[process] Endurance outline
Spent quite a bit of time on the Endurance outline today, got about 2,000 words in. This isn’t an issue of being unproductive, but more like the gears clashing on my process changes of late. I’m adapting a lot of what I’ve learned from The Heart of the Beast and Sunspin, and it’s taking quite a bit of careful thought.
Wound up having something of a story conference with this evening, just to validate my approach and bounce some reality-check type questions off her. She had some shrewd responses which were very helpful. That sort of early sharing is way outside my historical process, which is to keep this stuff close to the vest until the draft hits the page.
Oddly enough, a carefully considered outline requires careful consideration. Still, I can see this sucker moving into shape.
Tags: Beast, Books, Calendula, Endurance, Process, Sunspin, Writing
Posted: 9:01 pm Sun February 22 2009 | Comments(0) |
[personal] Dreaming of myself
Woke up this morning from one of those long, complex dreams which faded immediately except for the last scene. I was back at the prep school where I’d been a boarding student during the declining years of the Age of Disco (waves to ), except this wasn’t the Choate of my memories, but some ur-Choate of my subconscious.
I’d found my way into a bar on one of the dorm floors — we had those, but they were generally hidden away from faculty eyes, not operating with their own liquor licenses as in my dream. I was nursing a glass of wine and watching the ruckus in the hall settle down as evening study hours came into effect, when I realized the very large, amiable man in the red sweatshirt behind the bar was in fact me, seen in a mirror. I was shocked at how big I’d become again.
I’m still not sure how I served myself wine from the other side of the bar.
Tags: dreams, Personal
Posted: 7:43 am Sun February 22 2009 | Comments(1) |
[awards] I have submitted my Hugo/Campbell nominations
Have you submitted yours?
For your nominating convenience:
Nominations are due by Saturday, so don’t forget to get them in a bit early to avoid the rush.
Tags: Awards
Posted: 6:47 am Sun February 22 2009 | Comments(0) |
[links] Link salad has been in Oklahoma
Bookseller Rich Rennicks says some very kind things about Green [ Amazon
]
Travis Heerman interviews me — Part of his regular interview series.
Carmina Buraneidolia — This is damned near wet-your-pants funny. Needs your sound to be on, though.
Ancient Black Sea Flood: Nuisance or Calamity? — Threat? Or menace? Rather like the Missoula Floods, I’ll bet that was something to see.
with the Old Man of the Lake — Some natural Oregon weirdness. More at Wikipedia.
A Rodent’s Anti-Aging Secrets — Naked mole rats, longevity, and you.
Even more on Project Orion — Grade-A, pure dee, Big Science insanity at its finest.
Governor’s rift with GOP grows wider — Now playing on “As the Wingnuts Turn”. Also, wasn’t Governor Schwarzenegger first elected because of a tiff involving deficits and taxes? Or is there some reason this isn’t deeply ironic?
?otD: Have you ever been to heaven?
2/22/2009
Body movement: 90 minute suburban walk
This morning’s weigh-in: 217.4
Currently reading: The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade by Herman Melville; Black Blade Blues by John Pitts
Tags: Books, Funny, Green, interviews, Links, music, Personal, Politics, Science
Posted: 6:14 am Sun February 22 2009 | Comments(3) |
[writing] New fiction
Knocked out a 2,300 word short on the plane yesterday, “Every Night a Virgin”. That one’s a standalone.
Today I did an 8,900 word novelette, “Coming For Green”, in part repurposing some excised material from Green and setting some pins for Endurance.
I loves me some writing.
And a WIP, of course:
The captain sat on the steersman’s bench with his hand braced upon Atchaguli‘s tiller. His appearance was dominated by his moustache, which had colonized his face like a fungus covering the trunk of some fallen forest giant. His cheeks were rounded almost to puffiness, folding into his eyes until they glinted like raisins in a suet pudding. Dark hair swept away from his forehead in a manner doubtless intended to be dramatic, though mostly Sulla thought he looked as if he should have worn a hat before going out into the wind.
“Hello, pretty girl,” Padma said. He always called her that, aboard ship. He’d been nervous and fearful on the docks of Kalimpura, but here at sea where his word was literally law, Padma fancied himself a big man.
Sulla knew what happened to big men at the point of a knife – the same thing that happened to men of any size, if the knife was fast enough. “Captain.” She steeled herself for the usual evasions. “Any new thoughts on Chittachai?” That was the ship on which Green had departed, with no word of any kind back these past months.
Tags: Books, Green, stories, wip, Writing
Posted: 4:53 pm Sat February 21 2009 | Comments(0) |
[links] Link salad is still alive
with a rather detailed theological analysis of Mainspring [ Powell's | Amazon thb
| Audible ]
Best cake EVAR — (Thanks to .)
“Silence on the Savannah!” On Bickerton’s Yodeling Australopithecines and Missing the Point of Musical Protolanguage — That might be my favorite blog post title of the year so far. Interesting post, too. And wouldn’t “Yodeling Australopithecines” be a great name for a rock band?
Change Blindness — (Thanks to .)
First liquid water may have been spotted on Mars — (Snurched from .)
‘Arctic unicorns’ in icy display — (Thanks to .)
US Navy to remodel Hitler’s San Diego bunker — Weird. (Thanks to .)
with Louisiana gov turns down stimulus money — Actually, I have to give Governor Jindal some credit here. He’s utterly wrong-headed, but unlike the usual M.O. for the GOP, he’s not being a hypocrite. Unlike, say, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, whom I caught on an airport television yesterday trying to explain why a) he was taking the stimulus money but b) the Democrats were evil spendthrift liberals for giving it to him.
Freakonomics talks to thugz about the bailout — This promises to be pretty funny, and thought provoking at the same time.
?otD: Do I deserve to be? Is that the question?
2/21/2009
Body movement: 45 minute ride on stationary bike
This morning’s weigh-in: 219.0
Currently reading: The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade by Herman Melville
Tags: Books, Culture, Funny, Language, Links, Mainspring, Personal, Politics, reviews, Science
Posted: 7:15 am Sat February 21 2009 | Comments(0) |
[travel] For those playing along with the home game edition of “Where’s Jay”
This week the Day Jobbe threw in a trip to Austin next Wednesday. So I’ll be in Portland through Tuesday, off to Austin early Wednesday, then from Austin to San Jose next Friday to attend Potlatch (which is actually in Sunnyvale). Unfortunately for my Austin peeps (not to mention relatives there), I will have almost no time for socializing.
Tags: Conventions, Personal, Texas, Travel, work
Posted: 5:47 pm Fri February 20 2009 | Comments(0) |
[personal] Home, and the pieces are catching up
My cold and I came home to a house where one could successfully hang meat. (And no, that is not a reference to my dating life.) Luckily I already knew my heating was on the fritz and had scheduled a visit from the heating repair guys (not Robert DeNiro in Brazil drag), and so they were here an hour or so after me. is quite ill with some vicious crud which has been going around her school. Life’s a party here!
At least I’m home. And it’s warm. Now.
I do report some mild success with Writing Related Program Activities this afternoon, while the ever-wise pointed out something in chat which unpacked hugely for me anent Endurance as well as an impending Green-related short story project.
Tags: Books, Calendula, Child, Endurance, Green, Personal, stories, Travel, Writing
Posted: 4:31 pm Fri February 20 2009 | Comments(0) |
[links] Link salad for a traveling Friday
Where Did You Get Them? — On being a gay dad.
Language Log on the dangers of monolingualism — Hahahahah.
Do you know who owns Trader Joe’s?
Low-tech fixes to high-tech problems — (Thanks to my Dad.)
Scientists: Pace of Climate Change Exceeds Estimates — Once more those liberal ‘facts’ get in the way of conservative truth. (Thanks to .)
?otD: On the whole, would you rather be in Philadelphia?
2/20/2009
Body movement: n/a (travel day)
This morning’s weigh-in: n/a
Currently reading: The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade by Herman Melville
Tags: Culture, Funny, Language, Links, Personal, Science, Tech
Posted: 1:55 am Fri February 20 2009 | Comments(1) |
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