A cool rainy day makes it worthwhile to be inside at the computer. I suppose that is one of the nice things about the Pacific Northwest... the weather never stays the same for too long. Saturday it was into the 90's and today we will be lucky to top 70. According to the paper, we'll be back into the 90's for this coming weekend.
Over the past weekend I got the July issue of the REAR ENGINE REVIEW finished and sent out the e-version of it. Because I had included some photos I took, the "memory" count was quite high, and so to drop it to a level I thought most folks wouldn't mind download on e-mail, I converted it to PDF. I'm new at that step and I wasn't really happy with how it turned out. Oh, the actual appearance is fine, but it didn't upload and convert exactly what I had as a word document. It moved two or three lines from the top left hand column of the second page up onto the very first (cover) page and put them in the lower right. Then everything else seemed to have moved up a corresponding amount. The very last page, which is a "flyer" for a club event in August now starts on the next to last page. Also the "header/footer" that I always include that has the page number, date, etc didn't upload and convert. I guess I have a bit to learn about it, but as it drops the memory space used, I'll stick with it for a while. Stopped on the way home from work and got some more address labels. I'll print them out after a while and then I can get the hard copies ready to mail out.
Last week I got my critiques back from a certain literary contest that I had entered. A lot of what was detailed in the two write-ups goes hand in hand with what I mentioned in TENNIS BALLS AND BROADSIDES. (www.annemini.com/?p=5092) This year I entered my second book, SAILING DANGEROUS WATERS in the Science Fiction/Fantasy Category. (The first chapter can be viewed under the "Writing" button at www.stoneislandseastories.com.) Because the story starts with Edward Pierce and his companions journeying through the Vespican Wilderness to visit Dream Chief Shostalomie and the Kalish People, I thought that the Fantasy aspect would be noticeable right from the start, and I suppose that it was. However, perhaps the Fantasy level was not as clear. It was suggested that I should indicate whether or not the Kalish have any sort of magical powers. They do not, and in fact there is no magic or special powers in the STONE ISLAND SEA STORIES at all. If there is anything, it is that people in that other world are a bit more succeptable to superstition.
At least one of the critiquers saw the story as an "alternate world" piece, which it is, in a way. It probably doesn't fit the standard definition of "alternate world," so I was reminded of the patented definition, or at least the one in use for this particular contest. By that way of defining "alternate world," something was supposed to have happened in the past that causes the world in the story to be different from the way it really is. As an example I point to Philip K. Dick's THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE. As I remember the story, FDR had been assassinated in his first or second term as President. That results in the Allies losing WWII, and as the story takes place, Imperial Japan controls the Pacific Coast and Nazi Germany the Eastern Seaboard. The STONE ISLAND SEA STORIES would be more of an "Other/Additional World" set up. This world, the world we know exists, but a few individuals have discovered how to travel to another one. There things are quite similar but not actually in parallel with the world we know. Geography is different, although political, racial, ethnic, and religious divisions are quite similar. Many historical events are of a like nature. One thing that is unique is that those few individuals are cognizant of their travel between the two worlds. When they are here, I try to keep as close as I can to the actual events and history of 200 or so years ago. When they are there, I feel freer to create a different history.
One other thing perplexes me a little, and that is how much back story to include, or to what degree to include it when the book under judgement/review is the second in a series. It was suggested that I should have been a little more detailed in relating the actions of an antagonist. My point is that had the reader read BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE, he/she would have already been made aware of this individual's actions, and in the second book I should have only had to mention them.
While it might sound as if I'm grousing about the critiques, I'm not. In many ways I think some valid things are pointed out. As time goes on I will make an effort to consolidate the feed back and apply it as needed.
I'm still plugging a way a Melville's MOBY DICK. While I find it interesting and a good story overall, it seems that he does so many of those things that today we are told never to do, lest we bore the agent/editor/reader to death. If I didn't mention it before, I read Robert Dugoni's DAMAGE CONTROL while flying between Spokane and Philadephia a couple weeks ago. Now I need to find and read J. A. Jance's book of the same name.
Posting this and getting the hard copies of the REAR ENGINE REVIEW ready to send out will just about do it for today's stint at the keyboard. Tomorrow I'll work at updating the SASP website (www.spokaneauthors.org) and then maybe I'll get a chance to get back to working on DARNAHSIAN PIRATES. I'd like to have enough finished to take a working/in progress copy with me to the conference. I've found that I can do some serious self-editng between sessions or while having coffee early in the day. I'd like to at least finish Chapter 5, and get a good start on Chapter 6.
That should about do it for this time. Hopefully I'll get back on track and get something posted once a week (preferably on the weekends) or so. Of course come the end of this month, the conference put on by the same organization who sponsored the above mention contest takes place. As I will be involved with that over the later part of the week and most of that weekend, the chances that I will get anything posted then are slim.
Dave
Yeah, quite a gap in posting again. I have an excuse, weak though it may be. Last Thursday (a week ago today) Jessica and I flew out of Spokane bound for Philadelphia. Arcadia University, where she will go to school next year had scheduled and orientation session for those students who will be participating in FYSAE this coming fall. (That's First Year Study Abroad Experience!) She'll be doing her first semester in London.
The travel went okay until the second leg of the flight. Spokane to Minneapolis was uneventful, but going into Detroit was an adventure. There was a line of thunderstorms that closed that airport, forcing us to circle for a while. Circling caused the aircraft to burn fuel and we finally landed at Grand Rapids to top off the tanks. Coincidentally we were on the ground (and aboard the aircraft) in Grand Rapids for nearly the exact time we were scheduled to be on the ground in Detroit. Finally we were allowed to head for Detroit. The one thing I noticed about that particular airport, is that we seemed to taxi forever to get to the terminal. Once there, we had to wait again, as thunderstorms and lightning strikes were still occuring in the area and they wouldn't send the ground crews out to dock and service the plane. As it turned out we got right back on the exact same plane for our next flight into Philadelphia. Ended up arriving around 10:30 EDT, over three hours later than our scheduled TOA of 7:01 EDT.
Caught a cab to Horsham where our hotel was located, and by the time we got settled in and relaxed it was after midnight. Got up early Friday morning as we needed to be at Arcadia by 8:00. I ended up getting about 4 hours sleep, so I spent most of the day simply trying to stay awake and alert to what they were telling us. That first day was a long one, although we did have lunch (in the dining hall) and a picnic dinner in the "Castle," which was supposed to have been outside, but there was a threat of rain so they moved it indoors. Later there was a "DUKW tour" of Philadelphia, but we hadn't signed up. A good thing, I suppose, as we went back to the room, and shortly after 8:00 pm I was sound asleep. Before I hit the pillow, it did rain and rain hard. I don't know if it affected the tour, but as that outing was scheduled to last until 9, I'm glad not to have gone.
Saturday was a little more leisurely regarding the orientation. We got done a little afternoon, and in the evening went across the road to a Pizza place and had dinner. Turned out to be the only real meal we bought during the entire trip.
The flight(s) back on Sunday went a lot better as far as the weather was concerned. Boarding our last flight from Salt Lake City to Spokane, we were pleasantly surprised to find that we had been upgraded to First Class. Oh if I could only afford to fly that way all the time!
So anyway, the trip is the biggest reason I've not posted until now. I also had to get stuff ready for the Spokane Authors and Self-Publisher's (www.spokaneauthors.org) meeting that was held earlier today. And on a couple of the recent afternoons since our return, I've been just sleepy enough that I haven't even thought of posting.
I'm looking forward to the Independence Day week-end. I don't think we are doing anything in particular. I just want to sleep in, catch up on yard work, wash cars, etc. Certainly I'll celebrate the anniversary of our Independence...I've got half a case of Sam Adams Boston Lager in the frig... a patriotic themed brew if there ever was one. (I'll also be celebrating Horatio Hornblower's birthday as well.
Before I go watch today's ball game, here is a more detailed link to the essay I wrote for Anne Mini's AUTHOR! AUTHOR! AWARDS FOR WRITING EXCELLENCE CONTEST. www.annemini.com/?p=5092 If you go to the basic site, it's been long enough since she posted it that you have to scroll a long way down to find that particular post.
Maybe I'll get more posted this weekend.
Dave
Over my last few posts, I think I've mentioned a contest that Anne Mini has been running on her Author! Author! blog (www.annemini.com). Anyway, sent in an entry and ended up with one of the two first place positions that were created for the competition. One of the perks or prizes was to have one's entry posted on Anne's blog. So for June 19th, I am her guest blogger. The other first place winner, Auburn McCanta (www.DancingBirds.com) was guest blogger on the 18th. The Grand prize winner's entry was posted on the 17th. All three entries deal, sometimes in quite round about ways with censorship, both subtle and direct in today's world of writing.
Speaking of (writing about) writing, I hope to get back to work on Darnahsian Pirates in the near future. I'd like to have enough to make it worth while taking a working copy with me to the PNWA Conference (www.pnwa.org) at the end of July. No, I don't try to foist it on unsuspecting agents or editors, but I find I can do a lot of revision and editing while waiting for sessions to start, or during those few times when nothing is happening. It can be a conversation starter, sitting with a loose leaf binder and intently marking changes and corrections. But before I can get back to that story, I need to write up something about the Corvair Club's recent Econo-Run Northwest and get it off to the Corvair Society of America (CORSA) (www.corvair.org) for inclusion in an upcoming issue of the CORSA COMMUNIQUE. I'll also have to include the story or a very similar one in the club's own REAR ENGINE REVIEW.
Reading wise, I'm well in to Herman Melville's Moby Dick. I'd mentioned before that I had never been able to read it, perhaps due to his complex and convoluted sentence construction. But the last time I tried was years ago. I still find it difficult at times, but as I read for relaxation during my lunch time, I just keep plugging away. I'm in no hurry to get through it. I simply savor the thirty or thirty-five minutes I spend with it everyday. And that causes me to wonder if the intend of writing, and of reading hasn't changed over the years. Regardless of the exact nature of the story, I think those written decades or centuries ago were meant to be more of a meander through life, rather than a mad dash through a brief portion of it. Those of us who are aspiring authors hear all the time that our stories must leap right into the action. Could that be a reflection of the modern reader? Does he or she want instant results, instant immersion into the story? Does today's typical reader jump in head first, rather than wading in a little at a time while getting used to the water?
Well, enough for today. I'm going into work for a while late this morning. They've had a crew in painting the walls and ceilings of the Spokane Club's indoor tennis courts, and as usual when a contractor crew is present, they've made a complete mess of the courts themselves. Our maintenance person, the other janitor and myself, along with the tennis director are going to attempt to get them cleaned up so they can be used come Monday morning.
Dave
P. S. If you happen to visit Author! Author!, read my guest post, and would like to comment, you can do so there, or I would welcome your thoughts and comments here as well.
On my way home from work Friday I stopped at the local station and picked up the battery for "Tim," my Corvair Rampside Pickup. I'd taken it up the day before to be charged up as it had been sitting in the rig for over a year and a half. After putting the battery back in and making some initial adjustments to the carbs, I got in and turned the key. Darned if it didn't fire off and run almost as if I'd had it running a few days ago. To confess, it died after one cough, but upon hitting the key a second time it settled down and ran. At first it was a bit rough sounding as having sat for nearly two years, a lot of the oil had drained down. Once lubrication got spread around again, it ran as good as it ever has as of late.
Satisfied that it would run, and having remembered to put current tabs on it and insure current registration and insurance cards were on board, I did a quick drive around the block to see if it truly was in drivable condition. Then it was time for a quick wash and a shower for myself before heading to Coeur d' Alene. Friday night was "cruise night" for the CAR D' LANE car show, with several hundred older vehicles circling the down town area. Because the Inland Northwest Corvair Club was hosting Econo-Run Northwest in conjunction with Car d' Lane, we had special access to one of our member's church's parking lot. A great many of us just parked and watched the other cars "cruise." In addition, that particular member had made arrangements for the church to provide a lasagna dinner for us and our fellow Corvair guests.
Saturday morning I was up early and once again on the road to Coeur d' Alene, this time for the actual car show. Again, special arrangements had been made for all the Corvairs to be parked along the same section of street, regardless of whether or not we all arrived as one group. Normally it's a matter of cars being parked as they arrive. By the time all the Corvairs were in place, they lined both sides of the street for an entire block. As a note, vehicles park for the car show in a reverse "angle" parking mode. Instead of pulling in with the front of the vehicle angled at the curb, they are backed at an angle against the sidewalk. A count revealed the presence of thirty-seven and a half Corvairs on display. A "half?" you say. Some one had made a trailer out of the nose and rear sections of one, so we "counted" it as half a car.
Once the car show ended in the late afternoon, those of the Corvair community eventually found their way to a member's house just outside of town. He had volunteered to host the usual Saturday night awards ceremony and banquet. As it was an outside meal, it was more picnic like in nature, with the "eats" being provided by a local well know catering outfit.
I spent a good portion of my day and early evening tabulating gas mileage results and peoples' choice votes. We had gas mileages ranging from 15 or so mpg up to 36 mpg. Many of the cars on display were superbly restored, maintained, waxed, polished, and detailed to perfection. Others reflected their age and need for a little TLC. Obviously those that were gussied up received the majority of the peoples' choice votes.
There was also a trip to visit an aviation/invention museum today. I had originally intended to go, but by the time the barbeque was winding down last night, I realized that I just didn't have the "gas" to get up and be at it again. One of our other members was thinking of going, so I gave her my ticket for the lunch. In a way, I'd liked to have gone, as the museum sounded like an interesting place to visit. But I could tell that I needed a good day of rest before going back to work Monday morning. With all I had done over the past week to make ready for the event and to get "Tim" ready as well, I hadn't slept nearly as much as I should have, and the lack of sleep was catching up with me. So I slept as late as I could this morning, fell asleep watching the Mariners early this afternoon, and fell asleep again early in the evening. Once I finish this and a couple other tasks at the computer I'll go to bed and get a little more sleep before starting the work week once again.
Dave
It's been a busy time of late, what with Jessica graduating, the Corvair Club's Econo-Run Northwest approaching, and me trying to keep my hand in the "writing game." Whether I could use it as an excuse or not, it seemed that I had enough to do, that I didn't post since before Memorial Day. Now, I've made enough progress on certain projects, and graduation is behind us, that I can take a little time and add a bit to my LiveJournal. Hence, the "light at the end of the tunnel."
As part of my tasks in preparing for the Corvair Club's hosting of the Econo-Run, I've been trying to come up with tickets for the various meals that will be available, create ballots for peoples' choice award voting, as well as tracking registrations and depositing fees into the club banking account. Our official deadline for registration was this past Friday, but we'll probably include anything that shows up early in this next week. Well, as of yesterday I completed "design" work on the tickets, ballots, and placards for participants entry numbers. I'll print them out later today, although I want to go buy some card stock for the entry number placards. I want something a little stiffer than regular paper. I also had to change my approach to the meal tickets. A few weeks ago while in one of the local office supply stores I noticed packs of blank event tickets. They were sequencially numbered and had a stub. But when I went back to get some they were gone. Rather than driving all over town to see if I could find more, I just decided that I could use business cards. I already have quite a few blanks, and I bought some more.
Now, the only major thing I have left to do before the Econo-Run is to get my own Corvair back on the road. My plan now is to work on it this afternoon, providing the weather doesn't interfere. If not, I'll go against my usual trend to not do any outdoor stuff after work.
Friday afternoon Jessica and I went out to graduation at Saint George's School here in Spokane. I used to work there, and she attended Kindergarten through 4th grade there as well. I thought that she would be interested to see what is a very unique graduation ceremony, as well as to see some of her friends from her earliest days of school. As it turned out, only six of the graduating twenty-eight had started with her. A few others had started before she left, so we knew about ten of the class. I'd witnessed several graduations during the time I worked there, but as I was working, I never observed one from start to finish, so it was in ways a first for me as well. One of the more unusual things about graduation there is that the graduates do not where the traditional cap and gown. Boys are in school blazers and girls in formal white dresses. The faculty, however dresses in the traditional graduation attire. The event takes place out of doors, with the graduates, the faculty and other official participants arriving to the sound of a Highland Pipe Band. Because the classes are small, diplomas are not handed out like on an assembly line, but rather a little is said about each graduate in turn. Then his/her diploma is handed to whomever he/she has selected to present it to him/her. That or those individuals then present it to the graduate.
Following the ceremony, they have a reception at the Davenport House, which is the anchor of the site on which the school is located. Jessica and I went up to that as well, although I remember that when I worked there, the maintenance crew would alway order pizza after stuff had been put away. Jessica said she was somewhat bored by it all, and didn't remember that many of the teachers that had been there when she had been. Yet most of them remembered us, including her kindergarten teacher!
In contrast, Jessica's own graduation on Saturday featured over 300 seniors from Shadle Park High School. Because the classes are so large, Commencement can not be held at school, but is held at the INB Performing Arts Building in downtown Spokane. Rather than having something unique to say about each graduate as diplomas are handed out, it's a production line process. There's the individual leaving with his or her sheepskin, the one recieving it from the Principal, and the one whose name has been called, all on stage at the same time. Within the next few seconds, the scene shifts as the next name is called. Still the time taken to graduate 300 wasn't much different than the previous day's graduation of less than 30.
We didn't have any really big plans made to celebrate her graduation, so we simply went to the newly opened Red Lobster in the new Northtown Square.
I suppose that I should end now and get to printing out the stuff for the Econo-Run. We are supposed to be gathering tomorrow night to assemble participants' registration packets, and most of what I'll print will be needed for those.
Dave
Sat, May. 23rd, 2009, 09:59 am
Back On Track
For once I am taking off all three days of a three day weekend. Since I started in my current position with the Spokane Club, I don't recall that I've ever had a real three day weekend. And so you'll know, I've been doing the same job at the Valley or 4th Ave. location for nearly five years. It's usually ended up that someone else has had plans for the Monday Holiday, or we were filling in on the weekends anyway. I might have had the Monday off, but seemed to end up working either Saturday or Sunday. So for me, this Memorial Day weekend is a mini-vacation!
I know that a lot of people travel, go camping, picnicing, and the like, but I think we'll just stay home, relax and unwind a bit from all that is going on. I certainly have enough to do, what with Jessica's graduation approaching, the upcoming Econo-Run Northwest 2009, and a bunch of writerly stuff as well.
Among my list for things to do over the next three days are: Finish rebuilding and install the carbs on my '62 Corvair Rampside pick up. I'll probably have to have the battery recharged as well, and then it'll be time to see if it's going to run. (New spark plugs probably won't hurt,either.) I also need to update the Spokane Authors web-site (www.spokaneauthors.org) and work on my entry for the contest at Author! Author! (www.annemini.com) I'm sure glad she extended the deadline for that. I had something ready to go and was looking for the e-address to send it to when I noticed the extension of time. While I would have sent what I had in order to meet the original deadline, I realize that it needed a great deal of work to really convey the message that I want it to send. I've pretty much left it alone since discovering the "reprieve." When I get back to it in the next day or so, it won't be so fresh in my mind and I should be able to look at it with a more critical eye.
I think I mentioned Tuesday that I had completed reading Barbara Cagle's 16 X Mom: A Mastery of Motherhood. (www.barbaracagle.com) Since then I've been reading a short story anthology called The Pen and The Key. It was published a few years ago in honor of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association's (www.pnwa.org) Fiftieth Anniversary. It features short stories and articles on writing by several well know Pacific Northwest writers. Everyone at the first PNWA Conference I went to a few years ago got a copy of it in their participants' packet. It's been lying around the house and I've finally decided that it is time I read it. I'm not sure what I'll read once I finish that, but I'm thinking of looking for something in the piles of older books we have in the basement. I'm toying with the idea of trying Moby Dick again. I've always wanted to read it, but for some reason Melville has always been one of the few authors I have had difficulty reading. I don't know if it is a particular way he constructs his sentences or not, but I remember having to read and reread everything several time to be able to understand it. But the last time I tried I was a lot younger, and I'm hoping that my increased age will equate to an increased ability to read his works. My current reading "method" may help as well. If I've not mentioned it before, I read on my lunch break for about a half hour a day. I don't rush and I don't try to get through what I'm reading in any set period of time. And as I enjoy the half hour as a time to be off my feet and relax, I will put up with a bit of difficulty in reading. I'll let you know how it goes.
Dave
Tue, May. 19th, 2009, 04:34 pm
On a Tuesday?
Seems strange to be posting during the week, but I never got a chance for it over the weekend. I worked Saturday morning, did some (other) computer type stuff in the afternoon, and went and watched the Lilac Festival Armed Forces Torchlight Parade in the evening. Jessica has been in the parade as part of the Shadle Park High School marching band for each of the past three years, and as this was her last time we thought we should go for once. The only other time I'd been to (or been in) the parade was a dozen or more years ago when the Corvair Club participated. I'd recently bought "Tim" my '62 Rampside pickup and ended up leading the group. The engine was dirty with oil and dirt, and with all the idling it did, it started to smoke. So here I was, laying down a smoke screen to effectively hide all the other Corvairs behind me. The cloud disipated as soon as I reached the end and got up to more normal driving speeds.
And speaking of Corvairs, Sunday the INCC got together for what we like to call "Tech 'n' Tune." The idea is that we can get those nagging little problems we have with our vehicles taken care of. Yes, some folks do get some work done on their cars, but for the most part it's a time to get together and chat BS. As it turns out we've had them for the past four years now, every spring, and I've never had either of my Corvairs running to drive to any of them. Next year? Anyway that took most of the day, and when I got home and finally went on the computer, I had other stuff that I needed to do.
I'd been trying to write a short five page essay or presentation for a contest that a perhaps well-known blogger is running. I was under the impression that the deadline for it was yesterday (Monday the 18th) at midnight. I had my thoughts on the topic pretty much together, but was having trouble translating them to "paper." I'd started a few days earlier but kept putting off a real indepth attempt at finishing it. Sat down again yesterday and worked it through to the end. Still it wasn't really what I wanted, but as the deadline loomed and I was tired I decided to send it as is. I went to the particular post that announced the contest to retrieve the e-address of where I should send it. In doing so I found that the deadline had been extended to 1 June. I suppose I had mixed reactions to that revelation. I was a little ticked off that I had worked later into the evening than I would have, and yet I was relieved, as now I'd have time to polish it a little more. Whether or not my effort does any good in this contest, I'm thinking about submitting it to Gray Dog Press for inclusion in the next or a subsequent issue of Spoke Write. That's a little collection of essays, stories, poems, and illustrations that the above mentioned publisher has started and sells in the Spokane area. It comes out on a quarterly basis and features work by folks in the local area. Either way, doing well in the contest or having it published locally would work to my advantage as a "hope to be published author." It will be something I can list as having been published in my author bio and other claims to fame.
Information about the contest can be found on the Author! Author! blog at www.annemini.com Go to the list of categories along the right hand side of the page and look for Author! Author! Award of Excellence. Click on that and it will take you to Anne's post of 20 April in which she announces the contest. It basically has to do with our view or experiences with subtle or direct censorship, and perhaps how it relates to one's writing. She also has several guest posts dealing with the subject from about that time.
So that's what I was doing, rather than posting here. And since I am here today, and since I've got over two weeks to polish my little entry, I'm NOT working on it today. I'll give it a couple days' rest, which should allow me to collect my thoughts a little more.
Today I finished 16 X Mom by Barbara Cagle (www.barbaracagle) Guess I'll need to find something around the house to take to work tomorrow so I'll have something to read on my lunch (half) hour.
Dave
Sat, May. 9th, 2009, 10:58 am
Busy Weekend!
If I get half of the stuff I plan to do done, this will turn out to be a busy weekend. Thus this week's post will be fairly short.
Last evening and earlier this morning I finished up the latest issue (May) of the REAR ENGINE REVIEW, the newsletter for the Inland Northwest Corvair Club. I've e-mailed it out to all those that get it that way. As I work on this post, the last page of the hard copy version is being printed. Then I'll have to assemble the six pages (three sheets) that make up each of the thirty plus copies and get them ready to mail.
While I'm thinking of it, I know that some of you that I send the RER to also read this. But if any others "out there" reading this LJ that would like to take a gander at the newsletter, let me know. You can e-mail me at daveeva@comcast.net I'll reply and attach a copy of the newsletter. I think I did everything right this time, so the e-version should exactly match the printed version. The only difference is that I usually print the cover on colored paper. This month's cover is in bright yellow.
My one big project for the week end is to get away from the computer, get outside and see what I can do to get "Tim" running. "He" is my 1962 Corvair Rampside pickup. Had it running a couple of summers ago. "He" started running rough and I send for a few parts. Weather and other things got in the way and I've never gotten around to doing anything. I'm thinking that all "he" needs is a good tune up.
Tonight is Jessica's senior prom. While she's gone, I'd thought to take Eva to dinner, sort of a Mother's Day Eve celebration. But I've since found out that one or the both of us might end up playing chauffer for Jessica and her friends for at least a part of the evening.
The last page has finished printing, so I should end this and get on with assembling the newsletter. Hopefully I can get that done and get it to the post office before it closes this afternoon.
I usually try to keep everyone appraised of what I'm currently reading. Right now I'm reading 16 X MOM: A Mastery of Motherhood, by Barbara Cagle. I'm sure I've mentioned before that she was the president of Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers (SASP www.spokaneauthors.org) before me. More info about her book can be found on her web-site at www.barbaracagle.com
Well, time to get busy!
Dave
Mon, May. 4th, 2009, 03:32 pm
Just Me Again
...And a day or so late at that. I normally try to post every week, either on Saturday or Sunday, but for various reasons didn't get to it this past weekend. Perhaps because I was slightly busier than normal, although not all that busy. I worked Saturday morning and did computer stuff (except updating here) in the afternoon. Sunday morning the writer's group I'm in met, and we went over Chapter 10 of BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE. No big sweeping changes, but a lot of details that I need to address. I'd planned to do some outside stuff during the afternoon, but as I got home, the rain was threatening to fall, and there were even a few sprinkles on my windshield. That and the fact the Mariners' game was on made staying in an easy decision. As I usually do during an afternoon game, I fell asleep around the seventh inning. Woke up in time to see them come from behind and tie the score in the ninth. Then Jessica called for me to pick her up from school. (The band had bussed to San Francisco over an extended week end... they left Wednesday evening... to attend the Heritage Festival.) Anyway, hurried back to watch the rest of the game, if it was still on. It was, as they ended up going to the bottom of the 15th. Mariners won!!
All of the above simply means that I didn't get a whole lot done. But I needed a bit of a rest. I don't think the past week was as tiring as the one before, but I did have a few extra concerns to occupy my "free" time. As the vehicle I'm currently driving was due for annual registration, I wanted to get that done. But since I live in a county that does "smog" checks, it was imparative that I get that done first. With the "service engine soon" light on, I knew it would fail, so I took it up to the local garage to see if they could do something about it. I was told that I should get it tested, even if it did fail, as then I could apply all that I might spend towards the waver the smog folks will give if more than so much is spent to repair any particular problem. And yes, it failed, so Wednesday I'm back at the garage to have it looked at. The official test had listed two things as defective, but the garage tech/mech discovered that one of the monitored systems was indicating "not ready." He reset the light (turned it off) and told me to follow a certain procedure when I got to work and was shutting it off the next morning. He said that if when I went to go home later that day, that if the light was out and stayed off once I started it, that I should go get it checked again. It passed this time, and so later I was headed for the Dept of Licensing to get my new tags.
And would you believe it? On my way to work this moning the stupid light came on again! I'll have to take back up to the garage one of these days and see if they can't go through it thoroughly. I'm not sure, but I think it's more of a computer malfunction, rather than an indication of some sort of mechanical or system fault.
Well now I'm fighting to stay awake in order to post this. I belive I will do just that, and maybe watch a little TV.
Dave
Had a busy and tiring week at work. Monday, the gal who shares janitorial duties with me was ill and didn't make it in. While I couldn't do much about cleaning the ladies' locker rooms, I still ended up doing a bit more of the common tasks and areas. Thus I ended up being there a half-hour or so longer than normal. I was late enough in leaving that I went straight to the down-town facility for our annual employee benefits meeting. (I normally come home and clean up a little before going.) As it ended up, I put in over 12 hours from the time I left home and finally got back that afternoon.
Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty much normal days, but on Thursday we cleaned the outside tennis courts for the first time. Probably wouldn't have been so long in doing it, but it took nearly an hour to get started. Hoses leaked, connections were mangled, and we had to swap stuff around until we got a set of equipment that worked. Plus that, the weather didn't really cooperate. It was probably the coldest day of the week, windy too, and there I was, pushing a "water broom" along the courts while dragging over 200 ft. of hose behind me. Definitely discovered muscles that I hadn't used in a long long time! And as it was on Monday, I ended up being there well beyond the normal end of my work day.
Friday was pretty much a normal day, other than the fact that I was a little stiff and sore from the previous. Really felt good to be able to say (and fervently believe), "Thank God It's Friday!"
I've been fairly busy of late with stuff for the Corvair Club. I managed to get the April REAR ENGINE REVIEW out about a week ago. It has all the stuff in in concerning the ECONO-RUN we will be hosting in June, in concert with the "Car D'Lane" car show and cruise in Coeur D'Alene, ID. Now I have to come up with a spread sheet to track registrations for the event as they come in. Worked some on that yesterday, and hopefully will do more on it today.
Honestly, I've not had much of a chance to get much done on the writing side of things. I'm probably a week or so behind in sending out queries, and I've not even looked at the WIP for several weeks. And it seems that I've always got some other little project, writing or otherwise that takes away from the actual effort.
Plus that, Jessica will be graduating in a little over a month, so there is all the stuff connected with getting her out of high school and into college. (If I haven't mentioned it, she's been named one of her class's valdictorians!) In other words, the present time is a quite hectic one for all of us.
While I'm thinking of it, I'd like to mention that Anne Mini is running a little writing contest on her AUTHOR! AUTHOR! blog. (www.annemini.com) Information can be found on her post dated April 20th. And yes, I'm going to try and get something written for it.
I may have mentioned this as well over the previous weeks. Barbara Cagle, who was president of Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers (SASP) (www.spokaneauthors.org) before me, has published her book about her mom. It's called 16 X Mom: A Mastery of Motherhood. As it is a story about a Mom, she's promoting it as a Mother's Day gift. In fact, I think she's running a contest on her blog to give away a copy of it. She has a website at: www.barbaracagle.com There's a link there to her blog if anyone is interested.
Well that should be it for today. I need to get some other computer type stuff done, and hopefully this afternoon I'll get outside and get some stuff done there as well. I need to figure out why the "service engine soon" light keeps coming on in the Suzuki. I don't normally worry about it, but I need to take it in for a smog check this coming week.
As a last thought, I think the last time I mentioned my reading, I was reading THE THREE STIGMATA OF PALMER ELDRITCH by Philip K. Dick. Well I completed that one about half-way through my break time, and started right in on his DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? I have a volume of four of his novels. I hadn't planned to read two in a row, but since I finished the one and didn't have anything else to start, I figured, "why not?" Still have UBIS to read from that volume, but I'll save that until later. Now I'm reading CUT-OUT by Bob Mayer, which I bought (and had autographed) at last summer's PNWA Writer's Conference. Speaking of which, I need to be getting registered for in the near future. The one this summer, not last summer's.
Dave
Sun, Apr. 19th, 2009, 10:31 am
Time Heals...
...and time gives one at least a small dose of wisdom.
A week after posting about a literary contest judge's reaction to my entry, I find that the critical aspects of those comments are fading into memory. I suppose it would not have fazed me had it simply been another in a long line of "your writing sucks," critiques. After several of those, even the most dense "writer" would realize his (her) work needs serious attention and revision. But when I've had other judges suggest that I should be querying and pitching, which I am doing, and others remark that they can see the opening chapter as a movie scene; then I wonder if my writing doesn't have some serious flaws in it. However, the passage of time has allowed me to realize that this was merely one person's reaction to my work. Indeed, I shall file these criticisms with the idea that if similar ones continue to crop up, I may yet have to make some changes to the story. And perhaps I errored in entering the story in the "Mainstream" category of the contest. Based on the contest's descriptions of the categories, I thought that was a better choice than entering it in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category. (Then a judge might have commented that s/he had read the first twenty pages or so and had not yet seen anything to suggest it was indeed a fantasy story.)
Anyway, after a week or so of thought on the matter, I do have some alternatives lined out for revising the story. However I have enough other stuff to keep me occupied at the moment that I'm not going to jump into it right now. I'll merely keep such things in mind and if I feel I really need to do that, if the story really needs those changes to be marketable, then I'll tackle the project.
The organization sponsoring the contest offered entrants a chance to thank the first round judges. I took advantage of this and did actually thank both of the judges who had dealt with my book. I did not complain about the scores, the remarks, or the comments. If anything, I merely stated that I respectfully disagreed. Having no idea of who these judges are, I certainly did not want to anger someone who might one day be in a position to help or hinder my writing career. Judges were simply identified by a combination of code letters at the top of each judging/scoring sheet.
Perhaps my second story which is entered in a separate contest will do better. I did enter it as Science Fiction/Fantasy, primarily because at the beginning it takes place in another world. (You can go to www.stoneislandseastories.com, click on the "Writing" button and read the excerpt from the second book to see for yourself. By the way, I did revise the contest entry version slightly with a new opening paragraph placed before the one seen here.)
That's probably "it" for today. Have some updates to make to the above mentioned site as well as to the Spokane Authors' site. (www.spokaneauthors.org) And although the weather is overcast today, I want to get some outdoor stuff done as well...unless I succumb to the temptation of watching the Mariner's game on TV.
Dave
No, I'm not talking mathematics here. I'm speaking of the notion that all stories, especially those of certain genres all follow a formula or pattern. My somewhat rhetorical question is whether or not all stories have to contain specific elements or contain those elements in specific places within the book?
Why do I ask?
A couple of months ago I entered my first book in a literary contest. (The entry consisted of the first chapter, a portion of the second, and a two page synopsis.) Recently I received the judges' scoring sheets from the preliminary judging. And yes, one judge in particular "tore" it up rather well. Naturally I was quite dismayed at his/her reaction, but I also wonder if it might be indicative of things I need to look at and possibly correct.
Without going into detail, it was suggested that my opening chapter(s) were more of a prologue to the actual story. Secondly, the one judge noted that my protagonist didn't have any defined long range goal. And because I had entered it in the Mainstream category, and because the story migrates to a more fantasy oriented setting, one remarked that such a change could be troubling to a reader who had obtained it to simply read Naval Adventure.
At this point I want to assure everyone that despite the somewhat harsh criticism levelled at my work, I am not devastated or angry. I am a little disappointed, but I do see a certain level of validity in the judges comments. At the same time, I've received critiques and comments from judges in other contests, as well as agents and other impartial and professional readers who have responded much more favorably. That tends to make me think that it is more a matter of opinion rather than there being anything essentially flawed in my writing.
Now back to my original question. It seems that many of the "how-to" books and classes on writing set everything up by a formula. It's almost as if all the writer has to do is plug his own characters, setting, and story line into a pre-existing layout. Does a book have to follow that layout to be good? Does a protagonist have to have an over riding goal at the very start of the story? Is there room at the beginning for the reader to simply get to know, understand, and hopefully like (or sympathize with) the protagonist? Does a writer have to jump write right into the primary story, or is he allowed to develop the "why" and "how" of "why" and "how" the central character becomes involved in the primary story?
I suppose I'm asking or wondering about this, because I do see a validity to the recent comments and criticisms I've received. If I eventually determine that it is a big enough deal, I'll have to do some restructuring of the book. Perhaps it needs to start at a later point and have the portions leading up to that point interleaved into the plot as back story. That way, I believe the primary goal could be made clearer, earlier in the book. However I personally do not like to use a lot of flashback sequences, and in revising the story earlier even eliminated many that I did have. (A couple of my very early first readers found them to be a little confusing.) Quite honestly, I would prefer to not make any big sweeping changes to the story. It's basically told in a straight forward chronological order, and I'd like to keep it that way. I'd rather not jump into the middle of it and then move forward and bounce back to ensure that all essential elements are included.
That's probably it for today. Maybe some tomorrow, but don't count on it. Time now to go to a meeting of the little writer's group I belong to here in Spokane. Coincidentally we will be discussing chapter 9 of BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE. ( A last minute thought! If anyone would like to read and evaluate the story, e-mail me at daveeva@comcast.net Then we can make arrangements to send the story to you for evaluation. I might also be convinced to read and evaluate something of yours as well.)
Dave
My usual plan for any day that I do not have to go to work is to get up fairly early, read the paper, have my coffee, and then go on the computer for the rest of the morning. Should the weather cooperate, I usually look forward to spending at least a portion of the afternoon outside. With the warmer weather I'll soon have grass to mow, and then there are the Corvairs to attempt to bring to life and get back on the road.
Such were my designs for yesterday, but as I neared the end of my daily keyboard session, memory served to remind me that the Seattle Mariners' last exhibition season game was on. Well, once I got into watching that, the carefully nourished ambition I had cultivated all morning slipped away like snow on a warm summer's day. In the most basic of terms, I was a complete couch potato yesterday. Sometimes I get a little angry with myself when I have days like that, but at the same time I realize that I might just need them to fully unwind and recuperate from the past week. There are those times when the weekend comes that I have so much chasing around in the vast emptiness of my brain case, that I cannot decide which thoughts or actions to pursue.
As to this weekend, I'm hoping that today I will feel a little more ambitious. Once I finish this post I want to get a query letter or two ready to put in tomorrow's mail and then see about getting some things done outside. So far the sun is still shining and it is supposed to get near 60 degrees today. I'm sure I could do some puttering in the garage, and the Suzuki needs to be washed again.
With regards to writing and publishing, those of you who might be described as "aspiring writers" might want to take a gander at Anne Mini's AUTHOR! AUTHOR! blog and her entries of the past few days. (www.annemini.com) She is doing a series of posts that take the "getting published" process back to the basics, covering details that many of the other "how to" books and sources seem to think we are all born knowing about. Even if you feel you are a little more advanced along the road towards publication, it might prove to be a worthwhile "refresher" for you.
As you may have guessed from the subject line today, I'm excited for Major League Baseball to be back with us. And yes, I am a diehard Mariners' fan. I think I always have been, even when they were consistently bad in the early years of the franchise's existence. Certainly I remained a fan, even as they struggled through last season, and I no doubt will remain a fan, regardless of how this new campaign plays out. While Seattle is nearly 300 miles away from Spokane, the "M's" are the closest we have to a Major League Team. It's not to say that I don't get disappointed in them/with them when they have a season such as last year's was. But at the same time I won't "dump" them because things are not going as everyone would hope. Now, it's a new season, and hopefully those things that led to such a disappointing year last year are gone. Starting the season anew, it's a situation where everyone of the 30 teams has the chance to succeed. And with the start of the season, I'll have the chance to get back into a continuous mode of watching sports again.
I've never been really big on March Madness. As a casual sports fan, it always seems like a little bit of a "dead zone" from the time the Super Bowl/Pro Bowl is history until baseball starts up again. In case you wonder, I do like basketball, but I've never followed it as closely as I follow Football or Baseball. As to basketball, I probably enjoy the high school version more than college or the NBA. And since Washington has divided "class B" ball into two classes, I find that I no longer feel the need to watch or follow it. The excitement of the "class B" state tournament has been diluted by the fact that Spokane now hosts one of two, rather than the entire Class B championship session.
Now I suppose it's time for those query letters and then something outdoors.
Dave
Last week I mentioned that I had an appointment to have our taxes done. I would have done them myself, except a couple of areas confused me. It seems that as I grow older, I don't have the patience to work through those things. When dealing with the IRS I don't want to get it wrong and have the "infernal revenuers" after me. For the most part, however, the tax prep people didn't have any trouble. The only glitch was with some stock that Eva had sold. She was buying it at work; stock in the corporation she works for. Because the entity that handles their stock had changed, they didn't provide her with any "basis" or what she had paid for the stock she sold. So, we had to do some scrambling to figure that out. But the return is filed now, electronically, and all we have to do is send in the little bit we owe. I'll have to go to HR and have them change my withholding. I think she changed hers already. Our gross incomes are fairly close to being the same, yet what she has withheld is substantially more than mine.
I don't plan to set off on a long-winded diatribe regarding taxes, but I will mention a few things that irk me about them. First of all, I don't really mind paying taxes. I belong to several groups and organizations that I pay dues to belong to. I figure paying one's taxes is a way of paying one's dues for the privilege of living in such a great country. And to this point anyway, I don't even have much of an objection to the amount or percentage of my income that I pay. My biggest complaint is the complexity of determining that amount. I think it should be streamlined and simplified, so that basically one is asked, "How much did you make? What is 'x' percent of that? If you have paid more than 'x' percent, we'll send you the difference. If you paid less than 'x' percent, send us the difference!" As it is now, some of the calculations resemble a mathmatical version of those famous old Rube Goldberg devices. This is especially true in some of the worksheets designed to help one calculate such things as how much of one's IRA one can deduct. Have you ever noticed that in doing these worksheets you are often expected to have the answer already as you then attempt to calculate it? Sort of raises the confusion factor doesn't it.
As a matter of principle, I wish they could figure out a way to determine withholdings for individuals or families with multiple incomes. I work, draw retirement from the Armed Forces, and my wife works. As it is, each of these sources of income are roughly the same as what our standard deduction and standard exemption is. If we file W-4s that truly reflect our filing status, we would probably not have anything or very little withheld. Come tax time, however, only one of those three sources of income is eliminated by deductions and exemptions. The other two end up as taxable income and we have to fudge the W-4 to insure enough was withheld to cover the taxes on it.
But we have them done, and now we can send copies of it along with the various papers we need to submit for Jessica's college finances next year. I spent a while last evening making copies of the return so that we can do that in the next few days.
Speaking of college, one that she is interested in is Arcadia University outside of Philadelphia. And it has seemed that they are interested in her as well. She's probably received more information and offers from them than anywhere else. In fact, she's been invited to an incoming Honors Student breakfast and campus tour this next Saturday. (April 4th) She replied back several weeks ago, accepting the invitation, but as of yet we haven't recieved the promised information concerning accomodations and the like. As it is a cross country journey for us (I'm going with her), we don't want to just take off and go, not knowing whether they are expecting us or not. I've even put in for vacation on Thursday and Friday in order to go, but with no reply from them, we aren't sure if we will. Hopefully we'll here something Monday or Tuesday, and hopefully that will be soon enough to book flights.
Friday evening a fellow member of Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers (SASP) (www.spokaneauthors.org) held a reading and book signing at Auntie's Book Store, here in Spokane. Decided that I would go, and as Friday is "pizza nite" for us, we decided to all go and eat at one of the area's better know pizza places. Conveniently it's a block or two from the bookstore, so we piled in the Suzuki and headed downtown. Now "pizza nite" usually means a couple of pizzas cooked in the oven at home. I can usually finish one myself, and Eva and Jessica make good progress into the second. Thinking along those lines we ordered two, and ended up bringing over one and a half home with us. After eating we meandered to the bookstore. They shopped a bit and then headed for Riverpark Square, a downtown mall while I attended the reading and signing. The author, Barbara Cagle, who was president of Spokane Authors before me, has written a remarkable story of her mother. It's called 16 X MOM: A MASTERY OF MOTHERHOOD. She explained a little of how she came to write it and read a few selections from throughout the book. I did buy a copy and plan to read it in the near future. From what she has said, read, and from what I've glanced at briefly, it should be an entertaining and compelling read. If anyone is interested in knowing a little more about it, she has a web-site at: (www.barbaracagle.com) I'm sure she would appreciate any and all that might want to check out the web-site and the book.
While at Auntie's I scouted the Science Fiction and Fantasy shelves, looking primarily for any of ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) jpsorrow 's books. Found and bought the paperback version of VACANT THRONE. I've already read it, but want a copy for my personal library. I plan to give the hardback version that I've already had to the Saint George's School library. That's were I suggested he could send free copies of SKEWED THRONE and CRACKED THRONE when he offered to send copies to various libraries a few months ago. That way the library will have the complete story.
I realized after leaving that I hadn't looked to see if that particular store happened to carry any of pbray 's books as well. Having read one of hers, I want to read more, and soon! But I'm sure I'll get down there again in the near future. Besides, with the way I read, a half hour or so a day during my lunch break, it takes me a couple or even three weeks to finish one.
Speaking of reading, last week I mentioned that I had started THE THREE STIGMATA OF PALMER ELDRITCH. Since the book was at work I wasn't able to verify the spelling of the last name in the title. I think I got it wrong, and so I apologize to and Philip K. Dick fans (Dickheads?) that might have taken offense at my error.
With that being said, I'll sign off for today. Still have a query or two to get sent out, and later there is a Mariners spring training game on the television.
Dave
A subject or title that really means I haven't the slightest idea of what I'm going to say.
I had kind of a wierd and wacky week at work. As you may know, I do janitorial work at a private athletic club. One of my duties, and the reason I start work at 0400 hrs. every day, is to "sweep" the tennis courts before members arrive and promptly mess them up again. Fortunately I do not use a broom to accomplish this task, but rather a battery powered sweeper/vacuum machine. Normally I can plug it in and charge it over night about once a week. It is then usually good for two or three cleaning cycles. (I normally clean the courts three days a week, so it all works out to charge it up once a week.)
Anyway, when I had put it on the charger the week before, it evidently hadn't taken a full charge. It did okay the following two sessions, but by last Monday it was fairly well depleted. I got five of the twelve half courts done and started the sixth, when it got so week that I couldn't hear it running. Put it back on charge until Tuesday morning and it only had enough to do about three more half courts. That still left four (two full courts) that hadn't been done since the previous Friday. That day we found that the batteries were low on water and that there was a loose connection in the wiring that goes to the charger. By Wednesday it had enough of a charge that I was able to do all except two I had done on Tuesday. I could have done them as well, but I had gotten started a little late and folks were now on the courts. Did them again on Thursday, and all of them Friday. Looks like the machine is now taking a full charge again. Thus it should be ready to go when I go in tomorrow morning.
If there is any connection between cleaning tennis courts and writing, it is that the task is not that taxing of mental abilities. I need just enough brain power to move in a somewhat coordinated manner and to ensure I cover all the court surfaces. In many ways it's a lot like mowing a lawn... 'round and 'round, and 'round. That leave a lot of cranium space that I can devote to other pursuits. I've done a lot of plotting of my stories while thusly engaged. I've also devised pitches to use at writers conferences and come up with things to post here.
I didn't really mind having to do the court sweeping on a different schedule. The only bad thing is that I wasn't able to do the stuff I'd normally do on the days I don't clean the courts.
I may have mentioned a time or two in the past that I also do the majority of my reading while at work. I take my "lunch" break around 0800 hrs, and since I don't really want to eat at that time of day, I have a large cup of coffee and read for a half hour or so. It takes me a while to get through a book, but I find I tend to read deeper into the stories than if I try to set reading speed records. Still, in the four years or more that I've been doing this, I've managed to read around eighty books. Friday I finished pbray 's THE FINAL SACRIFICE and started Phillip K. Dick's THE THREE STIGMATA OF PALMER ELDRIDGE. As to the first work mentioned, I enjoyed it tremendously and will look for the other two volumes of the trilogy in the future. (I suppose I should have read them in order, THE FINAL SACRIFICE being the final installment. However I found it on the book store shelf, bought it and read it. While it is the third of a series, it was written in such a manner that it was very easy to read as a single story. While there were a few times that things seemed a bit unclear, things that possibly would have been noted and clarified in the earlier stories, I had no trouble at all with it. If I had any problems at all with the story, it would be with regards to some nautical technical details. As near as I can figure, the story takes place on a world and in a region much like the Mediterranean during the time of the Roman Empire. If my knowledge of ship design is correct, vessels of that time were steered by means of one or more steering oars near the stern of the ship. The helmsman (helmsmen) would have worked directly with the "handle" end of the oar, and would have been on the open deck, exposed to all the elements. The traditional ship's wheel did not come into being until the early eighteenth century, and it wasn't until around the time of the American Civil War that it began to be enclosed. For me, the mention of ships of Roman Times having a wheelhouse takes me out of the story ever so slightly. (Of course the story is fantasy, and in that world, it may well be that the wheel and the idea of enclosing it in a wheel house developed much earlier.)
Would such technical discrepencies stop me from reading Ms. Bray's other works? Certainly not! I look forward to reading the others in this series as well as others she has written. I find little nit-picky details like this in a lot of what I read, and while it bothers me a little, it doesn't prevent me from enjoying the overall story. I found much the same in the recently read UNDER ENEMY COLORS. While the story takes place in 1793, there is mention of Royal Navy officers, lieutenants to be exact, sporting eppaulettes. It's my understanding that no one in the British Navy wore eppaulettes until after 1795, and that it wasn't until 1812 or so that they were authorized for lieutenants. Nonetheless, I found the story intriguing and I look forward to more from that author (S. Thomas Russell) as well.
I certainly don't want to set myself up as any kind of expert on these matters, and as one writing stories in a similar vein, it wouldn't surprise me in the least to have a reader find a tiny detail that I had gotten wrong.
I have an appointment this Thursday with H & R Block to have our taxes done. I'd always done them myself, but a couple of years ago we got involved with selling my late sister's house and wrapping up her estate. It got to be a little more complicated than I wanted to attempt on my own, so we had them done. Last year we went that route as well, mainly because once we had filed with them, the IRS no longer sent us forms. I had planned (actually Eva had planned) that we would once again do them ourselves this year. But after several hours of feeling like I was a dog chasing my tail and getting more and more frustrated, I decided to go back and have them done. Hopefully they will know more about it than I do and can find ways to get some money back. As far as my figuring goes, we owe!
Regarding taxes, I'm not so much opposed to the rates we pay as I am to the complexity of computing them. If Congress ever really addresses and brings about tax reform, it should be the procedure as much if not more than how much we pay, that they should deal with. I won't get started on what I think should be done, as that would make a decent sized post of it's own. One of these days, maybe.
That should about be it for today. If possible I want to get my query letter file reorganized and maybe even one or two new ones sent out. I might even get back to doing a little revision on BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE. I started incorporating some of the changes suggested by my writers group and want to continue. A few sessions of that and I might be back in the mood to continue work on DARNAHSIAN PIRATES.
Dave
Sun, Mar. 15th, 2009, 10:01 am
Progress
It seems that time marches on, whether I get anything done or not. And thus another week has passed, and as usual I did not clear off my "to do" list. But that gives me a head start on a list for this week!
Winter made one last (I hope) appearance for the year. Earlier in the week we had a few inches of snow and then some very cold temperatures. A couple of mornings we hovered right around the 0 degree F. mark. I and a lot of folks had to dig out the winter clothing again. By this weekend, however, things are more normal for this time of year. We are into the thirties and forties during the day, while the nights still drop below freezing. Most of the snow, both that that fell a few days ago, and the little that remains from December, is gone. Even the mountains of it that are piled up in the store parking lots is slowly disappearing.
On the writing side of things, I'll be preparing another couple of query letters today. I think my latest fling at querying has gone very well. I've sent out about eight queries since resuming in late January. Of those, two have resulted in requests for more pages. One request is from an agent who is nearly always at the top of the list of top agents on the Publishers Marketplace web-site. I've also decided to widen my "search parameters" a little as well. For a long time I'd only send to those agents who specifically wanted both action/adventure and fantasy or science fiction and fantasy. Now, I'll query agencies who look for any of the above. If an agency merely says, "fiction," and doesn't say it will not accept any of those more specific genres, I might query there as well. I figure that one can narrow the search too much. And what's the worst that can happen? A rejection? Heck, that can happen when querying the agent/agency that seems to be the perfect match for one's work.
Yesterday I attended a writers conference put on by the Inland Empire Chapter of Romance Writers of America. While I don't write Romance, the conference was open to all who write fiction. It was a worthwhile event, and as it usually happens, I learned a few things. If I have one complaint about the conference, it was that there wasn't enough variety in what the attending agents and editors were looking for. Most of them it seemed were focused on Romance or Women's Fiction. I had a pitch appointment with one of the agents, but after she announced that she was now primarily interested in Women's Fiction, I gave the appointment to another writer who was trying to gain an appointment with her. I talked briefly with the agent later on, and it seems she had misspoken, and that her interests were a little wider than she had indicated. I may attempt to query her in the next couple of weeks, unless information on the agency's web-site should indicate that it would not be in my best interests. Providing she would be interested in my work, I think it would interesting and convenient to gain representation by this particular agent. Why? Well I think it would be neat to be represented by someone in the local area, rather than one merely in the region, or completely across the country.
As I spent nearly all of yesterday at the conference, I didn't get a chance to do much of anything else. Today will then have to be the day in which I get caught up with stuff. Once I finish this posting, I need to update some stuff on the SASP (www.spokaneauthors.org) web-site, as well as do some work on the next issue of the REAR ENGINE REVIEW. My original plan was to have it out by now, but I was asked to wait on some material from some of the club officers. I'll start my part of it, and hopefully the material will arrive soon so that I might incorporate it.
Well, on to bigger and better things!
Dave
Over the past couple of weeks, some of the LiveJournal's and other blogs that I follow have gotten into discussions of some of the more theoretical areas of writing. jpsorrow has discussed writing the "other," as in those outside of the normal gender boundaries. He has also posted (and hosted) discussions about author's writing characters of the opposite gender. And my particular writing guru, Anne Mini, at her Author! Author! blog, (www.annemini.com) has posted a series dealing with character names. I did post a quite lengthy comment there, but thought that perhaps I could expand my thoughts on the subject a bit more here.
Like nearly everything, I think there are two sides to creating characters and naming them. On one hand, character names often just pop into my head. I may have mentioned before but I write in much the same way I read. That is, I often don't know what's going to happen on the next page or even in the next paragraph. When I come to the point where the next character just appears, sometimes the name appears as well. It's almost as if the name is in my head and I just need to get to the right place to reveal it. I can write that particular sentence in which the name is revealed, almost without stopping. At other times, however, I'm at a complete loss for a name. Then I need to search through remembered lists of family, friends, schoolmates, co-workers, ship mates, and perhaps lists, such as the phonebook.
One thing I believe every writer wants to do is to give his/her characters names that seem real. The names should fit the era in which the story takes place, as well as the nationality, the ethnicity, and the gender of the character. If my stories primarily take place within the Royal Navy of some two hundred years ago, I want names that sound as if they are from that time and place. At the same time I don't want ultra common names.
Years ago, when I was still in high school, and wrote the first versions of what was to become the STONE ISLAND SEA STORIES, I was faced with the dilemma of chosing a name for my main character/protagonist. As he was to be a young British naval officer, I wanted a name that well could have appeared on a list of real officers of that era. I finally decided that a could place to choose from would be the list of American Presidents. Most of them are reputed to have been of English, or at least British extraction. A few perhaps had names from other Western or Northern European nations, but all in all they had (have) a distinctive British or American touch to them. At the same time, I did not want to give the main character the same name as any of the more well known Presidents. I finally decided upon "Pierce," as my protagonist's last name. (Perhaps because of what I was reading at the time, I felt it more important to arrive at many of the characters' last names, rather than at their firsts. In fact, even now there are several characters in the stories whose first names are a complete mystery to me. I've just never had a need to know them.) But as he was to be (and is) the main character, I needed to give Pierce a first name as well. Again, I wanted it to be quite common, both for us today and for those who would have existed with him during the Napoleonic Wars some two hundred years ago. Edward came to mind, both as a relatively common name of today and also as one of several Kings of England/Great Britain.
In the original story, Pierce was serving aboard a ship under a cruel and ruthless captain who, in a nut shell, had it in for him. I pictured him as somewhat portly, waddling along the deck like a duck, always on the lookout for something to blame on poor Pierce. With that image in mind, I again turned to the list of Presidents' names. However I looked for a president whose appearance, if not demeanor would be completely opposite of the way I pictured this fictional Royal Navy captain. For his first name, I lit upon something a little more unusual, the first name of a one time popular newsreel commentator. Thus the villianous Lowell Jackson came to exist upon the page. He still exists within the volumes of Stone Island Sea Stories, but has lost a considerable amount of weight, has gained in his everpresent cruelty, and never is directly Edward Pierce's senior officer.
In writing the newer/present version of the story, I needed to again have Pierce serving as a junior officer under a more senior individual. While I had it in mind that this character's last name should indeed be Jackson, the fact that he would be a friend and mentor to Pierce caused me to find a different first name for him. (I suppose that I already had it in mind to bring back Lowell Jackson somewhat later in the story.) Again, I wanted something somewhat unusual. My maternal grandfather's middle name, and my seventh grade teacher's, husband's first name was Granville. Aha! So now when we meet Edward Pierce, he is the third lieutenant aboard HMS Theadora, commanded by Captain Granville Jackson.
I know that a lot of people advise against different characters having the same name. Some even advise against having two names starting with the same letter, or having similar sounds to them. Yet with the fantasy aspects that drift through the Stone Island Sea Stories, I thought it proper that these two individuals should share the same last name. Quite naturally, should an agent or editor direct me to change that, I will do so. I also have a couple of minor characters that share a common last name. That however was not predetermined, but the result of simply forgetting that I'd used the name before. Like a lot of named characters in the stories, they are named simply so the more central character doesn't have to say, "Hey You!"
One other character who has remained from the earliest versions of the story, and whose name has remained the same as well, is Harold Smythe. As this character is of Eastern European or possibly Romany origin, he has opted not to use his real name. I'm sure he knows what it is, but he hasn't seen fit to reveal it to me or his closest friends of the time. I think I wanted to so something along the lines of "John Smith," and yet didn't want to be so obvious in creating a false name.
The one character whose name has changed over the years has been that of the main female character. She has been known as Rita, Denise, and finally as Evangeline. I suppose that each change reflected a little of whom I saw as the pattern for her. And in writing the current version of the stories, selecting her current name probably gave me as much trouble as did any person in the tale. I decided upon Evangeline after perusing a list of popular baby names. It has nothing to do with the fact that my wife's name is Eva.
Being slightly older and hopefully a little more mature as I write the current version of the Stone Island Sea Stories, I find that I have many more sources from which to chose character names. Quite naturally the list of people I have known has grown much longer than it was during my high school years. There are the people I went to school with, the people I served with in the Navy, the people I've worked with over the past several years, as well as lists of names such as the phone book and even works by other authors. Oh, I would not whole heartedly borrow a character or character name from someone else, but often those names can give one a clue to creating a name. As it so happens, a particular author who works I enjoy, and whom I have met upon occasions has a character known as Grayson Pierce. (We even joked as he signed a copy of one of his books for me that perhaps Edward Pierce and Grayson Pierce were distant relatives.) Anyway, somewhere in the second half of SAILING DANGEROUS WATERS, I needed a quite minor character, a wardroom stewart, I believe it was. Thus there is a Grayson in my work as well, although it is his last, rather than first name. This particular writer creates stories in two different genres, using a different last name for each. As it happens, I have characters with each of those last names. First names, if known are not the same, and as both names are fairly common, a person might not realize from whence I got them.
At this same point in the story, I found that I needed to introduce a couple new characters as well. This time I turned to a list of finalists from a recently held literary contest.
One thing I try not to do is have a character based on someone I know and give that character the same name as the person he/she might resemble or be based on. If I chose names of people I know, I try not to use both the first and last name for the character. I might base a character on one acquaintance and chose the name of another.
In my comments to Anne Mini's post, I mentioned that a person with the desire and time to do so could probably write an entire book on the subject of character names. As you can probably see from the length of this, you will probably agree that it is true. Indeed, I could add a lot more to this, but I think I should stop now. Maybe next time I'll go off on a tangent and talk a little about how I've come up with place names, especially in those parts of the story(s) that take place in a different world.
Dave
Which may not be a subject or title that will appropriately match what I end up with at the end of this post. I just have an aversion to posting something with no title or subject line. A few times I've decided to wait and fill that in when I'm done, but invariably I forget to do so. Strange, isn't it, the little rules we impose upon ourselves in nearly every aspect of our lives?
I sent out to more queries by "snail mail" last weekend. Also sent one via e-mail. That one came back, rejected, the next day. But I still have several out there that I'm waiting to have a reply from, and I hope to send a couple more in the next day or so. Rejections certainly do not make one jump for joy, but the only way to eliminate them is to not query at all. And if one wants to find an agent, he/she needs to run the risk, accept rejections as a fact of life, and keep querying until a connection occurs with that agent who sees true value in one's work.
Still, and as I may have mentioned, I'm leaning towards going with a small press in the future. My reasoning is that my work might not fit neatly into the predetermined categories set up for fiction, making it harder for agents to place it. At the same time I've determined to get back to a heavier pace of sending out those queries for the next several months. So, when I finish this post, it might be time to get one or two, perhaps even three queries ready to send out.
The little writers group that I'm in met yesterday with three out of the four in attendance. For once, one of the other members had something for us to review, so I was not in the "hot seat." As we are a group with various interests and writing skills, we went over some short poems that one of the other individuals had written. Poetry is not my forte, but I do know what I like. And quite honestly, I liked most of what she had written.
A couple of days ago Jessica (my daughter) and I went by the local Barnes and Noble. We were actually enroute to another store, but I had a 15% off sticker that was about ready to expire, and had a couple of books in mind that I wanted to buy. She also had a reading list from school and wanted to see if she could find any of them. She did, and I found one that I had been wanting. Specifically the 2009 edition of the Writer's Digest's GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS. I'll probably take my 2008 copy to the SASP (www.spokaneauthors.org) meeting this coming Thursday and offer it as a door prize. Still a lot of good information in it. I was also hoping to find a paperback copy of jpsorrow 's VACANT THRONE. I already have it in hardback, but I want to donate that to a local school library. I had suggested the school to Joshua late last year when he first decided to send hardcopy copies of his first two books to various libraries.
Alas, there were no copies of any of Joshua's books, whether in paperback or hardback in the store. I did, however, find one copy of one of pbray 's books on the shelf. Bought that, along with the Agent's Guide and a couple that Jessica had found. I ended up with THE FINAL SACRIFICE. I believe it is the third of a trilogy, but I will probably read it anyway, hoping that Ms. Bray has written these stories in such a way that one isn't all that lost if one reads them out of order. (Of course, if she or anyone who has read her work realizes that this is a false assumption on my part, I would not be adverse to a little reminder...ie. warning!)
I do have a heads up for any that like to discuss various aspects of the writing craft. If you have any deep thoughts regarding naming of characters in your stories, I believe Anne Mini will soon be posting a "Let's Talk About This" segment on her Author! Author! blog. (www.annemini.com). It is certainly a topic that I could address and get well carried away with. No doubt I'll have something to say in response to her request, and if I have the gumption to do so, might post something of a more expanded nature here. I certainly won't do that today, as I think this is getting long enough as it is.
Well, it's about time to end for today. Have those queries to get out, as well as getting a start on the next REAR ENGINE REVIEW. Also need to work on a little survey for SASP members, and maybe even do a little work on story #3.
Dave
Sat, Feb. 21st, 2009, 12:38 pm
A Busy Week!
I actually got entries sent in in two different literary contests. The first was fairly easy to do as I had everything that was required already completed. It was just a matter of sending it electronically and then sending the entry form and fee via traditional methods.
The second contest works in a more old fashioned mode so everything went via "snail" mail. As I wanted to enter a different story in this one, I found that I had some extra work to do to prepare my entry. In the first place, Anne Mini (www.annemini.com )had recently posted a series about why agents, editors, contest judges, and other professional readers often reject a submission on the very first page. I felt that the first page of my second story might have had one or two of those characteristics, so I wanted to try and eliminate them. I found that a rather simple task. I added an opening paragraph and included character name a little sooner than I had originally done. The biggest challenge was in writing the required synopsis. (I want to blame the computer meltdown we had a few weeks ago, especially as I lost nearly a week of computer time.) Under normal circumstances, and even when somewhat pressed on deadlines, I should have had the thing ready to go a week ago. As it was I got it to the post office and in the mail yesterday, the final date upon which entries could be post marked.
I can't say that I hate writing synopses, but I do find them a challenge. The time and effort spend in condensing a 400 page manuscript into five pages well could have been used to write 20 or 30 pages in the current WIP. And now with the five page synopsis for book #2 complete, I suppose that one of these days I'll need to come up with a few even shorter variations. I have a "one page" and a "two page" synopsis for the first, because some places require a shorter one. That I did was good, as the other contest I entered wanted a two page synopsis to accompany the first chapter or so of the book.
Now I get to sit back and wait for these two contests to be finalized. Suppose it's best to not thing much about them in the mean time as it will be quite a while to hear anything. Probably time that I got back into querying. I started again, late last month, sent two out and had a request for pages as a result. Still haven't had a reply to the second. My intention was to send one or two every week, but other stuff got in the way. So, I've sent those two and that's been it. Definitely time for some more!
If it warms up enough this afternoon, I might try to wash my car. To exaggerate a little, it's DIRTY, largely the result of slush and other wintery stuff on the roads the past several weeks. Maybe if I can get it clean I can see what color it really is!
Dave
Sat, Feb. 14th, 2009, 11:39 am
Looking back on the past week I feel that I accomplished most of what I set out to do. I did get the February issue of the REAR ENGINE REVIEW printed and sent out to Inland Northwest Corvair Club members and friends. (If I remember correctly, last post I said something about looking for obvious typos...well I didn't bother with one part, and after I had printed out about two thirds of it, I found a very noticable one. Oh well, readers will just have to live with it. What they get is pretty much first draft anyway. Otherwise they'd be getting the February issue sometime in May!)
I did get the "first fifty" submission put together and sent to the agent who had asked for it. Now it's just a matter of waiting until she finds time in her busy schedule to sit down and look at it. Hopefully in a month or so I will know her reaction. Hopefully it will be positive and she will ask to see the entire manuscript. On a practical note, I'm not going to wait and do nothing while she has it but will attempt to get a few more queries sent out over the next few weeks. (She didn't ask for, nor did I grant any sort of exclusive for this particular submission.)
The other day I recieved word via an e-mail newsgram from PNWA (www.pnwa.org) about another writing contest. This one is referred to as "THE SANDY," I believe in honor of two ladies who have done much for writers in the Crested Butte, CO area. After a review of the requirements and realizing that I had my stuff pretty much in order, I decided to enter. As they want entries sent electronically, I put it together and sent it off Thursday night. I could have sent the registration form and entry fee electronically as well, but I opted to do them the old fashioned way. I had the check and entry form ready to mail yesterday, but no one put the mail out, and so it didn't depart the premises until this morning. The deadline isn't until Tuesday the 17th, so I have no worries about beating it. The entry itself is already there, and the payment will be postmarked well before. I even felt a small amount of satisfaction in that I didn't struggle with adding different variations of the slug line in various places. The only glitch was that based on previous advice, I had included a title page. I got asked to resubmit without one, as for some reason the contest coordinator could not delete it.
Over this week end and during the next week I'll be working on getting my entry ready for the PNWA's annual literary contest. I've already made a few changes to the very first page, because some recent posts on Anne Mini's Author! Author! blog (www.annemini.com) got me to thinking that it might exhibit some of those characteristics that often cause agents and others to reject a submission on the front page. Hopefully I have those corrected or at least minimized now. But as I will be entering my second book, I need to write the required synopsis to go along with the entry. That has been started and this weekend should see it complete. Then I'll have until next Friday to get it all printed and in the mail.
One other thing occurred during the past week that was entirely beyond my control. We have our internet and e-mail services with our cable TV provider. They just changed to an improved and expanded e-mail (webmail) set up. While we used to have 250 mb of storage, we now have 10 gig. I never had any problems of being over with the previous arrangement, but a few times I would be pushing 50% of capacity. Earlier today I had as many e-mails as I've ever had, and the capacity indicator actually went from 0% to 1%. After I delete a few it dropped to "nada" again. While I like most of what they've done in the upgrade, I find that I liked the previous version of the address book a little better. I thought it was easier to use.
Suppose it's time I stopped procrastinating and got busy at that synopsis. Also need to work at updating the SASP website.
Dave
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busy
chipper
tired
relieved
hopeful
contemplative
creative