I'll get my own domain and start using Typepad or something one of these days, when I feel like devoting more of my writing time and energy to blogging.
On the plus side, I submitted a new story to Asimov's today. Here's hoping....
Showing posts with label My Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Writing. Show all posts
13 February 2009
Oh, hell....
I wrote up reviews for The Searchers and Outland a bit ago, and thought I set them to post in a few days, but since Blogger in Draft has changed the way that they deal with scheduled posts, everything got all screwy. So I changed the dates on the posts but they're still posted, just forward-dated. Whatever.
I'll get my own domain and start using Typepad or something one of these days, when I feel like devoting more of my writing time and energy to blogging.
On the plus side, I submitted a new story to Asimov's today. Here's hoping....
I'll get my own domain and start using Typepad or something one of these days, when I feel like devoting more of my writing time and energy to blogging.
On the plus side, I submitted a new story to Asimov's today. Here's hoping....
25 May 2008
The Thin Envelope
I forgot to check my snail mail yesterday when I got home from work, but noticed it when I was walking out the door (late, alas!) for work this morning. I opened the mailbox and saw a batch of my own handwriting in the address slot, along with a stamped message from one of the science fiction magazine publishers on the return slot.
It was thin. You guessed it, it was a rejection letter.
But hey, it's my very first rejection letter! I should frame it or something.
It's tempting to look over the language used in the letter and try to parse everything, or to let myself get depressed and convince myself that I'll never be able to place anything... but, it's just a letter. It was my very first short story submission, and it wasn't right for that magazine at that time. It just means that I've learned a bit about writing and should try for the next one.
I'm also going to submit the first story to one of the other SF magazines. There are about a half-dozen markets that I think it might be suitable for, and if and when it gets rejected by all of them, I suppose I'll just post it here.
Back to the word processor for me after work. To sooth my pain, I watched this video in which Patton Oswalt talks about the creative process.
My next short story: "Embezzle Couch: The Couch That Looks Vaguely Cross at People and Embezzles From Their Employer"
It was thin. You guessed it, it was a rejection letter.
But hey, it's my very first rejection letter! I should frame it or something.
It's tempting to look over the language used in the letter and try to parse everything, or to let myself get depressed and convince myself that I'll never be able to place anything... but, it's just a letter. It was my very first short story submission, and it wasn't right for that magazine at that time. It just means that I've learned a bit about writing and should try for the next one.
I'm also going to submit the first story to one of the other SF magazines. There are about a half-dozen markets that I think it might be suitable for, and if and when it gets rejected by all of them, I suppose I'll just post it here.
Back to the word processor for me after work. To sooth my pain, I watched this video in which Patton Oswalt talks about the creative process.
My next short story: "Embezzle Couch: The Couch That Looks Vaguely Cross at People and Embezzles From Their Employer"
18 May 2008
Beer Review, Ommegang Three Philosophers
(That's right, I finished my short story and have even submitted it.)
Ommegang Three Philosophers
Appearance: Pours into my snifter with a dark reddish-brown body and a thick one-finger off-white head. Head is foamy and viscous, sticks around leaving significant lacing. 5.0/5
Smell: Strongly fruity notes, nice cherries, dark, nutty, slightly yeasty. Complex, but slightly astringent. 4.0/5
Taste: Strongly yeasty, bready. Strong flavors of cherries, hints of chocolate. Belgian funkiness far in the background. Finishes clean and leaves me ready for more. 4.5/5
Mouthfeel: Thick, chewy due to yeast, with a moderate amount of carbonation. Slightly astringent on the finish due to alcohol. 4.0/5
Drinkability: You'd think that a beer this sweet and this alcoholic would get cloying after awhile, but in general this is a very quaffable brew, finishing nicely and giving a nice warm feeling inside. Not the greatest quad ever, but then again it's a blend, so what can you do? 4.0/5
Ommegang Three Philosophers
Appearance: Pours into my snifter with a dark reddish-brown body and a thick one-finger off-white head. Head is foamy and viscous, sticks around leaving significant lacing. 5.0/5
Smell: Strongly fruity notes, nice cherries, dark, nutty, slightly yeasty. Complex, but slightly astringent. 4.0/5
Taste: Strongly yeasty, bready. Strong flavors of cherries, hints of chocolate. Belgian funkiness far in the background. Finishes clean and leaves me ready for more. 4.5/5
Mouthfeel: Thick, chewy due to yeast, with a moderate amount of carbonation. Slightly astringent on the finish due to alcohol. 4.0/5
Drinkability: You'd think that a beer this sweet and this alcoholic would get cloying after awhile, but in general this is a very quaffable brew, finishing nicely and giving a nice warm feeling inside. Not the greatest quad ever, but then again it's a blend, so what can you do? 4.0/5
11 April 2008
Errata
Hey, check this out:
That's right, new glasses. I can see! Right now I'm still getting used to them, given that my left lens has a significantly higher refractive index than my old ones, and it's messing up my peripheral vision, but that's the sort of thing your brain gets used to after awhile. Hopefully this will cut down a bit on the headaches I'm used to getting when I try to focus on the screen for too long, which will help me actually get more writing done. Whoo-hoo!
On a completely unrelated note, I just bought a new 160 GB hard drive for about sixty bucks from a computer place in the mall, and plan on installing Ubuntu 7.10 and dual-booting. I've long been a Linux fan (although I'm running XP now) but I've never tried Ubuntu, so this should be pretty cool.
Working into the home stretch on my latest short story. It's at 3800 words or so and is planned to be between five and six thousand, but most of the rest is dialogue-heavy, which is easier for me than the longer pages of description and setup, so we'll see how it goes. I've got a nice bottle of Three Philosophers in the fridge which I'm saving as a reward for finishing it.
That's all for now. With any luck I'll be popping that Three Philosophers later tonight or tomorrow afternoon.
That's right, new glasses. I can see! Right now I'm still getting used to them, given that my left lens has a significantly higher refractive index than my old ones, and it's messing up my peripheral vision, but that's the sort of thing your brain gets used to after awhile. Hopefully this will cut down a bit on the headaches I'm used to getting when I try to focus on the screen for too long, which will help me actually get more writing done. Whoo-hoo!
On a completely unrelated note, I just bought a new 160 GB hard drive for about sixty bucks from a computer place in the mall, and plan on installing Ubuntu 7.10 and dual-booting. I've long been a Linux fan (although I'm running XP now) but I've never tried Ubuntu, so this should be pretty cool.
Working into the home stretch on my latest short story. It's at 3800 words or so and is planned to be between five and six thousand, but most of the rest is dialogue-heavy, which is easier for me than the longer pages of description and setup, so we'll see how it goes. I've got a nice bottle of Three Philosophers in the fridge which I'm saving as a reward for finishing it.
That's all for now. With any luck I'll be popping that Three Philosophers later tonight or tomorrow afternoon.
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