Friday, September 18, 2009

Gym Dandy

Ran into my friend Ernesto at the gym today. We worked out on the ellipticals and talked History Channel for 40 minutes. I was telling him my big meeting with the doctor is next week. (My guy at the physical therapy clinic said he'd write me up a good progress report.) I'm thinking of telling the doc I don't want to run yet. Maybe just walk 3 miles, three times a week for a month and see how that goes. That'll help convince him I'm not gonna bust out my knee sprinting. I couldn't anyway. I'm the heaviest I've been in four years. I can barely sprint to the door for a Dominos pizza. But I got a haircut, so that helped. Plus I still have hair to cut, so that's encouraging. Good things everywhere.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Anamalia Emmy Celebration


Producers, actors and writers at Tom Ruegger's soiree for Chris Elves, Aussie Emmy winner for music composition on Anamalia. Based on an illustrated book by Graeme Base, this CGI series aired internationally from 2007 - 08 on BBC, Canadian Broadcasting Network, Network 10 in Australia, as well as Nickelodeon and Discovery Kids.

That's me kneeling in the foreground, flanked by Tom Ruegger and Deanna Oliver. Chris is behind us in black. He's the guy smiling and holding the gold statue. Standing to the left of Chris is anime voice over ace Kate Higgins who played Allegra the Alligator. Everyone got home safely.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Write Away

Busy working on outlines and short stories. The advantage of satirizing a popular book is that you don't have to worry about setting up things. Just fire away, though right now my partner is doing most of the firing.

I'm watching 300 on TNT and feel like working on my abs.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Dirty Old Thoughts on Writing

Bukowski may well have written this way. For all his boozing, the man was a word machine and really cranked it out. He never even kept copies of his early poems, just sending out the originals back when submissions were via snail mail. I've written stream-of-consciousness and I've written drunk. And I've written in large houses and small apartments with lots of money and none. I don't know how he did it without rewrites, though I suspect there may've been a few.

h/t: opchidexo
Nevertheless, as a challenge, I sat down yesterday and cranked out a story of 1492 words - about six pages - exploring facades and the importance of respecting them when you have little else. I let the words pour out, typing as fast as I could, with no side trips to the Web. I did read it over and rewrite small sections, mostly trimming unnecessary words. Then I sent it out to an anthology. The whole process took about five hours.

I haven't read it over today and I'm not going to. Let's see how this one sails. Alas, I learned how much I can get done if I don't procrastinate. And I'll explore that lesson some day.

Eight Years Ago...

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Booked Up

My friend Dutch and I met to outline our Dan Brown parody. We'll follow Da Vinci Code story elements, but the question remains: what are the shadowy organizations behind it all? So far we've auditioned PETA, the Kiwanis, the Knights of Columbus, and the National Hockey League. Nothing sticks just yet. But we're just warming up, swinging the bat around, getting a feel for the pine. This'll be good.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Physical Therapy Jam

Many people, few work-out stations. But I talked to my main guy and he said keeping building up the weaker muscles on my left side. I've been so down in the dumps - as well a heavy writing schedule - that I haven't been doing my "homework." Time to start again.

Meet tomorrow with my co-author on a book satirizing Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. We need to hammer out an outline and complain about the state of American letters and how we might hasten its decline while making a few bucks.

Monday, September 07, 2009

A Year Ago Today

I injured my knee on an eighteen-mile run and have yet to resume the activity with any consistency. Now I know it was only a matter of time before that knee folded. Nevertheless, it's been a long, frustrating 365 days with lingering soreness from the operation and gnawing doubts that I'll run again. But there's no direction but forward. Much writing, fleshing out on old story. When I finish this one, I'll double back and polish two shorter pieces, hopefully submitting them this week. Happy Labor Day. Whatever you do, don't celebrate by working...or rioting as it disrupts barbecues. h/t: Bolshevism

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Scandanavian Jazz

This is a Swedish family performing Dixieland jazz 25 years-ago. Dig the nine-year-old girl on slide trombone.

h/t: erwigfilms

Friday, September 04, 2009

Master Advice

Cranking out a rewrite on a story I wrote five years ago. Close-but-no-prize on getting it published, but I'd send it out, wait, get a rejection, forget about it, send it out again, get another rejection then start on another story and abandon all efforts in favor of the new shiny thing. Now I'm committed to selling this sucker. (Or getting it published for free - number two on my list but it opens so many more markets.)

Actually, I'm not rewriting so much as laying in elements to add tension and underscore the theme of destructive self-absortion - something that has gotten me everything I lack today. Not bad as writing goes, but tricky since I don't want to scuttle the old stuff that still works.

From a neat 5k, I suspect the new version will top out in the novelette range of 7500 words. This reduces my shot at free, online placements, but does leave me well-situated for the prestigious, ill-paying, anthology route.

Every story needs so much space to be told. I've got four sub-3k pieces that should place easier than a mini-whale like my current assignment. But I like this mini-whale. I think all it lacked before was a theme, change in perspective, and a higher body count. I believe it was Dickens who once said, "Good Heavens, if a story doesn't sell kill a character with a wasting disease. Kill several and make them good ones. Then beat a begger with a cane. But not in print. Do it for real and your problems will evaporate while his will increase exponentially."

I may not do all of that, but its good to know what the masters thought.

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