and here I am. I just get this momentum and then my character, Josh Kerr, just takes me along for the ride. It's exciting, but my sleeping patterns are all wack.
I started the day at 51,324 words. I am ending my day at 56,338.
I know I said I saw 6-8000 words to go, like last week. But now I am seeing about that number still. So The Cabin will likely hit 65,000 words in its first draft form. That'll happen this week. Tomorrow I'm going to write like a madman.
I feel good about this story. It's one I am loving to tell and I believe others will love to read it.
And on the adding romance front, it's a go. It's difficult, but I think it's going well.
Remember to check me out on Facebook, find my Writer Page and become a fan, and also to check out my other blog. Oh, and definitely take a look at the family blog that Annemarie's working on.
carpe somnium
I'm going to be a bestselling writer.
Oh! I have to share! I entered a community boards contest on www.helium.com. I hadn't done that before, but thought it would be fun. The contest was to write something that made readers laugh out loud.
I won the contest! Here's a link to my humorous piece: http://www.helium.com/items/1122547-humorous-story-about-meditation
Hope you enjoy!
Showing posts with label bestseller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bestseller. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
aaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggggg
Remind me to be patient!!! An agent consented to look at my stuff, due to a referral from my workshop's assistant, but apparently he decided it wasn't his style!
I have to be patient!!!!
Why in all the nine hells did I choose to be a writer? I am good at loads of stuff, math not the least of that stuff, as well as teaching and science... but I had to go and decide to be a writer. A fiction writer.
That's cool. I guess it's because I've always known I'm supposed to be famous.
Hehe. Or not.
But I will write a bestselling novel, I will be a bestselling author, I am learning this craft...
carpe somnium
I have to be patient!!!!
Why in all the nine hells did I choose to be a writer? I am good at loads of stuff, math not the least of that stuff, as well as teaching and science... but I had to go and decide to be a writer. A fiction writer.
That's cool. I guess it's because I've always known I'm supposed to be famous.
Hehe. Or not.
But I will write a bestselling novel, I will be a bestselling author, I am learning this craft...
carpe somnium
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Game over...?
Or game beginning?
Starting right now, this very second, I am the man I am supposed to be. Not perfect yet, but not as unbelievably imperfect as I was fifteen seconds ago.
carpe somnium
And my somnium is the fact that I will be a bestselling author.
See you tomorrow.
Starting right now, this very second, I am the man I am supposed to be. Not perfect yet, but not as unbelievably imperfect as I was fifteen seconds ago.
carpe somnium
And my somnium is the fact that I will be a bestselling author.
See you tomorrow.
Friday, April 25, 2008
In Austin...
Just stopping in to give an update. I'm in Austin, at Jena and Derek's house and have had a bit of a long day.
The flights were okay, although flying is just increasingly uncomfortable these days.
First impressions of Austin:
Very pretty. Muggy. Very very pretty. Warm.
The houses we went and saw today were very nice indeed. Great value for these homes down here. And Austin itself is a lovely place, with tons of variety in geography and offerings for things to do. Two of the houses we saw, the two that I would actually consider as a place to live in fact, were literally right next to parks. One of them was even less than a five minute drive to an LDS chapel! What luck!
There is great waterfront here, and tons of parks. Tolls are a bit of a bother, but aren't really that big of a deal. Traffic is significant, but not too terrible.
Lots of trees, long sunny days making for long growing seasons. However, I am told there is no real fall or spring, which is too bad. I like four distinct seasons in my year.
Anyway, that's really it. I better get done, as my computer's battery is on its way out.
I did write about 500 words in The Cabin today while flying. That was fun. I also got some more work from my newest client. He's keeping me busy, and that is good.
Tomorrow is the Interview Event. I will go with prayer to see if this is the right thing for us. I would not mind living here at all, but I don't really want to be here as a public school teacher. Maybe a private school would be okay.
Anyway, gonna write a bestseller.
carpe somnium
The flights were okay, although flying is just increasingly uncomfortable these days.
First impressions of Austin:
Very pretty. Muggy. Very very pretty. Warm.
The houses we went and saw today were very nice indeed. Great value for these homes down here. And Austin itself is a lovely place, with tons of variety in geography and offerings for things to do. Two of the houses we saw, the two that I would actually consider as a place to live in fact, were literally right next to parks. One of them was even less than a five minute drive to an LDS chapel! What luck!
There is great waterfront here, and tons of parks. Tolls are a bit of a bother, but aren't really that big of a deal. Traffic is significant, but not too terrible.
Lots of trees, long sunny days making for long growing seasons. However, I am told there is no real fall or spring, which is too bad. I like four distinct seasons in my year.
Anyway, that's really it. I better get done, as my computer's battery is on its way out.
I did write about 500 words in The Cabin today while flying. That was fun. I also got some more work from my newest client. He's keeping me busy, and that is good.
Tomorrow is the Interview Event. I will go with prayer to see if this is the right thing for us. I would not mind living here at all, but I don't really want to be here as a public school teacher. Maybe a private school would be okay.
Anyway, gonna write a bestseller.
carpe somnium
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
It's past my bedtime, so off I go
I really need to be in bed now, as part of my new campaign to sleep like an adult. So what I did today was this:
I wrote a final article for my client's job and sent it off.
I did a pile of research and note-taking for the ChartedCourse May newsletter. By the way, Blake tells me that he'll have some material for me to start working on for the sales rep manual soon. Cool: more work!
And I wrote just under 1700 words for The Cabin. I know, I was supposed to do 2000, but other stuff kind of piled up. I ended up running some errands and getting 64 boxes of cereal for our food storage! That's right, 64. They were a dollar a box at Smith's, and we had been waiting for this sale, as it is an annual thing. So now our food storage is looking better.
Anyway, I was actually close to not doing any writing for The Cabin today, but I fought back the temptation to watch TV and be a fat vegetable who fears finishing a novel that could really be something.
When I sign off here, I'll run and write an article for www.helium.com and then rate a little. But then I need to get to bed! I am nearly certain that as I regularize my sleeping, the incessant ringing in my ears will reduce.
So off I go.
I am going to write a bestseller and I think I may just be doing that right now.
carpe somnium
Nothing inspiring to write today. Just a day that brought me closer to my success.
I wrote a final article for my client's job and sent it off.
I did a pile of research and note-taking for the ChartedCourse May newsletter. By the way, Blake tells me that he'll have some material for me to start working on for the sales rep manual soon. Cool: more work!
And I wrote just under 1700 words for The Cabin. I know, I was supposed to do 2000, but other stuff kind of piled up. I ended up running some errands and getting 64 boxes of cereal for our food storage! That's right, 64. They were a dollar a box at Smith's, and we had been waiting for this sale, as it is an annual thing. So now our food storage is looking better.
Anyway, I was actually close to not doing any writing for The Cabin today, but I fought back the temptation to watch TV and be a fat vegetable who fears finishing a novel that could really be something.
When I sign off here, I'll run and write an article for www.helium.com and then rate a little. But then I need to get to bed! I am nearly certain that as I regularize my sleeping, the incessant ringing in my ears will reduce.
So off I go.
I am going to write a bestseller and I think I may just be doing that right now.
carpe somnium
Nothing inspiring to write today. Just a day that brought me closer to my success.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sheesh, been a while eh?
It's Monday night and it's been a tough day. Heck, a tough couple of days really.
I'll start at the beginning, sort of.
I had that interview on Thursday of last week, and it went more or less well. I fear I came off as inexperienced and unprofessional and unprepared. That's because I was unprepared, kind of. I had looked at the company's website and such, but the info I gleaned completely slipped my mind in the interview. It was laughable.
Anyway, I have no doubt that they will contact me this week, saying, "We've decided to go in another direction" or some such feather rejection.
Ahhh, Green Day just came on my Internet Radio. Nice.
Moving on. I had gotten a job from a client on Wednesday night but got pretty much nothing of it done until Friday. Then I finished it today. Friday was an interesting day. I spent my time on Helium, writing a few articles and then looking at jobs. It was kind of a blah day, unfortunately. I've been wanting to move back to Alaska lately, and it's kind of depressing because it's so expensive to live up there. We saw some lots for sale in Wasilla, one of which we might want to explore buying so we can build later, and that made me even more eager to get up there. Ugh.
So then Saturday was incredibly busy, with gardening work and other stuff, topped off by a last minute request to move somebody. I gathered some guys and we showed up, but it turned out the dude wasn't able to move. I have since been trying to help this fellow get his feet under him.
Sunday was busy as well, with Church meetings and several visits which went really well.
Today I had this client's project to do, but I woke up feeling sick, with a sore throat and running a slight fever. I hadn't slept all that well either, so it took me a while to get going. But get going I did and finally churned out the work.
Now I'm done. Tomorrow I will write 3-5 articles for Helium, rate for thirty minutes (this will take me two hours), then I will work up a newsletter for ChartedCourse.
I will then have the rest of the week to work on The Cabin, although I expect to get another job from this new client. If I do, I'll bash it out fast. Unless it's some esoteric topic like Medieval Minstrel Songs or something...
I got a call from a company I applied to a little while ago, which is called Pearson. They are an education company and I applied to be a technical writer with their SLC office. Anyway, I imagine that today's call was a preliminary interview. The guy I talked to said he would send my resume off to the hiring director in Salt Lake City.
So I should hear back from Spillman and Pearson this week. I'm also headed to Austin on Friday for an interview thing that lasts six hours. This is what they call an 'Interview Event' for all Texas Teaching Fellows candidates. See, the lame thing is that they just e-mailed me saying that they no longer have openings in my field of preference: ESL. But I already bought my tickets and I am excited to see what Austin's like. And it'll be neat to see Jena again, of course! The plan is to do the interview and get my name on a waiting list, even though teaching is not my first choice.
What this all adds up to is that I am feeling a little stressed (little... ha!). But I get to see mountains out my office window, I get hugs from kids during the day, smooches from Annemarie whenever she's around and I feel the need, so stress is a minor irritant when all is said and done.
Am I aiming too high as I try to get into a job as a technical writer? The truth is that I would prefer to be a copywriter or editor at a journalistic publication, but I'm having trouble finding openings for those anywhere that we want to live.
But in conclusion, on Friday I found a job that I could get as excited about as I am about The Friend. It's at Challenger School, which is a worldwide school for primary and grammar school. They are a great company and they want an educator who is a writer, or a writer who is an educator. I am both, so I really have to fight the hope that always seems to boil up when I find a choice job.
Why fight hope? That's dumb. Okay, I'm not going to fight the hope. If I compare hope and despair, hope comes out looking like a good cup of tea. So I figure I'll take it.
That's why I know I'm going to be a bestselling author, even if at the same time I write that doubt comes knocking.
carpe somnium
If you can't feel the determination, I can. In my bones, the corners of my eyes and the set of my jaw; I feel it.
I'll start at the beginning, sort of.
I had that interview on Thursday of last week, and it went more or less well. I fear I came off as inexperienced and unprofessional and unprepared. That's because I was unprepared, kind of. I had looked at the company's website and such, but the info I gleaned completely slipped my mind in the interview. It was laughable.
Anyway, I have no doubt that they will contact me this week, saying, "We've decided to go in another direction" or some such feather rejection.
Ahhh, Green Day just came on my Internet Radio. Nice.
Moving on. I had gotten a job from a client on Wednesday night but got pretty much nothing of it done until Friday. Then I finished it today. Friday was an interesting day. I spent my time on Helium, writing a few articles and then looking at jobs. It was kind of a blah day, unfortunately. I've been wanting to move back to Alaska lately, and it's kind of depressing because it's so expensive to live up there. We saw some lots for sale in Wasilla, one of which we might want to explore buying so we can build later, and that made me even more eager to get up there. Ugh.
So then Saturday was incredibly busy, with gardening work and other stuff, topped off by a last minute request to move somebody. I gathered some guys and we showed up, but it turned out the dude wasn't able to move. I have since been trying to help this fellow get his feet under him.
Sunday was busy as well, with Church meetings and several visits which went really well.
Today I had this client's project to do, but I woke up feeling sick, with a sore throat and running a slight fever. I hadn't slept all that well either, so it took me a while to get going. But get going I did and finally churned out the work.
Now I'm done. Tomorrow I will write 3-5 articles for Helium, rate for thirty minutes (this will take me two hours), then I will work up a newsletter for ChartedCourse.
I will then have the rest of the week to work on The Cabin, although I expect to get another job from this new client. If I do, I'll bash it out fast. Unless it's some esoteric topic like Medieval Minstrel Songs or something...
I got a call from a company I applied to a little while ago, which is called Pearson. They are an education company and I applied to be a technical writer with their SLC office. Anyway, I imagine that today's call was a preliminary interview. The guy I talked to said he would send my resume off to the hiring director in Salt Lake City.
So I should hear back from Spillman and Pearson this week. I'm also headed to Austin on Friday for an interview thing that lasts six hours. This is what they call an 'Interview Event' for all Texas Teaching Fellows candidates. See, the lame thing is that they just e-mailed me saying that they no longer have openings in my field of preference: ESL. But I already bought my tickets and I am excited to see what Austin's like. And it'll be neat to see Jena again, of course! The plan is to do the interview and get my name on a waiting list, even though teaching is not my first choice.
What this all adds up to is that I am feeling a little stressed (little... ha!). But I get to see mountains out my office window, I get hugs from kids during the day, smooches from Annemarie whenever she's around and I feel the need, so stress is a minor irritant when all is said and done.
Am I aiming too high as I try to get into a job as a technical writer? The truth is that I would prefer to be a copywriter or editor at a journalistic publication, but I'm having trouble finding openings for those anywhere that we want to live.
But in conclusion, on Friday I found a job that I could get as excited about as I am about The Friend. It's at Challenger School, which is a worldwide school for primary and grammar school. They are a great company and they want an educator who is a writer, or a writer who is an educator. I am both, so I really have to fight the hope that always seems to boil up when I find a choice job.
Why fight hope? That's dumb. Okay, I'm not going to fight the hope. If I compare hope and despair, hope comes out looking like a good cup of tea. So I figure I'll take it.
That's why I know I'm going to be a bestselling author, even if at the same time I write that doubt comes knocking.
carpe somnium
If you can't feel the determination, I can. In my bones, the corners of my eyes and the set of my jaw; I feel it.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Exercise+allergies+nap+muscling through=Tuesday
I finally got to bed at a reasonable hour last night, which was Monday, so I was able to get up at 6AM this morning and hit the Rec Center. It felt good, but I ended with a treadmill spring, which just about made me puke and faint.
I got a hold of myself without doing either of the above and made it home. Allergies were having their way with me by this time. A shower, allergy medicine and breakfast later, I felt like passing out. Freaking Benadryl. I actually did take a nap until just after noon. I pulled myself out of my stupor as the kids and Annemarie headed out for a walk down to the duck pond.
Between lunch, breathing deeply and drinking water like crazy, I got myself together and got to work. I did the jobs my client sent me, which took up the rest of the day. That's fine. I also wrote an article for www.helium.com, which I think actually turned out pretty well. It's about the common characteristics of good fantasy movies.
Here it is: http://www.helium.com/items/1001793-about-fantasy-films-moths
And that's pretty much it for the day. Oh, I also searched for job listings on several websites, finally turning one up on Craigslist. It is as an assistant publisher at Greenleaf Publishing Group in Austin. I applied and hope to hear from them soon.
So that's actually it for the day. Now I'm going to bed. I hope to get an earlier start tomorrow by not having to take a nap.
Gonna write a bestseller.
Carpe somnium!
I also hope
I got a hold of myself without doing either of the above and made it home. Allergies were having their way with me by this time. A shower, allergy medicine and breakfast later, I felt like passing out. Freaking Benadryl. I actually did take a nap until just after noon. I pulled myself out of my stupor as the kids and Annemarie headed out for a walk down to the duck pond.
Between lunch, breathing deeply and drinking water like crazy, I got myself together and got to work. I did the jobs my client sent me, which took up the rest of the day. That's fine. I also wrote an article for www.helium.com, which I think actually turned out pretty well. It's about the common characteristics of good fantasy movies.
Here it is: http://www.helium.com/items/1001793-about-fantasy-films-moths
And that's pretty much it for the day. Oh, I also searched for job listings on several websites, finally turning one up on Craigslist. It is as an assistant publisher at Greenleaf Publishing Group in Austin. I applied and hope to hear from them soon.
So that's actually it for the day. Now I'm going to bed. I hope to get an earlier start tomorrow by not having to take a nap.
Gonna write a bestseller.
Carpe somnium!
I also hope
Monday, April 14, 2008
Monday night.. getting things switched
Monday's over. I'm headed to the sack.
I started the day out strong, despite allergies. I wrote four articles this morning for www.helium.com . I also wrote a few this afternoon. Essentially I got six done today. I'll post them here:
http://www.helium.com/items/999574-fantasy-films-books-fantasy
*This article is about the use of the theme of self sacrifice in fantasy films and books. It was the last article I did for the Reward-athon on Helium, which ended today. I think I did nearly 100, or maybe even more, for this event. Some cool cash coming my way.
http://www.helium.com/items/999529-underdog-mighty-mouse-about
*I wrote about some of the more memorable fantasy heroes in film and books. This is a list of some that have struck me the most.
http://www.helium.com/items/998613-things-green-brown-should
*Another article about aerating one's lawn. It's a good thing to do. We'll do it this season.
http://www.helium.com/items/998517-death-great-equalizer-lives
*A relatively entertaining article about the fun people can have with their epitaphs and obituaries.
http://www.helium.com/items/998388-spring-barrelling-toward-grandeur
*A discussion of spring allergy treatments. Mostly just informative, but I had fun with the prose.
http://www.helium.com/items/998247-election-roaring-civility-rhino
*Political analysis of Obama and Clinton. Basically I take a position on which would be more historic: President Obama or President Clinton.
And that's what I wrote today. I also got a job from my new client. This is looking good. I got started on it and will finish it tomorrow.
I also spent a good chunk of today getting the new laptop up and running. I did a big file transfer so that I could do all of my work on this machine. I downloaded Skype and loaded up Paint Shop and some other stuff. This is a good computer. I can work a lot faster with it than with the old one. I'll keep the old one around as a back up hard drive.
That's pretty much it! I need to get to bed tonight at a reasonable hour, so I'm going there now.
Gonna write a bestseller. Carpe somnium.
I started the day out strong, despite allergies. I wrote four articles this morning for www.helium.com . I also wrote a few this afternoon. Essentially I got six done today. I'll post them here:
http://www.helium.com/items/999574-fantasy-films-books-fantasy
*This article is about the use of the theme of self sacrifice in fantasy films and books. It was the last article I did for the Reward-athon on Helium, which ended today. I think I did nearly 100, or maybe even more, for this event. Some cool cash coming my way.
http://www.helium.com/items/999529-underdog-mighty-mouse-about
*I wrote about some of the more memorable fantasy heroes in film and books. This is a list of some that have struck me the most.
http://www.helium.com/items/998613-things-green-brown-should
*Another article about aerating one's lawn. It's a good thing to do. We'll do it this season.
http://www.helium.com/items/998517-death-great-equalizer-lives
*A relatively entertaining article about the fun people can have with their epitaphs and obituaries.
http://www.helium.com/items/998388-spring-barrelling-toward-grandeur
*A discussion of spring allergy treatments. Mostly just informative, but I had fun with the prose.
http://www.helium.com/items/998247-election-roaring-civility-rhino
*Political analysis of Obama and Clinton. Basically I take a position on which would be more historic: President Obama or President Clinton.
And that's what I wrote today. I also got a job from my new client. This is looking good. I got started on it and will finish it tomorrow.
I also spent a good chunk of today getting the new laptop up and running. I did a big file transfer so that I could do all of my work on this machine. I downloaded Skype and loaded up Paint Shop and some other stuff. This is a good computer. I can work a lot faster with it than with the old one. I'll keep the old one around as a back up hard drive.
That's pretty much it! I need to get to bed tonight at a reasonable hour, so I'm going there now.
Gonna write a bestseller. Carpe somnium.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Yes, it's Saturday morning, but...
I figured I didn't post last night and there are a few things to mention, but from life in general and the writing career.
First, I bought a new laptop yesterday. I will be picking it up today; they needed to optimize its performance by getting all the advertising and trial junk off of it. While we didn't need the expense, I really needed it for work. More and more I'm needing to be online using several windows, or tabs, of browser for research while at the same time writing up notes. My current laptop was making this nearly impossible.
As for writing, I started working with a new client that I am hoping will keep giving me steady business. They seem like an ideal client, so I am excited. I also wrote four articles on www.helium.com that are more or less pretty good.
http://www.helium.com/items/992409-beowulf-cinematic-ancient-poems
*This one is a critique of the movie Beowulf in general and particularly on Angeline Jolie's work in it.
http://www.helium.com/items/992366-there-doubt-original-trilogy
*This is a listing of the lamest Star Wars characters ever, with explanations attached. Somewhat amusing but mostly spot on!
http://www.helium.com/items/992327-licensed-clinical-psychiatrist-therapist
*This is an amusing commentary on the phenomenon that is Paris Hilton. I usually get pretty angry halfway through these commentaries on politics and celebrity and pop culture, so buckle up!
http://www.helium.com/items/992282-brother-visit-family-summer
*This is a slightly tongue-in-cheek discussion of whether hybrid cars are cool. The short answer? Yes, they are.
http://www.helium.com/items/989922-stonehenge-conjures-feeling-mystery
*This is the article that I wrote as a proposed title. Helium people, in all their wisdom (I say that with mostly sincerity), figured it worked inside an existing title. That's just fine. Anyway, it's about Stonehenge's real purpose. This is further practice with writing up new events, although since it's for www.helium.com, I need to keep it timeless. Thus, it's also speculative and a commentary.
And that's it for now. I have to get to chores and yard work and stuff. I might tear out a tree today-- we'll see.
Gonna write me a bestseller. This is MY somnium to carpar. Okay, I don't know if I did the infinitive correctly there. Anybody want to guide me?
First, I bought a new laptop yesterday. I will be picking it up today; they needed to optimize its performance by getting all the advertising and trial junk off of it. While we didn't need the expense, I really needed it for work. More and more I'm needing to be online using several windows, or tabs, of browser for research while at the same time writing up notes. My current laptop was making this nearly impossible.
As for writing, I started working with a new client that I am hoping will keep giving me steady business. They seem like an ideal client, so I am excited. I also wrote four articles on www.helium.com that are more or less pretty good.
http://www.helium.com/items/992409-beowulf-cinematic-ancient-poems
*This one is a critique of the movie Beowulf in general and particularly on Angeline Jolie's work in it.
http://www.helium.com/items/992366-there-doubt-original-trilogy
*This is a listing of the lamest Star Wars characters ever, with explanations attached. Somewhat amusing but mostly spot on!
http://www.helium.com/items/992327-licensed-clinical-psychiatrist-therapist
*This is an amusing commentary on the phenomenon that is Paris Hilton. I usually get pretty angry halfway through these commentaries on politics and celebrity and pop culture, so buckle up!
http://www.helium.com/items/992282-brother-visit-family-summer
*This is a slightly tongue-in-cheek discussion of whether hybrid cars are cool. The short answer? Yes, they are.
http://www.helium.com/items/989922-stonehenge-conjures-feeling-mystery
*This is the article that I wrote as a proposed title. Helium people, in all their wisdom (I say that with mostly sincerity), figured it worked inside an existing title. That's just fine. Anyway, it's about Stonehenge's real purpose. This is further practice with writing up new events, although since it's for www.helium.com, I need to keep it timeless. Thus, it's also speculative and a commentary.
And that's it for now. I have to get to chores and yard work and stuff. I might tear out a tree today-- we'll see.
Gonna write me a bestseller. This is MY somnium to carpar. Okay, I don't know if I did the infinitive correctly there. Anybody want to guide me?
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
The night of Tuesday the 8th
It's late. We watched The Pianist tonight. I had seen it before, but had forgotten it some and Annemarie had never seen it. Yeah, it's good. Too bad Adrien Brody hasn't done much of worth since. No, The Darjeeling Limited really doesn't count, neither does The Jacket.
Anyway, I've been depressed and on a downer these last couple of days. Doubt, depression, doubt, anger, feelings of inadequacy, questioning... it's all been mixing it up inside me. Ugh. Lameness. Still there, but I'm trying to just muscle/push/work through it. Annemarie's very supportive, of course. But a lot of men can't pretend it's all better after a perfectly wonderful hug.
I wrote some today and yesterday. Yesterday's articles were for a contest on Helium, and today's were for a variety of things. Here are the links. I actually think they're all good, with the first few rather entertaining.
http://www.helium.com/items/983877-drink-merry-tomorrow-things
http://www.helium.com/items/983094-senator-barrack-obama-voted
http://www.helium.com/items/983027-championship-biggest-biters-recent
http://www.helium.com/items/982953-pretty-senator-mccain-going
http://www.helium.com/items/982336-creaking-protestsi-lunge-sleepand
http://www.helium.com/items/980612-human-raisin-ayeat-resounding
http://www.helium.com/items/980496-drink-drive-drink-operate
http://www.helium.com/items/980323-remove-moles-flood-their
These ones are the articles I wrote last Friday, minus the quizzes I am hoping to be picked up by a Marketplace publisher. Some of these are poems... so read them if you dare.
http://www.helium.com/items/973986-scouts-american-really-hijacked
http://www.helium.com/items/973858-morningfresh-airand-lightglow-prisondrawing
http://www.helium.com/items/973853-early-morning-springi-found
http://www.helium.com/items/973825-unsaidwellthere-nothingmore-believe-everything
http://www.helium.com/items/972989-heres-experiment-google-adjusted
Yes, I've been staying busy. I just need something to happen here. Like a job offer, or even a job response that validates my writing at least a little bit. Arg.
That's all for now. Still gonna write a bestseller, I am. I just don't see it yet. Hopefully soonish.
I do love writing. I need to do it better.
Anyway, I've been depressed and on a downer these last couple of days. Doubt, depression, doubt, anger, feelings of inadequacy, questioning... it's all been mixing it up inside me. Ugh. Lameness. Still there, but I'm trying to just muscle/push/work through it. Annemarie's very supportive, of course. But a lot of men can't pretend it's all better after a perfectly wonderful hug.
I wrote some today and yesterday. Yesterday's articles were for a contest on Helium, and today's were for a variety of things. Here are the links. I actually think they're all good, with the first few rather entertaining.
http://www.helium.com/items/983877-drink-merry-tomorrow-things
http://www.helium.com/items/983094-senator-barrack-obama-voted
http://www.helium.com/items/983027-championship-biggest-biters-recent
http://www.helium.com/items/982953-pretty-senator-mccain-going
http://www.helium.com/items/982336-creaking-protestsi-lunge-sleepand
http://www.helium.com/items/980612-human-raisin-ayeat-resounding
http://www.helium.com/items/980496-drink-drive-drink-operate
http://www.helium.com/items/980323-remove-moles-flood-their
These ones are the articles I wrote last Friday, minus the quizzes I am hoping to be picked up by a Marketplace publisher. Some of these are poems... so read them if you dare.
http://www.helium.com/items/973986-scouts-american-really-hijacked
http://www.helium.com/items/973858-morningfresh-airand-lightglow-prisondrawing
http://www.helium.com/items/973853-early-morning-springi-found
http://www.helium.com/items/973825-unsaidwellthere-nothingmore-believe-everything
http://www.helium.com/items/972989-heres-experiment-google-adjusted
Yes, I've been staying busy. I just need something to happen here. Like a job offer, or even a job response that validates my writing at least a little bit. Arg.
That's all for now. Still gonna write a bestseller, I am. I just don't see it yet. Hopefully soonish.
I do love writing. I need to do it better.
Friday, April 4, 2008
The date stamp says the 4th, but for me it's the 3rd still.
It's mighty late; nearly 2AM. I just couldn't stop until now. That's kinda cool.
Here's what I did.
Helium.com
I wrote one poem for the contest, three articles for the Marketplace, and four articles for general consumption. Yes, that makes eight! I wrote eight articles for Helium today! Wild, eh?
Here's a link to the poem. It's a little sweet:
http://www.helium.com/items/970795-quicksandso-strolling-alongminding-businesson
I can't link to the articles I wrote for the Marketplace, but I can describe them. They are for an entertainment site and they are quizzes. But not academic quizzes. They're on whether you should be a hitman, or what goddess you might be. The reason I can't link to them is because they're not actually Helium's. They are the sole property of the publisher, even if they don't use them. That's fine. I imagine at least one will get picked up. I'll do more tomorrow.
Here are the four articles. They're on various topics and are mildly entertaining and mostly informative:
http://www.helium.com/items/971591-remember-pennsylvania-years-thought
http://www.helium.com/items/971562-friends-supposed-conscious-about
http://www.helium.com/items/970966-preparing-gardening-tools-season
http://www.helium.com/items/970933-purpose-there-after-death
So there you have them. I rated a little bit and intend to do a goodly amount tomorrow. Gotta keep those stars.
As for the contests, I am beginning to place in the poetry contest and am finally in contention for the top six (and sometimes the top three) in the other one. I really had better win something. I was trying to win it all, but I don't think there's much hope of that.
The Cabin
Anyway, as you can imagine, my day was pretty taken up by Helium. Plus I had to go out and buy our new front door, which I will pick up tomorrow. Hopefully it can be installed early next week.
But I finally got to The Cabin after Annemarie and I got back from going out to eat. Yes, we got a baby-sitter. Yes, we went to Asuka. Of course it was good.
I figured I'd do maybe a thousand, maybe 1500 words tonight. But I couldn't stop. I wanted to keep going. So I did 3300. We are cooking right along. If I actually get this to 50000 words, I will be pleased. I'm not trying to pad it, mind you, but the character keeps wanting to do other stuff. That's fine, too. I am at just under 37,000 words right now.
Neat-o.
Anyway, I really have to hit the sack. Still gonna be a bestselling author, no matter how much I have to learn.
carpe somnium!
Here's what I did.
Helium.com
I wrote one poem for the contest, three articles for the Marketplace, and four articles for general consumption. Yes, that makes eight! I wrote eight articles for Helium today! Wild, eh?
Here's a link to the poem. It's a little sweet:
http://www.helium.com/items/970795-quicksandso-strolling-alongminding-businesson
I can't link to the articles I wrote for the Marketplace, but I can describe them. They are for an entertainment site and they are quizzes. But not academic quizzes. They're on whether you should be a hitman, or what goddess you might be. The reason I can't link to them is because they're not actually Helium's. They are the sole property of the publisher, even if they don't use them. That's fine. I imagine at least one will get picked up. I'll do more tomorrow.
Here are the four articles. They're on various topics and are mildly entertaining and mostly informative:
http://www.helium.com/items/971591-remember-pennsylvania-years-thought
http://www.helium.com/items/971562-friends-supposed-conscious-about
http://www.helium.com/items/970966-preparing-gardening-tools-season
http://www.helium.com/items/970933-purpose-there-after-death
So there you have them. I rated a little bit and intend to do a goodly amount tomorrow. Gotta keep those stars.
As for the contests, I am beginning to place in the poetry contest and am finally in contention for the top six (and sometimes the top three) in the other one. I really had better win something. I was trying to win it all, but I don't think there's much hope of that.
The Cabin
Anyway, as you can imagine, my day was pretty taken up by Helium. Plus I had to go out and buy our new front door, which I will pick up tomorrow. Hopefully it can be installed early next week.
But I finally got to The Cabin after Annemarie and I got back from going out to eat. Yes, we got a baby-sitter. Yes, we went to Asuka. Of course it was good.
I figured I'd do maybe a thousand, maybe 1500 words tonight. But I couldn't stop. I wanted to keep going. So I did 3300. We are cooking right along. If I actually get this to 50000 words, I will be pleased. I'm not trying to pad it, mind you, but the character keeps wanting to do other stuff. That's fine, too. I am at just under 37,000 words right now.
Neat-o.
Anyway, I really have to hit the sack. Still gonna be a bestselling author, no matter how much I have to learn.
carpe somnium!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Look! It's not the middle of the night!
Here I am! Peek a boo! Inai inai ba!
Okay, sorry there. Hehe.
I got it all done! Woohoo!
I was able to tune out distractions for the most part and did exactly what I set out to do today. Here's the play-by-play (for any March Madness addicts, which I am not one of.. and I won't apologize for it).
Helium.com
I set out to write three articles for www.helium.com and I did so. The first one I did was a journalistic piece about a doomsday cult in Russia. They rejected the first version, saying it wouldn't be timeless, so I rewrote it as a commentary and I have high hopes of seeing it published. I am trying to develop journalism skills so that I can become more attractive to clients and employers.
I also rewrote, completely, an article that had been deleted due to length. The third article I wrote was for a contest, and it is sitting happily at the top of its title group. One of the articles I wrote last week for this contest is the last one in its group, and that's really ticking me off. It's like that group isn't being rated or something. Mine was the first article in the title, which isn't always the best thing, so I have some hope that its position will improve over the rating period for this contest. But I intend to write at least one more contest article tomorrow.
Anyhoo, here are the links to the articles I wrote today which are active on Helium:
http://www.helium.com/items/965542-while-expert-speak-sloppy
http://www.helium.com/items/965490-minimum-nothing-shake-stick
The article about the doomsday cult should be active in a day or two. I'll post the link here when it shows up.
Then I rated on Helium for a solid hour. Whew. It can get very dull, but I listened to music while I did it. I have to keep this up, because I must get all the money from the Reward-a-thon.
The Cabin
So then I emerged from the office and found everybody asleep. It was just after 3PM and it was time to get the older boys from Spanish School. Annemarie woke up as I came out and looked blearily around. She was having Braxton Hicks contractions for much of the day and was wiped out by 9PM. Poor lady.
Anyway, I said I would go get the lads and I did so. I got back about 4 PM and got to work on The Cabin soon after. With a break for dinner, clean up and bedtime routines, I finally got back to it just before 9PM. I stopped a few minutes ago having added about 5200 words to it! Wahoo. Boy howdy, this character is going places I wasn't really expecting. But it's a good time. A really good time.
So that's my day. I got some responses from a couple job apps that I sent out. One wants me to come in for an interview, but that's in Austin, so that's kind of hard. Plus, they call the position Marketing Associate, but I get the feeling that this is a euphemism for sales rep. No thanks.
The other is for a job with a local company that I applied to do some freelance work with. They turned me down for that, but I figured I would see about being their staff writer, as it's a company that looks professional and to be going places. They want sample web copy, so I sent an e-mail back to clarify instructions and hope to hear back tomorrow.
What will be will be. I will keep trying to learn this craft. Gonna read Stephen King's On Writing Well again, this time with an eye to learning from a master. I hope to find a workshop in the coming weeks where I can take my work to.
That's all for now. Gonna be a bestselling author.
carpe somnium
Okay, sorry there. Hehe.
I got it all done! Woohoo!
I was able to tune out distractions for the most part and did exactly what I set out to do today. Here's the play-by-play (for any March Madness addicts, which I am not one of.. and I won't apologize for it).
Helium.com
I set out to write three articles for www.helium.com and I did so. The first one I did was a journalistic piece about a doomsday cult in Russia. They rejected the first version, saying it wouldn't be timeless, so I rewrote it as a commentary and I have high hopes of seeing it published. I am trying to develop journalism skills so that I can become more attractive to clients and employers.
I also rewrote, completely, an article that had been deleted due to length. The third article I wrote was for a contest, and it is sitting happily at the top of its title group. One of the articles I wrote last week for this contest is the last one in its group, and that's really ticking me off. It's like that group isn't being rated or something. Mine was the first article in the title, which isn't always the best thing, so I have some hope that its position will improve over the rating period for this contest. But I intend to write at least one more contest article tomorrow.
Anyhoo, here are the links to the articles I wrote today which are active on Helium:
http://www.helium.com/items/965542-while-expert-speak-sloppy
http://www.helium.com/items/965490-minimum-nothing-shake-stick
The article about the doomsday cult should be active in a day or two. I'll post the link here when it shows up.
Then I rated on Helium for a solid hour. Whew. It can get very dull, but I listened to music while I did it. I have to keep this up, because I must get all the money from the Reward-a-thon.
The Cabin
So then I emerged from the office and found everybody asleep. It was just after 3PM and it was time to get the older boys from Spanish School. Annemarie woke up as I came out and looked blearily around. She was having Braxton Hicks contractions for much of the day and was wiped out by 9PM. Poor lady.
Anyway, I said I would go get the lads and I did so. I got back about 4 PM and got to work on The Cabin soon after. With a break for dinner, clean up and bedtime routines, I finally got back to it just before 9PM. I stopped a few minutes ago having added about 5200 words to it! Wahoo. Boy howdy, this character is going places I wasn't really expecting. But it's a good time. A really good time.
So that's my day. I got some responses from a couple job apps that I sent out. One wants me to come in for an interview, but that's in Austin, so that's kind of hard. Plus, they call the position Marketing Associate, but I get the feeling that this is a euphemism for sales rep. No thanks.
The other is for a job with a local company that I applied to do some freelance work with. They turned me down for that, but I figured I would see about being their staff writer, as it's a company that looks professional and to be going places. They want sample web copy, so I sent an e-mail back to clarify instructions and hope to hear back tomorrow.
What will be will be. I will keep trying to learn this craft. Gonna read Stephen King's On Writing Well again, this time with an eye to learning from a master. I hope to find a workshop in the coming weeks where I can take my work to.
That's all for now. Gonna be a bestselling author.
carpe somnium
Reporting on my Monday
I'm back. Yes, I was gone for a few hours, but don't worry. Breathe easy.
So it's late on this Monday night, but I had a goal to reach and I actually did it. Here's how the day went.
Taxes
I got them done in a few hours. There was a lot of data and worksheets and forms and deductions to get through, but I found that TurboTax really is all that it is touted to be. Good news came of it. As I said, I had expected to owe money, mainly due to the large chunk of cash we took out of our refinance.
We are owed a good refund! I was wrong! I love being wrong sometimes, but don't quote me on that.
Anyway, so no worries there. I e-filed and we are all set for the year.
Helium.com
I wrote two articles for www.helium.com today, as I said I would do. They took a little longer than I had wanted: about 45 minutes each, but that was really okay. Here are links to both of them:
http://www.helium.com/items/963713-hollywood-others-hollywood-simply
http://www.helium.com/items/963553-heard-ubiquitous-clubs-found
The first one is a rewrite of an article that they deleted because it was lame and way too short. The second is an article for a contest I am trying to win in, but one of my articles is doing shockingly bad! Sheesh.
Anway, as always, you can see all of my articles if you go to:
http://www.helium.com/users/45690
I rated for probably a total of thirty to forty-five minutes. I also spent a few minutes on the community boards, trying to regain my presence there after a few months' absence.
The Cabin
So I then had my goal for The Cabin. But it was already late. So we got the kids to bed, then I watched the Jazz cream the Wizards on TV. That was fun. I watched Perry Mason, then got to work.
I did 2500 words tonight. It felt good. I really have a strong image of this story. I feel invested in it.
But the lack of investment I feel in The Mars Betrayal seems to be showing through. I got word today that the latest draft is nearly as crummy as the first. I don't actually get it. I really felt good about this latest draft, but then I also felt good about the first.
So I'm a little dumbfounded.
I've been told that I need to get it right, and that I should take the time to do so. They say it won't make it into the first launch, so I guess we're looking at next year probably.
I will do exactly that. In fact, I'm not gonna do a darn thing with it for a week or two. In the meantime I will finish my first draft of The Cabin. I will also try to find a workshop that can help me with my graded reader troubles. I will also try to get a hold of some of the graded readers the editorial team suggested that we read so that we can get an idea of what they are looking for. Clearly I need to be doing more homework for The Mars Betrayal.
That's fine. I still feel like I'm a good writer, despite what this editorial team appears to think. Maybe one of us is right. Who knows, maybe we're both right and I need to adjust my writing more for the graded reader audience. Although I must admit that I probably am more in tune with the audience than any of them, since I have been a teacher of ESL/EFL as recently as seven months ago!
Anyhoo, such is life. I'll do more homework.
As I said this morning, no more mucking about. I will become a good novelist. I will do what it takes to learn. No more mucking about. I'm going to be a bestselling author.
carpe somnium meum
right now
So it's late on this Monday night, but I had a goal to reach and I actually did it. Here's how the day went.
Taxes
I got them done in a few hours. There was a lot of data and worksheets and forms and deductions to get through, but I found that TurboTax really is all that it is touted to be. Good news came of it. As I said, I had expected to owe money, mainly due to the large chunk of cash we took out of our refinance.
We are owed a good refund! I was wrong! I love being wrong sometimes, but don't quote me on that.
Anyway, so no worries there. I e-filed and we are all set for the year.
Helium.com
I wrote two articles for www.helium.com today, as I said I would do. They took a little longer than I had wanted: about 45 minutes each, but that was really okay. Here are links to both of them:
http://www.helium.com/items/963713-hollywood-others-hollywood-simply
http://www.helium.com/items/963553-heard-ubiquitous-clubs-found
The first one is a rewrite of an article that they deleted because it was lame and way too short. The second is an article for a contest I am trying to win in, but one of my articles is doing shockingly bad! Sheesh.
Anway, as always, you can see all of my articles if you go to:
http://www.helium.com/users/45690
I rated for probably a total of thirty to forty-five minutes. I also spent a few minutes on the community boards, trying to regain my presence there after a few months' absence.
The Cabin
So I then had my goal for The Cabin. But it was already late. So we got the kids to bed, then I watched the Jazz cream the Wizards on TV. That was fun. I watched Perry Mason, then got to work.
I did 2500 words tonight. It felt good. I really have a strong image of this story. I feel invested in it.
But the lack of investment I feel in The Mars Betrayal seems to be showing through. I got word today that the latest draft is nearly as crummy as the first. I don't actually get it. I really felt good about this latest draft, but then I also felt good about the first.
So I'm a little dumbfounded.
I've been told that I need to get it right, and that I should take the time to do so. They say it won't make it into the first launch, so I guess we're looking at next year probably.
I will do exactly that. In fact, I'm not gonna do a darn thing with it for a week or two. In the meantime I will finish my first draft of The Cabin. I will also try to find a workshop that can help me with my graded reader troubles. I will also try to get a hold of some of the graded readers the editorial team suggested that we read so that we can get an idea of what they are looking for. Clearly I need to be doing more homework for The Mars Betrayal.
That's fine. I still feel like I'm a good writer, despite what this editorial team appears to think. Maybe one of us is right. Who knows, maybe we're both right and I need to adjust my writing more for the graded reader audience. Although I must admit that I probably am more in tune with the audience than any of them, since I have been a teacher of ESL/EFL as recently as seven months ago!
Anyhoo, such is life. I'll do more homework.
As I said this morning, no more mucking about. I will become a good novelist. I will do what it takes to learn. No more mucking about. I'm going to be a bestselling author.
carpe somnium meum
right now
Friday, March 28, 2008
Thursday night... she's home!
Back again. Tonight we went and picked up Annemarie from the airport. She had a good trip it sounds like.
My writing report:
I have written two articles today, maybe one yesterday, for http://www.helium.com/ That's all! I've also rated a bit, which is a good thing. I was not a chosen winner in the Pulitzer Center's Citizen Journalism contest, which is lame, but the author who won deserved it. Her writing was flat, but she had some impressive inside perspective that was useful.
But I am in the top 3 of the contests I was fighting in last week. It should be finalized tomorrow, and right now I am only two points off the leader. One of my articles is not being rated very kindly, which is odd, because it is quite good.
I am going for the win in another contest this week as well, so wish me luck.
For tomorrow I plan on writing for Helium after the dentist (yes, one more time... sheesh) and then rating for a bit. Thereafter I shall work on The Cabin. Finally! I am not so sure I'll get it done this month.. okay, probably not, but I am going to get it done in the next couple of weeks. All of these plans are contingent on whether I hear back from the editorial team about The Mars Betrayal. So we will see.
Also, I got a call from the company I interviewed with last week. I had a feeling about what they were going to say. They didn't offer me the job. Surprising, but not, if you know what I mean. That's okay. I actually have been invited to an interview for a Teaching Fellows job in Austin, so that's interesting. I accepted, but it is on April 26th, so we will see what happens before then.
I just really need to work hard on my fiction. I have to learn this art and I have to do it well.
That's my writing report. Here's the etcetera:
For the last few days, I've not been getting enough sleep, which has translated into my being quite tired. I've also been refurbishing the lower level of our kitchen cupboards. They looked old and run down, so I sanded them, painted them a satin, ashy black and then reinforced the hinges. They look totally brand new and they actually look really good. I really wanted to get this done while Annemarie was gone so I could surprise her with it.
So when she got back tonight, she was surprised and very pleased. She, like me, loves the color and thinks they look amazing. Oh, I also rebuilt a corner which had been a problem. I think it looks almost pro, which sort of surprises me as I had to do it with a skilsaw (handheld jittery thing), a hand saw, my pocket knife, and no clamps or straight edges. Nor am I good at detail work. But this task was clearly blessed! It looks really good and very nicely finished.
We just watched August Rush, which is now one of my all-time favorite movies. Guess who's not a cynic? Yes, I am an unabashed sap. Annemarie hadn't seen it before, and I was anxious (dumb eh) to see what she would think. She liked it as much as I did. For many of the same reasons. It's pretty silly how self-conscious I am about how much I love that flick.
Anyway, it's late and my dentist appointment is early. I must to bed.
I'm gonna write a bestseller.
carpe somnium
My writing report:
I have written two articles today, maybe one yesterday, for http://www.helium.com/ That's all! I've also rated a bit, which is a good thing. I was not a chosen winner in the Pulitzer Center's Citizen Journalism contest, which is lame, but the author who won deserved it. Her writing was flat, but she had some impressive inside perspective that was useful.
But I am in the top 3 of the contests I was fighting in last week. It should be finalized tomorrow, and right now I am only two points off the leader. One of my articles is not being rated very kindly, which is odd, because it is quite good.
I am going for the win in another contest this week as well, so wish me luck.
For tomorrow I plan on writing for Helium after the dentist (yes, one more time... sheesh) and then rating for a bit. Thereafter I shall work on The Cabin. Finally! I am not so sure I'll get it done this month.. okay, probably not, but I am going to get it done in the next couple of weeks. All of these plans are contingent on whether I hear back from the editorial team about The Mars Betrayal. So we will see.
Also, I got a call from the company I interviewed with last week. I had a feeling about what they were going to say. They didn't offer me the job. Surprising, but not, if you know what I mean. That's okay. I actually have been invited to an interview for a Teaching Fellows job in Austin, so that's interesting. I accepted, but it is on April 26th, so we will see what happens before then.
I just really need to work hard on my fiction. I have to learn this art and I have to do it well.
That's my writing report. Here's the etcetera:
For the last few days, I've not been getting enough sleep, which has translated into my being quite tired. I've also been refurbishing the lower level of our kitchen cupboards. They looked old and run down, so I sanded them, painted them a satin, ashy black and then reinforced the hinges. They look totally brand new and they actually look really good. I really wanted to get this done while Annemarie was gone so I could surprise her with it.
So when she got back tonight, she was surprised and very pleased. She, like me, loves the color and thinks they look amazing. Oh, I also rebuilt a corner which had been a problem. I think it looks almost pro, which sort of surprises me as I had to do it with a skilsaw (handheld jittery thing), a hand saw, my pocket knife, and no clamps or straight edges. Nor am I good at detail work. But this task was clearly blessed! It looks really good and very nicely finished.
We just watched August Rush, which is now one of my all-time favorite movies. Guess who's not a cynic? Yes, I am an unabashed sap. Annemarie hadn't seen it before, and I was anxious (dumb eh) to see what she would think. She liked it as much as I did. For many of the same reasons. It's pretty silly how self-conscious I am about how much I love that flick.
Anyway, it's late and my dentist appointment is early. I must to bed.
I'm gonna write a bestseller.
carpe somnium
Friday, March 21, 2008
2:30 AM, Thursday night/Friday morning
Well, it's late. But it's finished. The 2nd Draft of The Mars Betrayal, which is really a massive rewrite from the ground up, is finished. I knew I had to have it done today.
So now I'm listening to Men at Work on my streaming radio and writing about it in my online chronicle. (my pretentious way of saying 'my blog.')
Anyway, I feel good about it, but felt pretty good about the first draft. I obviously had no idea about what I was doing when I first wrote it. I really hope I know more of what I'm doing now. I think I addressed the issues pretty well and am fairly confident there are no plot holes.
The main issue now is that it seems long. I didn't check, (kind of scared to) but it looks like it's probably 18,000 words long.
In any case, Annemarie will read it in the morning. I hope to have it sent off tomorrow afternoon or evening. I never actually heard back about a deadline for it, but I wanted to get this off fast.
So now, unless other crap comes up for next week, I will put a pile of time into The Cabin. I am still supposed to finish it this month. The first draft, that is. When I say "supposed to" that's just by my goals.
Today I also wrote three (or four..?) articles for www.helium.com. One was a poem. And the three articles I wrote for the last contest are doing well. Two are #1, and the other is #2. The problem is that the two #1's are 1 of 2. This means that they don't count toward contest points. Arg. Titles need to have three articles to become competitive. Ugh. And the #2 is 2 of 3. So it has like 2 points.
Peh. Oh well.
I wrote a fun article about media's role in elections today, but it is an initiated title, so it's not active yet. I'll put a link to it when it goes active. I am kind of hoping it will get featured on the homepage.
As for yesterday, it was fun. Dentist was not, but it wasn't too bad. The numbness wore off just before my interview. By the end of the interview, the pain was blinding. I went to a 7/11 and got some advil in me. That really helped.
So the interview went really well. I met two ladies in it: Lena and Laurel. They are quite different from each other, but they are both top-notch. I felt it went well, as we were actually able to have a good conversation about the job and the work that would go into it. They seemed to like me as well.
At the end of the interview, they had me do a test. I won't go into specifics, simply because that seems unethical to me, but I was asked to edit a paragraph. When they came back, I gave my strong opinion of the paragraph and they said my answer was perfect! So that was nice.
Hopefully they will get back to me next week. I would like this job (particularly if it pays well), but I don't look forward to the driving up and back every day. I will miss the family if I have to do that. But we will take it as it comes.
After the interview, I went to my (hehe) audition. That actually went well too! The dude said I had a lot of inherent talent for acting. I need some training on technical areas, but I can't (and don't want to) pay for that with money or time right now. But it's something to look forward to at some point.
It's late. This is a long post. I have to go to bed.
Gonna be a bestselling author.
carpe somnium
So now I'm listening to Men at Work on my streaming radio and writing about it in my online chronicle. (my pretentious way of saying 'my blog.')
Anyway, I feel good about it, but felt pretty good about the first draft. I obviously had no idea about what I was doing when I first wrote it. I really hope I know more of what I'm doing now. I think I addressed the issues pretty well and am fairly confident there are no plot holes.
The main issue now is that it seems long. I didn't check, (kind of scared to) but it looks like it's probably 18,000 words long.
In any case, Annemarie will read it in the morning. I hope to have it sent off tomorrow afternoon or evening. I never actually heard back about a deadline for it, but I wanted to get this off fast.
So now, unless other crap comes up for next week, I will put a pile of time into The Cabin. I am still supposed to finish it this month. The first draft, that is. When I say "supposed to" that's just by my goals.
Today I also wrote three (or four..?) articles for www.helium.com. One was a poem. And the three articles I wrote for the last contest are doing well. Two are #1, and the other is #2. The problem is that the two #1's are 1 of 2. This means that they don't count toward contest points. Arg. Titles need to have three articles to become competitive. Ugh. And the #2 is 2 of 3. So it has like 2 points.
Peh. Oh well.
I wrote a fun article about media's role in elections today, but it is an initiated title, so it's not active yet. I'll put a link to it when it goes active. I am kind of hoping it will get featured on the homepage.
As for yesterday, it was fun. Dentist was not, but it wasn't too bad. The numbness wore off just before my interview. By the end of the interview, the pain was blinding. I went to a 7/11 and got some advil in me. That really helped.
So the interview went really well. I met two ladies in it: Lena and Laurel. They are quite different from each other, but they are both top-notch. I felt it went well, as we were actually able to have a good conversation about the job and the work that would go into it. They seemed to like me as well.
At the end of the interview, they had me do a test. I won't go into specifics, simply because that seems unethical to me, but I was asked to edit a paragraph. When they came back, I gave my strong opinion of the paragraph and they said my answer was perfect! So that was nice.
Hopefully they will get back to me next week. I would like this job (particularly if it pays well), but I don't look forward to the driving up and back every day. I will miss the family if I have to do that. But we will take it as it comes.
After the interview, I went to my (hehe) audition. That actually went well too! The dude said I had a lot of inherent talent for acting. I need some training on technical areas, but I can't (and don't want to) pay for that with money or time right now. But it's something to look forward to at some point.
It's late. This is a long post. I have to go to bed.
Gonna be a bestselling author.
carpe somnium
Monday, March 17, 2008
Not a Manic Monday
It's late, but I need to record my writing work for the day.
I had to start my day, after exercising, with a jaunt out to the DMV, Driver License division so I could do a road test on my scooter. That took about an hour and a half, maybe two, because I had to wait forever. The test itself took less than five minutes and I passed with only three points off (I hit a cone a titch... watch out for the dangerous driver!). But I was at that place for an hour-- all for only a five minute test thingy. Yeesh.
Anyway, I then took the older boys out to Spanish School. Usually Annemarie does that but she is getting close to a deadline with her translation and she has a lot to do. Plus, I needed to go to the herb shop and resupply with some things. I really mean herbs, not anything illegal!
So when I finally got home, with lunch for Annemarie and I in hand, we ate together. I fiddled around with some applications for jobs, surfed a bit and did e-mail. Then I got to work. I wrote five articles for Helium and rated quite a bit. These articles were specifically to replace some lame ones that I wrote early on in my career at Helium. The lame ones were deleted, so I redid them and lengthened them. I am now at 810 articles there. By the way, tomorrow is the day that the Pulitzer Center decides who will become citizen journalists. So cross your fingers. I really don't know at all if I will be accepted, but I think I have a chance. My writing style is accessible and I used plenty of information in my piece.
By the time I got done with Helium, it was actually dinner time.
After the kids got to bed, I finished chapter 4, which is a big, important one, of The Mars Betrayal. It went well. This chapter is supposed to ramp things up. I may need to shorten it some, though, because the word count is getting up there and there is still a fair amount to go.
Anyway, I really have to get this book done! Tomorrow I think I will be able to spend most of my day on it. I will do some Helium in the morning, but then I think I can devote at least four hours to The Mars Betrayal. Gotta get it done as soon as possible. Maybe tomorrow!
I actually got a response from one of the jobs I applied for. This one is in SLC. The lady who I imagine runs the recruiting/marketing show would like to meet with me on Wednesday or Thursday, so that is hopeful! I may have to take the van and strand Annemarie and the kids at home one of those days in order to make this meeting though. But Annemarie said that will be fine. The thing is, if I need to meet her in SLC, I really can't take my scooter.
That's all for the day. I have to get to bed. See you tomorrow.
Carpe somnium and I am going to be a bestselling author.
I had to start my day, after exercising, with a jaunt out to the DMV, Driver License division so I could do a road test on my scooter. That took about an hour and a half, maybe two, because I had to wait forever. The test itself took less than five minutes and I passed with only three points off (I hit a cone a titch... watch out for the dangerous driver!). But I was at that place for an hour-- all for only a five minute test thingy. Yeesh.
Anyway, I then took the older boys out to Spanish School. Usually Annemarie does that but she is getting close to a deadline with her translation and she has a lot to do. Plus, I needed to go to the herb shop and resupply with some things. I really mean herbs, not anything illegal!
So when I finally got home, with lunch for Annemarie and I in hand, we ate together. I fiddled around with some applications for jobs, surfed a bit and did e-mail. Then I got to work. I wrote five articles for Helium and rated quite a bit. These articles were specifically to replace some lame ones that I wrote early on in my career at Helium. The lame ones were deleted, so I redid them and lengthened them. I am now at 810 articles there. By the way, tomorrow is the day that the Pulitzer Center decides who will become citizen journalists. So cross your fingers. I really don't know at all if I will be accepted, but I think I have a chance. My writing style is accessible and I used plenty of information in my piece.
By the time I got done with Helium, it was actually dinner time.
After the kids got to bed, I finished chapter 4, which is a big, important one, of The Mars Betrayal. It went well. This chapter is supposed to ramp things up. I may need to shorten it some, though, because the word count is getting up there and there is still a fair amount to go.
Anyway, I really have to get this book done! Tomorrow I think I will be able to spend most of my day on it. I will do some Helium in the morning, but then I think I can devote at least four hours to The Mars Betrayal. Gotta get it done as soon as possible. Maybe tomorrow!
I actually got a response from one of the jobs I applied for. This one is in SLC. The lady who I imagine runs the recruiting/marketing show would like to meet with me on Wednesday or Thursday, so that is hopeful! I may have to take the van and strand Annemarie and the kids at home one of those days in order to make this meeting though. But Annemarie said that will be fine. The thing is, if I need to meet her in SLC, I really can't take my scooter.
That's all for the day. I have to get to bed. See you tomorrow.
Carpe somnium and I am going to be a bestselling author.
Friday, March 14, 2008
What I did Friday
Today I spent my writing time on www.helium.com and on advancing The Mars Betrayal. I spent the first hour and a half on Helium, doing some rating and other such stuff.
Then I read through the completed skeleton of The Mars Betrayal. I penciled in some changes and then hit the PC. So I've finished three chapters now and am well into chapter 4. It's going well, although I had wanted to finish this week. I will try to get chapter 4 done tomorrow, despite it being Saturday. Then on Monday I hope to finish this second draft. That way I will read through it Monday night and have some others read through it as well. Then I will send it along.
I will also do some Helium stuff tomorrow and Monday. I think all of my responsibilities with ChartedCourse are fulfilled for now. I know there will be more to do in a couple weeks, but The Mars Betrayal needs my attention.
Arg. I really want to get to The Cabin. I'll make the time. I will.
I'm going to write a bestseller.
This is goodnight to anyone who is reading this. I recommend the movie August Rush. If you're a cynic, you won't like it. If you glory in your un-cynical nature, you will love it. Let it work its magic. This is probably number 2 or 3 on my list of favorite movies. Love it.
Then I read through the completed skeleton of The Mars Betrayal. I penciled in some changes and then hit the PC. So I've finished three chapters now and am well into chapter 4. It's going well, although I had wanted to finish this week. I will try to get chapter 4 done tomorrow, despite it being Saturday. Then on Monday I hope to finish this second draft. That way I will read through it Monday night and have some others read through it as well. Then I will send it along.
I will also do some Helium stuff tomorrow and Monday. I think all of my responsibilities with ChartedCourse are fulfilled for now. I know there will be more to do in a couple weeks, but The Mars Betrayal needs my attention.
Arg. I really want to get to The Cabin. I'll make the time. I will.
I'm going to write a bestseller.
This is goodnight to anyone who is reading this. I recommend the movie August Rush. If you're a cynic, you won't like it. If you glory in your un-cynical nature, you will love it. Let it work its magic. This is probably number 2 or 3 on my list of favorite movies. Love it.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Reporting on my Thursday
Thankfully, the pain of the last weekend has faded mostly away. I am still getting the occasional spasm, and sneezing still kills, but otherwise, I'm good.
So today was a nice day. I had to stay up a little to get what I needed to done in The Cabin, but that's fine. I can't finish it this week, particularly since I need to get lots of stuff done in The Mars Betrayal in a short period of time.
I started my day, as I planned, by getting to work on The Mars Betrayal. I wrote a new chapter that should take the book in the correct direction. I've ramped up tension and have tried to explore my characters more. In the first version, I know that I allowed the vocabulary constraints to affect the story telling I was trying to do. Not this time. I will tell the story and then work on the vocab. So I spent about 2 and a half hours on this project and stopped at noon to help Annemarie get out of here on time to get the older boys to their Spanish school. Lily, our only girl, went and had a play date at a friend's house, so it was just me and the little guy, Nathaniel. We took a walk, which I really enjoyed, then he got to watch a little Baby Einstein.
While he watched that, I had some lunch and read a little in the Book of Mormon. It's a good book, I tell you. When he was done, Annemarie was back, so we put him down for a nap and I went to get Lily so that Annemarie could read the chapter I did this morning. When I got back, she pointed some things out but mostly approved. Then I took a nap.
I did this nap thing because I haven't been sleeping very well. I think it may be stress related, as well as due to not sleeping at a consistent hour. Anyway, my nap was just over an hour, which was fine, but a little long. I ate a snack of raisins and then took a reading walk in the brisk afternoon. Annemarie had left to pick up the older boys, taking the other two, just as I woke up, so I was on my own.
With my walk done, I read a little more, but then got back to work and wrote an article on www.helium.com. Hey, I'm in second place in a contest that will finalize tomorrow! Isn't that shocking? I'm at 801 articles. I really hope to hit a thousand this year. One a day will get it done. I also rated quite a bit, as I feel like my citizenship on Helium has been sad.
Anyway, I then opened up The Cabin and started to go through it so I could pick up the thread. But it was dinner time.
After the kids were in bed, we watched the first episode of this season's The Office. Then I wrote in The Cabin. I did just over two thousand words in just over an hour! Woohoo! I got rolling, and it felt great. Mike is an enjoyable character to work with. I'm interested in his story.
So I did what I set out to do this morning. Making goals, doing them, and now reporting on them. It's a divine pattern. Now I need to hit the sack. Tomorrow I need to exercise, hit the chiropractor one last time, and then do more on The Mars Betrayal, The Cabin and www.helium.com. Hopefully I will get one of the jobs I've applied for. I would like the one at The Friend, as it's in my chosen field and pays well. But I would take the Testing Supervisor job here at BYU as well.
I need to stop. This is long. If you've made it this far, you are either a true friend or family. That's practically the same thing.
My dream. My bestseller that I WILL write.
carpe somnium
So today was a nice day. I had to stay up a little to get what I needed to done in The Cabin, but that's fine. I can't finish it this week, particularly since I need to get lots of stuff done in The Mars Betrayal in a short period of time.
I started my day, as I planned, by getting to work on The Mars Betrayal. I wrote a new chapter that should take the book in the correct direction. I've ramped up tension and have tried to explore my characters more. In the first version, I know that I allowed the vocabulary constraints to affect the story telling I was trying to do. Not this time. I will tell the story and then work on the vocab. So I spent about 2 and a half hours on this project and stopped at noon to help Annemarie get out of here on time to get the older boys to their Spanish school. Lily, our only girl, went and had a play date at a friend's house, so it was just me and the little guy, Nathaniel. We took a walk, which I really enjoyed, then he got to watch a little Baby Einstein.
While he watched that, I had some lunch and read a little in the Book of Mormon. It's a good book, I tell you. When he was done, Annemarie was back, so we put him down for a nap and I went to get Lily so that Annemarie could read the chapter I did this morning. When I got back, she pointed some things out but mostly approved. Then I took a nap.
I did this nap thing because I haven't been sleeping very well. I think it may be stress related, as well as due to not sleeping at a consistent hour. Anyway, my nap was just over an hour, which was fine, but a little long. I ate a snack of raisins and then took a reading walk in the brisk afternoon. Annemarie had left to pick up the older boys, taking the other two, just as I woke up, so I was on my own.
With my walk done, I read a little more, but then got back to work and wrote an article on www.helium.com. Hey, I'm in second place in a contest that will finalize tomorrow! Isn't that shocking? I'm at 801 articles. I really hope to hit a thousand this year. One a day will get it done. I also rated quite a bit, as I feel like my citizenship on Helium has been sad.
Anyway, I then opened up The Cabin and started to go through it so I could pick up the thread. But it was dinner time.
After the kids were in bed, we watched the first episode of this season's The Office. Then I wrote in The Cabin. I did just over two thousand words in just over an hour! Woohoo! I got rolling, and it felt great. Mike is an enjoyable character to work with. I'm interested in his story.
So I did what I set out to do this morning. Making goals, doing them, and now reporting on them. It's a divine pattern. Now I need to hit the sack. Tomorrow I need to exercise, hit the chiropractor one last time, and then do more on The Mars Betrayal, The Cabin and www.helium.com. Hopefully I will get one of the jobs I've applied for. I would like the one at The Friend, as it's in my chosen field and pays well. But I would take the Testing Supervisor job here at BYU as well.
I need to stop. This is long. If you've made it this far, you are either a true friend or family. That's practically the same thing.
My dream. My bestseller that I WILL write.
carpe somnium
Making a plan
I'm here to make a plan for my day.
More and more I have found myself uncomfortable with my abilities as a novelist. I have too often found myself feeling like I am in over my head, and that I really don't understand well the art and process of crafting a novel.
This has recently been demonstrated as a truth, since I just got comments back on The Mars Betrayal. It has major issues that need dealing with. So I am going to get back to work on it and I am going to make it better.
I will become a better novelist. As I do so, I will get closer to being able to write that bestseller I am going to compose.
Today I will put 2-3 hours into The Mars Betrayal. That will be my work for this morning.
I will then rate at www.helium.com for about thirty minutes. I will then write an article on the site and then rate a little more.
For my afternoon, I will (unless this gets derailed by job applications, which I will report on tonight) work on The Cabin. Gotta finish draft one and then get to work on revision soon.
So that's my day. I will report on it tonight. Gotta make daily goals and do them and report on them. That's how I will take the steps needed to become a better novelist and successful as a writer.
More and more I have found myself uncomfortable with my abilities as a novelist. I have too often found myself feeling like I am in over my head, and that I really don't understand well the art and process of crafting a novel.
This has recently been demonstrated as a truth, since I just got comments back on The Mars Betrayal. It has major issues that need dealing with. So I am going to get back to work on it and I am going to make it better.
I will become a better novelist. As I do so, I will get closer to being able to write that bestseller I am going to compose.
Today I will put 2-3 hours into The Mars Betrayal. That will be my work for this morning.
I will then rate at www.helium.com for about thirty minutes. I will then write an article on the site and then rate a little more.
For my afternoon, I will (unless this gets derailed by job applications, which I will report on tonight) work on The Cabin. Gotta finish draft one and then get to work on revision soon.
So that's my day. I will report on it tonight. Gotta make daily goals and do them and report on them. That's how I will take the steps needed to become a better novelist and successful as a writer.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
And an addendum...
I forgot to say two things:
I have applied for a few jobs in the last week and a bit. I reapplied to the job at The Friend, as well as applying to a few others. I want that job at The Friend. I just hope they see that I really can do it and would be the best guy for the spot.
And I am going to write a best-seller. I may be in the midst of that right now. But it is a fact. I will be a best-selling novelist.
I have applied for a few jobs in the last week and a bit. I reapplied to the job at The Friend, as well as applying to a few others. I want that job at The Friend. I just hope they see that I really can do it and would be the best guy for the spot.
And I am going to write a best-seller. I may be in the midst of that right now. But it is a fact. I will be a best-selling novelist.
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