Tweets for Today

  • 07:18 Um…some tweets disappeared, including my writing progress from last night (200 wds)!! WTF? #
  • 08:15 Writing motivation at near-zero this morning. I’d really rather just screw off, but I’ve got the file open, trying to be a good boy 🙂 #
  • 08:17 Writing playlist: a Robert Lamm mix #
  • 09:14 200+ more words this AM. I’ve already reached the "marking time" point of the 1st draft. Time to stop rambling and make something happen!! #
  • 09:21 Holy crap–I think I just brainstormed a title! Titles are usually the last things I come up with. #
  • 09:33 +150 words of notes. I really need to stop and take a break before work. Funny what you can get done w/7 hrs. of sleep 🙂 #
  • 11:29 Can’t believe how many people are cracking up on the *3rd week of classes*!!! #
  • 12:49 Thinking of just reading for lunch today. Better yet, how ’bout just eating lunch and relaxing for once? Naaahh. #
  • 13:36 Not writing or studying right now. So this is what it used to feel like… 🙂 #
  • 15:56 I’m so tired, I think I might possibly be dead in my office chair & it’s just the last bits of electical energy in my brain letting me type. #
  • 17:39 test–they say betwittered works again…? #
  • 17:39 Woohoo! #
  • 19:32 Car is repaired. Have a maxed-out credit card and a redundant key to show for it :(. #
  • 19:55 I was gonna focus on skoolwork, honest. But I got some story crits emailed to me…can’t…resist! #
  • 22:30 DOCTOR WHO namecheck on LEVERAGE again!! #
  • 22:45 @GailSimone I have a dream, True Believers! #

Via LoudTwitter

Tweets for Today

  • 08:18 Let myself sleep in just a little bit. At the backup AM writing location processing yesterday’s crit group (kind) evisceration. #
  • 08:19 Writing playlist: The Blue Nile, Beckley-Lamm-Wilson, Steve Winwood #
  • 08:36 Stopping to record in my notebook the way this chick strutted into the bagel shop in what’re obviously her daughter’s clothes. #
  • 08:47 Summary of my bi-weekly evisceration posted: tinyurl.com/d2kods #
  • 11:47 Getting ready for the long trudge to skool. Uphill. In the snow. Both ways. #
  • 13:27 Came up with my next story hook in class; totally non-class related. And I wonder why I’m behind. #
  • 13:32 Wondering if the benefit gained by restarting MMA workouts outweighs potential 14-hour days? Plus, can I keep up with the youngins? #
  • 13:34 @LaterOn1969 I used to live near CSU, so I feel you! #
  • 13:41 People ask me how I’ve been. This video sums it up (except for the end of it) 😉 tinyurl.com/bb5yv9 #
  • 13:43 Um, wait…I guess the lyrics really don’t apply. The title does, tho! Plus, who can’t smile when Huey sings? #
  • 14:34 @LaterOn1969 Upstate NY, in a town that sees as much, if not more, snow than C-town sees 🙁 #
  • 16:48 Work’s making my head spin faster and Linda Blair’s in THE EXORCIST. Welcome to Monday, I guess! #
  • 17:12 Yeah, if I’m this tired tomorrow, muay Thai isn’t happening *again*. I’ll have to write or something… #
  • 17:36 Sooo tempted to leave early. No one would know…but I can’t :(. #
  • 17:40 @LaterOn1969 Near the Finger Lakes 🙂 #

Via LoudTwitter

Tough Love

So, some of my 2009 writing goals are off to a really fucking bad start. Life and death sometimes get in the way of writing, which is fine. But the good news is, I’ve thus far managed to keep my goal of writing one story a month, even though part of me thinks a 1,400-word story feels like cheating somehow, compared to last month’s 3,000 words. Then again, February is shorter.

Anyway, I finished and polished the bulk of this short-short story the night before yesterday’s critique group while watching the director’s cut of THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY on AMC at 2:00 AM. Hence, the many problems spotted by the eagle-eyed writers in my biweekly crucifixion session.

The Good

  • The “switch” i.e. the change of direction at the end of the story
  • The rhythm of the writing in some spots
  • One pop-culture reference spotted
  • The main character’s arc

The Bad

  • My second paragraph should’ve been my intro paragraph.
  • The fantasy element, telepathy, needed a bit more definition/consistency for one person
  • One paragraph on an ex-girlfriend mentioned only once (among other things) could be nixed.
  • I never named the story’s supporting character.
  • My experiment with not using quotation marks for dialogue was a fail for one reader.

The Ugly

  • A major plot point about what people think of the main character might’ve been a little negative when usually, the truth is that most people don’t think about us nearly as much as we think they do.
  • …leading to the question of whether the main character is actually reading minds or seeing a reflection of his own POV.
  • Another lively debate (like in the last group), this time about my use of the generic THE OFFICE/OFFICE SPACE/DILBERT cubicle-hell setting and how the protagonist’s co-workers were all painted as mean and blackhearted in some cases. One person strongly felt it was “overused” while another felt it was “awesome.”

I can definitely see both sides of that last point. The good news is that I think it’s all fixable.

Tweets for Today

  • 09:13 Oooh, why did I have to stay up ’til 3:00 watching THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY? But at least I got my latest story done while doing it!! #
  • 09:15 Of course, I shudder to read it. Who knows what kind of jibberish I ended up writing? I probably wrote a scene with a 3-way standoff in it. #
  • 10:58 Story’s as good as it’s gonna get for crit group. I’m gonna take the only break I’ll get today. After group: a metric crapload of skoolwork! #
  • 17:40 Got a fresh cup of coffee after crit group; prolly not gonna put off the inevitable caffeine crash for long. Gotta get some skoolwork done! #
  • 17:47 …and then I’ll be able to consider myself back in the frakkin’ saddle! #
  • 18:45 One day’s worth of notes processed. Will see if I can do another set after dinner, or if I’ll fall unconscious. #
  • 20:20 I’m a little bit more caught up with skoolwork–panic has subsided (for now). #

Via LoudTwitter

Tweets for Today

  • 08:16 Gonna take Blood, Sweat and Tears to get my stuff done today. The band, I mean. And caffeine. Lots of caffeine. ♫ blip.fm/~1wk6g #
  • 08:26 Recently abandoned but still interesting: Words I Learned From Reading David Foster Wallace dfwwords.wordpress.com/ #
  • 09:17 Wrote another paragraph but every time I looked away, I saw my skoolwork. It’s calling to me. #
  • 10:37 Don’t feel good about the current WIP. Feels like I’m writing like an Etgar Keret wannabe. #
  • 10:52 Got coffee and a table near an outlet. Need writing music: El Michels Affair, Air, Huey Lewis & the News #
  • 11:45 twitpic.com/19n5l – Not sure where to go with this at this point. #
  • 15:26 Gonna tackle the wreck that is the home office, desperate to procrastinate from the current WIP. Or as some might call it: "taking a break." #
  • 16:01 Frak! Of all the times to be without a car!! JCVD (the film, not the person) is finally in town! www.imdb.com/title/tt1130988/ #
  • 16:42 twitpic.com/19t59 – Biggest accomplishment in the home office: getting these books off the floor. #
  • 18:30 Evening writing playlist: Chick Corea, Jacky Terrasson, Eliane Elias #
  • 18:45 One of the reasons I still bother with a LiveJournal account: tinyurl.com/cvs5f #
  • 22:38 Am >this close< to wrapping up Draft 1.0 of the latest WIP! #

Via LoudTwitter

Tweets for Today

  • 08:16 Writing playlist this morning: Sons of Champlin, Menahan St. Band, dZihan & Kamien. #
  • 08:26 twitpic.com/192f4 – The morning working space, where not a whole hell of a lot of work has been done so far. #
  • 09:07 Holy crap! Am I…done?? 🙂 #
  • 09:34 I’ll give this last story a few hours to cool off. In the meantime, let’s see how far we can get with the next story. #
  • 10:47 Would’ve treated this advice (from Thelonius Monk to Charlie Rouse(?)) like Gospel during my jazz-playing years tinyurl.com/dma8wf #
  • 11:39 Life imitates a Raymond Carver story community.livejournal.com/abandonedplaces/1616826.html #
  • 13:27 Starting to resent having to cram my lunch down my throat on skool days. Yet, I still find time to check email…? #
  • 14:46 $350 for the lock cylinder. Motherfrakker! #
  • 15:54 Y’know, I don’t care if I’m stuck here for another 2.5 hours. My weekend starts now. #
  • 17:14 Gonna pull a John Henry tonight and see how many words I can write tonite before I drop dead from exhaustion. #
  • 18:56 I will not procrastinate by looking over new books. I will not procrastinate by looking over new books. I will not procrastinate by looking #
  • 19:30 Gah! I’m supposed to be adding words, not cutting them!! #

Via LoudTwitter

Tweets for Today

  • 08:23 "Feelin’ stronger every day (you know I’m all right now)…" ♫ blip.fm/~1v30d #
  • 08:24 Wish I could be writing instead of going to my study section :(. But at least I’ll have my lunchtime (I hope). #
  • 08:55 I had a few minutes before section. *Four lines left* to fix on the WIP. Now, on to skoolwork. #
  • 10:55 Pondering my own discount Flip cam tinyurl.com/cgsoh3 #
  • 13:33 Shrewd Writing Advice From Some of Science Fiction’s & Fantasy’s Best Writers tinyurl.com/ahqusl #
  • 13:42 Two lines. I just need to rewrite two more goddamn lines, and I can put this beast to bed. #
  • 17:33 Wiped out. Tomorrow’s Friday, but it’s gonna feel like Wednesday to me 🙁 #
  • 20:26 Evening routine derailed by the starter failing on the car :(. Knew I should’ve just went straight home after work! #
  • 20:26 Oh well…I got 2 sentences to rewrite. Will worry about the towing costs, etc. later. #

Via LoudTwitter

Tweets for Today

  • 08:13 A little Do As Infinity piping thru the headphones to get me going on my 1st day back in the saddle. ♫ blip.fm/~1uaex #
  • 08:50 The writing’s finally coming along again. Almost done with Draft 1.99! #
  • 09:38 2 lousy paragraphs left! Oh well, something to do at lunch, I suppose. #
  • 11:51 Gah! Almost forgot–no lunch for writing today, ‘cos of skool 🙁 #
  • 13:30 Current weather condition: A big wintry mix of suck. #
  • 17:41 1st day back could’ve gone worse. Not by much, tho ;). #
  • 18:08 Anticipating my slipping and sliding on the way home. #
  • 19:21 Staring at the 2 paragraphs from this morning, waiting for the Chinese food to arrive. #
  • 19:37 RED DWARF is back! There is a God! news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7851989.stm #

Via LoudTwitter

Tweets for Today

  • 08:20 Today’s agenda: breakfast, write, get my back cracked, write, write, skoolwork, write, sort out office full of bequeathed stuff, write, etc. #
  • 09:02 My two writing children have formed a connection tinyurl.com/b4uagh #
  • 11:50 Got distracted by email, feed reader, bookmark, MonkeyGTD cleanup. I think I’m back on track. #
  • 12:08 twitpic.com/17uto – Desperately attempting to get work done. #
  • 14:02 Just had my back adjusted. Feels soooo good. Didn’t realize my neck was in such bad shape, either. #
  • 14:10 @strikethru From working w/someone who’s been using voice recognition software for awhile, I shudder to think how my drafts would look. #
  • 14:15 RT @NewsHour Author John Updike has died of lung cancer. He was 76. #
  • 16:00 RT @AletheaKontis Wow. Realms of Fantasy bites the dust: tinyurl.com/c2wesw #
  • 16:02 The two major things I’ve accomplished today, other than getting my spine adjusted, are "jack" and "crap." #

Via LoudTwitter