Update for Thursday, February 16, 2012

 
“…Writing is, in the end, that oddest of anomalies: an intimate letter to a stranger." – Pico Iyer

Which I thought was apt for a post-Valentine's Day edition of The Update, which deals with both love and loss, appropriately enough.  Because I'm fond of my readers, I included two (count 'em, two) items for The Helper.  And in The Wind-Up, a case of "malicious recycling" from the art world.

The Update

It took me much longer to complete the blocking on Chapter Seven of MGC than I first suspected it would.  I was so caught up with the idea of what it would become that I almost completely ignored the nuts and bolts of how to get it there.  I call that What Happens Between Syndrome.  It's all good now, but there were a few tense moments. 

I also received some comments on OSV, which I am busy revising.  Never fails...when I think that a passage is iffy, that's the one everyone wants to change.

And I put Knews Not News out of its misery.  Great fun, but really, not enough time to do it justice.  The Wind-Up is coming out of that, and I'm pretty happy with how it's turning out.  Comments on that or anything else are always welcome.

The Helper

I'm a sucker for Best Of lists, like this one from Time magazine, which lists the magazine's best web site choices for last year.  Like all such lists, some I use already, some I'm not interested in, but some I just said "Oooo."  Used immediately?  DuckDuckGo, a search engine that doesn't link your identity with your searches.  Slapped that sucker into Firefox as soon as I saw it and I am using it already.  Also, I'm putting together a track list for 8tracks on behalf of Turning Springs.  Lots of springpunk-y music.  Looking forward to that.

One thing that wasn't on Time's list and should have been?  The blog Brain Pickings.  Go there.  Again, "Oooo."

The Wind-Up

Remember the last time you wanted to clean something that you thought really needed it, and it ended up as something completely different than what you thought it was?  Click here for the Grand Bull Moose of mixed blessings.  Kind of like the plot of the first "Mr. Bean" movie (oh yes, I saw that and liked it), but with more competence and a much different disaster. 

Thanks for reading.  Talk to you next week.

Update for Thursday, February 2, 2012

 
"I guess I'm just an old mad scientist at bottom. Give me an underground laboratory, half a dozen atom-smashers, and a beautiful girl in a diaphanous veil waiting to be turned into a chimpanzee, and I care not who writes the nation's laws." -- S.J. Perelman

I actually do care who runs things.  I'm just so pleased that I get to do an update post on the day for which it's actually planned that I feel a touch giddy.  And mad-scientist like.  Along with The Update on matters in the springpunk world of Turning Springs, in The Helper, I have a link to a little steampunk blog advice (well, not advice for a steampunk blog, but...you'll see) and in The Wind-Up, Why the NY Public Library believes less books is more...something.

The Update

I actually had a little time yesterday to work on the new Chapter Seven in the long project MGC.  It involves developing several minor characters both for Seven and later chapters.  I'm looking forward to the challenge for Sunday.  I get the feeling from this, as I've felt in other works, that I'm building tools that will be useful for other purposes later on.  Very positive.  Very encouraging.  If I can finish up Seven, I get to move on to Eight and the two characters I'm most familiar with.  I also finished the 1st Revision on the short project OSV, and on schedule, no less.  I'm pleased with the work so far, and very pleased that I'm keeping to the schedule.  The 2nd Revision starts Wednesday.  Looking forward to it all.

The Helper

A successful blog inevitably ends up being not just this, but this with that and a little of that whatsis over there and some of that other doohickey.  There's no better example for opening your mind to new and different combinations of factors, themes and subjects than steampunk.  Throw on your goggles and your scarf and get aboard the airship here.


The Wind-Up

You know the saddest thing about this op-ed story from the New York Post?  It's not a joke.  The New York Public Library wants to believe (and they want us to believe it too) that fewer books make a better library.  3 million fewer to be exact.  Read it and weep here.

It's only 13 days until I make the decision about putting Knews Not News to the sword or not.  The sidebar has a link.  Let me know what you think!

That's all for this week.  Drop me a line...I'm happy to help if I can, with writing or whatever.

Update for Monday, January 23, 2012

Well, it's been two months.  What's new?  Glad I asked.

I got very little done in the last two months of 2011, with Christmas and New Year's and the preparation for those days and relatives over and, well, you name it and it got done.  Except for the writing. 

One thing that did get done is a review of my accomplishments for 2011.  Were there any?  Mmm, yeah, a few.  Enough to be satisfied?  Nnnnnope.  So I went ahead and set some goals, reachable goals when both of my time clock jobs, an active family life, and snow shoveling (really?  after two months with barely a hint of snow, it starts now?) are considered. 

How'm I doing?  Great.  (Okay, not so good on the update post on Thursdays, but still...) I'm about 3 hours ahead now (okay, 2 after the missed post on Thursday), but I think I'll need that cushion toward the end of the quarter. 

Details?  The rough of the short project, abbreviated to OSV, is done.  It's currently sitting until this Wednesday when I start the first revision.  Looking forward to that.  I like revisions.  Hoist the black flag and start cutting.

I've blocked the first six scenes of the long project, MGC, on the way to blocking the first half of the work by February 19th.  It's going very well.  Got me a rhythm going.  Always better with rhythm. 

I have another blog called Knews Not News that I'm considering killing off to save some time.  However, one of my few readers would like me to continue.  So far, she's the only one who's responded to a call on the KNN blog itself.  How about you?  Think I should keep it going?  Review a few of the old posts and let me know in the comments here or at KNN or via email.  Before February 15th, please.

I'm also reformatting Turning Springs to take advantage of some improvements that Smashwords has made to their submission software.  Should make for a much nicer presentation of the e-book.  I'm also going to set up a paper copy through print-on-demand site WordClay.  I'm expecting that will be done by the end of the quarter, if not sooner.  I'm almost done with the e-book work. 

So, not strides forward, but grown-up steps.  I'm pleased so far. 

Let me know what you think and thanks for reading!  I'll be back Thursday with another post.