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IWSG: (Least) Favorite Writing Questions

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! (Sign Up HERE!) Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. The awesome co-hosts for the January 2 posting…

Survival is Now Official

I survived the holidays. I’m working with the public this year, so that means everybody else’s problems. I wound up with a crying stranger hugging me on Christmas Eve. Eve? Well, it was about six thirty in the morning. I also wound up being propositioned at quitting time… (In front of a Salvation Army guy with an oboe, no less!)(No, I would not like to fuck, and tell your wife Merry Christmas for…

IWSG: Five Objects From My Writing Space

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Join up here.Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. The awesome co-hosts for the December 5 posting of…

I finished Nanowrimo with a little over 50,000 words, and am now officially a winner.

More importantly, I wound up starting a revision toward the end of the month, and managed to do both revision pages and new pages at the same time. (Different stories, there.) I am now about 120 pages into the current current revision.

So, to sum up…

Thoughts on Working on Multiple Writing Projects At The Same…

Fleeing From Family and Other Holiday Traditions

There are roughly six billion people in my family. And yes, somewhere, one of my cousins is heartbroken that I forgot about her most recent bundles of terror. (Six billion and two.) We’re like a bacteria colony, and somehow… through the miracle that is family… I have never gotten promoted from the kiddie table.

Exactly how many fully-grown “children” can you fit on a piano bench?

At least…

Nanowrimo 2018 Halfway Point

I have now reached the halfway mark in this year’s Nanowrimo, and I have enough words to say that I’m half way to the 50,000 word point. I’ve kept up my schedule.

I’ve also gotten my annual ML apology for vanishing. (Every year right around this time. I think the truth is that we’re too spread out to be a region in the first place.)

I find myself gravitating toward just one or two of the projects…

So, Nanowrimo is in full swing, and I am currently on par for the month. It’s been a while since I really intended to write a full novel during Nano. At this point, it’s all about the community and getting into good habits that will last you for months and months.

I’m working on adding 50,000 words to my active projects.

I went into it with a little under 40,000 words. So, I should be around 90…

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! This month’s hosts are: Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor, Ann V. Friend, JQ Rose, and Elizabeth Seckman! You can join us here.

I’ve been awake for hours, and…

In the Gray Lake by Karen Lynn

The Priestess waited. There was nothing to do by the lake but wait. The nearest trace of civilization was more than a week away, and even then, the cookfires were far apart, and the best entertainment was the sound of snoring bedmates. Nevertheless, the sacrifices had been made, and the bloodless bodies hung over the water, their arms dangling. The water reflected…

IWSG: The Laptop of My Dreams

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. The awesome co-hosts for the October 3 posting of the IWSG are Dolorah @ Book Lover, Christopher D.…

Emergency Alerts and Me

Today is the day of the (rescheduled) emergency cell-phone alert system test, and I’m still trying to figure out exactly what kind of threat would require the immediate and simultaneous notification of every single person in the United States.

The best I’ve come up with is a coordinated and deliberate nuclear attack.

Much as I look forward to finally being able to use that “Duck and Cover”…

This was a fast trip, and more driving than hiking, because I had to be back at work today. But it was still a nice trip.

Frog’s Head Rock

  At Toadstool Geologic Park

  And, I went to Carhenge, which is part roadside attraction, part metalwork art exhibition. All of the art here is made out of pieces of cars… or just cars. (The windows on the cars have been either covered or replaced by sheet…

Multiple Projects and the Bullet Journal

I added a couple more spreads to the bullet journal today.  You know those Instagram posts with the bullet journals that are full-on artistic masterpieces? That’s not me. This is more down-and-dirty, functional bullet journaling. Not so much as a butterfly sticker here.

So, what I’m trying to do is keep up drafting momentum from one project to the next. And… Let’s keep being honest… the ideas are…

IWSG: Talking Myself Out Of Ideas

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

  The awesome co-hosts for the September 5 posting of the IWSG are Toi Thomas, T. Powell Coltrin, M.J.…

And the Ashfall Fossil Beds…

Somewhere in the northern part of Nebraska… nestled between grass-covered hills… is a prehistoric watering hole where animals caught in a super volcano were fossilized.  The site is far enough away from the volcano, itself that death wasn’t instant. They died over the course of weeks after the eruption.

This is a working dig site, and if you’re lucky (or prepared) you can catch the…

At Least the AI Loves Me

I’ve started getting Jetpack’s e-mails on the subject of why I should not give up blogging, why this is better than Facebook or Instagram, and why the key to more viewers is more blog posts. I believe the email mentioned SEO, which is a nice way of saying I should cram more keywords into my blog posts, and use headlines to say things like

Science Fiction Novel

or

I Am Going to the Market and Buy…