Numberless Dreams

Again, I’m a victim of Waiting For Something Notable To Happen.  Waiting for a shiny new full-time job, waiting for another publication, waiting for something Worthy to write about.

I also have two other personal online journals which keep me from remembering to post minor news and updates here.  So please accept this humble update in the meantime.

I’ve been temping since mid-October, after more than a year of looking for a job.  While it’s a relief to be making something like real money again, it’s also difficult to make plans more than a few months out.  I spent half of October and most of November at the Minnesota Department of Education, and I’ve been at DRC since the beginning of December.  My contract expires at the end of the month.  I’m hoping to get back to MDE in May, but I have no official contract yet. (I’ve been told they want me back for the summer, so knock on wood.)

Writing-wise, I’m currently focused on WisCon.  I’m trying to get a story draft done for the writers workshop (which is due on April 9th) and a finished story done for the CW reading. As this is IFJM (hey, isn’t there a link about that in the bar at the top of the page?), I’m feeling inspired and spurred on by my (imaginary?) audience and whether they’ll be interested in the stories I’ll be writing this month. If I feel really inspired, I might take a few stabs at writing introductory short stories for the Next Best Novel idea. And finishing “Stochastic Fantastic!”

Other than that, there’s a ghost-hunting trip to St. Louis coming up in the middle of the month (we’ll be spending the night at Lemp Mansion) and MCBA SpringCon in mid-May. This is followed up by an uncertain summer and several imaginary trips. (I’d been thinking about going to Japan in fall, but I’m currently planning a make-believe trip to Amsterdam, Prague, Berlin, and Venice for the 5-year anniversary of my last trip to Europe in September.)

I’m also testing my dedication to the idea of getting another degree by taking a few classes via OpenCourseware at Yale and MIT. I’m trying not to be too ambitious, but I’d currently like to take Japanese, a refresher calculus course, perhaps physics, and a philosophy class. That will possibly start in late April or the beginning of May.

Stay tuned!

April 2nd, 2010 | Category: Uncategorized | Comments Off

I thought I would write a post to explain what has been taking up most of my time, lately.  For about 2.5 months, I’ve been writing, editing, and coordinating the Apex blog. Beyond the general updates about the company (new books released, books/stories reviewed), I’ve had my fingers in most of the material on the blog since December. Here are links to the posts I’ve written (there are many others that I’ve edited), with topics: More »

March 12th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Ever put off calling, writing, or e-mailing someone because you’re waiting for something exciting to happen to justify the conversation? I’m terrible about this, especially when I’ve told the person about the exciting thing that might happen and I haven’t gotten any kind of definite answer, or any reply or new information at all.

So that would be my major reason for not posting here, lately. (I don’t believe in excuses. I believe in reasons, to be judged as the listener/reader sees fit.) I’m waiting for some good news, or news in general, so I’ll have a topic to rhapsodize about. More »

February 11th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

A few years ago, Medtronic ran a campaign called I Will focusing on improving people’s all-round health. They gave out stickers reading “I will exercise regularly” or “I will eat healthy foods” or a number of other health pledges. The one that I received and plastered in my journal was “I will read more.” I had stopped making time to read, though I hadn’t stopped buying books, which meant I was falling further and further behind on my pile.

Then I discovered audio books, and I rediscovered books in general. And, for the past 3-4 years, I’ve been reading more than a book a week. Here’s my list for 2008. More »

January 1st, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Back in 1999, when I attended Clarion West, I changed my way of thinking about myself as a writer. I’d previously thought in novels–involved storylines, detailed worlds, casts of thousands–but I shifted my focus to short stories after those six weeks.

It fit my fickle nature: I could spend a day or a few days writing a draft rather than taking weeks or months or years to complete a novel. I could sample all sorts of ideas and see if any of them caught my fancy for something longer. After all, some of my favorite authors would write short stories in a particular world to test the waters and see if they wanted to spend more time there with a particular main character.

After attending Viable Paradise XII in September 2008, however, the pendulum is starting to swing the other way. After being told time and again that my style of writing fits longer works rather than short stories–the dreaded “this isn’t a short story, it’s the beginning of a novel!”–I’m starting to work on my first “real” novel.

I have completed three novels and started several others, including a few attempts to put the story I’ve been telling myself since childhood (the reallybiglongstory, or rbls) into coherent form. However, the finished novels were either written for fun or for NaNoWriMo and never intended to be seen by an audience. This, on the other hand, is the first one that I’m planning on sending out into the world.

The thought is terrifying. But I’m already on my way.

Current word count: 6,477 words (with notes on the first three scenes; this total may go down before increasing)

Next step: Revise the first three scenes and regroup. The path has become vague and disappeared completely. My main character has become vague and whiny and apt to share his deepest, darkest secrets at the least provocation. As this was not the original goal, it’s back to the drawing board.

Goal for the rest of the week: Revise the first three scenes and send them to writers group by 1/7.

December 31st, 2008 | Tags: reflection, writing | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

As the snow falls like flour sifting down from the sky, my mind turns to cooking, which I’ve been doing an unusual amount of, this fall. (Yes, it’s still fall until tomorrow, despite the snow.)

I don’t cook all that often. In fact, I am often prevented from cooking by that guy I live with, because he tends to preemptively make dinner. (I generally don’t start cooking until I’m hungry, which means dinner is ready to eat around bed time.) That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy cooking, especially if I have a recipe.

The secret is this: My mother refused to give me her caramel corn recipe (which was passed down from her mother and grandmother) until I got married. In order to save you from the same fate, I present the recipe here. Think of it as an early Christmas present. More »

December 20th, 2008 | Tags: recipes | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment