(no subject)

*sits back*

Huh. Will you look at that. The story caught.

I just managed three thousand words. I had eight hundred earlier and was pretty happy with that, but the story caught and I got another twenty-two hundred in. There's a long haul to go, but now I'm settled. I can do it.

I know I talk a lot about writing here and not much of it is even original, what I say about it, but I say it anyway if for no other reason than to chronicle the journey. I had this horrible neurotic terror earlier that I wouldn't ever write another word on Valet of Anize, that I had somehow cursed it by posting it. But that's fallout from failing with Laocoon's Children, and I knew it, so I stared at the words for a while and did my dutiful eight hundred and left it alone. Then it fell into place.

It's something that only experience, I'm convinced, can teach you, which is why when people say I have talent I tell them no, I have fifteen years of practice: sometimes an idea comes and it's immediate and I get into it and never fall out, but more often the idea comes and I have to spend a long time slogging along, wondering if it's any good at all. The story fights dirty every step of the way and nothing anyone else says is going to help, even saying you can fix it later doesn't help. But I know sooner or later it'll catch and it'll stop sucking. Even if I don't get three thousand a day, which is obscene and not to be expected, I know when the rhythm starts and the self-loathing stops.

I can't imagine a better high than that moment.

And now it's two in the goddamn morning, and I need to sleep.

HEY GUYS IMMA TELL YOU A STORY OK? IT'S GONNA BE AWESOME.

(no subject)

Good morning, campers! I got a full eight hours despite my slightly psychotic 2am post, so I am more or less freshly awake.

Couple of reminder links for you, should you care to accept them:

1. I fell down on the job with linking to WIAD last week (or voting or commenting...argh) but this week I am back in the saddle. The anonymous story submissions are here (all in one post this time!) and the place to actually vote is here.

2. The Mini Photo Book contest at lulu.com is still going on, and I am currently tied for second (or possibly in third). There was a slight snag with the voting in those first few hours so if you voted right when I linked it before and didn't get a "Thank you for your vote!" your vote may not have counted. Or if you want to vote for the first time, go and have fun! Mine, which you are in no way obliged to vote for, is down near the bottom, the one with no cover graphic :D You can vote here, or if you've already voted, check the standings. You do have to register to vote, sorry about that...

Full night of sleep aside, I'm not feeling especially well, so I suspect I shall be home early from R's party. Socialisation and me don't always "go"...

(no subject)

Well, I'm back from R's party. It was tons of fun, even if I am exhausted. We got to see quite a bit of the airshow, even if at one point the noise was so loud I was convinced I was going to be hit by an airplane. It would be my luck.

There was more food than any of us knew what to do with, but we did our best. It was just pretty much awesome start to finish.

R's guests were such a strange mix -- lots of theatre folk, which was actually really cool for me, a few local business owners, and a few musicians. I talked about escaping the theatre sanity-intact with one really nice woman, who is married to the owner of the nightclub right around the corner from where I live.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that R knows the guy who played the Viking in the Snickers Bar ads last year, and I am pleased to say that I can confirm this, because I spent about an hour talking Eugene O'Neill with him tonight. :D

Also, interestingly, everything at the party was either gluten-free or had a gluten-free counterpart, because 1. there were a ton of foodies there and 2. there were at least two people with Celiac. Gluten-free beer is actually quite good.

I admit to a bit of pride in the fact that when he introduced me everyone went "Oh -- you're SAM" because apparently in R's circles he reports on his Conversations With Sam as often as I do on my Conversations With R.

I might be slightly tipsy.

There was a lot of beer. Gluten-free beer!

(no subject)

While I was out, NEWS happened on the internets!

1. Hey, anyone got a good home for a rescued Jack Russel?

2. 51stcenturyfox wrote a fanfictions! It is about wanking. IT IS AWESOME. But not appropriate for work (or you, miss sister-of-hannueshe. :D)

3. That bump in votes I got from the last link to the PhotoBook Contest has put me firmly in second place. Thank you, guys!

3a. This is actually old news, but I stumbled over a post I made in 2007 about writers and the internet and I'm kind of surprised at how prescient it was. Two years later I am pulling in about $70-$100 a month from my online publishing site, apart from the projected final total of about $500 I will have raised for charity by the time I'm done with the signed-copy waiting list. It's not a fortune or anything, but it is proof of some of the assertions in that essay, particularly that the internet community can be a useful, educational tool especially for writers, and that it is madness for a writer with access to this tool to reject it.