by Walter on August 12, 2010
We’re on Day Two-Million-And-Five of a heat advisory down here in Shreveport. The Weather Channel tells me that, just wait ’til tomorrow, it’ll be over then. I know I’ll wake up tomorrow and, just like the past two weeks, the heat advisory will have been extended another day. I’m tempted to break the regulator off a can of freon, right in the middle of the living room. Immediate death and/or cancer’s gotta be worth it, right? Besides, it’d keep the mosquitoes at bay.
I truly feel bad for the non-South states that are going through the same thing. We know how to deal with it here. We’re generally a more laid-back, slower-pace kind of people, a group that knows to take breaks every so often lest the twin demons of heat exhaustion and dehydration collect their dues. We’ve adapted to it, sometimes in weird ways.
The weirdest way has to be the drive-thru daiquiri store. Think about that phrase for a moment. It involves driving and alcoholic beverages in the same activity. These stores actually have business licenses, meaning they’re legal. Here, let me break out the italics, just for clarity:
You can drive up to a store front and buy an alcoholic beverage, which is at that point in your car with you.
How do they get away with it, in the day of open-container laws? That’s easy: a piece of Scotch tape is put over the straw hole. It’s no longer an open container! BRILLIANT!
So you see, we’re awfully advanced down here.
by Walter on August 12, 2010
Yesterday I mentioned that Angie had bought me an iPad for my birthday. We all know what the iPad is, right? Kind of like a big iPhone, but without the ability to place a phone call? I know I mocked it a bit when it first came out, thinking it as nothing more than a really big iPod Touch.
I started warming up to the device a few moths ago when there was a rumor that my college would be adopting iPads for incoming freshmen. I started researching and discovered they’d be a pretty good solution to having a backpack full of books, especially with the color screen. I still wondered about productivity, however.
I only have a few requirements for any portable computer. In order, of importance, I need a device that allows me to:
- Create and edit text documents with basic formatting options (I do love me some italics);
- Check my email. I don’t know of any modern device that’ll allow you to check your email, but not browse the internet, so I suppose I should throw that in too;
- Watch movies. I travel a lot, and I’d rather not find myself in a hotel room with basic cable; and
- Offer some advantage over my current laptop.
I knew that the first three of these would be possible with the iPad (especially with a physical keyboard somehow tethered to it), but I was still worried about sharing my work. The iPad has no USB ports, so there’s really no way of physically plugging in an external drive and copying files. I can’t truly work wherever I want without that capability.
DropBox is an excellent solution. I can use Office2HD to edit text and spreadsheet documents, then automatically save them to my DropBox account, where they’ll be available anywhere I have an internet connection. That may sound like a limitation, but when is the last time you’ve seen a computer not connected to the internet?
I won’t go into how useful I find Apple’s pre-installed Mail client to be, so we’ll focus on the ability to watch movies. Did you know I have a Netflix account? And that there’s a free Netflix iPad app that works like a champ? Well, now you do, and you know how I spend my free time in hotels when I’m not sleeping or making free coffee.
What about intangibles? What real factor has sold me on the iPad as a laptop replacement? In this age of instant this and fast that, what makes the iPad stand out to me is its immediacy: I just have to press the Home button, touch the Office2 icon and I’m writing. Compare that to a laptop, which takes a while to turn on (in my case, at least two minutes before I can do anything useful). I know that doesn’t seem like a lot of time, but my days are broken into many small activities with only 5-10 minutes of free time in between each one. Firing up and shutting down the laptop could cut that time in half. Sure, I could leave my laptop in sleep mode, but it still takes too long to wake up to make much use of those free moments.
Now you know why I like the iPad, and why I’ll be toting it around to work. What does this mean? Well, now that I’m done editing Steamsteel for a while, it means more writing here. So, more fun for you guys.
And that deserves a big ol’ “woo”.
by Walter on August 10, 2010
I know, I know, it’s been a few weeks. I have some really good excuses, though. In order of importance:
- We had our second child. Did you know that a new baby requires almost constant care including, but certainly not limited to, feeding, changing and “lovey-time”?
- I finished the second draft of Steamsteel. That took longer than I’d anticipated. Editing is a real mother.
- I began my agent query letter. That’s a bigger mother.
For those of you who don’t know/particularly care to look it up: a query letter is a one-page synopsis of your novel, sent out to agents in the hope that they’ll bite and want more. Your goal is to get agent representation so your novel doesn’t end up cold, alone and unread.
What makes the process difficult is that you love your novel: you’ve put 50-100K words in it. You have a real emotional investment. And while a good query letter is meant to reach out and grab the agent by the throat, you’re too blinded by your own love to only leave in the really interesting parts. You think everything is interesting.
I’ve found Query Shark, which is a trial-by-fire for wannabe authors: you send in a draft of your query letter, and a real agent rips it to shreds. I’ve been devoted to the site for the past few weeks, reading letters and critiques, trying to learn from other people’s mistakes. I’ve yet to edit my own letter, letting it sit while I forget about it in an attempt to make the re-read a lot more fresh in my memory. I’ll let you know how that goes.
That’s it. I’ll share more when there’s more to share.
Oh, I also got an iPad. i’ll let you know why I think it’s a great tool for writers, later.
by Walter on June 24, 2010
Editing hasn’t been put on the backburner so much as it’s been taken off the stove altogether. Abby’s due fifteen days from now, if we wait that long. For all I know, we go in tomorrow. Angie’s doctor is on vacation next week, so it’s either tomorrow or July 9. I’d rather it be later, since Mom can’t reschedule her flight. Whatever’s best for Angie and Abby, though, is what we’ll do.
This means that we’ve entered Nesting Mode. It’s most often associated with pregnant women: they get a deeply-rooted desire to clean, and arrange, and make sure everything’s just right before the new baby arrives. It’s apparently contagious, as I’ve volunteered my free time to ensure the house is acceptable. I’ve assembled new furniture for Abby and Ema’s room. I rearranged the kitchen and Ema’s play room. I’ve got so much more to do, and Lord knows how much time to do it in.
Maybe I’ll have free time once Abby gets here?
Maybe I’m an idiot for even writing that?
Maybe. We’ll see.
by Walter on June 14, 2010
I have a few minutes to kill before I have to get back to work, so let’s see what comes out of ten minutes’ worth of writing. As usual, Write Or Die is keeping me honest.
Writing Prompt: A Picture Frame
Sarah was almost finished packing the last box of the last room of the house in which she’d lived with her last husband for the last five years. That was a personal record for her: the previous two hadn’t made it past the three-year mark before they’d found out this marriage thing was a lot harder than television made it out to be. This one, it wasn’t even his fault: she just grew tired of his late nights at work. He didn’t even have the decency to cheat on her.
This had been coming for months now. That allowed her to save money for the first-and-last-month’s-rent deposit on a nice apartment near work. She only had to use one vacation day for the move, and only then because her soon-to-be ex told the new owners they could start moving in on a Saturday. He’d already found a nice condo and had his movers haul his belongings to it. The house already looked bare when she started sorting her life into cardboard boxes.
It was almost over, though. The last box had little space left, about two inches deep and flat. Sarah wiped the sweat off her brow as she put off the last of her possessions: a large framed photograph. The frame was thin, black and modern, one of the few decorative decisions she managed to slip past her ex and his taste for antebellum style. The image was of her on a jet-ski, taken during their honeymoon in Monaco. She had long hair then, huge sandy-blonde wet clumps of it flailing like octopus tentacles in the salty air. She was happy then, and she was happy now, ill-fitting bookends to a boring, lonesome marriage.
“Well, might as well take it. The new owners will just throw it out,” Sarah said as she grabbed the frame by its sides. She pulled as the hanging wire snagged on the nail, slipping backwards when it finally gave way. She managed to fall on her bottom, but the picture flew out of her hands and over her head. She gritted her teeth as it she heard it shatter.
Sarah got to her feet and inspected the picture. Large shards of broken glass littered the floor. She kneeled down and started picking up the larger shards, putting them on the picture for easier disposal. She saw multiple reflections, one in each shard. Some of them showed her as she saw herself now: covered in sweat and grimacing at the thought of sweeping up broken glass. In others, the light gave her a happier look, almost relieved that she wouldn’t have to take this reminder of a past life with her.
One shard, particularly large and sharp, reflected a redhead. Well, Sarah AS a redhead. She picked up the shard and held it closer, keeping it at the right angle to show the reflection. She saw a man come up behind her. Sarah dropped the shard, not caring that it would shatter further and add to the cleanup. She pivoted on her knee, coming to her feet in a defensive position. There was nobody there.
“Damn, I’m too tired for this,” Sarah thought, as she went looking for a broom and dustpan. “I’m glad I didn’t pack those, yet.”
by Walter on June 13, 2010
I just spent the past two hours cataloging serial numbers of Flip UltraHD video cameras. I’ll be teaching high school students how to use them to make science-themed videos this summer. I’m taking a break before I begin the long, mind-numbing task of creating blogs for each of the students. I couldn’t really find a mass installer for WordPress MU so I’ll have to set up each one manually. Woo.
Ema’s at the in-laws for the night, so that gives me a free evening to get it done. I’ll edit a few more tens of pages after that, and then call it a night. Classes begin on Tuesday, so I plan on resting a bit tomorrow.
Less than four weeks, and Abby will be here!
by Walter on June 9, 2010
I’ll probably only read 10-20 pages and make edits today; I only got 3 hours of sleep last night. Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night, unable to go back to sleep, and not really know why? Yeah, that’s what happened to me last night. I’m doing blog work and laundry since they’re the least mentally-taxing activities I can think of.
I really want to have completely read and started to make edits before July 9th, since that’s when Angie goes in for the C-section. Four weeks from Friday, and Abby will be here. Two daughters. I’m buying shotgun shells and (as recommended by a colleague) planting cacti below the girls’ windows. Ha ha, that’s a joke! I’m European in ancestry, I’ll just plant thistles instead.
Man alive, this was all kind of boring. Sorry about that, it’s nap time.
by Walter on June 8, 2010
There’s a character in Steamsteel, an outsider to the world of humans. He’s humanoid, but he looks different enough to be considered “alien”. He’s a gifted swordsman because, really, who doesn’t like their different races to be proficient the martial arts? It’s good enough for Star Trek, it’s good enough for me.
I first introduced Bob (we’ll call him Bob because I can’t be bothered to think of different name) as well-spoken. That lasted all of five pages before his speech patterns fell into a stilted, not-quite-sure-of-this-thing-you-call-the-English-language style. It’s a trope, I know, but tropes work. My two proof-readers like this better, so I have to go back and re-edit all of his speech to fit that. Good thing Mr. Eloquent Bob only lasted five pages.
I also introduced a Chekov’s gun into the story. Somewhere in the four-and-a-half-year break from starting and finishing this novel, I forgot all about it. I don’t want to take it out, and I know where it can be effectively used. So, that goes on a note card, along with all the other stuff I need to fix.
I have a lot of note cards.
by Walter on June 7, 2010
It’s June 7th, and I’m eleven pages into the first edit of Steamsteel. That’s eleven Microsoft Word pages, out of 101 total. Everything I’d read, every piece of advice that everyone has given to me told me it’d be difficult; even then, I wasn’t prepared for the soul-achingly deliberate process. It’s analogous to having a child: you’re told it’s not going to be an easy road, and you believe it, but you still have no idea. It’s also incredibly worth it.
There are obvious problems: the typos and left-off punctuation that, despite the best work of my internal editor I still managed to leave on (or leave off) the page. That’s as valid a reason for ditching my internal editor as I can think of: he’s not doing his job, so why keep him around? There’s also obvious plotholes, descriptions and dialogue that made sense when I started, but just don’t jibe with the story I’m trying to tell.
There’s also a problem that I know will crop up later, a problem of characterization. In these eleven short pages I’ve managed to introduce most of the characters. Their personalities are all fairly well-set, minus the occasional character quirk which often evolves as a story progresses. I’m confident that, in the next 89 pages, I’ll manage to have at least half of the characters say or do something that makes absolutely no sense at all. That’s okay, I’ve got my red pen in hand, ready to write “WHY ARE YOU SO STUPID BAD AUTHOR BAD!” beside the offending bit of text.
So, it’s slow, but I’m doing it. More as I get more done.
by Walter on May 31, 2010
There’s not been a lot to say, lately. I’ve been resting the past two weeks, getting ready for summer classes and the first edit of Steamsteel. Both begin tomorrow, so my somewhat lazy days have come to an end. Five weeks from Friday, Abby will be delivered via c-section, so any free time I may have been able to eke out for myself will be spent on taking care of a newborn, a two-year old and a puppy.
I’m going to make time for editing. I’ve proven to myself that, even if it’s 2-3 hours late at night, I can make time for writing. I’d prefer to spend that time early in the morning, before the day and its labors beat most of the creativity out of me. But I’ll take it when I can get it.
It’s an exciting time. I’ll keep you posted.
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