to build tension (yeah! I believe I do these well based on feedback at DFWWW). </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>It's okay to call writing a pain in the ass</strong> and not to claim you 'love' the process. Simply put, writing is hard work. Some days the words flow. Other days its like pulling mental teeth.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In summary, I'm glad I tried this new experience. I had an enjoyable
time and learned a lot. DARA is a terrific organization full of
talented writers. Hallie Ephron provided solid instruction that gave
me insight into writing mysteries. As an additionally bonus, some of her advice may help me fix a few trouble areas in my WIP steampunk novel. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What about you? Ever step outside
your comfort zone and try something new? If yes, what effect did it have
on your writing? </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* <i>Did I share my writing? Not
back-row Kyle. I'm happy to listen to other, braver writers read their efforts.</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-67241790547308316992014-01-17T19:23:00.001-08:002014-02-03T07:31:34.384-08:002014 Writers' Conferences Around Texas<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My annual list of writers' conferences and other writerly events in and around Texas for 2014. These are provided as a public service only. I am not promoting any of them.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feb 21 - 23<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.condfw.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ConDFW</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">March 29 - 30</span> <a href="http://www.ntrwa.org/texastwostepconference.aspx" target="_blank">North Texas Two Step Writers' Conference</a> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">April 11 - 13</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 200%;"><a href="http://houstonwritersguild.org/annual-conference/" target="_blank">Houston Writers Guild Annual Agents & Editors Conference<o:p></o:p></a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">April 23 - 24</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.netwo.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NETWO's Writers' Roundup Conference</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May
2 - 4<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.owfi.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=215&Itemid=235" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OWFI Conference</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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3 - 4<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><a href="http://dfwcon.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">DFW Writers' Conference</span></a></span><span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">June 6 - 7 </span><a href="http://www.arkansaswritersconference.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Arkansas Writers' Conference</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">June
9 - 13<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><a href="http://wtamu.edu/academics/eod-writing-academy.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">West Texas Writers' Academy</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">June 27 - 29<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.writersleague.org/38/Conference" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Writers' League of Texas Agents & Editors Conference</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">June 27 - 29 </span><a href="http://www.apollocon.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ApolloCon</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 11 - 13<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.lexi-conwritersconference.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">LexiCon Writers Conference</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 13 - 20<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.lexi-conwritersconference.com/" target="_blank">Taos Summer Writers' Conference</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">July 25 - 27 <a href="http://www.armadillocon.org/" target="_blank">ArmadilloCon</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Sept 26 - 28 <a href="http://fencon.org/" target="_blank">FenCon</a></span><a href="http://fencon.org/" target="_blank"> </a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sept 27 - 28 <a href="https://northtexas.scbwi.org/events/creating-kids-books-that-soar-regional-conference/" target="_blank">SCWBI Regional Conference</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #333333;">How did I compile this list?</span></b><span style="color: #333333;"> Google. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #333333;">Did I miss some events?</span></b><span style="color: #333333;"> Probably, but not intentionally. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #333333;">What were my criteria?</span></b><span style="color: #333333;"> The webpage had to mention 2014 dates, even if details were limited. <strike>For example, FenCon (an event I attend regularly) did not have 2014 information available when I compiled this list, so they are missing.</strike> <em>FenCon now has information available, so I edited the post to add them, as well as a few others I forgot.</em> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #333333;">Have I personally attended all of these events?</span></b><span style="color: #333333;"> Nope.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #333333;">Have I attended some of them? </span></b><span style="color: #333333;">Yep. I went to ConDFW and the Writers' League conference once. I've gone to the DFW Writers' Conference four times and plan to attend this year (honesty-in-blogging: I'm a member of the <a href="http://dfwwritersworkshop.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc3300; text-decoration: none;">DFW Writers' Workshop</span></a>); and I've attended FenCon five times. </span></span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_aOOpnT5-yU6D75RMB46-eiFQKFhf_t47EulWsNOv7mplP_Ta0OSFNKeMqFCs_tAxLGmvwqy9mMQ9C3iddspYCoJUt0wMz_xk1dYEzLn9js6KDWXMC0OFTn2c4Gf80vjWqQX2zJYQjBJW/s1600/early+writers+conference.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_aOOpnT5-yU6D75RMB46-eiFQKFhf_t47EulWsNOv7mplP_Ta0OSFNKeMqFCs_tAxLGmvwqy9mMQ9C3iddspYCoJUt0wMz_xk1dYEzLn9js6KDWXMC0OFTn2c4Gf80vjWqQX2zJYQjBJW/s1600/early+writers+conference.jpg" height="221" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most ubiquitous icon of writers' conferences are laptops.<br />
Every class and the hallways are full of them. When I saw<br />
this photograph, I giggled imagining writers in the past <br />
lugging their heavy manual typewriters to conferences. <br />
Silly, I know, but a fun idea nonetheless. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="color: #333333;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #333333;">Are all of these conferences?</span></b><span style="color: #333333;"> Nope. I included West Texas A&M because I've heard it's money well spent; ConDFW and FenCon because they are so much fun.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Did Blogger give me fits formatting?</strong> Yes, I swear whatever software they use hates me. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">If you plan to attend these, or any other writer's conferences/classes/events in 2014 tell me about them. </span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-2677169043726884002014-01-10T20:45:00.001-08:002014-01-10T21:14:45.392-08:00WARNING! Fan Boy Gushing Ahead<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my </span><a href="http://gkylewhite.blogspot.com/2013/12/year-end-list-yeah-its-little-early.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">thank-goodness-this-year-is-finally-over post</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, I mentioned that I read less fiction in 2013, but that didn't stop me from buying new novels.</span><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi, my name is Kyle and I have an addiction to books.*</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I didn't realize how large the monkey on my back was until I recently did a little cleaning to prepare for income taxes (there will probably be a future post on that subject). As I surveyed my ever-growing list of to-be-read books I found:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One from Ace</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One from Abaddon Books</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two from Tachyon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two from Harper Voyager</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>NINE</em> from Angry Robot (two of which I purchased last week) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holy printing press, batman, I'm helping to keep Angry Robot in business - and with a good reason. Their books are consistently the best I've read in the SF&F industry. Not all of their authors are British, so I can't say there must be something special in the water in England. Instead, I'll give credit to the editorial staff at AR. They consistently purchase stories I want to read. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3vjFZcMVnZy2VN6fu1IseqYyotZ96-beCl-Ag-gwS_uKzghfcmCsgjXfnv98BGR7gDErREacsqnIghxAwGk8rbD79zVO4-FRiCuUt7h8SKQJYC3ip4DoaL7acfB6ktjjj9FBiZ05QHa9I/s1600/robot-army-with-caption.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3vjFZcMVnZy2VN6fu1IseqYyotZ96-beCl-Ag-gwS_uKzghfcmCsgjXfnv98BGR7gDErREacsqnIghxAwGk8rbD79zVO4-FRiCuUt7h8SKQJYC3ip4DoaL7acfB6ktjjj9FBiZ05QHa9I/s1600/robot-army-with-caption.jpg" height="174" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Am I a member of The Robot Army? No. Those are readers<br />
who frequently post reviews online. Since I suck at writing<br />
reviews, I never applied. However, it is good to know there<br />
is a legion of others who help spread the word about AR. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I mentioned in </span><a href="http://gkylewhite.blogspot.com/2013/09/worldcon-post-5-my-personal-successes.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">post # 5</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, I met an editor from Angry Robot at WorldCon. Not that I got to speak with him much (he was too busy selling books) but I did offer my opinion of several of the works on display. With a sole exception (which I won't name here), I've thoroughly enjoyed every book I've purchased with the AR logo on it. (I admit I envision my medieval steampunk WIP as an Angry Robot title.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What about you? Do you have a favorite publisher? If yes, why? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* <em>Traditional paper books. I haven't made the switch to ebooks and truthfully don't see myself doing so any time in the future.</em></span> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-77825815496909683442014-01-02T21:03:00.000-08:002014-01-02T21:03:28.134-08:00The Thorny Lives of Debut Authors <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I aspire to be traditionally published. That is not meant as a slight toward writers who self-publish. All of us have to walk our own path and I've decided mine leads toward the more traditional route of write a book/get an agent/get a book deal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As such, I'm still in the 'write a book' phase. Morphing from mostly a writer of short stories to novels has been a challenge for me.* However, I feel I'm making good progress and I look forward to the day I can start querying agents. To help me prepare, I've been following some debut novelists and some of what I've read recently scares me a bit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVEwIk0i50pZ0hQJPSIyaU2B_u89g4RIFWY86vID6laSCyg6QLYz-fTYvCELWYkAVW4xdfZOCL3CEqKG64b4eMmn9h4N0HpGlQ73V7A6d7Qtlu2yzkzeJYGsawB-oIiEqbOCbjz3Mt1SP/s1600/rewrites.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVEwIk0i50pZ0hQJPSIyaU2B_u89g4RIFWY86vID6laSCyg6QLYz-fTYvCELWYkAVW4xdfZOCL3CEqKG64b4eMmn9h4N0HpGlQ73V7A6d7Qtlu2yzkzeJYGsawB-oIiEqbOCbjz3Mt1SP/s1600/rewrites.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I imagine this must be how it feels to be</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">buried under a lot of rewrites requested </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">by either your agent or editor. How can</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">a debut author even conceive of saying</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">no after all the hard work to get this far?</span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For J. Kathleen Cheney, 2013 was her launch year. Her many blogs posts about the </span><a href="http://jkathleencheney.wordpress.com/2013/09/20/publication-process-how-many-times-do-i-edit-this-darn-thing/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">constant editing</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and </span><a href="http://jkathleencheney.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/publication-process-more-edits-and-other-stuff/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">re-editing</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> gave me great consternation. I question my ability to survive such frequent rewrites. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once her novel hit bookstore shelves, it sounds as if the event was not as joyous as she had hoped. I admit I cringed a little when I read </span><a href="http://jkathleencheney.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/surviving-2013-and-looking-forward/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">her 2013 summary</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. (I won't even discuss the link embedded in the post. That author's journey depressed me so badly I couldn't finish reading it.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then, there's my good friend Arianne 'Tex' Thompson. I can confidently say I've never met a more gregarious and giving person. When she sold her first novel I was almost as excited as she was. Now that I've read her </span><a href="http://www.thetexfiles.com/2013/12/changes.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">year-end post</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I must admit I'm more than a little saddened. 2014 should be an exciting year as she looks forward to the publication of her fist novel. Instead, it sounds as if it will be more of a burden.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I suppose I'm being naïve to believe life is all happiness once a writer gets past the "get an agent/get a book deal" phases. Why would I expect the process to be any easier? No matter the path taken - traditional or self-publishing - the route appears to be littered with thorns. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please, someone give me some good news about being a debut author. There have to be some positive points, too! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*<em>A fellow author at DFWWW commented recently that he wrote two novels and one short story in 2013. He said the short story gave him hell. I had to laugh since it's just the opposite for me. My brain operates in short-story mode. How to plot and pace a novel still baffles me a bit.</em></span> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-20222248505670110222013-12-27T20:37:00.000-08:002013-12-27T20:37:04.683-08:00Year-End List (Yeah, It's a Little Early)<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For my 2012 summary I presented a list of the best novels I had read that year (I also included my youngest son's choices).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For 2013, I'm not going to do that. Why?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4YB3uiCo1eelZvzSFXKnojgLEdgQNR7_81LTQ7G3W3lonmaVJR-wI76anjdWPxWVJ-KTDcaih8mgqrNNfdXByusmp3KD_1u_kUHrJjVbu8LyLnPJDOz9b8FUrXbwxTG6_D6fEEmab9Lw0/s1600/Writer+Sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4YB3uiCo1eelZvzSFXKnojgLEdgQNR7_81LTQ7G3W3lonmaVJR-wI76anjdWPxWVJ-KTDcaih8mgqrNNfdXByusmp3KD_1u_kUHrJjVbu8LyLnPJDOz9b8FUrXbwxTG6_D6fEEmab9Lw0/s320/Writer+Sign.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Queue the ominous music.</em> I read very little fiction in 2013*, but I have a good reason: I spent the time I would be reading novels working on my own. You see, I believe that if I allow other writers' voices/stories/plot points/nifty ideas into my head it will taint what little creative mojo I have. This theory is based on past experience and has cratered my stories before. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did, however, read a lot of non-fiction both for research and enjoyment. For whatever reason, non-fic does not have the same muse-cancelling effect on me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just because I read very little fiction in 2013 does not mean I stopped buying novels. I fear I have an addiction when it comes to that. My bookshelf groans from the weight of unread novels (many of which I acquired at WorldCon). Just yesterday, I bought two more simply because I received a B&N gift card for Christmas and it burned my pocket to be spent (I always use gift cards fast so I don't forget about them). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since I'm not compiling a list of books I enjoyed in 2013 I'll offer a different type of summary in descending order: </span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Forty-seven: </strong>the number of times I attended the <a href="http://dfwwritersworkshop.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">DFW Writers' Workshop</a>. (I'm a firm believer in the power of critique groups, so I go as frequently as I can, but my day job gets in the way sometimes.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Sixteen</strong>: the number of rejections I received (Hey, you can't sell if you don't submit). </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Seven</strong>: the number of days a week that I commit to writing. My goal is words on the page each day, but editing is also counted as productive time. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Three</strong>: the number of people I personally know who secured agent representation. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Three</strong>: a three-book deal for a friend who has already written six novels in the same romantic suspense series. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Two</strong>: the number of acceptances I received (both for short stories). </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Two</strong>: the number of SF&F conventions I attended (WorldCon & FenCon).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>One</strong>: friend whose debut novel was traditionally published. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>One</strong>: friend who sold her first novel. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Infinite</strong>: the fun I've had world-building my medieval steampunk novel (I had no idea that drawing maps could be so time consuming and enjoyable). </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All in all, 2013 was an okay year for me. I'd be interested to know how it turned out for others. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*<em>My son discovered video games in 2013 and also read very little fiction.</em></span> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-15028342710783240292013-12-21T16:29:00.000-08:002013-12-21T16:29:01.403-08:00Proof that Fact IS Stranger than FictionA friend of mine, S. Boyd Taylor (Sam), just signed with mega SF&F literary agent Jennifer Jackson. Knowing a bit of Sam's journey, I'm elated for him. What <a href="http://sboydtaylor.com/2013/12/20/agents-and-house-fires-and-such/" target="_blank">happened next</a> in the story proves that fate has more plot twists up her sleeve than any author on the planet. <br />
<br />
I'm just happy Sam and his family are all safe. My best wishes go out to them. Ms. <a href="http://arcaedia.wordpress.com/2013/12/19/welcome-to-new-client-samuel-boyd-taylor/" target="_blank">Jackson</a> signed a great writer. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-44415222215172105412013-12-16T18:20:00.001-08:002013-12-16T18:20:06.468-08:00Bah Humbug Decorates for Christmas<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am one of those people who do not like the holidays. The period from Thanksgiving to New Year's is my least favorite time of the year. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why? so many people ask me. It's a wonderfully festive season, they say. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Xw3AYKL8_ZNKGny_q5XbIzrBfbEJZBfChpEjf1M6ouaPRfmghOI268nNEB1GYDbPp1nSO0I1eaUrb9vPa9CTKko-kL-aV4dw_w46fo-mMl-dzr4FYEAX1f6APOMiw_8a8iS1NQE7VYUF/s1600/Christmas1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Xw3AYKL8_ZNKGny_q5XbIzrBfbEJZBfChpEjf1M6ouaPRfmghOI268nNEB1GYDbPp1nSO0I1eaUrb9vPa9CTKko-kL-aV4dw_w46fo-mMl-dzr4FYEAX1f6APOMiw_8a8iS1NQE7VYUF/s1600/Christmas1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't see if very well in this pic, <br />
but hand-crocheted ornaments com-<br />
pose the wreath. My sister made it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yeah, right. It's:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stressful (I won't even quote the alcohol / suicide / depression rates)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Expensive (Lucy from <em>Peanuts</em> got it right. Christmas is run by some big East Coast syndicate)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fattening (cookies and cakes and punch and food, food, food to paraphrase the Grinch) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Miserable (have you ever noticed how may 'sad' holiday specials there are?) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Deadly (the kill count on Black Friday grows every year)</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I even know where my disdain for the holidays comes from. The 4.5 years I worked at Wal-Mart. Anyone would be crazy to still be in a festive mood after spending a holiday season or two in that madhouse. To this day, I avoid all retail stores as much as possible from the day after Thanksgiving through a week or so after January 1. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, I haven't always been this way. When my boys were little I made an effort to erect a tree each year and to have an abundance of presents beneath it.</span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWG2UzTMkG0Dsw7zvIGBtCh-zcKVwLdX4qz-v5k16dScVYKQqJrC_l4C-S-0f0pYf5KKv4eqgyY-Qxh0RhROkP9dJFQbNgpnDkAns8L0kRRi72PGUXLFyVNIG96sTB9fIwu5TZvwAhNQHo/s1600/Christmas2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWG2UzTMkG0Dsw7zvIGBtCh-zcKVwLdX4qz-v5k16dScVYKQqJrC_l4C-S-0f0pYf5KKv4eqgyY-Qxh0RhROkP9dJFQbNgpnDkAns8L0kRRi72PGUXLFyVNIG96sTB9fIwu5TZvwAhNQHo/s1600/Christmas2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know the pic is blurry and a bit <br />
crooked, but the destruction wrought<br />
by my felines is clearly visible. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">About the time my sons became teenagers, decorating for the holidays stopped being important. I donated my tree, lights and ornaments to charity. The only ornaments I kept were the ones my sister had hand crocheted for my kids. A few years back, she turned them into a wreath that I occasionally hang over the fireplace; however, I haven't in a long time. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year, I got a wild hair and dug the wreath out of storage. It looked pretty ... for about an hour. Then, the cats discovered it and attacked! I have no idea what attracted them. I had made sure none of the garland dangled from the mantel, or any of the colored lights flashed. Still, my felines honed in. The wreath and garland had to die. In a way, it was very symbolic of my feelings about this time of year. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My sister calls me Scrooge, but I do not care. She loves the holidays and can have them. As for me, I just bide my time until I can rip the December page from my calendar and start anew. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyone else dislike the holidays?</span> <br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-22581332342506209912013-12-07T16:56:00.001-08:002013-12-07T16:56:14.792-08:00Did Mankind Evolve from Pigs/Monkeys? <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's a new theory that humanity resulted from a male pig and a female </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">chimpanzee having sexual intercourse. (I was oh-so-tempted to offer a long list of nasty euphemisms, or crude jokes, but restrained myself.)</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7HmN1ZnPMZYJJRMb51zNByCY8JiDTZat2foHqjplvz1FNosfP4gSvaksJwkOkMj-Ew4lWJONtxLqwMk5KZt8VHMZadWY6s4t17bSb0F942XptlxHWdWgONXxU4snvu7lkuRWDJES7dIDv/s1600/Pighuman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="117" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7HmN1ZnPMZYJJRMb51zNByCY8JiDTZat2foHqjplvz1FNosfP4gSvaksJwkOkMj-Ew4lWJONtxLqwMk5KZt8VHMZadWY6s4t17bSb0F942XptlxHWdWgONXxU4snvu7lkuRWDJES7dIDv/s320/Pighuman.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know this image is a little horrific, but it was the best<br />
I found that visually summarized the pig/monkey theory.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">You can read it for yourself <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2515969/Humans-evolved-female-chimpanzee-mated-pig-Extraordinary-claim-American-geneticist.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.macroevolution.net/human-origins.html#.UqPABMGx7IW" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="http://phys.org/news/2013-07-chimp-pig-hybrid-humans.html" target="_blank">here</a>. I'm offering different versions of the same story, because if you're like me you're flabbergasted by the notion that we've possibly BEEN EATING OUR RELATIVES FOR CENTURIES! (The pigs. Not the chimps, although I know there are some cultures that do consume chimpanzee meat.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Could this be why mankind is so royally screwed up? To hell with inbreeding, we've been ineating our way to disease, genetic disorders, etc. - all because bacon (our possible kinfolk) tastes so darned good. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I'll never look at a pork chop the same way again. Please tell me this theory troubles someone else, too. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-42299540764255247422013-11-29T19:05:00.001-08:002013-11-29T19:05:01.085-08:00Aspiring Authors, Come on Down! <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm a fan of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.priceisright.com/" target="_blank">The Price is Right</a></i> game show. Have been since childhood. For those
not familiar with the program, to paraphrase Wikipedia: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"a few contestants are selected from a
large audience to compete to win prizes and a chance to spin the wheel for the
big showcase prizes". </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a silly show, but fun to
watch, and in my opinion a good analogy of a writer's path toward
traditional publication. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0in; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90xq8qdA8EAbA0hswPD9-qKMWNASQ8av1w1kUr8mqLHkLEFVSuEjMgv9mdNBCce52Wwhcw7GBHIuoV8HSNlAml6bDtg3yOVEQfWDImyPz5-DKAQt5uYdqG8KsLN6eczmgeYAJh9sqVzr4/s1600/price+is+right.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90xq8qdA8EAbA0hswPD9-qKMWNASQ8av1w1kUr8mqLHkLEFVSuEjMgv9mdNBCce52Wwhcw7GBHIuoV8HSNlAml6bDtg3yOVEQfWDImyPz5-DKAQt5uYdqG8KsLN6eczmgeYAJh9sqVzr4/s1600/price+is+right.png" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">THE
NUMBER OF POTENTIAL CONTESTANTS IS LARGE.<em> </em></b><em>There are many aspiring authors
all hoping to hear …</em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">COME
ON DOWN! </b><em>An
agent offers them representation and the possibility to …</em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcAukQARpAw" target="_blank">GET ON STAGE</a>.</b>
<em>Most publishers only accept submissions by agents, which give their writers a
chance to …</em> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SPIN
THE WHEEL.</b>
<em>Not all books are best-sellers, but a few will win the BIG prizes</em>. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both <em>The Price is Right</em>
and becoming a traditionally published writer require a healthy dose of luck.
However, unlike the pure chance of game shows, there are steps authors can
take to improve their odds of winning at the writing game. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0in;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Competition</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Publishing
is crowded with aspiring authors, but not all of them will finish writing their
books.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>Even fewer will endure the
rigors of the submission process. Make sure you're the one who doesn't give up.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0in;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Agents</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before
submitting, polish your book until it is the best it can be. Workshop it. Edit
it. Workshop it again. Edit it some more. And definitely don't send the first
query letter you write. Make that as perfect as possible too. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0in;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Publishing</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Understand how
the industry works. Sure, it's a confusing business, but the more you know
about it, the better you'll be able to overcome its many hurdles. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Best-sellerdom</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since
there is no magic wand, the best route to success is old-fashioned hard word. Use
social media. Make yourself accessible to book clubs. Build your brand name to
help potential readers find your books. Word of mouth is still the most
reliable path to the best-sellers list. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Spay or Neuter Your Pets</strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Price is Right</i>
might offer its contestants a chance to win new cars, exotic trips, or lots of
money, but writing gives each of us even more: The opportunity to connect with
readers and to have an impact on their lives. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's a prize any of us should be
proud to earn. (Of course, a six-figure advance that buys a new car or a
vacation would also be great.)</span> <span lang="DE" style="mso-ansi-language: DE;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-14186765666612214102013-11-25T17:40:00.000-08:002013-11-25T17:42:41.297-08:00So, You Want to be a Writer<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1U3AhS95KF0f2bGffa50Fy5OdzaueoVsX8TdYhz2LwfN7lqSHqsGmaeIWqyf17oWtQsZBuWDwrYRruRRhdhjbLEenWA_GM2yNh4Xsg51N2xzL4HUKOtuxg91jBfiOE0_1GL2WAHfYUhDu/s1600/star.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1U3AhS95KF0f2bGffa50Fy5OdzaueoVsX8TdYhz2LwfN7lqSHqsGmaeIWqyf17oWtQsZBuWDwrYRruRRhdhjbLEenWA_GM2yNh4Xsg51N2xzL4HUKOtuxg91jBfiOE0_1GL2WAHfYUhDu/s1600/star.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Occasionally at DFWWW, we'll get a visitor <br />
who says "I have a great book idea that will be <br />
a guaranteed bestseller. I just need someone to<br />
write the manuscript for me. I'll share 20%<br />
of the profits." They often leave offended<br />
that no one accepts their offer. <br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These days it appears
that everyone wants to be a writer. Folks at Starbucks, or at work, or at the
library, or etc. have an idea for a book. And not just any book, but one they are convinced will transform them into a fabulously rich, literary star. However</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, very few of these people will ever go from BIG IDEA to completed manuscript. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because writing is hard work
and there's no magic formula. If there were, someone would have marketed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Guaranteed-Bestseller-in-a-Box</i> by now. Since that hasn't
happened, aspiring authors often question what it takes to succeed
in this fickle business. I've been blessed to have several friends who have traditionally
published. Each of their success stories share similar traits. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Discipline <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More than talent or creativity,
writing takes discipline. Following the ABCD rule (Apply Butt to Chair Dang it),
day-after-day, week-after-week, year-after-year and putting words on paper is a
necessity. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Thick Skin<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Successful writers have a hide as
tough as a rhinoceros (maybe tougher). A writer who can’t accept criticism
won’t get very far. Successful writers actively seek feedback and learn
from it. They know that a harsh critique often improves the final work. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Risk-Taker<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If a writer writes a book, but
nobody ever reads it (because the writer never submits it) is the writer really
a writer? Debatable. Every successful writer had to put his/her stuff out there
for the world to love/hate/shred/read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stick-to-itiveness </span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Successful writers never give up,
no matter how often they are rejected. They know that for every one positive
comment, there will be a thousand naysayers. How do successful writers handle
rejection? They write another book.<o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm1Yvn6oXosD9P-BASbV8BWpYIqG2wk5JkkTQ9y3BDfN-GK0DWNOI2u5AQBFpcXyFiomHl5-gG8NehM4tErTDDOWVvazynUnsrAxEr5YYic2gPuKdydI713gVYgxo9-gzImF6WGAD1PtcT/s1600/writing+is+hard+work.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm1Yvn6oXosD9P-BASbV8BWpYIqG2wk5JkkTQ9y3BDfN-GK0DWNOI2u5AQBFpcXyFiomHl5-gG8NehM4tErTDDOWVvazynUnsrAxEr5YYic2gPuKdydI713gVYgxo9-gzImF6WGAD1PtcT/s1600/writing+is+hard+work.jpg" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, Do You <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Still</i> Want to be a
Writer? </span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By now, it should be apparent that
becoming a writer is indeed hard work. No matter if your goal is to traditionally publish, or go the self-pub route, it still takes all of the above and more, such
as old-fashioned luck. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, since luck can't be taught it's better to focus
on the traits we aspiring writers can influence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Each of us can improve our discipline and write
more often. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->We can develop a thick, critique-resistant skin
by participating in writers' groups. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Risk-taking should become second nature as we
submit our work until it sells. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->We can improve our stick-to-itiveness by …well …
sticking-to-it. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How well do I do these? Hmmmm ... </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"> ·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial;">My discipline varies depending on my mood. Lately, I've been very lazy. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->I do have a thick skin, but occasionally critiques still hurt. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Once I'm satisfied with a story, I will submit it until I place it somewhere. I'll give myself a 'pass' on this one. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Stick-to-itiveness has always been a battle for me. I've almost given up so many times, I've lost count of them. But then, I convince myself to try again. </span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What about you? How well do you handle any of the above?</span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br />
</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-46364899061496084532013-11-15T22:02:00.001-08:002013-11-15T22:02:16.842-08:00You Can't Understand a Literary Agent Until You Read a Slush Pile
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've
become a fan of <a href="http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents" target="_blank">Chuck Sambuchino's blog</a>. As I followed some links, I stumbled across
this <a href="http://writerunboxed.com/2013/04/22/april/" target="_blank">post</a> at a different blog. It inspired me to try to put myself into the mind of a literary
agent (or more accurately, a slush reader at an agency). </span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I visited a bookstore and selected 10 random SF&F novels. </span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did not glance at the covers. </span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did not read the blurbs. </span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I just grabbed them at random as if they had appeared as queries. </span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I read only the first chapters. </span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I'm not naming-names, or listing the titles, because it's not my intention to criticize any author. I seek to learn, and here's
what I discovered: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prologues</span></strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Four
of the books started with a prologue. One was a page and a half long. Another
was 30-pages long. The others somewhere in between. None intrigued me enough to
keep reading. Writers often hear that prologues are unnecessary. This experience
proved the validity of that statement to me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Weak
Verbs</span></strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How
many times can 'was' be crammed into a paragraph? I swear one author tried for
the Guinness World Record. I didn't make it past the first page before I put
the novel down in disgust. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Too
Much Description</span></strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's
true that opening a story with a description of the weather / a place / a town
/ etc. is not the best way to start a novel. Two of the books opened this way.
In one case, I made it through three pages before I abandoned the book. In
another, five pages. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgabmp17qwuKqUDPHPLzU_SBksWx-WvYea1R1-JJYQLgDnFxu60L8piNZKF497b5I9Dq-5h_RSaDm2aF_eE96g7N16WxNWH5_z9jqSbmvQ5UuQx4YDU5M2-COH0MS7wg2w9DNxqLD21K3et/s1600/agent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgabmp17qwuKqUDPHPLzU_SBksWx-WvYea1R1-JJYQLgDnFxu60L8piNZKF497b5I9Dq-5h_RSaDm2aF_eE96g7N16WxNWH5_z9jqSbmvQ5UuQx4YDU5M2-COH0MS7wg2w9DNxqLD21K3et/s1600/agent.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Interior
Monologue</span></strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If
humankind ever develops the ability to read the minds of others, I believe
we'll find it to be a boring experience. Most people's thoughts (mine included)
are redundant and dull. Opening a novel locked inside the head of a single
character is like trapping the reader in purgatory. Seven of the ten books
opened with lengthy (i.e. boring) interior monologues. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dialogue</span></strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Characters
that interact and talk to one another really do move a story forward. Only one
of the books opened with multiple characters and dialogue. The quick flow
of the story made for an enjoyable read. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Most of the books went into the discard pile. They interested me so little I had
to force myself to return them to the shelves. Now, I understand why some agents
don't respond to queries. Their time can be better spent searching for that
one, elusive book that does appeal to them. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did any of the books appeal to me? Yep. The one that
held my interest. The same criteria every agent / editor / reader employs. That author earned the cash I spent to buy the book. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What
encourages you to buy books?</span> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-60818893691956620662013-11-07T16:52:00.001-08:002013-11-07T17:05:48.829-08:00Why I Don't Consider my Writing to be Dystopian (but it's not a future I'd want to live in either) <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last few weeks at
DFWWW I've read my SF novelette "Pour Your Memories Down on Me". Last
night, one of the critiquers called it 'dystopian' and that stuck in my craw.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why? Not because I
don't enjoy dystopian stories. I do. In fact, they are a particular fav of
mine. I admired tales such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Postman</i> (the movie, didn't care as much for the book) long before <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Hunger Games</i> introduced the genre to
a much wider audience. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What bothers me is that
any SF story that presents a less than ideal future is called dystopian. I
disagree with this association. Yes, it would be wonderful if humankind</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 37.75pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Harnessed a new power source that freed us from
fossil fuels</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 37.75pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Solved world hunger/poverty/class issues/etc/etc</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 37.75pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Had a forwarding address out among the stars</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvF46W7_YrFaVx4I3ZgWxcGgbsBoQJe5wU25Y1jnlgZtAinGg3lhivR-Eha8uRmWLQoZGtb9tAJF-iOES3Yt0yz1uluHibwT4jE27M9CpCR0jFmGXTuJskAkmrp_pqQkdXQhyD5flII_Vh/s1600/utopiadystopia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvF46W7_YrFaVx4I3ZgWxcGgbsBoQJe5wU25Y1jnlgZtAinGg3lhivR-Eha8uRmWLQoZGtb9tAJF-iOES3Yt0yz1uluHibwT4jE27M9CpCR0jFmGXTuJskAkmrp_pqQkdXQhyD5flII_Vh/s320/utopiadystopia.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This image does not totally support the views expressed<br />
in my post, but the artwork was too poignant not to use.<br />
Credit: <a class="irc_hol irc_itl" data-ved="0CAcQjB0wAA" href="http://amandabauer.blogspot.com/2012/10/utopian-dystopia.html"><span class="irc_ho" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">amandabauer.blogspot.com</span></a><span class="irc_dim"> </span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Until (if) these things happen, I
believe SF stories can be told that extrapolate from today's world, without
those stories being dystopian. The primary reason the dystopian tag troubles me
is because it implies the world we inhabit today is a utopia. I would counter
that if we could talk to visionaries from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Age_of_Science_Fiction" target="_blank">Golden Era of SF</a>, they might
consider 2014 (and many years prior to that date) to be dystopian:</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Rather than freeing man to live a life of
leisure, industrial robots (& not even cool-looking ones) have replaced many human workers
increasing unemployment and poverty (I'm confident that's not how Isaac Asimov
envisioned the future).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Drones kill innocents, the NSA spies on people
worldwide, and governments control more of the average person's life (Robert A
Heinlein and his libertarian ideals must be spinning in their respective
graves). </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Dwindling resources, growing populations, and
devastating pollution (lots of Golden Era SF writers got these right). </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I, too, want flying cars, jet packs,
20-hour workweeks (with 40-hours of pay), food in a pill form - basically, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Jetson's</i>-lifestyle. Until (if) we
achieve these things, I feel a darker future is not so much dystopian as it is a
reflection of the world we already inhabit. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, I've had my say. Any folks
who disagree and want to bash my take on the subject are welcome to do so now.
Hell, I even encourage your good, bad & ugly comments. It'll let me know there are
other thinkers out there.</span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-24725976016265582632013-11-01T23:02:00.002-07:002013-11-07T16:52:22.297-08:00What Exactly is a Novelette? <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of my current WIP is
an SF novelette. I completed the novelette while world building my quasi-steampunk
novel. Now that I'm 50+ pages into the novel (yeah!), I feel the novelette has
fermented long enough and is ready to be critiqued at <a href="http://dfwwritersworkshop.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">DFWWW</a>. Last Wednesday,
before I read three scenes, I opened by saying "This is a SF
novelette". Another author asked the question I had anticipated. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"What's a
novelette?"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I knew this would
eventually come up, because as I was writing the story (and the word count
exceeded 10,000 - a rare occurrence for brevity-fiend like me) I, too, had
wondered exactly what I was writing. I did some research.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 580px;">
<colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 4717; mso-width-source: userset; width: 97pt;" width="129"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 7094; mso-width-source: userset; width: 146pt;" width="194"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 9398; mso-width-source: userset; width: 193pt;" width="257"></col>
<tbody>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl65" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0.5pt solid windowtext; height: 15pt; width: 97pt;" width="129"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Word
Count</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext black; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt 0px; width: 146pt;" width="194"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Description</span></strong></div>
</td><td class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext black; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt 0px; width: 193pt;" width="257"><div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Source</span></strong></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr height="40" style="height: 30pt;">
<td class="xl69" height="40" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt; height: 30pt;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1 - 500</span></div>
</td><td class="xl69" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Micro</span></div>
</td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt 0px; width: 193pt;" width="257"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I've
seen several short story markets define it as such.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl69" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt; height: 15pt;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">500 - 1500</span></div>
</td><td class="xl69" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Flash</span></div>
</td>
<td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt 0px; width: 193pt;" width="257"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Again,
standard in short story markets</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="80" style="height: 60pt;">
<td class="xl69" height="80" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt; height: 60pt;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1500 - 7500</span></div>
</td><td class="xl69" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Short Story</span></div>
</td>
<td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt 0px; width: 193pt;" width="257"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
Hugo Awards (actually, their definition says 'works of fiction of fewer than 7,500 words')</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="80" style="height: 60pt;">
<td class="xl69" height="80" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt; height: 60pt;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">7500 - 17,500</span></div>
</td><td class="xl69" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Novelette</span></div>
</td>
<td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt 0px; width: 193pt;" width="257"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Again,
the Hugo's and this time its an accurate word account (per "Hugo Award
for Best Novelette" Wikipedia article)</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="60" style="height: 45pt;">
<td class="xl69" height="60" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt; height: 45pt;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">17,500 -
40,000</span></div>
</td><td class="xl69" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Novella</span></div>
</td>
<td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt 0px; width: 193pt;" width="257"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Wikipedia again, only the article is titled "Hugo Award for
Best Novella"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl69" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt; height: 15pt;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">40,000+</span></div>
</td><td class="xl69" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Novel</span></div>
</td>
<td class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 0.5pt 0.5pt 0px; width: 193pt;" width="257"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hell,
we all know this, don't we?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></td>
</tr>
</tbody></colgroup></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Be it a novelette or
novella, they are danged difficult to sell. Currently, my story is just under
15,000-words. I'll submit it to <a href="http://www.writersofthefuture.com/" target="_blank">Writers of the Future</a> (they accept up to 17,000-words).
Beyond that, there are only about three additional markets, which will consider
such a long story. I'll submit to each of them. If none bite, I'll consider
self-publication. (I hear novellas are very popular as e-books.) </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For now, I'll focus on
hitting the 90,000-word mark for the quasi-steampunk novel. Reaching that goal
will be a huge accomplishment for me. I've lived in the realm of short
stories for so long, I'm accustomed to tight word counts. Any story over 5000-words scares me. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Any other short story
writers making the switch to novels for <a href="http://nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">Nanowrimo</a>?</span> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-69153031722687118872013-10-20T08:32:00.000-07:002013-10-20T08:32:07.330-07:00Giving Credit Where It's Due<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As noted in my prior </span><a href="http://gkylewhite.blogspot.com/2013/09/review-sleepy-hollow-on-fox.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">post</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, I did not care for the pilot of <em>Sleepy Hollow</em>. I won't rehash the reasons again. It suffices to say the show wasn't for me, even though I'm a weird-stories nerd. Yesterday, I came across this:</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/sleepy-hollow-renewed-second-season-635530" target="_blank">'Sleepy Hollow' Renewed for Second Season at Fox</a></div>
<br />
Sleepy Hollow<em> will return to Fox next season. The network granted the season's first bona fide hit an early renewal Thursday, bringing the series back for a similarly limited run next year.</em><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wanted to give credit to those who created the series. In this world of ever-diminishing attention spans, it's difficult to find and keep an audience. Anyone who can write/direct/act in a story that people want to keep tuning in to hear/see/read deserve full credit. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Does this mean I'll give the show another try? Probably not. I value the hour too much to use it on a T.V. show I did not like in the first place. I would rather use that time to focus on my own writing projects. I simply wanted to give credit where credit was due.</span> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-48503132257042861172013-10-17T18:38:00.001-07:002013-10-18T09:41:31.144-07:00Camp: Writer<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've never described myself as the outdoors type. The one camping trip my father took me on as a child didn't turn out so well with the snake that almost bit me and the raging creek that almost drowned me. Needless to say, I've spent most of my life staying out of nature's way. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijOnKqbxsPVKKzCNTd6tvCuzqasks9RMKpJYVwUQzJ4MYt_Yz-o6sfeYhbLvGJJ52yUy2tnaXy9SeQ033x0JBn_TQ3bd-KjUjbCRanC2NjWVxvkN4KO44FS5_vYWnRm07JrB4JN9CP0JZX/s1600/V2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijOnKqbxsPVKKzCNTd6tvCuzqasks9RMKpJYVwUQzJ4MYt_Yz-o6sfeYhbLvGJJ52yUy2tnaXy9SeQ033x0JBn_TQ3bd-KjUjbCRanC2NjWVxvkN4KO44FS5_vYWnRm07JrB4JN9CP0JZX/s320/V2.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jacob hamming it up for the camera. It took us<br />
three moves to find a campsite we both liked. I<br />
learned how important it is to have an awning <br />
over the picnic table for shade .</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two years ago, Jacob, my youngest, convinced me to try camping. He had read several survivalist books and had gotten camping gear the past Christmas. He wanted to try out both his survivalist skills and new equipment. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After some research, I found Cedar Hill State Park not 20-minutes away from our house in the DFW metroplex. Close. Relatively inexpensive. I figured I could handle a day or two in the 'wilderness'. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the most part, Texas is a very flat state. I'm accustomed to its flatness, so I've never given it much thought. However, as we drove toward the park, we encountered a real oddity: hills. The Cedar Hill (hmmm, maybe that second word should have given me a clue) area might only be a short drive from my house, but because of its hilly surroundings it was almost like leaving the state altogether. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I enjoyed that camping trip more than I thought I would. We've taken several other trips since then. This past weekend, Jacob and I loaded up his car, pitched a tent, and had an enjoyable time writing. </span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoxz8IxBguE2bTdEn9TQX270GpYzvAmDiczmOgCQNgo0Mcw14laV_oC-g1qj5yIVHiUYni2JuVYMVG6oE8vPICPhDWDvbk0mZIKk9twA5d7lPC1dMuLiXruoHYAF9TfRWKWDg0vV9IRk6n/s1600/V1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoxz8IxBguE2bTdEn9TQX270GpYzvAmDiczmOgCQNgo0Mcw14laV_oC-g1qj5yIVHiUYni2JuVYMVG6oE8vPICPhDWDvbk0mZIKk9twA5d7lPC1dMuLiXruoHYAF9TfRWKWDg0vV9IRk6n/s320/V1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me outside our snazzy new tent. On prior trips we slept in<br />
the two-person tent Jacob had gotten for Christmas. This trip we <br />
spent the first night in it, but the tent was too small for two <br />
grown men and a full-sized air mattress. A quick trip to a <br />
sporting goods store solved that problem. Our new digs was <br />
so roomy, I slept on one side, Jacob the other, and we had at <br />
least three feet of empty space between us. That was living! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My plans were to produce as many pages as possible, but the words didn't come easily (they never do for me). I managed to crank out seven pages on my quasi-steampunk novel and some edits on prior pages. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jacob wrote over 20 pages on a story he says he'll never let me read (I suspect it's some type of fanfic). I was jealous of his prodigious production, but happy to see him writing again. He's a good author, but a lazy one. He's also one hell of a terrific editor. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall, I had a relaxing weekend spent in enjoyable weather with good company (Jake and I get along well - for the most part) and achieved some writing (any day with words on the page is a good one). I would say Camp: Writer was a positive experience. One I'll do again. I'm glad Jake convinced me to take that first trip. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-73738294457346204962013-10-10T15:28:00.001-07:002013-10-10T15:28:45.350-07:00My Long Path to Geekdom <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I attended </span><a href="http://fencon.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">FenCon</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> this past weekend. As always, it was fun, but seemed oh-so-small after the Christmasland-like grandeur that was WorldCon. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I enjoyed a few panels, hanging with some writing buddies, and visiting way too many parties (the last item is a trend I noticed developing at WorldCon - hmmm - guess it's okay to party hop since all I do is sample snacks and rarely drink). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My biggest surprise of the weekend was to discover I truly am a geek. I know, like that should surprise me. I can recite most SF&F tropes and can talk the lingo with the pros. However, I've never gotten serious about collecting the merchandise. That all changed on Saturday when I passed a vendor who had a full collection of Babylon 5 action figures. As much as I loved the show, I never imagined there was merchandizing. Seeing no prices, I asked the owner the cost for one. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I'd really like to sell them as a set." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hmmm - where would I put 16 toys still in their packaging? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Okay, how much?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"$200 for all of them." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hmmm - maybe I could make room for them somewhere in my already crowded house. "Let me think about it."</span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUuz_wOrcsbVhkuOMFRSQS7_E9qexLI7UUOYLcVXgvah9-PQ1Jp5FSz1EONbxgtly1ZiOEGPWMURL88zt-7RKTGbDGgOWrcMu7NwglM6kh5LPbv7oHvpb_f7MitJMAEvsLxSd3g9cp6xn7/s1600/Bab5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUuz_wOrcsbVhkuOMFRSQS7_E9qexLI7UUOYLcVXgvah9-PQ1Jp5FSz1EONbxgtly1ZiOEGPWMURL88zt-7RKTGbDGgOWrcMu7NwglM6kh5LPbv7oHvpb_f7MitJMAEvsLxSd3g9cp6xn7/s320/Bab5.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Not the ones I bought, but mine look just like </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">these, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">only in </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">the original packaging. I'll never </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">do </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">any</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">thing but display them </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">but I'm happy </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">to own</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> them just the same. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I left and returned later. After examining all 16 and learning some of the packaging had damage, I asked "Take credit cards?"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">"Nope. Cash only."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">"Okay. I'll think about it."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I walked away, found an ATM and returned with my money. Moments later, I left holding two plastic bags bulging with Babylon 5 action figures - and still no idea where I would store or display them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've never done anything like this before. I guess I took my final step into geekdom. Funny, I waited a really long time to do it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Later, I looked them up on the Internet. The average figure retails for $19.99. Multiplied by 16 = $319.84. I think I got a good deal and I didn't have to pay for shipping. However, I never solved the dilemma of where to display them (currently, they're in a box under my bed. That just seems wrong).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">When did you realize you were a geek? </span> <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-18214988330873884702013-09-30T16:59:00.000-07:002013-09-30T16:59:45.079-07:00The Odd Couple: Father & Son Style <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My youngest, Jacob, and I have different definitions of the word 'clean'. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I believe:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dishes should be done nightly.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vacuuming every two weeks.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Clothes washed, folded and put away weekly. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bathrooms scrubbed regularly (I am a bit lax here).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Basically, the public areas of your home should be presentable enough that company could drop by unannounced. (My writing area remains a constant mess, but that works for me). </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jacob believes:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dishwashers should include arms to load themselves. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vacuuming - what's that?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Washed and folded clothes (dear ole Dad does that part, of course) are just fine stacked on his bedroom floor. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scrub a bathroom? Why? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Company should never drop by unannounced. (His artist area is an even bigger mess.)</span> </li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC5NpmyNFojXczd-cw1JS4r9l3OXLXbgZ7r2j1xkEa9SGxCuRIvlGfPo80QpbRoKzlpBQNpGmGaGx4n0Yo3fhrVEeFQJPvyskYKh-dYH7icJLRIkG4Drv7j_L96kjT8896NJtnBmHotJgk/s1600/Zits.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC5NpmyNFojXczd-cw1JS4r9l3OXLXbgZ7r2j1xkEa9SGxCuRIvlGfPo80QpbRoKzlpBQNpGmGaGx4n0Yo3fhrVEeFQJPvyskYKh-dYH7icJLRIkG4Drv7j_L96kjT8896NJtnBmHotJgk/s400/Zits.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From <em>Zits</em>, one of my favorite comic strips (who hopefully won't get mad <br />
I copied this from their website - I have a good reason, really I do, but I don't <br />
have a lawyer. Please, no cease and desist letters. No one reads my blog anyway).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As part of our never ending battle, when I saw this <em>Zits</em> cartoon, I decided to play a joke on Jacob. I carefully cut out the cartoon and taped it to his bedroom door. I expected shouts of rage that I had dared to post propaganda on his sanctuary. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nary a word. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I asked him, Jacob said he loved the cartoon and intended to leave it posted to his bedroom door. He said it summarized his philosophy on cleanliness. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So much for dear ole Dad psyching him out. All I accomplished was enabling his eventual appearance on <em>Hoarders</em>.</span> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-76607126905847070382013-09-21T22:10:00.001-07:002013-09-22T10:15:12.334-07:00A Private Man Goes Public, or Hey Look! I Know How to Download the Pictures from my Phone <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp054tcM0Fe780AwnRaNGqpehh7MyzLuBRFm163FoFst5xEOS-iYlYIVxWBJr650UT7vW8AGpPRNva9b9yBpJxqR0Sho2E2TVZIl2ceCVPlE1v-sFpAFPilodho07jB-4skikMljfov9Yn/s1600/L2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp054tcM0Fe780AwnRaNGqpehh7MyzLuBRFm163FoFst5xEOS-iYlYIVxWBJr650UT7vW8AGpPRNva9b9yBpJxqR0Sho2E2TVZIl2ceCVPlE1v-sFpAFPilodho07jB-4skikMljfov9Yn/s1600/L2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucas in his high school graduation<br />
gown. I knew the kid would graduate<br />
(he's too determine not to) but I wasn't<br />
confident he'd walk the stage to get his<br />
diploma (he said it was a waste of time).<br />
I'm glad he did. He earned that degree. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am a private person. I rarely share information or photographs of my family. However, as I was sorting through the pictures on my phone* recently, I decided a few were worth sharing.</span> <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgroo__RjbFgqR_bnGl1GxHCJLKIwtfEaTNZGxvtsYbvmwSuF7Pd7DQLCBp_6HihOnCQcw8hNB04Ty3qErXOUFLA4jyJSmKtY3oGdpgFsF1T0WY1FOydfLUVU8MJ0AwVQzLT89UBrwOxRm7/s1600/JLK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgroo__RjbFgqR_bnGl1GxHCJLKIwtfEaTNZGxvtsYbvmwSuF7Pd7DQLCBp_6HihOnCQcw8hNB04Ty3qErXOUFLA4jyJSmKtY3oGdpgFsF1T0WY1FOydfLUVU8MJ0AwVQzLT89UBrwOxRm7/s1600/JLK.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my sons. Jacob (in the red coat)<br />
and I went to hear Lucas (Mr. Shades)<br />
play with the Zak Brown Band in Dallas.<br />
It was fun, but I'm glad Lucas warned me<br />
to wear ear plugs. Otherwise, I might still<br />
be deaf several months later. <br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeaQqvf9R2mHYD4OIc3_OqCMkHofh62LTeTg1Mnz-NlTAt_U-bp-N6xH7DstACP5x2ak_lg7CWy0riDMI7qIbA2UTsxZ101PQCNNlyQ8WLLBogvicvQH68AJHVLO4xMF3cg8lJ-FZm6SHs/s1600/LJ2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeaQqvf9R2mHYD4OIc3_OqCMkHofh62LTeTg1Mnz-NlTAt_U-bp-N6xH7DstACP5x2ak_lg7CWy0riDMI7qIbA2UTsxZ101PQCNNlyQ8WLLBogvicvQH68AJHVLO4xMF3cg8lJ-FZm6SHs/s1600/LJ2.jpg" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucas and Jacob kidding around before<br />
Lucas' high school graduation. I find this<br />
picture humorous, because when they were<br />
younger, Lucas was bigger/stronger than<br />
Jacob and used to bully him a bit. No longer.<br />
Jacob got bigger/stronger and can hold his<br />
own now. I'm glad the tables turned. <br />
<br />
<div align="left">
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjEAYVtNFofrgFBnRkNUlvnCZovHLVxwlSrHkl0rHDqPCLuOS4Kp7wQczlSX3wU59LvMD7Ykchly_W5XUUv6osWzKTnEn4GJFrHYpRgZumfuYmcnCxbHYC1b83vGByawIUlXirg4RwyvL/s1600/J1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjEAYVtNFofrgFBnRkNUlvnCZovHLVxwlSrHkl0rHDqPCLuOS4Kp7wQczlSX3wU59LvMD7Ykchly_W5XUUv6osWzKTnEn4GJFrHYpRgZumfuYmcnCxbHYC1b83vGByawIUlXirg4RwyvL/s1600/J1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During the concert, Jacob met Zak <br />
Brown. I didn't (I think I had gone<br />
to get the car. Always my luck.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaKMDXc7u8sjfeDbo0sAkShLgPMmMibYs3eUpVdR5_wZCKt2XgeqSES0LXWzCC-itEg_jdrtbsK3maFmWrijfXu5XL2jlymhCR4QZrYGcj6KVpWgLLXvZ3uDbn0kddZM7hFc11_thCsH15/s1600/L1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaKMDXc7u8sjfeDbo0sAkShLgPMmMibYs3eUpVdR5_wZCKt2XgeqSES0LXWzCC-itEg_jdrtbsK3maFmWrijfXu5XL2jlymhCR4QZrYGcj6KVpWgLLXvZ3uDbn0kddZM7hFc11_thCsH15/s1600/L1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In his travels, Lucas gets to meet lots of famous<br />
people. Here, he's with Willie Robertson from <br />
<em>Duck Dynasty</em> fame (I enjoy their TV show).<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGANkPmlkErdHjarHShbl5RHtstGoOyrsJBdyK2lTbATH2jYSXy-sLfTuEHjvno1XTJY0YT-k_iMe-EnTsyMwgVNW_egVZqVSeG0KGTGL94FopCc9Qxs3_5QfLoFQeozfnhIfpd9POzTJ/s1600/J2a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGANkPmlkErdHjarHShbl5RHtstGoOyrsJBdyK2lTbATH2jYSXy-sLfTuEHjvno1XTJY0YT-k_iMe-EnTsyMwgVNW_egVZqVSeG0KGTGL94FopCc9Qxs3_5QfLoFQeozfnhIfpd9POzTJ/s1600/J2a1.jpg" /></a> </td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jacob holding his first paycheck <br />
from his first job. Yes, I encouraged<br />
(he says forced) him to get a summer<br />
job. The way he complained you <br />
would think I had indentured him<br />
for life. Of course, he loved the<br />
money and missed the job when <br />
the summer ended. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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</div>
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuXtpObLxWhy2_cH8z30vAS6bT4Nb9DT93s59dysQuwRg9JNWA_ix556mYu7U2Ku_cTgG4ngErPMA5C1b130cHOu5hDUxGje0RocdSkR9keum-u2sR0cQN8BXnac1bSwFHxfIUsHc2FBsW/s1600/C1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuXtpObLxWhy2_cH8z30vAS6bT4Nb9DT93s59dysQuwRg9JNWA_ix556mYu7U2Ku_cTgG4ngErPMA5C1b130cHOu5hDUxGje0RocdSkR9keum-u2sR0cQN8BXnac1bSwFHxfIUsHc2FBsW/s1600/C1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These two might as well be my children. Leo (gray) and I <br />
tolerate each other (he only 'likes' me when it's feeding time,<br />
but I know his leg rubbings are fake). Levi (black) is my<br />
best buddy. I got him from my sister (Leo, too), and Levi<br />
was very sick. Snotty nose, crusty eyes (cost me over $1000<br />
to keep him from going blind), and he still has health issues<br />
today. However, he genuinely loves me, whereas Leo wishes<br />
I'd fall off the planet (as long as someone continued to feed him)<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I know these pictures aren't in a logical order. Blogspot gave me so many problems trying to move the images I finally gave up and let them post where they would. Thanks for looking.</span> </div>
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<em>* Being able to take photographs with a phone. How science fictiony, all Space 1999, does that sound? Especially considering we've only had these things a few decades and they used to only make phone calls (which everyone thought was miraculous!)</em> </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-11394178489236228342013-09-17T18:49:00.000-07:002013-09-18T03:06:02.060-07:00Review: Sleepy Hollow on Fox<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRb2u7XjtCuFJISm_PpaJ-bCqBtJzmgAQ2vh-mEEYKYQGe0M34W_5VvvAM3wmTFV5PCPsfy-oGqVEbessAOXn-dP8reAk5TcgvRsFJspA_a-dOfFAYmx5kVtLpdncUFR4QJCPSNSvtM6mI/s1600/sleepy+hollow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRb2u7XjtCuFJISm_PpaJ-bCqBtJzmgAQ2vh-mEEYKYQGe0M34W_5VvvAM3wmTFV5PCPsfy-oGqVEbessAOXn-dP8reAk5TcgvRsFJspA_a-dOfFAYmx5kVtLpdncUFR4QJCPSNSvtM6mI/s1600/sleepy+hollow.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've decided to dedicated more time to
writing. To achieve this, I had vowed NO NEW TELEVISION SHOWS. In fact, I've deleted
some long-standing programs from the record feature on my DVR.</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I read a summary of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sleepy Hollow</i> on Fox, I decided to make
an exception. Obviously, I'm a big fan of anything paranormal, historical, and
just plain weird. The show sounded as if it would meet all three criteria. It
did … and it didn't. Here's why: </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Set
in 1781,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Sleepy Hollow </i>opens strong.
There's lots of action and the battle scene was apparently filmed with that new
technique that makes the audience feel as if they are in the middle of action*.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actually, I thought
the story opened too fast. I wanted a moment to connect with Ichabod
Crane before he's killed. Maybe that would have made me care more when he's mysteriously
resurrected later.</span></span><!--[endif]--></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="rom-inline3"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span class="rom-inline3"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Next,
we move into modern day and the Headless Horseman is searching for his head. He confronts a mysterious
priest who says: "I'll never tell you where it is. I'm prepared to
die." <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Headless accommodates
the priest's wishes and cuts off his head. Then, we switch to the priest's
point-of-view as his head slowly tumbles to the ground and we watch the
Headless Horseman walk away. It was meant to be dramatic, but it turned out to
be melodramatic. I had to pause the show for several minutes because I was
laughing so hard. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Wiping
away my tears of mirth, I pressed on. Next, Ichabod finds his wife's grave.
According to the tombstone, she died in 1782. However, the tombstone looks as new
as if it had been erected that same day. It's a small gripe, but if the set
director had taken the extra effort to make the headstone appear aged, it would
have done much to help a show that wants to be dark and serious, but is more of
a silly comedy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Jumping
forward a bit in the story (by this point, I was only paying half attention)
Ichabod and his cop friend, Abby, open Ichabod's wife's grave to recover the
Headless Horseman's head. (Long story. Apparently wifey isn't dead, but is possibly
trapped in a dreamworld.) When Ichabod finds the head, the tarp that covers it
looks brand new and clean (not a spot of dirt on it after being buried for 231
years). I guess the same magical powers that put her in dreamland and preserved
her tombstone also kept the tarp in mint condition. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Up
to this point, Headless Horseman has been a real bad ass. He's chopping off
heads left-and-right with his trusty ax. I kinda like Headless. He's a man with
a goal. I respect that. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then, toward the end of
the episode, Headless puts his ax away, picks up an automatic weapon, and
starts blasting everyone with bullets. I couldn't stop laughing. It was so
silly. It also made me wonder why he even needed a head so badly. He can
walk/chop/slice/dice/shoot and never misses despite his lack of a noggin. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the end of the show, Headless has everyone
beat. He's going to win. Then, a single ray of sunlight strikes his neck area and
we see a whiff of white smoke. The next thing we know, Headless is on his horse
and rides away. Hell, if that's all it takes, just stay out of his way after
dark. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The
episode concludes with Ichabod revealing to Abby that they are the two
witnesses foretold in Revelations to endure a seven-year battle against the four
horsemen of the apocalypse. I giggled. The show's producers had given themselves
a goal for how long they wanted to stay on the air. Good for them. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sleepy
Hollow </i>accomplished being a paranormal story (even if a bit inconsistent
one). It sucked from a historical viewpoint (but, again, that's my pet peeve).
And was less weird than unintentionally comedic. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whether the series will last seven years, or
seven episodes is up to the viewers. I, for one, will not be tuning in. I can
use that hour to write my own scary, historical, and weird stories. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*<em>It's not 3D [no special
glasses are required] but still feels more like being inside the TV than just
watching a flat screen. I don't know how it's done, or the name of the special
effect, but I have noticed more history programs using it.</em></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-27712574442121039952013-09-10T08:29:00.000-07:002013-09-10T08:29:25.335-07:00WorldCon Post # 5: My Personal Successes<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
met three literary agents, two of whom I added to my query-when-I-have-a-novel
written spreadsheet. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">One
of those two agents sampled my writing (I can't reveal all of the details,
since I swore to secrecy). She liked what she read enough to comment that if I
ever wrote a novel set in the same world, she knew some editors who would be
interested. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her statement made me
want to kick myself. Once again, I had missed an opportunity with a literary agent
because I have no book written. Heck, I didn't even have an idea. Then, one slapped
me in the shower the next morning (isn't that where all the greatest ideas come
from?). I'm currently world building a quasi-steampunk novel. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
met the editor of Angry Robot Books, my favorite publisher. I wish I could say
I handled myself like a pro, but in truth, I gushed like a fanboy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
thanked Sheila Williams, the editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine, for
her kind rejections. At first she laughed, but when I stated that she always
includes a brief sentence that gives me hope, she looked surprised and said:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I mean those
comments, too. Very few writers get them."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't think my feet
touched the ground for the rest of the day. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
met my all-time favorite author: Joe R Lansdale. I almost didn't, but Paul encouraged
me to speak to Mr. Lansdale. I visited with him a couple of times over the
course of the weekend. He signed several books for me - both ones I had
purchased at the Con and novels I already owned. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
may have discovered a new favorite author: Chuck Wendig. He writes horror and
dark urban fantasy, and so far, his books have blown my mind. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
attended my first Hugo Awards. I'm glad I sat in the audience versus watching
the live stream. There was a special feeling to being in the room, seeing all
the fancy clothes, hearing the many acceptance speeches, and fantasying about
one day walking on stage to accept my own Hugo. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
received five free books: three from Angry Robot and two from Solaris. All look
interesting. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
purchased nine books, two of which were Simon's Cat (I didn't know there were
books - so funny!) and one was the children's book version of the poem on which
the movie, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Nightmare Before Christmas</i>,
was based. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The rest of my
purchases were either writers I've previously read, or were new authors I had discovered
at the Con. (Not sure book purchases qualify as a success considering my goal
was to buy zero books.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
ate one bug and received one free audio book in return. (The bug was a cricket
and it tasted spicy at first, but then very bitter. I needed lots of water to
wash it down.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
bought six t-shirts. (Okay, Paul believes I have a t-shirt addiction, so maybe
this one isn't a success either. My goal had been to buy zero t-shirts, but my
<a href="http://www.instantattitudes.com/" target="_blank">favorite t-shirt vendor</a> showed up and I couldn't resist.) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
attended 18 panels, which does not seem like a lot in retrospect considering I
was there for five days. How did I spend my extra time? In the Exhibit Hall,
apparently. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
attended … <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pauses to try to remember</i>
… LOTS! of parties. I lost track of the actual number, because there were
multiple room parties almost every night. I will say I enjoyed the food in the
Nippon (Japan) in 2017 bid party the most. They had candy and snacks that I
scarfed on repeated visits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
gained only one pound, despite being too tired to exercise regularly, eating mostly
fattening foods, and almost devouring the Japanese room party (hey, I donated
to help defray their costs). Overall, I did make a good attempt to eat healthy
thanks to the consuite stocking fresh fruits and some veggies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
walked about gazillion miles between the hotel and the convention center (hmmm,
maybe that's why I didn't gain much weight).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
had the best time of any Con I have ever attended. That alone was my biggest
success. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_KXzsAQJfo5A6jkU3A-JPukEKUXSYursdTH0DcEFuoi0vRB8T0KO7pkTKof5QtppAhPfnV1LhNghL5-odYhC1u4KsfagOTib7k1AhjxIEFUAkU_YECJKy5WTzv3vrgBPZ0THdF3_ErAn/s1600/lonestar1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_KXzsAQJfo5A6jkU3A-JPukEKUXSYursdTH0DcEFuoi0vRB8T0KO7pkTKof5QtppAhPfnV1LhNghL5-odYhC1u4KsfagOTib7k1AhjxIEFUAkU_YECJKy5WTzv3vrgBPZ0THdF3_ErAn/s320/lonestar1.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> If you attended WorldCon 2013, or previous WorldCons, or other SF&F cons, what did you consider your biggest successes? </span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5775930719673129731.post-57335915836470231372013-09-08T18:25:00.000-07:002013-09-08T18:25:09.519-07:00WorldCon Post # 4: Writers' Workshop
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am a proponent of workshopping one's
writing. Authors get too close to their stories and can't see all of the
problems. Fresh eyes help strengthen a piece. </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I previously <a href="http://gkylewhite.blogspot.com/2013/08/worldcon-and-writers-workshops.html" target="_blank">blogged</a>, I registered
for the writers' workshop at WorldCon. However, I did so with apprehension.
Having participated in five previous workshops at two different Cons over the
years, I knew that anonymous workshops can be stressful. I simply do not know
where a fellow writer is in his/her journey, or how my comments might affect
their willingness to continue the uphill slog toward publication*. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Therefore, it's important that I
reexamine my original reasons for participating.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpG14EmqbqBdBHEGktUmwx_UHBAvziTjYvJDhv9skw2IAAOCVjWtu7vjAZUgZ7yGuhShnEUh16Wf9gkmXsFFDnxXrrdOI3DUa2m9-L3LRgI6MDeaQXVhyphenhyphen01GxedDQiRWgJ3jjAt2UIAbx/s1600/MB900240373%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpG14EmqbqBdBHEGktUmwx_UHBAvziTjYvJDhv9skw2IAAOCVjWtu7vjAZUgZ7yGuhShnEUh16Wf9gkmXsFFDnxXrrdOI3DUa2m9-L3LRgI6MDeaQXVhyphenhyphen01GxedDQiRWgJ3jjAt2UIAbx/s1600/MB900240373%5B1%5D.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This clip art is a pretty good</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">representation of a writers' </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">critique group. You sit around </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">a table critiquing each other's </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">work. At DFWWW we read our</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">writing aloud for 15 minutes & then</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">receive five minutes of critique. In </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">other groups I've participated in the </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">story is emailed ahead of time and</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">everyone brings a marked copy to</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">share with the submitter. Both </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">methods work equally well in my</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">opinion. I'd be interested to know </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">the thoughts of other writers.</span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It's Worldcon. If I hadn't
participated, I would have regretted it. The writers' workshop was one more
positive experiences in probably the best Con I've ever attended. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It's inexpensive. The nominal price
I paid was a bargain compared to everything I learned. Without a doubt, this
was the best Con writers' workshop in which I've participated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The small group size (four aspiring,
two professional authors) was perfect. Not too much to read, so I didn't feel
brain dead. The stories were written at different levels of experience, but
none were amateurish. I can honestly say I enjoyed every story and look forward
to reading its polished form in a pro mag one day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes, I grew. Going in, I knew
something was wrong with my submission, but I couldn't pinpoint the problem(s).
The critiques revealed several plot holes I had overlooked. To say I felt silly
for failing to see my own errors is putting it nicely. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A good friend told me 'networking'
is a bad word and should not be used outside of the business world. Whatever you
want to call it, I still suck at it. However, this workshop had such a good
vibe we continued it afterwards by sharing lunch. That was a new experience and
I felt that I had established some good friends in the SF&F writing community. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Final
assessment: my five solid reasons for participating in the writers' workshop
all proved to be valid. I'm happy I registered and I'm still buzzing from all
the incredible mojo.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next, the last post of the WorldCon series: my personal successes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">*It's easier critiquing people in my weekly writers' group. I know them
and they know me. We've already established a baseline for critiques. Con
workshops involve unknown factors. I have no idea if my comments will help or
harm the participants. I know there are some writers who take the stance that
all authors must possess a thick skin. I agree with that, but I still don't
want to be the reason someone trashed their dreams because of a comment I
made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0