The slug reared its ugly head again a few times this week, particularly toward the end of the week. So I didn't get as much writing done as I should have, but some level of productivity was still achieved.
Reading: Read three more stories in Prime Codex: "Sister of the Hedge" by Jim C. Hines (this is one of those stories that I'm going to have to read again in the future to decide what I really think of it, but the fascinating intersection of Sleeping Beauty and Christianity kept me hooked), "Rampion" by Mary Robinette Kowel (short but sweet), and "Salt of Judas" by my Odyssey classmate Eric James Stone (the premise of a magical deal with a devil-like character gave the story a slightly familiar feel, but it was well written and enjoyable, which isn't surprising since I've yet to meet a story of Eric's that I didn't like)
Exercise: My knee's feeling a lot better, so I spent this week gradually easing back to my normal exercise level. Well, except for Thursday, when I slacked. Stupid slug.
Music Stuff: The usual week full of rehearsals, piano lesson, and lots of practicing, particularly for a recital-type program I'm performing in tomorrow.
Writing: Close to a 1,000 more words on the zombie story this week. Not as much as I would have liked, which is my fault since I didn't spend as much time writing as I could have, but when I did write, I was at least cranking out more words than I had previously been doing. I have the feeling this story may end up being one of my longer ones. It's definitely going to live up to the "crappy first draft" moniker. But for me, fixing what's already down is the easier part of the process, so that's ok.
Writing Business: I spent far too much time prognostojectioning this week, particularly when I saw a bunch of response times reported for a horror market I'd love to crack. Here's hoping I haven't heard anything yet because the story's being seriously considered and not because things were lost in the Great Postal Submission Abyss.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
This grammar rant sponsored by your local fire company
I have a huge amount of appreciation for my local fire department, and not just because I come from a family full of volunteer firemen. People dedicated to keeping your home from burning to the ground are a Very Good Thing in my book. However, the semicolon abuse (among other things) they recently delivered to my door hurt my brain. Names have been changed and/or removed to protect the innocent.
* "Because I saw someone else use it like that" is not a good reason. Chances are, that person used it incorrectly too.
"As the Firefighters & EMTs who respond to emergencies in your neighborhood; we wanted to share some important information with you."As a general rule, I would like to offer the following: If you're tempted to use a semicolon but cannot cite a good reason* for doing so, take your hands off the keyboard and step away slowly. Take a deep breath. Return to the keyboard, but whatever you do, do not hit that semicolon key until you've learned how to use one properly. If you look up the rules and don't understand them, then just don't use a semicolon. Ever.
"The Board of Fire Commissioners has implemented a long term budget/financial plan with the assistance of Insert Firm Name Here; a renowned national firm that assists government agencies in sound budget planning."
* "Because I saw someone else use it like that" is not a good reason. Chances are, that person used it incorrectly too.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Productivity, with a side of zombie and opera
The Productivity Report since Wednesday:
Reading: Read two more stories in Prime Codex. The first was "Wizards' Encore" by Geoffrey Girard. While there was a lot to like about it, particularly some of the imagery, the story never fully grabbed me the way I wanted it to. The second was "The Disenchantment of Kivron Ox-master" by Elaine Isaak, which was a fun story. I got a bit muddled by some stuff in the first few paragraphs--for one, I didn't understand why the talking ox got a gender-specific pronoun while the talking camel didn't--but the story very quickly found stronger footing and pulled me along for the ride.
However, I think placing Isaak's story right after Girard's did a disservice to them both. While different in both style and plot specifics, they cover similar territory: they both feature a gathering of wizards of some sort, at which the arrival of a foreigner/outsider wizard is a major element, and they are both ultimately a coming-into-one's-own tale about a young wizard. I think each story would have felt more distinctive if distanced from the other.
Exercise: Still taking it easy on my knee, which is now a lovely shade of yellow tinged with pink and purple. I've done a little bit of Pilates and a little bit on the elliptical strider, but not much else--unless Wii Sports counts.
Music: I think I've made up for taking it easy with the exercise by putting in more time on music. Piano lesson and choir rehearsal Wednesday night, followed by lots of time practicing piano and working on solo pieces for two upcoming performances.
Writing Business: Stories have been running in and out the door, making such a fuss that it feels like there have been more of them flitting about than there really are. Two stories have come since Tuesday night, and they both went right back out the door. Meanwhile, one of their siblings finally made up his mind about which slush pile he wanted to visit, and another story who had been moping around waiting for an appropriate market to open finally got to grab his stuff and head out the door.
On another writing business note, today I was pleased to find out that Flash Fiction Online has now been approved as a SFWA-qualifying market--not only because it's a great market, but because that means I now have a SFWA-qualifying credit to my name!
Writing: About 1,000 more words done on the zombie story. There unfortunately wasn't much time for writing the past few days, so most of that wordage was from earlier today. This story keeps surprising me, which has been fun. I didn't have much of a clue where I was going with it when I started, but I certainly didn't expect to have a half-zombified character sitting in the middle of post-apocalyptic Philadelphia singing an aria from Parsifal.
Speaking of music working its way into my writing...
Despite being a musician, for the longest time I found it difficult to write about music--I just didn't know how to put my experience of it into the right words. But when writing the first draft of my novel, it seemed appropraite to have one of my characters playing a lute in his first scene, and I realized that I finally did have the right words. Maybe those words had been there all along and I had only just learned how to tap into them. Whatever the case, it definitely opened up something in my brain, because music has been creeping into my writing more and more since then. My writing stable now has a story about a lyre player in a city where the arts have been outlawed (recently got a hold notice from ASIM for that one, so fingers crossed), a soldier who keeps his soul in a violin (that'll be getting a major rewrite in the near future), an immortal woman cursed to feed on the songs/spirits of other women (only recently started making the submission rounds), and now a poor opera-loving chap who's been bitten by a zombie.
Reading: Read two more stories in Prime Codex. The first was "Wizards' Encore" by Geoffrey Girard. While there was a lot to like about it, particularly some of the imagery, the story never fully grabbed me the way I wanted it to. The second was "The Disenchantment of Kivron Ox-master" by Elaine Isaak, which was a fun story. I got a bit muddled by some stuff in the first few paragraphs--for one, I didn't understand why the talking ox got a gender-specific pronoun while the talking camel didn't--but the story very quickly found stronger footing and pulled me along for the ride.
However, I think placing Isaak's story right after Girard's did a disservice to them both. While different in both style and plot specifics, they cover similar territory: they both feature a gathering of wizards of some sort, at which the arrival of a foreigner/outsider wizard is a major element, and they are both ultimately a coming-into-one's-own tale about a young wizard. I think each story would have felt more distinctive if distanced from the other.
Exercise: Still taking it easy on my knee, which is now a lovely shade of yellow tinged with pink and purple. I've done a little bit of Pilates and a little bit on the elliptical strider, but not much else--unless Wii Sports counts.
Music: I think I've made up for taking it easy with the exercise by putting in more time on music. Piano lesson and choir rehearsal Wednesday night, followed by lots of time practicing piano and working on solo pieces for two upcoming performances.
Writing Business: Stories have been running in and out the door, making such a fuss that it feels like there have been more of them flitting about than there really are. Two stories have come since Tuesday night, and they both went right back out the door. Meanwhile, one of their siblings finally made up his mind about which slush pile he wanted to visit, and another story who had been moping around waiting for an appropriate market to open finally got to grab his stuff and head out the door.
On another writing business note, today I was pleased to find out that Flash Fiction Online has now been approved as a SFWA-qualifying market--not only because it's a great market, but because that means I now have a SFWA-qualifying credit to my name!
Writing: About 1,000 more words done on the zombie story. There unfortunately wasn't much time for writing the past few days, so most of that wordage was from earlier today. This story keeps surprising me, which has been fun. I didn't have much of a clue where I was going with it when I started, but I certainly didn't expect to have a half-zombified character sitting in the middle of post-apocalyptic Philadelphia singing an aria from Parsifal.
Speaking of music working its way into my writing...
Despite being a musician, for the longest time I found it difficult to write about music--I just didn't know how to put my experience of it into the right words. But when writing the first draft of my novel, it seemed appropraite to have one of my characters playing a lute in his first scene, and I realized that I finally did have the right words. Maybe those words had been there all along and I had only just learned how to tap into them. Whatever the case, it definitely opened up something in my brain, because music has been creeping into my writing more and more since then. My writing stable now has a story about a lyre player in a city where the arts have been outlawed (recently got a hold notice from ASIM for that one, so fingers crossed), a soldier who keeps his soul in a violin (that'll be getting a major rewrite in the near future), an immortal woman cursed to feed on the songs/spirits of other women (only recently started making the submission rounds), and now a poor opera-loving chap who's been bitten by a zombie.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Productivity. Groovy.
Slowly but surely, the productivity groove is being re-established. I feel like I have a much better grip on the new job now, and today I got my first grant proposal for them out the door, so yay. Another week or two, and life may start feeling normal again.
I had a fun weekend that went by way too quickly: wine tastings Saturday afternoon, a fun dinner with friends Saturday evening, and an afternoon of wackiness with my writing group in Philly on Sunday. And on either side of all that, there was productivity. So on that note, here's the productivity report since Friday:
Reading: I've read and enjoyed the first three stories in Prime Codex: "To the East, a Bright Star" by James Maxey, "Ticktock Girl" by Cat Rambo, and "The Man With Great Despair Behind His Eyes" by Ken Scholes.
Exercise: Got in 20 minutes on the elliptical strider on Friday, but had to take yesterday and today off due to injury. Coming home from my writing group meeting on Sunday, I slipped in the train station and banged my left knee on the floor. There's a big honking bruise there now, but otherwise it's ok--luckily, I hit just below the kneecap. I think I can safely resume exercising tomorrow.
Music: Lots of piano playing and singing. We were short altos for the second week in a row in my church choir, so I got to be a switch hitter, which has led to everyone dubbing me a sopralto.
Writing-Related Stuff: I had to crit two stories for Sunday's writing group meeting, and I was quite relieved to be free of critique dread for the first time in a long time. Woo hoo! In the submissions department, two stories have come home. One went right back out the door, but the other one is torn about whose slush pile it wants to visit next. I'll give it a few days, but any longer than that and it's gonna have to start paying rent if it wants to stay on my hard drive.
Writing: A little over 500 words (maybe more) on the zombie story. Not phenomenal progress, but I think I'm finally getting a better sense of what this story wants to be, which might help me get through the rest of the first draft faster now that I won't be groping my way around in the dark anymore.
I had a fun weekend that went by way too quickly: wine tastings Saturday afternoon, a fun dinner with friends Saturday evening, and an afternoon of wackiness with my writing group in Philly on Sunday. And on either side of all that, there was productivity. So on that note, here's the productivity report since Friday:
Reading: I've read and enjoyed the first three stories in Prime Codex: "To the East, a Bright Star" by James Maxey, "Ticktock Girl" by Cat Rambo, and "The Man With Great Despair Behind His Eyes" by Ken Scholes.
Exercise: Got in 20 minutes on the elliptical strider on Friday, but had to take yesterday and today off due to injury. Coming home from my writing group meeting on Sunday, I slipped in the train station and banged my left knee on the floor. There's a big honking bruise there now, but otherwise it's ok--luckily, I hit just below the kneecap. I think I can safely resume exercising tomorrow.
Music: Lots of piano playing and singing. We were short altos for the second week in a row in my church choir, so I got to be a switch hitter, which has led to everyone dubbing me a sopralto.
Writing-Related Stuff: I had to crit two stories for Sunday's writing group meeting, and I was quite relieved to be free of critique dread for the first time in a long time. Woo hoo! In the submissions department, two stories have come home. One went right back out the door, but the other one is torn about whose slush pile it wants to visit next. I'll give it a few days, but any longer than that and it's gonna have to start paying rent if it wants to stay on my hard drive.
Writing: A little over 500 words (maybe more) on the zombie story. Not phenomenal progress, but I think I'm finally getting a better sense of what this story wants to be, which might help me get through the rest of the first draft faster now that I won't be groping my way around in the dark anymore.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
The productivity report returns
Two weeks ago, I had all the time in the world. Now with a new job and a bunch of other stuff that's landed on my plate, I find myself suddenly submerged in the world of twenty gazillion things to do at once. Quite an adjustment. My brain threatened to explode a couple times yesterday and today, but thankfully, the bomb squad got in there and defused it before it was too late. Basically, I started to feel a little overwhelmed by the new job yesterday (ah, grant deadlines, how little I have missed you). But I gave myself a "you can do this" pep talk and reminded myself that it's going to feel crazier the first week when I'm still familiarizing myself with the organization's programs. That helped, and all is well. Busy, but well.
On that note, the productivity report for the past few days:
Reading: Finished Musicophilia and enjoyed it very much. It doesn't come to any grand conclusions about music and the brain, but the stories and various conditions described are extremely fascinating, especially to a music nerd like me. I think if I read something like this in or before college, I suspect I would have pursued music therapy instead of a performance degree.
This morning I plowed through a book on boards for performing arts organizations that my boss wanted me to read. Useful info for my line of work, though not an overly exciting read. Tomorrow I'm hoping to start Prime Codex, which has been sitting on my shelf for far too long. I will make a dent in this huge pile of unread books this year. Oh, yes.
Exercise: Pilates on Monday, slacked on Tuesday due to craziness, 20 minutes on the elliptical strider today
Music: Had chorus rehearsals Monday and tonight, and got in some piano practice on Tuesday
Writing: The writing fell by the wayside last week, but I finally got back to it today. I only wrote for about an hour (maybe a little more), but I got in about 500 words on the zombie story. That's actually pretty darn good compared to most of my writing days these past few weeks.
On that note, the productivity report for the past few days:
Reading: Finished Musicophilia and enjoyed it very much. It doesn't come to any grand conclusions about music and the brain, but the stories and various conditions described are extremely fascinating, especially to a music nerd like me. I think if I read something like this in or before college, I suspect I would have pursued music therapy instead of a performance degree.
This morning I plowed through a book on boards for performing arts organizations that my boss wanted me to read. Useful info for my line of work, though not an overly exciting read. Tomorrow I'm hoping to start Prime Codex, which has been sitting on my shelf for far too long. I will make a dent in this huge pile of unread books this year. Oh, yes.
Exercise: Pilates on Monday, slacked on Tuesday due to craziness, 20 minutes on the elliptical strider today
Music: Had chorus rehearsals Monday and tonight, and got in some piano practice on Tuesday
Writing: The writing fell by the wayside last week, but I finally got back to it today. I only wrote for about an hour (maybe a little more), but I got in about 500 words on the zombie story. That's actually pretty darn good compared to most of my writing days these past few weeks.
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